by | Jul 29, 2024 | Business
Mika Quejayco is currently pursuing her pre-medical course while working as an events organizer and running her small business. Born and raised in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Mika later moved to the Philippines to pursue her college education. Known for her business acumen from a young age, Mika’s journey is a testament to her determination and multifaceted talents.
Mika Quejayco displayed a business-oriented mindset from an early age, a trait that has significantly influenced her career and personal endeavors. To further her education, she moved to the Philippines, where she is currently undertaking her pre-medical studies.
An academic achiever, Mika has excelled in her studies, earning recognition as an OWWA(Overseas Workers Welfare Administration) scholar. Additionally, she is one of her university’s scholars, reflecting her dedication and hard work.
Professional Journey
Mika’s professional journey began when she was hired by a marketing company in the Philippines that specializes in organizing events. She started as a Marketing Associate, where her strong communication skills quickly led to a promotion to Public Relations Specialist. Mika’s talent for negotiation and organization then earned her the role of Logistic Specialist. Her progression within the company highlights her ability to adapt and excel in various roles, contributing to her personal and professional growth.
Talents and Interests
In addition to her marketing skills, Mika is a multi-talented individual. She has a passion for singing, playing musical instruments, and drawing. During her senior high school days, she was also a martial artist, showcasing her discipline and physical abilities. She also had the opportunity to join two benefit concerts held in Mandaluyong. These concerts aimed to raise awareness and funds for important causes, bringing together the community for a night of music and philanthropy. By participating in these events, she not only showcased her musical talent but also contributed to making a positive impact in society.
Personal Life and Hobbies
Balancing her demanding academic and professional life, Mika finds time to indulge in her love for travel. She frequently attends events she is invited to, exploring new places and cultures. This passion for travel complements her dynamic lifestyle, providing her with new experiences and inspiration.
Coach Boost Gio and Kwento Co
by | Jul 29, 2024 | Business
Manila, Philippines – July 29, 2024 – VRITIMES, a leading press release distribution technology startup, and Resorts Travel Leisure, a prominent hub for Pampanga’s travel scene, today announced a strategic partnership aimed at enhancing the distribution and impact of press releases. This collaboration will significantly expand the reach of news disseminated through the VRITIMES platform, providing businesses with greater visibility and engagement.
VRITIMES offers a comprehensive suite of tools designed to simplify the press release creation, distribution, and analysis process. By partnering with Resorts Travel Leisure, the platform gains access to a wider audience of media outlets and consumers within the travel and leisure industry. This strategic alliance will enable businesses to effectively target their press releases to a highly relevant demographic.
“We are thrilled to partner with Resorts Travel Leisure,” said Ferry Bayu, CEO at VRITIMES. “Their extensive reach in Pampanga aligns perfectly with our goal of helping businesses maximize the impact of their press releases. By combining our technology with their industry expertise, we can deliver even greater value to our clients.”
Through this partnership, VRITIMES and Resorts Travel Leisure are committed to providing businesses with the tools and resources they need to succeed in today’s competitive media landscape. By leveraging the combined strengths of both companies, they will continue to drive innovation and deliver exceptional results for their clients.
by | Jul 29, 2024 | Business
Sunscreen sales in Indonesia saw significant growth in early 2024, with local brands like Azarine leading the market. E-commerce platforms such as Shopee, Lazada, and Tokopedia played a key role in this increase.
Jakarta, July 24, 2024 – Skincare product sales have shown impressive growth compared to 2022, with a 20% increase projected to achieve USD 2.7 billion in 2024.
This aligns with the fact that 87.3% of consumers use sunscreen, a type of skincare product, daily. This has resulted in an increase of 2.8 million products sold compared to 2022. Online platforms like e-commerce have significantly contributed to this growth in sunscreen sales.
