Komsan Chiyadis
GrabFood delivery-partner, Thailand
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[Watch] CFO Peter Oey explains how Grab defined the superapp game in Southeast Asia
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March 13, 2025
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Regional
“About two-thirds of our user base use two or three products…And what we want to see over time is more and more users using all parts of our different products and services,” says CFO Peter Oey on the latest episode of Run the Numbers, a podcast hosted by PartsTech CFO CJ Gustafson.
Run the Numbers invites CFOs and business leaders to share their perspectives on growing and scaling businesses. Peter and CJ discuss Grab’s path to growth, why its superapp business model took off in Southeast Asia, and what it takes for companies to succeed in the region.
In the beginning, Grab was founded to make it safer for users—especially women—to travel in Malaysia. Its superapp business model emerged over time, “from customer feedback,” Peter explains.
Today, Grab users can book two-wheeled or three-wheeled rides or four-wheeled rides to get around. Beyond transportation, they can also order food and groceries, manage their finances and much more—all through one app–Peter says. Grab has “multiple touchpoints with customers every single day, and [at] lots of intervals within the day itself.”
Peter and CJ discuss why operating in Southeast Asia is unique and why its path to growth looks different compared with US-based peers including Uber, Instacart, and Doordash.
“Our point of differentiation was that we were able to localise the product much more, versus taking more of a global approach that some of our peers do today,” explains Peter. “We need to recruit drivers [and] merchants on our platform…that local touch with a specific city is really important.”
Peter also explains why Grab’s financial services are key to its growth. About 60 per cent of Southeast Asians are underbanked or underserved. But, Peter says, Grab has a “captive audience” of drivers and merchants who regularly transact through its platform. “We know these drivers, they’re on our platform, and we know how much they earn…[so, we’re] willing to actually underwrite them.” Grab offers loans to merchants and consumers in its ecosystem too.
Peter and CJ discuss other growth areas for Grab. Its advertising business, for example, is showing promise. “There’s a lot of opportunity in the advertising space for us in Southeast Asia”, explains Peter, especially as Grab grows its groceries business. “[Reaching] more transacting users that we can target with FMCG backing…could add another layer of growth for us.”
Grab now serves 1 in 20 Southeast Asians but Peter believes Grab can serve more. Enabling users to access products in other Grab business verticals is an important driver of this. “The way we think about lifetime value is not just [about] the customers using our product, but also the drivers [and merchants too],” Peter says.
With 44 million users in its ecosystem and 10 million transactions through its app per day, Grab has come a long way since its early days as a principally ride-hailing business. From its young and tech-savvy population to its growing pool of tech talent in the region, Peter explains to CJ why he’s confident in Grab’s runway for growth in the region it calls home.
Tune in to the full conversation between Peter and CJ on the following platforms:
Timestamps
(00:00) Preview and Intro
(05:56) Superapps and Grab’s Business Model
(11:30) Why the Superapp Model Thrives in Southeast Asia
(16:03) The Superapp Model and Western Markets
(19:49) The Role of Banking Services in Grab’s Business Model
(23:51) The First Step to Becoming a Fintech
(26:00) Getting Users to Use Multiple Grab Products
(31:36) The Advertising Opportunity for Grab
(33:26) Why Southeast Asia Is Overlooked as a Tech Hub
(36:52) Advice to Western Tech Companies Operating in Southeast Asia
(38:39) How Grab Increases Economic Activity
(42:16) A Grab Success Story
(43:21) Grab’s Proprietary Tech and Mapping System
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Komsan Chiyadis
GrabFood delivery-partner, Thailand
COVID-19 has dealt an unprecedented blow to the tourism industry, affecting the livelihoods of millions of workers. One of them was Komsan, an assistant chef in a luxury hotel based in the Srinakarin area.
As the number of tourists at the hotel plunged, he decided to sign up as a GrabFood delivery-partner to earn an alternative income. Soon after, the hotel ceased operations.
Komsan has viewed this change through an optimistic lens, calling it the perfect opportunity for him to embark on a fresh journey after his previous job. Aside from GrabFood deliveries, he now also picks up GrabExpress jobs. It can get tiring, having to shuttle between different locations, but Komsan finds it exciting. And mostly, he’s glad to get his income back on track.
