Bukalapak, Grab team up to support Indonesian kiosks amid pandemic

Ecommerce giant Bukalapak and ride-hailing titan Grab have announced a strategic partnership that aims to empower small-business owners, particularly traditional kiosks, affected by the large-scale social restrictions that have been enforced in several regions in Indonesia.

Photo credit: Bukalapak

Through the collaboration, GrabKios will provide digital products on the Mitra Bukalapak platform that kiosk owners and agents can sell, giving them an additional source of income. Currently, there are more than 5 million members and agents on Mitra Bukalapak throughout the country.

“We know that many of these traditional kiosks are struggling as a result of the pandemic. At the same time, we have seen the dependencies on digital services grow as more people stay at home,” said GrabKios head Agung Nugroho.

Digital kiosks enabler Kudo rebranded to GrabKios last year after it was acquired by the ride-hailer in 2017. The program allows small businesses to provide additional services such as mobile top-ups, bill payments, Grab driver registration, and money transfers.

Mitra Bukalapak works in the same manner as GrabKios, allowing roadside kiosks to sell Bukalapak-powered digital goods to offline customers.

The micro, small, and medium enterprise sector is the backbone of Indonesia’s economy, contributing 60% of the country’s GDP and making up roughly 70% of its workforce. Apart from that, 99% of businesses in Indonesia are MSMEs, of which 89% are at the micro level.

Late last year, Bukalapak announced a partnership with Google My Business to bolster its Warung Mitra Bukalapak program. As part of the tie-up, registered Mitra Bukalapak kiosks started appearing in Google search results, including Google Maps.