Grab Quiz: Only Locals Can Pass

Grab did not start in the country it is now most associated with. Its roots lie in a neighbouring nation where one of its founders grew up and identified a pressing need for safer, more reliable taxi services. The founding country gave Grab its initial regulatory learning ground before it scaled regionally.

Grab was co-founded by two individuals who met during their time at Harvard Business School. One came from a prominent Malaysian family with business connections, while the other brought operational and technology thinking to the table. Together they pitched the idea as a class project before turning it into reality.

Grab's founding year placed it right at the start of the South-East Asian tech boom. The region's growing smartphone penetration and underdeveloped taxi infrastructure made it ripe for disruption. From its early days as a taxi-booking app, Grab gradually broadened its scope into deliveries, payments, and financial services.

Grab crossed into the banking sector when it secured a digital bank licence in a country known for its strict financial regulatory standards. This licence allowed Grab to offer formal banking products to consumers, a significant milestone that validated its transition from a transport app to a full financial services provider.

Rather than pursuing a conventional IPO, Grab chose to go public through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company based in the United States. The SPAC route allowed Grab to list faster and with greater valuation certainty. At the time, it ranked among the largest SPAC transactions ever completed globally.