Grab Philippines has launched a targeted support initiative to help local restaurant owners battle the crippling combination of rising utility bills and surging food costs. The assistance comes as inflation continues to squeeze the profit margins of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) across the country.
To jumpstart business activity, Grab fully funded a one-month demand-boost campaign from May 21 to June 20 for select homegrown food merchants. This allowed participating restaurants to attract customers with special deals without sacrificing their already thin profits. The initiative yielded immediate results, with two out of three participating merchants seeing a spike in order volumes, most of them celebrating double-digit growth. On average, successful businesses saw a 30 percent increase in orders, while the top-performing partners experienced a massive growth surge between 145 percent and 158 percent.
Grab Philippines chief commercial officer EJ dela Vega emphasized that local merchants did not need business advice during these tough times; they needed actual orders and protected margins. He noted that by shouldering the costs of the promotional campaigns, Grab aimed to help these businesses keep their doors open while the daily math of running a restaurant was stacked against them.
Beyond driving up delivery orders, Grab introduced critical measures to alleviate cash flow pressures linked to the country’s ongoing energy challenges. Hard-hit merchants were offered debt relief options, such as alternative payment schedules and loan holidays for those with existing cash loans through the platform.
Looking toward long-term resilience, the company is also equipping MSMEs with modern business tools. Through its Grab Asenso: Digital Diskarte Program, run in partnership with local government units, Grab trains business owners in digital marketing, social media strategies, and basic AI fundamentals. Additionally, the platform is boosting physical storefronts through Grab In-Store Solutions+, which helps restaurants handle digital payments and launch dine-in promotions to increase foot traffic.
While the specific one-month promotional campaign has concluded, Grab leaders stated that this targeted intervention reflects their ongoing commitment to supporting partners during economic uncertainties. The restaurant relief effort follows a similar blueprint to the company’s previous 350-million-peso Bayanihan Fund, which aided driver-partners during extreme fuel price hikes.
