Tag: Philippines

Manila, Philippines – Influencer marketing agency in the Philippines, Gushcloud, has recently signed gamer, singer, and actor Chin Valdes to help him grow his digital presence and overall digital strategy. 

Currently, Valdes’ YouTube channel houses gameplay highlights of his two favorite games Mobile Legends: Bang Bang and Genshin Impact. 

As part of the deal, Gushcloud will be working with Valdes to represent and manage key brand deals, and to provide channel management support. It will co-manage Valdes’ YouTube channel and explore a variety of content that would allow the viewers to get to know him beyond the gaming space. 

Chin shared that gaming, especially today, is so relatable and at the same time, influential. It has taught him that nothing ever gets easy, to keep moving forward, to continuously learn and level up, which has affected how he approaches things in real life. 

“I want to be able to share these with my viewers as we both enjoy our love for gaming,” said Chin.

Jamie Paraso, Gushcloud Philippines’ country director, noted that they constantly aim for a holistic evolution that brings out the different facets of their talents, as they come into their own in the entertainment industry. 

“Indeed, it is an honor to be part of their journey as their collaborative creative partner. We are beyond excited to have Chin Valdes onboard to unlock different paths beyond gaming and reach creative milestones together,” said Paraso.

Aside from Valdes, Gushcloud has also signed celebrity wedding videographer Jason Magbanua, gaming creator Yuka Kuroyanagi, as well as celebrities Bangs Garcia, Ciara Sotto, Bettinna Carlos, Michelle Madrigal, and Patrick Garcia, among others.

Manila, Philippines – Dentsu’s digital-led arm in the Philippines, Dentsu One Manila, has announced its continuous winning streak in business for 2022.

The agency has recently won the pitch for the flagship brands of leading pharmaceutical firm Unilab – Conzace and Solmux. 

Aside from the pharma firm’s brands, the manila arm has also announced that it has acquired the accounts of major brands – fast-food giant Chowking’s biggest premium milk tea brand – Milksha, and also winning new assignments from Honda Cars and Honda Bikes.

Merlee Jayme, Dentsu’s chairman of creative businesses for the Philippines, commented, “Like I said before, nothing will stop us from doing our best for our clients. All you need are big insights, great work, digital knowledge, and the drive – that’s what the young Dentsu One Manila is known for.”

In 2021, Dentsu One Manila has won several awards and new businesses, including an award for Ginebra’s campaign, ‘Ginebra Frontliner Labels’, as well as effectiveness awards for Ginebra’s thematic campaigns, Nissin Ramen ASMR, and CDO Idol Cheesedog.

Manila, Philippines – AllValue, the fast-growing retail group in the Philippines, targets to boost the digital and e-commerce growth of two of its brands, AllHome and AllDay, and has tapped consumer engagement platform MoEngage to help bring this to fruition.

AllHome is its one-stop shop brand for home living, while AllDay is the group’s fast-growing mid-premium supermarket chain. MoEngage said that AllValue aims to capitalize on the online sales momentum and the recent surge in e-commerce sales in the country through an in-depth look into customer behavior data.

“We are betting big on the current digital wave that will expand the e-commerce market size in the Philippines. With more and more customers discovering our enhanced e-commerce experience, we recognized the need to align ourselves with a data-driven mindset to mount effective customer-facing campaigns and to further drive our platforms’ development,” said Camille Villar, AllValue’s vice chairman.

MoEngage is a full-stack solution consisting of customer analytics, automated cross-channel engagement and AI-driven personalization. It said that AllDay’s challenge is making sense of large-scale retail data that is primarily undifferentiated, while AllHome aims to unearth insights and patterns for its broad spectrum of customers: from homeowners to architects, engineers, and designers.

Through its optimized e-commerce platforms, AllValue is able to telegraph current customer behaviors by providing relevant product recommendations, sorting out logistic challenges for home deliveries, and allowing safe payments to offer a comprehensive and convenient E-commerce experience. MoEngage said that this is the exact window where they can provide breakthrough insights to push AllHome and AllDay ‘s e-commerce initiatives to the next level.

“To sell premium retail products, one must put together a great website and an awesome checkout experience. However, that is not enough in the hypercompetitive e-commerce world. One must complement it with well-timed and limited offers for browsed products that are simply hard to put down,” commented Saurabh Madan, GM of MoEngage for ANZ and SEA.

