Grab Ventures launches in Indonesia, to invest $250m in startups

Grab co-founder Anthony Tan. Photographer: Ore Huiying/Bloomberg

By Mars W. Mosqueda Jr.

August 29, 2018

Singapore-headquartered ride-hailing and payments major Grab on Wednesday announced the launch of Grab Ventures in Indonesia, with plans to invest up to $250 million in local startups.

Grab Ventures, the new accelerator and investment unit of Grab, aims to select Indonesian startups and help them expand across Southeast Asia through strategic investments, technology capabilities, mentorship, and market access.

The firm will partner or invest in startups that want to solve mobility, food, logistics, fintech, and other O2O challenges. In an earlier announcement, Grab Group CEO and Co-Founder Anthony Tan said Grab Ventures will use funds coming from Grab’s own balance sheet.

The launch of Grab Ventures in Indonesia follows its regional launch in June in Singapore. It is also the latest initiative of the “Grab 4 Indonesia” 2020 Master Plan that aims to support the country’s goal to become the largest digital economy in Southeast Asia by 2020.

Grab Ventures is looking to make about 10 investments over the coming two years. It will also offer an accelerator programme, Velocity, for growth-stage startups looking to expand across Southeast Asia.

In Indonesia, Grab Ventures will work with startups at multiple stages of growth in two ways: strategic partnerships and integration with Grab’s services for mature startups and Grab Ventures Velocity for startups that are still scaling up.

“We have proven ourselves as a partner of choice to other startups with our excellent track record to date,” said Ridzki Kramadibarata, Managing Director of Grab Indonesia.

In April, Grab acquired Indonesian payment startup Kudo. The Indonesian startup’s model enables Indonesia’s unbanked consumers to shop online by connecting them with online merchants and service providers. The startup’s network houses more than 400,000 authorized agents in 500 towns and cities across the country.

Since the acquisition, Kramadibrata said Kudo has grown its agent network from 400,000 to 1.4 million registered agents.

Grab now has businesses like GrabFood, GrabPay and currently offers services in Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar and Cambodia. The company more than doubled the growth of mobile app downloads within the past year from 45 million in June 2017 to 100 million to date, it claims.

Also Read:

Grab Ventures will invest in the next generation of tech leaders: Grab CEO Anthony Tan

SE Asia’s Grab closes $2b funding round, doubles down on Indonesia

Singapore Reporter/s

In Singapore, we are looking to double our reporting team by this year-end to comprehensively cover the fast-moving world of funded startups and VC, PE & M&A deals. We want reporters who can tell our readers what is really happening in these sectors and why it matters to markets, companies and consumers. The ability to write precisely and urgently is crucial for these roles. Ideal candidates must have to ability to work in a collaborative, dynamic, and fast-changing environment. We want our new hires to be digitally savvy and ready to experiment with new forms of storytelling. Most importantly, we are looking for hard-hitting reporters who work well in a team. Collaboration and collegiality are a must.

Following vacancies can be applied for (only in Singapore).

Following vacancies can be applied for (only in Singapore).   

  • A reporter to track companies/startups that have raised private capital, and have the potential to become unicorns. SEA currently has over 40 companies with a valuation of over $100 million and under $1 billion.
  • A reporter who can get behind the scenes and reveal how funding rounds are put together, or why they’ve failed to materialise. She/he in this role will largely focus on long-format stories. 
  • A journalist to track special situations funds, distressed debt and private credit (from the PE angle) across Asia.
APPLY NOW

Singapore Reporter/s

In Singapore, we are looking to double our reporting team by this year-end to comprehensively cover the fast-moving world of funded startups and VC, PE & M&A deals. We want reporters who can tell our readers what is really happening in these sectors and why it matters to markets, companies and consumers. The ability to write precisely and urgently is crucial for these roles. Ideal candidates must have to ability to work in a collaborative, dynamic, and fast-changing environment. We want our new hires to be digitally savvy and ready to experiment with new forms of storytelling. Most importantly, we are looking for hard-hitting reporters who work well in a team. Collaboration and collegiality are a must.

Following vacancies can be applied for (only in Singapore).

Following vacancies can be applied for (only in Singapore).   

  • A reporter to track companies/startups that have raised private capital, and have the potential to become unicorns. SEA currently has over 40 companies with a valuation of over $100 million and under $1 billion.
  • A reporter who can get behind the scenes and reveal how funding rounds are put together, or why they’ve failed to materialise. She/he in this role will largely focus on long-format stories. 
  • A journalist to track special situations funds, distressed debt and private credit (from the PE angle) across Asia.
APPLY NOW