Philippine coworking space provider Acceler8 has joined the UnionSpace brand, a partnership which is expected to give them a bigger footprint in the market.

Mikko Barranda, cofounder of Acceler8, told BusinessMirror in a recent phone interview that the rebranding and alliance of Acceler8 with UnionSpace enables Acceler8 to open a portal for its clients to UnionSpace’s Southeast Asian reach.

“As we started this venture back in 2015, we are proud to be one of the only Filipino coworking operators to expand regionally taking us to the next level. Since we began, we’ve been consistently promoting Acceler8’s campaign, called “Creating Real Connections,” and with this milestone, we’re truly able to help companies expand their business across South East Asia,” Barranda said.

He added the Acceler8 brand will retained in the Philippines. He said Acceler8 will open one facility in Kuala Lumpur and one in Jakarta. He added there’s a plan to open a center in Bangkok, Thailand, in the second quarter of 2018.

“Thailand is slowly becoming the center of digital nomads, start-ups and entrepreneurs, and we want to be at the forefront in helping them grow their business,” Barranda explained.

“We will build some opportunities in our alliance with UnionSpace,” he said.

Barranda believes there are lots of opportunities in the coworking space market, as more companies allow their staff to work to telecommute because of the worsening traffic situation in Metro Manila.

Albert Goh, cofounder of UnionSpace, said in a press statement that the company plans to establish more than 20 centers in the latter part of 2018. “At the moment, we operate five centers in Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines,” Goh said.

He added the main objective of UnionSpace is to develop the startup ecosystems in Southeast Asian countries. UnionSpace is backed by Kejora Ventures and Gan Konsulido. Kejora Ventures, a distinguished startup investor for companies like Investree, Cekaja.com, Qareer and Pawoon, recently invested $100 million to Southeast Asian start-ups, while Gan Konsulido is currently administrating Plug and Play Accelerator Program from Silicon Valley and was also appointed by President Joko Widodo during his last visit to the United States.

Acceler8 currently operates two centers in the Philippines and is now among the 20-plus locations of UnionSpace. It was launched and formalized in Jakarta, Indonesia, in January with nearly 200 attendees of mostly investors, start-ups and SMEs. They reiterated their goal to support all thriving start-ups and entrepreneurs in tapping business partners both locally and abroad that will lead to massive growth in business collaboration.

Since Acceler8 started, the team has been proactive in growing their network through its community and technology.

“The flexibility and functionality of our space organically attracts businesses to come in and meet the Acceler8 community. They also developed an online platform, called Entreprenity, that allows UnionSpace members to share their business activities, innovations and collaborations,” Barranda explained.

The platform is also designed to reserve facilities of UnionSpace centers in Southeast Asia, providing more exciting opportunities provided by the networks in Entreprenity.