Empowering MSMEs through digital innovation
Globe’s corporate venture builder 917Ventures announced in a recent panel discussion that they are keen on growing their micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) clientele in the coming year through sustainable digital innovations offered by its portfolio companies.
The session consisted of speakers from digital marketing solutions firm AdSpark, loyalty and e-commerce solutions provider RUSH, Application-to-Person (A2P) messaging platform M360, and self-service dashboard iNQUiRO.
Francis Simisim, Head of Ideation and Incubation at 917Ventures, shared how local tech startups, like that of their portfolio companies, are paving the way in delivering value to people and businesses. Aside from providing the public with essential services like telehealth, fintech, edutech, and e-commerce, 917Ventures also provides end-to-end sustainable solutions for MSME business clients.
“917Ventures is all about solving these big issues that can have a great impact on the country, the businesses, and the MSME business owners. More than providing them with valuable tools and services, we are with them in sharing tips and tricks that could help them in their business operations, planning, and strategies,” he said.
One of the newest startups under 917Ventures is iNQUiRO which helps address the challenges encountered by businesses in their journey towards data-driven insights, especially while going online and digital during the ongoing health crisis. Its products are designed to provide organizations with the knowledge that creates impact – from customer analytics to risk assessment and fraud detection.
iNQUiRO Chief Operating Officer Pancho Reyna said that they are aiming to tap more sources, have more synergy with other publicly available data sources, and unlock more relationships and patterns in their rich data lake. iNQUiRO also intends to evangelize a data-driven mindset by offering training and participating in data communities, symposiums, and hackathons.
Meanwhile, M360 Chief Operating Officer Ramon Hirang shared that the messaging platform is focusing on industries like banking and finance, retail, e-commerce, healthcare, logistics, and the government for their business’ priorities. Organizations, he said, can take advantage of the company’s two-factor authentication, one-time passwords (OTPs), confirmation of transactions, alert notifications services, among others.
Hirang also mentioned that M360 provides a ready do-it-yourself platform for MSMEs that businesses could use for instant and effective messaging campaigns via SMS, emails, chatbots, Viber, Facebook messenger, and others.
Stephanie Kubota, Chief Executive Officer of leading Software as a Service (SaaS) provider, RUSH, shared that they are integrating its order management tool into several pervasive marketplaces. “In 2022, our plan is to catalyze digital adoption further by integrating the likes of Shopee, Lazada, Shopify, Facebook, Instagram into our dashboard. With this, businesses can begin to streamline their operations under one centralized system,” she said.
Kubota assured that they will continue to support businesses in their digital transformation journeys by providing cost-effective and fast solutions, adding that RUSH will also include more logistics and payment partners in future offerings.
Just like its sister companies, AdSpark has grand plans for 2022. According to Cat de Leon-Vinuya, Director for Strategic Planning of the full-service, data-driven digital and mobile advertising firm, “With all of the new trends that are emerging in the digital space now, and the massive evolution of content, our ambition is to purposefully use Data and Insights in every operational decision we make, agile enough to test and build; refine and refresh and really understand our clients’ and partners’ needs in growing their business, raising the bar in Thought Leadership and agile enough to have a very strong stand alongside these areas of interest,” she said.
917Ventures is a key player in Globe’s plan in transforming into a digital solutions provider. It acts as a startup factory and has teams, frameworks, infrastructures, and strategies already in place, proven, tested, and backed by Globe, Ayala, and other partner networks, to accelerate the growth of its ventures.
The Globe Group strongly supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly UN SDG No. 9, highlighting the roles of infrastructure and innovation as crucial drivers of economic growth and development. It is committed to upholding the UN Global Compact principles and contributing to 10 UN SDGs.
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