Grab Ventures has confirmed taking a minority stake in HappyFresh
After rumours about investment going around following the partnership between the two companies, Grab’s Chris Yeo finally confirmed the news
Ride-hailing giant Grab confirmed to have taken a minority stake in grocery delivery startup HappyFresh through its venture arm, Grab Ventures. The news is confirmed by Grab Ventures’ head Chris Yeo, as reported by Deal Street Asia.
In July, Grab announced a partnership with the grocery delivery service as their strategy to become a one-stop solution platform for its users, and it launched GrabFresh.
Yeo said that Grab prefers significant minority stakes, with investment targets of about $5-15 million at Series A stage and onwards.
“We think it’s best for both companies if we take a minority stake first. We will then support them through our platform, networks and capital. Over time, if we see that there’s a great fit, we may go for a larger stake in them,” Yeo added.
Also Read: [Updated] Grab reportedly invests in HappyFresh following recent partnership
HappyFresh is one of many partnerships Grab made in the last several months. Earlier, Grab announced a partnership with Vietnam’s digital payment service Moca, and with other services such as online healthcare, news content, and payments.
The company shared that its entering into partnerships with one company after another is their way to support higher-risk startups to scale up. The move is justified as the company has increased its presence to eight countries and 237 cities across Southeast Asia.
However, Grab doesn’t target for company acquisition with its venture. “The purpose of Grab Ventures is to enable, not acquire and control companies. What we want to do is find ways to dramatically lower costs to enable growth,” said Grab president Ming Maa during a fireside chat at the Asia PE-VC Summit 2018.
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Grab Ventures reportedly has received over 300 startup inquiries and will make 8-10 investments over the next two years. Grab has announced US$250 million will go to startups in Indonesia as one of its core markets.
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Image Credit: HappyFresh
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