Grab boosts GrabForGood Fund with US$3.2 million for giving-back programmes in S-E Asia

[SINGAPORE] Ride-hailing company Grab has boosted its GrabForGood Fund with US$3.2 million for 2026, which will go towards programmes in South-east Asia related to education, community care and disaster relief.

The fund was established as an endowment fund and announced in 2021. It had an initial pledge of US$275 million in cash and shares, and was anchored by a personal contribution of more than US$16 million from Grab group CEO and co-founder Anthony Tan.

“We started the GrabForGood Fund to provide a foundation for people across South-east Asia,” he said. “In 2026, we aim for these programmes to be the stepping stones for better opportunities.”

In education, the fund will support the flagship GrabScholar programme, which provides full-ride university scholarships and school bursaries across five South-east Asian countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. It is open to driver and merchant-partners and their immediate family members, as well as children from underserved backgrounds.

In Singapore, Grab offers Emerald Circle Scholarships – bond-free awards for children of driver and delivery partners to study at local universities, as well as other bursaries.

Cheryl Goh, group head of marketing, sustainability, loyalty and support at Grab, told The Business Times in end-April: “Education is the most proven pathway to long-term socioeconomic mobility, which is why our programmes aim to support students all the way from primary school through university.”

Since GrabScholar was launched in 2022, it has supported more than 8,200 recipients across the region. 

In 2025 alone, Grab awarded 117 full-ride university scholarships and nearly 3,500 bursaries, and expanded GrabScholar to Thailand and Vietnam.

For community care, the company works with local partners across South-east Asia to fund community programmes.

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“This localised approach takes time to get right, but we believe it produces more meaningful and sustainable impact than a one-size-fits-all model,” Goh said.

For example, the GrabForGood Fund supports the Dietary Supplementation Programme, launched by non-governmental organisation Rise Against Hunger Philippines. It will provide daily rice-soy meals to more than 2,600 children to improve their nutrition.

“Our involvement in nutrition is rooted in something more fundamental,” she added. “When a child is well-fed and able to focus in school, we are helping to lay the foundations for a more resilient, upwardly mobile generation.”

On disaster relief, Goh said that Grab maintains a “ready-response fund to mobilise quickly when communities need it most”. This is especially important as South-east Asia is vulnerable to climate-related disasters, flooding and typhoons.

“Since 2021, we have provided support to these communities through major crises including Covid-19 and numerous regional natural disasters,” she added.

In 2025, Grab deployed more than US$500,000 across the region to support community resilience and recovery efforts.

Goh noted: “Our focus for the year ahead isn’t about chasing new trends, but about deepening the impact where it matters most.

“In line with our mission to drive economic empowerment in the region, our approach is deliberately holistic: spanning income and livelihood opportunities, financial inclusion, community well-being through health and nutrition, and environmental resilience.”