Leading Filipino digital solutions platform Globe Group's 917Ventures, top Philippine conglomerate Ayala Corporation, and Gogoro Inc., (Nasdaq: GGR), a global technology leader in battery-swapping ecosystems that enable sustainable mobility solutions for cities, today launched Gogoro Smartscooters® and battery-swapping in the Philippines. In ceremonies at Globe's headquarters, the three companies also announced Gogoro's public availability in Metro Manila by Q4 2023.

"We in the Globe Group are very proud to bring Gogoro Smartscooters® and battery-swapping to the Philippines, a transport ecosystem that marries mobility innovation and sustainability," said Ernest Cu, Globe Group President and CEO. "This year, Filipinos will have access to these electric two wheel vehicles and Gogoro's convenient and cost-efficient battery-swapping technology, another first in the Philippines."

The Gogoro launch marks the climate tech debut of the Globe Group as it continues to deliver innovations that address Filipinos' daily pain points. Together, the companies are introducing a new era in sustainable transportation that brings together smart, convenient and accessible two-wheel electric vehicles to customers.

It also marks the Philippine entry of Gogoro, a company that has transformed two-wheel mobility in Taiwan and fostered a new smart mobility industry with a network of eco-friendly businesses and end-users. In addition to Taiwan and the Philippines, Gogoro is also operating in China, India, Japan, Indonesia, Korea and Israel.

As a better transportation alternative, Gogoro aims to address commuter woes on expensive gas prices while helping curb carbon emissions that are in line with partners' shared commitment to sustainability, and the Philippine government's sustainable development agenda.

"Our partnership with the Globe Group and Ayala Corporation in the Philippines is a major milestone in our mission to transform urban transportation and provide an accessible path for riders to adopt sustainable urban mobility and play a key role in battling climate change and making the world better for all," said Horace Luke, Founder and CEO of Gogoro. "We look forward to working together to deliver a sustainable transport system that will improve air quality, reduce carbon emissions, and provide a superior riding experience for consumers in the Philippines."

Luke said the company is excited to bring the Gogoro ecosystem to the Philippines and is committed to replicating its success in Taiwan, where Gogoro has 540,000 riders and has deployed more than 1 million smart batteries at 12,000 battery-swapping stations. Gogoro riders have swapped more than 450 million total swaps; 400,000 per day; and, Gogoro has saved more than 627,000 tons of CO2 since launching.

"The Gogoro ecosystem is very convenient as its swap-and-go technology allows riders to swap out depleted batteries for charged ones in just seconds and go on their way. With the current traffic situation in the metro, these Smartscooters® will serve as an eco-friendly alternative to ease congestion while at the same time reducing carbon emissions," said Bernie Llamzon, Globe Capital Venture Holdings Inc. Director.

Cu thanked the Philippine government's support for the shift to EVs as he cited the importance of enabling policy for electric vehicles to succeed in the country.

"The shift to EVs, particularly deploying Gogoro's battery-swapping system, will go a long way with sustained government support that will allow private sector initiatives to prosper. Sustainable transportation projects are, after all, aligned with the government's long-term agenda to promote environment-friendly transport options and foster digitalization as mobility needs of Filipino individuals and businesses rise," said Cu.

About Ayala Corporation

Ayala Corporation is one of the largest and oldest conglomerates in the Philippines. For 189 years, Ayala has aligned itself with the development needs of the country, resulting in a meaningful presence in real estate, banking, digital solutions, and power. It likewise has a growing presence in healthcare and logistics as well as investments in industrial technologies, water, education, and technology ventures. Ayala manages its corporate social responsibility initiatives through Ayala Foundation. For more information, visit https://ayala.com/press-room

About Globe

Globe is a leading full-service telecommunications company in the Philippines and publicly listed in the PSE with the stock symbol GLO. The company serves the telecommunications and technology needs of consumers and businesses across an entire suite of products and services including mobile, fixed, broadband, data connectivity, internet and managed services. It has major interests in financial technology, digital marketing solutions, venture capital funding for startups, and virtual healthcare. In 2019, Globe became a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact, committing to implement universal sustainability principles. Its principals are Ayala Corporation and Singtel, acknowledged industry leaders in the country and in the region. For more information, visit https://www.globe.com.ph/about-us/newsroom.html

About 917Ventures

917Ventures is the Philippines' largest corporate venture builder that ideates, launches, accelerates, and scales new businesses that uplift the lives of Filipinos. Delivering indelible value to the Philippines and beyond, 917Ventures leverages the rich asset base of the Globe Group and Ayala Corporation. 917Ventures' portfolio companies include some of the country's distinguished tech solutions, including double unicorn GCash and telehealth provider KonsultaMD. To know more about 917Ventures, visit https://917ventures.com.

