Strong ripple effect with impressive numbers

As Vietnam enters a new era, platform businesses have become one of the main drivers of digital economic growth. The report on Identifying the Impact of Platform Businesses on Vietnam's Economy by the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM) shows that in terms of total added value, the platform industry has recorded a contribution of 40.5 billion USD to the national GDP in 2022, accounting for 9.92% of the total value.

In terms of spillover effects, the report shows that platform businesses are an important stimulus to the economy. Every $1 billion of final products from the platform industry stimulates the total output of the entire economy by $2.754, stimulates the added value of the economy by $1.1918 billion, creates 93,734 job opportunities; and increases the income of workers in the economy by $0.7326 billion.

Not only that, before Covid-19, the platform industry had a 6.5% employment growth rate, higher than the overall economic employment growth rate of 4.3%. During the pandemic, the industry shrank by 0.8% while the overall economic decline rate was 1.6%. From 2022, platform industry employment recovered strongly with a growth rate of 9.4%, much higher than the average economic growth rate of 3.7%. This shows that the development of the platform industry can create many job opportunities for workers.

Expectations for contributions from platform businesses

Researching a typical example of the platform economy, the report analyzes in depth some prominent platform industries, especially the commonly applied transportation platform fields that help solve many urban traffic problems such as ride-hailing, food delivery, delivery, etc.

The platform industry market, especially the transportation platform, is expected to grow even stronger after Covid-19, with the increase in urban population, income and tourism demand. Widespread internet and increased smartphone usage are also driving digital services. Data from the General Statistics Office's 2022 Enterprise Survey shows that the added value of the transportation platform industry in 2022 will reach US$6.8 billion.

To assess specifically, the report analyzes the case of Grab Vietnam. This company not only directly contributes to the country's GDP through transportation activities and other services but also contributes to promoting the development of many supporting industries and related services.

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Grab's contribution to the Transport Platform industry and to GDP

In 2022, Grab contributed about 0.13% to Vietnam's GDP, with added value reaching 1.31% of the total added value of the platform industry and 7.8% of the platform industry in the transport sector. Notably, Grab contributed about 0.23% of the GRDP of the Red River Delta (including Hanoi); 0.17% of the GRDP of the Southeast region (including Ho Chi Minh City).

This enterprise also creates job opportunities and income for thousands of direct workers at the office, hundreds of thousands of drivers and millions of workers in industries under industry linkages.

Grab Vietnam has also made a strong transformation in the ride-hailing and delivery sector, applying modern information technology such as artificial intelligence (AI) and automation in operations and management processes, thereby improving service quality and user experience. The convenience and safety that Grab brings have helped the company score points with consumers, with the rate of users preferring Grab reaching 70% in the ride-hailing sector.

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Participating in the discussion at the workshop, Mr. Alejandro Osorio - CEO of Grab Vietnam shared that since its early days in Vietnam, starting from supporting taxi and motorbike drivers to "get on" the digital platform, Grab has contributed to improving travel efficiency, supporting the tourism industry, increasing safety and promoting urban development. Not stopping at the transportation sector, Grab has developed and built a diverse ecosystem, connecting many types of services to serve the daily essential needs of people such as delivery (GrabExpress), food delivery (GrabFood), online shopping (GrabMart)...

“Grab's ecosystem operates in a sustainable cycle: the more services, the more reasons users have to choose Grab, thereby bringing more income opportunities to driver partners, while ensuring safety and convenience for both partners and customers,” said the representative.

Looking to the future, with the continuous development of information technology and innovation, it is expected that Grab and other platform businesses in Vietnam will continue to be an important force, promoting the development of the digital economy and creating new opportunities for the national economy in the digital era.

Le Thanh