Jakarta –
Whatsapp announced Calvin Kizana as the first head of WhatsApp in Indonesia. He is the former COO of GoPlay, one of Gojek’s business units engaged in the live streaming platform.
Victoria Grand, vice president of global affairs and strategic markets for WhatsApp, said Calvin will focus on strengthening WhatsApp’s local partnerships in Indonesia and expanding the use of the WhatsApp Business platform to help people discover, message and interact with companies within the application.
“WhatsApp has a strong commitment to Indonesia and we are highly motivated by the positive impact of our partnerships with governments, civil society organizations and businesses. As a successful entrepreneur, Calvin knows what it takes to build meaningful partnerships that deliver real value to the company.” And we are very happy that Calvin has joined,” he said on Monday (11/28/2022) in a written statement.
Calvin is believed to join the Whatsapp to have more than 20 years of experience as an entrepreneur, leader, founder and consultant in the technology space. He founded two startups: Playday, a live streaming platform and PicMix, a social media platform.
Calvin is also actively involved in the startup scene in Southeast Asia and has served as a mentor and consultant. Calvin was awarded Digital Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst and Young in 2014.
In recent years, WhatsApp says it has made significant investments in Indonesia, in the fields of health, digital literacy, small business formation and community building. The digital literacy partnership with Kominfo has reached more than 2.4 million people in 34 provinces.
Whatsapp it has also worked closely with the Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs and the Ministry of Commerce to train more than 30,000 SMEs in Indonesia. Business messaging is a key investment area for WhatsApp, with 7 in 10 Indonesians saying they prefer to message a business over the phone or email.
(help/eng)
