The 13 tech startups were participants in Smart Port Challenge (SPC) 2018

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and NUS Enterprise, the entrepreneurial arm of the National University of Singapore (NUS), have announced the chosen startups out of 17 technology startups from Smart Port Challenge (SPC) 2018. The 13 selected startups will each receive S$50,000 (US$37,000) in seed funding from MPA to further test-bed their solutions, support prototype development, and develop the prototype after gathering feedback from the industry.

In addition to the seed funding, 12 startups were also given the opportunity to pitch their solutions to venture capitalists at the inaugural Mixer and Pitch Session. The event was held as part of the Singapore Maritime Technology Conference (SMTC) 2019 jointly organised with Enterprise Singapore and NUS Enterprise.

Among the venture capitalists who were at the Mixer & Pitch Session were EV Growth, Futurelabs Ventures, Green Meadows Accelerator, SG Innovate, and TNB Ventures.

“As the maritime industry is characterised by its heavily manual and largely paper-based processes, digitisation is the key to unlocking further innovation such as automation, data analytics, and optimisation. It is precisely due to the inefficiencies of traditional processes that we see massive opportunities ahead,” said Vicknesh Pillay, Managing Partner of venture capitalist TNB Aura Fund.

MPA and NUS Enterprise jointly launched PIER71 last year in hopes to spur digital adoption in the maritime industry. One of the key highlights of PIER71 is the Smart Port Challenge, which brings together maritime corporates and technology startups with expertise in various technology areas, such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, Internet of Things, and augmented reality.

Also Read: PSA unboXed partners with Israeli startup theDOCK to support maritime logistics tech

“This encourages the adoption of latest technologies and emerging innovations for a more productive and competitive maritime sector in Singapore,” said Professor Wong Poh Kam, Senior Director, NUS Entrepreneurship Centre, NUS Enterprise.

For the incubation phase and to encourage cross-sharing of services, PIER71 has grouped these startup solutions into clusters of Enabling platforms, Port and Cargo Operations, and Crossed industry/border innovation.

PIER71 has also formed several partnerships to provide these 13 startups with resources. The partners include AdNovum which provides access to security technologies and consultancy service in cybersecurity; Singtel which provides access to its satellite network, Internet of Things (IoT) network and curated data; MarineTraffic which provides access to maritime traffic information; TerraWeather which provides access to weather information; and Panasonic R&D Centre Singapore which provides access to vision and wireless communication technologies.

Also Read: Insurtech NTUC Income joins hand with Chinese insurer ZhongAn for Singapore scaleup

One of the recipients of the seed funding was Claritecs. Marianne Choo, Chief Marketing Officer of Claritecs, said: “Claritecs achieved a Top 3 win with ‘BunkerMaestro’, an algorithm-based platform to rejuvenate bunker scheduling operations, with data-driven insights for increased work efficiencies, scheduling clarity, and fleet optimisation. Now, we will enter the test-bed phase from next month, with five bunker tanker operators who collectively manage one-third of Singapore’s bunker tanker fleet.”
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It is nothing less than a challenge to get your business up and running

Starting your own business is a wonderful feeling, but with it comes great responsibility.

Earning profits is not easy and you need to take help of online channels to solidify your branding, generate leads and an ample number of conversions. This is where digital marketing is so successful.

Here are five super useful digital marketing tips that startups can use to run their business profitably.

1. Publish interactive evergreen content

Evergreen content is a piece of content that always remains relevant. A good example of relevant content is “How do you find the square root of a number?”. A tutorial like this will remain relevant forever.

Also Read: Why Tik Tok is not a real competitor to Instagram

Imagine you are an educational startup and you create a library of useful resources for students having tutorials related to each and every subject or the subject that your business targets. Students can easily register on your site in order to learn more about your company and your chances of conversions are automatically increased.

Only publishing evergreen content won’t give you the maximum returns unless you make it interactive. Interactive content is the one that takes input from the user and changes itself accordingly. This means the content adapts itself automatically according to the needs of the user.

This quiz from Women.com is a great example of interactive content in action.

2. Use SEO to improve your organic visibility

SEO has always remained one of the best channels to improve the organic visibility of your business. The key here is to start early because SEO takes both time and effort to generate results.

