UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)

☒ ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2022

Or

☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from _____ to _____

 Commission File Number: 001-41037

SOCIETY PASS INCORPORATED

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

701 S. Carson Street, Suite 200 Carson City, Nevada 89701

(+65) 6518-9382

(Address, including zip code, of registrant’s principal executive offices and

telephone number, including area code) 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.

Yes ☐  No ☒

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.

Yes ☐  No ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.

Yes ☒   No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).

Yes ☒  No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company, in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C.7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☐

If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. ¨

Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule12b-2 of the Act).

Yes ☐  No ☒

The aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting stock held by non-affiliates of the Registrant, as of June 30, 2022, the last business day of the Registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter, based on the closing price of the common stock as reported by the Nasdaq Stock Market on such date was approximately $  30.4 million. 0

The number of shares outstanding of the Registrant’s common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, on March 21, 2023 was 27,082,849.

Table of Contents

SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Statements made in this report that are not statements of historical fact, including statements about our beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements, and should be evaluated as such. Forward-looking statements include information concerning possible or assumed future results of operations, including descriptions of our business plan and strategies. These statements often include words such as “anticipate,” “expect,” “suggest,” “plan,” “believe,” intend,” “project,” “forecast,” “estimates,” “targets,” “projections,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “may,” “might,” “will,” and other similar expressions. These forward-looking statements are contained throughout this Annual Report, including the sections entitled “Risk Factors,” “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and “Business. "

We base these forward-looking statements or projections on our current expectations, plans, and assumptions, which we have made in light of our experience in the industry, as well as our perceptions of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments, and other factors we believe, are appropriate under the circumstances and at this time. As you read and consider this Annual Report, you should understand that these statements are not guarantees of performance or results. The forward-looking statements and projections contained herein are subject to and involve risks, uncertainties, and assumptions, and therefore you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements or projections. Although we believe that these forward-looking statements and projections are based on reasonable assumptions at the time they are made, you should be aware that many factors could affect our actual financial results, and therefore actual results might differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements and projections. Factors that might materially affect such forward-looking statements and projections include:

The preceding list is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all of our forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements are based on our beliefs, assumptions, and expectations of future performance, taking into account the information currently available to us. These statements are only predictions based upon our current expectations and projections about future events. There are important factors that could cause our actual results, level of activity, performance, or achievements to differ materially from the results, level of activity, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Other sections of this Annual Report may include additional factors that could adversely impact our business and financial performance. Moreover, we operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for our management to predict all risks, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements we may make. Factors or events that could cause our actual results to differ may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all of them. We cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements. Except as required by applicable law, including the securities laws of the United States, we do not intend to update any of the forward-looking statements to conform these statements to actual results.

SUMMARY OF RISK FACTORS

Our business is subject to a number of risks. You should be aware of these risks before making an investment decision. These risks are discussed more fully in “Item 1A: Risk Factors” in this Annual Report. These risks include, among others, that:

PART I

Item 1. Business  

Overview

We are, through the operation and acquisition of fintech and e-commerce platforms and mobile applications through our direct and indirect wholly or majority-owned subsidiaries, building the next generation digital ecosystem and loyalty platform in the Southeast Asian (“SEA”) countries of Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand.

The Company currently markets to both consumers and merchants in SEA while maintaining an administrative headquarters in Singapore and a software development center in Philippines. We continue to expand our fintech and e-commerce ecosystem throughout the rest of SEA by making selective acquisitions of leading e-commerce companies and applications and through strategic partnerships with technology providers in SEA. Material acquisitions to date include:

We operate six verticals in SEA: loyalty, lifestyle, food and beverage delivery, telecommunications, digital media, and travel as we try to create the next generation digital ecosystem and loyalty platform.

Loyalty

The Group spent over two years building a cutting edge, proprietary IT architecture to effectively scale and support our ecosystem’s companies, consumers and merchants (the “Platform”). Using our Society Pass loyalty platform, which we plan to introduce in 2023, consumers may earn, and merchants may issue, loyalty points or “Society Points” across our subsidiaries. The Company aggregates data generated across various touch points, builds a realistic view of consumer behavior and uses this data to increase sales across our ecosystem by: cross-pollinating acquired companies with other existing verticals, customer re-targeting, offline and online behavior prediction and cross promotions and loyalty points. The Company ecosystem becomes a key enabler for our users by converting this aggregation of data into creation of loyalty for our ecosystem companies to generate revenue:

Lifestyle

The Group operates an online lifestyle business in Vietnam to enable the consumers to purchase high-end brands of all categories under its own brand name of “Leflair”. Consumers search or review their favorite brands among hundreds of choices in Apparel, Bags & Shoes, Accessories, Health & Beauty, Home & Lifestyle, International, Women, Men and Kids & Babies categories. The platform also allows consumers to order from hundreds of vendor choices with personalized promotions based on purchase history and location. The platform has also partnered up with a Vietnam-based delivery company, Amilo, to offer seamless delivery of product from merchant to consumer’s home or office at the touch of a button. Consumers can place orders for delivery or collect at the Company’s logistics center.

Grocery and Food Delivery

The Group operates several online platforms in Vietnam, under the brand name of “Handycart”, and in the Philippines, under the brand names of “Pushkart” and “Mangan”, to enable the consumers to purchase meals from restaurants and food from local grocery and food merchants and deliver to them in their area.

Telecommunications

The Company operates a Singapore-based online telecommunication reseller platform under the brand name of “Gorilla” to enable the consumers to subscribe local mobile data and overseas internet data in a different subscription package. Established in Singapore in 2019, Gorilla offers a full suite of mobile communication services such as local calls, international roaming, data, and SMS texting and network coverage in over 150 countries. Gorilla temporarily suspended providing local service in Singapore while it updates its operating software.

Digital Media

The acquisition of a digital media platform, TMG, amplifies the reach and engagement of the Company’s e-commerce ecosystem and retail partners. Originally founded in 2010, TMG today creates and distributes digital advertising campaigns across its multi-channel network in both SEA and the US. With its intimate knowledge of local markets, digital marketing technology tools and social commerce business focus, advertisers leverage TMG’s wide influencer network throughout SEA to market and sell advertising inventory exclusively with specific placement and effect.

As a result, Thoughtful Media’s content creator partners earn a larger share of advertising revenues from international consumer brands. Thoughtful Media’s data-rich multi-channel network has uploaded over 675,000 videos with over 80 billion video views. The current network of 263 YouTube channels has onboarded over 85 million subscribers with an average monthly viewership of over 600 million views.

Travel

The Company purchased the Nusatrip Group, a leading Jakarta-based Online Travel Agency (“OTA”) in Indonesia and across SEA. The Nusatrip acquisition extended SoPa’s business reach into SEA regional travel industry and marked the Company’s first foray into Indonesia. Established in 2013 as the first Indonesian OTA accredited by the International Air Transport Association, Nusatrip pioneered offering a comprehensive range of airlines and hotels to Indonesian corporate and retail customers. With its first mover advantage, Nusatrip has onboarded over 1.2 million registered users, over 500 airlines and over 200,000 hotels around the world as well as connected with over 80 million unique visitors.

As of March 21, 2023, we have onboarded over 3.3 million registered consumers and over 200,000 registered merchants/brands on our Platform. 

Corporate Structure

Society Pass Incorporated (formerly named Food Society, Inc.) is a Nevada corporation that was incorporated on June 22, 2018. We operate through our subsidiaries. Our material operating subsidiaries include:

Leflair Incorporated, a Nevada corporation owned by the Company which was formed on December 1, 2021. Leflair Incorporated owns 100% of SOPA Technology Co Ltd, a company limited by shares incorporated under the laws of Vietnam on October 1, 2019. SOPA Technology Co Ltd operates the Leflair platform.

PT Tunas Sukses Mandiri, a wholly-owned subsidiary existing under the law of the Republic of Indonesia, and Nusatrip International Pte Ltd., a Singapore subsidiary that is owned 75% by the Company, with two subsidiaries. These companies are engaged in online travel ticketing and reservation services.

Thoughtful Media Group Incorporated, a Nevada corporation, which owns digital marketing companies with significant operations in Thailand and other countries in SEA. Thoughtful Media Group Incorporated primarily operates through AdActive Media CA Inc., a California corporation, and Thoughtful (Thailand) Co. Ltd, a Thai corporation owned 99.75% by the Company.

Gorilla Networks Pte Ltd, a wholly owned Singapore corporation that owns several subsidiaries, including Gorilla Mobile Singapore Pte. Ltd.

New Retail Experience Incorporated, a wholly-owned subsidiary in the Philippines, which operates Pushkart and another food delivery platform through Mangan PH Food Delivery Services Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiary in the Philippines.

Follow-on Public Offering

On February 11, 2022, we closed a public offering of 3,484,845 shares of our common and warrants to purchase 3,484,845 shares of our common stock (including the full exercise of the underwriter’s over-allotment option) at a public offering price of $3.30 per share and warrant to purchase one share of common stock. We received aggregate proceeds from the public offering of $11.5 million before deducting underwriting fees and commission and other offering expenses.

Our Market Opportunity

We expect that continued strong economic expansion, robust population growth, rising level of urbanization, the emergence of the middle class and the increasing rate of adoption of mobile technology provide market opportunities for our Company in SEA. As of 2020, SEA gross domestic product (“GDP”) totaled $3.1 trillion. In comparison, the respective GDP for both the European Union (“EU”) and the United States (“US”) totaled $15 trillion and $20.8 trillion in 2020. SEA has experienced rapid economic growth rates in recent years, far exceeding growth in major world economies such as Japan, the EU and the US. According to the International Monetary Fund (“IMF”) since 2010, SEA has averaged 4.6% GDP growth, compared to 0.7% for Japan, 0.8% for the EU and 1.7% for the US.

SEA continues to enjoy robust population growth. The United Nations Population Division estimates that the population of the SEA countries in 2000 was approximately 525 million people growing to 668 million in 2020.

And despite the ongoing effects from the Covid-19 pandemic, the Internet economy continues to boom in SEA. According to Google Temasek e-Conomy SEA 2020 Report, Internet usage in the region increased with 40 million new users added in 2020 for a total of 400 million compared to 360 million in 2019. Seventy percent of SEA’s population is now online, compared to approximately twenty percent in 2009. In addition, SEA mobile Internet penetration now reaches more than 67%. E-commerce, online media and food delivery adoption and usage surged with the total value of goods and services sold via the Internet, or gross merchandise value (“GMV”), in SEA, expected to reach more than $100 billion by year end 2020 according to Google, Temasek, Bain SEA Report 2020. In fact, the SEA Internet sector GMV is forecast to grow to over $300 billion by 2025.

We believe that these ongoing positive economic and demographic trends in SEA propelled demand for our Platform.

We incurred net losses of $34,015,022 and $34,864,740 in fiscal years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

Our Growth Strategy

Acquiring other e-Commerce companies and applications in SEA

To complement our organic growth strategy, we will continue to opportunistically acquire regional e-commerce companies and applications to drive revenues and increase the number of registered consumers and merchants in our SoPa ecosystem throughout SEA with particular focuses on Vietnam, Philippines and Indonesia. Our anticipated investments and acquisitions of other e-commerce platforms and applications in different verticals are expected to expand our service offerings and attract new consumers and merchants.

Launching our Loyalty System

In 2023, we intend to market our unique merchant agnostic and universal Society Points to generate additional revenues for merchants and create permanent customer loyalty in SEA. For consumers, Society Points will offer them both a cashless payment option and the ability to spend bonus points accumulated from one consumer vertical such as lifestyle to a separate one such as travel.

Entering into Strategic Partnerships

In 2022, the Company entered into agreements to expand its e-commerce business. Strategic partnerships are vital to the strategy and operations of Society Pass ecosystem as they enable our Platform to offer more value-added services to both our consumers and merchants. We are constructing a regional loyalty alliance comprising of synergistic merchant partners. Through our partnerships, we gain access to our partners’ clients and users at minimal cost where possible and to proliferate the usage of Society Points (when available). From our partnerships, we also enhance our offerings like reliable delivery services through our relationships with delivery service providers and vendor financing options through our partnerships with financial institutions. Our marketing approach to engage strategic partners focuses on the benefits of joining our Loyalty Alliance, stressing the ability to access a larger pool of consumers and clients while reducing marketing expenses via joint marketing efforts like press interviews, brochures and co-branding initiatives with merchants.

Maximizing the value of consumer transactions

Growing our consumer base, converting registered consumers into active ones, increasing transaction frequency, and maximizing basket sizes are key growth drivers for our verticals. We are growing our base of registered consumers through a multi-pronged marketing approach across social media, emails, SMS, QR codes, tailored promotional campaigns and public relations engagement. We believe that by serving consumers in all aspects of their daily lives, we create more opportunities to cross-sell and thus maximize our consumer wallet share.

Expanding service offerings to merchants

Merchants are a critical component of our business, thus growing our registered merchant base and serving them with desirable technology and marketing solutions to improve sales, cut costs, and realize operational efficiencies. We onboard merchants through marketing outreach tools such as our websites, public relations, social media and focused sales efforts. In our marketing messages, we attract merchants to our ecosystem by offering them access to our growing consumer base as well as numerous opportunities to optimize their sales, including enhanced customer loyalty through the expected launch of our Society Points in 2023.

Expectation of Competition

We operate a loyalty-focused e-commerce ecosystem operates in several verticals. Across these verticals, we compete with other online platforms for merchants, who can sell their products on other platforms or marketplaces.

