Residing in India, Nishant Vora ‘05 is the Director and Co-founder of Grab, a delivery service company for businesses and merchants backed by an Uber-like fleet of riders. Founded in 2014, Grab works with restaurants, ecommerce companies, grocers, pharmacies, banks and more. McDonald’s, KFC, Amazon and FedEx are a few of their major clients.  

Grab’s major investors, Aramex Ventures and Zomato, were clients that invested to help Grab grow to cities where the delivery service is needed. 

InTouch connected with Vora and discussed his business adventures, appreciation for his education, and future company plans. 

Q: What did life after Mohawk College look like for you? 
A: I first started a landscape development company, Silverfoliage, which provided live indoor plants for offices, maintained weekly and changed monthly. I learned the importance of green space in commercial premises while studying ISO certification process at Mohawk.  

After dealing with multiple corporations at Silverfoliage we started White Facilities, a company that offered our clients facility management service for commercial premises.  

Through White Facilities I was providing housekeeping and supervision staff to an international coffee chain (Aromas Café). They later requested delivery riders to manage their home delivery business. This need coined the idea for Grab. 

Q: How have your skills from Mohawk College assisted you as a business owner?  
A: I always wanted to start my own business. My exposure in Canada and specifically in Mohawk helped me develop the aptitude and personality needed to execute my own business. Industrial Engineering at Mohawk really helped me in logical analytical thinking. I really want to thank my faculty for giving me this knowledge and confidence. Special thanks to Professors Louie D’Orazio and Joel Gaudet. 

Q: On a typical day, what is business like for Grab’s network of riders? 
A: Our network of riders consists of working professionals, college students, and industry experts. We are currently operational in 14 cities Pan-India with 3000+ riders and 25,000+ daily orders. 

Q: Where do you think your growth will be next year? 
A: Grab is currently growing month-over-month. By next year we will be present in 24 cities. 

This story was originally published in Fall 2017 of the Mohawk Alumni In Touch magazine.