Tag: Philippines

Manila, Philippines – Through time, the use of social media is becoming more intertwined into people’s daily lives, and is also becoming a major avenue for conversations that would benefit both consumers and brands.

On Twitter, whatever is happening, be it as grand as opening a new business or simple joys, people share it with their network, making the platform the go-to place to see the latest in culture and trends.

Research shows that there are five key trends on how Filipinos converse around food, beverages, and personal, as well as home care on Twitter. The first trend is around one’s creativity in the kitchen, which is the result of boredom of Filipinos amid the ongoing pandemic. 

Cooking and baking have become creative outlets for new skills, and part of the people’s routine is to tweet their creations, sharing their trusted food brands and their favorite marketplace. The data from Twitter also shows that Filipinos’ most mentioned retailer for packaged food is foodpanda Philippines.

Next on the list is Filipinos’ love for coffee. Conversations about this much-loved drink continue to grow on Twitter Philippines, increasing 3% in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the fourth quarter of 2020, as cafes enticed people to look for innovative ways to make a statement with coffee. And with this, Robinsons Supermarket topped the list as the most talked about beverage retailer for Filipinos on Twitter.

Filipinos also tweet about pop culture on Twitter, which helped increase the conversation interestingly around hair care. There’s a 15% increase in the tweet volume on hair care for the first quarter of 2021 compared to the fourth quarter of 2020, as they actively pay attention and discuss the latest hairstyles or colors being sported by their favorite idols. This made Watsons Philippines rank first as the top mentioned hair care retailer among Filipinos in the platform.

Meanwhile, Filipinos gained a new perspective on self-care during the pandemic, building up their skincare routine and Twitter has also become the top-of-mind platform to look for suggestions and tips. More than 12% in April 2021of tweets are related to personal and skincare compared to May 2021. Part of this growth is the equally progressing conversation on tackling unrealistic beauty standards. Twitter revealed that Shopee Philippines is the most talked about among retailers and providers of self-care products.

And lastly, Filipinos were found to grow fondness for tweeting about being at home, making them more attentive to their own space. As the pandemic continues, people have grown interested in home improvement to keep their homes safe and clean. They can be seen sharing their aesthetic home buys, which is mainly from Lazada Philippines, therefore ranking first as the most mentioned retailer of home care products.

Chandan Deep, Twitter’s head of emerging business for SEA, shared that people on the app and the conversations that they create are what makes Twitter unique, and 71% have rated it as a great platform for brand interaction, making it the number one among its peers.

“These people lead the conversation and are passionate to share about diverse topics such as beauty, food, and health. What makes them powerful as consumers is that they try, buy, and share their experience on Twitter,” said Deep.

Philippines – One of the largest airlines in the Philippines, Cebu Pacific, has recently announced the migration of its loyalty program ‘GetGo’ to ‘Go Rewards’.

‘Go Rewards’ is a lifestyle and rewards program of the Gokongwei group that provides its members more ways to enjoy deals and benefits from Cebu Pacific’s many partner brands.

Through the migration, the ‘GetGo’ points earned before 1 January 2020 will be converted into Cebu Pacific Travel Fund. Members will be able to use this virtual wallet to purchase new flights, add-ons, and taxes, as well as fees on the airline’s website.

Meanwhile, the points earned from 1 January 2020 onwards are converted into ‘Go Rewards’ points. One point is equivalent to ₱1 and can be redeemed in over 2,000 retail stores. 

Furthermore, under the ‘Go Rewards’, members from the Philippines can earn and redeem points from purchases in Gokongwei-owned stores such as the Robinsons Department Store, Robinsons Supermarket, and The Marketplace, as well as Shopwise, and Southstar Drug, among others. Members can also enjoy exclusive deals and coupons that they can discover via the ‘Go Rewards’ app. 

“We are excited to be part of this new and improved loyalty program where we are now able to offer more rewards and options for our customers,” said Candice Iyog, Cebu Pacific’s vice president for marketing and customer experience.

Cebu Pacific said that the members with ‘GetGo’ loyalty cards may exchange them for the new ‘Go Rewards Classic’ card by simply presenting the old ‘GetGo’ card in any Robinsons Retail store, and activating the card through the ‘Go Rewards’ app to easily view the points. In addition, the ‘GetGo’ members with existing ‘Go Rewards’ membership can conveniently merge both accounts through the ‘Go Rewards’ app.

