Myanmar start-up wins investment
Revo Tech, a Yangon-based agency keen on creative digital applications, has attracted new investment, as Anthem Asia bought a stake in its parent company, Singapore’s Phew Tech. The investment was said to be a six-figure US dollar sum.
Revo Tech was established in 2012 by entrepreneur Myo Myint Kyaw. It delivers websites and social-media management services to corporate clients in Myanmar and outside the country. It also develops mobile applications.
The firm has built a portfolio of high-profile names including Nissan, the London School of Economics, the World Bank and Qatari-backed mobile-phone operator Ooredoo. Local clients include KBZ Bank and Citymart.
“Our ambition is to become the country’s leading digital agency by consistently providing innovative and reliable digital solutions to clients in Myanmar and further afield,” Myo Myint Kyaw said. “With Anthem Asia as a partner, we will be able to accelerate our growth, enabling us to take service more clients and to offer a greater range of products and services.”
Employing about 40 people, it offers website-based or mobile-app-based solutions, often with an e-commerce element, as well as management of clients’ social-media channels such as Facebook, Line and BeeTalk.
It has developed an educational app series called “Phew” designed to transfer the curriculum from paper to digital. The first modules have interactive learning alphabets and numbers for the pre-school age group. Its plans include a “Web factory” specifically designed for small and medium-sized enterprises requiring a more basic digital presence.
Anthem Asia says it is devoted to building sustainable businesses in Myanmar. Revo Tech is one of a number of investments it has made in the past two years.
“Revo Tech gives companies the online presence they need that will help guide the development of Myanmar as it becomes a significant Southeast Asian market in the coming years,” said Genevieve Heng, co-founder and director of Anthem Asia which is devoted to building sustainable businesses in Myanmar.
To the group, Revo Tech is well positioned to take advantage of the need an attractive and interactive and digital presence in the fast-growing Myanmar economy. The liberalization of the telecommunications sector has unleashed a huge demand for mobile and Internet access. There are an estimated 17 million mobile users, an estimated tenfold increase since 2010. The nation’s mobile network is being rolled out at breakneck speed. The network is due to cover 80 per cent of the population by spring 2016, up from 10 per cent in early 2015. There were more than 7 million Internet users as of late 2015.