He adds, “Product differentiation alone might not cut it for many businesses who plan to make a shift to online sales. Consumer brands also need to focus on a customer-centric engagement strategy, and that’s where MoEngage can help.”

LAMC Productions, an independent concert promoter headquartered in Singapore, alongside its sister firm for comedy entertainment, LA Comedy Live, is expanding its team and looking for new members in the Philippines to join its company.

LAMC Productions is specifically on the lookout for potential joiners in the areas of PR & marketing, social media, online events & programs, and business & operations, as well as for the development of its specific platform, Words & Music, which is its episodic insightful conversations with prominent international music artists and comedians about a variety of issues. 

According to Founder Lauretta Alabons, LAMC productions is building its entertainment platform and launching its own NFTs, hence, searching for new talents to help attain said goals. Alabons shared that team members will be working with her to help generate income for the company and grow the business regionally. 

Words and Music, with the main showcase on YouTube, is its conversations with international music artists and comedians which include developments in their careers and their personal opinions on global matters.

Words & Music was created in 2020 and is now gearing up to launch highlight videos for an NFT drop. LAMC Productions will be requiring an experienced PR and digital media professional to work with them for the marketing, PR, and social media efforts for these NFTs.

Here are the specific responsibilities of the following open positions, which will be remotely-based: 

PR and Marketing 

  • Crafts and disseminates press releases for the events and the company, develop and pitch stories & interviews to local, regional and international media and influencers 
  • Manages media inquiries and interview requests
  • Familiar with media landscape, maintain and grow media contacts, relations
  • Coordinates media coverage and the press conference for the events
  • Coordinates with local and international clients and networks
  • Plans and executes Marketing & Publicity campaigns and activities in Singapore and across Asia 
  • Crafts Electronic Direct Mail marketing campaigns via Mailchimp for the companies’ databases
  • Dealing with enquiries from the public, the press, and related organizations
  • Providing contacts with information about new promotional opportunities and current PR campaigns progres

Social Media – Facebook, Instagram, Google Ads, YouTube, TikTok, LinkedIn, Twitter

  • Copy write content for websites and social media postsBasic to average editing for some video content on social media posts
  • Works with the resident designer in content creation for the companies’ social media platforms and website.
  • Constant maintenance, updates and plans effective advertising campaigns of all social media profiles (Facebook, Instagram, Google Ads, YouTube, TikTok, LinkedIn). 
  • Monitors and analyzes publicity value and results after campaign
  • Plans and executes fan engagement campaigns to help grow social media following
  • Communicate with followers, respond to queries in a timely manner and monitor customer reviews
  • Suggest and implement new features to develop brand awareness, like promotions and competitions
  • Stay up-to-date with current technologies and trends in social media, design tools and applications

Online Events & Programmes

  • Craft presentations and proposals for physical & virtual events
  • Attend meetings with clients from pre-production to post-production coordination
  • Establish client relationships and coordinates content, social media and marketing timeline and plans for the events
  • Coordinates with the team from pre-production to post-production for all events, online show and podcast.
  • Assists on producing programme scripts, questions and sequence guide for virtual and hybrid events

Words & Music

  • Produce transcripts and sequence guide, video podcast snippets and highlights for promotions
  • Research and gather necessary visuals to be used in editing the video podcast
  • Come up with creative plans for social media posts to promote the podcast

Business / Operations

  • Crafts presentations, proposals and corporate emails for business and investor-related opportunities
  • Assist in presentation meetings with corporate representatives
  • Establish corporate relationships, assists on the progress of business matters
  • Assists in writing story pitches for content creation-related opportunities
  • Writing submissions for grants and award-giving bodies
  • Update work tracker on progress of tasks
  • Brainstorm / discuss with the team for business plans and opportunities
  • Coordinates with ticket holders and ticketing agent on refund requests for cancelled and postponed events

Pre-Covid, the production company’s business model was selling concert tickets to the end consumer in country-specific markets. Now with digital, it targets to reach a wider audience. 

Interested applicants can email their resumes and cover letters to [email protected].

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.