We also compete with other e-commerce platforms, fashion retailers and restaurants for the attention of the consumer. Consumers have the choice of shopping with any online or offline retailers, large marketplaces or restaurant chains that may also have the ability to build their own independent online platforms. We are able to compete for consumers based on our ability to deliver a personalized e-commerce experience with easy-to-use mobile apps, well-integrated payments and a reliable platform.

Intellectual Property Matters

The Company technology and platform comprise of various copyrightable and/or patentable subject matter owned and/or licensed by the Company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Society Technology LLC (“Society Technology”), a Nevada limited liability company. Our intellectual property assets additionally include trade secrets associated with the software platform. We successfully carried out development of our multilayer cloud-based software platform from reliance on third parties for payment and loyalty points deployment. As a result, we can monetize our software by making it available in Apple Store and Google Play and compatible with existing payment systems depending on the country’s regulatory requirements.

The Company is currently focusing on using its intellectual property in SEA.

With regard to exclusive and non-exclusive licenses, there is a risk that these licenses could be construed in a manner that imposes unanticipated conditions or restrictions on the Company’s platform. Additionally, if portions of our proprietary software are determined to be subject to an open-source license, or if we do not correctly comply with the terms of the open-source software licenses applicable to our open-source software and technology, it could result in costly litigation or lead to negative public relations.

Occasionally, the Company may be targeted with patent infringement lawsuits or copyright infringement lawsuits. These cases may be brought by non-practicing entities that sustain themselves by suing other companies. Currently, the Company is not aware of any patent or copyright infringement suits against it, or contemplated to be brought against it.

Trademarks

The Company is the owner of multiple registered and common law trademarks in connection with its technology and its services. The names and marks “Society Pass”, “SOPA”, “Leflair”, “#HOTTAB” and other trademarks, trade names, and service marks of Society Pass in this Annual Report are the property of Society Pass or its subsidiaries.

The Company arranges the registration of trademarks, trade names, and service marks in the name of Society Technology LLC, its wholly-owned subsidiary created for the purposes of managing all intellectual property matters of the Company. It is not the intent of this Annual Report to delineate each and every trademarkable matter of the Company owned through Society Technology. Without prejudice to the generality of foregoing, Society Technology is, inter alia, the owner of the registered trademarks “Society Pass”, “SOPA”, “Leflair” and “#HOTTAB” in connection with artificial intelligence software, electronic payment services, loyalty programs, SaaS platforms, and other subsets of the Company’s business. Society Pass has 12 trademarks currently registered with the United States Patents and Trademark Office (the “USPTO”) and has two applications with the USPTO pending. Further, Society Technology filed and registered numerous trademarks with the trademark offices of Vietnam, India, Singapore, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand.

Item 1a. Risk Factors.

In evaluating our Company and our business, you should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described below, together with the other information in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including our condensed consolidated financial statements and the related notes and in the section titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” The occurrence of one or more of the events or circumstances described in these risk factors, alone or in combination with other events or circumstances, may have a material adverse effect on our business, reputation, revenue, financial condition, results of operations and future prospects, in which case the market price of our common stock could decline, and you could lose part or all of your investment. The material and other risks and uncertainties described below and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are not intended to be exhaustive and are not the only ones we face. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also impair our business operations.

Risks Related to Our Business

We have a limited operating history in an evolving industry, which makes it difficult to evaluate our future prospects and may increase the risk that we will not be successful.

The Company has a limited operating history on which to base an evaluation of its business and prospects. The Company is subject to all the risks inherent in a small company seeking to develop, acquire, market and distribute new services, particularly companies in evolving markets such as the internet, technology, and payment systems. The likelihood of the Company’s success must be considered, in light of the problems, expenses, difficulties, complications and delays frequently encountered in connection with the development, acquisition, introduction, marketing and distribution of new products and services in a competitive environment.

Such risks for the Company include, but are not limited to, dependence on the success and acceptance of the Company’s services, the ability to attract and retain a suitable client base, and the management of growth. To address these risks, the Company must, among other things, generate increased demand, attract a sufficient clientele base, respond to competitive developments, increase the “SoPa” brand name’s visibility, successfully introduce new services, attract, retain and motivate qualified personnel and upgrade and enhance the Company’s technologies to accommodate expanded service offerings. In view of the rapidly evolving nature of the Company’s business and its limited operating history, the Company believes that period-to-period comparisons of its operating results are not necessarily meaningful and should not be relied upon as an indication of future performance.

The Company is therefore subject to many of the risks common to early-stage enterprises, including the need for capital, personnel, and other resources.

If we fail to raise capital when needed it will have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition and results of operations.

The Company has early stage revenue-producing operations and in the future, could be required to raise capital through public or private financing or other arrangements to execute its full business plan. The Company believes the proceeds from future offerings will be sufficient to develop its intermediate plans. However, the Company can give no assurance that all, or even a significant portion of these shares will be sold or, that the moneys raised will be sufficient to execute the entire business plan of the Company. Further, no assurance can be given if additional capital is needed as to how much additional capital will be required or that additional financing can be obtained, or if obtainable, that the terms will be satisfactory to the Company, or that such financing would not result in a substantial dilution of shareholder’s interest. A failure to raise capital when needed would have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, debt and other debt financing may involve a pledge of assets and may be senior to interests of equity holders. Any debt financing secured in the future could involve restrictive covenants relating to capital raising activities and other financial and operational matters, which may make it more difficult for the Company to obtain additional capital or to pursue business opportunities, including potential acquisitions. If adequate funds are not obtained, when and if required, the Company may be required to reduce, curtail, or discontinue operations.

We rely on internet search engines and application marketplaces to drive traffic to our Platform, certain providers of which offer products and services that compete directly with our products. If links to our applications and website are not displayed prominently, traffic to our Platform could decline and our business would be adversely affected.

We rely heavily on Internet search engines, such as Google, to drive traffic to, and market, our Platform through their unpaid search results and on application marketplaces, such as Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play, to drive downloads of our applications. Although search results and application marketplaces have allowed us to attract an audience with low organic traffic acquisition costs to date, if they fail to drive sufficient traffic to our Platform, we may need to increase our marketing and spend to acquire additional traffic. We cannot assure you that the value we ultimately derive from any such additional traffic would exceed the cost of acquisition, and any increase in marketing expense may in turn harm our operating results.

The amount of traffic we attract from search engines is due in large part to how and where information from and links to our website are displayed on search engine result pages. The display, including rankings, of unpaid search results can be affected by a number of factors, many of which are not in our direct control, and may change frequently. Search engines have made changes in the past to their ranking algorithms, methodologies and design layouts that have reduced the prominence of links to our Platform and negatively impacted our traffic, and we expect they will continue to make such changes from time to time in the future. Similarly, Apple, Google or other marketplace operators may make changes to their marketplaces that make access to our products more difficult. For example, our applications may receive unfavorable treatment compared to the promotion and placement of competing applications, such as the order in which they appear within marketplaces.

We may not know how or otherwise be in a position to influence search results or our treatment in application marketplaces. With respect to search results in particular, even when search engines announce the details of their methodologies, their parameters may change from time to time, be poorly defined or be inconsistently interpreted. For example, Google previously announced that the rankings of sites showing certain types of app install interstitials could be penalized on its mobile search results pages. While we believe the type of interstitial we currently use is not being penalized, we cannot guarantee that Google will not unexpectedly penalize our app install interstitials, causing links to our mobile website to be featured less prominently in Google’s mobile search results and harming traffic to our Platform as a result.

In some instances, search engine companies and application marketplaces may change their displays or rankings in order to promote their own competing products or services or the products or services of one or more of our competitors. For example, Google has integrated its local product offering with certain of its products, including search and maps. The resulting promotion of Google’s own competing products in its web search results has negatively impacted the search ranking of our website. Because Google in particular is the most significant source of traffic to our website, accounting for a substantial portion of the visits to our website, our success depends on our ability to maintain a prominent presence in search results for queries regarding local businesses on Google. As a result, Google’s promotion of its own competing products, or similar actions by Google in the future that have the effect of reducing our prominence or ranking on its search results, could have a substantial negative effect on our business and results of operations.

The ecommerce market is highly competitive and if the Company may does not have sufficient resources to maintain marketing, sales and client support efforts on a competitive basis our business could be adversely affected.

The internet-based ecommerce business is highly competitive and the Company competes with several different types of companies that offer some form of user-vendor connection experience, payment processing and/or funds transfer content, as well as marketing data companies. Certain of these competitors may have greater industry experience or financial and other resources than the Company.

To become and remain competitive, the Company will require marketing, sales, and client support. The Company may not have sufficient resources to maintain marketing, sales and client support efforts on a competitive basis which could materially and adversely affect the business, financial condition and results of operations of the Company. The Company intends to differentiate itself from competitors by developing a payments platform that allows consumers and merchants to accept and use bonus points.

The market for our vertical’s offerings is rapidly evolving and intensely competitive, and the Company expects competition to intensify further in the future. There is no guarantee that any factors that differentiate the Company from its competitors will give the Company a market advantage or continue to be a differentiating factor for the Company in the foreseeable future. Competitive pressures created by any one of the above-mentioned companies (and other direct or indirect competitors), or by the Company’s competitors collectively, could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, results of operations and financial condition.

The market for our Platform is new and unproven.

We were founded in 2018 and since our inception have been creating products for the developing and rapidly evolving market for API-based software platforms, a market that is largely unproven and is subject to a number of inherent risks and uncertainties. We believe that our future success will depend in large part on the growth, if any, in the market for software platforms that provide features and functionality to create next generation digital ecosystem and loyalty platform. It is difficult to predict customer adoption and renewal rates, customer demand for our solutions, the size and growth rate of the overall market that our Platform addresses, the entry of competitive products or the success of existing competitive products. Any expansion of the market our Platform addresses depends upon a number of factors, including the cost, performance, and perceived value associated with such solutions. If the market our Platform addresses does not achieve significant additional growth or there is a reduction in demand for such solutions caused by a lack of customer acceptance, technological challenges, competing technologies and products or decreases in corporate spending, it could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, results of operations and financial condition.

Delays in the implementation of or lack of consumer acceptance of Society Points could have a material adverse effect on our business.

We expect to launch Society Points in 2023 which will be a significant component to our SoPa consumer facing platform. However, if such launch is delayed or there is not the expected consumer acceptance of Society Points by consumers, our business and financial prospects could be materially and adversely affected.

If we are unable to expand our systems or develop or acquire technologies to accommodate increased volume our Platform could be impaired.

We seek to generate a high volume of traffic and transactions through our technologies. Accordingly, the satisfactory performance, reliability and availability of the Company’s website and platform, processing systems and network infrastructure are critical to our reputation and our ability to attract and retain large numbers of users who transact sales on our platform while maintaining adequate customer service levels. The Company’s revenues depend, in substantial way, on the volume of user transactions that are successfully completed. Any system interruptions that result in the unavailability of our service or reduced customer activity would ultimately reduce the volume of transactions completed. Interruptions of service may also diminish the attractiveness of our company and its services. Any substantial increase in the volume of traffic on our website or Platform or in the number of transactions being conducted by customers will require us to expand and upgrade our technology, transaction processing systems and network infrastructure. There can be no assurance that we will be able to accurately project the rate or timing of increases, if any, in the use of our Platform or timely expand and upgrade our systems and infrastructure to accommodate such increases in a timely manner. Any failure to expand or upgrade our systems could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, results of operations and financial condition.

The Company uses internally developed systems to operate its service. The Company must continually enhance and improve these systems in order to accommodate the level of use of its products and services and increase its security. Furthermore, in the future, the Company may add new features and functionality to its services that would result in the need to develop or license additional technologies. The Company’s inability to add new software and hardware to develop and further upgrade its existing technology, transaction processing systems or network infrastructure to accommodate increased traffic on its platforms or increased transaction volume through its processing systems or to provide new features or functionality may cause unanticipated system disruptions, slower response times, degradation in levels of customer service, impaired quality of the user’s experience on the Company’s service, and delays in reporting accurate financial information. There can be no assurance that the Company will be able in a timely manner to effectively upgrade and expand its systems or to integrate smoothly any newly developed or purchased technologies with its existing systems. Any inability to do so would have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, results of operations and financial condition.

The Company’s failure to successfully market its brands could result in adverse financial consequences.

The Company believes that continuing to strengthen its brands is critical to achieving widespread acceptance of the Company, particularly in light of the competitive nature of the Company’s market. Promoting and positioning its brands will depend largely on the success of the Company’s marketing efforts and the ability of the Company to provide high quality services. In order to promote its brand, the Company will need to increase its marketing budget and otherwise increase its financial commitment to creating and maintaining brand loyalty among users. There can be no assurance that brand promotion activities will yield increased revenues or that any such revenues would offset the expenses incurred by the Company in building its brand. Further, there can be no assurance that any new users attracted to the Company will conduct transactions over the Company on a regular basis. If the Company fails to promote and maintain its brand or incurs substantial expenses in an attempt to promote and maintain its brand or if the Company’s existing or future strategic relationships fail to promote the Company’s brand or increase brand awareness, the Company’s business, results of operations and financial condition would be materially adversely affected.

The Company may not be able to successfully develop and promote new products or services which could result in adverse financial consequences.

The Company plans to expand its operations by developing and promoting new or complementary services, products or transaction formats or expanding the breadth and depth of services or expanding the offering of its services to other countries in SEA. There can be no assurance that the Company will be able to expand its operations in a cost-effective or timely manner or that any such efforts will maintain or increase overall market acceptance. Furthermore, any new business or service launched by the Company that is not favorably received by consumers could damage the Company’s reputation and diminish the value of its brand. Expansion of the Company’s operations in this manner would also require significant additional expenses and development, operations and other resources and would strain the Company’s management, financial and operational resources. The lack of market acceptance of such services or the Company’s inability to generate satisfactory revenues from such expanded services to offset their cost could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, results of operations and financial condition.

