by Ferry Bayu | Aug 24, 2023 | Business
Shopee partners with League of Provinces to help digitize MSMEs
Shopee on Wednesday inked a partnership with the League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP) to help digitize micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME) in the country.
Shopee’s Head of Business Intelligence Martin Yu said their goal is to upskill Filipino sellers through free training programs on how to sell their products online and then onboarding them to the e-commerce platform.
“These are grassroots. These are people who don’t know how to do this yet. A lot of our program is designed to teach. That means having workshops, get them to list online and sell online. On top of us granting them this journey is giving their products that pathway to the customer base that is the Philippines,” said Yu.
The program will be piloted in the province of Quirino, where LPP National Chairman Dax Cua serves as governor, before being implemented in other rural areas.
“Quirino is a very rural province. There’s not yet any brick-and-mortar shopping mall in Quirino. And so when we thought of partnering with Shopee, we really envisioned to leapfrog into the future. Wala man kaming shopping mall sa Quirino, we will have the first provincial virtual shopping mall,” said Cua.
Congresswoman Mindy Cua, who represents the lone district of Quirino, was also present during the launch.
She shared that local entrepreneurs from Quirino are very excited about the prospect of having a bigger market for their processed agricultural products such as ginger tea, banana chips, ube powder, and banana flour.
“They’re very, very excited because they have a lot of products and ideas in mind that they want to produce and sell. But of course, selling it to your neighbor is not really the ideal setup. So if they have a huge customer base, it will be easier for them to sell,” she said.
The MSME digitization program was announced during the campaign kickoff of Shopee’s 9.9 sale.
Yu said they are confident that the 9.9 shopping spree will be successful despite elevated inflation.
“If anything, I think it’s natural that people would come look on the platform. You want to compare prices. Saan makahanap ng good prices and great assortment? Our kababayans, they’re very very good at finding great deals,” he said.
Shopee’s 9.9 Super Shopping Day sale starts from September 1 to 10.
by Ferry Bayu | Aug 24, 2023 | Business
IGNITING CHANGE: VELOX NETWORKS EMPOWERS HEALTHCARE CLINICS TO ADAPT WITH EASE
Singapore healthcare faced the challenge of bringing their services to where they were needed most. Velox Networks, a trailblazing Singapore-licensed telecommunications company, stepped in to help clinics quickly move and set up seamlessly.
Singapore, August 24, 2023 – When the COVID-19 pandemic hit
Singapore, healthcare faced big challenges. Velox Networks, a top telecommunications
company in Singapore, stepped in to help clinics quickly set up, move, and set
up again. This was possible because of Velox Networks’ smart cloud PBX design
that can change and adjust easily.
Clarence Lim, a Senior Manager of IT Operations at a leading
healthcare provider in Singapore, explains the difficulty of keeping up with
changing medical needs while dealing with high rent costs. “Our clinics
are spread out across Singapore,” says Lim. “Rent prices keep going
up, and it’s tough. We had to close some clinics and find new places for
them.”
“With Velox as our digital phone partner, we can move
and change phones smoothly,” Lim adds. Velox Networks’ cloud PBX lets us
use our old phone numbers and make new ones when we need to. “Moving phones
has been easy,” Lim says. “Just a few forms to fill out online.
During COVID, our staff took the phones home and connected them to the internet
– no need for extra troubleshooting.”
But that’s not all. Velox Networks offers more helpful
tools. Lim shares, “Their online system has many features. One of them is
rebooting phones from far away.” With clinics all over Singapore, this
feature is a game-changer. “Clinic staff get busy, but we can fix issues
in five minutes with a remote reboot. It saves us time and effort.”
And the support doesn’t stop there. “Velox’s account
management and customer support are great,” Lim praises. “When we
need help, they’re quick to respond – even on weekends. Phone lines are crucial
for us, and Velox makes sure we’re covered.”
Velox Networks isn’t just about technology; it’s about
helping people thrive. As a leader in telecommunications, Velox Networks is
guiding us into a connected future. To learn more, visit www.myvelox.com
or call +65-6978-1329.
Velox Networks Pte Ltd is a leading telecommunications provider specializing in delivering cutting-edge solutions to enhance connectivity and communication. With a focus on customer-centricity, Velox Networks aims to simplify and enrich the way individuals and businesses connect in the digital age. For more information, visit www.myvelox.com.