About Gogoro

Founded in 2011 to rethink urban energy and inspire the world to move through cities in smarter and more sustainable ways, Gogoro leverages the power of innovation to change the way urban energy is distributed and consumed. Recognized and awarded by Frost & Sullivan as the "2023 Global Company of the Year for battery swapping for electric two-wheel vehicles", Gogoro's battery swapping and vehicle platforms offer a smart, proven, and sustainable long-term ecosystem for delivering a new approach to urban mobility. Gogoro has quickly become an innovation leader in vehicle design and electric propulsion, smart battery design, battery swapping, and advanced cloud services that utilize artificial intelligence to manage battery availability and safety. The challenge is massive, but the opportunity to disrupt the status quo, establish new standards, and achieve new levels of sustainable transportation growth in densely populated cities is even greater. For more information, visit https://www.gogoro.com/news and follow Gogoro on Twitter: @wearegogoro.

EcoFlow, a portable power and eco-friendly energy solutions company, has launched four portable power stations - the DELTA 2 and RIVER 2 series in Philippines, providing reliable energy for on-the-go lifestyles and emergency home backup.

Equipped with high-capacity lithium-ion batteries, DELTA 2 and RIVER 2 Series can last up to 3000 full charge cycles before hitting 80% capacity. With the industry's fastest charging speed of under two hours and compatibility with EcoFlow's Portable Solar Panels, users can be prepared for outdoor recreation or power outages caused by natural disasters, such as typhoons, earthquakes, floods, etc. Weighing from 3.5kg (RIVER 2) to 12kg (DELTA 2), they are all lightweight and easy to transport wherever needed.

DELTA 2, Not Just a Battery

With an expandable 1-3kWh capacity and a total output of 1800W (2400W with X-Boost mode), the DELTA 2 can power essential appliances such as fridges, TVs, and air conditioners. With the feature to recharge to 80% in just 50 minutes, DELTA 2's industry-leading recharging speed allows flexibility for everything from sudden blackouts to last-minute camping trips and professional work.

RIVER 2 Series, Power Has Never Been This Easy

The RIVER 2 Series provides the best-in-class entry-level solution, with its fast recharging speeds and ultra-long product lifetime. The standard RIVER 2 model can recharge from 0-100% in just 60 minutes, helping users to power spontaneous day trips and get-togethers, even when plans are made at the last minute.

Availability

With a product lifetime six times the industry average and prices starting from ₱19,290 for the RIVER 2 and ₱63,190 for the DELTA 2, EcoFlow portable power stations offer a new level of long-term value. The DELTA 2 and RIVER 2 Series are now available on Lazada and Shopee.

It was in 2017 when we first visited the town of Sasmuan in Pampanga, Philippines, to evaluate the mangrove site in Bangkung Malapad for our Connected Mangroves project. We wanted to replicate the success of the Connected Mangroves project that we had done in 2015 in Malaysia, and so we set out to install soil and water sensors and a CCTV camera onsite. The data and the images from the site allowed the community to better manage the area, and it drew great public interest to these wetlands.

These coastal wetlands include mudflats, mangroves and riverine habitats that serve as important stopover points for migratory waterbirds on the East Asian-Australasian Flyway. As such, protecting Bangkung Malapad was critical towards maintaining the biodiversity of the area, providing a natural barrier against typhoons, flooding, and other natural disasters, sequestering carbon, and allowing the community to earn from ecotourism.

From 2018 to 2019, together with our customer partner for the project, Smart Communications, Ericsson worked with the community to identify how the sensors and cameras were supporting them in their daily work of protecting the mangroves. The cameras, they said, helped to reduce incidences of unauthorized visits to the site. And as people became aware that the site was being monitored, they also became more educated on how they could act more responsibly. It was also in 2019 when the community, together with other partner organizations who were experts in mangrove conservation, decided that the main focus would be on-site protection, rather than re-planting mangroves. Experts had determined that the location of Bangkung Malapad, located at the mouth of the Pampanga river, meant that water flow should be unimpeded by mangroves at some points. We then worked together with the community to identify how we could support with enhanced site protection.