Sunscreen Market Performance Overview
According to research by Magpie E-commerce Intelligence, in the first quarter (January to March 2024), the sunscreen market achieved a gross merchandise value (GMV) of IDR 318.04 billion with a total of 6.3 million products sold on Shopee, Lazada, and Tokopedia. “The sunscreen products experienced a decrease of 14.2% compared to Q4 of 2023, which generated IDR 370.29 billion. However, the GMV generated during this period consistently increased month over month (MoM),” said Wilhendra Akmam, CEO of Magpie.
Market Share by E-commerce
<img style="width: 100%;" src="https://slvrdlphn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/public-108" alt="Picture: E-commerce market share of Sunscreen category” />
For the e-commerce share, Shopee dominated the market from January to March 2024 with 74.9%, placing Lazada in second position with 16.2% and Tokopedia with 8.9%. “Interestingly, Lazada showed significant growth from Q4 2023 to Q1 2024 with a GMV increase of 90.3%. Meanwhile, Shopee experienced a decrease of 25.2%,” added Wilhendra.
Market Share by Brand
<img style="width: 100%;" src="https://slvrdlphn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/public-109" alt="Picture: Brand market share of Sunscreen” />
The sunscreen market in e-commerce is dominated by local brands. Azarine leads the overall market with 14.3%, followed by Facetology in second place with 12.3%. Skin Aqua is third with 8.3% of overall market sales.
Top-Selling Sunscreen Products
<img style="width: 100%;" src="https://slvrdlphn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/public-110" alt="Picture: Product market share of Sunscreen in Shopee” /><img style="width: 100%;" src="https://slvrdlphn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/public-111" alt="Picture: Product market share of Sunscreen in Lazada” /><img style="width: 100%;" src="https://slvrdlphn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/public-112" alt="Picture: Product market share of Sunscreen in Tokopedia” />
The popular local brand Azarine leads the best-selling products on Shopee with a GMV of IDR 22.14 billion and 438.9 thousand products sold in Q1 2024. Azarine also leads sales on Tokopedia with a GMV of IDR 1.81 billion and 30.7 thousand products sold. On Lazada, Madame Gie recorded the highest sales with 90.6 thousand products sold in Q1 2024. “These results show that skincare products from local brands are preferred over products from global brands,” stated Wilhendra.
Picture on Thumbnail by: Real Simple on Pinterest
by | Jul 29, 2024 | Business
Jakarta, July 26, 2024 – RevComm Inc., a leading B2B SaaS company specializing in AI-driven communication solutions “MiiTel”, announced the successful completion of a $10 million Pre-Series B funding round, bringing its total funding to $32 million.
This round saw continued support from existing investors, including Sony Innovation Fund by IGV, WiL, and ALL STAR SAAS FUND, as well as participation from new investors, Salesforce Ventures and tb Innovations. Additionally, the funding included a loan from the UPSIDER BLUE DREAM Fund, managed by UPSIDER Capital, and asset financing from Money Forward Kessai.
This marks RevComm’s first funding announcement since October 2020, when the company secured 1.5 billion yen in a Series A round. Over the same period, the company also obtained a 1.7 billion yen loan from financial institutions such as Shoko Chukin Bank, SBI Shinsei Bank, Japan Finance Corporation, Shizuoka Bank, and Mitsubishi UFJ Bank. The cumulative capital raised by RevComm now stands at 4.95 billion yen (about US$32 million).
“RevComm has demonstrated significant progress in supporting various forms of communication, including telephone, online meetings, and face-to-face interactions. They have consistently provided in-depth data analysis to meet the demands of the digital society. Since the Series A round, we have been proud to be part of this journey as shareholders, and we are confident that they will continue to leverage the latest AI technology to address their customers’ challenges. We will continue to support them,” said Kazuto Hatano, Representative Director and President of Sony Ventures.
Takeshi Aida, CEO of RevComm Inc., stated, “Since the Series A funding round in 2020, we have operated our business without equity financing, relying solely on operational cash flow and debt. This Pre-Series B funding round was raised through mezzanine financing by CE, similar to the Pre-Series A round in 2019. Moving forward, we will continue to optimize our balance sheet with a focus on our Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) and actively invest to maximize growth while maintaining capital efficiency.”
