Grab rolls out initiatives to support Cebu recovery

CEBU, Philippines —  Grab Philippines intensifies its footprint in Cebu, not only by providing services, but also to help drive the ongoing recovery efforts in Cebu from the devastation left by Typhoon Odette.

Grab Philippines Country Head Grace Vera Cruz announced the roll out of key initiatives to help drive the ongoing recovery efforts in Cebu, which aims to provide Cebuanos with greater access to basic necessities and support the recovery of local businesses and microentrepreneurs.

According to Cruz, Cebu is key to Grab’s journey in the Philippines, and with the many challenges that the province continues to face, Grab is committed to help uplift the everyday lives of Cebuanos by leveraging its superapp strategy and platform.

When Typhoon Odette hit the country, Grab immediately partnered with the Philippine Red Cross and Ronald McDonald Kindness Kitchen where users can donate to the respective relief operations through GrabPay and GrabRewards Points.

Part of the extensive humanitarian initiative is to provide greater access to basic necessities. With electricity and network reception still intermittent in Cebu, Grab continues to support its Cebuano stakeholders through the following measures; 1) Grab has dedicated its Cebu office to serve as a support hub for driver- and delivery-partners in need of power supply and network reception for their devices. Grab has also partnered with Phoenix Petroleum for dedicated refuelling slots for driver and delivery-partners; 2) In partnership with local small and medium businesses in Cebu, Grab is fully-funding a consumer campaign offering 20 percent off on all GrabFood orders until February 2022, and will also provide affordable meal options to Cebuanos through GrabFood.

These initiatives will leverage the power of the Grab platform to provide Cebuanos with greater access to a wide selection of affordable meals while spurring the recovery of many local businesses and microentrepreneurs in Cebu.

Significantly, Grab also activated recovery programs to help local businesses and microentrepreneurs.

Cruz explained that Typhoon Odette has impacted many businesses in the region - and as such Grab Philippines leveraged its superapp and platform to support their recovery regardless of their affiliated platform.

Grab’s Cebu Operations Team continues its regular visits to MSMEs and driver- and delivery-partners to check on their needs and provide much needed support and assistance. Local businesses and microentrepreneurs in need of assistance - regardless of their affiliated platform, can reach out to grb.to/bangoncebu and Grab will immediately deploy its team to support them.

Likewise, Grab driver- and delivery-partners can claim their Calamity Assistance from Grab through the GrabCare Package which also includes emergency top-up, hospital assistance, and vehicle repair assistance. A dedicated team has been activated to better facilitate the processing of applications so that partners can receive the support within days. Apart from that, Grab is also providing SIM cards with built-in data package that driver, delivery, and merchant-partners can use and top-up through the Grab Cebu Office.

 “Our kababayans have gone through so many hardships - both from the pandemic and natural calamities, and we are determined to continuously help uplift their lives even during these challenging times. We are optimistic that these initiatives will make a huge impact in the ongoing recovery efforts in Cebu, and we will continue to engage with our kababayans so that we can continuously tailor our efforts towards building a safer and more prosperous Cebu for everyone,” added Cruz.

Grab is the leading super app in Southeast Asia, providing everyday services that matter most to consumers. Today, the Grab app has been downloaded onto over 185 million mobile devices, giving users access to over 9 million drivers, merchants, and agents.

It offers the widest range of on-demand transport services in the region, in addition to food, package, grocery delivery services, mobile payments, and financial services across 339 cities and eight countries.