Globe continues to expand its beyond-telco initiatives with a growing portfolio of digital companies, leading to record-high non-telco revenues of ₱4.2 billion in 2022 from ₱2 billion the previous year. This was mainly due to the outstanding performance of Electronic Commerce Payments, Inc. (EC Pay), Yondu, and Asticom Group of Companies.
“We are proud of the progress we have made in our non-telco initiatives. Our commitment to delivering innovative digital solutions has allowed our portfolio companies to be at the forefront of disrupting traditional industries, providing more opportunities and value to our stakeholders,” said Globe Group President and CEO Ernest Cu.
For one, ECPay reported significant growth in digital merchant partners as many Filipinos shifted to digital channels. It has a general trade retail base of 423,761, exceeding its target of 400,000. Top-notch IT solutions company Yondu provides Philippine businesses with cloud services and software development, among other innovative technology solutions.
Asticom, a tech-enabled shared and outsourcing services company, now manages more than 5,000 employees from a mere five employees in 2015 and serves over 200 clients from all over the country. It now operates as the Asticom Group of Companies with four subsidiaries: Asti Business Services Inc. (ABSI), HCX Technology Partners Inc. (HCX), Fiber Infrastructure and Network Services Inc. (FINSI), and its newest venture, Acquiro Solutions and Tech Inc.
Globe’s venture into digital solutions through 917Ventures has also produced remarkable results with GCash, the only Philippine unicorn valued at over $2 billion. GCash sustains its market leadership with 76 million registered users, 5.8 million merchants, and 855 GLife merchant partners. It has pioneered and scaled digital financial services, including loans, credit, savings, and insurance, disbursing over ₱57 billion in loans to 2 million unique borrowers.
Telehealth service providers KonsultaMD, HealthNow, and AIDE, the three largest players in the digital healthcare industry, last year consolidated to uplift the healthcare journey, providing easy, reliable, and affordable end-to-end patient care. It now has a base of 2 million users and is available in over 50,000 retail outlets nationwide.
AdSpark and RUSH have also seen impressive growth and success. AdSpark, the award-winning and largest local ad-based data-powered digital media and creative agency, has launched more than 3,100 digital campaigns. Loyalty and e-commerce provider RUSH has made it to the Top 10 e-commerce solutions companies for 2022 of APAC CIO Outlook, the only Philippine firm on the index. RUSH has an aggregated base of over 6 million registered users across 7,000 locations nationwide, proudly serving more than 1,000 merchant partners for its e-commerce solutions.
917Ventures’ portfolio also includes cloud-based multi-channel communication platform m360, online tutorial platform for K-10 EdVenture, study now, pay later IT boot camp KodeGo, customer analytics solution iNQUiRO, and adtech company DeepSea. It focuses on hypergrowth industries including fintech, digital health, adtech, edutech, e-commerce, B2B SaaS, media and entertainment, and climate tech to drive innovation and improve the lives of Filipinos.
Most recently, it partnered with the Ayala Corporation and Gogoro, a Taiwan-based global leader in two-wheel electric vehicle (EV) and battery-swapping technology, to bring to the Philippines Gogoro Smartscooters®, batteries, and swapping stations as part of the push for sustainable transport in the Philippines.
Meanwhile, Kickstart Ventures, Inc., Globe’s corporate venture capital arm, manages two funds for Globe and advises the Ayala Corporation Technology Innovation Venture Fund. Kickstart has 61 investments in eight countries and is backing 130 founders, further supporting Globe’s vision of driving innovation and growth in the Philippines.
The Globe Group’s expansion is in line with its commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, which foster innovation and infrastructure as drivers of economic growth.
It is committed to deliver life-enabling innovations towards the Philippines’ digital transformation.
####
