Unlockd enters strategic partnership with Axiata Digital

Ad and content funded mobile platform, Unlockd, has entered a strategic partnership with Axiata Digital, the digital services arm of Axiata Group, as part of closing its Series B funding round.The strategic partnership through Axiata Digital will provide direct access to the Group’s Carrier businesses and local knowledge and key talent in the region, overseen by Unlockd’s most recent hire, Aliza Knox, chief operating officer.Prior to this role, Knox was vice president of Asia Pacific at Twitter in which she helped built and led the organisation's APAC and Latin American online sales teams as well as, self-serve advertising business. She joined Twitter in November 2012 and also launched Twitter's Singapore office.Meanwhile, the latest partnership is the result of Axiata Digital’s lead investment in Unlockd’s Series B round and will accelerate the company’s entry into Asia by leveraging Axiata’s carrier list, which has presence across ten countries, including mobile operations in key markets of Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Nepal, India and Singapore.“Axiata Digital’s strategic and financial support provides us with an expedited pathway into one of the fastest growing smartphone regions in the world. Being able to secure agreements with its operating companies to roll out in key markets sooner than previously planned also means we could raise less capital than we originally anticipated,” said Matt Berriman, CEO and co-founder of Unlockd.“Unlockd’s technology will bolster our continued leadership position in the market across our mobile business and help lower acquisition cost, increase ARPU, and minimise customer churn,” said Mohd Khairil Abdullah, CEO of Axiata Digital. “For our customers, Unlockd’s unique value exchange offer will reward them for viewing ads and content on their mobile devices. It will allow our customers to have more credit to stay in touch with friends, family, and their peers.”