Singapore-based superapp Grab has acquired a stake in Cambodian food-delivery and e-commerce platform Nham24 to grow food and grocery delivery market in the country.

Grab said in a statement on Monday it has completed a deal to acquire Nham24’s operations in Cambodia, following regulatory approval from the Competition Commission of Cambodia.

Nham24 is a homegrown Cambodian brand, having grown rapidly since its launch in 2016.

The deal brings together their rich local expertise and Grab’s leading technology capabilities, particularly in artificial intelligence (AI), with the aim of fostering greater innovation in the Cambodian market that will benefit local users and everyday entrepreneurs.

“This partnership is forged on shared values. We have deep respect for all that Nham24 has achieved, and are committed to preserving and building on the high quality standards they are loved for,” said Sovannarot Kang (Mike), Country Head of Cambodia.

According to him, Grab’s advantage as a regional superapp is its ability to invest in tech and innovation at scale.

“We intend to harness those abilities to bring greater affordability and convenience to users, higher productivity for drivers, and more inclusive growth for small businesses,” he added.

Borima Chann, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Nham24, said the merger will give the firm the ability to draw on Grab’s strengths in tech and deep research and development (R&D) capabilities to take this to new heights.

According to the statement, the business combination aims to drive sustainable, long-term growth for on-demand services like food delivery, grocery delivery and ride-hailing in Cambodia, creating more opportunities for everyday entrepreneurs.

Merchants of all sizes will benefit from Grab’s investments into a suite of tools including a merchant portal for day-to-day sales management, ads tools and other AI-powered solutions that can help them run their operations more efficiently, reach new consumers, and grow their businesses further – whether online, or offline.

The higher concentration of orders that will result from Grab and Nham24 coming together will also benefit driver- and delivery-partners with more earning opportunities.

This includes opportunities to access jobs across an ecosystem of deliveries and ride-hailing services.

Grab will seek to leverage its advanced map technology and data science capabilities to help driver- and delivery-partners be more productive and improve their earnings.

At the same time, better batching – allowing delivery riders to pick up multiple orders at once – will translate to more affordable solutions for consumers.

Together with Grab’s commitment to constantly improving its tech, access to a joint pool of merchant-partners and delivery-partners also means the best range of choices at all budget points for consumers when it comes to food delivery, and a better user experience through faster allocations and more reliable fulfillment, said the statement.

Meanwhile, both Grab and Nham24 apps will continue to operate independently for the foreseeable future.

Users can continue to place orders through both apps. Grab and Nham24 merchants and drivers can also continue to receive and fulfill orders through each platform.

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