- Grab — a ride-hailing, food delivery, and digital payment company — has added Experian as a strategic investor in its Series H round
Ride-hailing, food delivery, and digital payment company Grab has added another strategic investor to its Series H round of funding: credit agency rating company Experian.
“We are proud to have Experian join our growing list of strategic investors who are convinced that they should join hands with Grab to unlock more opportunities for the unbanked and underserved communities to use our mobility-enabled solutions and financial services on the Grab Platform, enabling our customers to gain access to the digital economy and improve their livelihoods,” said Grab Financial Group Senior Managing Director Reuben Lai.
This investment will enable both companies to serve the more than one billion individuals who are still unbanked across Asia. And the strategic partnership will also enable both companies to harness their technologies and data analytics to sharpen the way Grab customizes its offerings for users, which includes improving access to loans for aspiring entrepreneurs across the region.
“Our mission has always been centered around helping the unbanked and underbanked population gain financial access with the use of data. Through leveraging data insights and collaboration with local partners, such as Grab, we aim to better understand and meet the financial needs of unbanked and underbanked consumers in the region. This investment in Grab takes us a step further to realizing this ambition,” added Experian managing director of Southeast Asia & Emerging Markets Dev Dhiman.
Grab started out raising its Series H round of funding back in June 2018, according to Crunchbase. And since then, Grab saw almost a dozen companies join the round including Microsoft, SoftBank, Invesco, Hyundai, and Tokyo Century.
“We have a vision for the future of financial services, one that is powered by technology and alternative data. We want to transform the way consumers and businesses seek out financial products and services. This partnership with Grab, alongside our existing investments in the region, helps to build on our promise of matching the demand and supply of financial access to all consumers and businesses, driving greater financial inclusion,” explained Experian Asia Pacific CEO Ben Elliott.
Grab is planning to close its Series H round of funding by the end of 2019 at around $6.5 billion. While this may sound excessive, its rival Asia-based rival Didi raised more than $20 billion in funding and California-based rival Uber brought in more than $24 billion in funding before it went public.
