Manila, Philippines – Southeast Asian loyalty and e-commerce ecosystem Society Pass is steadfast in the company’s growth as it amplifies its operations across Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines, a group it dubs as its ‘VIP’ markets. Alongside this, SoPa has announced the opening of its office in Manila along with the appointment of VP of product design, Arbie Pagdanganan,as the new country head.
On SoPa’s new Manila location, it is strategically located in the central business district of Makati, Metro Manila. This is SoPa’s second office in its VIP priority markets and employs over 20 staff in the Philippines with an aim to grow this figure to over 100 by the end of 2022.
Dennis Nguyen, founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Society Pass, said that the Philippines is a cornerstone of SoPa’s VIP acquisition strategy. Nguyen added that he is proud to appoint their VP of product design, Pagdanganan, as their country manager in the Philippines and looks forward to her expert leadership in steering our operations to greater heights.
“Also, this new office is part of our business strategy during this critical period of economic transformation for the Philippines. As we grow our Philippines business, we are confident that the SoPa ecosystem will nurture and accelerate the growing portfolio of brands,” Nguyen said.
As country head, Pagdanganan manages the country operations with P&L responsibility while coordinating regional finance, operations, and technology teams to conduct due diligence on future acquisitions in the country. Pagdanganan brings with her a rich background of over a decade of experience in visual design, branding, user interaction and experience, and product design across leading organisations including SoPa’s Leflair. In her dual role as VP of product development, she will be spearheading an organisation-wide transformation of design systems and front-end apps of all business units.
Sharing her excitement for the joint growth vision for the Philippines and SoPa, Pandanganansaid, “Given the immense potential of the Philippines market, I am looking forward to herald the next e-commerce revolution in the country with SoPa’s unique modus operandi and look forward to taking my team along in this successful journey.”
SoPa also recently acquired Pushkart.ph, an online grocery delivery service in the Philippines to kick-start its expansion into the country. Pagdanganan will lead SoPa’s aggressive new plans for Pushkart.ph which include adding more hubs in key cities and regions and increasing its manpower.
In an exclusive interview for MARKETECH APAC’s Empowered Women Series, a special series to celebrate women leaders in marketing, Pagdanganan shared what made SoPa’s policy and philosophy on gender inclusivity great.
“We are a very diverse and inclusive organization. And we believe that it creates a huge impact on our productivity and success. So take, for example, in a male-dominated industry, like tech and operations, we don’t exclusively really look for men, nor do we seek women actively. But of course, it’s a breath of fresh air if a woman applies, like, for example, for a tech position, because that doesn’t usually happen. But really, all we care about is if the candidate shares our vision, passion and mindset,” shared Pagdanganan.
Women in marketing, media, and technology enterprises are increasingly embracing the reins of their respective organizations. This connotes how women are excellent, not only in management but as well as handling business transformation.
In this podcast episode, we are featuring two industry leaders who are ‘Empowered Women’ in their own way, handling top management and executive level of leadership at Society Pass.
This episode will discuss topics focusing on the career journey and leadership of Arbie Pagdanganan, Philippines country manager & vice president of product development and Pamela Aw-Young, chief operating officer at Society Pass as well as their insights on the recent announcement of SoPa to transform the Philippine market with the strategic purchase of an online grocery platform as part of their Southeast Asian expansion.
Society Pass Incorporated is a Southeast Asian e-commerce loyalty platform that will transform how consumers and businesses in the region engage with one another. With their society points, they are generating long-term client loyalty by adding value to every transaction.
Expansion to the Philippine market
Filipinos have embraced e-commerce like a fish to water, and the market has flourished tremendously over the past years. By 2025, the Philippines’ e-commerce business is predicted to generate $7.67 billion in revenue. Following the SoPa’s $28 million IPO on the stock market, the company has decided to expand to the Philippines.
The announcement comes at a time when the Philippines’ internet economy is predicted to rise by 24% from US$17 billion in 2021 to US$40 billion in 2025, accelerating the rapid growth of delivery services in the country. To date, Pushkart.ph has amassed more than 125,000 registered members, 35,000 social media followers, and more than 20,000 mobile app downloads in the Philippines. For the company to commence operations in the Philippines, acquiring e-commerce based businesses is a necessary first step.
