#11: Grab President Ming Maa on Mission, Growth and Hyper-localization

Welcome to another episode of The Coral Capital Podcast, a show about startups, technology, and venture capital with a focus on Japan and Asia.

This episode is a fireside chat with Ming Maa, the Group President of Grab. Initially established as a taxi-hailing app in Malaysia back in 2012, Grab has evolved into the leading super app in Southeast Asia and the region's first decacorn. It empowers the region's economy through a diverse range of services, including transportation, delivery, and finance. As President, Ming is responsible for corporate development activities, such as strategic partnerships and investment opportunities at Grab. Ming has over 12 years of experience in private equity investment at Softbank Group, Ancora Capital Management, and Goldman Sachs. During his tenure at Softbank, based in Tokyo, he oversaw investments in the ridesharing and e-commerce sectors, including Softbank’s Series D and Series F investments into Grab. 

In this episode, we discuss:

• How Grab started as a for-profit, social enterprise

• What is a super app and how Grab approached its super app strategy

• What differentiated Grab from Kuaidi Dache and OlaCabs

• How hyper-localization wins customers and markets

• How Grab hyper localized to beat Uber

• Experimenting and measuring platform success

• Concentrating on the North Star

• Strategic investments through Grab Ventures