Tag: Philippines

Manila, Philippines – Local fiat and crypto wallet services provider Coins.ph has raised US$30m in their latest series C funding to accelerate investment in its Web3 ecosystem, as well as expand its presence in Southeast Asia.

In addition, the additional funding will support the company by reinforcing the platform’s crypto-native credentials and adding new products and services. Current growth plans include adding more cryptocurrency tokens, upgrading and relaunching the Coins.Pro exchange, offering additional crypto-focused merchant and payment services, supporting GameFi and guild management products, and entering new geographies.

For Wei Zhou, CEO of Coins.ph, the new funding is a significant milestone for the platform, and will allow them to accelerate and scale faster, bringing them one step closer to achieving their vision of being the go-to platform for all crypto, Web3, and P2E gaming in Southeast Asia.

He also added that as the Philippines continues to witness the mass adoption of cryptocurrencies, there is a real need for a secure, regulated, and user-friendly product in the market. Zhou also noted that they are solving that problem by delivering crypto and payment services that allow their customers to access, invest, trade, and spend their crypto assets seamlessly as a part of their daily lifestyles.

“We enable our users, even those without bank accounts, to easily access a wide range of financial services directly from their mobile phones. Our mission is to increase financial inclusion across Southeast Asia’s largely unbanked population of 650 million through our highly trusted brand and long track record of operating in full compliance with regulations. We see a massive opportunity to capture new users as engagement with Web3 surges in the Philippines and beyond. We will continue to build upon our leading market share and acquire new customers with a product that connects digital-first users with real-world goods and services,” he stated.

Coins.ph had been previously bought out by Zhou, who previously served as the chief financial officer at Binance, alongside Joffre Capital. Through the buyout, Zhou has been appointed as Coins.ph’s new CEO, as well as serving as CEO of the platform’s holding company that also operates Thailand’s blockchain-enabled platform, Coins.co.th.

Manila, Philippines – Shopper marketing consultancy, Behaviorally, has announced its expansion to the Philippines, servicing its clients from a new Manila hub, with Joy Abella-Yu, former senior director for business development and media at insights and consulting company Kantar Philippines, joining as the new vice president.

Aside from her previous role at Kantar, Abella-Yu has also held leadership roles at numerous research agencies, as well as client companies, including Johnson & Johnson, The Hershey Company, and Procter & Gamble, amongst others. She has over 15 years of market and consumer insights experience having worked throughout SEA and in the US. Abella-Yu will be joined by Kat Lim, Behaviorally’s director of client development, servicing brands in the region from the new hub.

According to Behaviorally, this move is the latest in Behaviorally’s rapid expansion in Asia and globally including new offices in Switzerland, Australia, New York City, France, and Germany. Behaviorally applies a digital-first approach to shopper research, a unique behavioural framework, state of the art AI technology, and decades of category expertise to define and diagnose the factors that influence consumer behaviour and drive shopper growth at both the digital and physical shelf.

Crispin Beale, Behaviorally’s group president, said that Abella-Yu’s extensive experience will help FMCG companies in and outside of Asia shape their go-to-market and retail strategies, as well as develop successful innovations.

“Plus her knowledge of media and digital trends make her the perfect fit for helping us implement our strategic vision in this region and guide our customers to success,” added Beale.

Manila, Philippines – 917Ventures, the venture builder of local telco Globe, has launched Concati, a one-stop application programming interface (API) marketplace, where developers can access high-quality APIs to effortlessly enhance existing solutions and get to market faster.

This suite of secure, scalable, and enterprise-grade APIs can be easily integrated into an organisation’s digital systems, allowing companies to come up with better products more quickly. Users can cut their building costs and development time by one to two months. 

With an easy-to-use API management platform, businesses can explore and connect seamlessly. Concati also offers reliable maintenance and aftersales support. In addition, Concati APIs work well with all major development languages. Developers can simply use the technology they are most familiar with. 

Mikey Garrovillo, head of product, technology and data at 917Ventures, said, “We are excited to introduce Concati to developers around the world for an elevated user experience among their customers. Anyone creating a new web or mobile application can benefit from the flexibility and convenience that Concati provides. The APIs are also relatively cheaper compared to their regional and international counterparts.”

Available APIs include address service, centralised logistics, consent management, feedback service, inventory service, leaderboard and missions, maintenance service, OTP service, push notifications, referral service, scheduling service, voucher service, and user service.

Manila, Philippines – As Grab in the Philippines doubles down on its efforts to pave the way for financial inclusion for all Filipinos, especially for its merchant-partners, the super app’s lending arm, Grab Financial Services Philippines, Inc., an SEC-licensed financing company, has launched its new loan service programme called Quick Cash.

With Quick Cash’s fast disbursal and easy application process, merchants can easily acquire a business loan that is tailored to their current needs, with no collateral required, and a flexible repayment term from 6 to 12 months. It is also able to personalise loans for each business to ensure they are able to afford their loan safely. Just as well, daily and automatic micro-deduction are also put in place by the program to help make repayments more convenient and hassle-free.

