Ripple effect

Friends ask me why I seldom drive my car.

Three reasons – traffic, parking, and Grab. Not to mention expensive fuel cost.

Why would I go through the hassle of driving through Metro Manila’s traffic, looking for a parking space, paying for expensive parking fees, when I can have the convenience of someone driving me to where I want to go and back to the house and not get exhausted from long hours of driving and avoiding reckless motorcycle riders and other drivers?

Why not take advantage of what modern technology has to offer?

There are those who say that booking a Grab car is more expensive than driving your car and spending on fuel. But the convenience it provides far outweighs whatever additional expense on my part that it entails.

Taking public transport would definitely not achieve the same, what with the sorry state and unreliability of our mass transport system.

I don’t know how much I spend on Grab services every month – be it in terms of rides, food and grocery purchases and deliveries via Grab Food or Grab Pabili, non-food deliveries via Grab Express. I don’t want to even know or think about it. Life is short. If these things that Grab can do for me would reduce my stress level, then you will not be hearing any complaints from me.

When I’m in Baguio City, I would go the public market to buy longganisa and coffee beans and to outlets where they sell Baguio Country Club’s raisin bread. Nowadays, I would just use Grab Pabili to buy for me the things I want. How convenient.

Grab has been in the Philippines for more than a decade, evolving with the needs of Filipino consumers in mind and transforming itself from merely being a taxi-hailing app to being the country’s first and only full-fledged super app.

Its hyperlocal strategy enables it to understand the needs of customers, merchants and driver partners resulting in nuanced, personalized and seamless services that benefit all stakeholders.

Over the years, Grab has become a household name in the country, especially in high- demand areas like Metro Manila, Cebu and even Davao. Its popularity spans different areas and economic segments that Filipinos are now using the brand name as a verb to refer to their daily tasks – from transport, food and parcel deliveries, to grocery shopping.

During the pandemic-related lockdowns and mobility restrictions, Grab Food became a lifeline, allowing people to have access to food when they need it and food businesses to continue operations, and providing riders to earn a decent wage for their families.

In a survey conducted by Grab, eight out of 10 Filipino merchants said that delivery platforms have become indispensable for the survival and successful expansion of their businesses.

To further support them and amid the lack of access to competitive financing for small enterprises, Grab has designed accessible and hassle-free financing support to stimulate business recoveries, such as quick cashouts, cash loans and flexible schemes.

Despite being one of the most affected sectors by the global health crisis, MSMEs play a crucial part in ushering in economic recovery. Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that MSMEs accounted for 99.51 percent of businesses in the country in 2020.

Grab has also played a pivotal role in promoting digital inclusion and human capital development, providing tens of thousands of drivers and riders means to make a decent living. Through partnerships with organizations such as Microsoft, TESDA, BagoSphere and Phinma Education, Grab has further strengthened its upskilling initiatives.

Grab recently committed to create livelihood opportunities for 500,000 Filipinos. This will cover drivers, delivery riders and merchants.

Following a meeting with President Marcos earlier this year, Grab Philippines has created new livelihood opportunities for more than 35,000 riders, drivers and operators nationwide. The company is also optimistic that once the regulatory frameworks on motorcycle taxis and and transport network vehicle services (TNVS) are further simplified and enhanced, it will allow the creation of more livelihood opportunities for prospective riders drivers and operators.

Furthermore, about 7,000 MSMEs, particularly restaurants and small food vendors, were added into Grab’s platform during the first half of 2023, allowing them to expand their businesses digitally and helping create direct and indirect livelihood opportunities for many more Filipinos. Today, MSMEs comprise around 70 percent of total merchant-partners on the Grab platform.

Digital platforms create a ripple effect that could create a positive impact not only on the economy but most importantly, on a more micro, personal level.

Given the influence of digital platforms like Grab on the economy, let us hope that government will strive to enable them to become successful, be it through the creation of sound policies or an encouraging regulatory environment.

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