GBG Loqate and Grab are Delivering The Most Comprehensive Address Data in Southeast Asia

Newcomers to Southeast Asia’s markets often find that deep local expertise is non-negotiable for success. The region’s diversity amplifies this challenge. That means growth strategies that worked elsewhere may not necessarily apply here.

Just ask an e-commerce delivery driver who’s ever experienced arriving at their supposed destination, only to find out the recipient’s doorstep is actually 200 metres away — down a narrow, unmapped alley.

That’s the reality in many parts of the region, including in Malaysia.

But many businesses dare to face such complexity because Southeast Asia’s attractiveness as an e-commerce market far outshines its infrastructure gaps. In 2024 alone, platform-based e-commerce in the region achieved $128.4 billion in gross merchandise value (GMV). Malaysia achieved a GMV increase of 19.5% that year, making it 2024’s second-fastest growing market in the region.

So when GBG Loqate made Malaysia the first stop on its Southeast Asian rollout, we called on a partner who’d made it their mission to map the country down to the narrowest lorong (alley). We tapped GrabMaps, the mapping technology and location data solutions arm of Grab, the region’s first superapp.

An Address Gap Waiting to be Filled

Loqate’s address suggestion and verification solution delivers accurate customer address and contact information — reducing address entry times by 80% and errors by 20%.

For our solution to work in Malaysia, we had to contend with the reality on the ground: delivering our usual level of accuracy meant plugging the gaps in address data by acquiring hyperlocal knowledge.

After all, such gaps can cause daily inconveniences and problems for businesses and individuals. Customers may struggle to input their addresses on checkout pages built around Western-style address formats. They may not be able to pin their exact location when booking a ride. Verifying their identity on high-security platforms might fail due to unrecognized addresses.

These experiences lead to higher error rates and a frustrating experience for both customers and businesses.

That’s why we turned to GrabMaps. We believed the resulting collaboration could help set a new benchmark for address accuracy in Southeast Asia.

Accurate Address Tech Meets Hyperlocal Community Mapping

The first step was expanding the range of data sources our platform ingested — including data from GrabMaps. Their extensive on-ground, hyperlocal geospatial data was just what we needed to unlock our platform’s full potential in the region.

GrabMaps uses a community-based mapping system. Contributions from over 43.9 million users, merchants, and driver-partners on the Grab superapp help contribute to GrabMaps' fresh, accurate, and hyperlocal map data. Additionally, their AI-powered mapmaking method extracts contextual road information and supports eight languages from street-level imagery to ensure quick and efficient updates.

Over the years, GrabMaps’ sustained mapping efforts have helped add more than 800,000 kilometres of missing Southeast Asian roads to OpenStreetMap. Their contributions help close critical data gaps for businesses that rely on accurate navigation and deliveries.

To integrate GrabMaps as a data source, we needed to innovate — adapting our platform to work with Grab’s hyperlocal address data. This integration helped Loqate set a new benchmark in address accuracy for our users.

Key Benefits for Businesses Across Sectors

Companies across Southeast Asia can soon expect to access location intelligence that drives efficiency, reduces fraud, and enhances customer engagement — setting a new benchmark for address data quality in the region.

This, in turn, will benefit a wide collection of business sector end-users in Southeast Asia, promising to replicate Loqate’s results already seen elsewhere:

• Fintech companies across Southeast Asia are increasingly adopting AI-driven solutions for fraud detection and personalised banking. Loqate’s verified address data complements these existing solutions. Our platform reduces fraud risk by ensuring customer addresses’ accuracy, streamlining onboarding processes and enhancing customer trust. Customers elsewhere have benefited from such accuracy — a leading Buy Now, Pay Later company, for example, engaged Loqate and saw their verified addresses increase by 23%.
• Logistics businesses in Southeast Asia can overcome common challenges, including freight rate volatility and a lack of real-time supply chain visibility, with Loqate’s precise geocoding and address verification capabilities. By improving operational efficiency and reducing costs, we can support these companies’ digital transformation and supply chain resilience.
• E-commerce businesses in Malaysia and beyond are under pressure to optimise every touchpoint. Loqate’s enhanced address data helps reduce failed deliveries, improve delivery speed, and lower operational costs while boosting customer satisfaction. Our clients around the world have seen significant gains from address verification — for example, nutrition company Huel found that Loqate helped reduce failed deliveries by 99%.

Ready to Transform Your Business with Smarter Address Data?

The impact of sharper address data goes far beyond faster input times. Malaysian fintech, e-commerce, and logistics businesses are already seeing what’s possible when Loqate and GrabMaps join forces: the power of local expertise translated into real-world results.

Since adopting Loqate’s address solution, our customers have reported a 78% reduction in failed deliveries since moving from Google. And based on our customers’ feedback on address match rates, Loqate has bettered Google by 2.1%, 4.5%, and 16.5% in the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom, respectively.

For any business that uses location data, address verification can help boost operational efficiency, customer satisfaction, and market scalability. By partnering with Grab, we plan to set a new benchmark for address data quality in Southeast Asia.

Discover how we can help your business thrive in the dynamic Southeast Asia market. Book a demo to get a complimentary data health check today.