Meanwhile, the ‘GetGo’ members who are new to ‘Go Rewards’ can merge their ‘GetGo’ membership by downloading the ‘Go Rewards’ app, selecting ‘Register’, and then linking their ‘GetGo’ account. After doing so, the ‘GetGo’ number will be deactivated, and the new ‘Go Rewards’ number will be the membership account moving forward.

Manila, Philippines – Food and beverage brand Knorr in the Philippines, which is under Unilever, has recently launched a new campaign as part of Unilever’s ‘Future Foods’ agenda, aiming to fight undernutrition in the country. 

Featuring well-known local basketball player Marc Pingris, as well as two other notable individuals – a multi-awarded teacher and the first-ever Tigwahanon Manobo medical graduate – the ad highlights that their success all thanks to a combination of hard work as well as eating nutritious vegetable meals, made more delicious by Knorr’s line of products.

The ad, made by creative agency MullenLowe TREYNA, is part of the launch for Knorr’s enhanced ‘Nutri-Sarap’ Nutrition Program, which focuses on two things—education and product improvement.

Under the program, Knorr strengthens its partnership with various government agencies, LGUs and NGOs—including the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Education (DepEd), Scaling Up Nutrition Business Network, and National Nutrition Council as well as Pilipinas Kontra Gutom—to educate parents on how to prepare healthy, delicious, and affordable home-cooked meals for their families.

“The brand believes that the greatest weapon one can use in this battle is knowledge. And through its different partners, Knorr is disseminating information that empowers parents to build healthy eating habits for their kids and diversify their family’s diet, especially in areas where help is needed the most,” the company said in a press statement.

Meanwhile, Kristine Go, vice president for foods and refreshments at Unilever Philippines, commented, “We’re doing everything we can to help secure a brighter future for the Filipinos. In the past, aside from education, we were also able to sustain feeding programs that we are proud to say have really made a huge difference in the lives of beneficiaries. With the pandemic limiting our movements, our search for more ways to make nutrition more accessible led us to implement improvements to our well-loved products.”

Manila, Philippines – Cascadeo, the dedicated cloud company under Philippine telco operator Globe, has been recognized as a niche player by Gartner Magic Quadrant for Public Cloud IT Transformation Services, Global 2021, making Globe the first Philippine telco to have a subsidiary enter into the Gartner Magic Quadrant.

According to the report, Cascadeo’s strengths banked on cloud consultancy, managed services and cloud-native skills; modernization of traditional applications; as well as emphasis on strategic cloud transformation, and DevOps expertise. 

Cascadeo invests heavily in data analytics through its AIops-enabled cascadeo.io platform. The cloud management platform for cloud infrastructure analytics is one of the company’s key competitive differentiators, with its capabilities in multi-cloud monitoring; automatic system alerts; cost-optimization features; and dashboard integrations.

Speaking about the company’s recognition, Peter Maquera, CEO of Cascadeo and senior vice president of Globe Business, Enterprise Group, said that this historic win with Gartner reminds them that they are on the right track towards digitally transforming their customers.

“Public cloud deployments are vastly accelerating, with enterprises planning to maintain or increase their IT investments in the years to come. Globe and Cascadeo continuously work together to expand our base of cloud engineering skills, products, and services to help businesses achieve agility and resiliency through the cloud,” Maquera said.

Meanwhile, Jared Reimer, president and founder at Cascadeo, commented, “As Cascadeo grows through our Globe partnership, we expand our workforce of skilled Cloud engineers, architects, security experts, and operators in the Philippines. Being part of the Magic Quadrant validates our decades of experience as a premier-tier services provider centered around data-driven business transformation.”

Manila, Philippines – IdeaSpace Foundation Inc. (IdeaSpace), the non-profit organization that supports the startup ecosystem in the Philippines, has announced the 15 startups that are advancing to its ‘2021 Acceleration Program’ – a project that aims to support startups in developing stable, scalable, and sustainable businesses through mentorship, funding, and networking opportunities.

