Philippines 1st esports super app launched

MANILA, Philippines — Kalaro, a fully integrated esports super app, was globally launched in Manila on July 25 by a Singapore-based software company.

“The Kalaro super app was created not only as a platform for gaming mastery but as an esports monetization engine, designed for earning,” Kalaro founder and CEO Jun Lasco said. “This will be a game-changer in the esports industry. It’s a software platform that creates continuous gamer engagement via its own in-app social media module, in-app e-wallet and in-app currency, brand storefront and tournament management module.”

The super app creates a social network hub for gamers so that finding a teammate, a new gamer-friend, a coach, or a competitor for a friendly match will be fast and fun.

“While LinkedIn is for professionals and Facebook is for everyone, Kalaro is the social platform for gamers. It’s where people can meet new gamer friends,” Lasco said.

“Kalaro is also a brand engagement engine. Brands can use the platform to engage 43 million Filipino gamers. Brands can keep them updated on the latest trends and happenings in esports and how their company creates new products to be ahead of these trends,” he said.

The tech CEO explained: “Joining tournaments and similar competitions is the only proven way to gain mastery – in any sport, for that matter. Now that the International Olympic Committee has recognized esports as a legitimate sport to be soon included as an official Olympics event, Filipinos can leverage Kalaro so that tournaments, for training purposes, can be implemented across the country’s 82 provinces. The super app’s automated tournament management module allows tournament organizers to run their operations cost-effectively and highly profitably.”

Kalaro’s e-wallet can be loaded or topped up via any popular wallets like GCash, Grabpay, Alipay and online banking transactions. The option to load via 7-Eleven stores is also available nationwide.

“To make Kalaro a safe and secure platform for gamers, there’s a special collaboration between Kalaro and Union Bank to manage Kalaro’s e-wallet transactions. All transactions are safe and secure and are done in real time, thus eliminating the risk of of fraud and cheating,” Lasco said.

Open beta testing of Kalaro began in October 2021, allowing the Kalaro team to gather feedback from more than 10,000 open beta testers, with more than 60 percent of the open beta testers coming from the Philippines.

The Global Esports Federation became a strategic partner of Kalaro after the Olympics Esports Week in June 2023 in Singapore. In November 2023, Kalaro acquired its first US investor, allowing further development work to be done. This led to the launch of Kalaro’s newest version and the introduction of “KLR” as its new global icon.

“The release of Kalaro’s version 2.1 is the culmination of four-plus years of product development, product market fit activities and fine-tuning of our business model to serve its customers better,” Lasco said.

The tech executive said his company’s immediate goal is to populate the platform with more and more Kalaro gamers with their best gaming photos, connections, content, etc., to show off what they do best.

According to Lasco, Kalaro will be demonstrated live by himself and his team at the Philippine Gamedev Expo 2024 at the SMX Convention Center from July 26-28. The demos will be done all day during the three days of the expo. The PGDX showcases the latest in gaming, esports, game publishing and development.