Tag: Expansion

India – Advertising company FCB Group in India has announced its footprint expansion in South Asia with the launch of its new fully integrated marketing communications agency FCB KL.LK.

FCB KL.LK is the newest affiliate office under the FCB Group India umbrella. The agency works with marquee clients and brands including Ceylon Biscuits, HNB credit cards, Fairfirst life Insurance, and Ultratech Cement, as well as Godrej Consumer products. 

The new agency partnership aims to bring forth the KL.LK expertise in brands, coupled with FCB’s Never Finished philosophy – ‘to do timely and timeless work for clients’. 

Rohit Ohri, FCB Group India’s chairman and CEO, commented that they are delighted to partner with KL.LK in Sri Lanka, as it is a young, future-ready agency that is growing very rapidly with many global multi-national clients. 

“With this association, we are hoping to offer seamless service to many of our clients who look at South Asia as a contiguous market,” said Ohri.

Meanwhile, Brandon Cooke, the global partner, global chief marketing, and reputation officer of FCB Global, believes that the creative passion and business momentum made KL.LK the perfect partner for them in the Sri Lankan market. 

“As we continue on our global mission to unleash creativity fuelled by diversity, data and technology, we’re incredibly excited about the opportunities that lie ahead as we expand our footprint across this region to a new client base,” said Cooke. 

Santosh Menon, FCB KL.LK’s chairman and CEO, commented, “I came to Sri Lanka first in 2003 as a team member of FCB for its clients here. Today, bringing FCB back in its latest avatar as part of KL.LK gives me special pleasure and happiness. It’s the wheel turning full circle.”

Manila, Philippines – ASEAN Fintech Group (AFG), a venture corporation focusing on fintech acceleration has acquired digital payments provider JazzyPay, marking the venture corporation’s expansion to the Philippines. The acquisition value of JazzyPay is valued at US$1.8m.

With the acquisition, AFG looks to leverage JazzyPay’s existing partnerships with leading national banks, e-wallets and payment processors of the metropolitan city. The platform’s team of founders and key management personnel will continue to spearhead the business’ growth, with accelerated resources and support at the group level. 

Kathleen Acosta-Marindo, co-founder and COO at JazzyPay said, “We believe working together and being a part of AFG’s fast-growing portfolio of companies will enhance our capabilities across ASEAN, fast-tracking the advancement of Southeast Asia’s fintech ecosystem and digital future.”

AFG’s expansion to the Philippines is part of its 2022 plans, which include expansion into Vietnam and Cambodia. AFG aims to create a regional omnichannel platform in the fintech space.

To date, AFG has in total invested more than US$10m to date on strategic mergers and acquisitions of burgeoning fintech startups within the region. Founders and institutional investors of the startups joining ASEAN Fintech Group were further incentivized with newly issued AFG shares, forming new partnerships with aligned interests towards the growth of the group. 

For Douglas Gan, executive director at ASEAN Fintech Group, with fintech in Southeast Asia seeing a tremendous growth in 2021, they are bullish that this rapid growth will continue into 2022 as they continue to acquire and merge with companies in the ASEAN region showing solid fundamentals.

“In fact, most of the companies that have joined us come with strong founders whose businesses are either profitable or near profitability. We also see a more matured fintech regulatory framework, guiding us through the complexities of each market. We are at a true inflection point for ASEAN fintech and we are honored to have the support of the fintech ecosystem at large,” Gan stated.

Bangalore, India – HiveMinds Innovative Market Solutions, the full-service digital marketing and consultancy firm by Madison World, has announced its expansion in Delhi-NCR with a new office in Gurugram.

HiveMinds specializes in performance marketing, display, e-commerce, and programmatic buying. It manages digital mandates for Domino’s, BigBasket, Coinswitch Kuber, and Trell, as well as e-commerce mandates for brands such as Crompton, P&G, and Nivea, as well as Saffola Honey, and Sugar cosmetics, among others.

Following this endeavor, HiveMinds has also appointed its vice president, Mohit Grower, as the new head of the new north branch. Grover brings with him intensive experience across insurance, travel, and entrepreneurial industries.

Commenting on his new role, Grover said “I feel after building businesses in the highly competitive travel industry for over a decade, this will be a great next phase of my career. I look forward to assembling a formidable team and delivering value to our clients in the region.”

Meanwhile, Jyothirmayee JT, HiveMind’s founder and CEO, shared that he is delighted to bring in a leader with high ownership and entrepreneurial spirit as their Delhi branch head.

“With the growing client roster, we feel that a senior team based in the region will be better placed to engage at the strategic level and contribute to overall growth for our clients,” said JT.

Sam Balsara, Madison World’s chairman, said, “With offices opening up gradually, the demand for on-site teams is also coming back. With Mohit at the helm, we’re now poised to expand our presence in North India to attract new clients and service the existing clients better.”

