Tag: Philippines

Manila, Philippines – Philam Life, the Philippines-based insurance company by multinational insurance and finance firm AIA Group, has partnered with India’s growth marketing platform Lemnisk, to implement a Customer Data Platform (CDP), aiming to deliver an orchestrated and personalized customer experience.

Lemnisk provides CDP-led personalization and real-time marketing automation solutions that deliver customer experiences that aim to bring increased conversions, retention, and growth for enterprises.

During the pilot engagement, Lemnisk will be collaborating to amplify Philam Life’s digital leads funnel and increase existing customer engagement on its digital properties.

According to Philam Life’s CMO Leo Tan, the insurance company is at an exciting time where the pandemic has pushed them to fast track the development of their digital capabilities. 

“Piloting a CDP is the first step towards a more customer-centric approach in lead generation and we are excited to welcome Lemnisk onboard as we collaboratively create a more relevant and stronger leads management program that will benefit potential customers,” said Tan.

Meanwhile, Subra Krishnan, the CEO of Lemnisk, commented that they are immensely excited at the opportunity to partner with Philam Life in its journey to create an engine for phenomenal customer experience and amplify its business objectives. 

“The pandemic has mandated a strong data strategy foundational to long-term customer value and the way brands like AIA Philam Life have responded truly sets them apart. We look forward to innovating together and exploring valuable use cases,” said Krishnan.

Manila, Philippines – Telco giant in the Philippines Globe has announced in a press release that it is looking to scout new businesses to build additional streams of revenue.

Even amid successful vaccination programs around the world, nations continue to grapple with the pandemic, and the Philippines, the home of Globe, is currently seeing a new surge in positive cases. 

Globe President and CEO Ernest L. Cu said in a virtual interview in the APOS media conference, that it is important for the telco to explore other sources of income especially in light of the current situation.

“We are very fortunate that we continue to see revenue growth and are able to sustain growth over the past 10 years. But we also know that it’s going to be difficult to keep it up in the future,” said Cu.

The Coronavirus crisis has affected both global and local telecommunication revenues due to lack of international travel and lower handset upgrades caused by the closure of retail stores, challenges in the corporate industry, and SME markets, as well as spending pressures among the prepaid segment. 

Cu cited Globe’s recent success story with its e-wallet GCash, successfully growing to become the largest e-wallet in the Philippines. According to Globe, it has grown its client base to over 33 million last year or about 65% higher compared to the 20 million users in 2019 due to a shift in consumer behavior amid strict mobility and quarantine restrictions. GCash is one of the portfolio companies under 917Ventures – the telco’s fully-owned subsidiary, which deems to be one of the largest corporate venture builders in the country.

Manila, Philippines – Procter & Gamble (P&G) has partnered with Southeast Asia’s e-commerce platform Lazada to launch a new campaign for women titled ‘#RealDeal’, with the aim to raise awareness around Imposter Syndrome – a psychological phenomenon in which a person feels inadequate and incompetent despite her evident success and capabilities.

According to a study by the US National Library of Medicine, about 82% of the general population experience imposter syndrome in different periods of their lives, while the statistics from the 2019 Imposter Syndrome Study, also shared that 1 out of 2 women experiences Imposter Syndrome on a daily or regular basis, attesting to the fact that women often doubt their own abilities through feelings of fraud and belittlement of their own experiences and expertise.

The ‘#RealDeal’ campaign aims to shed light on this psychological experience through a short film, telling the real-life story of Singaporean entrepreneur, Yeo Wan Qing, who overcame Imposter syndrome by being open to those around her about the struggles she was facing.

The campaign will run on Lazada in May and June across five Southeast Asian markets including the Philippines, Thailand, and Singapore, as well as Indonesia, and Vietnam, with a wide range of exclusive offers on P&G products such as Olay, Pantene, and Oral-B.

“Imposter Syndrome should be taken seriously. Women who experience Imposter Syndrome need to come to the realization that people value their expertise, and they can focus on growing through the process. Additionally, they can speak to someone they trust to help them realize that their fears are unfounded,” said Dr. Lim Boon Leng, the psychiatrist from Dr. BL Lim Centre for Psychological Wellness.

Meanwhile, Alexandra Vogler, the senior director of e-commerce at P&G Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa, shared, “P&G is deeply committed to equality and inclusion. Through this campaign, we want to bring to light the inner struggles that go unnoticed among women experiencing Imposter Syndrome. Through this short film, we hope to inspire people to start conversations about Imposter Syndrome, and support one another in overcoming it.”

