Tag: platform

Pakistan — Financial wellness platform Abhi has announced the successful closure of its US$17m Series A funding round, which will be used to meet the massive customer demand, scale the Abhi team and build out marketing capabilities.

The financing round was led by international venture capital firm Speedinvest, supported by VEF, Global Ventures, VentureSouq, and more.

Founded in 2021 by Omair Ansari and Ali Ladhubhai, Abhi’s objective is to tackle financial stress by enabling employees to meet their financial obligations without exposure to negative loan spirals – but also to benefit employers. For employers, the platform has zero costs involved – thus avoiding any impact on the payroll cycle or cash flow.

Omair Ansari, chief executive officer of Abhi, said, “We are delighted to announce this US$17m funding round, especially with the calibre of investors involved. The continued backing of VEF, plus the support from other leading VC firms, is a testament to our platform, business model and the hard work of our team. We have grown rapidly since our inception in July 2021 and our momentum has opened up a significant B2B opportunity. All sizes of companies and their employees want the services we provide. The proceeds will support our exponential growth and help us meet customer demand.”

The company’s strong growth has continued since its inception and the company is cash-flow positive. Its total payment value processed has scaled rapidly, increasing from US$2m in November 2021 to US46m as of February 2022. Abhi works with hundreds of companies, including household names like Hilton Pharma, Soorty, Din Group, among others. The company has partnered with two of the largest banks in Pakistan – United Bank Limited and Bank Alfalah – and has also expanded its offering to business financing, taking the step from a pure B2C company to now being also a B2B company.

Dave Nangle, CEO of VEF, commented, “Our congratulations to Omair, Ali and all the Abhi team. We backed this team from the seed stage and watched all the impressive progress and traction they have achieved in less than a year of existence. It is the reason behind their ability to raise a size Series A round from a deep bench of quality investors.

Nangle adds, “From a capital perspective, In the wake of having placed our debut sustainability linked bonds, it feels appropriate to be able to deploy capital so swiftly into an asset like Abhi, supporting consumers and MSMEs in the vastly under-penetrated financial market of Pakistan. Abhi is a perfect example of how VEF, as a company, can positively contribute to financial wellness across emerging markets, while staying true to our mandate of delivering superior shareholder returns.”

Singapore – Bigo Technology, a global social livestreaming platform, has announced the launch of ‘Community,’ a new interactive feature that allows users to create and manage online communities, as well as post and share original content with other platform users who share similar interests.

The launch of ‘Community’ marks the first feature of its kind in the livestreaming industry and is part of Bigo Live’s ongoing efforts to promote virtual self-expression, to enable users to form deeper connections with the platform’s global network of over 400 million users. 

As Bigo Live celebrates in sixth anniversary this year, ‘Community’ comes at the back of the launch of ‘Virtual Live’, the platform’s latest feature that allows users to create personalised virtual 3D avatars to represent themselves and communicate with others.

Mike Ong, VP of Bigo Technology, shared that as they enter a new era of social media with the rise of livestreaming, they want to elevate Bigo Live into a catalyst for an organic development of a creator economy-centric ecosystem while still retaining their core mission of being a user-first platform. 

“We hope to achieve this with the launch of ‘Community’ by providing our users with not only an immersive and holistic livestreaming experience, but also experience synchronous social interaction that is an extension of the physical world,” Ong said.

All Bigo Live users have access to ‘Community’, allowing them to customise and organise their communities by topic and interest, and to respond to posts by sharing, liking, commenting or tipping through Bigo Live’s virtual gifts customised.

In addition to being able to manage three communities at once, users will be able to join as many communities as they choose. Bigo Live broadcasters can now use ‘Community’ as a channel to present content that can’t be easily shown during a livestreaming session, allowing them to expand their audience and build a following.

The feature’s ‘Live tab’ will also contain livestreaming sessions hosted by members of the community, which users can join and participate in. Several Bigo Live communities have sprung up to reflect the diverse cultural origins and interests of Bigo Live members since the service’s inception. Fitness, Latinx, K-Pop dancing, and Mukbang are just a few of the various subcultures represented here.

