Carousell’s Second Caroupreneur Awards has recognized a wide variety of outstanding achievements of Carousellers over the past challenging year.
First launched in Singapore last year, this year awards honor entrepreneurs who started or scaled their businesses online, brick-and-mortar retailers who digitalized their businesses, and everyday casual sellers who want to declutter and while supplementing their income.
The Caroupreneur of the Year 2021 was @TekiCashGadgetsph, while the Best in Carousell were @peter09165089910 (Autos), @mikepacheo (Property for Sale), @claude_gonzales (Property for Rent), @mark.pagente (Home Services), @jerome23 (Men’s Fashion), @deniseallyson (Women’s Fashion), @TekiCashGadgetsph (Electronics), @turnintocash (Furniture and Home Living), @jnabooks (Toys and Games), @tojenroc (K-Wave), and @jarinrealty and @elviepensahan as finalists (Most Meaningful User Story of the Year).
Judges included Marcus Tan, Carousell co-founder; Djon Nacario, Carousell Philippines general manager; and Vishal Salunkhe, Carousell vice president of seller success operations. They assessed shortlisted sellers identified from their performance together with a mix of qualitative and quantitative criteria, such as quality of listings, reviews, creativity and brand story.
The winners will be given a Carousell Bump to take their listing to the top of the category — the easiest way to reach buyers so they sell more and faster.
Their success is proof that the Carousell is more than just a transactional platform, but one where sellers and buyers can find shared possibilities to achieve their aspirations, Nacario noted.
“We recognize there is a growing demand for the Filipinos and our users to find exactly what they are looking for because there is also a lot of clutter in the online world as well as choices specifically,” he said.
The platform also aims to provide a simplified option for users to be able to find exactly what they are looking for, not just for goods. Big investments such as property and autos that have premium warranty, are inspected, and have official inspection reports; their services are highlighted as well, Nacario added.
The platform aims to position secondhand, or translating into reality, the vision of making secondhand the first choice.
Part of the platform’s efforts for property is to launch an expo in November.
It is not just being able to display the listings available in the platform, but also working or providing the services that can help users smoothen the entire process of finding, paying, and transferring the property documents, Nacario explained.
“Ultimately, what we have in our platform is the sense of trust because as an online classifieds marketplace, we believe in making sure that we have trust at the forefront of all of our decisions,” he said.
“When you go to the platform, not only will you find what you are looking for, but also have peace of mind that whatever you are getting is genuine, authentic,” Nacario pointed out.
According to Nacario, the platform has a huge team who ensures that posts are not duplicates and addresses fraud or gamification that would put the buyers at a disadvantage.
The #StartonCarousell, the platform’s first-ever entrepreneurship program catered to Gen Z across the Philippines, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia, and is now helping aspiring entrepreneurs bring their business to life with the aim of providing the tools they need, such as training and guidance, to get started.
