When George Royeca co-founded Angkas in 2017, motorcycle taxis were everywhere—but the system was chaotic, unregulated, and fragmented.
“We went to the habal-habal to recruit bikers. Habal-habal exist everywhere,” Royeca recalls. “We went to the different associations and we united them. May mga iba-ibang association, dati watak-watak lahat yan eh. We unified them under one voice.”
At the time, there were no apps, no fixed fares, no training—and no safety net.
“Yung habal-habal, wala siyang app. Parang lumang taxi siya, kailangan mong mag-negotiate ng presyo. Hindi siya regulated. Walang training,” he explains. “Before Angkas came in, walang insurance… lahat ng insurance, puro big bikes. So we actually created the insurance scheme.”
Royeca and his team didn’t invent the motorcycle taxi—they formalized it. They built a platform that offered training, insurance, and structure to an informal workforce that had been overlooked for years.
But while the tech and systems were in place, public perception wasn’t.
“There was already a subculture of people riding motorcycles, but it was not mainstream,” he says. “We found out that they were actually getting dropped off three houses away from their destination dahil yung lola nila papagalitan sila.”
Despite the stigma, one group didn’t need convincing: millennials.
“In fact, one of our first adopters were millennials. Kasi yung mga millennials walang pakialam eh,” Royeca says. “Ang gusto nila efficient.”
With a tight budget and a long road ahead, Royeca turned to humor to get noticed.
“We used a lot of social media. Angkas became known for humorous ads and viral videos,” he says. “Wala naman kaming malaking budget, so we had to cut through the noise.”
It worked. In just eight months, Angkas built real traction. Its comedic, relatable content earned fans—and riders—across the country.
“Patok na patok sa masa,” he adds. “Marami kaming mga viral videos eh.”
Today, Angkas isn’t just a tech company—it’s a movement. A recent nationwide survey showed that nearly half of Filipinos recognize the brand.
“The report showed that 48 percent of Filipinos know about Angkas,” Royeca says. “Nagulat ako… that’s like one out of two Filipinos. It’s really incredible. Until now, I still pinch myself.”
From unifying scattered riders to building a platform trusted by millions, Royeca’s story proves you don’t need to invent something new—you just need the guts to organize what others overlook.
This article includes quotes from an interview originally published by Esquire Philippines, authored by Henry Ong.