To ensure that Bigo Live’s strict content policies are adhered to, the platform has also introduced a series of new tools and policies to ensure that Bigo Live remains a safe, healthy, and positive environment for all. In addition to current measures, ‘Community’ will see the implementation of admins who will be tasked to pin and unpin posts, as well as delete posts or remove users that violate Bigo Live’s guidelines. Admins who have been exemplary in managing their communities and supporting good content production will stand a chance to be award with Bigo Live’s first-ever ‘BIGO Community Award’.

Ong adds, “The livestreaming industry has grown exponentially over the past few years, and as an ever-evolving industry with an increasingly tech-savvy population, the opportunities for growth are limitless. Our mission here at Bigo Live is to provide the best experience for our broadcasters and users. We do this by innovating features and exploring new ways for our users to engage with one another and form meaningful social relationships.” 

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

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

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

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

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

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

Singapore — End-to-end commerce enablement company AnyMind Group has announced the launch of AnyX, a one-stop e-commerce management platform for individuals and businesses that connects various e-commerce channels and AnyMind Group’s various platforms.

Through the convenience of AnyX, an individual or business can manage operations across e-commerce marketplaces and platforms, and consolidate and activate data across available e-commerce stores. With AnyX, businesses can also easily embark on cross-border e-commerce activities by tapping on the platform’s integrations with e-commerce marketplaces across the region.

At launch, AnyX is already connected to regional e-commerce marketplaces and platforms namely Shopee, Lazada, Rakuten, Amazon, and Shopify. Additionally, it is also connected to numerous AnyMind Group platforms such as AnyTag, AnyChat, AnyManager, AnyFactory, AnyDigital, and AnyLogi.

Kosuke Sogo, CEO and co-founder of AnyMind Group, commented on the launch of AnyX, saying that over the years, they have constantly made it exciting for everyone to do business through their technology, and AnyX is yet another milestone for AnyMind as an end-to-end commerce enablement company.

“We will continue to connect even more functions across our proprietary product suite, enabling easier and more exciting commerce for all. We’re looking to advance next-generation commerce by enabling commerce to be done anywhere, bringing forth a world where every business is borderless,” Sogo said.

AnyX is now available to AnyMind Group customers internationally, with customers having the option to use the company’s various platforms individually, or as part of a suite through AnyX. In the near future, AnyX will also support the automated triggering of actions across platforms, including order management, inventory allocation and management, and revenue/pricing management.

AnyMind Group is also working on connecting further with local or niche Asian e-commerce marketplaces and more third-party applications and will integrate future products that the company develops.

Philippines — The MullenLowe TREYNA Group has unveiled their newest offering, ViVYD. ViVYD is a feature-rich, Filipino-built platform for hybrid experiences that showcases advanced options for staging and customization for any event and audience.

The platform is a solution for hybrid experience creators and organizers who are eager to create effective offline and online venues for their conferences, brand-led events, trade and B2B gatherings, employee get-togethers, and more.

Organizers have the ability to choose between self-serve or managed services, including the production team, the ease of use of the backend event management system, customizable login levels for different types of attendees, and flexible skinning and branding throughout. Audiences can view virtual watch rooms, manage their schedules with an interactive calendar that updates in real-time, engage with one another through in-event community chats, and express their sentiments live through applause and reaction bar.

ViVYD officially premiered in October 2021 at IMMAP Digicon, the Philippines’ largest digital marketing conference, where Denise Haak, CEO of Qairos, said that they were thrilled to see ViVYD at work in front of over 2,000 attendees, with world-class speakers such as Adam Grant, Bretman Rock, Professor Scott Galloway.

“And now, as part of the MullenLowe TREYNA Group, ViVYD also means access to hybrid experts such as online platform managers and event managers, so it truly is a one-stop suite of solutions,” Haak said.

Manila, Philippines – Seedbox Technologies, Inc. (Seedbox), a wealth management platform providing access to investment products for  Filipinos, has announced a US$6minvestment from new investors SBI VENTURES SINGAPORE PTE. LTD. (SBI VENTURES) and Philippine Equity Partners, Inc. (PEP).

Seedbox is a joint venture formed in 2016 by The ATRAM group, a Philippine asset and wealth management firm, and the Indivara group, an Indonesian IT and software firm. The platform allows consumers to become an investor with just a few clicks on their mouse. 