The funds from this round will be used to enhance the development and sales infrastructure for RevComm’s AI-driven conversation analysis services, “MiiTel.” Additionally, the investment will support research and development for new services, international expansion, and improvements to organizational infrastructure.
In 2020, during the Series A funding round, RevComm offered only one product, MiiTel Phone, which utilized AI to analyze telephone conversations automatically. Since then, RevComm has continued to innovate, introducing new products such as MiiTel Meetings and MiiTel RecPod. These solutions analyze and visualize voice communications in online and offline meetings, enhancing overall corporate productivity. In addition to its advanced analytical capabilities, MiiTel also provides automatic recording, transcription, and generation of meeting minutes.
“Now that generative AI has become widespread, we believe that our mission is to create an environment in which MiiTel user companies can make the most of AI by turning each company’s voice data into an asset as big data. We will use the funds we have raised this time to strengthen our services as an application layer, accelerate our efforts in the data layer, and promote the development of services that utilize new AI technology,” added Takeshi Aida.
RevComm Inc., headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, has been operating in Indonesia since 2021 and now serves over 78,000 users globally, including in Japan, Indonesia, and the United States. In Indonesia, MiiTel is trusted by many prominent companies, such as Orang Tua Group, Astra International, BPJS Kesehatan, and the Ministry of Manpower of Republic Indonesia.
Investor Statements
Mr. Toshimitsu Namba, Partner at WiLMr. Yamato Sasakawa, Investor
Following our Series A investment, we are pleased to contribute additional funding in this Pre-Series B round.
Previously, the importance of online meetings increased due to the COVID-19 pandemic, changing the nature of business communication. Now, with the rise of generative AI, enterprise data is gaining attention, and the utilization of voice data, in addition to text and images, is being questioned. We are excited about the vision of Mr. Aida, who has consistently focused on “AI x Voice” since the founding of RevComm, and the daily efforts of the RevComm team to “Reinventing Communication to create a society where people think of others.” We look forward to RevComm updating the way people conduct business. We will also continue to support RevComm as part of the team.
Mr. Masayuki Minato, Senior Partner at ALL STAR SAAS FUND
Following our participation in the Series A round, we are very pleased to join this Pre-Series B round. Online communication with customers has become an indispensable and extremely important element of sales activities. RevComm, as a leading company in voice AI from Japan, has developed various solutions that dramatically improve the productivity of sales organizations by personalizing communication not only through phone and web meetings but also in face-to-face interactions with customers. We sincerely hope for RevComm to lead the world in the voice AI x SaaS field under Mr. Aida’s overwhelming vision and leadership.
Mr. Ken Asada, Executive Officer, Salesforce Ventures Japan
Since meeting Mr. Aida and Yusuke Suzuki from RevComm in early 2020, we are delighted to participate in this round as Salesforce Ventures after more than four years. The collaboration between RevComm and Salesforce began in December 2021 with the release of MiiTel for Salesforce on our AppExchange marketplace. As the utilization of AI becomes a competitive edge in all business activities, the importance of rich data as a foundation will also increase. We look forward to further collaboration with RevComm as they expand their product portfolio centered around AI x Voice.
Mr. Kenji Tak, President of tb innovations (Tokyo Boeki Group CVC)
When I first met President Aida, I was deeply impressed by his strong determination and foresight. The company’s vision of innovating business communication using AI x voice technology holds the potential to bring new value to the industry. Especially noteworthy is their effort to convert voice data, which has not been fully utilized, into big data. I believe this approach will provide a crucial competitive advantage in the era of generative AI.
We will fully support the development of their technology and services that contribute to enhancing corporate productivity. We are confident that RevComm’s challenge will pave the way for the future of communication in the AI era and make a significant impact on society.