Jonathan Alquiza
Digital Marketing Specialist
j.*******@*****ox.com
+65 6950 5750
by Ferry Bayu | Aug 23, 2023 | Business
Antsomi Welcomes D.A.Consortium Inc. as Its Strategic Investor, Onboarding Regional Clients under the Partnership
SINGAPORE and KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Aug. 22, 2023 — The Southeast Asia-based marketing technology company, Antsomi, is pleased to announce that D.A.Consortium Inc. (DAC), a leading digital advertising and marketing company, has made a strategic investment in Antsomi. This investment marks a significant milestone in the partnership between Antsomi and DAC, positioning DAC as a regional reseller of Antsomi’s innovative customer data platform, CDP 365, in the Southeast Asian region.
Antsomi’s collaboration with DAC has yielded remarkable results, with the successful onboarding of prominent clients in the region, including Dunlop Thailand. This achievement highlights the strength and potential of the partnership and showcases Antsomi’s and DAC’s commitments to providing cutting-edge solutions to their clients.
Antsomi is renowned for developing CDP 365, an artificial intelligence-enabled customer data platform that serves clients across the Southeast Asian region. CDP 365 enables businesses to unify customer data from various sources and deliver personalized activations with marketing automation capability across multiple channels. With its headquarters in Singapore and branch offices in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam, Antsomi welcomed DAC as its strategic investor in its pre-series A investment round as DAC has been at the forefront of the digital advertising and marketing industry, driving the market formation and growth through its expertise in digital technology. With an undisclosed amount, the investment will be used for product development and regional expansions, including business development and client success capacities.
Serm Teck Choon, co-founder & CEO of Antsomi, emphasized the significance of this partnership, stating, “Our collaboration with DAC represents a pivotal step forward for Antsomi’s regional expansion and sustainable growth. DAC’s extensive industry expertise and strong market presence will accelerate our mission of transforming businesses into data-driven companies. We are confident that this strategic partnership will deliver exceptional value to our clients and drive unparalleled success.”
Michihiko Suganuma, Senior Executive Officer & Head of Global Business Group of DAC, expressed his excitement about the partnership, stating, “We are thrilled to invest in Antsomi and become their strategic partner. This collaboration is a testament to our dedication to providing cutting-edge solutions to our clients and driving their success in the digital age. With Antsomi’s innovative and data-driven technology, we can unlock valuable customer insights and enable our clients to deliver personalized experiences at scale. We believe this partnership will bring immense value to both DAC and our clients.”
The strategic partnership between Antsomi and DAC is poised to make a significant impact on the marketing landscape in the Southeast Asia market. By combining Antsomi’s advanced AI-driven customer data platform with DAC’s established market presence and expertise, both companies aim to revolutionize marketing practices, empowering businesses with data-driven insights and personalized customer experiences, ultimately leading to greater customer loyalty and business success.
About D.A.Consortium Inc. (DAC)
Since its establishment in 1996 during the early days of online advertising, DAC is leading the industry in market formation and growth as it steadily expands its operations with the digital transformation of information and lifestyles. Currently, DAC operates advertising and marketing businesses centered on digital technology both in Japan and overseas. The company provides comprehensive support, from consulting and planning to ad space purchasing, selling, management and results analysis. With a firm understanding of the characteristics of different media, DAC also produces creative, develops and provides solutions that bridge its wealth of data with advanced technologies, and supports global promotional initiatives. With the mission, “Empowering the digital future,” DAC will continue to be at the forefront in creating new forms of advertising and marketing and providing new value to society.
About Antsomi:
Antsomi is a regional marketing technology company building the first artificial intelligence-enabled customer data platform, CDP 365, in Southeast Asia, with the mission to transform businesses into data-driven companies. Antsomi CDP 365 helps companies unify their customer data from multiple sources, such as mobile apps, web, social media, digital ads, CRM, POS, offline channels, etc. It then delivers relevant activations with rich personalization across multiple touchpoints via both online and offline. Antsomi CDP 365 empowers companies to understand their customers’ behavior and intent across various channels and build a 1-to-1 customer journey at scale. Antsomi is headquartered in Singapore, with branch offices in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam.
Antsomi
**@*****mi.com
by Ferry Bayu | Aug 23, 2023 | Business
PH-SKorea eye FTA signing next month
Philippines and South Korea trade ministers have agreed to work for the signing of the bilateral free trade agreement (FTA), preferably during the 24TH ASEAN-Republic of Korea Summit next month in Indonesia.