Manila, Philippines – Globe Studios, the Filipino entertainment production company under telecommunications company Globe, has rebranded, to now be called ANIMA.

ANIMA will be under the umbrella of Kroma Entertainment Inc., a new entertainment company backed by the Globe Group of Companies. The former Globe Studios was the one behind the critically-acclaimed Filipino films such as ‘Fangirl’, ‘Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral’, and ‘Dead Kids’, along with series such as ‘Gaya sa Pelikula’ and ‘OTJ: The Missing 8’.

Quark Henares, the head of ANIMA, stated that the new name signifies the changes they will be offering to the public as they venture into a new era of entertainment.

He further shared that it was hard for them to let go of the name Globe Studios because they have done and achieved so much in their five years of existence, but believes they can only go onward and upward with ANIMA.

“We are always on the lookout for how we can tell Filipino stories better – be it through the silver screen, black box, or handheld devices. It’s the stories that matter, and the way we get them to you. We’re doubling down on that with ANIMA, so you can expect more stuff on YouTube, on Spotify, on TikTok,” Henares added.

ANIMA said that viewers can expect more fun and exciting materials. One of the films they can anticipate is ‘Ang Pagbabalik ng Kuwago’, the first Filipino feature film to premiere at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival in more than 15 years, and ‘Hintayan ng Langit’ spinoff series ‘Simula sa Gitna’. It is also strengthening collaborations with One Championship, WeTV, and Netflix, as well as HBO Go.

Moreover, the team is raring to experiment with other formats and genres. Content are already visible in the podcasts ‘Nandito Sila’ and ‘Come Home’, while other podcasts started tackling new themes – cryptocurrency, motherhood, and sexual behaviors, among others.

We have witnessed momentous and pivotal elevations and hires this year, but kumu’s Chief Product Officer Crystal Widjaja ultimately comes out as our Industry Leader of The Year. 

The homegrown and now leading live streaming platform in the Philippines unveiled ex-GoJek Widjaja as an addition to the team in June 2021. Widjaja is a fixture in business and tech, where in GoJek, she took on roles in business intelligence and growth. At kumu, Widjaja is charged to strengthen the platform’s overall product strategy and leverage her extensive experience in helping startups in growth, data, and strategy. 

The Filipino platform has earned supercharged traction over the course of the pandemic, becoming the go-to destination for creators and audiences; today, kumu fully realizes its leadership, becoming the partner of Pinoy Big Brother, one of the top reality TV shows in the country.

Here’s our exclusive conversation with Widjaja who shared with us her biggest challenge in the role, the new experiences they’re looking to build, and her forecast into content creation in 2022 – one she sees as authentic and ‘perfectly imperfect’ content making the biggest impact.

Stepping into the role of chief product officer, what has been the biggest challenge for you?

Like everyone else this year, working with a remote team in the middle of a global pandemic! Building and showing empathy to a team who has never seen you in person is challenging, but what’s more is that everyone is going through exceptional hardship. From a pure product standpoint, I think the challenge for newer businesses will be differentiating ‘pulled forward’ covid-era user behaviors from sustainable growth — and knowing which ones are opportunities vs dead ends.

What new products can we expect from the platform?

We’re excited to continue building exceptional consumer experiences as the best place for filipino-friendly creators, aspiring PBB housemates, artists, musicians, magicians, BPO communities… our ‘kumuverse’ is filled with so many creative groups. We plan on building stronger Trust & Safety tools to keep our safe, authentic community healthy as well as new features that help friendships grow. You never know who you’ll meet on kumu!

The platform has been recently hinting on its international expansion, how does this affect your current product development?

The Philippines has often been the testing ground for companies looking to go international. This time, kumu has the homegrown advantage – building in the Philippines for the Philippines gives us the upper hand. 

What do you think are the new trends and opportunities in the live streaming space as we approach 2022?

The past few years gave the world an opportunity to see how quick and talented a creative content creator could be with viral trends! I’m encouraged by the democratization of content creation in this semi-crowdsourced format. In the next year, however, I want to pay special attention to the content creators that embrace the ‘build in public’ ethos. 

I think there’s a lot less appeal in the overly-manicured, picture-perfect social media – much of it isn’t representative, authentic, nor relatable. And after what a horrible year we’ve all had, it’s rather disingenuous. The beauty of live streaming is seeing it happen for real – building in public – even if that means ‘failing’ in public. 

