App Annie, the global provider for mobile data and analytics has released the annual report aimed to guide business for upcoming mobile transformation

San Fransisco-headquartered mobile data and analytics provider, App Annie, has released a full-fledged report on how mobile transformation will be for the year of 2019. According to App Annie, app stores consumption will surpass more than US$120 billion in 2019, making mobile penetration the key for businesses to thrive.

Mobile domination

App Annie’s report says there were a total of 194 billion apps downloaded in 2018 — with China occupying 50 per cent of the downloads — amassing a US$101 billion spending in app stores. Apps other than games accounted for 65 per cent of the global downloads, a number that has been consistent since 2016. These numbers account for the three hours per day mobile usage in average.

As for the spending on app purchase that includes paid downloads (in-app purchases and in-app subscriptions) there was an increase for 75 per cent since 2016. 74 per cent  of these purchases were in gaming. Non-gaming apps accounted for 26 per cent this year, showing an 18 per cent increase for the last two years.

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Time spent on apps focussed on five categories for the fastest growing global market share — an indicator of growing faster than the overall market — these were Video Players & Editors, Entertainment, Photography, Tools and Finance respectively.

Social and Communications apps made up 50 per cent of total time spent globally in apps in 2018, followed by Video Players and Editors at 15 per cent and Games at 10 per cent.

In Indonesia, the report said, mobile users spent over 4 hours a day in apps — 17 per cent of users’ entire day. In mature markets like the US and Canada, the average user spent nearly 3 hours a day on mobile apps in 2018.

In the report, App Annie suggested the increase in mobile maturity, meaning the markets has evolved through mobiles into three stages: Experimentation, Adoption, and Ubiquity phase. New mobile device owners fall into the first stage, followed by the forming of a mobile habits and eventually settling down into go-to apps. This results in a climb in engagement rate, known as then adoption phase. Engagement then intensifies and enters spending, called the Ubiquity phase.

Monetisation on mobile

The report shared that over 50 per cent of the world’s population — 3.9 billion people — are estimated to be online in 2018, and 96 per cent of the world’s population lives within range of a mobile network. In 2018, there were over 4 billion mobile devices — inclusive of tablets and phones — with many people in mature markets having multiple devices.

Emerging markets such as India and the Philippines are mobile-first with consumers using mobile as their primary access point to the internet.

Moreover, 80 per cent of the companies that have gone public on NYSE and NASDAQ in 2018 had a mobile focus, either for a primary point of interaction with the target market or a secondary presence. These companies contributed to over 95 per cent of aggregate valuations (USD) in 2018.

The total consumer spend recorded in the reports further highlighted the technological race between US and China in mobile as it accounted for more than half of total consumer spend in the top 300 parent companies in 2018. China came out ahead with companies contributing to 32 per cent of total consumer spend globally accounting for US$19.6 billion. The top 5 parent companies for global consumer spend in 2018 were all gaming companies, which are Tencent, NetEase, Activision Blizzard, BANDAI NAMCO, and Netmarble.

As for mobile advertising, the ad spend had 12 per cent increase in 2018 from the previous year and 60 per cent more companies are expected to leverage in-app advertising in 2019.

“Mobile is no longer an add-on channel—it is the engine fueling digital transformation,” said Theodore Krantz, CEO, App Annie.

Global consumer spend in non-gaming apps grew 120 per cent from 2016, fueled by in-app subscriptions.

Gen Z is the Beyonce of mobile

App Annie concluded that mobile is “non-negotiable” for Gen Z, short for people aged 16 to 24. This age group apparently spent 20 per cent more time in apps than the rest of the population.

Gen Z used mobile across nearly all aspects of life, from communication, socializing, shopping, banking, and others. However, this didn’t apply for gaming, in which those 25 years and older accessed them 50 per cent more often.

Mobile gaming

In 2018, games accounted for 74 per cent of consumer spend in the app stores. Mobile games was the fastest growing sector of the overall gaming market, beating consoles, PC/Mac, and handheld gaming.

