As the lingering pandemic drives demand for digital services, 917Ventures, Globe Telecom Inc.'s corporate venture builder, targets six hypergrowth industries:fintech, digital health, adtech, edutech, entertainment, and e-commerce.

Vince Yamat, 917Ventures Managing Director said that aside from growing dramatically in the next few years by serving Filipinos' day-to-day needs, these industries will also support the country's digitalization initiative.

“We listen to what our users want and observe how they react to these changes," Yamat told the recent 51st National Marketing Conference of the Philippine Marketing Association (PMA).

"We believe in assisting our customers in their digital journey, recognizing that we are on the journey with them, creating or supporting solutions that can make their lives easier,” he elaborated.

For this reason, 917Ventures portfolio companies strive to keep up with hyperconnected consumers as they shift to more convenient and digital ways of working, studying, and accessing basic needs.

However, serving a hyperconnected customer is not just about changing products and services but also making them easy to use, Yamat pointed out.

Such hyperconnection is reflected in 917Ventures’ portfolio companies, which are linked within the Globe ecosystem to give customers an integrated user experience.

For instance, when shopping at PureGo, one can receive a P150 voucher for HealthNow.

On the other hand, KonsultaMD is bundled with Globe At Home and Globe postpaid.

RUSH onboards brands to GLive on GCash to attract current and new customers.

Meanwhile, after enterprises learn more about their consumers through Inquiro, they can also reach them via M360 or even create a compelling story with AdSpark.

“Hyperconnectivity is not just important among consumers, but also almost among enterprises," Yamat underscored.

"Our portfolio companies being hyperconnected to each other gives customers better access to our services and makes their life more convenient. We innovate for the people. We ideate opportunities, launch solutions and accelerate lives," he elaborated.

"This philosophy empowers us to captivate the hyperconnected customers in the Philippines and beyond,” Yamat added.

The brands of 917Ventures, such as e-wallet service GCash, telehealth providers KonsultaMD and HealthNow and online grocery platform PureGo allowed customers to access basic needs and services while locked down in their homes.

Through e-commerce and loyalty solution RUSH, full-service digital agency AdSpark, business intelligence system dashboard Inquiro, and Application-to-Person (A2P) messaging platform M360, the company has also been helping businesses reach customers while physical stores had to limit operations.

917Ventures also invested in startups such as web development educational bootcamp KodeGo, ultimate showbiz marketplace Fanlife, and BentaTV, a digital platform for non tech-savvy sellers.