Grab to spend S$4.1M on scholarships and community programmes in Southeast Asia
Grab has announced a US$3.2 million (S$4.1 million) commitment for 2026 through its GrabForGood Fund, aimed at supporting education and community programmes across Southeast Asia.
Source: Grab website
The funding will support initiatives under the fund’s three core pillars — Education, Community Care and Disaster Relief, the company said in a media release seen by MS News on Friday (13 March).
GrabScholar programme among key initiatives
One of the key programmes supported by the fund is GrabScholar, which provides bursaries for underprivileged school-going children and full-ride merit scholarships for students with financial needs and strong academic potential.
Source: Grab website
The programme also supports school health and meal nutrition initiatives, aimed at helping students maintain a healthy learning environment.
“We started the GrabForGood Fund to provide a foundation for people across Southeast Asia to build the future they want for themselves,” said Anthony Tan, Group CEO and co-founder of Grab.
He added that the programmes aim to create opportunities for students and families across the region.
Fund backed by CEO’s personal contribution
The GrabForGood Fund was established to ensure the company’s success is shared with the communities it serves.
According to the media release, it is anchored by a personal contribution of more than US$16 million (S$20.5 million) from Anthony Tan, alongside donations from other individual and organisational contributors.
Grab said the fund focuses on building community resilience and long-term opportunities for people across Southeast Asia.
Thousands of students supported in 2025
The 2026 funding builds on the fund’s programmes in 2025.
Last year, the GrabForGood Fund disbursed more than US$2 million, supporting over 3,600 students through the GrabScholar programme.
Source: Grab website
Since its launch in 2022, GrabScholar has supported 8,238 students across Southeast Asia, including the children of Grab driver- and merchant-partners as well as members of the public.
In 2025 alone:
- 3,486 school-going children received bursaries
- 117 university students were awarded full-ride scholarships
The programme currently benefits those in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.
An example is Đặng Phương Ngân, one of Vietnam’s first GrabScholar recipients in 2025, Grab said. She is pursuing Finance at the University of Economics HCMC.
Her father is a Grab driver-partner, and her mother is a factory cleaner.
“Becoming a GrabScholar feels like coming full circle,” Ngân said. “My father driving with Grab opened the first door for our family. Grab now supports my education.”
Picture courtesy of Grab
Community nutrition programmes also supported
Beyond scholarships, the fund also supports community initiatives aimed at improving children’s well-being.
For example, Rise Against Hunger Philippines launched a Dietary Supplementation Programme supported by the GrabForGood Fund.
The initiative will provide daily rice-soy meals to more than 2,600 children in the Philippines to improve nutrition and learning outcomes.
Additional community initiatives by Grab
Separately, Grab runs several programmes across the region focused on social impact and sustainability.
In Singapore, the company offers Emerald Circle Scholarships, a bond-free scholarship programme for children of eligible driver- and delivery-partners to study at local universities.
Source: Grab website
Grab also runs training initiatives through GrabAcademy, which provides skills development courses for driver-partners.
In 2025, more than 1.5 million driver-partners completed at least one GrabAcademy course.
The company also supported 17 environmental projects in 2025, including initiatives focused on climate action, conservation and community resilience across Southeast Asia.
Also read: S’pore Grab driver waives cleaning fee after student paid for drunk friend who threw up in vehicle
S’pore Grab driver waives cleaning fee after student paid for drunk friend who threw up in vehicle
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Featured image adapted from Grab website and courtesy of Grab.
