Grab Advances 'Tech For Good' Agenda at WEF; Contributes to New Industry Guidelines

PR82699

DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan. 31, 2020 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

Grab, Southeast Asia's leading super app, today convened global leaders on the

sidelines of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, to

discuss the roles and expectations of technology companies in using "technology

for good" to drive society forward. Grab also contributed to the development of

two sets of industry guidelines that outlined best practices around the nascent

industry of the platform economy and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.

Photo - https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20200122/2698389-1-a

Photo - https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20200122/2698389-1-b

The Grab-hosted event, "Unlocking Technology for Good", was attended by

influential figures across the public and private sectors. His Excellency Luhut Pandjaitan,

Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for Maritime and Investment Affairs, opened the event

(full transcript here [https://www.grab.com/sg/press/others/grab-advances-tech-for-good-agenda-at-wef-contributes-to-new-industry-guidelines/ ])

by calling for closer collaboration between governments and the private sector

to "utilize technology for the advancement of the economic and social improvements

for our citizens". He advised that "the best way for governments and tech industry leaders like

Grab to work together is to use tech for good, and commit to a common goal of building

for future generations - developing quality human capital and solving long-term problems

like air pollution by developing an Electric Vehicle ecosystem."

Grab's Group CEO and Co-founder, Anthony Tan also hosted a panel discussion

with His Excellency Airlangga Hartarto, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs,

Republic of Indonesia; Sanjay Poonen, Chief Operating Officer, VMWare;

Michael Froman, Chairman of Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth and

Vice-Chairman and President of Strategic Growth; and Peggy Johnson, Executive

Vice President of Business Development, Microsoft.

His Excellency Airlangga Hartarto, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs,

Republic of Indonesia said, "First, we want to create policies that facilitate

the growth of the innovation and tech-based economy, including digital platform

businesses like Grab. Technology will play a key role for the implementation of Industry 4.0,

and open up access to financial services for all - to make financial inclusion a reality."

Minister Airlangga added, "Second, we want our regulations to be

investment-friendly, while continuing to uphold the principles of good

governance, particularly on the issue of data protection."

Grab contributes to guidelines for the responsible use of new technologies

Through the World Economic Forum platform, Grab signed onto "The Charter of

Principles for Good Platform Work" [https://www.weforum.org/press/2020/01/leading-platform-companies-commit-to-principles-on-good-platform-work ],

which furthers its advocacy for responsible digital platform practices that benefit workers.

Supported by global platform companies, the Charter aims to provide a guide for all stakeholders,

including governments, platform companies and workers themselves, to collaborate on

initiatives that enhance the wellbeing of platform workers, based on key principles for

good platform work. Good practices by platform companies, for example, Grab's Break

the Silence initiative to expand inclusion by supporting the deaf and others with ability

impairments to use its platform for income opportunities, and efforts to bridge ASEAN's

digital skills gap with digital literacy and upskilling training opportunities for its driver-partners,

were also highlighted as examples for others in the industry to consider and emulate.

Grab also helped to shape the second edition Model AI Government Framework

[https://www.imda.gov.sg/news-and-events/Media-Room/Media-Releases/2020/Singapore-and-World-Economic-Forum-driving-AI-Adoption-and-Innovation ]

released by the Info-communications Media Development Authority of Singapore,

and contributed a use case example to help organisations implement the Model

Framework. As an "AI-everywhere" organisation, Grab uses AI across its platform

to solve problems in Southeast Asia, such as stamping out fraudulent transactions

and allocating rides and food orders more efficiently. By sharing the collective learnings

of Grab's over 300 strong AI and data science workforce, Grab hopes to inspire creative

problem-solving using AI, and encourage responsible deployment of AI.

"Applying new technologies can have a profound impact on the lives and

livelihoods of people. Over 20 percent of our driver-partners did not work

prior to joining the Grab platform. By helping more people earn incomes,

Grab contributed nearly US$6 billion to the Southeast Asia economy in

the past year," said Anthony Tan, Group CEO & Co-founder, Grab.

"Yet the widening digital divide in developing markets and debates over the ethical

use of tech reflects that tech companies can do more to step up as responsible

industry players. Grab believes in taking a proactive approach to self-regulate in

the interest of improving our partners' livelihoods. We are proactively committing

to a set of key principles for good platform work and AI deployment, and hope it can

serve as a useful basis for governments and other industry players to begin collaborating

on solutions," added Anthony.

The above initiatives are an extension of the company's "Grab for Good" programme,

where it commits to bringing digital literacy and inclusion to 3 million Southeast Asians

by 2025, helping an additional 5 million traditional businesses and small merchants digitise

their workflows, and training 20,000 students through tech talent initiatives in partnership

with educational institutions, non-profit organisations and leading technology companies.

About Grab

Grab is the leading everyday super app in Southeast Asia, providing everyday

services that matter most to consumers. Today, the Grab app has been downloaded

onto over 166 million mobile devices, giving users access to over 9 million drivers,

merchants and agents. Grab offers the widest range of on-demand transport services

in the region, in addition to food, package delivery, digital payments and financial services,

across 339 cities in eight Southeast Asian countries.

For more information, see: http://www.grab.com.  

Source: Grab