Mobile gaming will reach 60 per cent market share of consumer spend in 2019, up 35 percentage points from 2013. China, the US, and Japan are the top markets for mobile gaming consumer spend and accounted for 75 per cent of spend in 2018.

New height of popularity was reached by the battle royal gaming category, notably PUBG Mobile, Fortnite, Rules of Survival, and Free Fire. Simple gameplay mechanics that makes for a hyper-casual gaming category also dominated the top downloads charts with Voodoo, Helix Jump, and Hole.io.

All in all, mobile games are expected to reach 60% market share in game spend across all platforms in 2019.

2019 predictions

App Annie then continued to break down mobile penetration in sectors ranging from gaming, retail, food delivery and restaurant, banking and finance, video streaming, social networking and messaging, travel, dating, and fitness apps in the full report here.

The report proceeds to forecast the mobile transformation for 2019, which is summarised as follows:

• In 2019, worldwide app store consumer spend will grow five times as fast as the overall global economy, surpassing US$120 billion.
• Consumer spend in mobile gaming will reach 60 per cent market share among all gaming platforms: PC/Mac, console, handheld and mobile. With the aftermath of China’s game licensing freeze continuing into 2019, Chinese firms will push harder for international expansion and mergers and acquisitions could become more common.
• In 2019, 10 minutes of every hour spent consuming media across TV and internet will come from individuals streaming video on mobile. Global consumer spend in Entertainment apps will grow 46 per cent, fueled largely from in-app subscriptions in video streaming apps.
• In 2019, 60 per cent more apps will monetise through in-app ads. This will increase competition among advertisers. With more consumers than ever using mobile, and more time being spent on these devices, it is expected for advertising dollars to follow.

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“Consumers spent $101 billion on apps globally in 2018. This is larger than the global live and recorded music industry, double the size of the global sneaker market, and nearly three times the size of the oral care industry,” said Danielle Levitas, EVP, Global Marketing & Insights, App Annie.

“Mobile experiences are so central to how we live, work and play and with consumers spending 3 hours a day on mobile, it’s clear how vital this platform is for all businesses in 2019 and beyond.”
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Photo by Benjamin Sow on Unsplash

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These deep tech technologies could soon see widespread, mainstream adoption

The Singapore government has committed S$19 billion (US$14 billion) in deep tech commercialisation in its RIE2020 plan, and with friendly Smart Nation policies, Singapore is becoming a haven for the development of deep tech startups.

But what exactly is deep science or deep technology? Startup Business defines deep tech as a “set of cutting-edge and disruptive technologies based on scientific discoveries, engineering, mathematics, physics and medicine. New technological applications that can have a profound impact on people’s and society’s lives.”

So what exactly has Singapore startups been up to in the areas of deep tech? And how do these technologies affect Singapore and the rest of the world?

Below is a glossary of deep technologies that Singapore has focused on and the applications behind them. It is not exhaustive but still a good start to give readers a simple introduction.

Artificial intelligence (AI)

The Oxford definition of Artificial intelligence is that it is “the theory and development of computer systems able to perform tasks normally requiring human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition, decision-making, and translation between languages.”

AI has been used across many various industries, from finance trading, hospital imaging systems, media, education, HR and such.

AI Singapore is a national program to anchor deep national capabilities in AI, thereby creating social and economic impacts, grow local talent, build an AI ecosystem and put Singapore on the world map.

A list of 14 AI startups in Singapore have been highlighted and their impact in various industries.

Agricultural technology (Agritech)

Agricultural technology is the use of technology in that improves various processes in agriculture, horticulture, and aquacultue. Agritech can be products, services or applications derived from agriculture that improve various input/output processes.”

Singapore imports 90 per cent of the food it eats due to land scarcity. This has led to the rise of vertical farming and improvements to the efficiency of farming practices.

Some Singapore startups include Susentir Agriculture, which uses controlled environment agriculture that uses 95 per cent less water than traditional farming; and Packet Greens, which uses hydroponics with automation to make urban farming more efficient.

