Grab Vietnam makes positive contribution in 2023

The year 2023 marked Grab Vietnam's emphasis on strategies to provide high quality, affordable offerings to consumers and introduce more tech innovations to improve productivity for driver-partners on the platform.

By simultaneously implementing these strategies, Grab efficiently operated its platform with sustainable growth, providing long-term benefits for consumers and partners.

In 2023, Grab also intensified its open partnership strategy with top companies in various sectors to strengthen and expand the super-app ecosystem in Vietnam.

Accordingly, Grab has facilitated people's access to the digital platform and the advantages of the digital economy. Amid economic challenges, the Grab platform became a reliable choice, bringing more digital benefits and new earning opportunities to hundreds of thousands of new driver-partners and merchant-partners nationwide.

For some, Grab was the first “gateway” for them to experience email, own a bank account, or access digital financial services.

In addition, it also supports driver-partners in maximising every minute on the Grab platform and making accepting and completing trips as seamless as possible.

Key tech features implemented in 2023 included optimised airport queue experience, Ride Guide, and Share Live Location. Continuous tech innovations helped Grab driver-partners improve productivity and optimise earnings, with the average monthly rides in Q4 2023 increasing more than 14 per cent compared to Q1 2023.

Grab also supports merchant-partners in enhancing digital literacy and increasing revenue online with various tech innovations and booster programmes to help them self-service and manage campaign creation, optimisation and reporting, thus driving more sales.

The average monthly revenue of Grab’s merchant-partners in Vietnam increased more than 22 per cent in Q4/2023 compared to the same period last year.

Another highlight was the introduction of more affordable options to help consumers save even more. Regarding mobility, Grab introduced GrabBike Tiet Kiem and GrabCar Tiet Kiem services where consumers enjoy a significantly lower fare compared to regular GrabBike and GrabCar.

As for food delivery, GrabFood added the Saver delivery option with lower delivery fees for consumers who are willing to accept a slightly longer delivery time. Between March to December 2023, GrabFood consumers in Vietnam have saved nearly VND28 billion ($1.14 million) thanks to Saver delivery.

The company also facilitates the consumption of agricultural products, promoting digital transformation in the agricultural sector. From May to September 2023, nearly 700 tonnes of fruits and agricultural products were sold on GrabMart.

Bringing children in remote areas to school safely is another notable initiative.

Grab, in partnership with The National Fund For Vietnamese Children, launched the construction of two combined spillway bridges in Nam Nhun district, Lai Chau province, with a total implementation budget of $85,000.

The two bridges were inaugurated on January 4, 2024, helping over 7,000 students, teachers, and local people to commute safely and conveniently.

This development also creates better conditions for goods transportation, contributing to the economic growth of the local communities. As of now, the GrabBridge project has successfully constructed eight bridges nationwide.

"In 2023, we have introduced more affordable options for consumers, advanced our tech capability to help our driver-partners improve their productivity and optimise earning opportunities, and provided digital tools to help merchant-partners increase revenue, while still ensuring the sustainability and efficiency of the Grab platform," said Alejandro Osorio, managing director of Grab Vietnam. "This strategy empowered us to drive robust growth in 2023 despite the challenging economic climate, demonstrating the effectiveness of Grab's business strategies and laying the groundwork for stronger growth in 2024."

In 2023, Grab also expanded its partnership strategy with leading companies in various sectors such as digital payments, banking, fintech, and consumer services.

In particular, Grab has become an integrated advertising solutions provider that offers advertisers with multiple channels.

At the SMARTIES VIETNAM 2023 awards ceremony organised by the MMA Global (Global Mobile Marketing Association), Grab won nine awards, including the prestigious Publisher of the Year and Brand of the Year awards.

"With nearly 10 years of operation in Vietnam, Grab has expanded our footprint to over 50 provinces and cities nationwide, serving a large consumer base with an extensive partner network, along with in-depth market insights and world-class tech capabilities. These advantages enable us to provide the best partnership solutions to help our business partners fuel their growth. Partnership strategy will continue to be one of our key focuses, and we look forward to becoming a valuable partner of more companies in more sectors in 2024," Osorio added.

Grab navigates affordability and sustainability Over the past year, Grab has rolled out a number of new initiatives, aimed at benefiting both consumers and driver-partners. Alejandro Osorio, CEO of Grab Vietnam, talked to VIR’s Linh Le about his company's response to the evolving dynamics in the Vietnamese economy, focusing on an affordability strategy to stay relevant in a challenging economic climate.

Grab proposes simplified administrative procedures for ridesharing Grab proposes Vietnam to remove administrative procedures that are hindering the sharing economy, as well as promote the development of electric vehicles.

Delivery apps help Vietnamese consumers discover new restaurants and shops 91 per cent of Vietnamese respondents have used the Grab app to discover new restaurants and shops that they have never tried before, according to Grab’s latest Food & Grocery Trends 2023 report.