Grab looks to groom tech startup ecosystem in Singapore

Grab will be expanding its team, as it looks to house up to 3,000 employees as well as its research and development centre in its new headquarters. According to Lim Kell Jay, country head, Grab Singapore, the new space will cater to the ride hailing company's business demands as it aims to innovate and use technology to meet its customers’ daily needs. In addition, Grab aims to groom more tech talents and nurture more tech startups for Southeast Asia. In line with this, the ride hailing company launched the second batch of Grab Ventures Velocity (GVV) programme, part of its efforts to grow the tech startup ecosystem in Singapore and across Southeast Asia. The GVV programme was first introduced in June 2018 with support from government agencies from the region such as Enterprise Singapore, the Economic Development Board, the Info-communications Media Development Authority and EDB Investments in Singapore as well as the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (Kementerian Komunikasi dan Informatika) and the Agency for Creative Economy (Badan Ekonomi Kreatif Indonesia) in Indonesia. Selected startups will be given the opportunity to pilot their solutions with Grab’s users and merchant partners. These startups will also get access to Grab’s internal and external network of C-level advisors and experts. On the technology front, the startups will leverage GrabPlatform resources, such as Grab’s cloud APIs, to accelerate their product development. Up to two selected startups will receive partnership opportunities to scale their business with Grab. Lim said that the company recognises the challenges that startups are facing, as scaling up supply and demand and platform operations simultaneously is both a "time-consuming and an expensive problem" to solve. "Through GVV, we will help these startups grow by providing access to Grab’s vast user base and exclusive regional assets. We have the opportunity to pay it forward and support other startups to scale across the region and develop solutions customised for Southeast Asia,” he added. “Having worked with Grab since their founding in 2012, we know that Grab is a company that constantly pushes the boundaries of innovation. Their new home and headquarters in Singapore will bring together a diverse talent pool to create new products, services and business models by deepening their capabilities in AI, data analytics, user experience and IoT. This partnership with Grab will create new and exciting technology and business jobs in a digital economy,” said Kiren Kumar, assistant managing director, Economic Development Board.