Japanese eGift provider locates first overseas development center in Vietnam

Japan’s e-gift provider Giftee Inc. has established a wholly-owned subsidiary, giftee Tech Vietnam Co. Ltd., as its first development center outside Japan.

While Giftee has opened its services in the ASEAN bloc with companies in Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam, the latter was “a significant milestone” because all in-house system development efforts had been centralized in Japan until now, the company announced Thursday.

Headed by chief operating officer Fumitaka Yanase, giftee Tech Vietnam will work to enhance system development capabilities as part of its ASEAN business expansion strategy, a company statement said.

"As a pioneer in the eGift industry, we are thrilled to witness the unfolding of a truly extraordinary journey within the ASEAN region. Given that Vietnam is geographically close to Giftee’s subsidiaries in the three ASEAN countries and is known for its exceptional homegrown tech workforce, we anticipate seamless and prompt communication with our development teams in ASEAN and Japan.

"Consequently, we are confident that establishing our new development hub in Vietnam is the optimal decision … to grow our eGift platform and build excellent products to “giftify” everything and circulate love through technology," Yanase said.

He said the parent company envisions establishing a development framework via giftee Tech Vietnam to support swift business expansion and growth across ASEAN, achieved by distributing work to a new overseas development team with allocation of global resources.

Within the ASEAN region, Giftee primarily focuses on two key business segments. The first involves delivering an eGift system for issuing and distributing eGifts to brands in the retail and F&B industries. The second involves offering the "giftee for business" solution, enabling corporations to leverage eGifts as incentives in digital campaigns.

"Being a nation blessed with exceptional human talent, Vietnam has garnered considerable interest as a global base for establishing a global development system that leverages international resources. This has made the country highly appealing as an outsourcing partner for offshore projects. We believe giftee Tech Vietnam will be staffed by a team of highly proficient digital professionals, consisting of both local engineers and members from Japan’s development team.

"Together, we aspire to expand the eGift platform globally and extend the influence of eGifts to more ASEAN countries in the coming years," Yanase said.

The eGift industry across ASEAN is expected to grow at a CAGR of 64% and is expected to reach $131 billion by 2032, according to the company. This growth can be attributed to the rapid expansion of e-commerce in the region, which has significantly increased the demand for e-gifts. As such, the launch of giftee Tech Vietnam comes at an opportune time when the industry is bustling and ripe for growth, the company said.