Mandaluyong incubator hatches digital ideas

The digital innovations arm of telco giant PLDT Inc. opened its new headquarters late Thursday, promising to be a breeding ground for new ideas in the digital era.

The facility, known as the Launchpad Building in Mandaluyong City, would serve as the new home of PLDT’s Voyager Innovations.

“This is like a Silicon Valley campus for emerging markets,” Orlando B. Vea, president and CEO of Voyager, said during the launch event.

While the entire PLDT group has signaled a shift to more digital services, Voyager has long been its most visible platform especially in the areas of e-commerce and financial technology.

Voyager noted its PayMaya mobile wallet now has the largest prepaid base in the country.

FINTQ, through its digital lending platform Lendr, also has the most extensive digital lending footprint in the country, covering all of the country’s provinces, 90 percent of cities and 8 percent of municipalities. It also has the most expansive digital partnerships, covering over 40 banks and non-banks.

“Voyager’s digital customer engagement platforms such as freenet and hatch allow businesses to reach their audiences like never before, through free data access to various apps and sites, as well as robust SMS marketing campaigns that reach… phone owners in the farthest reaches of the country,” the company said.

“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.