Voyager at LaunchPad: A ‘Silicon Valley’ for emerging markets

July 18, 2017 - 3:26 PM
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Voyager Innovations logo at the LaunchPad Building in Mandaluyong City. InterAksyon file photo

MANILA, PHILIPPINES — Voyager Innovations recently inaugurated its new headquarters at the LaunchPad Building beside the TV5 Media Center in Mandaluyong City. As the digital innovations arm of PLDT and Smart, Voyager is currently in a new stage of growth as it tries to accelerate the digital transformation of consumers and enterprises in the country.

“[Voyager] was one of the early responses of PLDT-Smart and the First Pacific Group to the Digital Tsunami that was then already, ‘changing the game’ for established businesses and organizations, entire industries and entire societies all around the world,” said Orlando B. Vea, president and chief executive, Voyager Innovations, during the launch attended by ranking executives from the private and public sectors, and media. “Driven by our vision ‘No More Digital Divide, One Happy Planet,’ our crew has been relentlessly coming out with relevant innovations. We have since established leading positions in digital payments, financial technologies, digital commerce and digital consumer engagement.”

Founded over four years ago, the innovation-driven company has been coming out with breakthrough digital products and platforms now already reaching over 16 million Filipinos. PayMaya and Lendr are two popular digital platforms Voyager can be proud of.

PayMaya logo as seen in the Voyager Innovations office at the LaunchPad Building in Mandaluyong City. InterAksyon file photo

PayMaya Philippines has the largest combined prepaid wallet base in the country with over 40,000 online sellers, SMEs and enterprises aided by this Voyager Innovations solution. FINTQ, through Lendr, on the other hand, has the most extensive digital lending footprint covering all of the country’s provinces along with over 40 banks and non-bank partners, according to company executives.

Other Voyager products such as freenet and hatch allow businesses to reach their audiences through free data access to various apps and sites not only on their smartphones but on regular feature phones as well as through a robust SMS marketing campaigns that could reach phone users in the farthest reaches of the country.

“Digital transformation has helped equalize opportunities for the common folk, in a very profound way, and we are proud that Voyager is behind innovations that push boundaries and tear down walls for the benefit of all,” said Manuel V. Pangilinan, chairman at PLDT, Smart, and Voyager.

The new office at LaunchPad was designed with “open-plan workspaces” and ample areas for collaboration, as it serves as an innovation playground for its mostly millennial workforce.

Over 600 people are currently employed at Voyager Innovations.

“As we have now come to say: here at Launchpad, every day is launch day,” said Vea. “We do not stop innovating once we launch, and we do not cease creating once we’ve shipped to market.”

Voyager Innovations’ concept of an “open-plan workspaces” at the LaunchPad Building in Mandaluyong City. InterAksyon file photo