The 15 chosen startups have stood out at the pre-acceleration phase and prevailed after pitching their business ideas to a judging panel composed of executives from the IdeaSpace team and the MVP Group of Companies, along with selected investors and startup founders.

In the health, wellness, and fitness sector, online marketplace for fitness Fitscovery, fitness coaches online marketplace Splore Fitness, and online concierge pharmacy XalMeds, as well as picture exchange communication platform Pic-A-Talk will be advancing on the program.

Meanwhile, living sustainability start-ups such as cleantech company Circula Recoon, online laundry services Dirt Bag, and virtual shopping mall Oh My Genie! are also moving to the next round of the program.

Also joining the program are start-ups that promote hassle-free remote work, namely, human resource-tech-enabled solution Betterteam, long-chain referral-based job platform Pasajob, and career progression platform Xperto, as well as free smart POS platform Peddlr.io, and e-signature platform Twala.

And lastly, several e-commerce platforms will also advance on the program, including auto and motor parts e-commerce platform Pieza PH, community-supported fishery platform Fishbee, and product-centric software provider Instahomes.

These chosen startups will be undergoing a four-month program consisting of access to mentorship, workshops, and legal services, among others, and will receive a ₱100,000 cash grant. At the end of the program, IdeaSpace will be selecting three startups to invest in through its Opportunity Fund.

Katrina Rausa Chan, IdeaSpace’s executive director, said that startups in the 2021 cohort for the IdeaSpace Acceleration Program offer the solutions, the technology, the innovations, and the businesses that have the potential to propel the country forward and shape the new normal. 

“IdeaSpace has always invested in ventures with great teams and forward-thinking ideas. We can’t wait to see them scale up their businesses, help people, and create longer-lasting impact in their respective categories,” said Chan.

Meanwhile, Rene Meily, the president of IdeaSpace, shared that every startup in this cohort delivers digital-first solutions and they need that now more than ever. 

“We’ve seen the variety of the industries that these startups represent, which only goes to show that no matter your category, you will have to quickly adapt in these changing times and find ways to integrate digital in your products and services to provide relevant solutions. We are excited to see how they grow throughout the program, IdeaSpace and QBO will be with them every step of the way,” said Meily.

The coaching industry, while a booming industry, is still a sector that offers massive room for exploration. Coaching, or which may sometimes look to as therapy – the much stronger household name for many – started out as a service perceived to be a ‘luxury’, where people saw it as a non-essential and a service only requiring additional expense. After all, the success of coaching is dependent on the client’s life ‘struggles’ and it’s easy for prospective clients to dismiss a service which presents itself as a solution to something the client has ‘complete control’ over. 

The global authority on the coaching industry, International Coaching Federation (ICF), defines coaching as “partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.” ICF said that individuals who engage in a coaching relationship can expect to experience fresh perspectives on personal challenges and opportunities, enhanced thinking and decision-making skills, enhanced interpersonal effectiveness, and increased confidence in carrying out their chosen work and life roles.

With the internet culture paving the way for more inclusive conversations in today’s time, people have grown to be more comfortable with ‘sharing’ their life problems and experiences, growing, at the same time, their openness to personal services such as coaching and therapy. 

One coaching firm in the Philippines, Metamorphosis Group, whose services cater to career coaching, does not just aim to leverage the opportunity of a much more accepting consumer, but also the booming industry that still has yet to penetrate the Philippines. 

Of what would later become the company Metamorphosis Group, Danica Octa, the firm’s founder, CEO, and president started her services as a freelance career coach herself in 2019. Eventually forming her core team, the firm today offers services on career education, personal branding, and talent attraction, aside from its flagship career coaching. 

Officially registered as a business at the beginning of covid, Metamorphosis Group couldn’t come at a rightful time with companies cutting costs and implementing employee retrenchments, increasing the number of people thrust into a career limbo.

Metamorphosis Group is truly a consulting agency in the new generation being a digital, remote, and tech-enabled career development and empowerment firm. 

“Our role is to be some kind of learning partner [and to be] an accountability buddy. We help our clients learn new things, not just the technical skills, but also the life skills, and we help them become more accountable to whatever they learn, and to whatever goals they want to achieve,” said Danica in the MARKETECH Spotlight interview. 

