Introduction

Globe, a prominent telco in the Philippines, has undertaken a transformative journey from being a traditional telco company to an innovative tech company. This metamorphosis has expanded their horizons into various digital domains, reshaping the way they serve their customers and the nation as a whole.
At the heart of this transformation lies its financial services, particularly the groundbreaking success of GCash, which stands as a beacon for other telecom companies to emulate.

Beyond connectivity revenue soars: Highest growth in the region

In H1 2023, Globe experienced an impressive 51.5% year-on-year (YoY) growth in its beyond connectivity revenue, reaching PHP 2.8 billion (~USD 51.5 million). This segment now constitutes 3.2% of their total revenues.
As a part of our research, 50 telcos across 18 Asia Pacific countries were studied. 23 out of the 50 telcos have reported their beyond connectivity revenue. Further, out of these Globe reported the highest growth in beyond connectivity revenues in H1 2023. Refer to this report for the complete analysis and the telco charts.
Globe’s paradigm shift from telco to an innovative tech company extends to a multitude of digital solutions. The telcos beyond connectivity portfolio includes:

Exhibit 1: Beyond connectivity eco-system of Globe

Asticom Technology:

Asticom is a tech-enabled shared services and outsourcing company within the Globe Group, serving a diverse range of clients across various industries. Asticom has experienced extensive growth since its launch in March 2015, currently employs over 5,000 professionals and serves over 200 clients

Electronic Commerce Payments (ECPay):

This arm of Globe engages in providing IT and e-commerce solutions, including, but not limited to, prepaid phone and internet products, bill payments and others. It has recently exceeded its target, with a general trade retail base of 462,947.

Youndu

It is a leading IT solutions company, specializing in cloud services, software development, and a range of innovative technological solutions.

Kickstart Ventures:

This is the corporate venture capital arm of Globe, actively participating in venture investments and advising on the USD 180 million Ayala Corporation Technology Innovation Venture (ACTIVE) Fund.

Kickstart has USD 255 million aggregate assets under management and has made 63 investments in 9 countries, backing 131 founders.

917 Ventures

917 Ventures is the corporate venture builder arm for Globe. It nurtures and develops innovative business ideas that can potentially scale. It is like a start-up factory backed by Globe, Ayala, and other partner networks. It encompasses a wide range of companies/services/platforms designed to transform the daily lives of consumers. Gcash, Philippines #1 finance app is also a part of this ecosystem.

Impacting daily lives through digital services

Globe’s diverse portfolio companies under 917 Ventures allow them to make an impact on the daily lives of their consumers. The expansion spans various domains, including healthcare, edutech, climate tech, entertainment, adtech, e-commerce, manpower, information technology services, and investments.

A few companies/platforms/solutions under 917 Ventures include:

Exhibit 2: Companies/services/platforms under 917 Venture

KonsultaMD: The largest healthtech play in the Philippines, offering on-demand doctor consultations, medicine delivery, and health services at home.

AdSpark: An award-winning ad-based digital media and creative agency, responsible for launching numerous digital campaigns.

M360: The largest A2P multi-channel messaging platform, capable of sending messages to partner network operators in various countries.

DeepSea: Empowers programmatic advertising through the utilization of first-party data and unique audience segments.

iNQUiRO: Offers data-driven products and solutions, including data targeting for hiring and complex queries.

RUSH: A loyalty and e-commerce solutions provider, ranked among the top 10 e-commerce solutions companies for 2022.

EdVenture: An online tutorial platform connecting tutors with students for private one-hour sessions, covering subjects like Math, English, and Filipino.

KodeGo: A tech school offering bootcamps on different IT courses, with a focus on equipping beginners and career shifters with essential skills.

Gcash: Gcash is a digital financial service that operates under the umbrella of Mynt, a subsidiary of Globe Fintech Innovations. Further, Mynt is in partnership with Ayala Corporation and Ant Financial (parent company of Alipay)

GCash: Pioneering financial services app in Phillippines

One remarkable facet of Globe’s evolution is GCash, Globe’s financial services segment. GCash has emerged as the country’s dominant finance app with a vast user base, a network of 6 million merchants, and a comprehensive suite of digital financial services. Moreover, GCash has expanded its reach to 13 countries with GCash Global Pay, transcending international borders.

Exhibit 3: Portfolio of services in GCash

Read our full analysis: Top APAC telcos to ace Beyond Connectivity revenues in H1 2023

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