Myanmar

Yoma Strategic and Grab Form Strategic Partnership in Myanmar’s Taxi Sector

Yoma and Grab jointly announce that they have signed a strategic framework agreement.

The partnership will focus on upgrading the fleet of taxis in Myanmar, together with the provision of vehicle financing for Grab’s driver-partners.

Myanmar’s ride-hailing industry has been developing quickly alongside the exponential growth in the country’s internet penetration and smartphone usage. Since Grab’s entry into Myanmar in March 2017, it has gained a leadership position in the ride-hailing market and aims to continue supporting the transformation of the transportation sector.

This includes improving taxi standards, safety, and transport efficiency to offer the best experience for passengers, as well as increasing the incomes of the driver- partners and providing them with access to better quality vehicles.

The partnership with Yoma Strategic is an extension of Grab’s vision, as many of the approximately 70,000 taxis in Yangon, require upgrading to newer car models, along with better and regular maintenance.

Commenting on the partnership, Mr. Melvyn Pun, Yoma Strategic’s Chief Executive Officer said,

Melvyn Pun

“We are excited to enter this exciting partnership with Grab, one of the largest ride-hailing companies.

This partnership will complement Yoma Fleet to provide vehicle rentals to Grab’s driver-partners, helping to improve the quality of the vehicles, driver service and safety standards for taxis in Yangon.”

Mr Russell Cohen, Head of Regional Operations, Grab, said,

“Myanmar is a very important market for us. We look forward to collaborating with Yoma Strategic to further improve transportation here and meet the growing user demand by enhancing leasing and rental car options for our valued GrabTaxi drivers across our platform.”

In January 2018, Grab launched a new service in Myanmar named GrabTaxi Plus. This new service is being offered by Grab to provide more comfortable rides and features Grab’s top drivers who drive better cars which offer a more pleasant ride experience. Grab launched this service to encourage drivers to maintain the highest standards of vehicle quality and maintenance, in return for higher earnings.

Grab also recently launched its Grab for Business service to offer companies a seamless and productive way to manage their employees’ transport spending. Tens of thousands of businesses across Southeast Asia including more than 50 companies in Myanmar are using Grab for Business today. As more people in Yangon use GrabTaxi in Yangon for their daily transportation, Grab for Business is ideal for companies to manage their employees’ business trips.

The partnership with Yoma Strategic will support both Grab’s GrabTaxi Plus and Grab for Business services as its GrabTaxi driver-partners use better quality vehicles in the near future. Grab is Southeast Asia’s leading on-demand transportation and mobile payments platform with more than 81 million app downloads and over 2.4 million drivers across its network.

Grab currently operates its ride-hailing app services in 178 cities across eight Southeast Asian countries – Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar and Cambodia.

Grab’s core product platform includes transport solutions for drivers and passengers with an emphasis on convenience, safety and reliability, as well as its proprietary mobile payments platform, GrabPay, which is increasing access to mobile payment solutions for millions of Grab riders and drivers across Southeast Asia and deepening financial inclusion in the region.

Featured image via Pixabay