Grab program hastens MSME digitalization
The digital shift of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) – the backbone of the Philippine economy — is getting a big boost from a new program launched recently by Grab Philippines.
The program will provide MSMEs digital skills, tools and access to demand so they can actively and more efficiently participate in an increasingly digitalized Philippine economy.
Launched in Angeles City, Grab Asenso: A Digital Diskarte Program is a nationwide campaign to speed up the digital shift of MSMEs outside of Metro Manila.
The program combines a multi-city Learning Caravan and the rollout of mobile-first merchant tools inside the GrabMerchant mobile application (app), giving entrepreneurs practical skills and plug-and-play infrastructure to grow online.
MSMEs account for some 99.59 percent of businesses in the Philippines. They employ more people – 65 percent of jobs are in MSMEs – than big corporations.
But, despite the surge in digital use, many of the small businesses have not fully embraced digital technologies and are unable to avail of the convenience, security and speed offered by these advances.
The country’s cash-lite economy has significantly grown. As of 2024, about 57.4 percent of retail payments by volume and 59 percent by value were digital, driven by QR (quick response) PH and instant transfers.
Enabling MSMEs to get into the digital realm of doing business will help the Philippines achieve its goal of inclusive growth, a development strategy that creates opportunities for everyone to participate and share in the benefits of a thriving economy in order to reduce the incidence of poverty and inequality and improve living standards.
CJ Lacsican, Grab Philippines vice president for cities, says, “Progress happens when every entrepreneur, regardless of business size, can fully participate in the digital economy. Grab Asenso goes beyond seminars. We pair hands-on, mobile-based learning with ready-to-use tools–marketing, payments, logistics, and an AI-copilot (artificial intelligence)–-so MSMEs can find consumers, run leaner operations and scale their business faster. When small businesses thrive, supply chains strengthen, jobs multiply and local economies become more vibrant and more resilient.”
Grab Asenso, says Emmy Lou Versoza-Delfin, director of the ICT Industry Development Bureau of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), is a powerful display of digital bayanihan, a modern-day take on the Philippine tradition of community cooperation.
“This initiative is … a testament to our shared belief in the power of digital technology to transform lives and build a brighter future for the Philippines. The DICT and our valued private sector partners like Grab have come together to bridge the digital divide and bring opportunities directly to your doorstep.”
She adds that the program is aligned with DICT’s digital livelihood agenda.
By linking three essential components – skills, tools and access to demand – in one program, Grab Asenso is a significant improvement on other initiatives that provide training or tools only.
Grab Asenso’s launch Angeles City was supported by local governments, DICT Regional Office and Grab merchant-partners. In the coming months, the Asenso Learning Caravan will visit the provinces of Cavite and Bohol and the cities of Baguio, Dumaguete, Iloilo, Bacolod and Cagayan de Oro.
The Asenso Learning Caravan is
designed for real-world use on a smartphone. It will deliver concise modules that MSMEs can apply same-day:
- Mobile-first Digital Marketing. Make and measure social posts, promos, and storefront updates directly through a phone; use basic analytics to improve reach and repeat orders.
- AI 101 for MSMEs. Work with prompt templates to draft product descriptions, promotional captions, menu updates and basic customer insights in minutes inside the GrabMerchant app.
- Financial Growth Planning. Use payout data to set weekly targets, track unit economics and manage cash flow for healthier working capital.
This approach aims to address the adoption gap: 77 percent of Filipino MSMEs want to use more digital tools, but only less than 16% are actively doing so, largely due to lack of skills and perceived complexity of the process.
Embedded in the Grab Merchant app are Asenso tools, the practical infrastructure merchants need to participate confidently and actively in the digital field:
- Payment Solutions: Tap & Scan To Pay turns any NFC-enabled (near-field communication) Android phone or merchant device into a checkout terminal. This will enable MSMEs to accept tap-to-pay cards and QR PH.
Quick activation, competitive fees, seamless payouts and tap-to-reconcile reports will help develop cash-flow discipline. Registered merchants are automatically enrolled in the Income Protection Coverage, which safeguards daily revenue against calamity-related disruptions. The rise of merchant QR acceptance and SoftPOS (software point-of-sale, which allows a merchant to accept contactless payments using a smartphone) globally underscores the timeliness of the initiative. The technology will have its pilot rollout in Angeles City starting in the fourth quarter of 2025.
- Grab Merchant AI Assistant (BETA) is a built-in AI copilot that suggests actions from context (e.g., “run a rainy-day bundle”, “re-order bestsellers”), and tracks simple customer trends. The multi-language support hastens the learning process.
These tools will make it easier for MSMEs to overcome barriers and shorten the period for learning digital technologies so they can have access as quickly as possible Grab’s highly active user base.
Grab Asenso is a flagship public–private partnership program and designed as a Digital Diskarte Program to accelerate the digitalization of livelihoods and enterprises across the Philippines.
Endorsed by agencies like the DICT and local governments, the program is aligned with national priorities on digital entrepreneurship and inclusive growth to ensure that MSMEs and traditional transport professionals gain both the skills and the tools to thrive in a fast-changing economy.
“Grab Asenso solidifies our covenant with government and communities (to ensure) that progress in the digital economy (is) shared, inclusive and within reach of every entrepreneur, in every city,” Lacsican says.
