SoPa opens PH Office and elevates VP of product design to country head

Society Pass Incorporated (SoPa), a leading Southeast Asian eCommerce ecosystem is amplifying its operations across its key VIP (Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines) markets and announced the opening of its office in Metro Manila along with the appointment of a  new country head, Arbie Pagdaganan.

Strategically located in the central business district of Makati, this is SoPa’s second office in its “VIP” priority markets and employs over 20 staff in the Philippines with an aim to grow this figure to over 100 by the end of 2022.

Dennis Nguyen, Society Pass founder, chairman and CEO, said, “The Philippines is a cornerstone of SoPa’s VIP (Vietnam, Indonesia, and Philippines) acquisition strategy. I am proud to appoint our VP of product design, Arbie Pagdaganan, as our country manager in the Philippines and look forward to her expert leadership in steering our operations to greater heights. Also, this new office is part of our business strategy during this critical period of economic transformation for the Philippines. As we grow our Philippine business, we are confident that the SoPa ecosystem will nurture and accelerate the growing portfolio of brands.”

SoPa aims to encourage an inclusive and hybrid work culture to support people across the country. A passionate advocate of women empowerment with over half of its team strength comprising of women, SoPa walks the talk with its policy on diversity.

As Philippines’ country manager, Pagdaganan manages the country operations with P&L responsibility while coordinating regional finance, operations, and technology teams to conduct due diligence on future acquisitions in the country. She brings with her a rich background of over a decade of experience in visual design, branding, user interaction (UI, UX), and product design across leading organisations including SoPa’s Leflair​. In her dual role as VP of product development, she will be spearheading an organisation-wide transformation of design systems and front-end apps of all business units.

Sharing her joint growth vision for the Philippines and SoPa, Pagdaganan said, “Given the immense potential of the Philippine market, I am looking forward to herald the next eCommerce revolution in the country with SoPa’s unique modus operandi, and taking my team along in this successful journey.”

The Philippines has been one of the most dynamic economies in Southeast Asia. With increasing urbanisation, a growing middle-class, and a large  and  young  population, the country’s economic dynamism is rooted in strong consumer demand supported by a vibrant labour market and robust inflow of capital. The Philippines' internet penetration rate reached 74% in 2021 and is expected to climb to 77% by 2025. This steep increase in the internet economy is underpinned by a 132% growth in e-commerce with the industry expected to reach US$40 billion in 2025.