ASX-listed Frontier Digital Ventures, an operator of online classified businesses in frontier and emerging markets has recently placed an investment in Philippines-based property marketplace Hoppler.
The investment in Hoppler is said to follow Frontier Digital’s strategy of transitioning its revenue mix to be closer to transaction and partnership with local entrepreneurs.
At present, the venture capital’s investment portfolio consists mostly of classified platforms, including Philippines’ new car sales portal AutoDeal and Vietnam’s transaction-focused classified business Propzy.
Founded in 2015 by Ramon Ballesca, Hoppler aims to create a solution for the localization issue in the existing real estate brokerage model by bringing professional real estate brokers into the equation.
To this end, the startup has developed Kumita – an online deal management system which connects real estate brokers to both buyers and vendors.
It enables property transaction among its network of professional brokers. That is when buyers see a listing they like, Hoppler will put them in touch with an individual broker who specializes in the neighborhood and property type they’re looking for.
Commenting on the investment, Front Digital Venture’s Founder and CEO Shaun Di Gregorio said, “Hoppler has built an incredibly scalable business model that is effectively digitizing the real estate brokerage market in Manila and progressively, over the broader Philippines market.”
“We look forward to supporting the rapid growth of their sales team and implementing the best-in-class management models to help Hoppler capitalize on their significant market opportunity,” he added.
The startup claims that real estate brokers who use their system have a 4 percent higher chance of closing leads, as opposed to 2 percent with non-Hoppler leads. For brokers, this means that they can expect to receive up to 50 percent of the sales commission once a transaction is completed.
Currently, Hoppler said that it is receiving an average commission of US$2000 for its operations around affluent areas in Manila.
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