SoPa’s VIP (Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines) regional expansion strategy includes the Philippines as a significant component. By using SoPa’s capital, Pushkart.ph plans on expanding its food delivery services to more people and businesses in the Philippines, starting with Metro Manila.
To further serve its clients SoPa can now provide consumers with even greater value by letting them purchase whenever and wherever they choose, without having to deal with any hassle, through Pushkart.ph. A major objective of the organization is to make it easier for local businesses in the Philippines, both established and start-ups, to expand their reach into the internet marketplace.
Commenting on this strategic step Pamela said, “Philippines is an exciting space for us with a population of 112 million economic growth forecasts 6% new young median age of 26 that represents the future for us. It has a high Internet penetration rate of 67%. What we would like to do is give opportunities to entrepreneurs to grow their businesses, integrate platforms for users, and create efficiencies in this ecosystem.”
SoPa’s aggressive new plans for Pushkart.ph, which include expanding its network of hubs in key cities and regions and boosting its workforce, make this acquisition of this company extremely important to the end customer. By 2022, SoPa hopes to increase the number of registered users to over 300,000 and the number of app downloads to over 150,000 by expanding Pushkart.ph’s technological capabilities. Using Pushkart.ph, Metro Manila residents will be able to get their purchases delivered the following day in 19 cities.
Creating an interconnected loyalty program
Building a reward system that stands out in the world of customer loyalty programs is a huge undertaking for any organization, and it can be a game-changing opportunity if done with care and accuracy.
At its core, SoPa’s primary goal is to keep clients abreast of the most recent goods and services. It is possible to increase customer retention and revenue by building emotional connections with customers and developing long-term relationships with them.
On the subject of SoPa’s priorities and programs, Arbie discussed during the ‘Empowered Women’ interview, “[Because of the sheer number of orders], delivery, and loyalty programs available for virtually every type of business or service, customers are becoming increasingly disenchanted with online shopping. In addition, it is time-consuming and cumbersome to utilize multiple applications or reward programs for different purposes and at different points in the purchasing process. So our business on the consumer-facing side, we aim to integrate everything that you need into just one ecosystem. This is where consumers can easily search books or order anything they want or need, through our values interconnected that works.”
We also asked Arbie on what are the most important verticals that SoPa needs to revisit in terms of customer loyalty and programs, she discussed, that she would revisit food and beverage and as well as lifestyle verticals.
Arbie highlighted, “So in theory, rewarding the customer’s loyalty is a great way to boost customer interaction and engagement for a business. So we do think that this is one way for them to be a frequent customer, right. But actually, from the customer’s perspective, sometimes it’s challenging to redeem the points awarded to them. Take restaurants, for example, the only time a customer can redeem points is when they return to the restaurant that awarded the points to them. And normally, a person does not eat at the same restaurant every day unless they have limited options.”
“Furthermore, most loyalty points have an expiration date as well and this withholds consumers to maximize or enjoy their points. So I believe that for a loyalty program to be effective, it has to be interconnected and accessible. Like the number of points I earn at store A, I can also spend it at store B,” Arbie adds.
Pamela also shared her tips for brands when it comes to creating loyalty programs, “Think beyond value creation. Consumers always look for choices and variety as Arbie said earlier. But connecting with other like-minded businesses, you can grow your business faster and drive efficiencies. This is what our ecosystem is all about.”
SoPa as a female-dominated company
Alongside SoPa’s expansion is its commitment to promote equality and diversity for women in the organization. With the two highest positions occupied by a female, it tells how SoPa is a company that values gender equality.
We also made sure not to miss Arbie’s take on how SoPa came to encourage gender equality and diversity in the workplace.
Arbie underscored, “To be transparent, we are a very diverse and inclusive organization. And we believe that it creates a huge impact on our productivity and success. So take, for example, in a male-dominated industry, like tech and operations, we don’t exclusively really look for men, nor do we seek women actively. But of course, it’s a breath of fresh air if a woman applies, like, for example, for a tech position, because that doesn’t usually happen. But really, all we care about is if the candidate shares our vision, passion and mindset.”