Manila, Philippines – Philippine telco Smart Communications (Smart) has partnered anew with event and tournament organizer Eplayment Entertainment, to launch the third season of Liga Adarna, the country’s biggest all-female esports league.

The Liga Adarna Season 3 has already kicked off last 8 April and will be running until 7 June 2021, with the theme ‘Women Rising’. The event aims to showcase the prowess of the country’s top female esports players in four different games, including Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Valorant, and Call of Duty: Mobile, as well as League of Legends: Wild Rift. 

Furthermore, the event is also in line with Smart’s long standing support for the fast-growing Philippine esports scene to cultivate the passion, skill, and talent of Filipino gamers. The winners of Liga Adarna Season 3 will enjoy a total prize pool of ₱215K.

The Liga Adarna will stream the matches live on its Facebook page.

Last 24 November 2020 to 17 January 2021, the second season of Liga Adarna was launched. Smart and Eplayment Entertainment have partnered with non-governmental organization World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in the Philippines for the season’s ‘Now Loading: Gamers for Nature’ campaign, which aims to raise funds for the organization’s environmental education initiatives.

Most recently, the telco has also partnered with game developer Moonton for Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Professional League (MPL) Season 7, which is the largest mobile esports league in the Philippines. The event has seen 10 of the country’s top Mobile Legends esports teams compete.

Manila, Philippines – Alibaba Business School, the educational arm of e-commerce giant Alibaba, has announced the kickstart of its first-ever Alibaba Netpreneur Training Program in the Philippines with support from QBO Innovation Hub, a local public-private partnership platform for local startups, and regional venture capital firm Gobi Partners via their Gobi-Core Philippine Fund (‘Core Capital’).

The training program aims to equip entrepreneurs and business leaders with tangible and actionable steps they can take to advance in the digital economy, based on Alibaba’s own entrepreneurship journey. It is part of Alibaba’s wider initiative to promote inclusive development and empower entrepreneurs and businesses both large and small.

The program is designed as a combination of online and offline training modules. The online program will be conducted via a series of virtual seminars from 21 July to 1 September, providing first-hand exposure to e-commerce and digital innovations, access to business leaders across Alibaba and those in China, as well as an opportunity to connect with like-minded, leading entrepreneurs in participants’ own region, through exercises, interactive lectures, and dynamic discussions.

Applications for this program are open from now until 20 June. 

Over the six-week period, the sessions will cover Alibaba’s key learnings from its growth from a fledgling startup into a full digital ecosystem, as well as practical advice to help businesses digitally transform their own operations and confidently embrace global business opportunities. Alibaba Business School will also host optional webinars during the program focusing on industry trends and insights.

“The acceleration of the digital economy as a result of the global pandemic is creating huge opportunities that may not be immediately recognizable. We are keen to demonstrate to SMEs and entrepreneurs how they can make full use of our digital ecosystem learnings and insights to spot and win these opportunities, and to transform their businesses for long-term success in the digital economy,” said Zhang Yu, partner and vice president at Alibaba.

Participants will be graded and quizzed on a weekly basis, culminating in a final capstone assignment at the end of the program. All participants who complete the course will be invited to join the Alibaba Global Initiatives community, where they will be able to receive access to additional content and activities post-program such as webinars and newsletters. 

For Katrina Rausa Chan, executive director of QBO Innovation Hub, the new training program is fitting as the country is witnessing a digital transformation ‘awakening’, which has become even more critical to the country’s economic resilience, recovery, and advancement. 

“Small businesses, and especially innovative startups, play a key role and need our support. We’re thrilled to partner with Alibaba Business School in launching the Alibaba Netpreneur Training Program. This initiative will empower local entrepreneurial talent and build a more dynamic startup scene,” Chan stated.

Ken Ngo, managing partner at Core Capital, meanwhile commented, “Access and exposure to operational best practices is vital for Filipino entrepreneurs to be competitive in a digital future. More importantly, I believe the real value of this program lies in how it highlights the role of leadership and vision in growing companies and communities. Together with our partners, I’d like to invite all Filipino founders and business owners to take this opportunity and apply for this program now.”

The Alibaba Netpreneur Training Program is Alibaba Business School’s latest initiative to drive success in the Philippines digital economy and build talent in digital commerce and business. 

Manila, Philippines – Data and insights company Kantar has been commissioned by the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP or the Association of Philippine Broadcasters) to conduct radio surveys that will serve as currency for its radio audience measurement this year.

KBP is a long running non-government and non-profit organization of the broadcast media in the Philippines which has been around since the 70’s. It aims to represent the interests of the broadcast media in promoting free and responsible broadcasting and provides standards to its local media partners, including regulations in news, public affairs and commentaries, political broadcasts, children’s shows, as well as religious programming, and including advertising to its members.

