Social Light

Based in Manila, Philippines, Social Light Inc. was established in 2013 by co-founders Francis Simisim, his wife Annabelle Ong, Franz Alfonso, and Erwin Lee. Simisim, the CEO, comes from an entrepreneurial family and, after an early unsuccessful attempt at a social networking site, found success with ventures like Wheninmanila.com before starting Social Light. The initial idea for the company arose after his marriage to COO Annabelle Ong, as they sought ways to help businesses with various solutions. Alfonso serves as the CTO, with Lee also being a co-founder.

Initially, the company focused on enterprise solutions for the WiFi market, providing data analytics to venues. A key pivot occurred when the team recognized the broader issue of internet accessibility for low-income groups, particularly in developing nations. This led to a revised mission: to provide inclusive internet access by enabling stakeholders to monetize through advertising, marketing, subscriptions, and data analytics. This model aims to expand internet availability sustainably, ensuring profitability for partners while offering subsidized or free access to communities in need.

Social Light operates as a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) provider, focusing on lead generation and management for enterprises. Its platform offers tools for sales teams to capture leads, track customer behavior, and engage with prospects throughout the sales funnel. The core of the business is to help organizations strengthen client relationships and encourage repeat sales through technology. Products like Zion WiFi, Zion Send, and Glue.ph provide businesses with a customer database and a platform for developing more effective marketing plans based on a deeper understanding of their clientele.

In July 2018, the company secured $469K in a Series A funding round led by Cerebro Labs, with other institutional investors including Plug and Play APAC and RISE. On February 21, 2017, Social Light Inc. was acquired by Tomizone, an ASX-listed company, in a move intended to accelerate technological development and meet business needs in analytics and digital marketing across Asia. Keywords:SaaS, lead generation, customer relationship management, data analytics, internet accessibility, digital marketing, WiFi monetization, enterprise software, marketing automation, customer engagement, sales tools, business intelligence, Philippines tech, ad-supported internet, emerging markets internet, Zion WiFi, Francis Simisim, Annabelle Ong, Cerebro Labs, Tomizone