Tag: Philippines

Manila, Philippines – Local fintech Uploan PH has recently evolved as employee wellness platform SAVii Asia, mirroring the startup’s provision of financial empowerment to over 400,000 employees in the Philippines.

The SAVii platform provides financial education and mental health awareness training, as well as their financial services. Their services aim to enhance employee wellbeing and reduce workplace stress.

According to Liam Grealish, CEO and founder of SAVii Asia, their platform helps in building a resilient workforce that can maintain focus and engagement that redounds to the benefit of business.

“Employee well-being is threatened by financial demands heightened by the pandemic. We are a platform that delivers financial services to employees that other formal financial institutions are unable to service,” Grealish said.

He also added that there has been a ‘quiet revolution’ in employee behaviour toward financial products is taking place beneath the surface; preferable to receive services through their employers as an employee benefit deducted from their pay rather than going directly to suppliers outside of their company. This results in a more convenient and affordable consumer experience. 

SAVii had doubled their customer base during the pandemic; bringing them closer to their goal to transform the lives of its partners’ employees by reliably providing access to the financial power of their salary when they need it. HR departments is expected to benefit from the boost to employee well being which betters loyalty and engagement.

The evolution of the SAVii Asia brand follows a recent survey they conducted across 10,000 employees. In it, they found that 90% of working Filipinos prefer to access financial products through salary deduction. A SAVii spokesperson further stated that when the fintech startup started, 40% of employees did not access financial products through salary deduction, and that number is now down to 18%.

Manila, Philippines – Southeast Asian loyalty and e-commerce ecosystem Society Pass is steadfast in the company’s growth as it amplifies its operations across Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines, a group it dubs as its ‘VIP’ markets. Alongside this, SoPa has announced the opening of its office in Manila along with the appointment of VP of product design, Arbie Pagdanganan, as the new country head.

On SoPa’s new Manila location, it is strategically located in the central business district of Makati, Metro Manila. This is SoPa’s second office in its VIP priority markets and employs over 20 staff in the Philippines with an aim to grow this figure to over 100 by the end of 2022.

Dennis Nguyen, founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Society Pass, said that the Philippines is a cornerstone of SoPa’s VIP acquisition strategy. Nguyen added that he is proud to appoint their VP of product design, Pagdanganan, as their country manager in the Philippines and looks forward to her expert leadership in steering our operations to greater heights.

“Also, this new office is part of our business strategy during this critical period of economic transformation for the Philippines. As we grow our Philippines business, we are confident that the SoPa ecosystem will nurture and accelerate the growing portfolio of brands,” Nguyen said.

As country head, Pagdanganan manages the country operations with P&L responsibility while coordinating regional finance, operations, and technology teams to conduct due diligence on future acquisitions in the country. Pagdanganan brings with her a rich background of over a decade of experience in visual design, branding, user interaction and experience, and product design across leading organisations including SoPa’s Leflair. In her dual role as VP of product development, she will be spearheading an organisation-wide transformation of design systems and front-end apps of all business units.

Sharing her excitement for the joint growth vision for the Philippines and SoPa, Pandanganan said, “Given the immense potential of the Philippines market, I am looking forward to herald the next e-commerce revolution in the country with SoPa’s unique modus operandi and look forward to taking my team along in this successful journey.”

SoPa also recently acquired Pushkart.ph, an online grocery delivery service in the Philippines to kick-start its expansion into the country. Pagdanganan will lead SoPa’s aggressive new plans for Pushkart.ph which include adding more hubs in key cities and regions and increasing its manpower.

In an exclusive interview for MARKETECH APAC’s Empowered Women Series, a special series to celebrate women leaders in marketing, Pagdanganan shared what made SoPa’s policy and philosophy on gender inclusivity great.

“We are a very diverse and inclusive organization. And we believe that it creates a huge impact on our productivity and success. So take, for example, in a male-dominated industry, like tech and operations, we don’t exclusively really look for men, nor do we seek women actively. But of course, it’s a breath of fresh air if a woman applies, like, for example, for a tech position, because that doesn’t usually happen. But really, all we care about is if the candidate shares our vision, passion and mindset,” shared Pagdanganan.

Manila, Philippines – The postpaid service of local telco Sun Cellular is rebranding to Smart Postpaid, the postpaid offering of telco Smart. This officially comes into effect by April 25.

It should be recalled that Sun has been integrated in Smart’s mobile network infrastructure and corporate management since 2016. In 2020, Sun’s corporate logo featured a subline saying ‘Powered by Smart’, and its prepaid offering was previously rebranded to Smart Prepaid as well in the same year.

In line with the rebranding, all Sun Postpaid or Sun Broadband packages and products will no longer be available.

In addition, a user’s Sun Postpaid number will become a Smart Postpaid number. The telco assures that the user will still be able to use their existing SIM and plan inclusions. Meanwhile, for postpaid needs, Smart encourages new customers to avail of Smart Signature plans and get access to all the great features and benefits of being a Smart Postpaid subscriber.

