Grab plans to grow a talent of 200 to help expand its presence in Myanmar

Southeast Asian ride-hailing giant Grab is pumping US$100 million over the next three years into growing its Myanmar market share.

It aims to roll out a suite of Grab products including its e-payment platform GrabPay in the country. Grab will also build a local team of 200 to lead expansion efforts into other cities.

Currently, Grab is only available in Myanmar’s capital, Yangon. In an official press release, Grab claimed that it logs 25,000 unique bookings in the city daily. It added that it currently has a fleet of over 6,000 “trained and licensed” Myanmar Grab drivers.

Grab first launched in Myanmar in March this year. One of its first initiatives was to work with mapping provider HERE Technologies to help improve traffic management in Yangon.

And while GrabPay has yet to launch in the country, Grab is already in partnership with CB Bank and Wave Money to make transactions seamless for its drivers; they also receive discounted mobile data plans and free personal accident insurance.

Grab has also already rolled out its corporate transport management solution, Grab For Work, in the country.

Moving forward, Grab will not only work with local governments to expand its ride-hailing service to more cities, it will also expand its 24/7 call centres.

“The Yangon government wants to have a good taxi operating system in the city, especially one that is secure and safe for both passengers and drivers. That is why all taxi companies need to build in safety and security features into their own systems…[and will] need to employ technology solutions. We recognise the efforts of Grab taxi so far and we would like to thank them again for coming to Myanmar,” said U Phyo Min Thein, Chief Minister, Yangon Regional Government, at a press conference.

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“I would also like to ask of Grab not just to consider providing services to passengers, but to build its drivers’ capacity to provide the best service to passengers, and building their language and business skills, so that taxi drivers can be proud of the service they provide,” he added.

“Grab in Yangon has taken off at an incredible pace. This demonstrates the massive and immediate potential of this fast-growing market,” said Anthony Tan, Grab’s co-founder and CEO.

Myanmar is the latest battleground in the Southeast Asian ride-hailing wars. Grab’s chief rival, Uber, entered the country in May this year by partnering with licensed taxi services — allowing it to avoid any of the legal quagmires it embroiled itself in in many other markets globally.

The two ride-hailing titans also have to contend with a local ride-hailing startup, Hello Cabs, which raised high 7-digit investment from Nay Min Thu, founder of iMyanmar Group, in April this year.

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Image Credit: Grab

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