Meanwhile, Pameladiscussed the importance and influence of women in marketing decisions, she shared, “Well, there are two forces driving the retail landscape, women and technology. Women drive 80% of all consumer purchasing decisions and are great influencers. Even before the time of social media. Women are great at spreading information through word of mouth, e-commerce combines retail and technology which makes it interesting. Who understands women best? It takes one to know one.”
During the conversation with Arbie and Pamela, we asked them about their advice to those who want to become part of SOPA, Arbie said, “In terms of what advice I can give for them to have an edge to be selected. Actually, we equally value technical skills with both soft skills and attitude. So having an entrepreneurial spirit with a clearer sense of ownership, and if they have our results and data-driven and being able to adapt it to a fast-paced environment, will give them the upper hand. And also we would love to work with people with the ‘right now’ mindset [or simply being diligent and persistent].”
Arbie emphasised, “Our culture at SOPA is something we are incredibly proud of, we get to spend our time collaborating with warm, talented and motivated colleagues. So what we are currently looking for is expanding our marketing. So that includes digital marketing, search engine optimization, and content managers, for example. And we would also want to expand our business development and customer support teams.”
If you are a marketing or tech leader who wants to share your industry journey and insights, email us at [email protected].
Hanoi, Vietnam — Southeast Asian data-driven loyalty platform Society Pass Incorporated, also known as SoPa, announced its buyout of Dream Space Trading Company, the operator of Handycart, an online grocery delivery service based in Hanoi, Vietnam. Dream Space will be integrated into SoPa’s F&B delivery vertical with SoPa’s existing merchant software platform HOTTAB.
In addition to the buyout, Handycart Founder and CEO Seo Jun Ho have been named head of the new business unit, managing both Handycart and #HOTTAB in Vietnam.
Handycart, founded recently in 2019, is an online grocery delivery app with its own fleet of delivery vehicles that focuses on the Korean restaurant market and F&B sector in Hanoi. Vietnam has embraced the ‘Korean Wave’; a recent survey by market research firm Q&Me found that 58 per cent of Vietnamese favour Korean cuisine.
Ngo Thi Cham, country general manager of SoPa Vietnam, commented on the strategic step, saying that they are excited to welcome Handycart to the larger SoPa ecosystem which will enable it to harness integrated marketing and technology proposition while also strengthening its collective senior management resources.
“We endeavour to combine the robust technology and operational efficiency of a speciality e-commerce brand like Handycart with our brand-building experience. SoPa has witnessed, with our runaway success of Leflair, in Vietnam, that this move will lead to immediate returns in terms of cost optimization and increased revenue generation. We are determined to increase merchant coverage to 500 restaurants in Hanoi by the end of 2022 and look to expand to HCMC in 3Q 2022,” Cham said.
With Handycart leveraging on SoPa’s integrated technology platform to drive operational efficiencies and business performance, the platform will focus on increasing on-demand grocery shopping services to more consumers in the country, while empowering speciality F&B restaurants to transform business models and further increase reach in online markets.
Seo Jun Ho, CEO of Handycart, said, “Handycart was established in 2019 with a mission of connecting Korean patrons seeking a taste of home through its established network of authentic Korean restaurants right here in Vietnam. Providing businesses with speedy access to authentic Korean products has helped us gather a loyal user base of over 3000 with more than 26,000 orders in 2021 alone. SoPa will now be able to accelerate Handycart’s growth given our well-established positioning as a go-to online grocery delivery service. Partnership with Society Pass will enable us to unlock growth opportunities within the industry and I am glad that Handycart can now avail itself of SoPa’s synergistic ecosystem.”
Vietnam has been one of the fastest-growing economies within SEA over the past two decades. The country’s e-commerce is growing tremendously, valued at 13.2b USD; it is expected to grow steadily from 2021 until 2025.
Singapore— Southeast Asian data-driven loyalty platform Society Pass Incorporated, otherwise known as SoPa, announced its acquisition of Pushkart.ph, an online grocery delivery service in the Philippines as part of its expansion into the market.
Through the buyout, Pushkart.ph has become a wholly-owned subsidiary of SoPa and will leverage the platform’s capital to increase on-demand grocery shopping services to more consumers and more retailers initially to Metro Manila and then to all of the Philippines, while empowering grocery stores and restaurants to transform business models and further tap into online markets.