Through the commission, KBP aims to establish a common ground among industry stakeholders not just for research and analytics, but also in negotiating and developing partnerships that reflect “the power of radio as a powerful advertising medium.”

The radio survey will roll out across 19 key cities nationwide, including Mega Manila, Metro Cebu, Metro Davao, among others.

“Kantar is honored to have been selected as the audience measurement partner of the KBP for the radio industry. Since 2013 when Kantar was first awarded an industry contract, we have exerted every effort to ensure the high standards and accuracy of our work,” said Jay Bautista, managing director for the media division at Kantar Philippines.

He added, “This partnership with the KBP will improve the understanding of radio audiences and how listening habits have evolved since the pandemic began.”

Meanwhile, KBP President Herman Basbano and Chairman Ruperto Nicdao, Jr. said in a joint statement that their partnership with Kantar leverages the importance of radio to keep up with audience demands and stay relevant, as it needs a reliable source of information about its audiences in order to serve them better, especially in these challenging times. 
Kantar has recently launched media measuring tools to measure media channels and how audiences engage with them, including a cookie-less measurement tool by Kantar Australia aimed at connected TVs (CTVs) and podcasts.

Manila, Philippines – Filipino conglomerate Ayala Corporation has announced key changes in its C-suite leadership , namely Fernando Zobel de Ayala as the new president and CEO, taking over Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, who is now serving as chairman of the board.

Fernando takes over Jaime’s former position as CEO after 26 years of tenure as the head figure of the conglomerate’s operations.

Established in 1834, Ayala Corporation is one of the largest corporations in the Philippines and with a massive portfolio of diverse business interests, including investments in retail, education, real estate, and banking, as well as telecommunications, water infrastructure, renewable energy, and electronics. The conglomerate also has businesses in information technology, automotive, and healthcare, and management and business process outsourcing.

“Since 1995, our market capitalization has expanded more than sixfold; our net income similarly grew more than six times. Since 1995, we rewarded our shareholders with dependable returns that averaged at 15 percent per annum. Over that period, we cumulatively paid ₱118b in dividends to our common shareholders,” Fernando stated.

He added, “As incoming president and CEO, I aim to build on the firm foundation that Jaime established, guided by our core strategy of maintaining leadership and relevance in the markets we serve. To support this, we will place greater emphasis on our portfolio strategy with a sharper focus on optimizing returns from existing businesses, a highly disciplined approach on capital deployment; and explore opportunities for value realization initiatives to fund future investments.”

During Jaime’s tenure as CEO, Ayala Corporation has managed to make massive investments in real estate, banking, telecommunications, energy, water, health, education, and logistics where large societal gaps exposed opportunities to serve a broader, more inclusive set of customers, generate meaningful returns and improve risk-resilience.

Other key leadership changes include Ayala Corporation’s CFO, TG Limcaoco, taking the helm at BPI as president and CEO; upon the retirement of his predecessor, Bong Consing. Bong will continue to be engaged with the Ayala Group as a member of the board of directors of BPI, Ayala Corporation, Globe Telecom and AC Energy Corporation. 

In addition, Albert De Larrazabal, most recently Globe’s chief commercial officer, succeeds Limcaoco as AC’s CFO. Eric Francia, current president and CEO of AC Energy, was appointed to concurrently chair AC’s Investment Committee. 

“We are cautiously optimistic about the business environment and will continue to prepare for a post-pandemic economic recovery. We are hoping for a successful implementation of the country’s vaccination program that would pave the way for a revival of the economy. With a healthy balance sheet and a set of diversified and strong franchises in our portfolio, we are confident that we will come out of this difficult period stronger,” Fernando concluded.

Manila, Philippines – CIBI, a local credit bureau agency, has announced a partnership with AI and data company ADVANCE.AI to use innovative AI and computer vision technology to expand business intelligence support and services for local businesses in the Philippines.

CIBI, which was first established in 1982, provides data, credit reporting, and information management services and analytics for consumers and business entities. Meanwhile, ADVANCE.AI aims to solve digital transformation, fraud prevention, and process automation for enterprise clients.

Marlo R. Cruz, president and CEO of CIBI said, “As a forward-looking and digital-first organization, CIBI always looks to be one step ahead. This partnership with ADVANCE.AI facilitates our mission to give Filipino businesses easier access to a range of business intelligence services, including credit and data reporting through a more efficient internal system. This marks the beginning of more opportunities for CIBI, as our partners enrich our capabilities and innovations.”