In addition, if we are unable to keep up with changes in technology and new hardware, software and services offerings, for example, by providing the appropriate training to our account managers, sales technology specialists, engineers and consultants to enable them to effectively sell and deliver such new offerings to customers, our business, results of operations, or financial condition could be adversely affected.

A decline in the demand for goods and services of the merchants included in the Platform could result in adverse financial consequences.

The Company expects to derive most of its revenues from fees from successfully completed transactions on its consumer facing platforms. The Company’s future revenues will depend upon continued demand for the types of goods and services that are offered by Company and the merchants that are included on such platforms. Any decline in demand for the goods offered through the Company’s services as a result of changes in consumer trends could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, results of operations and financial condition.

The effective operation of the Company’s platform is dependent on technical infrastructure and certain third-party service providers.

Our ability to attract, retain, and serve customers is dependent upon the reliable performance of our Platform and the underlying technical infrastructure. We may fail to effectively scale and grow our technical infrastructure to accommodate these increased demands. In addition, our business will be reliant upon third party partners such as financial service providers and cash-out providers, payment terminals and equipment providers. Any disruption or failure in the services from third party partners used to facilitate our business could harm our business. Any financial or other difficulties these partners face may adversely affect our business, and we exercise little control over these partners, which increases vulnerability to problems with the services they provide.

There is no assurance that the Company will be profitable.

There is no assurance that we will earn profits in the future, or that profitability will be sustained. There is no assurance that future revenues will be sufficient to generate the funds required to continue our business development and marketing activities. If we do not have sufficient capital to fund our operations, we may be required to reduce our sales and marketing efforts or forego certain business opportunities.

We could lose the right to the use of our domain names.

We have registered domain names for our website that we use in our business. If we lose the ability to use a domain name, whether due to trademark claims, failure to renew the applicable registration, or any other cause, we may be forced to market our products under a new domain name, which could cause us substantial harm, or to incur significant expense in order to purchase rights to the domain name in question. In addition, our competitors and others could attempt to capitalize on our brand recognition by using domain names similar to ours, especially in the light of our expected expansion in SEA. Domain names similar to ours may be registered in the United States and elsewhere. We may be unable to prevent third parties from acquiring and using domain names that infringe on, are similar to, or otherwise decrease the value of our brand or our trademarks or service marks. Protecting and enforcing our rights in our domain names may require litigation, which could result in substantial costs and diversion of management’s attention.

We may be required to expend resources to protect Platform information or we may be unable to launch our services.

From time to time, other companies may copy information from our Platform, through website scraping, robots or other means, and publish or aggregate it with other information for their own benefit. We have no assurance other companies will not copy, publish or aggregate content from our Platform in the future. When third parties copy, publish, or aggregate content from our Platform, it makes them more competitive, and decreases the likelihood that consumers will visit our website or use our mobile app to find the information they seek, which could negatively affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. We may not be able to detect such third-party conduct in a timely manner and, even if we could, we may not be able to prevent it. In some cases, particularly in the case of websites operating outside of the United States, our available remedies may be inadequate to protect us against such practices. In addition, we may be required to expend significant financial or other resources to successfully enforce our rights.

Breaches of our online commerce security could occur and could have an adverse effect on our reputation.

A significant barrier to online commerce and communications is the secure transmission of confidential information over public networks. There can be no assurance that advances in computer capabilities, new discoveries in the field of cryptography and cybersecurity, or other events or developments will not result in a compromise or breach of the technology used by the Company to protect customer transaction data. If any such compromise of the Company’s security were to occur, it could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s reputation and, therefore, on its business, results of operations and financial condition. Furthermore, a party who is able to circumvent the Company’s security measures could misappropriate proprietary information or cause interruptions in the Company’s operations. The Company may be required to expend significant capital and other resources to protect against such security breaches or to alleviate problems caused by such breaches. Concerns over the security of transactions conducted on the Internet and other online services and the privacy of users may also inhibit the growth of the Internet and other online services generally, and the Web in particular, especially as a means of conducting commercial transactions. To the extent that activities of the Company involve the storage and transmission of proprietary information, security breaches could damage the Company’s reputation and expose the Company to a risk of loss or litigation and possible liability. There can be no assurance that the Company’s security measures will prevent security breaches or that failure to prevent such security breaches will not have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, results of operations and financial condition.

The Company may not have the ability to manage its growth.

The Company anticipates that significant expansion will be required to address potential growth in its customer base and market opportunities. The Company’s anticipated expansion is expected to place a significant strain on the Company’s management, operational and financial resources. To manage any material growth of its operations and personnel, the Company may be required to improve existing operational and financial systems, procedures and controls and to expand, train and manage its employee base. There can be no assurance that the Company’s planned personnel, systems, procedures and controls will be adequate to support the Company’s future operations, that management will be able to hire, train, retain, motivate and manage required personnel or that the Company’s management will be able to successfully identify, manage and exploit existing and potential market opportunities. If the Company is unable to manage growth effectively, its business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations may be materially adversely affected.

The Company may engage in acquisition activity, which could have adverse effects on its business.

If appropriate opportunities present themselves, the Company intends to acquire, as the Company did in 2022, businesses, technologies, platforms, services, or products that the Company believes are strategic. The Company currently has no binding commitments or agreements with respect to any material acquisition. While the Company is discussing potential acquisitions, there can be no assurance that the Company will be able to successfully negotiate currently contemplated acquisitions or successfully negotiate or finance future contemplated acquisitions, or to integrate such acquisitions with its current business. The process of integrating an acquired business, technology, service or product into the Company may result in unforeseen operating difficulties and expenditures and may absorb significant management attention that would otherwise be available for ongoing development of the Company’s business. Future contemplated acquisitions could result in potentially dilutive issuances of equity securities, the incurrence of debt, contingent liabilities and/or amortization expenses related to goodwill and other intangible assets, which could materially adversely affect the Company’s business, results of operations and financial condition. Any future contemplated acquisitions of other businesses, technologies, services or products might require the Company to obtain additional equity or debt financing, which might not be available on terms favorable to the Company, or at all, and such financing, if available, might be dilutive.

We rely on the performance of highly skilled personnel, and if we are unable to attract, retain and motivate well-qualified employees, our business could be harmed.

The Company is, and will be, heavily dependent on the skill, acumen and services of the management and other employees of the Company. Our future success depends on our continuing ability to attract, develop, motivate and retain highly qualified and skilled employees. Qualified individuals are in high demand, and we may incur significant costs to attract them. In addition, the loss of any of our senior management or key employees could materially adversely affect our ability to execute our business plan, and we may not be able to find adequate replacements. All of our officers and. employees are at-will employees, which means they may terminate their employment relationship with us at any time, although several of our executive officers, other than Mr. Nguyen, are required to give the Company written notice if they resign for other than Good Reason (as defined in the employment agreements), and their knowledge of our business and industry would be extremely difficult to replace. We cannot ensure that we will be able to retain the services of any members of our senior management or other key employees. If we do not succeed in attracting well-qualified employees or retaining and motivating existing employees, our business could be harmed.

Executive may terminate Executive’s employment hereunder other than for Good Reason upon thirty (30) days’ written notice to Company.

Illegal use of our Platform could result in adverse consequences to the Company.

Despite measures the Company will implement to detect and prevent identify theft or other fraud our Platform remains susceptible to potentially illegal or improper uses. Despite measures the Company will take to detect and lessen the risk of this kind of conduct, the Company cannot assure that these measures will succeed. The Company’s business could suffer if customers use the Platform for illegal or improper purposes.

If merchants on our Platform are operating illegally, the Company could be subject to civil and criminal lawsuits, administrative action, and prosecution for, among other things, money laundering or for aiding and abetting violations of law. The Company would lose the revenues associated with these accounts and could be subject to material penalties and fines, both of which would seriously harm its business.

We are subject to certain risks by virtue of our international operations.

We operate and expand internationally. We expect to expand our international operations significantly by accessing new markets abroad and expanding our offerings in new languages: not less than all languages in SEA countries. Our platform is now available in English and several other languages. However, we may have difficulty modifying our technology and content for use in non-English-speaking markets or fostering new communities in non-English-speaking markets. Our ability to manage our business and conduct our operations internationally requires considerable management attention and resources, and is subject to the particular challenges of supporting a rapidly growing business in an environment of multiple languages, cultures, customs, legal systems, alternative dispute systems, regulatory systems, and commercial infrastructures. Furthermore, in most international markets, we would not be the first entrant, and our competitors may be better positioned than we are to succeed. Expanding internationally may subject us to risks that we have either not faced before or increase our exposure to risks that we currently face, including risks associated with:

Changes in the economic, political, or legal environment of the Asia Pacific region.

Substantially all of our revenues are derived from SEA. As a result, our business is subject to the economic, political and legal environment in SEA. The economies of SEA differ from other countries in various respects such as government involvement, level of development, growth rate, allocation of resources and inflation rate. Prior to the 1990s, many SEA countries relied on a planned economy. State-owned enterprises still account for a substantial portion of SEA’s industrial output, though governments in general are reducing the level of direct control that they exercise over the economy through state plans and other measures. It is our understanding that there is an increasing level of freedom and autonomy in areas such as resource allocation, production and management and a gradual shift in emphasis to market economies and enterprise reform.

Other than Singapore, the legal systems of SEA countries in which the Company operates, also differ from most common law jurisdictions, in that they are systems in which decided legal cases have little precedential value. The laws and regulations are subject to broad and varying interpretations by government officials, courts, and lawyers. The courts of some countries of Asia Pacific region have the power to read implied terms into contracts, adding a further layer of uncertainty. As a result, government officials, courts and lawyers often express different views on the legality, validity and effect of a particular legal document. In addition, the views of a governmental authority received on a particular issue have no binding effect or finality, so there is no guarantee that similar issues will be dealt with in a similar way by other governmental authorities. Furthermore, recognition and enforcement of legal rights through Asia Pacific region’s national courts, arbitration centers and administrative agencies in the event of a dispute is uncertain.

As part of their transition from planned economies to more market-oriented ones, the governments implemented a series of economic reforms, including lowering trade barriers and import quotas to encourage and promote foreign investment. The governments promulgated a series of laws and regulations on local and foreign investment, which set out the types of corporate vehicle investors may establish to carry out their investment projects. Nevertheless, conflicting interpretations between local regulators in different provinces in a country, and between different ministries can create confusion over key issues in certain countries. Many of the reforms in SEA are unprecedented or experimental and may be subject to revision, change or abolition, depending upon the outcome of these experiments. Furthermore, there can be no assurance that the governments will continue to pursue policies of economic reform or that any reforms will be successful or the impetus to reform will continue. If any of these changes adversely affect us or our business, or if we are unable to capitalize on the economic reform measures of the pertinent governments, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected.

Many of the economies in SEA have or are experiencing substantial inflationary pressures which may prompt the governments to take action to control the growth of the economy and inflation that could lead to a significant decrease in our profitability.

While many of the economies in SEA have experienced rapid growth over the last two decades, they have also experienced inflationary pressures. As governments take steps to address inflationary pressures, there may be significant changes in the availability of bank credits, interest rates, limitations on loans, restrictions on currency conversions and foreign investment. There also may be imposition of price controls. If our revenues rise at a rate that is insufficient to compensate for the rise in our costs, it may have an adverse effect on our profitability. If these or other similar restrictions are imposed by a government to influence the economy, it may lead to a slowing of economic growth.

Our business will be exposed to foreign exchange risk.

We derive substantially all of our revenue from the operations of our Platform in Vietnam and expect to derive our revenue from SEA. Our functional currencies will by necessity be the currencies of the countries of SEA. Our reporting currency is the U.S. dollar. We translate our results of operations using the average exchange rate for the period, unless the average is not a reasonable approximation of the cumulative effect of the rates prevailing on the transaction dates, in which case income and expenses are translated at the rate on the dates of the transactions, and we translate our financial position at the period-end exchange rate. Accordingly, any significant fluctuation between the currencies of countries of SEA and South Asia on the one hand and the U.S. dollar on the other could expose us to foreign exchange risk.

A significant depreciation in many of the currencies of countries of SEA against major foreign currencies may have a material adverse impact on our results of operations and financial condition because our reporting currency is the U.S. dollar. If, in the future, significant depreciation in many of the currencies of countries of SEA, we may be unable to meet any foreign currency payment obligations.

If inflation increases significantly in SEA or South Asia countries, it could adversely affect our business.

Should inflation in SEA countries increase significantly, our costs, including our staff costs and transportation are expected to increase. Furthermore, high inflation rates could have an adverse effect on the countries’ economic growth, business climate and dampen consumer purchasing power. As a result, a high inflation rate in SEA countries could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.

Geopolitical unrest in the regions in which we operate could adversely affect our business.

Most of our operations and business activities are conducted in SEA, whose economies and legal systems remain susceptible to risks associated with an emerging economy and which is subject to higher geopolitical risks than developed countries. Examples include the social unrests in 2014 in Vietnam targeting China-related businesses and ongoing territorial and other disputes between Vietnam and its neighboring countries in Asia. Social and political unrest could give rise to various risks, such as loss of employment and safety and security risks to persons and property. Any such event may in turn have a material and adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial position.

