Ride-hailing company Grab Indonesia introduced Thursday a new app called GrabMerchant, aimed as a one-stop service platform that allows MSMEs, including those in food and beverage business, to digitally manage their operational hours, orders, employees, as well as menu and promotions.

“We developed this feature because we understand that our partnering merchants face difficulties in accessing a purchasing network to meet their supply needs,” Hadi Surya Koe, the head of marketing at Grab Indonesia, said at a virtual press briefing on Thursday.

Food and beverage businesses partnering with Grab can also benefit from the grocery feature to purchase staple supplies at a special price, the company announced.

To do so, Grab Indonesia, which has recorded 187 million app downloads, cooperates with online grocery marketplace TaniHub and Sayurbox to provide next-day delivery of the supplies to its 100,000 merchants in seven cities.

Small businesses, which contribute around 60 percent of the country’s economy, are losing sales because of the coronavirus restrictions, which are now being phased out in some places.

The government has also allocated part of its Rp 641.17 trillion (US$45.1 billion) economic recovery stimulus to soften the impact of COVID-19 on micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). For example, it has earmarked Rp 34.15 trillion in interest payment subsidies for ultra-micro businesses under the government’s UMi and Mekaar programs.

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