Trade and Industry Secretary Alfredo E. Pascual relayed the new development after meeting with his South Korean counterpart Minister Dukgeum Ahn at the sidelines of the 55th AEM Meeting in Semarang, Indonesia over the weekend where both ministers discussed greater economic engagements between the two countries.
“Both Ministers welcomed the conclusion of the PH-ROK FTA negotiations and agreed to work for its signing, preferably at the sidelines of the 24th ASEAN-Republic of Korea (ASEAN-ROK) Summit in September 2023,” the DTI said in a statement.
In addition, the ministers agreed to work on a possible supply chain resilience cooperation to ensure stability and predictability of business operations, particularly in the manufacturing sector.
Both parties concluded the FTA negotiations on Oct. 26, 2021, two years after it was launch in June 2019.
The concluded Korea-Philippines FTA negotiations cover Trade in Goods, Trade Remedies, Rules of Origin, Customs Procedures and Trade Facilitation, Economic and Technical Cooperation, Competition, and Legal and Institutional Issues.
Both parties also agreed to further negotiate provisions for the Chapters on Trade in Services and Investment no later than one year after entry into force of the Korea-Philippines FTA. Philippines and Korea also committed to complete all necessary domestic procedures towards the signing of the Korea-Philippines Free Trade Agreement in early 2022.
The FTA would further liberalize trade in goods between the two countries, including gradual elimination of tariffs on Philippine bananas and canned pineapple exports and exports of Korean automobiles and autoparts.
Both parties acknowledged that the FTA will help contribute to the economic recovery efforts of the Philippines and Korea.
Once enforced, the FTA with South Korea will be an important vehicle for enhancing trade flows, and generating more investment and employment opportunities in the process. The bilateral FTA will be the third for the Philippines,
“We are glad that our trade negotiations with South Korea have come to a fruition. We also thank Minister Yeo and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) for their continued collaboration in facilitating a wider economic cooperation with our Philippine trade department,” Lopez said.
Both trade partners have acknowledged that the FTA can contribute to the swift recovery for the robust and resilient growth of the economies of the two countries.
At the conclusion of the trade talks, both parties called the deal mutually beneficial and paving the way for high level of liberalization on trade in goods.
Following the conclusion of negotiations, both parties were looking at signing the PH-ROK FTA during the 40TH AND 41ST ASEAN Summits and Related Summits in November last year in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
The signing, however, did not materialize as both parties were still reviewing text and provisions of the trade deal.
Conclusion of the trade deal has been delayed for quite sometime already, largely due to market issues for goods, particularly on the exports of Philippine bananas and pineapples to South Korea. The Philippines fruits are being levied a 30-percent tariff, putting them a disadvantaged against competing exports from Vietnam which tariff rate will eventually reduce to zero.
The PH-ROK FTA Negotiations was launched in June 2019 in Seoul by former Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon Lopez and South Korea’s Minister for Trade Yoo Myung-hee.
by Ferry Bayu | Aug 23, 2023 | Business
Financial literacy for everyone CashKu and airasia academy tie up opens up learning pathways
CashKu (a 1337 Ventures investee), and airasia academy have entered into a partnership to offer financial literacy courses in a bid to empower the Malaysian public to plan their financial futures better.
KUALA LUMPUR, 18 August, 2023 – CashKu, owned by Advisonomics (a 1337 Ventures investee), and airasia academy have entered into a partnership to offer financial literacy courses in a bid to empower the Malaysian public to better plan their financial futures.
This programme is accessible via the following two links on airasia academy’s website:
English: https://airasiaacademy.com/on-demand-learning/financial-literacy-with-cashku
BM: https://airasiaacademy.com/on-demand-learning/literasi-kewangan-bersama-cashku
“airasia academy is delighted to venture into this partnership with CashKu. As an education platform, we believe that making financial knowledge easily available for everyone is truly a worthwhile endeavor,” says airasia academy Director Dr Ram Gopal Raj.
He adds that the direct correlation between low financial literacy and low household income is quite evident in Malaysia, and this underscores the importance for these courses to be made available to the general public.
“The participants will also learn how to use the CashKu app to manage their finances and potential investments and use it for more efficient and effective financial planning to secure their financial futures.”