Always hire a professional SEO expert who follows the search engine guidelines to optimize and promote your website because an unprofessional person might ruin your chances of ranking high on Google or other search engines.

The Google ranking algorithm is focused on two major factors — content and links as suggested in this SEO guide. The SEO expert will help you to improve the content quality on your site and also help you earn authoritative backlinks.

This way, your business presence will start to improve organically leading to more leads and sales.

3. Educate your customers and avoid overpromotion

You need to plan your marketing strategy according to the behaviours of Gen Z audiences. Gen Z audiences are individuals who are born between 1995 and 2000. They hold around US$44 billion buying power in their hands.

One characteristic feature of Gen Z audience is that they hate promotion. Businesses who over-promote themselves via social media or other digital channels are avoided by Gen Z. Besides, they love businesses who educate them and are able to solve their questions.

Hence, depending on your buying cycle, you need to understand the type of micro-moments that your audiences will go through.

And, once identified, you need to create content that effectively answers each and every question that the user might put up. Mercato does a great job in creating question-based content starting with “How”. In their blog, they post blogs based on question-based searches in order to increase their chances of ranking higher on Google for question-based searches and also to help the user during their micro-moments.

This way, your business would be able to answer the queries of the users and gradually people will start loving your business.

4. Use the help of nano influencers

Influencers are people who have a loyal following. Social media influencers are celebrities or stars who have millions of followers and companies pay them to promote their services on their social media profiles.

Similarly, nano influencers are normal people like us who have just thousands of followers in their social profiles but the impact remains the same. You can tie up with nano influencers and ask them to promote your brand.

Here is a list of 55 influencer marketing platforms to help you find your ideal influencer.

A word-of-mouth recommendation is the best recommendation your business can have. Imagine your business receiving recommendations from a number of nano influencers and people starting to visit your website to inquire about your products or services. It won’t cost you a fortune to tie up with nano influencers because as a startup, you might be having a limited budget.

Influencers can have a huge impact on your business and it can help you improve your branding and conversion efforts.

5. Run contests and giveaways

Freebies, contests, and giveaways have always been one of the best ways to attract the attention of your target audiences. Before running a contest, always plan your goals and what you wish to achieve from the contest.

Also Read: Bridging the gap between Chinese farmers and consumers, with blockchain

Identify KPIs that are easily measurable like the number of people who will sign up for the contest.

The goal of the contest could be to generating traffic to your website or increasing the number of email subscribers.

It is best to define your target market, demographics, geographic location and social media usage of customers because segmentation always helps to deliver the maximum results.

Over to you

Digital marketing is essential for each and every company whether it’s a new business or one that is been in the business for long. You simply can’t avoid it. The sooner you start, the better it is for your business.

Now that you have learned about the various tricks to run your digital marketing campaign, it’s time to get started! Use the above five tips to improve your online presence and generate more leads.

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Contrary to popular belief, blockchain isn’t a total gone case

Blockchain technology made its public debut more than a decade back in 2008 when Satoshi Nakamoto published a famous white paper named Bitcoin: A Peer To Peer Electronic Cash System.

The paper termed bitcoin as a “peer-to-peer version of electronic cash” that could potentially replace the traditional currency and lay the foundation of decentralised payments globally.

Things changed dramatically over the next ten years (from 2008 to 2018), including a rapid surge in bitcoin’s value that once touched US$20000 and evolution of many other cryptocurrencies that gained instant popularity among masses.

Today, blockchain may not be as accessible as many experts claimed a couple of years back, but that doesn’t mean it’s a gone case.

The year 2019 has just begun, and it’s expected to bring many reforms that will shape up the future of blockchain industry and take it newer heights.

In this post, I’ve shortlisted some of these blockchain trends that we can expect in 2019.

Introduction of smart contracts

The concept of smart contracts have been in existence for decades, but couldn’t be realised due to many technical hurdles. Now that blockchain technology has gained the necessary momentum, we can finally expect to see smart contracts replacing paper-based contracts soon.

Also Read: Insurtech NTUC Income joins hand with Chinese insurer ZhongAn for Singapore scaleup

Smart contracts are blockchain-based computer protocols intended to help you exchange property, money, shares or anything else in a conflict-free and transparent way without requiring the services of a middleman. These contracts, similar to traditional paper-contracts, come with a set of rules that both the parties must accept to accomplish any transaction.