Watch the full interview with Danica Octa, the founder, CEO, and president of Metamorphosis Group.

Disrupting the career development industry as an end-to-end employability solution 

Having operated officially as a full-service firm in late 2020, Danica bared in the interview that the biggest challenge for the firm is assuring the guarantee of the service – that clients, after a period of consulting and coaching, have an expectation that they would land a job right after.

Danica said that Metamorphosis Group started out just like any other career coaching firm, which simply “just coached people,” but then every after conclusion of a consulting engagement begs the question, “What’s next?” 

“It’s not really our responsibility if they didn’t use the tools and knowledge that we’ve shared with [clients], but we still feel that there is some level of obligation that we have for them to actually land a job.” 

Danica further shared an observation that most of the time, recruiters’ concern is still on their employers, and that employers have the mindset that job seekers must be prepared already, and that it is only in the last priorities of a recruiter to offer advice just so for them to have the job. 

“I find [this situation] very, very limiting. So I said, why don’t I mix both services into one company. We do the career coaching, but we don’t let them go that easily. We’ll also offer them the opportunity to be connected with employers, that’s why we call ourselves an end-end solution for employability,” said Danica. 

Part of the services that Metamorphosis Group offers now is ‘Talent Attraction’. The firm creates a talent pool of young professionals who are excellent and eligible for opportunities with multiple employers in their industry.

From starting out as a sole freelance career coach to now Metamorphosis Group 

Metamorphosis Group’s humble beginnings can be said that of any other firm achieving success from the ground up – the idea springing from a very personal experience of the CEO. 

Metamorphosis Group is already two years running in the business and its growth story is not one particularly filled with glamor – quite simple with a genuine service at its core, and a close-knit personal network standing as its pioneering team. 

Danica revealed that there was a period in her life where she had difficulty understanding the job market, specifically how employers felt about candidates and even employees, and figured that maybe she could offer a service that could help people out in these kinds of struggles.

With a full-time job as a recruiter back in 2019, Danica started what would be Metamorphosis Group with herself, becoming a freelance career coach on the side. Things changed when the economic consequences of the pandemic unfolded before everyone’s eyes, not sparing Danica of a job loss. From this, she made the decision to finally start her own company, hence, the birth of the Metamorphosis Group. 

In building her team, Danica did not look too distant and roped in people with specific specializations, and with whom she’s established a relationship with. 

Danica says that she figured, “If you have a very big dream, you need a big team.”

And so starting with a partnership with her very own sister, Jillian Octa, who took care of the firm’s design and creatives, she started recruiting more professionals from different backgrounds.

She took in experienced management consultant Ren Madrid who is part of the company’s executive board and who heads Metamorphosis Group’s enterprise solutions. As Danica continuously grew the company and its programs, she found that career coaching is a difficult job in the sense that as a very personal interaction, it’s inevitable for such engagement to take a counseling point of view. She then recruited none other than her university guidance counselor Teya Paulino to help with this matter. Last but not the least, she hired the fifth member of the firm’s core team, Ricson Singson Que, which offers specialty in digital transformation and cybersecurity.

From its official launch in September 2020, Metamorphosis Group has since grown to acquire over 1000 career coaching clients, and not just from the Philippines, but from all over the world, such as in Japan, India, Germany, and the US, among others. The firm has also currently gained over 10,000 followers in its social media, where Metamorphosis Group has been able to share an overflowing stream of content in career development and job-seeking – over 25 webinars, 30 articles, as well as over 10 networking opportunities featuring over 20 subject matter experts and coaches.

And for its biggest achievement yet, it ran an expansive Virtual Career Fair and Digital Transformation Summit last March 2021 which was attended by about 600 participants, featuring 17 industry speakers, over 17 companies and employers, and connecting attendees with over a hundred job openings and 20 career coaching opportunities.

The role of Metamorphosis Group in the Filipino workforce

Ultimately, what is the role of Metamorphosis Group in the entirety of the Filipino workforce? Just like other nations, the Philippines suffered the blow of the pandemic demanding a slow to none operations, rendering the employment force decapitated. According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, as of May 2021, unemployment rate stands at 7.7% which translates to 3.73 million jobless Filipinos. 