Recently, Russia initiated significant military action against Ukraine. In response, the U.S. and certain other countries imposed significant sanctions and export controls against Russia, Belarus and certain individuals and entities connected to Russian or Belarusian political, business, and financial organizations, and the U.S. and certain other countries could impose further sanctions, trade restrictions, and other retaliatory actions should the conflict continue or worsen. It is not possible to predict the broader consequences of the conflict, including related geopolitical tensions, and the measures and retaliatory actions taken by the U.S. and other countries in respect thereof as well as any counter measures or retaliatory actions by Russia or Belarus in response, including, for example, potential cyberattacks or the disruption of energy exports, is likely to cause regional instability, geopolitical shifts, and could materially adversely affect regional economies and the global economy. The situation remains uncertain, and while it is difficult to predict the impact of any of the foregoing, the conflict and actions taken in response to the conflict could increase our costs, disrupt our supply chain, reduce our sales and earnings, impair our ability to raise additional capital when needed on acceptable terms, if at all, or otherwise adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Our business may be materially adversely affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is evolving, and to date has led to the implementation of various responses, including government-imposed quarantines, business closures, travel restrictions, and other public health safety measures. The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic impacts our business will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted at this time, including: 

In addition, the outbreak of COVID-19 has resulted in a widespread global health crisis and adversely affected global economies and financial markets, and similar public health threats could do so in the future. Such events have impacted, and could in the future impact, demand for merchants and consumer purchase patterns, which in turn, could adversely affect our revenue and results of operations.

Furthermore, if a virus or other disease is transmitted by human contact, as is the case with COVID-19, our employees and any constituent of our network may become infected, or may choose, or be advised, to avoid any contact with others, any of which may adversely affect our ability to provide our Platform and for our merchants and consumers to use our Platform. In addition, shelter-in-place orders and similar regulations impact merchants’ ability to operate their businesses, consumers’ ability to pick up orders, and our merchants’ ability to make deliveries during certain times, or at all. Even if merchants are able to continue to operate their businesses, many may operate with limited hours, selection and capacity and other limitations. Any limitations on or disruptions or closures of merchants’ businesses could adversely affect our business.

Even if a virus or other disease does not spread significantly and such measures are not implemented, the perceived risk of infection or significant health risk may adversely affect our business. Merchants may be perceived as unsafe during such public health threats, even for order delivery or pickup. If the services offered through our Platform or at other businesses in our industry become a significant risk for transmitting COVID-19 or similar public health threats, or if there is a public perception that such risk exists, demand for the use of our Platform would be adversely affected. Any negative impact on consumers’ willingness or ability to order delivery or complete a pickup order, or on merchant’s willingness or ability to make deliveries, could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations. 

Substantially all of our revenues are concentrated in Vietnam pending expansion into other markets in SEA. Consequently, our results of operations will likely be adversely, and may be materially, affected, to the extent that the COVID-19 or any other epidemic harms SEA’s economy and society and the global economy in general. Any potential impact to our results will depend on, to a large extent, future developments and new information that may emerge regarding the duration and severity of the COVID-19 and the actions taken by government authorities and other entities to contain the COVID-19 or treat its impact, almost all of which are beyond our control. If the disruptions posed by COVID-19 or other matters of global concern continue for an extensive period of time, the operations of our business may be materially adversely affected.

To the extent the COVID-19 pandemic or a similar public health threat has an impact on our business, it is likely to also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks described in this “Item 1A: Risk Factors” section.

Regulatory Risks

The payment processing regulatory regimes of the countries in which we operate could have adverse consequences on our business.

From time-to-time, governments and regulatory bodies may review the legislation and regulations applied to the e-commerce and payment processing industry in which the Company operates. Such reviews could result in the enactment of new laws and/or the adoption of new regulations in SEA, South Asia, the US or elsewhere, which might adversely impact businesses in those countries in general and consequently, may threaten the Company’s growth prospects. More specifically, the Company is operating in the e-commerce and payment processing industry, which is strictly regulated. Regulation is extensive and designed to protect consumers and the public, while providing standard guidelines for business operations. In the offering of its products, the Company is subject to certain federal and provincial laws and regulations relating to its financial product offerings, including laws and regulations governing such things as Know-Your-Customer (KYC), Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Anti-Terrorist Financing (ATF) and safeguarding the privacy of customers’ personal information. Failure to comply with, or changes to, existing or future laws and regulations could result in significant unforeseen costs and limitations, and could have an adverse impact on the Company’s business, results of operations and/or financial condition.

Regulation of the internet generally could have adverse consequences on our business.

We are also subject to general business regulations and laws in SEA specifically governing the internet and e-commerce. Existing and future laws and regulations may impede the growth of the Internet, e-commerce or other online services, and increase the cost of providing online services. These regulations and laws may cover sweepstakes, taxation, tariffs, user privacy, data protection, pricing, content, copyrights, distribution, electronic contracts and other communications, consumer protection, broadband residential Internet access and the characteristics and quality of services. It is not clear how existing laws governing issues such as property ownership, sales, use and other taxes, libel and personal privacy apply to the internet and e-commerce. Unfavorable resolution of these issues may harm our business and results of operations.

Privacy regulations could have adverse consequences on our business.

We receive, collect, store, process, transfer, and use personal information and other user data. There are numerous international laws and regulations regarding privacy, data protection, information security, and the collection, storing, sharing, use, processing, transfer, disclosure, and protection of personal information and other content, the scope of which are changing, subject to differing interpretations, and may be inconsistent among countries, or conflict with other laws and regulations. We are also subject to the terms of our privacy policies and obligations to third parties related to privacy, data protection, and information security. We strive to comply with applicable laws, regulations, policies, and other legal obligations relating to privacy, data protection, and information security to the extent possible. However, the regulatory framework for privacy and data protection worldwide is, and is likely to remain for the foreseeable future, uncertain and complex, and it is possible that these or other actual or alleged obligations may be interpreted and applied in a manner that we do not anticipate or that is inconsistent from one jurisdiction to another and may conflict with other rules or our practices. Further, any significant change to applicable laws, regulations, or industry practices regarding the collection, use, retention, security, or disclosure of our users’ data, or their interpretation, or any changes regarding the manner in which the express or implied consent of users for the collection, use, retention, or disclosure of such data must be obtained, could increase our costs and require us to modify our services and features, possibly in a material manner, which we may be unable to complete, and may limit our ability to store and process user data or develop new services and features. 

We also expect that there will continue to be new laws, regulations, and industry standards concerning privacy, data protection, and information security proposed and enacted in various jurisdictions.

Any failure or perceived failure by us to comply with our posted privacy policies, our privacy-related obligations to users or other third parties, or any other legal obligations or regulatory requirements relating to privacy, data protection, or information security may result in governmental investigations or enforcement actions, litigation, claims, or public statements against us by consumer advocacy groups or others and could result in significant liability, cause our users to lose trust in us, and otherwise have an adverse effect on our reputation and business. Furthermore, the costs of compliance with, and other burdens imposed by, the laws, regulations, and policies that are applicable to the businesses of our users may limit the adoption and use of, and reduce the overall demand for, our Platform.

Additionally, if third parties we work with violate applicable laws, regulations, or agreements, such violations may put our users’ data at risk, could result in governmental investigations or enforcement actions, fines, litigation, claims, or public statements against us by consumer advocacy groups or others and could result in significant liability, cause our users to lose trust in us, and otherwise have an adverse effect on our reputation and business. Further, public scrutiny of or complaints about technology companies or their data handling or data protection practices, even if unrelated to our business, industry, or operations, may lead to increased scrutiny of technology companies, including us, and may cause government agencies to enact additional regulatory requirements, or to modify their enforcement or investigation activities, which may increase our costs and risks.

Regulation of bonus cards could have adverse consequences on our business.

Our platform’s payment system inevitably provides our customers with bonuses that may or may not be deemed gift certificates, store gift cards, general-use prepaid cards, or other vouchers, or “gift cards”, subject to, various laws of multiple jurisdictions. Many of these laws include specific disclosure requirements and prohibitions or limitations on the use of expiration dates and the imposition of certain fees. Various companies that provided deal products similar to ours around the world are currently or were defendants in purported class action lawsuits.

The application of various other laws and regulations to our products is uncertain. These include laws and regulations pertaining to unclaimed and abandoned property, partial redemption, revenue-sharing restrictions on certain trade groups and professions, sales and other local taxes and the sale of alcoholic beverages. In addition, we may become, or be determined to be, subject to United States federal or state laws or laws in SEA or South Asia countries we operate regulating money transmitters or aimed at preventing money laundering or terrorist financing, including the Bank Secrecy Act, the USA PATRIOT Act and other similar future laws or regulations in the United States and in the applicable SEA or South Asia countries.

If we become subject to claims or are required to alter our business practices as a result of current or future laws and regulations, our revenue could decrease, our costs could increase and our business could otherwise be harmed. In addition, the costs and expenses associated with defending any actions related to such additional laws and regulations and any payments of related penalties, fines, judgments or settlements could harm our business.

The requirements of being a public company.

As a public company, we are subject to the reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the “Exchange Act”, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Dodd-Frank Act, and other applicable securities rules and regulations. Compliance with these rules and regulations will increase our legal and financial compliance costs, make some activities more difficult, time-consuming or costly and increase demand on our systems and resources. The Exchange Act requires, among other things, that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with respect to our business and operating results. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting. In order to maintain and, if required, improve our disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting to meet this standard, significant resources and management oversight may be required. As a result, management’s attention may be diverted from other business concerns, which could harm our business and operating results. We may need to hire more employees in the future to comply with these requirements, which will increase our costs and expenses.

In addition, changing laws, regulations and standards relating to corporate governance and public disclosure are creating uncertainty for public companies, increasing legal and financial compliance costs and making some activities more time consuming. These laws, regulations and standards are subject to varying interpretations, in many cases due to their lack of specificity, and, as a result, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance is provided by regulatory and governing bodies. This could result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and higher costs necessitated by ongoing revisions to disclosure and governance practices. We intend to invest resources to comply with evolving laws, regulations and standards, and this investment may result in increased general and administrative expenses and a diversion of management’s time and attention from revenue-generating activities to compliance activities. If our efforts to comply with new laws, regulations, and standards differ from the activities intended by regulatory or governing bodies due to ambiguities related to practice, regulatory authorities may initiate legal proceedings against us and our business may be harmed.

We also expect that being a public company and these new rules and regulations will make it more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance, and we may be required to accept reduced coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain coverage. These factors could also make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified members of our board of directors, particularly to serve on our audit committee and Remuneration Committee, and qualified executive officers.

As a result of disclosure of information in this Annual Report and in filings required of a public company, our business and financial condition will become more visible, which we believe may result in increased threatened or actual litigation, including by competitors and other third parties. If such claims are successful, our business and operating results could be harmed, and even if the claims do not result in litigation or are resolved in our favor, these claims, and the time and resources necessary to resolve them, could divert the resources of our management and harm our business and operating results.

We may be exposed to liabilities under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and any determination that we violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act could have a material adverse effect on our business.

We are subject to the Foreign Corrupt Practice Act, or FCPA, and other laws that prohibit improper payments or offers of payments to foreign governments and their officials and political parties by U.S. persons and issuers as defined by the statute for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. We have operations, agreements with third parties and make sales in Asia, which may experience corruption. Our activities in Asia create the risk of unauthorized payments or offers of payments by one of the employees, consultants or agents of our company, because these parties are not always subject to our control. It is our policy to implement safeguards to discourage these practices by our employees. Also, our existing safeguards and any future improvements may prove to be less than effective, and the employees, consultants, sales agents or distributors of our Company may engage in conduct for which we might be held responsible. Violations of the FCPA may result in severe criminal or civil sanctions, and we may be subject to other liabilities, which could negatively affect our business, operating results and financial condition. In addition, the government may seek to hold our Company liable for successor liability FCPA violations committed by companies in which we invest or that we acquire.

We may be subject to risks related to litigation and other legal proceedings that may materially adversely affect our business, operating results or financial condition.

The Company and/or its directors and officers may be subject to a variety of civil or other legal proceedings, with or without merit. From time to time in the ordinary course of its business, we may become involved in various legal proceedings, including commercial, employment and other litigation and claims, as well as governmental and other regulatory investigations and proceedings. Such matters can be time-consuming, divert management’s attention and resources and cause us to incur significant expenses. Furthermore, because litigation is inherently unpredictable, the results of any such actions may have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results or financial condition.

Even if the claims are without merit, the costs associated with defending these types of claims may be substantial, both in terms of time, money, and management distraction. In particular, patent and other intellectual property litigation may be protracted and expensive, and the results are difficult to predict and may require us to stop offering certain features, purchase licenses or modify our products and features while we develop non-infringing substitutes or may result in significant settlement costs. We do not own any patents, and, therefore, may be unable to deter competitors or others from pursuing patent or other intellectual property infringement claims against us.

The results of litigation and claims to which we may be subject cannot be predicted with certainty. Even if these matters do not result in litigation or are resolved in our favor or without significant cash settlements, these matters, and the time and resources necessary to litigate or resolve them, could harm our business, results or operations and reputation.

Our financial statements have been prepared on a going-concern basis and our continued operations are in doubt.

The financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis under which an entity is considered to be able to realize its assets and satisfy its liabilities in the ordinary course of business. Our future operations may be dependent upon the identification and successful completion of equity or debt financing and the achievement of profitable operations at an indeterminate time in the future. There can be no assurances that we will be successful in completing an equity or debt financing or in achieving profitability.

We may face potential liability and expense for legal claims based on the content on our Platform.

