Komsan Chiyadis
GrabFood delivery-partner, Thailand
AI in action
Product innovation
Tracing our impact
Marketplace principles
Inside scoop
How Grab drives innovation with Grab Ventures Velocity, its impactful startup accelerator
.
August 30, 2024
.
Indonesia
,
Regional
Grab Ventures Velocity (GVV), a startup accelerator initiated by Grab in 2018, is about to start the seventh iteration of its programme.
The accelerator focuses on startups from Indonesia and aims to support them by providing access to workshops, training, and networking opportunities. It runs for 16 to 18 weeks once a year, with each year having a different theme based on current industry trends.
The theme for this year’s programme is “Catalysing startups for sustainable success” with a focus on social commerce; solutions for human resources management; solutions for micro, small, and medium businesses; the pursuit of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) goals; and Business-to-Consumer (B2C) business models.
GVV’s yearly themes are chosen based on discussions within Grab and with partners to identify relevant problems that can be tackled by promising startups in various industries.
Testing products in Grab’s ecosystem
GVV invites prominent and senior-level guest speakers to provide mentorship and workshops to the startups. Additionally, one of the unique features of GVV is the ‘pilot programme’.
In this programme, each participating startup can gain direct access to Grab’s ecosystem. That means Grab will support these startups in making their products available to Grab merchants, driver-partners, or consumers (depending on the nature of the product) in a limited pilot.
This allows startups to test their business models in the real world and gain valuable insights in a quick and cost-effective way.
Examples of successful collaborations include Majoo, a startup that provides a comprehensive business management platform for merchants. After joining the GVV programme in its fourth batch, Majoo has continued working with Grab merchants to refine its product to match with the market needs.
Adi, the founder and CEO of Majoo shared that thousands of Grab merchant-partners have adopted Majoo’s flagship services and claimed that Majoo’s business has grown by up to 167 per cent as a result. This progress has been achieved from the GVV pilot program through to becoming a business partner.
One GVV alumnus, Delegasi, which provides accounting services to assist MSMEs in managing their finances, reported the programme provided an opportunity to reach new market segments, including Grab merchants, with its existing product. It was also able to test new products and features.
Delegasi said it increased its user reach by up to 11 per cent within eight weeks, while gaining valuable insights on what the new segments needs.
Networking opportunities
While GVV does not provide direct funding to the startups, it does offer them valuable mentorship and networking opportunities.
It can be a challenge for local startups to find the right people to ask for advice and funding. That’s why this aspect of the GVV programme is important.
We invite prominent mentors and speakers to the programme, like Grab board members, senior executives from Indonesian business conglomerates, and Grab’s partners. Startups can really benefit from the experience of these leaders and forge lasting connections.
Through GVV’s partnership with media platform Tech in Asia, the startups will pitch their businesses at the Tech in Asia Jakarta conference in October this year, where they can network and meet with investors.
Grab once also began as a small startup, and we have grown for more than a decade. We believe that more startups can achieve the same strength and sustainability. GVV is designed to support the next generation, because we see startups as a way to solve industry challenges with innovative solutions.
About
Consumer
Merchant
Enterprise
Quick Links
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.