The announcement comes at a time of accelerated rapid growth for delivery services in the Philippines, with the internet economy expected to increase 24% from US$17b in 2021 to US$40b in 2025. Pushkart.ph is one of the Philippines’ growing e-commerce platforms, with a customer base of over 125,000 registered users, over 35,000 social media followers, and more than 20,000 mobile app downloads.
Dennis Nguyen, founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Society Pass, said that they are excited to combine the robust technology, retail and operational prowess of a high-performance brand like Pushkart.ph with SoPa’s brand-building experience.
“As the Philippine consumer faces tremendous challenges with traditional brick and mortar shopping due to a plethora of hurdles including excessive wait times in traffic/ public transport, SoPa aims to provide viable solutions by providing impetus to the growing e-commerce industry in the country. Given the immense potential of the Philippines market, we are very excited about the opportunities that this acquisition will bring in the upcoming months. In addition, as the Philippines is a cornerstone of SoPa’s VIP (Vietnam, Indonesia, and Philippines) acquisition strategy, I expect to acquire a number of market-leading companies in the Philippines over the next few months,” Nguyen said.
Michael Lim, CEO of Pushkart.ph, commented, “We are very excited to announce our acquisition by Society Pass; this partnership provides us with the opportunity to not only grow our presence in the Philippines but further our lead in the grocery delivery business. We are excited to join the larger SoPa ecosystem which will enable us to harness its integrated marketing and technology proposition while also strengthening our collective senior management resources. We foresee that this will lead to immediate returns in terms of cost optimization and increased revenue generation. With the capital provided by SoPa, Pushkart.ph will now be empowered to provide enhanced end to end solutions to our customers and ensure an amplified market presence.
The data-driven loyalty platform said that they are leveraging technology to provide a more personalised experience for customers in the purchase journey, to help transform the entire retail value chain in SEA. Through the acquisition of growing companies and partnership with visionary entrepreneurs in five distinct verticals: loyalty, lifestyle, travel, food & beverage and merchant software, SoPa expects to meet the region’s growing demand for better and more convenient services.
The acquisition is in line with SoPa’s core vertical focus and facilitates the proliferation of its growth in the Philippines while increasing consumer opportunities and delivering enhanced value. This move will also help tap the increasing digital penetration in the online grocery shopping space in the Philippines market.
In a press release, the SoPa disclosed that the offering of this acquisition is of immense consequence to the end-user with SoPa’s aggressive new plans for Pushkart.ph which include adding more hubs in key cities and regions and increasing its manpower. SoPa aims to expand Pushkart.ph’s technology offering, phenomenally increasing registered users to more than double to over 300,000 and driving app downloads to over 150,000 in 2022. Philippine consumers will be able to use Pushkart.ph app across 19 cities in Metro Manila with a guaranteed next day delivery service.
Hanoi, Vietnam – The data-driven loyalty platform in Vietnam, Society Pass (SoPa), has announced that it has closed a Series C funding round, which will help in accelerating its growth and acquisition strategy in the SEA and SA region.
Society Pass is a loyalty and data marketing ecosystem that operates multiple e-commerce and lifestyle platforms across its key markets. Its business model focuses on collecting user data through the expected circulation of its universal loyalty points.
Society Pass plans to expand its market presence by harnessing the untapped potential of SEA and SA, regions which according to the Digital 2021 Global Overview Report by HootSuite and We Are Social stand to see tremendous growth. SoPa believes that developing countries are only now experiencing a surge in digital adoption, with large potentials for future growth.
Moreover, the said funding aims to acquire companies with existing user and merchant bases that can be quickly plugged into the Society Pass ecosystem.
Dennis Nguyen, the founder, chairman, and chief executive officer at Society Pass, shared that the platform’s success up to this point has been built through offering unique value for both consumers and merchants, along with the infrastructure supporting that exchange.
“This new funding will allow us to replicate our success in our target markets and our ongoing aggressive M&A initiatives in the pipeline. We are very grateful to have found strong demand from quality investors that share our vision,” said Nguyen.
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