We may face potential liability and expense for legal claims relating to the information that we publish on our website and our Platform, including claims for defamation, libel, negligence and copyright or trademark infringement, among others. For example, businesses may in the future claim, that we are responsible for defamatory reviews posted by our users. These claims could divert management time and attention away from our business and result in significant costs to investigate and defend, regardless of the merits of the claims. In some instances, we may elect or be compelled to remove content or may be forced to pay substantial damages if we are unsuccessful in our efforts to defend against these claims. If we elect or are compelled to remove valuable content from our website or mobile app, our Platform may become less useful to consumers and our traffic may decline, which could have a negative impact on our business and financial performance.

Protection of Intellectual Property Rights are important for the future of our business.

The future success of our business is dependent upon the intellectual property rights surrounding the technology, including trade secrets, know-how and continuing technological innovation. Although we will seek to protect our proprietary rights, our actions may be inadequate to protect any proprietary rights or to prevent others from claiming violations of their proprietary rights. There can be no assurance that other companies are not investigating or developing other technologies that are similar to our technology. In addition, effective intellectual property protection may be unenforceable or limited in certain countries, and the global nature of the Internet makes it impossible to control the ultimate designation of our technology. Any of these claims, with or without merit, could subject us to costly litigation. If the protection of proprietary rights is inadequate to prevent unauthorized use or appropriation by third parties, the value of our brand and other intangible assets may be diminished. Any of these events could have an adverse effect on our business and financial results.

Effective trade secret, copyright, trademark and domain name protection is expensive to develop and maintain, both in terms of initial and ongoing registration requirements and expenses and the costs of defending our rights. We are seeking to protect our trademarks and domain names in an increasing number of jurisdictions, a process that is expensive and may not be successful or which we may not pursue in every location. Litigation may be necessary to enforce our intellectual property rights, protect our respective trade secrets or determine the validity and scope of proprietary rights claimed by others. Any litigation of this nature, regardless of outcome or merit, could result in substantial costs and diversion of management and technical resources, any of which could adversely affect our business and operating results. We may incur significant costs in enforcing our trademarks against those who attempt to imitate our brand. If we fail to maintain, protect and enhance our intellectual property rights, our business and operating results may be harmed.

Risks Relating to Ownership of Our Securities

The trading price of our common stock is likely to be volatile, which could result in substantial losses to investors.

The trading price of our common stock is likely to be volatile and could fluctuate widely due to factors beyond our control. This may happen because of broad market and industry factors. In addition to market and industry factors, the market price and trading volume for the common stock may be highly volatile for factors specific to our own operations, including the following:

Any of these factors may result in large and sudden changes in the volume and price at which our common stock will trade.

In the past, shareholders of public companies have often brought securities class action suits against those companies following periods of instability in the market price of their securities. If we were involved in a class action suit, it could divert a significant amount of our management’s attention and other resources from our business and require us to incur significant expenses to defend the suit, which could harm our results of operations.

Any such class action suit, whether or not successful, could harm our reputation and restrict our ability to raise capital in the future. In addition, if a claim is successfully made against us, we may be required to pay significant damages, which could materially adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

Future sales of our common stock in the public market could cause the market price of our common stock to decline.

Sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock in the public market, or the perception that these sales might occur, could depress the market price of our common stock and could impair our ability to raise capital through the sale of additional equity securities. Our shareholders may sell all or part of their holdings as soon as any applicable transfer restrictions have ended and such sales could have a negative impact on the market price of our common stock. We are unable to predict the timing of or the effect that such sales may have on the prevailing market price of our common stock.

If securities or industry analysts publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, our stock price and trading volume could decline.

The trading market for our common stock could depend in part on the research and reports that certain securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business. Several analysts may cover our stock. If one or more of those analysts downgrade our stock or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, our stock price would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage of our company or fail to publish reports on us regularly, demand for our stock could decrease, which might cause our stock price and trading volume to decline.

A possible “short squeeze” due to a sudden increase in demand of our common stocks that largely exceeds supply may lead to price volatility in our common stock.

Investors may purchase our common stock to hedge existing exposure in our common stock or to speculate on the price of our common stock. Speculation on the price of our common stock may involve long and short exposures. To the extent aggregate short exposure exceeds the number of shares of our common stock available for purchase in the open market, investors with short exposure may have to pay a premium to repurchase our common stock for delivery to lenders of our common stock. Those repurchases may in turn, dramatically increase the price of our common stock until investors with short exposure are able to purchase additional shares of common stock to cover their short position. This is often referred to as a “short squeeze.” A short squeeze could lead to volatile price movements in our common stock that are not directly correlated to the performance or prospects of our company and once investors purchase the shares of common stock necessary to cover their short position the price of our common stock may decline.

Our Founder, Chairman and CEO will continue to own a significant percentage of our common stock and our Super Voting Preferred Stock and will be able to exert significant control over matters subject to shareholder approval.

Dennis Nguyen, our Founder, Chairman and CEO, currently beneficially owns common stock and Super Voting Preferred Stock that provide him with 65.7% of the voting power of our voting stock. Therefore, even after further offerings, he will have the ability to substantially influence us through this ownership position. For example, he may be able to significantly influence elections of directors, amendments of our organizational documents, or approval of any merger, sale of assets, or other major corporate transaction. His interests may not always coincide with our corporate interests or the interests of other shareholders, and he may act in a manner with which you may not agree or that may not be in the best interests of our other shareholders. So long as he continues to own a significant amount of our equity, he will continue to be able to strongly influence or effectively control our decisions. 

We may not be able to satisfy listing requirements of Nasdaq to maintain a listing of our common stock.

Although our common stock has been approved for listing on Nasdaq, we must meet certain regulatory, financial and liquidity criteria to maintain such listing, including those regarding director independence and independent committee requirements, minimum stockholders’ equity, minimum share price, and certain corporate governance requirements. If we violate the maintenance requirements for continued listing of our common stock, our common stock may be delisted. In addition, our board may determine that the cost of maintaining our listing on a national securities exchange outweighs the benefits of such listing. A delisting of our common stock from Nasdaq may materially impair our stockholders’ ability to buy and sell our common stock and could have an adverse effect on the market price of, and the efficiency of the trading market for, our common stock. In addition, the delisting of our common stock could significantly impair our ability to raise capital.

An active market for our common stock in which investors can resell their shares may not continue to exist.

Prior to our initial public offering that closed on November 12, 2021, there was no public market for our shares of common stock. Although our common stock began trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market in November 2021, we cannot predict the extent to which an active market for our common stock will develop or be sustained, or how the development of such a market might affect the market price of our common stock. The value of our common stock can be adversely affected by a variety of factors, including problems with the development and expansion of our business offerings, regulatory issues, technical issues, commercial challenges, competition, legislation, government intervention, industry developments and trends, and general business and economic conditions.

Failure to maintain effective controls on financial reporting could have an adverse impact on our business and we  have identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting.

Prior to our initial public offering in November 2021, we were a private company and had limited accounting and financial reporting personnel and other resources with which to address our internal controls and related procedures. Furthermore, we are a newly public company and are not required to provide a report on internal control over financial reporting as of the end of our most recent fiscal year. While operating as a public company, we and our independent registered public accounting firm may identify material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting. A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. If we are unable to remedy our material weakness, or if we generally fail to establish and maintain effective internal controls appropriate for a public company, we may be unable to produce timely and accurate financial statements, and we may conclude that our internal control over financial reporting is not effective, which could adversely impact our investors’ confidence and our stock price.

We may need to implement additional and expensive procedures and controls in order to grow our business and organization and to satisfy new reporting requirements, which will increase our costs and require additional management resources.

As a public reporting company, we are required to comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”) and the related rules and regulations of the SEC, including the requirements that we maintain disclosure controls and procedures and adequate internal control over financial reporting. Also, our securities are listed on a U.S. national securities exchange and we are required to comply with marketplace rules and heightened corporate governance standards. Compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and other SEC and U.S. national securities exchange requirements will increase our costs and require additional management resources. We recently have begun upgrading our procedures and controls and will need to continue to implement additional procedures and controls as we grow our business and organization and to satisfy new reporting requirements. If we are unable to complete the required assessment as to the adequacy of our internal control over financial reporting, as required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act or if we fail to maintain internal control over financial reporting, our ability to produce timely, accurate and reliable periodic financial statements could be impaired.

If we do not maintain adequate internal control over financial reporting, investors could lose confidence in the accuracy of our periodic reports filed under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Additionally, our ability to obtain additional financing could be impaired or a lack of investor confidence in the reliability and accuracy of our public reporting could cause our stock price to decline.

We are an “emerging growth company” under the JOBS Act of 2012 and we cannot be certain if the reduced disclosure requirements applicable to emerging growth companies will make our common stock less attractive to investors.

We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”), and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are not applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. We cannot predict if investors will find our common stock less attractive because we may rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our common stock less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our common stock and our stock price may be more volatile.

In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act of 1933 (the “Securities Act”) for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an “emerging growth company” can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We are choosing to take advantage of the extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards.

We will remain an “emerging growth company” until the last day of the fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of the date of the first sale of our common stock pursuant to an effective registration statement under the Securities Act, although we will lose that status sooner if our revenues exceed $1.07 billion, if we issue more than $1 billion in non-convertible debt in a three year period, or if the market value of our common stock that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the last day of our most recently completed second fiscal quarter.

Investors may be unable to compare our business with other companies in our industry if they believe that our financial accounting is not as transparent as other companies in our industry. If we are unable to raise additional capital as and when we need it, our financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

As a “controlled company” under the rules of the Nasdaq Capital Market, we may choose to exempt our company from certain corporate governance requirements that could have an adverse effect on our public shareholders.

Mr. Dennis Nguyen, our Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer is currently the beneficial owner of voting stock that provides him with approximately 65.7% of the voting power of our voting stock. We currently meet the definition of a “controlled company” under the corporate governance standards for NASDAQ listed companies and for so long as we remain a controlled company under this definition, we are eligible to utilize certain exemptions from the corporate governance requirements of the NASDAQ Stock Market.

As long as our officers and directors, either individually or in the aggregate, own at least 50% of the voting power of our Company, we are a “controlled company” as defined under the listing rules of The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC.

For so long as we are a controlled company under that definition, we are permitted to elect to rely, and may rely, on certain exemptions from corporate governance rules, including:

Although we do not intend to rely on the “controlled company” exemption under the Nasdaq listing rules, we could elect to rely on this exemption in the future. If we elect to rely on the “controlled company” exemption, a majority of the members of our board of directors might not be independent directors and our nominating and corporate governance and compensation committees might not consist entirely of independent directors.

As a result, you will not have the same protection afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to these corporate governance requirements. 

We have not paid dividends in the past and do not expect to pay dividends in the future, and any return on investment may be limited to the value of our stock.

We have never paid cash dividends on our common stock and do not anticipate paying cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future. We currently intend to retain any future earnings to support the development of our business and do not anticipate paying cash dividends in the foreseeable future. Our payment of any future dividends will be at the discretion of our board of directors after taking into account various factors, including, but not limited to, our financial condition, operating results, cash needs, growth plans and the terms of any credit agreements that we may be a party to at the time. In addition, our ability to pay dividends on our common stock may be limited by Nevada state law. Accordingly, investors must rely on sales of their common stock after price appreciation, which may never occur, as the only way to realize a return on their investment. Investors seeking cash dividends should not purchase our common stock.

We will indemnify and hold harmless our officers and directors to the maximum extent permitted by Nevada law.

Our bylaws provide that we will indemnify and hold harmless our officers and directors against claims arising from our activities, to the fullest extent not prohibited by Nevada law. If we were called upon to perform under our indemnification agreement, then the portion of our assets expended for such purpose would reduce the amount otherwise available for our business.

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments

None.

Item 2. Properties.

Our principal executive offices are located at 701 S. Carson Street, Suite 200, Carson City, NV 89701.

As of December 31, 2022, the Company recorded the ROU asset and lease obligation of $1,541,064. We do not currently own any real estate.

Item 3. Legal Proceedings  

From time to time, the Company may become involved in various lawsuits and legal proceedings, which arise, in the ordinary course of business. However, litigation is subject to inherent uncertainties, and an adverse result in these or other matters may arise from time to time that may harm the Company’s business.

The Company is currently litigating three cases pending in the Supreme Court for the State of New York, New York County.

Two cases are employment actions filed by former employees who seek compensation alleged to be due pursuant to agreements with the Company.  Both of the employees are represented by the same counsel and filed their cases in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York, in December 2019.

In one of those actions, brought by Rahul Narain, a former employee claims entitlement to compensation and a bonus totaling $566,000 and 130-195 shares of Company common stock, together with costs. For the 130 shares he contends were not delivered, he alleges damages of approximately $750,000. The Company responded to the complaint and also asserted counterclaims in the proceeding for $1,500,000 to $4,000,000 plus punitive damages, together with interest and costs, arising from, inter alia, the former employee’s breach of contract, unfair competition, misappropriation of trade secrets and breach of fiduciary duty. The former employee has responded to the Company’s counterclaims and discovery has been conducted. The discovery phase is now over. The Company filed a motion for partial summary judgment to dismiss Rahul Narain’s claims for damages associated with the 130-195 shares of the Company’s common stock. Rahul Narain has filed a motion for partial summary judgment on his claims for compensation and for damages he alleges associated with his contention that the Company did not deliver the shares of common stock under a warrant. In that motion he seeks the monetary value of that stock, which he contends is $749,190 plus interest, and also seeks partial summary judgment for his claim seeking $566,000 in compensation, specifically to the motion, he seeks $60,000. His motion also seeks to dismiss the Company’s counterclaims. Rahul Narain has also filed a motion in limine to preclude the Company’s expert witness as to damages for some of the Company’s counterclaims.

