Dear reader,
In 2023, Grab solidified its dominance in Southeast Asia’s food delivery market, capturing a remarkable 55% of the gross merchandise value, as reported by Momentum Works. While Grab witnessed a robust 6.8% y-o-y GMV growth, competitors Foodpanda and Gojek faced a decline of 12.9% and 10%, respectively. Despite Grab serving only 5% of the region’s 600 million population as monthly transacting customers, the report emphasises an extensive untapped user base for food delivery apps in Southeast Asia.
The region’s food delivery expenditure reached a noteworthy US$17.1 billion, with a 5% y-o-y increase. Vietnam emerged as the growth leader, boasting a substantial 28% GMV surge, followed by Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia, while Singapore’s growth stagnated.
F&B spending rebounded beyond pre-pandemic levels, but the report linked closures and cost-cutting among premium brands to macro uncertainties. Amid this landscape, companies are diversifying strategies, with consolidation remaining a common thread.
Notably, Chinese F&B brands like Luckin Coffee and Cotti Coffee are entering the region, anticipating further growth opportunities. Jianggan Li, CEO of Momentum Works, sees ample room for expansion in Southeast Asia’s food delivery sector, citing robust F&B consumption, low delivery penetration, and ongoing consolidation as key growth drivers.
Sainul,
Editor.
NEWS ARTICLES
Grab captured 55% of SEA’s food delivery market in 2023: report
While Grab grew 6.8% year on year in terms of GMV in 2023, its closest competitors, Foodpanda and Gojek, declined by 12.9% and 10% year on year, respectively; Overall, SEA’s food delivery expenditure topped US$17.1B, growing by 5% y-o-y.
SoftBank Ventures Asia changes name to SBVA after closing US$150M fund
The new Alpha Korea Fund’s LPs include Korea Development Bank, SoftBank Group, and Hanwha Life; This comes after Singapore-based The Edgeof acquired SoftBank Ventures Asia last year.
Vertex Growth leads Korean startup Elice’s US$15M funding round
Elice will use the capital to expand into APAC and strengthen its AI research capabilities by building a large-scale AI Data centre in Busan; Elice focuses on delivering an integrated B2B and B2G educational platform and content for institutional clients.
InnoVen Capital launches second China fund, aiming for US$250M
The company said it has already secured around half of this amount; This adds to InnoVen’s increased efforts in expanding outside Singapore and India, where the venture debt firm also has offices.
Singapore’s university launches US$3.2M micro-innovation fund for students
The programme, which got its name from the award-winning reality television series Shark Tank, will encourage students to incubate new ideas and innovate through design; Every student team stands to receive US$4,475 as part of the initiative.
Singapore healthtech startup Mesh Bio raised funding
East Ventures is the investor; Mesh Bio will use the funds to expand its services in Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines; It runs a health intelligence platform called Dara, which provides real-time patient data such as health history, lab tests, and medical images.
Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal leaves board
Binny Bansal, who reserved the right to stay on the board for as long as he preferred, cited a conflict of interest with his new venture as the reason for the move; Sachin Bansal, Flipkart’s other co-founder, left the board in 2018 after scuffling with the investors.
Singapore, Google launch initiatives to foster local AI tech scene
One of these initiatives is the second edition of AI Trailblazers, which provides organisations with access to Google Cloud’s unified AI stack and its Innovation Sandbox programme to create and implement their own generative AI solutions.
ChatGPT is violating Europe’s privacy laws, Italian DPA tells OpenAI
The firm has been told it’s suspected of violating EU privacy, following a multi-month investigation of ChatGPT by Italy’s data protection authority; OpenAI has been given 30 days to respond with a defence against the allegations.
Byju’s cuts valuation ask by 99% in rights issue amid cash crunch
The startup is looking to raise US$200M in the rights issue ‘essential to prevent any further value impairment’; If it succeeds in raising US$200M, its post-money valuation will be in the range of US$220M to US$225M.
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The post Ecosystem Roundup: Grab dominated SEA’s food delivery market in 2023 | SBVA closes new US$150M fund appeared first on e27.