The BuildHub PH team at the PhilCon Visayas 2024, Cebu City, the Philippines
In June, BuildHub PH, an online marketplace serving as a centralised system for the construction industry, has recently participated in the 2024 Philippine Construction (PhilCon) Visayas Expo in Cebu City, the Philippines.
At the event, the company showcased its new platform, BuildHub.ph, and introduced its financing service, BuildCredit. This was part of the BuildMart PH Technologies subsidiary’s effort to expand to new cities in the country.
As one of the hottest markets in Southeast Asia (SEA), the Philippines continues to gain the attention of investors even during the funding winter. The country offers many lessons in resilience for entrepreneurs in the region. We are curious about how startups in the country are growing and expanding their businesses and would like to learn as much as possible from them.
To understand more about how one startup plans its national expansion in the country, e27 reached out to Marika Laciste, the Chief Business Officer of BuildHub. In this email interview, Laciste shares the criteria the company is looking for when planning for a new region to expand to and how it deals with unique challenges.
Also Read: Echelon Philippines opens growth opportunities in the Philippines and beyond
The following is an edited excerpt of the conversation.
What are the primary goals and objectives of BuildHub’s national expansion strategy in the Philippines?
BuildHub’s vision is to be the leading business innovation group, helping to build the future of 100 million people in the Philippines. To achieve this vision, we believe that we need to deeply understand the unique requirements of the construction industry in the Philippines. Expanding nationwide will enable us to adjust our products according to market needs and align our business operations to serve them better.
How does BuildHub plan to identify and enter new markets within the Philippines, and what criteria are used to select these locations?
Criteria are focused on three things right now:
1. Market size
2. Private and Public developments in the area
3. Available resources
What challenges has BuildHub faced during its expansion, and how is the company addressing them to ensure smooth growth?
The construction industry is a US$60 billion market in the Philippines. Players can unlock many opportunities but it requires significant capital.
The company has earlier projected the required resources for expansion, but, of course, execution speed will always be a challenge as we also want to balance growth with expenses and ultimately reach profitability.
What we do now is find creative ways to execute our plans without burning too much capital for speed. This includes collaborating with other brands and companies who believe in the vision and mission of BuildHub.
Can you share some success stories or key milestones BuildHub has achieved in its expansion efforts?
Since launch, we are happy to have achieved YTD Achievement of 65 per cent GMV targets this year, 2x in average monthly buyers as compared to 2023, and promising partnerships with construction and finance companies.
What role do technology and innovation play in BuildHub’s strategy to scale its operations across the Philippines?
BuildHub aims to be the leading tech-enabled construction company in the Philippines and eventually expand to Southeast Asia. It uses various technologies to support efficient transactions across the value chain.
One is the agent-led ordering dashboard, which helps introduce online ordering to both buyers and sellers, and the other is the buildcredit, which buyers can apply and use within the website. Then, there are other internal innovations that help the company to build faster and more efficiently to serve our target markets across the Philippines.
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Image Credit: BuildHub
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