You might see this manifest in broken soldering attempts in a live mechanical keyboard build, an eyeliner that’s out of ink during a makeup tutorial, or a meringue that just won’t look like the recipe book (disclaimer: I’ve absolutely done all three of these in the last year). I look forward to embracing the perfectly imperfect in each and every individual creator out there.

This recognition is based on the results of Google Analytics on the most-read stories of 2021 with editorial validation on the significance of a leader’s contribution, campaigns results, and overall impact.

Jollibee, the top local fast-food chain in the Philippines, which is continually making a name worldwide with its growing global presence, unveils in May of 2021 its first-ever global campaign. Amid numerous advertising campaigns launched this year, it’s ‘A Message From The Future’ that comes out as our Marketing Campaign of The Year. 

In a moving and tear-jerker three-minute film, Jollibee views the pandemic from the future – as a ‘survival story’ told to the new generation, one that is overcome through the power of family and sticking together. 

Through Jollibee’s strong delivery of content in the past years, it has moved from merely being a fast-food brand to now a platform that brings human stories to audiences, packaged in the most inspiring and touching narratives.

Here’s Francis Flores, JFC Philippines’ regional marketing head and Jollibee Philippines’ marketing head, who lets us in on the conceptualization process of the campaign – sharing on the inspiration and the goal of the film; and once and for all, revealing what the brand considers the crucial elements in serving a successful reel that resonates.

Creative Direction 

What inspired the storyline of the campaign?

Jollibee as a brand has always been about the joy of family. This has always been our main inspiration and guiding principle for all our Brand Love Campaigns whether for short films or brand thematic ads.

When the pandemic broke out, everyone was unprepared and had to face an uncomfortable reality. During this time, it was very difficult to convey messages of joy because fear and anxiety were the general sentiments of everyone, but we believed that there was a silver lining amid all this.

We were determined to encourage and uplift everyone by conveying an undisputed truth that even the worst situations cannot put down – the priceless joy that we get from being with our families. Despite the challenges and unfortunate effects that COVID-19 has brought, there is one positive thing that came with it, which is being able to spend more time with our families. From physically spending every waking hour together in lockdown to long video calls across continents, our family was what got us through.

We wanted this campaign to acknowledge the grim reality of the pandemic but still give a positive message of hope. It’s all about appreciating these moments and finding the ultimate joy with family. Our families have been a comforting factor for most of us in these tough times and we wanted everyone to be grateful for that. It was the year of the pandemic, but it was also the year of the family.

What elements does Jollibee’s creative team consider to make an ideal Jollibee campaign?

It all starts with a powerful and universal truth, and for this campaign – we are spending more time with our families now, it has never happened before and may never happen again. And coming from this powerful truth, we wanted to surface the positive things that we can be grateful for even at the height of the pandemic.

a. The rare opportunity to spend more time and grow closer with our family because of the lockdown/quarantine.

b. The realization that anything can happen anytime, so we must never take anything for granted.

c. Our greatest source of joy lies in the ones that matter the most – our families.

Another important aspect is our collaboration with our partner agencies. We’re blessed to be working with several world-class creative agencies and teams that work with us in bringing our brief and vision to life. And during the whole campaign process, we made sure that we worked in close collaboration with our partner agency – from crafting the brief, ideation, storylines until actual production.

It is also critical to clearly define the message we want to convey and who our audience is. Given the widespread effect of the pandemic, we aimed to reach every Filipino family across the globe and not just in the Philippines. To make this possible, we chose to work with a global team to package the creative message in the most universal way possible, but consciously kept it rooted in genuine Filipino values. The campaign was brought to life with the help of BBH (Bartle Bogle Hegarty), a Singapore-based creative agency, and director Law Chen, an American Born Chinese who is a multi-awarded film and advertising director. Armed with a global perspective, a powerful truth, and an inspiring universal message, we were determined to create a film that not only reflects the heart of the Jollibee brand, but also uplifts the human spirit.