In the other employment action, brought by Thomas O’Connor, a former employee, and CVO Advisors Pte. Ltd., involves claims of entitlement to salary payments and expense reimbursement in the amount of $122,042.60, plus liquidated damages, together with costs. This former employee also made claims based on a failure to deliver between 1,721 and 2,536 shares of the Company’s common stock. For the 1,721 shares of stock which he contends were not delivered, he alleges damages of $9,918,000. In addition, this action also includes claims by a plaintiff-entity alleging entitlement to $8 million in shares of the Company’s Series A Preferred stock. The Company responded to the complaint and also asserted counterclaims against the former employee in the proceeding for $1,500,000 to $2,000,000 plus punitive damages, together with costs, arising from, inter alia, the former employee’s breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, tortious interference and fraud. The former employee has responded to the Company’s counterclaims and this action is still in the discovery phase of litigation. Thomas O’Connor has filed a motion to strike the Company’s answer and counterclaims or in the alternative precluding Society Pass from offering evidence or for a Conditional Order for production. That motion is fully briefed and is set for oral argument on March 6, 2023. Thomas O’Connor has also filed a motion for partial summary judgment on his cause of action regarding the 1,721 shares of stock that were allegedly not delivered and is seeking the cash value of those shares.

The third case also involves one of those former employees, Thomas O’Connor; therein, a Company affiliate filed suit in February 2020 seeking enforcement, by way of specific performance, of an agreement which entitles the affiliate to purchase all of the 99 percent of the shares of the plaintiff-entity which alleges entitlement to $8 million in shares of the Company’s Series A Preferred Stock in one of the employment actions described above. The former employee has responded to the Company’s complaint in this action with a motion to dismiss, which was later withdrawn by same, and then by way of an answer without counterclaims. The case has been reassigned to a new Judge and we have requested a preliminary conference. However, no preliminary conference has yet been Ordered. As these matters are in the discovery and pre-discovery phases, and/or have summary judgment motions being briefed it is too early to assess the likelihood of success. The Company denies the accusations by both O’Connor and Narain and intends to vigorously defend these matters.

A prior action captioned SOSV IV LLV v. Society Pass Inc., et al., Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York, Index 650271/2022 has recently been settled and discontinued.

The Company does not believe any of the foregoing actions will have, individually or in the aggregate, a material adverse effect on its business, financial condition or operating results.  

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures

Not applicable.

PART II

Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities.

Market Information

Our common stock is trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “SOPA.”

Holders

As of March 21, 2023, there were 101 stockholders of record of our common stock. Because many of our shares of common stock are held by brokers and other institutions on behalf of stockholders, this number is not representative of the total number of beneficial owners of our stock.

Dividends

We have never declared or paid any cash dividend on our common stock. We intend to retain any future earnings to finance the operation and expansion of our business and fund our share repurchase program, and we do not expect to pay cash dividends in the foreseeable future.

Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities   

None.

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

The Company did not repurchase any of its equity securities during the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2022.

Item 6. Selected Financial Data

The Company is a smaller reporting company as defined by Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act and is not required to provide the information required under this item.

Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

The following discussion and analysis provide information which we believe is relevant to an assessment and understanding of our audited consolidated results of operations and financial condition. You should read the following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations together with our condensed consolidated financial statements and related notes thereto included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. This discussion contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. For a complete discussion of forward-looking statements, see the section in this report entitled “Forward-Looking Statements.” Certain risk factors may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the following discussion. For a discussion of such risk factors, see the sections in this report entitled “Risk Factors” and “Forward-Looking Statements”. Our historical results are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for any period in the future.

Overview

We are, through the acquisition and operation of e-commerce platforms and mobile applications through our direct and indirect wholly or majority-owned subsidiaries, building the next generation digital ecosystem and loyalty platform in Southeast Asia (“SEA”) primarily Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines.

The companies by the Company form the Society Pass Group (the “Group”). The Group currently markets to both consumers and merchants in SEA while maintaining an administrative headquarters in Singapore and a software development center in the Philippines. We continue to expand our e-commerce ecosystem throughout the rest of SEA by making selective acquisitions of leading e-commerce companies and applications with particular focuses on the VIP countries (Vietnam, Indonesia and Philippines) of SEA. Material acquisitions include:

Operating in SEA, we are focused on six operating verticals: loyalty, lifestyle, grocery and food delivery, telecommunications, digital media, and travel.

Loyalty

The Company spent over two years building a cutting edge, proprietary IT architecture to effectively scale and support our ecosystem’s companies, consumers and merchants. Using our loyalty platform, which we plan to introduce in 2023, consumers may earn, and merchants may issue, Society Points. The Company will aggregate the data across various touch points and build a realistic view or consumer behavior and use this behavior to increase sales across our ecosystem by: cross-pollinating acquired companies with other existing verticals, customer re-targeting, offline and online behavior prediction and cross promotions and loyalty points. The Company ecosystem becomes a key enabler for our users by converting this aggregation of data into creation of loyalty for our ecosystem companies to generate revenue.

Lifestyle

The Company has an online lifestyle platform to enable the consumers to purchase high-end brands of all categories under its own brand name of “Leflair”. Under the deployment of the Company’s smart search engine, consumers search or review their favorite brands among hundreds of choices in Apparel, Bags & Shoes, Accessories, Health & Beauty, Home & Lifestyle, International, Women, Men and Kids & Babies categories. The platform also allows consumers to order from hundreds of vendor choices with personalized promotions based on purchase history and location. The platform has also partnered up with a Vietnam-based delivery company, Amilo, to offer seamless delivery of product from merchant to consumer’s home or office at the touch of a button. Consumers can place orders for delivery or collect at the Company’s logistics center.

Grocery and Food Delivery

The Company owns several online platforms include brand name of “Mangan,” “Handycart” and “Pushkart” to enable the consumers to purchase meals from restaurants or grocery and food from difference local grocery and food merchants and deliver to them in their area.

Digital Media

The acquisition of a digital media platform, Thoughtful Media, amplifies the reach and engagement of the Company’s e-commerce ecosystem and retail partners. Originally founded in 2010, Thoughtful Media today creates and distributes digital advertising campaigns across its multi-channel network in both SEA and the US. With its intimate knowledge of local markets, digital marketing technology tools and social commerce business focus, advertisers leverage Thoughtful Media’s wide influencer network throughout SEA to market and sell advertising inventory exclusively with specific placement and effect.

As a result, Thoughtful Media’s content creator partners earn a larger share of advertising revenues from international consumer brands. And according to Accenture, the social commerce market is poised to grow to $1.2 trillion by 2025 at a CAGR of 26%. Thoughtful Media’s data-rich multi-channel network has uploaded over 675,000 videos with over 80 billion video views. The current network of 263 YouTube channels has onboarded over 85 million subscribers with an average monthly viewership of over 600 million views.

Telecommunications

The Company also has online telecommunication reseller platform operate under brand name of “Gorilla” to enable the consumers to subscribe local mobile data and overseas internet data in different subscription package. Established in Singapore in 2019, Gorilla utilizes Web3 technology to operate a MVNO for its users in Southeast Asia. With network coverage to over 160 countries, Gorilla offers a full suite of mobile communication services such as local calls, international roaming, data, and SMS texting. More importantly, Gorilla enables its customers to convert unused mobile data into digital assets or Gorilla GO Tokens through its innovative proprietary blockchain-based SwitchBack feature. Gorilla GO Tokens in turn can be redeemed for eVouchers, to offset future bills, or be redeemed for other value-added services.

Travel

The Company purchased Nusatrip, a leading Jakarta-based Online Travel Agency (“OTA”) in Indonesia and across SEA. The Nusatrip acquisition extended SoPa’s business reach into SEA regional travel industry and marked the Company’s first foray into Indonesia. Established in 2013 as the first Indonesian OTA accredited by the International Air Transport Association, Nusatrip pioneered offering a comprehensive range of airlines and hotels to Indonesian corporate and retail customers. With its first mover advantage, Nusatrip has onboarded over 1.2 million registered users, over 500 airlines and over 200,000 hotels around the world as well as connected with over 80 million unique visitors.

Our loyalty-focused and data-driven e-commerce marketing platform interfaces connect consumers with merchants in the F&B and lifestyle sectors, assisting local brick-and-mortar businesses to access new customers and markets to thrive in an increasingly convenience-driven economy. Our Platform integrates with both global and country-specific search engines and applications and accepts international address and phone number data, providing a consumer experience that respects local languages, address formats and customs. Our Strategic Partners (as defined below) work with us to penetrate local markets, while our Platform allows effortless integration with existing technological applications and websites.

As of March 21, 2023, we have onboarded over 3.3 million registered consumers and over 200,000 registered merchants on our Platform. 

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic and other Global Events

The full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business, financial condition and results of operations remains unpredictable due to the evolving nature of the COVID-19 pandemic and the extent of its impact across industries and geographies and numerous other uncertainties. For example, we cannot predict the duration and spread of the outbreak of new variants of the virus, additional actions that may be taken by governmental entities, or the impact the pandemic may have on the ability of us, our customers, our suppliers, our manufacturers, and our other business partners to conduct business. To date, COVID-19 has led to the implementation of various responses, including government-imposed quarantines, business closures, travel restrictions, and other public health safety measures. The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic impacts our business will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted at this time, including:

In addition, the current outbreak of COVID-19 has resulted in a widespread global health crisis and adversely affected global economies and financial markets, and similar public health threats could do so in the future. Such events have impacted, and could in the future impact, demand for merchants and consumer purchase patterns, which in turn, could adversely affect our revenue and results of operations.

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March and April 2020, all our POS merchant clients are affected by COVID-19 measures for F&B to temporary stop restaurant dine ins.

With the ongoing pandemic, Company faces challenges in our operation as follows:

The spread of COVID-19 has caused us to modify our business practices, including employee travel, employee work locations in certain cases, and cancellation of physical participation in certain meetings, events and conferences and further actions may be taken as required or recommended by government authorities or as we determine are in the best interests of our employees, customers, and other business partners. We are monitoring the global outbreak of the pandemic, in SEA, especially Vietnam and are taking steps in an effort to identify and mitigate the adverse impacts on, and risks to, our business posed by its spread and the governmental and community reactions thereto.

The Russian-Ukraine war and the supply chain disruption have not affected any specific segment of our business. 

Software and Development

Our ability to compete depends in large part on our continuous commitment to research and development, our ability to rapidly introduce new features and functionality and our ability to improve proven applications for established markets in which we have competitive advantages. We intend to work closely with our customers to continuously enhance the performance, functionality, usability, reliability and flexibility of our applications.

Our software and development team are responsible for the design enhancements, development, testing and certification of the Application. In addition, we may, in the future, utilize third parties for our automated testing, managed upgrades, software development and other technology services.

Intellectual Property Portfolio

We strive to protect and enhance the proprietary technology and inventions that are commercially important to our business, including seeking, maintaining and defending patent rights. Our policy is to seek to protect our proprietary position through a combination of intellectual property rights, including trademarks, copyrights, trade secret laws and internal procedures. Our commercial success will depend in part on our ability to protect our intellectual property and proprietary technologies.

Financial Condition

Results of Operations

The following table sets forth certain operational data for the year ended December 31, 2022 and 2021:

Revenue. For the year ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 we generated revenue of $5,635,553 and $519,885 respectively. The significant increase in revenue was mainly due to an increase in the sales from our online platforms and newly acquired subsidiaries.

Revenue by business segment. For the year ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 e-Commerce generated revenue of $2,118,191 and $482,002 respectively, as online ordering increased as a result of a marketing boost. Merchant POS revenue decrease from $37,883 to $23,951 from year ended December 31, 2021 to December 31, 2022 due to business downsizing. The other business segments are online F&B and Groceries Deliveries, Telecommunication Reseller, Digital Marketing, and Online Ticketing and Reservation, generated revenue of $150,999, $23,747, $2,593,674 and $724,991 respectively, are newly acquired during the year 2022.

Revenue by geographic segment. From the year ended December 31, 2021 to December 31, 2022, Vietnam revenue increased from $485,055 to $2,186,007 mainly arise from our e-Commerce business segment. Indonesia revenue increased from $34,830 to $443,147 as a result of our newly acquired Online Ticketing and Reservation business segment. During the year ended December 31, 2022, we generated revenue from our new geographic segments in the Philippines, Singapore, United States, Thailand, Malaysia, and Hong Kong, from the newly acquired business segments.

Top Customers Revenue for the year ended December 31, 2022 and 2021

For the year ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, the following customer exceeded 10% of the Company’s revenues:

The above significant customers are located in United States and Vietnam.

Cost of Revenue. For the year ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, we incurred cost of revenue of $4,668,580 and $710,683 respectively. The increase in revenue cost was matched by a significant rise in revenue.

Major vendors

For the year ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, there is no vendor accounted for 10% or more of the Company’s cost of revenue as at year-end dates.

Gross Profit/ Loss. For the year ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, we recorded a gross profit and gross loss of $966,973 and $190,798 respectively. The turnaround from gross loss to gross profit is due to increased revenue from e-commerce and our newly acquired digital marketing and online ticketing and hotel reservation business.

