30 October 2020, MANILA PHILIPPINES – GrabPay, Grab’s e-wallet cashless solution, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Region 2, and fast-growing agri-ecommerce platform, Mayani announces its tripartite partnership to create broader market access and safe and seamless e-payments solutions to farming communities and agripreneurs across Region 2 (Cagayan Valley Region).

With the transport of fresh produce being a key challenge throughout the pandemic, farming communities and agripreneurs across the Cagayan Valley Region were left unable to market and sell their fresh produce to a wider consumer base, causing an oversupply of fresh produce in the region. Through this partnership, GrabPay, DTI Region 2, and Mayani will work together to promote a safe, seamless, and cashless farm-to-table e-commerce experience to more Filipinos to help boost rural incomes among thousands of farmers, farming communities, and agripreneurs across the Cagayan Valley Region.

With the partnership, Mayani will consolidate and activate a whole range of produce from 4,761 farmers in Region 2 and manage orders through its e-commerce platform with GrabPay as its digital payments solution. Likewise, GrabPay will also be providing wider market access to Mayani’s farming communities through a five-day campaign on the Grab app starting November 5, 2020, and users can also earn GrabRewards points whenever they use GrabPay to shop for fresh produce on-site.

In order to ensure broad inclusivity within the farming communities, DTI Region 2 will facilitate region-wide linkage of Cagayan Valley Region’s farmers cooperatives and agri-MSMEs to the Mayani platform.

“Even in these uncertain times, our mission in Mayani has stayed the same; help thousands of smallholder farmers lead better lives by changing how people buy their food through e-commerce. This partnership is another step in our efforts to bridge the gap between our own agro-entrepreneurs and potential consumers in Metro Manila and eventually, all around the nation,” said JT Solis, Co-Founder, and CEO of Mayani – which is also backed by the Asian Institute of Management-Dado Banatao Incubator.

Serving as the conduit for facilitating private sector relations with farmer cooperatives, DTI Region 2 will continue to provide the necessary support for tech-enabled, multi-stakeholder initiatives in agro-entrepreneurship. “Region 2 has always been known as one of the country’s top food providers, playing an integral role in the food supply chain of millions of Filipinos. Creating better access to quality produce from all around the country continues to be our priority, and we hope to expand our service by replicating the partnership we’ve established here in more areas,” said Leah Pulido Ocampo, DTI Region 2, Regional Director. 

Supporting the country’s economic recovery agenda through digitalization, GrabPay continues to provide its users and merchants-partners with a safer and more seamless e-payment solution that spurs growth and resilience across Filipino communities and MSMEs.

“With many of our communities looking toward economic recovery, it is undeniable that digitalization and cashless payments adoption will remain key for micro-entrepreneurs and small businesses to thrive and be more resilient. Our partnership with DTI Region 2 and Mayani is a wonderful example of how GrabPay can help farmers and farming communities recover from the crisis, and grow sustainably. We’re thankful to have this opportunity to work alongside Mayani and DTI Region 2, and we encourage more farmers,  farming communities, and agripreneurs to continue to embrace digitalization and cashless payments to better serve our kababayans,” said Jonny Bates, Head of GrabPay Philippines.