To avail loans, interested merchants will only have to confirm their merchant details with Grab with no additional requirements needed, and they are already all set to receive their needed capital and financial support – all in less than seven days.

Martha Borja, head for Grab Financial Philippines, shared that many of the budding MSME merchant-partners are in need of access to financial solutions – especially in the first few steps of their business which they have worked very hard to bring into fruition, and Grab is fully-committed to supporting them every step of the way. 

“Our new loan service programme will provide many of our MSME merchant-partners the very push that they need to scale their enterprise and grow their business on the Grab platform,” Borja said.

Manila, Philippines – PDAX, the digital asset exchange in the Philippines, has expanded its portfolio in the country, as it starts offering four new additional coins that Filipino crypto enthusiasts can buy, sell and trade via the platform’s mobile app. The new coins—Solana, SUSHI, XLM, and BNB—are now available to all members beginning this month. 

Each of the four new coins brings unique qualities. Solana, for one, is considered a more viable alternative to Ethereum due to its high speed and low transaction fees, while SUSHI is an Ethereum-based token that runs Sushi, a decentralized exchange platform where people can trade unique and hard-to-find cryptocurrencies that aren’t yet listed in major coin exchanges.

Meanwhile, XLM, otherwise known as Stellar Lumens, was designed to make transferring money as simple and affordable as possible. As for BNB, it is used to avail discounts on trading fees, pay for transaction fees, and invest in other cryptocurrency projects.

With the launch of these four new coins, PDAX mobile app now offers a total of 26 coins, the most out of all the licensed local exchanges.

Nichel Gaba, PDAX’s founder and CEO, said, “As the leading digital exchange in the country, we are constantly finding ways to expand our crypto offerings and address the needs and pain points of our users. With these new coins, we hope to encourage more Filipinos to start trading crypto.”

Before this month’s rollout, PDAX made some of the coins available for early access to members of PDAX Prime, a new exclusive service that provides high-volume Filipino crypto investors full access to even more tokens. PDAX Prime gives clients access to 50 tokens, including 30 exclusive over-the-counter (OTC) digital assets.

Aside from trading crypto on the exchange app, PDAX also offers easy transfer methods to private wallets so clients can use their assets for investing in DeFi, NFTs, and yield farming, amongst others.

Manila, Philippines – Alternative payment tools have emerged as mainstream for e-commerce payments in the Philippines and accounted for 30.7% in total e-commerce value in 2021. This was according to the latest data from data and analytics company GlobalData.

According to the data, the share of alternative payments in the total e-commerce payment value in the Philippines stood at 30.7% in 2021, up from 21.0% in 2017. Alternative payments were followed by cash and payment cards, which accounted for 29.8% and 23.5%, respectively.

In addition, the Philippines’ e-commerce payment market is crowded with several domestic and international alternative payment solution providers with GCash, Maya , PayPal, and GrabPay leading the space. According to a previous 2021 financial services consumer survey, GCash alone accounted for 18.2% share of the total e-commerce payment value in 2021.

Nikhil Reddy, payments senior analyst at GlobalData, said, “Although ‘cash on delivery’ continues to remain one of the preferred payment methods for Filipinos, alternative payment solutions have surpassed cash to become the most preferred payment tools for e-commerce purchases over the last few years. This is supported by the rising internet and smartphone penetration, growing consumer preference and rising merchant acceptance.”

He added, “The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed the adoption of e-commerce payments in the country, as wary consumers increasingly favoured online shopping to avoid getting exposed to disease vectors. This has also benefited alternative payment tools, with consumers citing convenience, speed, and reward benefits as key factors.”

The rise of alternative payment methods allows the e-commerce market in the Philippines to grew at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19.8% between 2017 and 2022, is expected to further grow at a CAGR of 15.8% over 2022-25 to reach PHP495.2b (US$9.7b) in 2025.

“While alternative payment tools lead the Philippines e-commerce payment space, they are also now increasingly being used for in-store payments. With the growing adoption of QR code-based solutions among merchants and government initiatives to push electronic payments, alternative payments are poised to disrupt the country’s overall consumer payments space,” Reddy concluded.

Manila, Philippines – Automobile manufacturer Nissan in the Philippines has appointed Juan Manuel Hoyos, former general manager of global brand and engagement at Nissan, to be its new president during the handover ceremony held last 11 May 2022 at Okada Manila.

In his new role as president, Hoyos will be responsible for steering the company’s direction to drive product innovation and business improvements. During the event, he shared his plans to strengthen the Nissan brand in the country to improve its competitiveness and to continue to provide excellent aftersales service to its customers.

Hoyos joined Nissan in 2017 as marketing director for the Latin America region, where he later took on the role of general manager of global engagement brand, based in Nissan’s global headquarters in Yokohama. Before Nissan, Hoyos has also held various management positions at Renault and General Motors.

The event also celebrated the achievements of the outgoing president, Atsushi Najima, as he begins his new role as the chief financial officer at Nissan India.