“All consumer Sun Postpaid, Sun Broadband and Sun FLP subscribers will become Smart Postpaid on April 25, 2022 and will be able to enjoy the full range of available services from Smart Postpaid. This will only cover all the active and individual Sun Postpaid accounts. Sun Postpaid Corporate account users will not yet be covered in this activity,” Smart said in an online statement.

Sun Cellular was previously under Digitel Mobile Philippines, which was then acquired by PLDT in 2011.

Cebu, Philippines — Holy Week has already started for Catholics in the Philippines which means that members are now prepping for the tradition of ‘Visita Iglesia’, which is the visitation of seven different churches that falls on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. This year, telco Smart’s digital tourism program ‘Panaw sa Pagtuo’ (Journey of Faith) is making the tradition more fruitful for those that are keen to visit churches in Cebu by employing QR code ‘markers’ that would share tourism and historical facts specifically on seven heritage churches in the city of Cebu.

The first four churches are St. Catherine of Alexandria Parish in Carcar, Sibonga’s Nuestra Señora del Pilar Parish, St. Gabriel the Archangel Parish Church in Santander, and the St. Michael the Archangel Church in Argao.

The next three churches included in Smart’s digital tourism program are considered national historical sites by the National Historical Institute (NHI). These are San Guillermo de Aquitana Parish Church in Dalaguete, considered a National Historical Landmark by the NHI; Nuestra Senora del Patrocinio de Maria Parish Church in Boljoon, considered a national historical treasure due to its resilient heritage by the NHI and the National Museum; and St. Michael the Archangel Church in Samboan, one of Cebu’s oldest church which was built in 1842 and nationally protected heritage structure by the NHI.

Smart’s Panaw sa Pagtuo mobile app is also available for free for pilgrims opting for virtual Visita Iglesia.

Manila, Philippines – Voyager Innovations, the local technology company behind end-to-end money platform PayMaya and neobank Maya Bank, has recently raised US$210m in funding, bringing its total valuation to unicorn plus status, at nearly US$1.4b.

Through the funding, the company will use the new funds to launch Maya Bank services, such as savings and credit, which will be offered seamlessly across PayMaya’s platforms for consumers and enterprises, including micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises or MSMEs. It will also continue to expand PayMaya’s offering with new products like cryptocurrency, micro-investments, insurance, and more, as the all-in-one money app of the Philippines.

The funding round was led by SIG Venture Capital, the Asian venture capital arm of Susquehanna International Group. Other new investors include Singapore-based global investor EDBI and investment holding company First Pacific Company Ltd.

Other partners include Voyager’s existing shareholders, namely telecom PLDT, global investment firm KKR, tech giant Tencent, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and the IFC Emerging Asia Fund and IFC Financial Institutions Growth Fund, two funds managed by the IFC Asset Management Company (IFC AMC), a division of IFC.

Orlando B. Vea, Voyager and PayMaya CEO/Founder, said, “Our strong record of execution and innovation is a testament to our world-class team’s hard work and talent. With this milestone, we are excited to leap forward and bring the best of PayMaya and Maya Bank to help unlock the digital economy for the underserved and unbanked Filipinos.”

Meanwhile, Shailesh Baidwan, president at Voyager and PayMaya, commented, “The strong endorsement from our new shareholders and participation of our existing investors in this fundraising validates the company’s ability to expand into neobanking and add new cutting-edge financial products and services. We are excited to bring more game-changing innovations to millions of consumers and MSMEs with our integrated ecosystem as we address the pent-up demand for financial services.”

The integrated ecosystem approach by Voyager Innovations uniquely positions it among e-wallets, banks, and fintech players in the Philippines. PayMaya serves all segments of consumers and enterprises with a widely used consumer e-wallet app, the leading enterprise payment processing business, and the most extensive on-ground agent network, Smart Padala.

Manila, Philippines – Sports network Cignal TV has partnered with PDAX, the digital asset exchange in the Philippines, to be its brand partner for University Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Games Season 84, a collegiate basketball tournament in the country, which will run until May 2022. 

Through the partnership, PDAX becomes the first-ever crypto company to support a national sporting event. It will be supporting the basketball tournament, while promoting crypto and financial literacy in the country.

Moreover, the crypto company will be featured in in-game premiums and other marketing campaigns of Cignal for the duration of the UAAP Season 84.

Nichel Gaba, PDAX’s founder and CEO, commented, “We are excited to partner with Cignal TV in bringing the UAAP Games for Season 84. We fully support investing in sports development, which is one of the best ways to promote positive values among the youth.”

Meanwhile, Sienna Olaso, Cignal TV’s vice president of channels and content, lauded the partnership as another step to promote youth development in the Philippines. 

“Together with PDAX, we hope to engage young Filipinos in the popular sport of basketball and keep them motivated even with the ongoing challenges brought about by the pandemic. We also hope to bring financial literacy and innovative digital financial solutions closer to the youth,” said Olaso.

Philippines – Elloe, a US-based social e-commerce firm focused on Kenya and emerging markets, has announced that it has raised $7m in pre-seed capital, led by Mad Ventures, Inc. of the Philippines. The funds will be used to expand its Kenyan operations and enter the Philippine and Southeast Asian markets by 2023 and beyond.