Lastly, we made sure that we provided sufficient media, digital and PR support for our campaigns. We didn’t just focus on launching digital videos and ads, we applied a holistic approach for every campaign. We collaborated with our media, digital, and PR agencies to cover all relevant touchpoints and to maximize the reach and effectiveness of our campaigns. Specific to this campaign, we rolled out various initiatives in social media platforms, tapped media partners, and utilized influencers.

We also made it part of a bigger campaign for the month of May where we celebrated the joy of family, notwithstanding the challenges we were all faced during the pandemic. We launched the Family Thanksgiving month last May 1, and we came out with our Kwentong Jollibee Mother’s Day special a week after which espouses gratitude for your loved ones and the joy of family messaging.

Jollibee has been known to roll out emotional-driven films; why do you think it is important for a brand like Jollibee to communicate its brand message through film?

For over 40 years, Jollibee is a brand that is deeply rooted in Filipino culture and is known for bringing joy to families. It has been part of the lives of Filipino families – from simple bonding moments to celebrating major milestones. And it’s not just in the food that we provide, but in the actual experience and joy that people have with our brand. 

It has always been our mission to bring joy to everyone and producing video content has allowed us to continue effectively conveying our message to our target audience. As the world becomes more digital, with information and content made readily available on various platforms, we’re maximizing the use of videos and short films to continue spreading joy through meaningful but free content that resonates with our target audience.

Viewer perception

What has been the feedback of the audience since releasing this first-ever global campaign? 

As of this writing, the film has garnered over 24 million views on YouTube and Facebook combined since we launched it this year in May 2021. It is always great to see several comments and mentions on social media on how they were able to relate to the film and how it has prompted them to actually show and express their appreciation and love for their family members. 

Since this is Jollibee’s first global brand love campaign, it is also overwhelming to see a lot of positive feedback from the international media and advertising industry. We are also humbled and honored to be featured and picked up by global publications such as Ad Age, Ads of the World, and being among the Top 5 in Ad Forum’s best ads of the week worldwide.

What do you think the brand values ‘A Message from the Future’ convey to its viewers?

It’s about giving people a different perspective on the pandemic; to look at it from a more positive and hopeful light. While it’s undeniable that we are faced with a lot of challenges and hardships because of the pandemic, we want to highlight the importance of having our family by our side. So that when we look back, we won’t only relive the difficulties we have experienced, but rather we’ll remember more how our family was our source of strength, hope, and joy.

We know it’s easy to take things for granted, so we want to remind people to appreciate the time we have with our family and be thankful for even the little things that our family does for us. And like what was said in the video, we’ve all gone through a rough time during the pandemic, but it is our family’s love which saved us. So, no matter how sad this period of our life was, because of our family, we still found joy.

Credits:
Agency: BBH Singapore
Chief Creative Officer: Sascha Kuntze
Creative Directors: Mae Ong & Gaston Soto
Creative Team: Sandra Eichner, Charlene Chua, Dawn Abegail, Shervin Low
Business Director: Ross Henderson
Account Director: Victoria Fernandez
Account Managers: Isabel Ong, Daphne Tan
Chief Strategic Officer: Jacob Wright
Senior Strategist: Zoe Chen
Agency Producer: Wendi Chong
Production Company: Stink Films Shanghai
Director: Lawrence Chen
Film Out: Metropolis Post
Audio House: Twenty Below Music, 750mph, Fuse
Client: Jollibee
JFC Philippines Country/Regional Marketing Head and Jollibee Philippines Marketing Head: Francis Flores
Assistant Vice President and Head of Brand PR, Engagement and Digital Marketing: Arline Adeva

Senior Brand PR and Communications Manager: Dennis Reyes
Brand Engagement Manager: Beatriz Cruz
Social Media & Digital Content Officer: Jean Vittorio Sabado

This recognition is based on the results of Google Analytics on the most-read stories of 2021 with editorial validation on the significance of a leader’s contribution, campaigns results, and overall impact.

Manila, Philippines – The travel trend to ‘escape’ to more off-beat destinations dominates Filipinos’ New Year’s Eve (NYE) plans, but the preference to stay in the metro still tops their choice for the celebration.

According to a report by digital travel platform Agoda, Manila, the capital city of the Philippines, came out as the number one destination for Filipinos’ NYE plans. Aside from the vibrant and crowded city of Manila, the report shows that travelers also prefer to celebrate their New Year in the country’s popular tourist attraction Boracay, landing at the second spot. 