Sales and Marketing Expenses (“S&M”). For the year ended December 31,2022 and 2021, we have incurred S&M expenses of $997,784 and $327,195 respectively. The increase in S&M is primarily attributable to the increased in sales activity and the related promotion expenses needed for new merchants joining our e-commerce platform. Further, there was an increase marketing cost in 2022 to attract attention of customers to our e-commerce platform.

Software Development Cost (“SDC”). For the year ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, we incurred SDC expenses of $72,999 and $95,809 respectively. The decrease in SDC in 2022 is primarily attributable to the restructuring of our technology development team.

Impairment Charge (“IC”). For the year ended December 31,2022 and 2021, we incurred IC expenses of $3,499,881 and $200,000 respectively. The increase is primarily attributable to the impairment of goodwill related to the acquisition of the NREI, Gorilla, TMG and Nusatrip which were expensed during the period due to the short life term of the asset and the quantum of consideration.

General and Administrative Expenses (“G&A”). For the year ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, we incurred G&A expenses of $30,552,365 and $33,398,401 respectively. The decrease in G&A is primarily attributable to the decrease in professional costs associated with costs related to business acquisitions, the Company’s filing for listing on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, stock based compensation for services, and D&O insurance cost.

Loss on settlement of litigation. On May 21, 2021, the Company agreed to settle a litigation matter for $550,000 in cash. The settlement was paid in two tranches, with both tranches paid in the second quarter of 2021. In connection with the settlement, the Company recognized litigation settlement expense in the amount of $550,000 in the year ended 2021. There were no such expenses incurred in the comparative year ended 2022.

Income Tax Expense. Our income tax expenses for the year ended December 31,2022 and 2021 was $3,631 and $11,136, respectively.

Net Loss. As a result of the items noted above, for the year ended December 31, 2022, we incurred a net loss of $34,015,022, as compared to $34,864,740 for the same year ended December 31, 2021. The net loss is primarily attributable to general and administrative expenses.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

As of December 31, 2022, we had cash and cash equivalents of $18,930,986, accounts receivable of $951,325, deposits, prepayments and other receivables of $2,711,042 and inventories of $310,932.

As of December 31, 2021, we had cash and cash equivalents of $23,264,777, accounts receivable of $52,588, deposits, prepayments and other receivables of $6,094,254 and inventories of $221,068.

As of December 31, 2022, the Company’s stockholders’ equity was $20,011,317 which decreased as a result of a net loss partially offset by additional paid-in-capital primarily from a secondary public offering. For the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company incurred net loss of $34,015,022 and net cash used in operating activities of $14,453,759. Net cash provided by investing activities was $177,393. For the year ended December 31, 2021, net cash provided by financing activities was $10,182,905, resulting principally from the $10,402,891 net proceeds from a public offering and $412,890 of net proceeds from the C1 warrants exercised during the period ended December 31, 2022, partially offset by repayment of the First Insurance Funding loan in the amount of $632,876 during 2022.

While the Company believes that it will be able to continue to grow the Company’s revenue base and control expenditures, there is no assurance it will be able to do so. The Company continually monitors its cash, capital structure and operating plans and evaluates various potential funding alternatives that may be needed in order to finance the Company’s business development activities, general and administrative expenses and growth strategy. We expect to continue to rely on cash generated through financing from public offerings or private offerings of our or one or more of our subsidiaries’ securities, to finance our operations and future acquisitions. The Company believes that it has sufficient liquidity to continue its current business plans and operations for more than one year.

Net Cash Used in Operating Activities.

For the year ended December 31, 2022, net cash used in operating activities was $14,453,759, which consisted primarily of a net loss of $34,015,022, partially offset by non-cash stock based compensation for services of $8,299,566, a decrease in deposits, prepayments and other receivables of $6,374,684, depreciation and amortization of $3,307,832, and a non-cash goodwill impairment loss of $3,499,881.

For the year ended December 31, 2021, net cash used in operating activities was $10,813,938, which consisted primarily of net loss of $34,864,740, partially offset by non-cash stock based compensation for services of $25,889,909, a loss on settlement of litigation of $550,000, a decrease in accrued liabilities and other payables of $413,974, depreciation and amortization of $3,210,448 and a non-cash impairment loss of $200,000.

Until we generate cash flows from operations, we expect to continue to rely on cash generated through financing from public offerings or private offerings by the Company or one or more of our subsidiaries’ securities, however, to finance our operations and future acquisitions.

Net Cash Provided by (Used In) Investing Activities.

For the year ended December 31, 2022, there was a net cash inflow of $177,393 primarily as a result of the cash from business acquisition of $1,643,659, partially offset by acquisition of subsidiaries of $820,000 and purchase of property, plant, and equipment of $566,266.

For the year ended December 31, 2021, there was a net cash outflow of $246,837 for a deposit paid related to the Leflair asset acquisition.

Net Cash Provided by Financing Activities.

For the year ended December 31, 2022, net cash provided by financing activities was $10,182,905, consisting primarily of funds raised from a public offering and Series C-1 warrants exercised partially offset by repayment of the First Insurance Funding Loan.

For the year ended December 31, 2021, net cash provided by financing activities was $33,823,757, consisting primarily of funds raised from shareholders for Series C Preferred Stock and warrants exercised.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimate 

These accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (“US GAAP”).

We are an “emerging growth company” under the JOBS Act. For as long as we are an “emerging growth company,” we are not required to: (i) comply with any new or revised financial accounting standards that have different effective dates for public and private companies until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies, (ii) provide an auditor’s attestation report on management’s assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, (iii) comply with any new requirements adopted by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (“PCAOB”) or a supplement to the auditor’s report in which the auditor would be required to provide additional information about the audit and the financial statements of the issuer or (iv) comply with any new audit rules adopted by the PCAOB after April 5, 2012, unless the SEC determines otherwise. However, we have elected to “opt out” of the extended transition period discussed in (i) and will therefore comply with new or revised accounting standards on the applicable dates on which the adoption of such standards are required for non-emerging growth companies. Section 107 of the JOBS Act provides that our decision to opt out of such extended transition period for compliance with new or revised accounting standards is irrevocable.

In preparing these consolidated financial statements, management makes estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities in the balance sheet and revenues and expenses during the years reported. Actual results may differ from these estimates. If actual results significantly differ from the Company’s estimates, the Company’s financial condition and results of operations could be materially impacted. Significant estimates in the period include the allowance for doubtful accounts on accounts receivable, the incremental borrowing rate used to calculate right of use assets and lease liabilities, useful lives of intangible assets, impairment of long-lived assets and goodwill, valuation of common stock and stock warrants, stock option valuations, inventory valuation, revenue recognition, the allocation of purchase consideration in business combinations, and deferred tax assets and liabilities and the related valuation allowance.

The consolidated financial statements include the financial statements of the Company and its subsidiaries. All significant inter-company balances and transactions have been eliminated upon consolidation.

The Company follows Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) ASC Topic 805, Business Combinations (“ASC 805") and ASC Topic 810, Consolidation (“ASC 810"). ASC Topic 805 requires most identifiable assets, liabilities, non-controlling interests, and goodwill acquired in a business combination to be recorded at “fair value.” The statement applies to all business combinations. Under ASC 805, all business combinations are accounted for by applying the acquisition method. Accounting for the resulting goodwill requires significant management estimates and judgment. Management performs periodic reviews of the carrying value of goodwill to determine whether events and circumstances indicate that an impairment in value may have occurred. A variety of factors could cause the carrying value of goodwill to become impaired. A write-down of the carrying value of goodwill could result in a non-cash charge, which could have an adverse effect on the Company’s results of operations.

The Company accounts for noncontrolling interests in accordance with ASC Topic 810, which requires the Company to present noncontrolling interests as a separate component of total shareholders’ equity on the consolidated balance sheets and the consolidated net loss attributable to its noncontrolling interest be clearly identified and presented on the face of the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss.

ASC Topic 280, Segment Reporting (“Topic 280") establishes standards for reporting information about operating segments on a basis consistent with the Company’s internal organization structure as well as information about geographical areas, business segments and major customers in consolidated financial statements. The Company currently operates in four reportable operating segments: (i) Online Grocery and Food and Groceries Deliveries, (ii) Digital marketing, (iii) Online ticketing and reservation, (iv) Telecommunications Reseller, (v) e-Commerce, and (vi) Merchant Point of Sale (“merchant POS”).

Cash and cash equivalents are carried at cost and represent cash on hand, demand deposits placed with banks or other financial institutions and all highly liquid investments with an original maturity of three months or less as of the purchase date of such investments. As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the cash and cash equivalents amounted to $19,003,336 and $23,264,777, respectively.

The Company currently has bank deposits with financial institutions in the U.S. which exceed FDIC insurance limits. FDIC insurance provides protection for bank deposits up to $250,000, so there was uninsured balance of $9,256,175 and $13,699,082 as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. In addition, the Company has uninsured bank deposits of $9,047,911 and $9,315,695 with a financial institution outside the U.S as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. All uninsured bank deposits are held at high quality credit institutions.

Restricted cash refers to cash that is held by the Company for specific reasons and is, therefore, not available for immediate ordinary business use. The restricted cash represented fixed deposit maintained in bank accounts that are pledged. As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the restricted cash amounted to $72,350 and $0, respectively.

Accounts receivables are recorded at the amounts that are invoiced to customers, do not bear interest, and are due within contractual payment terms, generally 30 to 90-days from completion of service or the delivery of a product. Credit is extended based on an evaluation of a customer’s financial condition, the customer’s creditworthiness and their payment history. Accounts receivable outstanding longer than the contractual payment terms are considered past due. Past due balances over 90 days and over a specified amount are reviewed individually for collectability. Quarterly, the Company specifically evaluates individual customer’s financial condition, credit history, and the current economic conditions to monitor the progress of the collection of accounts receivables. The Company records bad debt expense and records an allowance for doubtful accounts for any estimated losses resulting from the inability of its customers to make required payments. For receivables that are past due or not being paid according to payment terms, appropriate actions are taken to pursue all means of collection, including seeking legal resolution in a court of law. Account balances are charged off against the allowance for doubtful accounts after all means of collection have been exhausted and the potential for recovery is considered remote. Currently, the Company does not have any off-balance-sheet credit exposure related to its customers, and as of both December 31, 2022 and 2021, there was no need for allowance for doubtful accounts.

Inventories are stated at the lower of cost or net realizable value, cost being determined on a first-in-first-out method. Costs include hardware equipment and peripheral costs which are purchased from the Company’s suppliers as merchandized goods. The Company provides inventory allowances based on excess and obsolete inventories determined principally by customer demand. During the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, the Company recorded an allowance for obsolete inventories of $0 and $0, respectively. The inventories were amounted to $310,932 and $221,068 as at December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

Prepaid expenses represent payments made in advance for products or services to be received in the future and are amortized to expense on a ratable basis over the future period to be benefitted by that expense. Since the Company has prepaid expenses categorized as both current and non-current assets, the benefits associated with the products or services are considered current assets if they are expected to be used during the next twelve months and are considered non-current assets if they are expected to be used over a period greater than one year.

Plant and equipment are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation and accumulated impairment losses, if any. Depreciation is calculated on the straight-line basis over the following expected useful lives from the date on which they become fully operational and after taking into account their estimated residual values: 

Expenditures for repairs and maintenance are expensed as incurred. When assets have been retired or sold, the cost and related accumulated depreciation are removed from the accounts and any resulting gain or loss is recognized in the results of operations. 

In accordance with the provisions of ASC Topic 360, “Impairment or Disposal of Long-Lived Assets", all long-lived assets such as plant and equipment and intangible assets held and used by the Company are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. Recoverability of assets to be held and used is evaluated by a comparison of the carrying amount of an asset to its estimated future undiscounted cash flows expected to be generated by the asset. If such assets are considered to be impaired, the impairment to be recognized is measured by the amount by which the carrying amounts of the assets exceed the fair value of the assets. There has been no impairment charge for the periods presented.

The Company adopted Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606) (“ASU 2014-09"). Under ASU 2014-09, the Company applies the following five steps in order to determine the appropriate amount of revenue to be recognized as it fulfills its obligations under each of its agreements:

The Company generates its revenues from a diversified a mix of e-commerce activities that correspond to our four business segments (business to consumer or “B2C”), grocery and food delivery (B2C), telecommunication reseller (B2C) and the services providing to merchants for their business growth (business to business or “B2B”).

The Company’s performance obligations include providing connectivity between merchants and consumers, generally through an online ordering platform. The platform allows merchants to create an account, display a menu and track their sale reports on the merchant facing application. The platform also allows the consumers to create an account and order from merchants on the consumer facing application. The platform allows a delivery company to accept an online delivery request and deliver or ship an order from a merchant to customer.

Lifestyle 

The Company has developed an online lifestyle platform (the “Lifestyle Platform”) under its own brand name of “Leflair” to enable consumers to purchase high-end brands in many categories. Using the Company’s smart search engine, consumers search or review their favorite brands among hundreds of choices in various categories, including Apparel, Bags & Shoes, Accessories, Health & Beauty, Home & Lifestyle, International, Women, Men and Kids & Babies categories. The Lifestyle Platform also allows customers to order from hundreds of vendor choices with personalized promotions based on their individual purchase history and location. The platform has also partnered with a Vietnam-based delivery company, Amilo, to offer seamless delivery of product from merchant to consumer’s home or office at the touch of a button. Consumers can place orders for delivery or can collect their purchases at the Company’s logistics center.

Grocery and Food Delivery 

Other online platforms include online platforms in Vietnam, under the brand name of “Handycart”, and Philippines, under the brand names of “Pushkart” and “Mangan”, to enable the consumers to purchase meals from restaurants and food from local grocery and food merchants and deliver to them in their area.