Meanwhile Advisonomics co-founder Asgari Stephens shares that one in three Malaysians consider themselves as having low financial knowledge. And while more than 75% of Malaysians understand that inflation means the cost of living is rising, only some 38% can understand how that affects their purchasing power.
“The modules we are offering in this programme are especially tailored for the novice and takes them through an introduction to financial literacy right to setting goals and taking proactive steps towards securing their financial futures.”
“I believe this will create a positive impact towards improving financial literacy among Malaysians and help them to better plan their finances,” Asgari adds.
The beginner level courses which are available in Bahasa Malaysia and English encompasses Understanding the Importance of Financial Literacy, Managing Cash Flow, Awareness of Inflation and Its Impact and Introduction to Savings and Investments.
CashKu also has intermediate and advanced modules to promote a progressive approach to learning about financial literacy. The intermediate course would encompass Understanding Net Worth and How to Identify It, Introduction to Budgeting, and Saving vs Investment while the advanced programme covers a Recap on the Importance of Saving and Having an Emergency Fund, Introduction to Passive Investment and Active Investment, Efficient Market Hypothesis and the Concept of Compounding.
To access the course one just needs to go into airasiaacademy.com and search for CashKu. The beginner level videos are available at no charge while the intermediate and advanced level programme are accessible for free via the CashKu app.
1337 Ventures (pronounced as ‘Leet’), is a Malaysian VC, we invest in early-stage startups. We run Alpha Startups Accelerator to help idea and MVP-stage startups launch, validate, and grow. We also help SMEs raise funds via ECF & consult corporates on their Innovation journey.
Learn more: https://1337.ventures/about/
About Advisonomics
Advisonomics is a registered financial planning firm established in 2019, backed by highly experienced and trained financial advisors. Holding both HRDF and financial planning licences, the firm aims to democratise and create financial literacy among Malaysians using a powerful mix of technology and human collaboration, with the message that everyone can create investments towards securing their financial future.
For more information, visit the website at www.advisonomics.my
About airasia academy
airasia academy is the region’s fastest growing one-stop edutech platform with a goal to make learning more accessible and affordable for everyone. The platform provides an accessible, affordable and inclusive ecosystem to build and nurture talent to meet the demands of today’s digital economy. Some of the education offerings include On-Demand Learning (ODL), accredited Instructor-Led Training (ILT) for in-demand tech courses such as Digital Marketing, Cloud Infrastructure, Data Analytics, Software Engineering and Cybersecurity to the Learning Management System (LMS) which streamlines and elevates the learners journey as well as Job Placement service for its job-ready graduates.
For more information, visit the website at https://airasiaacademy.com/
Shannon Chow
Head of Marketing, 1337 Ventures
sh*****@**37.ventures
by Ferry Bayu | Aug 23, 2023 | Business
JFC says Tiong Bahru Bakery, Common Man Coffee Roasters won’t compete with CBTL
MANILA — Jollibee Foods Corp said on Tuesday its new bakery and coffee ventures won’t compete with its own brands.
In an earlier disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the country’s largest restaurant operator said it formed a joint venture with Food Collective Pte Ltd (FCPL) to bring Tiong Bahru Bakery and Common Man Coffee Roasters to the Philippines.
The Jollibee Group owns Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf (CBTL). It also has an interest in Vietnamese brand Highlands Coffee.
During its second quarter earnings briefing, JFC Chief Financial Officer Richard Shin said they don’t see the recent investments cannibalizing the coffee market since the kinds of coffee and food products that will be served in these new stores would be quite different from what you would see in CBTL.
Tiong Bahru Bakery is famous for its hand-made croissants while Common Man Coffee Roasters is known for its specialty coffee.
“Common Man will be a different expression of coffee in that it’s closer to a more premium barista coffee,” Shin said. “That’s what it’s famous for and therefore it will not be competing with Highland Coffee or CBTL, but in fact, it’s a new segment,” he explained.
Shin also confirmed the two Asian brands would be coming to the country “soon.” He said the joint venture has been set up, the funding is ready, a location has been chosen, and they have a management and staffing plan for the bakery and coffee shop.
But unlike JFC’s other coffee brands, Shin said they’ll be keeping the number of branches for Tiong Bahru Bakery and Common Man small to reflect the boutique style the brands are known for in Singapore and Malaysia where there are less than 20 outlets.
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