Meanwhile, Cebu ranked third for its rich history and proximity to multiple islands, while the fourth spot was nabbed by Tagaytay, which is close to the city center that offers scenic views of the Taal lake volcano. Lastly, Baguio, ended at fifth, with Filipinos’ wanting to make the most out of the ‘sweater’ weather.

Moreover, new joiners Bohol, which is known for its chocolate hills, and the hustle and bustle city of Davao made it to the list of popular destinations for the New Year, knocking off Laguna and Iloilo off the top ten list.

Timothy Hughes, Agoda’s vice president of corporate development, noted that their data shows that in addition to the big city, traditional, celebration destinations, travelers across Asia are showing their ongoing desire to escape the constrictions and controls of pandemic impacted cities.

He further shared that the appeal of Asia’s beaches, stunning scenery, and freedom of open space has people heading for the coast and mountains in droves.

“Data shows that Taiwanese and Thai travelers are booking higher star category hotels compared to last year. Joining travelers from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Korea, and Vietnam in the hunt for a luxurious end to a tough 2021,” said Hughes.

The report also found that in Asia, the preference for four to five-star hotels is even stronger with Taiwan and Thailand travelers upgrading from one to three-point-five-star accommodation for New Year’s Eve this year, joining Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, South Korea, and Vietnam travelers who continue to choose 4-5 star venues to celebrate the arrival of 2022. Meanwhile, in India, one to three-point-five-star hotels remain popular among travelers, reflective of trends in 2020.

Manila, Philippines – SME-centric financial platform Investree and banking-as-a-service company Netbank have recently announced a collaboration, targeted at supporting the development of SMEs across the Philippines. Through the partnership, Netbank allocated funds for Investree clients to support the initiatives that will be carried out in 2022 to contribute towards the Philippines’ economic growth, provision of new jobs, and paving the way for scaling up businesses.

In addition, Investree is awaiting its Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) permit to operate in Visayas and Mindanao which will allow the service to reach nationwide after being able to serve SMEs in Luzon Area providing convenient access to funds and marketplace platforms connecting SMEs and institutional investors.

The collaboration between Netbank and Investree aims to fill in the gap of local SME lending, which at the moment is very underserved in the Philippines. SME loans as a percentage of GDP is approximately 3%, compared to 37% in Thailand and other countries in the region. As a result, SMEs struggle to grow, slowing job creation and economic development.

According to Kok Chuan Lim, co-founder and CEO of Investree Philippines, they have been working with the team at Netbank since they obtained their license earlier this year to jointly develop services that will improve ease of use for their SME issuers and reduce credit risks for their note investors. 

Lim also added that they are confident that their partnership will further enhance the adoption of crowdfunding as a viable working capital source for their SME clients.

“The COVID-19 crisis has taken a huge toll on small companies in the Philippines, businesses have been affected by lower sales and difficulty accessing inputs to reduced logistics services and clients not paying bills. To help SMEs bounce back from this, Investree and Netbank are collaborating to expand the loans to this critical sector,” Lim stated.

He added, “Providing account opening services and investing in crowdfunding services will allow Investree clients to finance their trade receivables, giving SMEs vital cash to accelerate their growth. This partnership also allows Investree to accelerate its growth and ultimately serve the underserved SME market.”

The collaboration between Investree and Netbank would also contribute to accelerating financial inclusion within the country.

Meanwhile, Jaymar G. Mendoza, co-founder and head of operations at Netbank, commented that they hope to support the efforts in increasing financial inclusion within the country.

“We aim to combine both expertise and flexibility that banking and fintech has to offer to create more impact for the market. The partnership between a regulated bank and an alternative lender is very powerful wherein the Banks bring balance sheet management experience and processes and the alternative lenders bring a deep understanding of their clients,” Mendoza added.

Lim further added, “With the support from Netbank, Investree Philippines will be harnessing the expertise and power of technology to give SMEs vital cash to accelerate their growth to increase financial inclusion and ultimately help the Philippines’ economy. Also, we would like to equally serve all the SMEs in the nation, therefore, inquiring about the permit to operate Visayas and Mindanao will allow us to do that. We would like to keep innovating and include more businesses in the Philippines.”