Coinciding with the economic downturn, the pandemic has pushed for both employers and job seekers to turn to digital in order to continue recruitment operations, which on the flip side, happens at a timely opportunity where a multitude of digital platforms catered to job seeking has emerged for the job searcher. 

In the MARKETECH Spotlight interview, Danica said that above all, Metamorphosis Group presents itself as a long-time guidance for the professional, a partner that isn’t bound by time. As the career industry continues to evolve, so does Metamorphosis Group, and this is the ultimate contribution of Metamorphosis Group to the Filipino workforce. 

“Our role [in the workforce] is to be some kind of a learning partner [and] an accountability buddy,” said Danica. 

Despite this immersive collaboration with clients, Danica says that ultimately, they want clients to feel that they have the control back over their career direction. 

“We want our clients to decide for themselves, what their lives should be, [and] we don’t wanna decide for them; we just give them all of these options [and] we guide them on the best option for them. And it’s all up to them.”

Most of all, its biggest contribution would be that Metamorphosis Group has the intuition to guide clients to the future as the firm understands the future of work. 

“We are very forward-thinking, we understand the future of work, we as a company is very, very in touch with what’s going to happen 10 years later,” shared Danica. 

“We have the intuition, we can give our market the information they need to succeed moving forward, of course, so that they can upskill and reskill to the appropriate job that they need to have, moving forward. So I think that’s the role that we take here,” she adds.

With an ambitious forecast to the future, it seems Metamorphosis Group is not only aiming to transform the workforce one successful Filipino at a time but to raise the standard of coaching in the country and eventually put the Philippines on the map. 

On future plans, Danica shares, “We are looking at expanding to different markets abroad so that our clients here in the Philippines can have the option to seek opportunities on an international scale. Internally, we’re also looking to grow our team to strengthen our marketing so that we can help even more people” 

Those that are looking to collaborate or partner with Metamorphosis Group may reach out to them at [email protected]. For those who want to explore the possibility of investing on the firm, please reach them out at [email protected].

Manila, Philippines – The pioneering local music channel in the Philippines MYX has once again run their music awards virtually this year, with the official hashtag and title, #MYXAwards2021. 

The Myx Music Awards has been around since 2006, and just like all events during the pandemic, it saw the music brand pivoting its awards event to virtual in 2020. Due to its success last year, MYX once again celebrated Original Filipino Music or OPM virtually with #MYXAwards2021 which is in partnership with Twitter. 

Right off the bat, Filipino music fans flocked to Twitter as the event unfolded on 7 August, tallying over 4.3 million tweets dedicated to the event for this year. According to Twitter Philippines, this was almost the same volume of tweets racked up last year. 

Twitter said the conversation peaked at around 11 pm as everyone watched till the end of the event, which was streamed live across YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook, as well as on MYX’s own website and on kumu. 

As expected, #MYXAwards2021 ruled Twitter trends on the event day as fans expressed their excitement and reactions as it happened. Twitter recorded the top 10 hashtags used by netizens including #bts, #sb19atmyxawards, #myxawards2021, #sb19, and #bgyoonmyxawards2021.

Fans hashtagged around local Filipino five-member boy band, SB19, the most as the group racked up the top awards by MYX such as ‘Music Video of The Year’ for its song ‘Alab’, including the award ‘Song of The Year’ for the same song. SB19 was also named overall ‘The Artist of The Year’. 

Since 2018, Twitter releases a special emoji for the Myx Music Awards. Fans used the official hashtags #MYX, #MYXAwards, and #MYXAwards2021 as they showed their support to their favorite artists and to unlock the special emoji. 

Aside from the special emoji, fans also utilized other emojis to express their sentiments. The most used emojis are the Purple heart, musical notes, the trophy emoji as well as the sparkle, and bawling emojis. 

The most retweeted tweet of the night goes to BTS (@BTS_twt) for winning International Video of the Year for Dynamite, proving the Filipino ARMYs impassioned love for the group.

With this, the K-pop group emerged as the top mentioned celebrity during the event, followed by local music groups SB19, BGYO, Ben&Ben with part of the conversations during the night also centering around Ed Sheeran.