In January of 2019, we were greeted with the news that an endangered species of bird not seen in the country in the last 100 years, the black-faced spoonbill, was sighted in Bangkung Malapad. We were very glad to see it reported as news in the country’s leading news daily, as it served to further bolster the community’s efforts to secure this site as a wetland of international importance. In their application to be recognized as such, the community cited the Connected Mangroves project as proof of the site’s relevance, given that organizations such as Ericsson and Smart were supporters of the project. Notably, the spoonbills were seen again in larger numbers the following year.

What’s happened since?

While the COVID-19 pandemic prevented us doing more work on the site in 2020, in early 2021, Bangkung Malapad was finally named as the Philippines’ 8th Ramsar site (site 2445), earning the designation of “wetlands of international importance”. It was cause for celebration as this meant that the site would have increased protection from the local government.

Since the focus of the site had shifted to protection, we wondered: what other technology could we use? And then we thought: could we train AI cameras to help the community with the annual migratory bird census? We worked with our AI team in MOAI to test this, and the answer was a resounding yes. The cameras were accurate in identifying the species of the birds from the protected site using test photos, and we know that they will only get better as they encounter more and more images and receive feedback on the accuracy of their identification.

Today, we are in the process of installing the AI cameras in Sasmuan and we are excited to see how this could contribute towards biodiversity protection and conservation efforts. We have also been approached by our government partners to study the possibility of using AI to help with phenology, or the cyclical biological events in the course of the lifetime of the mangrove trees. The aim of the study is to collect information that would tell forestry experts when the right time would be to collect seeds from the mangrove trees, which would be used in turn for re-forestation efforts across the country.

We are very excited to see what the AI cameras will see, as this will give us more insight into the success of site protection efforts, and will allow us to get a closer look into the life of the mangrove trees. They contribute so much in terms of helping to mitigate climate change, ensuring the balance of the ecosystem, and protecting the lives and livelihood of the communities that live near them, so we’re happy to have been able to continue on this journey to protect them, together with our partners and the community of Sasmuan.

And we’re happy that we’re not alone in our commitment to using technology to support the environment. Our work with protecting mangroves is now part of 1t.org—a platform dedicated to conserving, restoring and growing 1 trillion trees by 2030. 1t.org is part of the World Economic Forum’s efforts to accelerate nature-based solutions and was set up to support the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030.

One last story: when we first visited the site in 2017, we also went to visit the town church, built in the 1800s, considered to be one of the oldest churches in the area. We were delighted to learn that their patron saint is St. Lucy (Sankta Lucia as she is known in Sweden). It wasn’t lost on us that she is considered as the patron saint of the eyes –we like to think that the AI cameras will be an added set of eyes to the community, as they continue their important work in protecting the mangroves.

GCash president and CEO Martha Sazon bannered the top Philippine e-wallet's financial inclusion story at a keynote speech for the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona.

Before a global audience of industry leaders, Sazon highlighted that, "GCash is now a National Champion that helps transform a nation, and gives hope to many Filipinos. Powered by game-changing innovation, and driven by a burning platform."

The leading e-wallet and financial services app in the Philippines has been aggressively launching innovations aimed at making its vision of Finance for All a reality.

"GCash is an everyday super app: for payments and transfers; fair lending for all; affordable investments; accessible insurance; empowering a green and digital lifestyle– all of these are anchored on customer's needs, with them as our north star for all our innovations," said Sazon.

She shared how the e-wallet has become ubiquitous in the Philippines with over 76 million registered users, evolving into a verb for many, "'i-GCash mo na yan!' translating to 'Just pay with GCash!'". GCash is the first and only duacorn in the Philippines and, "one of the very few financially sustainable fintechs in the world."

Likewise, the platform's net promoter score (NPS), a gauge measuring customer experience and predicts business growth has been best in class at 83.9%, surpassing globally loved brands.

Sazon culminated the session following separate presentations from Tjodolf Sommestad, president of Candy Crush mobile game developer King and Lauren Kunze, CEO of conversational AI developer Iconiq.

GCash, along with its parent the Globe Group, represented the Philippines at the MWC in Barcelona, as they showcased how the tech conglomerate has been leading progress and innovation in the Southeast Asian nation.

Hosted by GSM Association, a global organization unifying the mobile ecosystem, the MWC is the world's largest and most influential exhibition for the connectivity industry.

According to GSMA, this year's theme, Velocity, highlighted five key discussions on 5G acceleration, Reality+, OpenNet, FinTech, and Digital Everything.

This is the second in-person MWC since the event was canceled during the pandemic. The annual gathering reached a record 109,000 attendees in 2019 while this year saw total attendees of 88,500.