ADVANCE.AI’s holistic suite of products covers three key areas: digital identity verification and eKYC customer onboarding, risk management and digital lending solutions. It is now expanding into markets such as Mexico, UK, Europe, and the US.

Meanwhile, Dong Shou, CEO of ADVANCE.AI, commented: “Our market-leading AI and computer vision technology will allow CIBI to expand its range of critical business data and intelligence reporting solutions, with the ultimate aim of better supporting underbanked and underserved businesses in the Philippines.” 

He added, “This is more important than ever in the current COVID landscape, as we help accelerate the digitalization of the economy, and in doing so, help millions of Filipinos and businesses gain access to new financial products and services.”

Manila, Philippines –ShopeePay, Shopee’s in-app digital wallet, is fast becoming an entity of its own, with the e-commerce continuously introducing partners and features that move it beyond its primary function – as payment for orders on the platform. This time, ShopeePay in the Philippines has partnered with one of the leading supermarkets in the country, Puregold. 

The tie-up will see the leverage of the use of QR codes for over-the-counter grocery purchases. Puregold has over 406 branches nationwide. The shopper, once at the cashier of any branch, will only need to inform first that he intends to pay with ShopeePay. Once the shopper goes to his ShopeePay wallet action bar, he will need to tap ‘Scan’, and click QR / Barcode, and enter his 6-digit ShopeePay PIN. The shopper will then present the generated QR code to the cashier for scanning, and receive a confirmation of the payment once done.

“Puregold is excited to partner with ShopeePay for this initiative. At Puregold, we want to give our customers only the best kind of service and overall quality shopping experience, and that includes easier and safer payment methods. Through the convenience of digital payments, we aim to increase customer enthusiasm while consumers maintain their purchasing power,” said Ferdinand Vincent Co, the president of Puregold.

Meanwhile, Martin Yu, the director of Shopee Philippines, commented, “We are always thrilled to partner with one of the Filipinos’ favorite brands, such as Puregold. Through ShopeePay, we strive to ensure that users can shop and pay with ease. In addition to the ease of use, ShopeePay offers several benefits to users which include convenience, a seamless user experience, security, and greater cost savings.” 

By using ShopeePay, shoppers can also enjoy up to 20% cashback starting today, 21 April until 31 December 2021.

Manila, Philippines – Despite the majority of Filipino small businesses successfully deploying digital finance gateways, access to external finance, on the other hand, may hamper their business growth, new survey from professional accounting body CPA Australia shows.

According to the report., cash flow difficulties are having a negative effect on some Filipino small businesses as 64% of respondents sought external funds last year; with 43% seeking funds for business growth, and 32% for survival.

However, only 13% of respondents found accessing external finance easy or very easy, the lowest of the markets surveyed. This may explain why respondents mainly sought funds from friends or family (21%) or personal resources (21%), compared to 15% from a bank. Only 16% of Filipino small businesses expect accessing external finance to be easy or very easy in 2021, which is lower than the survey average of 28%.

Part of this issue can be attributed to COVID-19 restrictions, with more than half (58%) of Filipino respondents reported being negatively impacted by COVID-19. However, 46% say they have already recovered or expect to recover in 2021, while 62% of small businesses grew in 2020. 

Filipino small businesses made greater use of digital technologies in 2020 as the pandemic accelerated the use of e-commerce. Around 27% of Filipino small businesses reported that they began or increased their focus on online sales in response to COVID-19.

Meanwhile, 61% of respondents received more than 10% of sales from digital or online payment technologies such as GCash, DragonPay, and PesoPay, up from 47% in 2019. About 62% of small businesses received more than 1% of their revenue from online sales, up from 50% in 2019.

According to Mark Chau, regional general manager of business development international at CPA Australia, dynamism among Filipino small businesses should help drive an economic rebound this year as restrictions are gradually eased and global economic activity returns to normal.

“The survey shows that small businesses in the Philippines are eager to innovate and engage with customers through social media. A vibrant and youthful workforce together with growing domestic demand supported the sector in 2020,” Chaus stated.

About 73% of Filipino small businesses expect to grow in 2021, with 52% intending to increase employees. 22% anticipate that revenue from overseas markets will grow strongly, while 31% say they will introduce a new product, process or service to the local or overseas markets, the second highest of the markets surveyed.

“Difficulties in accessing external finance may hinder business plans to hire more employees, invest in technology or expand to new markets. Small businesses in the Philippines should consider seeking professional advice to maximize their success in obtaining external finance,” Chau added.