Grab has kicked off 2020 by announcing its expansion plan to more secondary cities and provinces across Thailand through a new, innovative Mini-Grab Centre business model or “Mini-GC”.
This strategic move will not only accelerate the expansion of Grab’s business operations to a total of 30 provinces within this year, but also more importantly, expand the benefits of 4.0 and the digital economy to millions of local micro-entrepreneurs, as well as Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs).
Grab will open up business opportunities for these MSMEs to set up Mini-GCs and serve as Grab official agents to recruit, oversee and support driver, delivery and merchant-partners.
This will allow Grab to meet the hyperlocal needs of its partners more effectively, and at the same time, enhance their service quality so that they can continue to outserve Grab users nationwide.
Tarin Thaniyavarn, country head of Grab Thailand, commented: “2019 was a golden year for Grab Thailand. We experienced phenomenal growth across all business verticals, from on-demand ride-hailing to food and package delivery services”.
“We are also playing our part in driving the cashless economy through our GrabPay mobile wallet. We have constantly innovated and introduced many new services in response to today’s consumer needs including GrabCar Premium that offers classy, comfy rides at affordable prices for business users, Grab Drive Your Car – a personal car driver service, and on-demand grocery delivery services through partnership with Tops Supermarket,” he added.
“Grab is currently operating across 20 provinces, and we look forward to uplifting the livelihoods of more Thais with our expansion,” he said.
For the online food delivery industry valued at 35 billion baht ($1.12 billion), GrabFood has played a significant role in empowering MSMEs to tap on the growth opportunities of the booming digital economy.
In response to strong consumer demand, Grab Thailand spearheaded its expansion with GrabFood service to secondary cities outside Bangkok last year, reaching 14 provinces across Thailand in less than one year.
At present, one third of the total food orders via GrabFood are from users in secondary cities.
“This year, we will continue to expand our services across 30 provinces through Mini-GC. We believe that this model will allow us to scale our successful hyperlocal approach nationwide and better adapt to the different needs of our partners and users in different provinces”.
“Thailand is the first country for Grab leveraging this innovative business model to create long-term, sustainable growth while offering better opportunities for local MSMEs to own and grow their businesses,” added Tarin.
Maythinee Anavachkul, head of Bike-Hailing Operations and Mini-GC of Grab Thailand, said that owners of mini-GCs will take responsibility of recruiting and onboarding driver, delivery and merchant-partners smoothly, with Grab providing oversight and support.
Training and technological support will also be provided while a dedicated Grab team will work closely with each centre to set the bar for the highest service quality standards.”
The three key criteria for the selection of a Mini-GC owner include:
Financial stability – having a certain capital to operate their own business.
Ability to source proper location and set up the centre.
Entrepreneurial mindset – possessing strong business acumen that aligns with Grab business philosophy.
The mini-GC model has been piloted since the end of last year. This initiative has proven effective in business expansion and received positive feedback from our driver-partners. Currently, 24 Mini-GCs have been successfully set up in Bangkok and its vicinity, and Grab plans to double the number of the centres within this year.
THE NATION (THAILAND)/ANN
