Grab Ventures seeks startups that help farmers and small businesses

Grab recently announced that it is accepting the second batch of startups for its accelerator program, Grab Ventures Velocity (GVV).

The latest iteration has two tracks. The first track focuses on helping farmers through more efficient supply chains for fresh produce. The second track revolves around assisting small businesses to boost incomes, simplify operations, and reduce costs.

The application deadline is May 15, and the program runs from June to August.

Photo credit: Grab

“During the program, we do light-touch product integrations to feature their solutions within Grab’s ecosystem. For Grab, this provides information on customer interest in a particular vertical and also the startup’s solution,” says Aditi Sharma, head of investments and programs at Grab Ventures.

“For the startup, access to Grab’s ecosystem is a valuable test as it shows how they can evolve their product capabilities to match the demands of a large user base and also acquire new users in the process,” she adds.

Grab is in talks with three of the five startups in batch one of GVV regarding further collaboration.

GVV accepts post-seed startups with demonstrable traction and a deployable product. Grab has committed to investing US$250 million in Indonesia through Grab Ventures, its innovation arm. It plans to run GVV in 2020 and beyond.

Update on 20 Apr: The article earlier stated that Grab has committed US$250 million to Grab Ventures. That’s actually the amount that Grab has committed to investing in Indonesia through Grab Ventures.