Blockchain

People tend to shy away when they hear blockchain. This is due to the association to cryptocurrencies, which blockchain is the underlying technology.

Merriam Webster defines Blockchain as “a digital database containing information (such as records of financial transactions) that can be simultaneously used and shared within a large decentralized, publicly accessible network.”

Also Read: Indonesia’s startup ecosystem will be richer if unicorns begin to go public, says Takahiro Suzuki of Genesia Ventures

But Blockchain has its positive benefits when removing the cryptocurrency feature. According to a CIO report, Singapore companies have implemented blockchain technologies across the airline, food, government, education, real estate, healthcare, energy and supply chain industries.

The Singapore government has been open to the application of the technology. It has backed Tribe Accelerator, a blockchain accelerator (a unit of TRIVE), to promote further development and usage of blockchain technologies.

Cybersecurity

According to Cisco, Cybersecurity is “the practice of protecting systems, networks, and programs from digital attacks. These cyber attacks are usually aimed at accessing, changing, or destroying sensitive information; extorting money from users; or interrupting normal business processes.”

We can all recall Singapore’s worst cybersecurity attack in 2018, where 1.5 million Singapore patients health records were assessed by cyberhackers. Data is the new oil in the Internet age, and it becomes vital to have measures to protect data from falling into wrong hands.

The Singapore government has a cybersecurity agency known as the Cybersecurity Agency of Singapore. And The Singapore Cybersecurity Consortium has been set up to promote the engagement of cybersecurity ecosystem players.

Singapore cybersecurity startups include Horangi and Centurion Information Security.

Data science

According to Technopedia, Data science is “a broad field that refers to the collective processes, theories, concepts, tools and technologies that enable the review, analysis and extraction of valuable knowledge and information from raw data. It is geared toward helping individuals and organizations make better decisions from stored, consumed and managed data.”

In 2016, Singapore’s Circle Line Mass Rapid Transit was hit by a spate of unexplained breakdowns. But through the use of data science, 3 government data scientists discovered the cause: one faulty train that was sending errant signals which confused other trains.

Data science training is a key priority of the Singapore government, where it will send 20,000 officials to be trained in data science. A Singapore Data Science Consortium has also been set up to enable Singapore to fully harness the power of data science and technology.

In anticipation of the demand for data science skills, TRIVE has invested in Upcode Academy, a training school which trains Singaporeans to learn data science. A National Data Science competition is currently ongoing.

TRIVE also invested in NeuroTrend, a data science company that analyzes neuro-data to provide 10x the accuracy of marketing analysis of respondents. Companies like GoJek have set up a data science team in Singapore.

Energy tech

Energy efficiency tech is basically to improve on the efficiency of energy usage in products and services.

Energy usage in Singapore households have increased by 17 per cent in the last decade, due to the adoption of more household appliances. And while education is needed to change mindsets, the rising affluence of society will likely see further increases in consumption.

Beyond just household energy usage, there are many new innovative ways to improve energy efficiency. Shell IdeaRefinery, an accelerator focused on energy efficient, announced 10 startups participating in their first cohort in November 2018.

Energy tech startups are also helping to improve the environment by tackling pollution and reducing carbon emissions.

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While Singapore may not have significant pollution and environment damages, it still wants to maintain its focus on energy security and lowering carbon emissions. As urbanization and population increases in Asia, there would be no doubt pollution and environmental damage comes along, and Singapore will be poised to solve these issues.

Business Times reported in 2016 that there are 50 homegrown firms that have developed expertise in renewable energy and pursuing overseas projects. One such company is WEnergy Global, that provides services on renewable energy solutions.

Food science

Singapore is known to be a foodie nation, with various bubble tea and famous food joints across the world descending onto crazy Singaporeans who willingly line up to try new varieties of cuisines and food products.

The great varieties of food, given the multi-cultural landscape the country has, has turned into an advantage for food science.

