On the heels of robust growth in its home country, UPGen will now expand further into Southeast Asia for the first time with new locations in Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur in the fourth quarter of 2019.
The new sites will span over almost 10,000 square metres across these two cities, together with 50,000 square metres of space being added on to UPGen’s smart office portfolio in Vietnam.
The continued expansion follows a significant equity investment by Northstar Group in 2018. Its series B fundraising is now in progress.
“I am excited to introduce our disruptive coworking model in Bangkok as well as Kuala Lumpur where each market faces different, unique challenges,” said Nam Do, co-founder of UPGen.
According to Do, while Southeast Asia’s economy is expanding rapidly, the region still lacks an infrastructure that could support and enable fast-growing corporates or startups as they move through different stages of growth.
UPGen’s expansion to Thailand and Malaysia, as well as in its own country, is thus to cater to the needs of many fast-growing corporates and start-ups in the region. In Thailand and Malaysia, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) account for more than 98 per cent of total enterprises in both countries and collectively generate about 40 per cent of their GDP.
Founded in Hanoi in 2016, UPGen is one of only a few home-grown work space operators that pursue regional expansion.
The corporates and startups it currently works with include Tiki, Vietnam’s largest e-commerce retailer, ride-hailing firm Be Group, media company Yeah1 and Standard Chartered Bank, among others. UPGen also counts Vietnam’s VPBank as its strategic partner.
UPGen’s flexible work spaces provide a low-cost solution for businesses with fast-growth in headcount or looking for better space in a prime location, offering smart financing solutions by turning capital expenditure into sustainable, monthly operating expenses including the cost of the work space’s design and fit out.
