Gorilla ready to enter the crowded MVNO market in Singapore
- June 17, 2021
- Posted by: Allan Rasmussen
- Category: MVNA-MVNE-MVNO
The MVNO Gorilla Mobile is ready to launch in Singapore with a SwitchBack feature using blockchain and digital Gorilla Go Tokens
Gorilla Mobile will soft-launch its MVNO service in Singapore this Friday (June 18) with a new proposition that may shake up the crowded market.
The Singapore-based MVNO will be offering a “SwitchBack” feature using blockchain. This will allow customers to turn their unused mobile data into digital “Gorilla Go Tokens“.
The Gorilla Go Tokens, which has no expiry date, can be redeemed and used to offset the bill or pay for other mobile services. By tokenizing mobile data into a digital token, users can share, transfer or trade mobile data with their family and friends who are using different telcos.
Xanne Leo, is the founder and CEO of Gorilla Mobile. Prior to this, she spent 15 years in the financial services industry in Singapore. She co-founded the healthcare startup eBeeCare in 2015, as well as the blockchain app Infinitus Token in 2017.
Head of Operations is Ken Ng who previously worked as the Senior Manager of Product Development and Commercial, at the MVNO VivoHub Mobile.
“Telcos assume that everybody wants and needs more data. However, we found that this is not true,” said Xanne at a media briefing today. With Gorilla Mobile, users pay only for what they use to ensure a fair way of using and paying for mobile services.
Not competing on price
Gorilla Mobile’s main service plan is Switch25 – a SIM-only, no-contract, Corporate Individual or SME mobile plan – where clients can convert unused mobile data into the Gorilla Go Tokens, which can be redeemed later for co-workers’ usage.
The plan priced at S$25, is a monthly mobile plan with 20GB of local mobile data, 100 minutes of voice and 100 SMS.
It is not the cheapest plan in the market but that does not matter, as Gorilla Mobile is not competing on price, but still positioning itself where it is attractive.
Coming soon to Malaysia and Thailand
Gorilla Mobile was established in Singapore in 2019 with U$3 million in seed capital. The company currently employs 15 people at its Singapore office, and has three employees in Thailand.
The MVNO will expand in to other markets, once the Covid-19 travel restrictions in the region are lifted. Malaysia and Thailand is on the roadmap within the next 18 months.
Gorilla Mobile is also looking at adding travel roaming data and IDD calls, as well as Digital Office Telephony services in Q4 this year, allowing users and clients to transfer calls overseas or purchase overseas numbers through the Gorilla Mobile app.
The company is in talks venture capitalists in Asia. It aims to raise U$5 million for its Series A, which will probably be for the expansion into the new markets and introduction of new services.
Gorilla Mobile is leasing the network infrastructure of M1 in Singapore.
Company Video: The Gorilla Mobile Experience
