Grab Philippines and Move It, in partnership with the Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT), have officially opened the Asenso center. Located in Marikina City, the Asenso Center is the first of its kind in Grab’s Southeast Asian network, serving as a livelihood hub.
Built on a 1-hectare land area along A. Bonifacio Avenue in Marikina City, the Asenso Center is designed to elevate and professionalize the onboarding of Grab’s platform workers and partner entrepreneurs, accelerate AI-enabled learning opportunities, and streamline access to social protection programs.
The facility’s highlight feature is the Livelihood Booth. This offers on-site enrollment of SSS, Pag-IBIG, and Philhealth accounts for incoming Grab and Move It partner drivers, riders, and entrepreneurs aiming to establish business growth through GrabFood and the super app’s other services. Moreover, it also provides micro-insurance and welfare protection, courtesy of Chubb and AXA.
The Asenso Center supports Grab’s commitment to create around 500,000 livelihood opportunities for the government in the next five years. Regarding this, Grab stated that it has already achieved 73% of its five-year project. Additionally, it noted that community merchant participation has increased by 30% compared to the same period last year, primarily due to more entrepreneurs joining its platform, with the majority coming from MSMEs (micro, small, and medium enterprises).
The facility also enables AI tools in partner operations. Headlining this is the Merchant AI Assistant, which automates promos, menus, and marketing content. There’s also the AI Driver Companion, a system that provides real-time route optimization and demand hotspot guidance. Grab sees the potential of AI to leverage company growth and promote partner success. As such, it stated that its approach to utilizing AI power must adhere to four simple rules: it must enhance safety, protect privacy, maintain user control, and be easy to learn.
Grab shares that, with the help of the Asenso Center, active partners working at least eight hours a day can achieve family-sustaining income levels, offering additional flexibility in choosing social protection programs and private coverage options. Meanwhile, Grab and Move It’s top performers may receive Pag-IBIG contribution subsidies and free life insurance.
“Grab is one of the Philippines’ most mature platform-work ecosystems, and that gives us a precise, ground-level understanding of what Filipino platform workers and micro-entrepreneurs truly need to thrive. The Asenso Center turns that insight into action. It opens dignified, digitally powered livelihoods, equips our partners with practical AI co-pilots, and helps families convert opportunity into income at scale,” shared Grab Philippines Country Managing Director Ronald Roda.