According to the company, the new funding will support Seedbox’s rapid growth and allow the company to scale its operations with investments in upgrading its technology platform, enhancing its product suite, and expanding its team.

Meanwhile, Mike Ferrer, CEO of ATRAM Group, Jusuf Sjarrifudin, CEO of Indivara and Rex Mendoza, Founder and CEO of Rampver, stated, “The shareholders and management team of Seedbox welcome the entry of SBI and PEP, leading firms in their respective fields, as our new partners. With their expertise and experience across the region, SBI and PEP will be able to contribute greatly to Seedbox’s ability to meet Filipino investors’ growing needs for new investment products and access points.”

The fund-raising effort comes after a time of rapid expansion for the company, which saw the number of active users surpass 1 million and surpass the number of online stock trading accounts in the country. Seedbox introduced digital sachet investing, where new investors can invest for as little as $0.96. Seedbox was also responsible for the digitization of the Personal Equity Retirement Account (PERA), the country’s y pension system which connects investors with administrators and providers.

Malibu, California – The open and fast blockchain Harmony (ONE) has announced its investment in LootMogul, a multiverse blockchain game platform for sports influencers and followers.

LootMogul’s fan engagement concept is driven by sports influencers from NBA, WNBA, NFL, MLB, NHL, ICC, Olympics, College, High School, etc. through gaming, developing sports arenas and lands, enjoying unmatched experiences with star celebrities, earning NFTs and cryptos, and so forth.

Raj Rajkotia, founder & CEO of LootMogul.com, shared, “At LootMogul, we are continuing to offer robust solutions to our sports community through scalable blockchain and strategic partnership. Partnership with Harmony allows us to build a scalable product for our entire sports & crypto community.”

Danny Carranza, creative lead at Harmony.one, commented, “As the Harmony ecosystem grows exponentially, we are always on the lookout for exciting projects that showcase promise. With this investment, we are excited to see what the LootMogul team can build for the sports and crypto community. LootMogul has a unique product positioning in the sports metaverse with star athletes and real-world premier sports & entertainment industry benefits. 

Carranza emphasised, “This investment is a part of our $300M ecosystem fund, which offers grants and investments to projects that share our vision to build a blue metaverse — the Harmony metaverse.”

Sydney, Australia — Australian tech innovator Curiious has announced the launch of the ‘plug and play’ version of its award-winning metaverse platform, enabling enterprises to engage audiences in the metaverse within hours of purchase.

Curiious’ ‘off the shelf’ metaverse platform enables brands to host a fully-immersive, 3D online world within hours, rather than the months or years of building when a brand commits to a bespoke platform.

Michelle Schuberg, managing director of Curiious, said that some brands are already announcing they’re entering the metaverse, while others are figuring out if they need it yet and then there’s the enterprises who are somewhere in-between. Schuberg added that enterprises need to know right now that the metaverse is here and any brand can get started with a branded, immersive experience within hours – whether their audience is their global employee base, clients needing to understand a new product, or consumers wanting to engage in the brand’s community.

“Event organisers are one of the obvious sectors that have embraced the metaverse as COVID-19 made live events and travel impossible, but now we are seeing businesses prioritising the metaverse to engage and onboard their people or to build connections with customers via a branded, perpetual 3D world,” Schuber said.

Some of Curiious’ new metaverse platform features include; the ability to go online within 24-hours from purchase, the ability to create a true 3D world for users to navigate similar to sophisticated PC games, customers can licence Curiious’ world-first immersive and interactive WebGL platform for 12-months, enabling them to deliver unlimited events in that time, a fully customisable, branded environment, available virtual environments and delivery can be scaled to any event size – from a Town Hall to an online office or site environment to a global expo with multiple environments that enable a rich and highly-engaged audience experience.

Moreover, other integral components include; users can self-guide their experience and learn for deeper engagement through live sessions, pre-recorded sessions, media galleries, interactive games, among others. The platform’s media gallery also enables it to be a permanent metaverse, while also allowing sponsorship integration that allows organisers to recover costs.