Telecommunications

The Company operates a Singapore-based online telecommunication reseller platform under brand name of “Gorilla” to enable the consumers to subscribe local mobile data and overseas internet data in different subscription package. Established in Singapore in 2019, Gorilla utilizes blockchain and Web3 technology to operate a MVNO for its users in South East Asia (SEA). With network coverage to over 150 countries, Gorilla offers a full suite of mobile communication services such as local calls, international roaming, data, and SMS texting. More importantly, Gorilla enables its customers to convert unused mobile data into digital assets or Gorilla GO Tokens through its innovative proprietary blockchain-based SwitchBack feature. Gorilla GO Tokens in turn can be redeemed for eVouchers, to offset future bills, or be redeemed for other value-added services. Please visit https://gorilla.global/ for more information.

Digital Media

The acquisition of a digital media platform, TMG, amplifies the reach and engagement of the Company’s e-commerce ecosystem and retail partners. Originally founded in 2010, TMG today creates and distributes digital advertising campaigns across its multi-channel network in both SEA and the US. With its intimate knowledge of local markets, digital marketing technology tools and social commerce business focus, advertisers leverage TMG’s wide influencer network throughout SEA to market and sell advertising inventory exclusively with specific placement and effect.

As a result, Thoughtful Media’s content creator partners earn a larger share of advertising revenues from international consumer brands. Thoughtful Media’s data-rich multi-channel network has uploaded over 675,000 videos with over 80 billion video views. The current network of 263 YouTube channels has onboarded over 85 million subscribers with an average monthly viewership of over 600 million views.

Travel

The Company purchased the Nusatrip Group, a leading Jakarta-based Online Travel Agency (“OTA”) in Indonesia and across SEA. The Nusatrip acquisition extended SoPa’s business reach into SEA regional travel industry and marked the Company’s first foray into Indonesia. Established in 2013 as the first Indonesian OTA accredited by the International Air Transport Association, Nusatrip pioneered offering a comprehensive range of airlines and hotels to Indonesian corporate and retail customers. With its first mover advantage, Nusatrip has onboarded over 1.2 million registered users, over 500 airlines and over 200,000 hotels around the world as well as connected with over 80 million unique visitors.

The Company’s e-Commerce business is primarily conducted using Leflair’s Lifestyle Platform, as follows:

During the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, the Company generated revenue of $2,118,191 and $482,002 respectively, in the Lifestyle sector.

The Company’s Merchant POS offers both software and hardware products and services to vendors, as follows: -

Software sales consist of:

During the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, the Company generated revenue of $23,801 and $37,481, respectively, from software fees.

Hardware sales — the Company generally is involved with the sale of on-premises appliances and end-point devices. The single performance obligation is to transfer the hardware product (which is to be installed with its licensed software integral to the functionality of the hardware product). The entire transaction price is allocated to the hardware product and is generally recognized as revenue at the time of delivery because the customer obtains control of the product at that point in time. It is concluded that control generally transfers at that point in time because the customer has title to the hardware, physical possession, and a present obligation to pay for the hardware. Payments for hardware contracts are generally due 30 to 90 days after shipment of the hardware product.

The Company records revenues from the sales of third-party products on a “gross” basis pursuant to ASC Topic 606 when the Company controls the specified good before it is transferred to the end customer and have the risks and rewards as principal in the transaction, such as responsibility for fulfillment, retaining the risk for collection, and establishing the price of the products. If these indicators have not been met, or if indicators of net revenue reporting specified in ASC Topic 606 are present in the arrangement, revenue is recognized net of related direct costs since in these instances we act as an agent.

Software subscription fee — The Company’s performance obligation includes providing customer access to our software, generally through a monthly subscription, where the Company typically satisfies its performance obligations prior to the submission of invoices to the customer for such services. The Company’s software sale arrangements grant customers the right to access and use the software products which are to be installed with the relevant hardware for connectivity at the outset of an arrangement, and the customer is entitled to both technical support and software upgrades and enhancements during the term of the agreement. The term of the subscription period is generally 12 months, with automatic one-year renewal. The subscription license service is billed monthly, quarterly or annually. Sales are generally recorded in the month the service is provided. For clients who are billed on an annual basis, deferred revenue is recorded and amortized over the life of the contract. Payments are generally due 30 to 90 days after delivery of the software licenses.

The Company records its revenues, net of value added taxes (“VAT”), which is levied at the rate of 10% on the invoiced value of sales.

Grocery and food delivery consists of online grocery under brand name “Pushkart” and food delivery service under brand name “Handycart” as follows:

Customers place order for groceries and take-out food through our online platforms of “Pushkart” and “Handcart” respectively. When the grocery or food merchant receives and order, our platform will assign a third-party delivery service to pick up and deliver the grocery and/or food order to the customer. Revenue is recognized when the grocery and/or food is delivered, at which time the customer pays for the grocery and /or food order with cash, at Net of merchant cost.

During the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, the Company generated revenue of $150,999 and $0, respectively, from this stream.

As a telecommunication reseller we provide local mobile data and overseas internet data plans under the brand name of “Gorilla,” which company we acquired in May 2022. Our telecommunication revenues are recorded for ASC Topic 606 purposes as follows:

Local mobile plan - customers choose and subscribe to a monthly local mobile plan through our “Gorilla” online platform. The Company will proceed to register the sim card (effectively, the mobile telephone number activation card) and arrange delivery of that Sim card to the customer. Following Sim card activation, the system will capture the monthly data usage of each customer, calculated in accordance with the package data capacity and monthly subscription rate, which amounts are aggregated and recorded as revenue. Unused data will be converted to Rewards Points and carried forward to next month for potential subsequent data usage. As a result of the rewards points, the company also recognize revenue from Rewards Point redemption for subscription fees offset, voucher redemption, extra data purchases, that the customer chooses to use via our online platform.

Overseas internet data plan – a customer will place order for their desired overseas internet data plan through either the “Gorilla” online platform or third-party partner platforms. Subscription revenue is recognized when the Sim card is delivered and activated.

During the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, the Company generated revenue of $23,747 and $0, respectively, from telecommunications.

Digital marketing provides the services that affiliate with multiple YouTube channels to offer services that include audience development, content programming, creator collaborations, digital right managements, monetization, and/or sales as follows:

The Company is required to establish as Multi-Channel Network (MCN) for YouTube Creators and fulfilled the basic MCN guidelines on timely basis. The Company engages the creator in contract as a platform to nurture the creator in brainstorming creative content ideas, coaching on growing their audience size and connection with top brands.

During the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, the Company generated revenue of $2,593,674 and $0, respectively, from this stream.

Online ticketing and reservation provide information, prices, availability, booking services for domestic and international air travel and hotels as follows:

The Company’s revenues are substantially reported on a net basis as the travel supplier is primarily responsible for providing the underlying travel services and the Company does not control the service provided by the travel supplier to the traveler. Revenue from air ticketing services, air ticket commission, hotel reservation and refund margin are substantially recognized at a point of time when the performance obligations that are satisfied.

During the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, the Company generated revenue of $724,991 and $0, respectively, from this stream.

Contract assets

In accordance with ASC Topic 606, a contract asset arises when the Company transfers a good or performs a service in advance of receiving consideration from the customer as agreed upon. A contract asset becomes a receivable once the Company’s right to receive consideration becomes unconditional.

There were contract assets balance was $20,310 and $0 on December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

Contract liabilities

In accordance with ASC Topic 606, a contract liability represents the Company’s obligation to transfer goods or services to a customer when the customer prepays for a good or service or when the customer’s consideration is due for goods and services that the Company will yet provide whichever happens earlier.

Contract liabilities represent amounts collected from, or invoiced to, customers in excess of revenues recognized, primarily from the billing of annual subscription agreements. The value of contract liabilities will increase or decrease based on the timing of invoices and recognition of revenue. The Company’s contract liability balance was $1,405,090 and $25,229 on December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

In accordance with the relevant FASB accounting guidance regarding the development of software to be sold, leased, or marketed, the Company expenses such costs as they are incurred until technological feasibility has been established, at and after which time these costs are capitalized until the product is available for general release to customers. Once the technological feasibility is established per ASC Topic 985, Software, the Company capitalizes costs associated with the acquisition or development of major software for internal and external use in the balance sheet. These capitalized software costs are ratably amortized over the period of the software’s estimated useful life. Costs incurred to enhance the Company’s software products, after general market release of the services using the products, is expensed in the period they are incurred. The Company only capitalizes subsequent additions, modifications or upgrades to internally developed software to the extent that such changes allow the software to perform a task it previously did not perform. The Company also expenses website costs as incurred.

Research and development expenditures arising from the development of the Company’s own software are charged to operations as incurred. For the years ended December 31, 2022, and 2021, software development costs were $72,999 and $95,809, respectively. Based on the software development process, technological feasibility is established upon completion of a working model, which also requires certification and extensive testing. Costs incurred by the Company between completion of the working model and the point at which the product is ready for general release have, to date, been immaterial and have been expensed as incurred.

Cost of sales under online ordering consist of the cost of merchandizes ordered by the consumers and the related shipping and handling costs, which are directly attributable to the sales of online ordering.

Cost of sales related to software sales consist of the cost of software and payroll costs, which are directly attributable to the sales of software. Cost of sales related to hardware sales consist of the cost of hardware and payroll costs, which are directly attributable to the sales of hardware.

Cost of sales related to grocery and food delivery consist of the cost of the outsourced delivery and the outsource payment gateway, which are directly attributable to the sales of grocery and food delivery.

Cost of sales related to our telecommunication data reseller segment consist of the cost of the primary telecommunication service, which are directly attributable to the sales of telecommunication data.

Cost of sales under digital marketing consist of the cost of primary digital marketing service, which are directly attributable to the sales of digital marketing.

No shipping and handling costs are associated with the distribution of the products to the customers since those costs are borne by the Company’s suppliers or distributors for our merchant POS business.

The shipping and handling costs for all segments other than our e-commerce segment are recorded net in sales. For shipping costs related to our e-commerce business, those shipping costs are recorded in cost of sales.

Sales and marketing expenses include payroll, employee benefits and other headcount-related expenses associated with sales and marketing personnel, and the costs of advertising, promotions, seminars, and other programs. Advertising costs are expensed as incurred. Advertising expense was $997,784 and $327,195 for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

The Company’s provision for estimated future warranty costs is based upon the historical relationship of warranty claims to sales. Based upon historical sales trends and warranties provided by the Company’s suppliers, the Company has concluded that no warranty liability is required as of December 31, 2022 and 2021. To date, product allowance and returns have been minimal and, based on its experience, the Company believes that returns of its products will continue to be minimal, although it looks at this issue every quarter to continue to support its assertion. 

The Company adopted the ASC 740 Income Tax provisions of paragraph 740-10-25-13, which addresses the determination of whether tax benefits claimed or expected to be claimed on a tax return should be recorded in the consolidated financial statements. Under paragraph 740-10-25-13, the Company may recognize the tax benefit from an uncertain tax position only if it is more likely than not that the tax position will be sustained on examination by the taxing authorities, based on the technical merits of the position. The tax benefits recognized in the consolidated financial statements from such a position should be measured based on the largest benefit that has a greater than fifty percent (50%) likelihood of being realized upon ultimate settlement. Paragraph 740-10-25-13 also provides guidance on de-recognition, classification, interest and penalties on income taxes, accounting in interim periods and requires increased disclosures. The Company had no material adjustments to its liabilities for unrecognized income tax benefits according to the provisions of paragraph 740-10-25-13.

The estimated future tax effects of temporary differences between the tax basis of assets and liabilities are reported in the accompanying balance sheets, as well as tax credit carry-backs and carry-forwards. The Company periodically reviews the recoverability of deferred tax assets recorded on its balance sheets and provides valuation allowances as management deems necessary.

In addition to U.S. income taxes, the Company and its wholly-owned foreign subsidiary, is subject to income taxes in the jurisdictions in which it operates. Significant judgment is required in determining the provision for income tax, there may be transactions and calculations for which the ultimate tax determination is uncertain. The company recognizes liabilities for anticipated tax audit issues based on the Company’s current understanding of the tax law. Where the final tax outcome of these matters is different from the carrying amounts, such differences will impact the current and deferred tax provisions in the period in which such determination is made.

The reporting currency of the Company is the United States Dollar ("$") and the accompanying consolidated financial statements have been expressed in $s. In addition, the Company’s subsidiary is operating in the Republic of Vietnam, Singapore, India and Philippines and maintains its books and record in its local currency, Vietnam Dong (“VND”), Singapore Dollar (“SGD”), Indian Rupee (“INR”), Philippines Pesos (“PHP”), Malaysian Ringgit (“MYR), Thailand Baht (“THB”) and Indonesian Rupiah (“IDR”), respectively, which are the functional currencies in which the subsidiary’s operations are conducted. In general, for consolidation purposes, assets and liabilities of its subsidiaries whose functional currency is not $ are translated into $s, in accordance with ASC Topic 830, “Translation of Financial Statement” (“ASC 830") using the applicable exchange rates on the balance sheet date. Shareholders’ equity is translated using historical rates. Revenues and expenses are translated at average rates prevailing during the period. The gains and losses resulting from the translation of financial statements of foreign subsidiaries are recorded as a separate component of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) within the statements of changes in shareholder’s equity.

Schedule of Foreign currencies translation and transactions

Translation of amounts from SGD into $ has been made at the following exchange rates for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021:

Translation of amounts from VND into $ has been made at the following exchange rates for the years December 31, 2022 and 2021: