Grab launches regional centre of excellence in KL

The tech and engineering team in Malaysia’s R&D Centre will focus on building trust and safety solutions. Grab added that it will also “doubles down on its global investments in more advanced technology, data science, artificial intelligence and machine learning to make every ride, every delivery order, every financial transaction that takes place on [its] platform safer and more secure”. As such, the Malaysian tech and engineering team “will play a pivotal role in setting a high bar for safety standards in Southeast Asia” to achieve its ultimate goal of zero preventable incidents on the platform.

“Malaysia is proud that it is the birthplace of a technology unicorn like Grab. Grab represents innovation, tenacity, creativity, a keen sense for business, and hard work –  values that the government aims to cultivate among Malaysian tech companies. We are happy to see Grab contributing back to Malaysia and committing to nurturing local tech talents and facilitating knowledge transfer through its R&D centre. As an everyday super app for Malaysians, Grab not only serves local transportation needs through its ride-hailing offering, but also plays a pivotal role in empowering local businesses through its delivery and payments platforms,” said Datuk Darell Leiking, Minister of International Trade and Industry at the launch.

He added that moving forward, this is what Malaysia needs to realise its digital economy goals. “More Malaysian companies who have done well at the global stage [need] to heed the Ministry’s clarion call for quality investment back home to develop the nation, by creating high-value jobs and nurturing the next generation of Malaysian entrepreneurs,” he added.

The minister added that the local government will continue to chart Malaysia’s digital transformation towards achieving greater economic prosperity and societal well-being. In this context, the National Policy on Industry 4.0 (Industry4WRD) and the National e-Commerce Strategic Roadmap (NeSR) are the key blueprints to “attract, create and transform” the industry.

In particular, this entails attracting key enabling technologies to create the right digital ecosystem; transforming the manufacturing and services sectors into agile sectors, and enabling Malaysian entrepreneurs to become e-commerce ready. “Therefore, the government encourages continued collaboration between the public and private sectors, in realising the action plans set out in both blueprints, for our mutual benefits,” he added.

Sean Goh, country head for Grab Malaysia added that anchoring the RCoE in Malaysia was in response to the Malaysian government’s call for public-private partnerships to help drive Malaysia’s Industry 4.0 blueprint and digital economy ambitions.

“We are committed to helping Malaysia unlock greater economic gains by creating high-value jobs, nurturing deep tech talents, and attracting more Malaysians overseas to return home. We have always remembered our roots, as Malaysia is where we founded Grab almost seven years ago, with the simple goal of solving the problem of transportation safety. Now that we have grown beyond ride-hailing to become the leading SEA’s everyday super app, it is natural for us to contribute back to the country where we first started,” Goh said.

Grab is committed to contributing to Malaysia’s Industry 4.0 blueprint in the following areas:

-Shared, Seamless and Smart mobility solution for all: It aims to make transportation more accessible for all Malaysians and work closely with governments, public and private transportation providers to serve the first-mile-last-mile transportation needs of Malaysians.

-Better livelihoods and income-earning opportunities for driver-partners: 86% of Grab’s current driver-partners supplement their income part-time with Grab. These driver-partners earn 37% more supplementary income with Grab, on top of their day-to-day jobs. GrabTaxi driver-partners also earn 10% more daily income compared to the past when they can only rely on street-hails and regular taxi bookings. Grab aims to offer increased income-earning opportunities, greater financial support, better technology tools and skills training, and more community activities for them and their loved ones.

-Digital shop fronts for GrabFood, GrabRewards and GrabPay merchant partners: Grab aims to empower micro-entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized businesses to set up their digital presence on Grab app and leverage its user base and distribution network to earn higher business revenue.

-Access to GrabPlatform to help like-minded start-ups and partners scale their business: Partners can either build their services into GrabPlatform or integrate Grab’s suite of technology and products into their own websites or apps, for example GrabPay for mobile payments, GrabExpress for logistics, or GrabProfiles for user authentication. This will give partners direct access to Grab users and help scale their business faster.