Mr. Naoki Ishigami, President of UPSIDER Capital
When I spoke with President Aida, I was impressed by their passion to revolutionize business through “Voice x AI,” leveraging their pioneering strength in voice data analysis and utilization.
With changes in working styles, online sales activities have become the norm. I am honored to support RevComm’s challenge to address the black-box problem of voice communication and dramatically improve productivity, a major issue in Japan.
UPSIDER BLUE DREAM Fund will fully support RevComm’s mission to “Reinventing Communication to create a society where people think of others,” and we will work together to move forward swiftly and far.
by | Jul 27, 2024 | Business
From Serbia to the Philippines, this star-studded roster enters MPL S14
Metro Manila, Philippines [July 27, 2024] — Serbian esports company Aurora Gaming has officially revealed its Philippine launch this July 2024 on its social media pages, with the organization being joined by mobile esports’ iconic stars OHMYV33NUS and WISE, known in Southeast Asia as a multi-championship winning duo that goes by the name V33Wise. The reveal was accompanied by internationally acclaimed video game publisher Moonton’s announcement that Aurora is joining its Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Professional League Season 14 in the Philippines (MPL-PH S14).
“We believe in the immense potential of MLBB as an esports discipline and we eagerly look forward to our roster showcasing their talents as part of Aurora’s hearth and home,” says Aurora Gaming in a statement.
Aurora Gaming was founded in August 2022 and has quickly become a prominent name in the esports industry. With its headquarters in Belgrade, Serbia and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Aurora Gaming boasts an impressive roster across various regions and game titles. In the CIS region, Aurora’s teams compete in CS2, Apex Legends, CS2 Academy, and Warcraft. November 2023 was a significant milestone with the launch of Aurora’s Dota 2 team, featuring some of the top players in the region, marking the company’s official entry into the Southeast Asian esports scene.
The latest chapter in Aurora Gaming’s expansion is the launch of its MLBB team based in Metro Manila, Philippines. The company unveiled its MPL-PH S14 roster in a spectacular launch event held on July 27, 2024 in PARQAL Aseana City, Parañaque attended by thousands of fans. The event featured a short film that serves as the official roster reveal of the team.
Aurora’s MPL-PH S14 official roster and their positions are the following:
Renejay “Renejay” Barcarse – Team Captain / Roam-Tank
Jonard Cedrix “Demonkite” Caranto – Jungler
Edward Jay “Edward” Dapadap – EXP Laner
Jan Dominic “Domeng” Del Mundo – Gold Laner
Kenneth Carl “Yue” Tadeo – Mid-Support
Ben Seloe “Benthings” Maglaque – 6th man
Dexter Louise “DexStar” Alaba – Analyst
Aniel “Master The Basics” Jiandani – Head Coach
Elrasec “Rada” Ocampo – General Manager
V33Wise takes on new roles in the Aurora Gaming company.
Jonmar “OHMYV33NUS” Villaluna and Danerie James “WISE” Del Rosario will be Aurora Gaming’s Esports & Gaming Content Directors.
V33Wise’s role as Esports & Gaming Content Directors entails working closely with Aurora’s integrated marketing and creative teams to craft compelling narratives that goes beyond typical influencer marketing and ambassadorship. In Aurora, the V33Wise duo plays a critical role in ensuring that Aurora’s brand continues to be bold, authentic, and innovative through the lens of esports pros.
“OHMYV33NUS and WISE hold a pivotal position in Aurora’s management team where their responsibilities convey Aurora’s vision of building an organization that is truly for the players and by the players. They’ve been through everything and they know exactly what they’re doing. We also recognize that their roles are set to expand beyond this as we all continue to grow in the future,” says Aurora Gaming in a statement.
Aurora Gaming Philippines team is set to compete in the MPL-PH Season 14 this August and the MLBB Esports community can expect more of what the team has to offer online and offline, especially with the royal duo V33Wise on their side.
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