Voyager Innovations, the digital innovations unit of PLDT and Smart Communications, announced that it has agreed to purchase Singapore-based eCommerce platform start-up Paywhere for $5 million to expand its digital commerce business in the Philippines and other emerging markets.
Paywhere is the company behind online store creator TackThis!, a cloud based eCommerce platform that operates on a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model. TackThis! allows merchants to easily integrate their stores to social media sites like Facebook, as well as blog sites like Tumblr and Blogspot, or personal blogs.
$PLDT acquires Singapore-based e-commerce platform Paywhere Pte Ltd. for $5M to promote digital commerce in the country.
— ABCapitalGroup (@ABCapitalGroup) August 19, 2015
Voyager believes that the acquisition will allow them to tap the SME market in the country which has 1 million registered companies but with only 1% of them having websites, helping them to create an online store to accelerate the growth of their businesses.
Orlando B. Vea, president and CEO of Voyager Innovations
We want to reduce the complexities, the technological barriers, and the cost to deliver that comes with bringing a store online. With this acquisition of Paywhere, we are establishing a stronger foothold in existing markets as well as taking the opportunity to expand to new ones.
Dickson Gregory, co-founder and CEO of Paywhere
Voyager is passionate in creating digital innovations of the future. By joining their team, we have more opportunities to onboard merchants onto the TackThis! platform. I look forward to seeing TackThis! scale internationally, much in the same way we’ve seen the platform help entrepreneurs grow their businesses.
