COWORKING space provider Acceler8 has raised the bar in its delivery of services by offering the same services outside the Philippines.
Acceler8 cofounder Mikko Barranda told the BusinessMirror in a recent interview that the co-working space provider partnership with V office will enable the locators to expand their businesses outside the country.
“We believe that with our partnership with V office we can serve our clients better by not only giving them the opportunity to work in our offices in Southeast Asia but also empower our clients to grow and do business regionally. We can connect them with the right stakeholders, partners and mentors should they intend to expand their business outside the Philippines.”
Under the setup, Barranda said Acceler8 has partners in Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Singapore and Melbourne in Australia that can provide coworking spaces to Acceler8 members when they are on a business trip to these cities.
Since the majority of the businesses today are dependent on digital technology, Barranda said Acceler8 has also invested in a technology platform called Entreprenity. It allows Acceler8 members the opportunity to share, connect and learn from each other through their mobile phones. “This is one of many initiatives we have been working on to promote our vision of creating real connections.”
So far, Barranda said Acceler8 is the only coworking provider in the Philippines that can provide access to several offices in Southeast Asia. He pointed out that Acceler8 decided to introduce this scheme to its members to enable them to maximize the business opportunities of doing business in one of the fastest-growing economic regions in the world. “We want to empower our members so they can do business in and grow in Asean.”
In 2015 Asean has 3.3-percent share of the world’s GDP. The region’s GDP grew at 4.7 percent in 2015, lower by 2.1 percentage points from 2007. According to the Asean Secretariat, infra-Asean investment became the largest source of FDI inflows at $22 billion in 2015, as EU-28’s investment fell from $25 billion in 2014 to $20 billion in 2015.
Meanwhile, Albert Go, co-founder of Acceler8 and also the V Office CEO, said the company always also conducts networking activities among members to enhance their working ties and camaraderie. “Despite the buzz in coworking industry in the recent months, the other players fail to engineer real connections among members,” he said.
“In Acceler8, we ensure our members are connected. When we opened our Salcedo office in 2015, our vision was to provide flexible workplace for start-ups, entrepreneurs and companies that have a lean work force. We want the locators to engage with their counterparts,” Barranda pointed out.