Elloe is an AI-powered, social commerce platform that allows businesses to buy and sell things online across any messaging network. It was co-founded by Owen Sakawa, Abhijay Rao, and Aaron Madolora.

Elloe’s consolidated merchant gateway simplifies operations, logistics, payments, and marketing for businesses, resulting in increased sales and profitability. It is especially beneficial for micro-SMEs that seek to offer their products and services online without paying excessive commissions to third parties.

Owen Sakawa, founder and CEO at Elloe, shared, “We are very excited and humbled by the opportunity to partner with Mad Ventures, Inc and join its growing livelihood ecosystem as digital ambassadors to local Kenyan entrepreneurs and netizens.”

Philippines — Long-standing health and fitness franchise Anytime Fitness has launched a new digital platform, AF Connect, which features personalized coaching that provides curated fitness, nutrition, and recovery guidance with convenient accessibility. The digital platform was launched last April 1 and offers a 7-day free trial for applicants.

The AF Connect platform features selected and organized workouts with global fitness brand, Les Mills, as well as blogs and entries about keeping a fit and healthy lifestyle beyond the physical aspect. Users can also expect a wide array of content namely healthy, easy-to-do recipes, exclusive perks and discounts for active members, member testimonials, and other lifestyle content such as mental health, COVID protocols, and the like.

Ryan Cheal, COO for core market of Anytime Fitness Asia, shares his insight for AF Connect, saying that the past two years have been challenging with COVID-19, and everyone has witnessed that leading a healthy lifestyle is very important.

“Anytime Fitness has 140 gyms nationwide and we open new gyms every month. For the last seven years, we have been bringing Anytime Fitness to our communities. Now we want to make health and fitness more accessible by launching our online platforms,” Cheal said.

He added, “Our members can get the best education on nutrition, recovery, mental health, and workout at the gym, at home, at work and at the local park, with the world’s number 1 in group exercise Les Mills on demand. Not only will this platform be free for our members, but we also want to give everyone a 7-day free trial. We want to continue to improve the health and fitness of the Filipino people.”

Aside from AF Connect, other digital platforms of the company include the Anytime Fitness PH website, a user-friendly tool that features Find My Gym, free day passes, and online sign-ups. The AF app is also available to all active members where they can book their gym visit, customize workouts, and speak to their personal trainers, 24-7.

Manila, Philippines – UNO Digital Bank, the digital bank regulated by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ Digital Banking License framework, has partnered with payment solutions company Mastercard, to issue digital and physical Debit Mastercard cards in the Philippines. 

The virtual cards aim to make it easy for customers to transact online, and the physical card can be used at points of sale at retail outlets or any Mastercard, Maestro, or Cirrus ATMs worldwide. Moreover, the new physical Debit Mastercard will have exciting security features that are designed to mitigate fraud and empower cardholders to prevent the misuse of their card. Cardholders will also have access to Mastercard’s curated selection of Priceless experiences and everyday merchant offers that will allow them to stretch their money further. 

Manish Bhai, UNO Digital Bank’s CEO, shared that Filipinos are embracing digital payments, and their partnership with Mastercard honours their promise to deliver simple solutions to the customers.

“Moreover, as a credit-led bank, we are also building a payments ecosystem. In our business partners, such as with Mastercard, we seek those with a similar mindset to our own: a mission to deliver innovation with simplicity. Stay tuned as to how we innovate the debit Mastercard card for our launch in Q2,” said Bhai.

Meanwhile, Simon Calasanz, Mastercard’s country manager for the Philippines, commented, “Mastercard is honoured to work with innovative partners like UNO Digital Bank who are paving the way to financial inclusion in the Philippines. Mastercard debit cards are designed to meet evolving consumer needs, and make everyday payments safe, simple, smart, and accessible.”

Vivek Kumar, UNO Digital Bank’s head of loans, payments and ecosystems, noted, “We are building in features that will elevate the banking experience for UNO Digital Bank customers, and take our commitment to cardholder convenience and innovation to the next level.”

The bank will announce the debit card attributes when it launches later this year. 

Most recently, UNO Digital Bank has just rebranded from its former name UNObank Inc. The rebrand reiterates the digital nature of the bank’s business. It also comes with a new visual identity for the company, which includes a new logo, an updated colour palette, and new iconography.

Philippines — Esports is truly making the waves today with brands from all verticals jumping to the platform. The latest in the Philippines is long-standing salon brand David’s Salon which has signed an agreement with Maharlika Esports League to hold an all-female esports tournament entitled David’s Salon Cup. The competition will be on PUBG: Battlegrounds – a popular online multiplayer game in the shooter genre and will have a ₱70,000 prize pool at stake.

According to the company, their foray into the esports realm is to include female athletes in their vision of the future in the digital arena. David’s Salon has previously supported female athletes, having created an all-female multisport team -Team David’s Salon back in 2005. 

David’s Salon Cup is open to all Filipina residents aged 16 years old and above. The competition will run from April 25 until May 8 and is targeting 1,000 participants in 100 teams from all corners of the country. Registration procedures and the complete details of the tournament will be posted on David’s Salon’s social media channels.