As more countries place their citizens on lockdown to mitigate the spread of Covid-19, Grab announced it is providing additional relief initiatives to financially support its drivers, delivery partners, and merchant partners.
According to a statement, senior Grab leaders will take a pay cut of up to 20% to help the business and its partners cope with the negative impact of the pandemic. Employees will also donate to fund the company’s Partner Relief Initiatives.
Photo credit: Grab
“The Covid-19 pandemic has caused immense financial anxiety amongst our driver-, delivery-, and merchant-partner community,” said Anthony Tan, group CEO and co-founder of Grab. “We want to do our part to support our partners. Thus, we have expanded our Partner Relief Initiatives to aid partners most directly impacted by this crisis.”
Over the past two weeks, the ride-hailing giant said it has expanded its financial assistance from Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam to Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, and the Philippines. Through the scheme, Grab will pay out a sum to drivers and delivery partners who are hospitalized or quarantined due to Covid-19.
The company has also started providing relief measures for its GrabFood merchants. It will self-fund and partner with third parties to help select merchants with their marketing programs.
As more countries and cities restrict public movement, Grab has seen an increased demand for delivery of food, parcels, and daily essentials as well as a decline in its ride-hailing business. In response, Grab will expand its GrabMart and GrabAssistant services to more countries in the coming weeks to open up additional income opportunities for its partners.
GrabMart will expand to the Philippines, Myanmar, and Cambodia, while GrabAssistant will be available in more cities and countries such as the Philippines, Indonesia, and Thailand. The on-demand concierge service will also relaunch in Vietnam over the next few weeks.
“We need to band together as a society – businesses, leaders, citizens – to combat the worst effects of this pandemic,” said Tan. “Even as our mettle is tested, let us continue to care for each other so we can all emerge from this stronger.”
Grab’s archrival, Gojek, has also created a US$6 million fund to support all its drivers, merchants, and other partners during the pandemic. Gojek’s co-CEOs and senior management will donate 25% of their annual salary as part of the initiative.
Editing by Charmaine de Lazo
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