Grab seems like it's an important player in the digital scene in Southeast Asia. But what impact does it have in rural space? I'm looking for papers or personal insights.
I can only share with you my traveling experiences in 2019 and the first weeks of 2020 (I have returned to Macao on January 19 at the start of the pandemic crisis). In Indonesia, I had access to Grab in Jakarta and Yogyakarta, but not in small towns and rural areas. The same happened in Vietnam: I accessed Grab transportation services in Danang, but they were not available in Haiphong and other smaller towns. These are large countries with huge populations, so I presume that GRAB will concentrate services, mainly transportation and food delivery, in the large metropolitan areas. As you know, in Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, or Laos, transportation in rural areas and small towns uses motorbikes and bicycles, while food is easily offered by countless peddlers and simple booths. I don't foresee any online services able in the next coming years to change these long-term sociabilities and economic patterns.
Grab is a growing unicorn. the expansion to rural areas depends on the extension of high speed internet connections. Compared with other regions, there are challenging archipelagic topography of the distributed population especially the hilly or off shore little islands. Therefore, from business point of view of ROI, the grab will mostly focus in urban or semi urban areas for the time being.
Thank you very much. As with the other reply, this helps a lot. I'll wait and see if we get any more and then I'll try to bring things together, possibly with more questions! Really appreciate yours and Ivo Carneiro de Sousa response.