Founder Spotlight: Oliver Segovia of AVA.ph

Founder Spotlight: Oliver Segovia of AVA.ph

E-commerce in the Philippines and its Future

by Andeng Dizon

 

The Internet is one of the greatest inventions and has been breaking boundaries and borders through innovation. Its vast potential has enabled people to take advantage of it. Entrepreneurs have learned how to properly maximize it nowadays by creating a business that utilizes the latest technology. Thanks to the Internet, a business is no longer wholly reliant on its local customer base for its growth; it now has a global audience that would patronize its goods and services.

 

The e-commerce market has been on a constant steady rise since the world has seen the success of online giants such as Amazon and eBay. Their success has influenced most entrepreneurs wanting to venture into this market. Since there is a high demand for an easy access in buying goods and services online, e-commerce start-ups have a high chance of attracting investors, even though it is still a quite a new found domain in the world of business. E-commerce has rapidly expanded over the past five years, proving that breaking borders through innovation creates profit and growth.

 

E-commerce in the Philippines

 

The Philippines are one of the hottest e-commerce markets in Southeast Asia for one reason, its Internet-savvy citizens. As mentioned in a statistics article about the number of Internet users per country, the Philippines have more than 39 million active Internet users as of 2016, ranking 16^th worldwide and 3^rd in Southeast Asia, trailing behind Indonesia and Vietnam. According to a study conducted by Ken Research in 2014, the country’s e-commerce market has a huge potential for its future growth because more Filipinos are patronizing online shopping services and also because of the steady rising of Internet and social media penetration rate in the country.

 

Although the local e-commerce market is still quite young, – it’s still in its infancy stage after all – it would not be a surprise to see it flourish in the next few years. Big names such as OLX, Lazada, and Zalora are recognized as the frontrunners in the Philippine e-commerce market. Their success is a testament how Filipino consumers are eager to try e-commerce services, expanding the market further and attracting investors in the Philippines as well. Since there is currently a demand for more e-commerce start-ups, entrepreneurs have taken the initiative to put up business in the emerging e-commerce market. Each has their own brand, catering to certain individuals of different age, gender, and sized in hopes of generating high market traction.

 

One of the upcoming e-commerce start-ups is AVA, the brainchild of Oliver Segovia, a man whose passion and expertise in business has made him a household name in the local start-up industry.

 

What AVA does

 

“We started AVA because we felt Filipino women deserved better.”

 

In order to stand out in a sea full of generic online shopping websites, your brand must stand out. Representation matters because it determines who your audience is. If you cater to a particular audience, it is only natural to sell the right products to them. AVA is a breath of fresh air in the Philippine e-commerce market because they know who they are as a brand. Their brand was born to share the love and passion the founders have for Filipinas everywhere. Rest assured, every brand listed in AVA was personally curated and handpicked just for you.

 

The team behind AVA is proud to be part of an e-commerce start-up that is slowly making its mark in the industry. There are numerous reasons why this website is successful, and one of them is the amazing value the customer could get from buying their featured products. Most online shopping websites only sell apparel, but not AVA. They are known for their wide-range of products that are perfect for any of your needs. Segovia and his team take pride in being a Filipino-owned company. They believe in the potential growth of Filipinos brands, that is why they are welcome homegrown talents that showcase Filipino creativity and craftsmanship in their website.

 

That is what makes AVA a standout among the crowd.

The passionate man behind AVA

 

Oliver Segovia’s passion in entrepreneurship started at a young age. Since he was born in a family of entrepreneurs, he was already exposed in the field before formally studying it in college. A graduate from Ateneo de Manila University with distinct honors and several awards, he pursued his MBA degree at Harvard Business School, a dream come true to anyone who working in the business field. His time at Harvard paved way for him to pursue a career in his other passion, which is writing.

 

He is a published author of a critically acclaimed book, a writer of business articles used by many, and an owner of a blog where he writes articles that are helpful for students and entrepreneurs alike. Besides being a writer, Segovia is most known for his contributions in the local start-up scene. After was based in for almost four years to work as the regional director of Procter & Gamble, he went back to the Philippines to start several start-ups that are now considered as important contributors to the local start-up scene. His recent success with AVA shows how passion can be turned into profit, something most of us does not realize on a daily basis.

 

The future of AVA is bright, knowing that its founder and the current chief executive officer is known to be a passionate entrepreneur and a skilled businessman. Its ongoing success foreshadows the future success of the Philippine e-commerce market, proving that Filipino creativity and innovation gives triumphant results.

 

If you want to know more about AVA.ph, you can check their website here. 

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