Continuing Grab’s long-term commitment in accelerating the digitalization for local micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), Grab Indonesia has inked a partnership with PT SRC Indonesia Sembilan (SRCIS).

Both parties said in a statement last week that the collaboration enables various digital services from Grab and OVO’s ecosystem to be integrated into AYO SRC application, a digital platform developed by Sampoerna Retail Community (SRC).

According to the statement, by the end of 2022, more than 225,000 traditional retail stores throughout Indonesia had joined SRC’s vast retail networks.

This MSMEs partnership on digitalization was carried out through the availability of OVO QRIS at SRC stores and GrabExpress delivery service in the AYO SRC application, was kicked off with a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed by both parties in Jakarta on Jan 31.

Contributing to more than 60 percent of Indonesia’s gross domestic product (GDP), Grab and SRCIS recognize that MSMEs played a very significant role for the country’s economy.

However, they noted as of May 2022, only 19.5 million MSME were digitalized or equal to around 30 percent from the total of 64 million MSMEs.

As an important part of Indonesian MSMEs, they said the local retail stores need to be empowered, especially to remain competitive in the burgeoning digital era.

They noted the combination of Grab, OVO, and SRC’s vast digital ecosystems is expected to help them become more competitive and continue to positively contribute to the economy in their respective regions.

“This partnership is based on the common mission that Grab and PT SRCIS share, which is to ensure that all segments of the society in Indonesia reap the benefits of digitalization,” said Roy Nugroho, Director of Grab for Business, Grab Indonesia.

According to him, the strategic collaboration between Grab Indonesia and PT SRCIS is part of an effort to help the government achieve its target to digitizing 30 million MSMEs by 2024.

“SRC retail stores can now utilize digital services from the Grab ecosystem including GrabExpress delivery services, sales of various digital products, and the availability of OVO QRIS at their stores,” he added.

Director of PT SRC Indonesia Sembilan, Rima Tanago said the collaboration with Grab
showcases the firm’s commitment to help local MSMEs, especially local retail stores reach their full potential.

“We will continue to create innovations and collaborate with various parties to ensure
that we create positive impacts on local MSME retail stores,

“We hope that the collaboration with Grab would help SRC retail store owners to improve their digital services and fulfill customers’ needs,” he added.

Through this strategic partnership, SRC retail stores will be able to offer third-party delivery services to consumers through the AYO SRC application and expand their delivery coverage using GrabExpress services.

In addition, consumers shopping offline can also enjoy the convenience of using cashless transactions using OVO QRIS.

Both parties hoped that this will help SRC retail stores to be the first choice for customers in fulfilling their daily needs.

They opined that this is also aligned with the government’s program to increase financial inclusion among MSMEs owners.

SRC is modernized retailer members of the PT SRC Indonesia Sembilan (PT SRCIS) partnership program, which is part of PT HM Sampoerna Tbk (Sampoerna).

The program aims to increase MSMEs’ competitiveness through sustainable business development initiatives.

SRC Stores are the representation of modernized retailers with easy-to-recognize store appearance, neater, cleaner, and brighter stores that provides a sense of comfort for their customers compared to grocery stores in general.

The SRC program, which has been started since 2008, currently has an SRC network of more than 225.000 retail stores and is spread across all regions in Indonesia.

OVO as the leading digital payment platform and financial services in Indonesia seeks to increase public access to financial services through products and services that are convenient, safe and affordable.

Embracing more than 1.5 million QRIS merchants in 600+ cities and regencies, the OVO application can be used to access payments, transfers, top up and withdraw funds, as well as insurance, investment and loan services throughout the archipelago.

Founded in 2012, Grab operates digital delivery, mobility and financial services in 480 cities across eight countries in Southeast Asia – Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

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