Grab launches Singapore-Vietnam accelerator

It comes after Grab, which is backed by a number of PE investors including SoftBank and Tiger Global, earmarked $500 million for development of the Vietnam technology ecosystem across the next five years. Last month, the company received $856 million from a group of Japanese investors targeting a financial technology build-out across Southeast Asia. 

The latest initiative will see Grab partner with Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) to launch the Grab Ventures Ignite accelerator. The program is dedicated to local start-ups looking to expand into Vietnam and is touted as featuring Grab-led “immersion trips” to both Vietnam and Indonesia aimed at developing cultural familiarity and network building. 

Ignite will also offer workshops and mentorships with senior Grab leaders along with opportunities to pitch to other investors. Partners in the accelerator include Chinese VC firm Gobi Partners, Amazon Web Services, Vietnam’s National Innovation Center, and Hanoi-based Toong Coworking Space, as well as Digital Industry Singapore and Pixel, both start-up services units of IMDA.

“We are excited for this partnership, which will allow Singapore-based start-ups to gain a foothold in Vietnam,” Howie Lau, chief industry development officer at IMDA, said in a statement. “Building up the capabilities and creating access for local companies is especially critical in this current climate, where firms must continue digitalizing and innovating to unlock new growth prospects.”

Grab claims to have supported 15 start-ups since it launched its venture unit in mid-2018. These include 500 Startups-backed agriculture technology provider Glife and BookMyShow, an India-headquartered ticketing platform with a strong presence in Southeast Asia. BookMyShow is Grab’s movie and events ticketing partner in Singapore and Indonesia.

Grab is currently raising a Series H round, which has a target of $6.5 billion and values the company at around $10 billion. While it made its name in ride-hailing, the company has concentrated on expanding its online-to-offline offering in recent years. These services include food delivery, last-mile logistics, and electronic payments. Grab began operations in Vietnam in 2014 and claims to be the country’s leading multi-service super app. 

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Save this article  
• Send to  

• Topics
• Southeast Asia
• Early-stage
• Technology
• Singapore
• Vietnam
• Grab
• Gobi Partners
• seed