Mumbai, India – Chimp&z Inc, the full-service digital advertising alliance from Merge Infinity Network, has announced its global expansion in New York and Toronto.

Through the expansion, Chimp&z Inc will be able to accelerate the growth of its international clientele and cater to partners on their roster on the American market. Moreover, the expansion will enable Chimp&z Inc to provide digital integration, martech solutions, and performance marketing services globally. It will also help drive the brand presence of its new ROI-driven social media arm – Yellophant Digital.

Under the leadership of Chimp&z Inc’s co-founder, Lavinn Rajpal, the agency will immediately undertake efforts to hire a full-stack agency structure and release open positions for talents across technology, digital marketing, and creative, as well as design verticals in New York and Toronto offices.

Rajpal and Angad Singh Manchanda, Chimp&z Inc’s co-founder, shared that the expansion is aligned with the agency’s ambition to create a truly global entity with a diverse team of professionals to bring the true power of integrated marketing to their partner brands. 

“With these two offices, we intend to work with brands across the spectrum with a specific focus on lifestyle and luxury brands, which has been our forte in India. The sheer magnitude of this market will provide enormous scope for our creative & tech services,” they said.

This August, Chimp&z Inc has won India-based skincare brand The Derma Co‘s social media mandate, and was tasked to drive the brand’s digital sales.

Singapore – Following the company’s funding in April this year, coffee chain Flash Coffee has officially extended its operations in South Korea and Japan, with branches opening up in each country’s capitals, Seoul and Tokyo.

The coffee chain launched with two outlets in Seoul, a two-storey flagship establishment at Sinsa, and a store in Yeoksam, both located in the heart of the bustling, upscale Gangnam district. In Tokyo, Flash Coffee unveiled a two-storey concept in the city’s iconic shopping destination within Omotesando.

David Brunier, CEO at Flash Coffee, said, “We are very excited to officially launch in both Seoul and Tokyo, and introduce our mission to provide high-quality coffee at affordable prices to these cities. These markets are known to embrace technology, and we hope to bring ease to the lives of consumers with our digital-first solutions, ultimately changing the face of coffee consumption across Asia for the better.”

The coffee chain will continue to grow its footprint across the seven markets it is currently in: Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan, with a goal of opening over 350 stores by early next year. The coffee chain has also set sights to enter three new countries next year; Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines.

Un Koh, managing director for South Korea at Flash Coffee, said, “South Korea is filled with coffee enthusiasts and our coffee consumption rate ranks within the top 10 in the world. We are confident that our high-quality beverages crafted by award-winning baristas at Flash Coffee will appeal to South Korean coffee lovers. Our goal is to make our specialty coffee accessible to all, so for those who’ve not come across Flash Coffee yet, you will find us brewing very soon in a location near you. ”

Meanwhile, Shu Matsuo Post, managing director for Japan at Flash Coffee, commented, “Coffee culture has been prevalent in Japan for many years, and we’ve observed the rising preference for premium coffee locally. Specialty coffees tend to be expensive, but with Flash Coffee, consumers can now enjoy it at an affordable price point. We look forward to sharing our award-winning menu with customers in Japan, and hope they will enjoy our innovative creations.”

Sydney, Australia – Independent customer data platform, mParticle, has announced its expansion to APAC with the official headquarters in Sydney, Australia.

mParticle enhances data quality of companies, as well as manages regulatory compliance, and delivers high-quality customer experiences. It also integrates with other technology firms such as Braze, Amplitude, Snowflake, and Amazon Redshift, as well as Salesforce Marketing Cloud, and Adobe Marketing Cloud, among others.

Through the expansion, the platform will be serving customers across Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia, as well as Japan, and South Korea.

The APAC office will be led by Kris Fagan, mParticle’s vice president for APAC. Fagan believes that the APAC market is home to some of the world’s most well recognized and innovative brands at the forefront of their industries.

“We’re eager to help brands in this region deliver the personalized experiences consumers expect across all channels with a proven approach to customer data infrastructure,” said Fagan.

Singapore – Stagwell, the global digital-first marketing and communications network based in the United States, has opened its new regional headquarters in Singapore to further drive its growth across APAC. 

The new Singapore office comes as Stagwell scales its blend of transformative creative and connected solutions to brands in key growth markets worldwide. It will serve as a key geographic hub to anchor the network’s international client engagements and connect local teams with Stagwell’s platform of digital marketing services. 

Following the opening of the new office, Stagwell has tapped Randy Duax, the senior vice president for executive talent, to lead APAC operations as the managing director. Duax will directly report to Mark Penn, the CEO and chairman, and will be leading the marketing talent and digital services in Singapore and APAC, serving as a direct line to global leadership. 

