Megaworld forms digital investments unit

Andrew Tan-led property giant Megaworld Corp. is creating a wholly-owned subsidiary to spearhead the company’s investments and ventures into digital innovations and technology.

This, as Megaworld said it “takes advantage of opportunities brought about by changes in consumer behaviors and lifestyles in this digital age.”

The new digital investment arm AGILE Digital Ventures Inc. will engage in investing and building technology start-ups that hopes to support the country’s food, retail, and hospitality industries during these challenging times, the property developer said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange.

Megaworld said it has initially allocated a three-year capital budget of $5 million or approximately P250 million to build its first start-up project.

“This first start-up investment is called PICK.A.ROO, an all-in-one, on-demand premium lifestyle delivery app, which is set for public roll-out in August,” it said.

“As the country’s first homegrown app, customers can purchase products ranging from food, gadgets, hardware, kitchenware, children’s toys and stuff, pet care, personal care, medicines, office and school supplies, hotel dishes, liquor, to COVID-19 essentials, from over 300 local and international merchants,” it added.

Orders may either be delivered on-demand, or on a later schedule.

Customers may choose from among regular delivery, drive-through, or takeaway pick-up for their orders.

PICK.A.ROO riders and shoppers will undergo strict safety and sanitation protocols which include rapid testing, thermal scanner checks, thorough disinfection of delivery bags, including the provision of clinical-grade face shields and masks, according to Megaworld.

“Our main goal is to help retailers smoothly migrate to the digital platform especially during this challenging time. Since 2018, we have been looking for investment opportunities on an app that will enable our retail partners sell and deliver their products online and on-demand. We have talked to several potential partners, but eventually, we decided to build our own,” Kevin Tan, chief strategy officer of Megaworld, who concurrently holds the position of president of AGILE Digital Ventures, said.

“We started from scratch to build our first start-up brand. Aside from the technology itself, we put focus on operations which will be integral to the success of every brand that we create,” Tan said.

Aside from PICK.A.ROO, the company said it is also looking for other investment opportunities in digital technology platforms that will further boost Megaworld’s core businesses.

Megaworld currently has 26 townships and mixed-use communities around the Philippines, composed for over 700 residential developments, over 60 office towers, 20 lifestyle malls, and 11 hotels. —LDF, GMA News