In addition, the platform also seamlessly integrates desktop, mobile and VR. Additionally, the platform can also measure detailed audience data not possible via live experiences, including dwell time, user sessions, return visits after the event, sponsor engagement and more.

On Curiious’ new metaverse feature product, Schuberg commented, “Our ‘plug and play’ metaverse is built with plugin architecture so our clients can be ready to launch with a customisable, branded event or training resource that engages their audiences via world-first immersive experiences within hours of purchase.”

She added, “This product’s rapid deployment will evolve our industry as it seamlessly integrates with an enterprise’s existing systems, giving organisers a true ‘plug and play’ interactive option that leverages existing content and materials while providing the tools to engage and delight their audiences no matter where they are in the physical world.”

Singapore – Customer experience platform NICE has announced the launch of its cloud native platform CXone in Singapore, allowing businesses in the Asia Pacific area to minimise friction and provide personalised, connected, digital-first customer support. Said platform is backed by a specialised local infrastructure team that helps businesses of all sizes and verticals speed their digital and cloud transition. 

NICE’s cloud native CXone platform helps enterprises of all sizes modernise, remain agile, and resilient in today’s increasingly digital landscape. CXone is a platform that combines omni channel routing, analytics, workforce optimization, automation, and artificial intelligence on an open cloud basis.

Furthermore, a new framework given through a unified suite of applications on the CXone platform, CXi (Customer Experience Interactions) will be available in Singapore. Assisting customers with AI and data-driven self-service, CXi equips enterprises to intelligently meet their customers wherever their journey begins. Incorporated purpose-built CX AI and a native open cloud architecture, it allows seamless end-to-end service experience.

Paul Jarman, chief executive officer at NICE CXone, said, “Every interaction consumers have with a brand elicits some sort of emotion, and that  emotion will determine brand loyalty. A mandate for every organisation must be to deliver exceptional customer experiences  by re-imagining their entire business through the lens of experience. We’re pleased to empower companies in Singapore to  deliver the connected, seamless and hyper-personalised consumer experiences that are so vital to increasing customer loyalty  and engagement with CXone.” 

Singapore – Singapore-based shopping and rewards platform ShopBack, has launched ShopBack Pay, a cashless payment feature to make payments more convenient and rewarding for consumers.

In a single app, consumers can now pay it their way by linking their favourite payment methods and making their in-store purchases easily, as well as stack additional cashback on top of rewards from their preferred payment method.

The new feature excludes the need for users to top up funds on ShopBack Pay, instead allowing them to simply link their preferred payment method (Mastercard, Visa, or GrabPay) available on the ShopBack app, and in-store payments will be directly debited from the linked payment method in real-time.

On top of the cashback offered by ShopBack Pay merchants, users will also receive rewards from their preferred payment methods, such as credit card benefits and the ability to earn GrabRewards points. ShopBack Pay’s QR scan and pay feature, which is available on its app, will allow users to make payments at physical stores as well. 

Julian Foo, head of payments at ShopBack, shared, “Our goal at ShopBack has always been to add value to and shape one’s shopping experience with ShopBack Pay, right from the start when users easily discover merchants on the app to making their payments with cashback as a loyalty scheme.” 

Kanika Maheshwari, head of consumer segment at Grab Financial Group Singapore, commented, “We want to provide the most rewarding and convenient payment experience to our GrabPay users by enabling the widest range of online and offline payment methods, as well as helping them maximise the value out of every dollar they spend. Through this collaboration, GrabPay users can not only earn GrabRewards points from their transactions, but also gain additional cashback incentives via ShopBack Pay.”

The ShopBack Pay feature, which has onboarded over 3,000 merchants since its pilot launch on January 17, will be available to ShopBack’s 2 million users. In addition, ShopBack has partnered Grab to drive the use of GrabPay on ShopBack Pay so users can maximise the cashback benefits and rewards from both platforms. 

Furthermore, ShopBack Pay users will receive a $2 incentive reward on their first ShopBack Pay transaction linked to GrabPay from March 8 until May 31, 2022. During the same time period, first-time ShopBack Pay members will receive 100% cashback on their first transaction, with a $5 minimum expenditure and a $5 maximum cashback. Existing ShopBack users are also eligible for this offer.