Headquartered in Singapore, JustCo was founded in 2011 by Kong Wan Sing, its current CEO, alongside co-founders Liu Lu and Kong Wan Long, as a response to increasing demand for flexible workspaces.
Milestones
Between 2014 to 2019, JustCo embarked on its expansion into key cities across Asia Pacific, such as Shanghai, Bangkok, Melbourne, Sydney and Seoul. By Dec 2019, JustCo expanded its presence to eight cities, including Singapore, Shanghai, Bangkok, Jakata, Seoul, Sydney, Melbourne and Taipei – with 40 locations across Asia Pacific. JustCo members automatically have full access to all centres worldwide. JustCo is backed by Singapore’s sovereign wealth fundGIC, multi-national property company, Frasers Property Limited, as well as Japanese real estate giant, Daito Trust. These partnerships will support JustCo's continued focus on ramping up technology solutions, and enhance service offerings to facilitate collaboration and networking opportunities across Asia Pacific. Following the US$177 million joint investment in JustCo from GIC and Frasers Property Limited in May 2018, JustCo expanded its network from 14 centres to over 40 across eight cities today. In Nov 2019, the additional US$74 million funding provided by Daito Trust to open a new Japan joint venture with JustCo signals the opening of a new market for JustCo in Japan, with an aim to open seven to nine centres in Tokyo between 2020 and 2021. Beyond a physical space, JustCo aims to build the 'Future of Work', by creating a smart digital workplace to enhance experiences and encourage collaborations among members In 2019, JustCo launched its very first smart co-working centre in South Korea, called JustCo Tower, a 16-storey building in Seoul's Gangnam business district. JustCo aims to revolutionise how people work by empowering its ever-growing community with exceptional flexibility, opportunities and positive experiences.
JustCo Labs
JustCo Labs is a platform for like-minded businesses and individuals to innovate and collaborate within the JustCo Community. For instance, the Lab-in-a-Box concept supports accelerators and innovation programmes across Asia Pacific. JustCo works with start-ups, accelerators, incubators, government agencies, and corporates – including Budding Innovations and Korea Innovation LaunchPad in Singapore Association . Other JustCo Labs initiatives include the SME Regional Accelerator and Corporate Innovation Lab. These initiatives were established to support start-ups on their market expansion across the region. JustCo Labs helps members identify potential business investment targets and provide mentorship to these early-stage start-ups. The Verizon Innovation Community managed by JustCo is an innovative community space that encourages tech innovation. This joint project provides access between JustCo’s tech communities and Verizon.
JustCo uses technological solutions such as card-free access, digital navigation in the building, pre-ordering of F&B items at the in-house café across its centres via the JustCo mobile app. JustCo Tower, the 16-storey building in Seoul’s Gangnam Business District first introduced these solutions and technologies. JustCo at The Centrepoint in Singapore will also implement these technological solutions with the addition of a robot butler, cardless access with facial recognition capability and mobile payment services. Members and visitors to JustCo centres internationally can use the JustCo to book meeting rooms, connect with like-minded individuals and businesses for collaboration opportunities, and search for relevant JustCo events and networking sessions to participate in.
Strategic Investors and Funding
Strategic partnerships were established with conglomerates across the region, including GIC and Frasers Property in Singapore, and Sansiri in Thailand, Gunung Sewu in Indonesia, as well as Japanese real estate giant, Daito Trust have been key to JustCo’s continued expansion in developing a co-working space platform across Asia.
GIC, Frasers Property and Daito Trust
In May 2018, Singaporean sovereign wealth fund, GIC, mainboard-listed Frasers Property and JustCo jointly invested US$177 million to develop a co-working space platform across Asia Pacific. The investment of US$177 million by GIC and Frasers Property in 2018 has allowed JustCo to gain a stronger foothold in each new market, as well as ramp up tech-enabled solutions and services to facilitate collaboration and networking opportunities amongst its growing base of community members. In December 2019, JustCo secured a new market Joint Venture with Daito Trust, a Japanese construction and real estate giant. The combined investment of US$74 million in JustCo and in the Joint Venture will drive JustCo’s expansion in Japan, making this the 8th market entrant in Asia Pacific. JustCo has plans to open seven to nine centres in Tokyo in the next two years.
Sansiri (Thailand)
In October 2017, it was announced that JustCo closed a Series B round at US$200 million valuation after receiving $12 million funds from Thailand's leading real estate developer, Sansiri. With Sansiri’s in-depth experience and extensive network in Asian markets, it was instrumental in helping JustCo pave its way for accelerated growth in Thailand and across Asia Pacific.
Gunung Sewu (Indonesia)
In December 2017, JustCo announced a joint venture in Indonesia with one of Asia's largest business players, Gunung Sewu. The first JustCo co-working space in Indonesia has been secured at one of the premium skyscrapers developed under Gunung Sewu's property business line. For instance, one of JustCo's centres is housed in Sequis Tower, a premium skyscraper located in Jakarta.
Partners
Over the years, JustCo has established relationships with partners such as Dropbox, PwC’s Venture Hub, Amazon Web Services, Alibaba Cloud, HubSpot, HREasily, Stripe Payments and Hertz.