Furthermore, Duax will be collaborating closely with Stagwell’s multiple agencies in the region, to expand the roster of Global Affiliates, including Beyond Media Group and Metric Design Studio. 

Commenting on the expansion, Duax said that he is proud to contribute to the efforts in bringing the creativity, strategic, and digital expertise of Stagwell to APAC.

“I have made some of my greatest business partners – and even greater friends – in Singapore, and I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to build out Stagwell’s anchor in this high-growth region,” added Duax.

Meanwhile, Penn said, “Singapore is the right location for Stagwell’s regional headquarters and I’m excited for the growth of our network throughout Asia-Pacific. Randy’s experience and long-term engagements in Singapore will serve our network well.”

Singapore – EventX, the SaaS company providing hybrid event management solutions for businesses, has announced its expansion to SEA with the official launch of its Singapore operations, supporting its growth efforts in the region.

The expansion comes after EventX closed its US$10,000,000 series B funding round. According to the company, its business in Asia has grown significantly in recent years, and they are committed to continuing to expand its presence in the key Asian markets.

Sum Wong, EventX’s CEO and co-founder, shared that SEA is experiencing rapid digitalization to varying degrees, and with this, they have seen a growing hunger from businesses in Singapore to adopt technologies that would fit the needs of today’s world.

“Singapore is one of the key markets for EventX’s growth and we’re thrilled to empower our clients with a hybrid event management solution to accelerate their businesses anywhere and anytime without limitations,” said Wong.

In addition to the expansion, EventX will be offering new clients in Singapore with free platform trials, which can hold up to 1,000 attendees with unlimited time duration, which is available until December 2021.

Singapore – Sleek, the smart corporate services platform that provides accounting services for SMEs and entrepreneurs, has bagged US$14m in Series A funding, valuing the company now at US$24m.

The fresh funds will be used to bolster Sleek’s tech and product development, hiring, and expand presence in existing markets and enter new ones.

Sleek, which has a presence in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Australia, as well as the UK, and the Philippines, streamlines, automates, and integrates company set-up, financial and regulatory reporting, and book-keeping, as well as banking services.

Commenting on the new funding, Julien Labruyere, Sleek’s co-founder, said, “This will allow us to grow faster and improve our product further in order to become the go-to digital platform for all entrepreneurs.”

The company has recently launched ‘Sleek Business Account’ that simplifies opening bank accounts for SMEs. It enables entrepreneurs and small business owners to open a deposit account in just a day through the Sleek app, and start transacting.

Adrien Barthel, Sleek’s co-founder, said that with the launch of Sleek Business Account, they have added a major brick in the company’s product vision of building the operating system for entrepreneurs. 

“Gone are the days where you needed to navigate between your corporate secretary, accountant, and banker – often sending documents hard copies via courier. Now everyone can start a Singapore company and collect the first payments in a day, and from anywhere,” said Barthel.

The funding has been led by investors White Star Capital and Jungle Ventures.

Australia – Global public relations agency Red Havas has announced its further international expansion to locations Spain, Germany, China, and Italy, as well as France, aimed at bringing these teams together with Red Havas offices across the US, Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, UK, and the Philippines, as well as Indonesia, and Dubai. 

The move aims to give clients access to best-in-class thinking and the opportunity for seamless, integrated programs across four continents. Through the expansion, Red Havas also expects strengthened capabilities with the backing of the health network Havas Health & You under CEO Donna Murphy, and the global footprint and expertise of Havas Creative Group under its Global CEO Chris Hirst. 

The consolidation of these assets will allow the network to operate in a unified way across its seven disciplines around the world, namely health and wellness, corporate PR and reputation management, technology and e-commerce, consumer and lifestyle, and automotive and mobility, as well as travel and hospitality, and internal communications.

Red Havas said that there is a further expansion to be realized throughout 2021 to 2022, where it will be partnering with the other Havas Group specialized PR assets to address client needs. 

James Wright, the global CEO of Red Havas and the global chairman of Havas PR Global Collective, shared that the combination of a global pandemic along with the political and social atmosphere of the last two years not only left a dramatic imprint on global society but has dramatically and permanently changed the way people around the world consume media and content.

“We are now living in an era where consumption is more global, more diversified, more simultaneous, and at higher volumes than ever before across platforms. In response to this, brand demand for seamless and integrated communications across multiple platforms and regions continues to grow at an exponential rate. This expansion better positions us to bring the future of PR and communications to our clients anywhere and everywhere,” said Wright.

In September this year, Red Havas in Australia has also announced the appointment of Alexandra Bryant, former managing partner and creative principle of creative communications and content company Finchco Agency, to assume the newly created role of executive director for the Sydney office, tasking her to oversee the team’s performance, growth, and operations, including driving people and culture initiatives.