According to the Institute of Food Technologies, Food science is “an attempt to better understand food processes and ultimately improve food products for the general public…food scientists study the physical, microbiological, and chemical makeup of food. By applying their findings, they are responsible for developing the safe, nutritious foods and innovative packaging that line supermarket shelves everywhere.”

An example of food tech company is Hoow Foods which created low-calorie Callerys ice-cream. Their food science tech platform addresses the missing link between the novel food ingredient industry and the consumers. Using their deep understanding of food science, they brought down the calorie intake of ice cream from 250g to 59g for a serving of vanilla ice-cream.

Recycle tech 

Singapore throws out tonnes of garbage, around 7.7 million tonnes of it in 2017. While good pre-consumer materials are well recycled, much can be improved on the recycling rates of food, plastics, textiles, which hovers around 6-17 per cent.

It is a serious concern for Singapore, as the only landfill at Semakau will be filled up by 2035. And given the 676k tonnes of unrecycled food waste, it will not be long before Singapore drowns in garbage.

But fret not. Recycling technology startups are responding to the call of improving recycling rates.

Insectta is a food waste tech company that rears Black Soldier Fly larvae. These larvae feed on food wastes to convert them into compost for plants and animal feed.

GoodforFood is another tech startup that uses a proprietary smart detection device that collects real-time, granular data on food wastage. This helps commercial kitchens to reduce their food waste, cost and environment imprint.

Plastics is another major unrecycled waste, with 763,000 tonnes in 2017. Other than banning straws at food eateries, a team of NUS scientists have converted polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles into a highly insulating and absorbent material called aerogel. Aerogel uses include a lining for fire-retardant coats and better heat and insulation in buildings.

Though it will be another few years before commercialization, it gives hope that such techniques will solve the world’s problem of waste pollution.

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Christopher Quek is Managing Partner of TRIVE, which consists of a MAS-licensed Venture Capital, a pay-it-forward incubator and a government-backed blockchain accelerator.

Disclaimer: Tribe Accelerator is a unit of TRIVE. Upcode Academy, NeuroTrend are investee portfolios.

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Indonesia-based Mapan has helped to empower 180,000 head of “arisan” groups with 2.3 million members

Following an acquisition by Indonesian ride-hailing and fintech giant Go-Jek in 2017, PT Rekan Usaha Mikro Anda (PT RUMA), which is widely known through its brand Mapan, has appointed its new CEO Hendra Tjanaka.

He replaced previous CEO Aldi Haryopratomo, who is now holding the position of CEO at Go-Jek’s cashless payment unit Go-Pay.

Tjanaka himself joined the company four years ago as CMO.

When asked about the changes that are set to happen following his appointment as CEO, and the strategic moves that the company is going to make with Go-Jek, Tjanaka stressed that there will be no significant difference.

“Even prior to the acquisition, Mapan has worked with Go-Jek several times. We even used to share an office at Jalan Ciasem,” he said.

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One of the results of their collaboration is Go-Mapan, a programme that aims to provide access to extra income for Indonesian families. The programme places the spouses of Go-Jek drivers as head of a Mapan arisan (social gathering) group. In addition to helping families secure additional income beyond the minimum regional wage, by joining Mapan arisan groups, families can help plan the purchase of their daily necessities better.

Tjanaka stressed that the two companies’ mission and commitment remain the same: To empower the Indonesian society through technological ease, in order to improve the quality of their lives through access to various services.

“Mapan calls upon its members to plan the purchases of their daily necessities through the Arisan Mapan groups. Mapan community members can also serve as a support group to learn together about family financial planning. Apart from that, the addition of Go-Pay as a payment mechanism, has enabled Indonesian families access to various services,” Tjanaka said.

Empowering SMEs in Indonesia

Mapan claimed to have empowered 180,000 arisan group heads, who had helped 2.3 million Indonesians fulfill their daily necessities. According to the company, the market has shown great interest in participating in Mapan arisan groups, in order to help plan their daily necessities fulfillment.