Recounting his achievements and challenges during his term, Najima commented that he is excited for Nissan in the Philippines as it charts a new chapter with Hoyos at the helm, as his vast experience in the automotive industry will help him sustain the growth that they have established in the last three years, as the country steadily recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic

“It is a bittersweet moment for me as I move to my new assignment. My family and I will definitely miss the warmth and hospitality of our colleagues and partners. At the same time, I am proud of the company Nissan Philippines has become through the hard work, passion, and perseverance of its people,” said Najima.

Meanwhile, Hoyos noted that they will continue to focus on their highly dedicated people, excellent products and service, and exceptional customer experience so they can sustain the company’s growth trajectory through this management transition. 

“I look forward to further growing the Nissan brand in the Philippines, building upon the solid foundation of trust it has laid over the years,” he said.

Manila, Philippines – Super app Grab in the Philippines has announced the launch of ‘Grab Caravan’, an on-ground celebration that invites all Filipinos to come together for their love of food by grabbing a bite from a selection of crowd favourite restaurants.

To kick off the Grab Caravan, Grab will first be visiting the home of picturesque sceneries of nature, Rizal province, to bring together and showcase the best of Rizal’s food scene at the Robinsons Place Antipolo Transport Terminal on 14 May. Some of the participating food establishments include Katsu House, Uncle Moe’s, Konbini by Katsu House, Auntie Anne’s, Big Al’s Cookie House, Baked By Mary Grace, Chachago, and Lecheng Tsaa.

“With the variety of restaurants joining together for the Grab Caravan, Rizaleños are in for a great feast, with lots of food choices available for everyone at any price point. Rizaleños should definitely be ready to satisfy both their cravings and their savings as they welcome the first-ever Grab Caravan in their hometown,” Grab said in a press statement.

GrabPay will also be the official payment partner of the Grab Caravan, which will allow attendees to get up to PHP20 cashback for every transaction made through GrabPay during the caravan.

After its stint in the Rizal province, the Grab Caravan will be visiting Cavite, Cebu, and Pampanga in the coming months.

Manila, Philippines – PH telco PLDT has launched ‘GoCamNorte’, an official tourism application for the country’s province Camarines Norte, during the annual Bantayog Festival and the province’s celebration of its 102nd founding anniversary. Developed in collaboration with telco Smart and media company InnoPub Media, the new ‘GoCamNorte’ app aims to boost the number of visitors in the Bicol region’s northernmost province as travel restrictions are gradually lifted. 

With the new app, tourists and locals will be able to learn more about Camarines Norte’s best destinations and heritage sites even before they visit the province using mobile technology. It also has interactive markers that provide contactless delivery of information through QR codes.

Moreover, the new app also links visitors to important government hotlines and accredited tour operators, resorts, and accommodations. This gives tourists the assurance that the businesses they patronise have undergone the necessary training so they can offer a safe and memorable experience.

Stephanie Orlino, Smart’s assistant vice president and head of community relations, said, “Smart continues to empower the communities we serve through our technology-enabled programs. Now that we are slowly opening our doors to visitors, our digital tourism application can help provinces like Camarines Norte share and promote the many wonderful sites to visit, as well as travel guidelines for tourists.”

Meanwhile, Mariano “Bong” Palma, the provincial tourism officer of Camarines Norte, noted, “This digital innovation gives the public easy access to necessary information about the province. The platform also allows us to push messages quickly for updates.”

Max Limpag, InnoPub Media’s co-founder, said, “With the use of smartphones, we can enable safe and contactless delivery of tourism, cultural and historical information, right in the hands of travellers, enhancing their overall experience.”

The ‘GoCamNorte’ app can be downloaded for free from the Google Play Store or from the Apple App Store.

Singapore – Southeast Asia’s influencer platform Hiipi has expanded to the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore markets.

Phi Nguyen, Hiip’s co-founder and CEO, shared that by adding the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore to their network in addition to Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand, the platform further cements its position as the number one technology solution provider for brands and influencers in the region. 

Hiip is an influencer technology solution provider using social data and end-to-end software to help more than 1,000 brands and advertisers connect and work with more than 20,000 vetted social influencers. Its in-house tech team provides both key opinion leader marketing and e-commerce capabilities so that brands can optimise their budgets for maximum returns.

Eric Rosenkranz, Hiip’s long-standing chairman, shared that as the US, European, and Asian clients look for opportunities in the rapidly growing SEA region, it is important to note that SEA is the fifth largest economy in the world.

“Almost 60% of SEA’s 680 million population is under the age of 35; and SEA’s digital economy is projected to exceed $300b by 2025, on the back of over 400 million active internet connections and a young, tech-savvy middle-class. Hiip has strongly positioned itself to take advantage of this exciting opportunity,” said Rosenkranz.

Meanwhile, Cecilia Cheng, Hiip’s CEO for Singapore and regional business director for SEA, said, “Singapore is the regional headquarters of many multinational brands and Hiip is now pleased to be able to provide influencer marketing & e-commerce technology solutions to our clients on a regional basis.”

Nikki Fedelicio, Hiip’s CEO for the Philippines, commented, “The Philippines is one of the largest and fastest-growing influencer markets globally. Hiip’s cutting edge technology will now be available in this thriving market.”