Ankit Vengurlekar speaks to some of the most important people at Grab in this sixth episode of Grab’s tech podcast Grab a Seat.
Specifically, Vengurlekar, the host, sits down with Samir Kumar, the head of Grab Mobility, and Binbin Tang who leads the engineering team at Grab Mobility.
It’s these folks who ensure that you can conjure up a ride through the Grab app within minutes, at a click of a button, pretty much anywhere and anytime.
The Mobility vertical—which ecompasses various modes of transportation, including cars, motorbike taxis, and others—is Grab’s foundation. It’s what the company started with years ago, even before introducing food deliveries.
“Being really good at offering ride-hailing services in Southeast Asia used to be an advantage. But now it’s fairly commoditised,” says Kumar. “Where now in this very interesting innovator’s dilemma, where we know we have to do something different.”
This episode is all about innovation in the ride-hailing industry, and how Kumar and Tang spot new opportunities and new frontiers to explore.
For example, Kumar explains how he sees Grab’s ride-hailing services diversify to meet different customer needs, for example in the premium vs budget segments. “This will become similar to what we see with airlines,” he explains.
Tang speaks about her personal favourite Grab Mobility service, which is GrabShare. She is pushing for innovation and improvements in the car sharing experience, a “revival of the sharing economy..”
They also chat about how they use “immersions” to understand mobility demands at a city-specific level.
You can also listen and subscribe to Grab a Seat on all major podcasting platforms.
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GrabFood delivery-partner, Thailand
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.