{"id":56082,"date":"2018-11-23T17:41:15","date_gmt":"2018-11-23T09:41:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.grab.com\/id\/?p=56082"},"modified":"2019-02-19T14:35:51","modified_gmt":"2019-02-19T06:35:51","slug":"grab-velocity-ventures-more-than-just-a-funding-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.grab.com\/id\/blog\/grab-velocity-ventures-more-than-just-a-funding-game\/","title":{"rendered":"Grab Velocity Ventures: More than just a funding game"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many businesses are borne out of a desire to make life better. <\/span><\/p>\n

That was certainly the case with Tueetor founder Han Sing: his single-mother friend couldn\u2019t afford tuition for her son who was faring poorly in school; other friends in their 3<\/span>0s and 40s, were out of jobs but had marketable skills to share.<\/span> Han Sing conceptualised Tueetor, a p<\/span>latform that helps connect learners and trainers. <\/span><\/p>\n

Launched in September 2016, Tueetor is just one of over 7,000 – and growing – digital startups in Southeast Asia. Along with four other on-demand startups, it has been chosen as one of the first partners in the Grab Velocity Ventures (GVV) program. Operating under the umbrella of GrabVentures, GVV is a scale-up program that aims to build high-potential startups into national and regional champions by leveraging Grab\u2019s market access, tech expertise, mentorship and networks. <\/span><\/p>\n

The other startups are Sejasa, a marketplace for <\/span>home improvement and maintenance services; <\/span>home cleaning services app Helpling; BookMyShow, a booking app for movies, events and karaoke; and Minutes, which offers spa and salon bookings. <\/span><\/p>\n

At the official launch of GVV yesterday (Nov 22) at Grab\u2019s Marina One headquarters in Singapore, Head of GrabVentures Chris Yeo says, \u201cOut of 500 startups that applied, we have chosen five of these exceptional partners who are aligned with Grab\u2019s vision of creating and empowering 100 million micro-entrepreneurs by 2020.\u201d<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

From left to right: GrabVentures Head Chris Yeo, Minutes founder Angki Rinaldy, Sejasa co-founder Jes Min Lua and BookMyShow co-founder Karan Khetan.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

From left to right: Minutes founder Angki Rinaldy, <\/em>Helpling APAC MD James Lim, GrabVentures Head Chris Yeo, <\/em>Tueetor founder Han Sing, Sejasa co-founder Jes Min Lua and BookMyShow co-founder Karan Khetan.<\/em><\/p>\n

But for these GVV entrepreneurs, the do-good factor, though vital, is just one part of the story – the on-demand startup scene, fueled by an increased need for convenience in fast-urbanising cities, is a booming industry. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The latest <\/span>e-Conomy Southeast Asia 2018<\/span><\/a> report<\/span><\/a> by Google and Temasek projects a US$240 billion Southeast Asian Internet economy by 2025. <\/span><\/p>\n

Already, it is fueled by 350 million users. Across the region, people are running their lives with their smartphones – buying goods, airline tickets, ordering rides and food, and transferring funds. With more than 90% of Southeast Asia<\/span>ns connecting to the Internet primarily through their smartphones, this is one of the most mobile-first internet regions globally.<\/span><\/p>\n

And mobile Internet is only going to become more affordable, fueling the rise of the superapp. The Google-Temasek report found that 1GB of mobile data costs less than 1% of monthly income across Southeast Asia countries.<\/span><\/p>\n

Strategic support crucial for long-term success<\/b><\/p>\n

But while market conditions suggest that this upward trend in the Internet startup scene is primed to continue, there\u2019s still a considerable gap between early-stage and later-stage funding levels and expertise. Some US$16 billion of the US$24 billion invested in Southeast Asia\u2019s startups since 2015 was raised by the its nine unicorn companies, including Grab. <\/span><\/p>\n

Still, more than just cash, there is a substantial need for more experienced investors focusing on guiding early-stage companies who could be the next generation of Southeast Asian unicorns.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGrab Ventures is a lot more than a traditional VC. We engage with startups in multiple ways, not just funding. One of the key things startups leverage is Grab\u2019s regional footprint and deep experience in the region,\u201d Chris says. \u201cFor instance, many startups have difficulty scaling past the initial growth spurt or across new countries. Grab has scaled across 8 countries and over 230 cities, and so, we understand the problem and know how to scale.\u201d \u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Tueetor\u2019s Han Sing recalls, <\/span>\u201cWhen we first started out, geolocation, tagging and map overlay technology were just not as accessible and affordable as they are today. We also didn\u2019t have a mentor to guide us in those aspects. There was a lot of learning and experimenting.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

For BookMyShow, Grab\u2019s everyday app positioning and strength was a key attraction. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGrab is a big part of people\u2019s lives, and similarly for us, we have found that entertainment is consumed not on its own, but as a larger part of people\u2019s daily routine. There\u2019s perfect alignment there,\u201d says Karan Khetan, the co-founder of BookMyShow. <\/span><\/p>\n

For Grab, it is about \u201ccreating value for our users\u201d, Chris says. \u201cThis includes giving them access to relevant services that consumers use often in their everyday lives and useful information that\u2019s local and eventually personalised.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\" \"\"<\/p>\n

On Nov 19, the team launched one of the first publicly visible results of the GVV program – the Proof of Concepts (POCs), available in the Grab app for users in Singapore and Indonesia. The chosen startups now have a widget on the app\u2019s feed, where users can discover, learn more, and even book the partner services within the Grab app. <\/span><\/p>\n

This alone is significant, says Sejasa co-founder Jes Min Lua. \u201cThe widget is<\/span> a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to scale-up our business, riding on Grab\u2019s formidable market access in the region.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In the coming months, these startups will continue to receive mentoring with Grab leaders as well as training – a growth workshop is planned for mid-December – before a pitch day come January. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cStartups benefit from advisory and mentoring not only from Grab leaders, but also from our network of corporate and government partners as well,\u201d Chris says. \u201cWe have benefited from other tech titans before, and this is our way of helping our partners, for us all to grow together.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Many businesses are borne out of a desire to make life better. That was certainly the case with Tueetor founder Han Sing: his single-mother friend couldn\u2019t afford tuition for her son who was faring poorly in school; other friends in their 30s and 40s, were out of jobs but had marketable skills to share. Han […]","protected":false},"author":431,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,344],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grab.com\/id\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56082"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grab.com\/id\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grab.com\/id\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grab.com\/id\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/431"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grab.com\/id\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56082"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.grab.com\/id\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56082\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":60208,"href":"https:\/\/www.grab.com\/id\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56082\/revisions\/60208"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grab.com\/id\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grab.com\/id\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56082"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grab.com\/id\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}