SHAREit bridges digital divide, empowers consumers and businesses in the Philippines
MANILA, PHILIPPINES – Digitalization has taken the Philippines by storm, and it’s been helped in no small measure by the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, about 74.22% of 100 million Filipinos were internet users and 82.3 million Filipinos were using mobile phones.
Global internet technology company SHAREit sees the potential of the Philippine market and aims to bring an inclusive experience to their 40 million monthly active users. This is why they are not only revolutionizing the way people share files, but they also aspire to become the free, “many features, one app” that caters to the ever-growing needs of the Philippine market.
The Philippines is shifting toward full digitalization and SHAREit is here to move alongside Filipinos. We are always on the lookout for the latest innovations when it comes to file-sharing and smartphone optimization,” said July Palafox, Country Director at SHAREit for the Philippines.
File sharing as a core competency
With 74.22% of the population being internet users, one would think that Filipinos have access to fast internet. However, the Philippines ranked 86th in the global mobile internet speed rankings in January 2021 and the average download speed for broadband connection is at 32.37 Mbps – a stark contrast to its neighbouring countries, such as Thailand and Singapore with download speeds of 220Mbps and 247Mbps, respectively.
“We see these barriers Filipinos face when it comes to achieving full digitalization, and we at SHAREit aim to continue what we have started by providing cutting-edge file-sharing services,” said Karam Malhotra, partner and global vice president of SHAREit Group.
It is no wonder that SHAREit, with its revolutionary file-sharing features, became one of the top 10 mobile apps in the Philippines, according to AppAnnie. SHAREit can be installed across devices with different operating systems like iOS, Android, and Windows for PC, making both online and offline file-sharing possible anytime, anywhere, and using various devices.
Serving the Underserved
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Digital Inclusion Index points out that aid and credible information could not reach the SEC CDE market. The digital divide, therefore, is costly in many ways.
In this respect, the SHAREit team felt a responsibility to help the underserved gain access to the right apps and products during pandemic-induced lockdowns. For example, the firm helped spread awareness of the Philippines government’s national vaccination program via digital content sharing within the app, racking up 100 million impressions.
Malhotra pointed out that SHAREit is not only for consumers but also for the growing e-commerce industry, fintech, and other mobile app-based businesses. “One of the biggest ways we helped fintech and e-commerce companies like GCash and Shopee was to support their campaigns and help them reach the mass markets,” Malhotra shared, also pointing out that SHAREit curates campaigns to help brands reach out to an incremental and almost untapped audience.
In other words, SHAREit has helped e-commerce companies reach underserved consumers and connect local banks to unbanked users. To do this, SHAREit invested in a PH-based team that localized the design, interaction, and functionality of the app according to Philippine culture.
Tapping into over 700 global advertisers and their existing user bases, SHAREit helps its clients with awareness campaigns, user acquisition, digital payment options, and seamless user monetization. Clients can then reinvest the revenue into further user acquisition – Malhotra refers to this virtuous cycle as the “flywheel” model.
SHAREit Group is dedicated to building high-quality content platforms where it connects users and businesses to content not only in the Philippines but also globally. It has made strides in eliminating digital content limitations caused by external factors, making digital content easily accessible to everyone – both consumers and businesses alike.
