Singapore – Singapore based integrated communications agency APRW Pte Ltd announced its partnership with India-headquartered PRHUB, a leading integrated communications agency, to launch a specialised communications practice targeted at start-ups looking to expand within and beyond the Asia Pacific (APAC) region.
The new practice is established under US-headquartered IPREX. It will be led by Anu Gupta, director of APRW and Xavier Prabhu, regional president for APAC, IPREX and founder and managing director of PRHUB. This practice will serve burgeoning communications needs of start-ups looking to grow within and beyond APAC region by tapping upon deep communications expertise of IPREX partners.
The APAC start-up ecosystem has seen unprecedented growth in the past few years. According to market intelligence firm Preqin, start-ups in APAC have secured US$152 billion in venture capital deals within the first nine months of 2021, matching the previous record of US$152 billion set in 2018. As per Statista research there were close to 200 unicorns in APAC with only the United States possessing a greater number of unicorns. The vibrancy and diversity of APAC’s start-up ecosystem indicates a strong potential for start-ups to expand regionally and beyond through targeted communication campaigns and strategies.
Commenting on the new practice, Julie Exner, IPREX global president, said, “Spread across India, China, Indonesia and Singapore among other countries in the region, there is absolutely no doubt that the start-up ecosystem in the APAC is one of the most dynamic and thriving ecosystems globally.”
Exner commended that APRW and PRHUB are highly established partners with deep understanding of the ecosystem. “With their expertise and support from other partners in key markets, I am confident that the new practice will be a success and bring start-ups to greater heights,” added Exner.
Anu Gupta, APRW’s director, said, “I am thrilled to be launching this practice with PRHUB under IPREX. As a highly diversified & fragmented region, APAC presents an exciting multitude of opportunities and challenges. APRW has since expanded into Indonesia, which has emerged as a vital market for expanding start-ups, in 2020, as part of our commitment to better serve that market.”
Gupta expressed that through IPREX, APRW is now able to build an expertise-led practice and offer strategic consultancy across key growth markets including China, Japan & Australia. “We hope to propel more start-ups to achieve greater success within and beyond APAC with this timely initiative,” added Gupta.
In his comments, Xavier Prabhu, IPREX regional president for APAC and founder & managing director at PRHUB, said, “Many start-ups are looking to scale beyond their home markets and leverage the many opportunities that APAC has to offer. As they grow, they will require communication agencies who can provide holistic regional communications strategies to boost their visibility and strengthen their reputations.”
The specialised communications practice will provide a full suite of communications services for start-ups by leveraging IPREX’s global network of communication partners and tapping upon the expertise of Anu and Xavier. As communications veterans, both bring deep industry expertise coupled with strong understanding of APAC and the start-up ecosystem. They have also worked closely with several regional start-ups located in India and Singapore.
