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Grab Ventures Velocity helps start-ups scale up, contribute to Indonesian economy
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Testimony: Grab Indonesia country managing director Neneng Goenadi as well as Grab Ventures Velocity alumnus Qoala COO Tommy Martin and Printerous CEO Kevin Osmond share their stories in improving Indonesia’s start-up ecosystem. (Courtesy of Grab)
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n line with the government’s vision and potential of developing the national start-up industry, leading Southeast Asian superapp Grab is committed to accelerating the industry through Grab Ventures Velocity (GVV).
Launched in 2018, GVV has gone through three batches and helped empower 20 start-ups, 15 of which hail from Indonesia. A number of them have been integrated into the Grab app like Sejasa.com and Sayurbox, while others are readily accessible by GrabFood and GrabMart merchant partners in the ‘Solusi Mitra GrabMerchant’ category.
Grab’s open ecosystem allows start-ups to reach more businesses and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) while also scaling-up together. Success stories include the insurance technology start-up Qoala and printing solution start-up Printerous.
Printerous, a GVV alumnus from the third batch, gained a wider reach and network during the training program, along with assistance in developing its business to better serve customers, particularly MSMEs.
Printerous CEO Kevin Osmond said that as a start-up, self-development and willingness to continue learning was of the utmost importance in fulfilling the market’s needs.
“This has indirectly widened our target market and became our strength and added value as a start-up. The chance to enter accelerator programs like GVV,” he explained.
During the mentorship process, Printerous met with Grab C-Levels executives and experts from several industries. One of the benefits of the programs is developing a mindset to better understand the needs of MSMEs. Since graduating from the program last year, Printerous is now part of the Solusi Mitra GrabMerchant. Printerous’ services are currently focused on fulfilling MSME printing and packaging needs, such as branding, promotional materials, to packaging which are especially vital for culinary MSMEs.
“We realize that Printerous can take part in the MSME development process, and we are happy that our services can help them,” Kevin said.
Meanwhile, Qoala received the chance to join Grab’s ecosystem through GrabKios, expanding the products offered by GrabKios Agents aside from their store and offering smartphone protection plans for Grab driver partners via OVO top-up.
Qoala, which was founded in 2018, started out by offering smartphone protection plans. It has now expanded its lineup to include vehicle, travel, health and life insurance. The product development is a result of Qoala’s journey in the GVV program, entering the second batch in 2019.
Qoala Cofounder and COO Tommy Martin said that among memorable moments in the mentorship program was meeting one-on-one with executives such as Grab Group CEO and Cofounder Anthony Tan and listening to their experiences.
“In a session with Anthony Tan, he shared his experience in developing a ride-hailing company from an app that did not work and pinpointing that very failure so that he could grow to this day,” he said, adding that Qoala also received training in human resources management, marketing, and leadership.
Since graduating from the GVV program, Qoala has experienced massive growth, approximately six or seven times compared from the previous year.
Along with one-on-one workshops and mentorships with C-level executives and experts, start-ups in the GVV program are also given the chance to enter a trial program in the Grab platform for six to eight weeks, allowing greater access to micro-scale entrepreneurs who have joined Grab.
The GVV program is one of Grab’s commitments to bring positive impacts through digital solutions on the Grab platform to accelerate the start-up industry. In line with the GrabForGood mission, Grab is committed to continuously bringing positive impacts to support the growth of MSMEs and the Indonesian government’s efforts in economic recovery through the technology solutions within Grab’s ecosystem.
