GRAB, a ride sharing and hailing service much like Uber, already has a major presence in Southeast Asia, but with a major investment of over $10 million dollars they are looking to expand operations considerably in this country.

Already one of the most popular ride sharing and hailing services available, GRAB hasn’t been able to upend Uber as the premier option in Southeast Asia just yet, but major influxes of cash and investments in communities, advertising, and infrastructure show that they aren’t content with being the number two option any longer.

GRAB has had a bit of a tenuous relationship with some of the other countries in the region, but for the most part Singapore has been very supportive of this company and their mission. As one of the most forward thinking and tech savvy countries in the world, it’s easy to see why Singapore would be so supportive. All the same, it’s tough to imagine ANY nation ignoring a cash influx of this magnitude, especially in the current economic condition the world finds itself in.

Putting Uber square in its sights

Uber has had a really rocky time expanding outside of North America and Western Europe, meeting roadblocks from unfavorable business environments and government regulatory bodies that aren’t as excited about upending the apple cart of the traditional taxi industry the way this company has been known to.

In Singapore the relationship with Uber has been described as lukewarm. The country is happy to improve and invest in new technology that allows it to lean into the future faster than other countries (especially in Southeast Asia), but at the same time Uber has been reluctant to really commit to the people of Singapore the way they have elsewhere.

GrabCar doesn’t have that problem.

A significant amount of the S$10 million that will be injected into the Singapore economy is going to go towards infrastructure to support GRAB, but it’s also aimed at helping people who are interested in making money with this service – as drivers – do exactly that.

Permitting in Singapore requires people to have specific licenses and paperwork to work for this company, and the GrabDriver initiative is designed to help pay for those licenses and to process paperwork more efficiently.

It’s obvious that GrabCar is looking to make this major injection to help the people of Singapore while better supporting their company and their services. As more and more people look to take advantage of these kinds of ride sharing and ride hailing services (as opposed to the more traditional taxi process) GRAB is banking on investments like this helping put them at the top of the list when these choices have to be made by consumers.

Though still too early to see how everything is going to shake out for a company like GRAB, investments like this will always be rewarded – not only by the people of Singapore looking for more options in this market, but also by the Singapore government that is excited about helping countries that are looking to help the local economy.