Carl Cheng, head of entertainment partnerships at Twitter for SEA & Greater China, commented, “Apart from the power of music, MYX Awards 2021 also showcased the power of conversations in hyping up the moment and keeping the excitement alive. The energy of music fans and communities here on Twitter is simply compelling, and we are equally excited to bring more of #WhatsHappening in entertainment closer to home using Twitter.”

Other awards by MYX included New Artist of The Year, Mellow Video of The Year, and Rock Video of The Year, among others. 

Manila, Philippines – HUAWEI‘s video streaming platform, HUAWEI Video, has just announced the expansion of its on-demand streaming service, offering a wider array of premium local and international video content for its users in the Philippines.

Through the expansion, HUAWEI Video has added content offerings from various media companies, namely, ABS-CBN, Paramount Video, CJ E&M, and The Explorers, among others.

The new content offering includes Filipino series such as ‘On the Wings of Love’, ‘One More Chance’, and ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’, as well as ‘My Ex and Whys’, and for avid western movie lovers, the app features titles such as ‘Star Trek’, ‘No Strings Attached’, and ‘Transformers’, as well as ‘A Thousand Words’, among others.

Meanwhile, fans of Korean dramas can now watch ‘What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim’, ‘Reply 1988’; ‘Search WWW’, and ‘Familiar Wife’. They can also enjoy a wide selection of documentaries produced by a team of explorers, media professionals, scientists, and artists.

And lastly, the app has also added Chinese and Cantonese series such as ‘Unforgettable Love’, Use for My Talent’, ‘Stop! Miss Hua’, ‘Healing Hands’, ‘Virtues of Harmony’, and ‘Line Walker’, as well as ‘War and Beauty’, and ‘Triumph in the Skies’.

“HUAWEI’s vision is to bring connectivity to everyone, and we are thrilled to expand our HUAWEI Video offerings in the Philippines, connecting customers to even more quality entertainment and a better viewing experience, all at their fingertips,” said Shane Shan, HUAWEI’s director of consumer cloud service for APAC.

HUAWEI Video has also announced that during the limited period between 8 and 15 August, users will be enjoying the HUAWEI Video+ subscription plan at a discounted price of ₱8 for the first month. Subsequently, they can renew their subscription at ₱210 each month. 

In addition, the platform will be rolling out a ‘Free Movies Weekend’ promotion, which offers a curated list of western and local movies for free over the weekends during the month of August.

Singapore – Following the company’s decision to take down the online course featuring Filipino tattoo artist Apo Whang-od, Nas Academy has finally responded to the allegations that the online course was a ‘scam’ and that the course has been approved by the artist herself.

The issue stemmed from a Facebook post by Kalinga-based tattoo artist Gracia Palicas who is also the grandniece of Apo Whang-od herself, which has since then been deleted, warning people that Apo Whang-od never signed any contract with NAS Academy said online course, which was available for a price of PHP750.

“Some people are taking advantage of our culture. Please help us stop this disrespect to the legacy of Apo Whang-od and the Butbot tribe,” Palicas stated.

Most often referred to as the ‘last’ and oldest ‘mambabatok’ or traditional Kalinga tattoo artist, Whang-od was conferred by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) the prestigious ‘Dangal ng Haraya’ Award at Tabuk, the capital of Whang-od’s ethnic province of Kalinga, in 2018.

In a Facebook post that included video evidence of Apo Whang-Od inking her right thumb fingerprint into the documents, Nas Academy stated that they have approached her, with the reasoning that the team wanted to share her culture for future generations to appreciate and respect the ancient Kalinga tradition of ‘mambabatok’, a traditional tattoo art form she learned from her father by the age of 15.

Nas Academy added as well that they pitched the idea to her family regarding the creation of the Whang-Od Academy. The post stated as well that she and her family ‘loved this idea’, and have worked with NAS Academy to build it, with Whang-Od teaching herself. As a matter of fact, Whang-Od’s trusted niece, Estella Palangdao, was present and translated the content of the contract prior to Whang-Od affixing her thumbprint, signifying her full consent to the project.

“Everybody was compensated for their time, and for every sale the Whang-Od Academy generates, most of it went directly to her and her family. We just provided the technology and the marketing,” the company stated.