“As the market responds positively, in the future we want to have more Indonesians on board the Mapan arisan groups to plan their daily necessities,” Tjanaka said.

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The article Fokus Mapan Pasca Penunjukan CEO Baru was written by Yenny Yusra in Bahasa Indonesia for DailySocial. English translation and editing by e27.

Image Credit: Mapan

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Japanese human resource platform Grooves began its Southeast Asian expansion with Malaysia

Japanese human resource platform Grooves today announced an approximately MYR3.78 million (US$920,000) funding round from PNB-INSPiRE Ethical Fund (PIEF), a sharia-compliant private equity fund in Japan.

Grooves is a human resource platform which aims to connect global talents with job opportunities in Japan.

Founded in 2004, it already has over 15 years of experience in the local market, and has over 5,000 listed Japanese corporations within its platform.

The company aims to use the new funding to support its expansion to Southeast Asia, starting with the Malaysian market.

“Malaysia was selected as our headquarters because we saw the potential in terms of its talent pool and we are confident that it would be a good starting point to penetrate the ASEAN market,” said Grooves CEO Yukihiro Ikemi in a press statement.

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“Grooves is not just a one-way bridge for Malaysian talents to penetrate the Japanese job market. The idea here is to have the local talents learn about Japan’s business ecosystem and bring back the knowledge as well as experience to their respective countries. Grooves wants to provide the opportunity for both countries to exchange work culture and skills,” he added.

The platform itself was founded to solve the talent shortage issue that Japan is facing as its population gets older.

Grooves has raised over US$10 million through multiple venture capitals (VC).

Its latest investor PIEF was incorporated in 2015 with a fund size of JPY5.1 million (US$47,000).

The firm was established to facilitate the expansion and introduction of Japanese startups to Islamic and ASEAN countries, as well as to support the expansion of Sharia-compliant businesses.

Also Read: Japan’s Aeon enlists Go-Jek’s help to acquire more online customers across Southeast Asia

Investors in the fund include Organisation for Small & Medium Enterprises and Regional Innvovation, Japan (SMRJ), PNB Equity Resource Corporation Sdn Bhd, Oita Bank Co. Ltd., The Hiroshima Bank Ltd., and Fuyo General Lease Co. Ltd.

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Image Credit: Grooves

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Singapore-based Ecosystm has recently opened a new office in Gurgaon, India

Singapore-based tech research and advisory firm Ecosystm today announced the appointment of Manoj Menon as its Principal Advisor.

The announcement followed the company’s recent move of appointing Anika Grant (Senior HR Director of Uber’s Global Core Business) as board advisor and launching a new office in Gurgaon, India.

“Throughout his career, Manoj has been a trendsetter. Few people can claim to have supported a global consultancy in finding its feet in the region to become a veritable behemoth – Manoj understands the nuances of Asia’s various markets inside out, and will play an integral role in Ecosystm’s expansion roadmap. He will bring value to the firm as a technology thought leader as much as a business leader, with his depth and breadth of expertise in helping organisations and companies leverage on innovation to grow,” Ecosystm Founder and CEO Amit Gupta said in a press statement.

Also Read: Beyond the Valley, innovative blockchain tech is emerging from 5 powerful tech hubs around the globe

Prior to joining Ecosystm, Menon was the Managing Director, Asia Pacific and Senior Partner at global consulting firm Frost & Sullivan.

He was also the Founder and Managing Director at Twimbit, a research think tank which assists organisations and government bodies in solving some of the biggest challenges facing humanity.

He is also a Certified Coach for Marshall Goldsmith Stakeholder Centred Coaching and serves as a board member for SP Jain School of Global Management.

Apart from that, Menon is also a professional keynote speaker and angel investor.

Founded in 2016, Ecosystm aims to democratise data availability and accessibility for technology buyers, vendors, and analysts globally by using a ‘research as a service’ model.

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Image Credit: rawpixel on Unsplash

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