Grab unveils US$1m GrabScholar programme, new GrabMerchant Centre

The superapp aims to support small businesses and upskill the future workforce.

Grab has unveiled two new initiatives–a US$1m GrabScholar programme, and a new GrabMerchant Centre that is aimed at providing one-on-one business consultations to small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Announced during the official opening of its Singapore headquarters, Grab group CEO and co-founder Anthony Tan said that the initiatives are aimed at helping small businesses and upskilling the future workforce.

“Providing access to digital tools can be a powerful way to ensure all Southeast Asians can equally participate in – and benefit from – the rising digital economy, the same way 10 years ago when our driver-partners learned how to use their smartphones to earn incomes,” said Tan.

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The GrabScholar programme aims to provide US$1m worth of university scholarships and educational bursaries annually across all countries that Grab operates in Southeast Asia.

The programme will reportedly reward over 2,000 scholarships and bursaries per year, covering tuition and study-related expenses for underprivileged students of the primary, secondary, vocational, and university level. Grab also plans to offer internship scholarship.

To facilitate this, Grab will soon launch its first-ever GrabMerchant Centre to provide 1-on-1 business consultation services for our SME merchant-partners. It will be located at Grab HQ @ Singapore. GrabMerchant Centre is a one-stop hub dedicated to helping small businesses optimise their online presence, maximise GrabFood, GrabMart, GrabFin and GrabAds services for their businesses, and learn to use digital tools to grow.

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For businesses, the superapp has launched GrabMerchant Centre, which will provide a suite of services for small and medium businesses. This include a one-on-one business consultation with Grab Account Managers. 

Merchant partners will also be able to access data insights, whilst account managers will provide advice on long-term growth plans and provide business insights for the merchant partner’s growth. 

Merchants are also able to subscribe to “Merchant Concierge Service”, a prioritised hotline to get direct assistance to solve any operational issues, Grab said. 

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The GrabMerchant Centre will also regularly organise upskilling workshops to help merchant-partners stay abreast of the latest industry trends and developments. These will also serve as networking sessions to facilitate business connections and a small business community for collective learning, Grab added.