Capitan, an initiative of 917Ventures, has launched a suite of digital solutions to help micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) grow their businesses.
These solutions include digital marketing, e-commerce, messaging, and financing services provided by 917Ventures portfolio companies RUSH, m360 and DeepSea, seed venture FundSpace, and partners ChatGenie and Taxumo.
Capitan understands the business context of its clients and chooses digital solutions that match their current needs, efficiently implementing them on their behalf.
Carla Sy Su, Capitan Entrepreneur-in-Residence, said, “We aim to be the growth partner of MSMEs who can boost their businesses through the right digital solutions. We realize that MSMEs are diverse and have different needs, so our role is to guide and enable their digital journey, whether it’s in growing through ecommerce, digital marketing, online funding and more.”
MSMEs are an important pillar of the economy that constitutes 99% of all businesses in the country. But the majority hold back from going digital as they consider this costly and feel that they lack capabilities to do so.
Through Capitan, MSMEs now have a digitalization partner that can help them increase awareness and sales via marketing services, make sales processes more efficient through online selling, and expand businesses through loans and financial services.
Capitan clients can boost awareness and sales by implementing better digital marketing strategies and campaigns that help them stand out. In addition, m360 provides targeted messaging to clients, while RUSH offers e-commerce solutions that enable merchants to easily and efficiently sell online with built-in SMS alerts, payment solutions, and logistics. Meanwhile, FundSpace helps clients expand their businesses through digital loans and offers.
Capitan offers a free trial for its digital marketing product. Clients can then upgrade to various packages for digital marketing such as Lite (PHP 2,500/month), Advanced (PHP 5,000/month), Pro (PHP 7,500/month), and Scale (PHP 10,000/month). These packages offer different levels of social media channel review, comprehensive marketing strategy, Facebook page enhancement, content designs and postings, Facebook Ads credits, and SMS Marketing Campaign.
Several enterprises that have utilized Capitan’s packages have shared their success stories.
One of them is Aspire DeZign Lab, an early-stage company offering architecture and design services. Being a two-person team, the owners needed help managing their social media accounts so they can focus on client meetings and government registrations. Within the first month of availing Capitan’s Advanced package, Aspire DeZign Lab was able to secure a contract through Facebook, raising its hopes to acquire more clients and even expand into construction next year.
One-year-old online business Solid Steaks, meanwhile, initially relied on referrals or word of mouth for customers. After a successful free trial using Capitan, the owner availed of the Lite package. This resulted in a three-fold increase in Christmas sales in 2022. Upon seeing the growth potential of its business, Solid Steaks now plans to enter into reseller/distributor partnerships and become a B2B supplier with the help of Capitan.
Dingras Empanada, another client, is owned by a former cruise cook whose livelihood was affected by the pandemic. Capitan transformed Dingras Empanada’s image and made it more credible for potential distributors. The enterprise has since obtained four distributors and is now opening up for franchises, with Capitan preparing materials to promote distribution and franchising. The company has also started a RUSH website to help fulfill growing orders covering new franchise locations.
“We believe that Capitan will be a game-changer for MSMEs. The pandemic has highlighted the need for businesses to have a strong digital presence, and Capitan’s digital solutions will help businesses not just survive but thrive in the next normal,” said Iya Valen, Capitan Venture Builder.
Interested customers may book a meeting through https://capitan.ph/form and choose among the packages that will suit their business objectives.
Learn more about 917Ventures and its startups by visiting https://917ventures.com/.