No photo description available.
An image of Apo Whang-od (Courtesy of Apo Whang-od Facebook page)

Nas Academy was founded in 2020 by Arab-Israeli vlogger Nuseir Yassin, most commonly known online as ‘Nas Daily’ where he made 1,000 daily one-minute-long videos on Facebook. Said online education platform aims to empower creators to share their knowledge, built on the concept of the modern creator, supporting them with curriculum development, marketing, and community management.

https://twitter.com/Dreinanigan/status/1423155244792311809

With said issue being publicized, there has been growing sentiment among Filipino netizens that foreign influencers are banking on Filipino culture for their own benefit and profit.

In response, a spokesperson from Nas Academy told MARKETECH APAC, “Nas Academy’s mission is to help creators become the next generation of educators. All the Academies are built directly with the creators themselves, and the majority of the sales goes to them. We just provide the technology and the marketing. Nas Academy is proud to support Filipino creators to share their knowledge and culture both within the Philippines and around the world.”

The company also added in their Facebook post, “We care deeply about the Philippines and respect the many cultures and traditions that exist across the country. And we have all come together to make the world a better place.”

Manila, Philippines – With the goal of continuing to further tech-up Filipino businesses, UBX, the fintech unit by UnionBank that provides opportunities and access for all by building digital financial solutions for individuals and SMEs, has just recently launched ‘Sentro Build’, to enable the growing community of merchants that gather in well-known marketplaces. 

‘Sentro Build’ is the latest version of UBX’s ‘Sentro’. ‘Sentro’ is an online shop builder for entrepreneurs and MSMEs, while the new ‘Sentro Build’ provides marketplace owners, organizers, and their communities an easily customizable online marketplace.

Merchants can join the ‘Sentro Build’ via an invite to the marketplace from the marketplace owner or by applying to become a seller to the marketplace, while customers can simply visit the marketplace website to look through the merchandise.

Through ‘Sentro Build’, marketplace owners have full control over the appearance and branding of their marketplace through the platform’s easy-to-use administration features. It has a built-in payment gateway powered by Bux providing multiple payment options via over 50,000 over-the-counter channels, online banking, and e-wallets, as well as debit, and credit card payments. In addition, it has pre-integrated delivery services powered by MrSpeedy.

“There are many industries affected by the pandemic. Those severely impacted include the events, expo, and bazaar segments. Traditionally, this industry required physical gatherings which might not be happening any time soon. We have the technology that can now empower companies to create their own online marketplaces,” said Bjorn Pardo, UBX’s head for SME Ventures and Sentro’s lead for Venture.

According to UBX, the events industry was one of the hardest hit during the pandemic, and traditionally requiring mass physical attendance, events, and expos have been severely restricted.

With this, ‘Sentro Build’ has kicked off with Themes & Motifs last 24 July 2021. Behind the launch are the organizers of The Wedding Inspirations Co. and the original Philippine Wedding Expo. The virtual Bridal Fair national roadshow and its online mall dedicated to the wedding industry is called ‘The Bridal Marketplace’.

When asked by MARKETECH APAC how ‘Sentro Build’ helped Themes & Motifs transition virtually, Pardo said, “Themes & Motifs events are primarily done physically in malls and convention centers. Now with their marketplace up and running, they can virtually conduct their own bridal fair from anywhere in the Philippines. Also because of the marketplace we’ve built, customers can easily view and check out their purchases within the marketplace.”

Meanwhile, Sharon Fabian, the managing director of Themes & Motifs, shared that ‘Sentro Build’ allowed them to quickly establish TheBridalMarketplace.com, a comprehensive online mall for soon-to-weds that capitalizes on Themes & Motifs long-standing partnership with big and reputable names in the local wedding industry.

“It provided us with full integration to pandemic-friendly payment methods and a seamless connection to a product delivery system. Also, its easy-to-use e-commerce platform is perfect for our online bridal fair roadshow which showcases different wedding suppliers in different regions of the Philippines,” said Fabian.

Aside from ‘Sentro’ and ‘Sentro Build’, UnionBank’s UBX has also launched other digital platforms, namely, digital transformation package ‘i2i’, end-to-end payment platform ‘Bux’, online lending marketplace ‘SeekCap’, and technologies for visionaries ‘Q Lab’.