According to the blockchain expert Lisa Cheng, CEO of EtherParty, the error-free processing and fully secured decentralised nature of smart contracts make them a perfect fit for banking, real estate, healthcare, and government departments.

In 2019, we might witness these industries switching over to smart contracts to add an extra layer of transparency and efficacy to their routine tasks.

The increased number of timestamping-use

Blockchain, unlike the cloud and hardware-based storage system, has a tamper-resistant design that’s almost next to impossible to hack into. This feature makes it a perfect solution to store critical information related to government contracts, business financials, healthcare data, etc. at a particular time.

As the popularity of the blockchain technology grows in 2019, more and more businesses will use it to timestamp their records safely.

Secure enclave will become common

Along with securing digital records and payments, blockchain can also be used to secure hardware.

This year, we are likely to witness many useful blockchain solutions for secure computing, such as hardware-based acceleration of cryptographic techniques and trusted hardware that provides a fully secure execution environment popularly known as a secure enclave.

Also Read: A consolidation of digital marketing tricks for startups

It facilitates users by isolating critical data and code from other programs running on the same computer, ensuring that no security breach ever takes place on business and personal computers regardless of how many third-party programs you run simultaneously.

These are top blockchain trends that are expected to create a buzz this year. Do you think there is any other trend that should be on this list? Let me know your views in the comments section below.

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e27 publishes relevant guest contributions from the community. Share your honest opinions and expert knowledge by submitting your content here.

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The Indonesia-based on-demand specialty coffee aims to open 100 more outlets by the end of June 2019

Fore Coffee, Indonesia’s on-demand specialty coffee startup, raises an additional US$1 million in its Series A funding, rounding it up to US$9.5 million recorded in January.

The additional funding is an extended sum from its original US$8.5 million round initially closed that month led by East Ventures, and joined by SMDV, Pavilion Capital, Agaeti Venture Capital, and several angel investors.

With the funding, Fore Coffee said it has already doubled the outlet growth from 19 outlets to 35 outlets across Jakarta within two months.

Fore Coffee also managed to promote its app and recorded more than 500,000 downloads.
Fore Coffee was founded in August 2018 by Robin Boe and Elisa Suteja with the online-to-offline e-commerce approach. Fore Coffee is the brainchild of venture capital firm East Ventures’ hypothesis on new consumption trend in Indonesia and leveraging the convenience and fast lifestyles among Indonesian millennials.

“Data drives customization, which in turn drives new experiences designed for consumers. Coupled with Indonesia-optimized digital infrastructure, consumer product distribution and touch points can develop in a very robust environment,” said Willson Cuaca, Managing Partner of East Ventures.

Also Read: MPA and NUS Enterprise to inject US$479K seed funding to 13 startups

Fore Coffee creates an ordering process on the app and integrates it with existing payment platforms like OVO and Go-Pay. Fore Coffee claims it is able to shorten the time it takes to get a cup of coffee as well as keep costs down, fulfilling the needs to consume coffee at a low cost but in high speed.

“With Fore Coffee, the inconvenience is removed completely, and people can get on with doing other, more productive things – and then the next thing you know, there’s a coffee in your hand, ready to keep you going,” said co-founder and CEO, Robin Boe.

Fore Coffee also highlighted its effects on the lives of coffee farmers with its continuous purchase on coffee-6.5 tonnes each month. The company claims that the number roughly translates to 137 hectares of coffee plantation land area being productively cultivated by 600 farmers in the archipelago each year.

The company said that its platform currently serves 10,000 cups of coffee a day, with 85 per cent of the cups being ordered through the app and delivered to customers.
Since the launch of its mobile app in the second week of December 2018, the startup has grown from serving 19,000 monthly cups of coffee to 300,000 today.

Also Read: Insurtech NTUC Income joins hand with Chinese insurer ZhongAn for Singapore scaleup

Now, Fore Coffee has grown from 90 employees to a staff of 200, half of them baristas. Fore Coffee’s next foray will be the multiplication to 100 outlets by the end of June 2019.
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Image Credit: Fore Coffee

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Co-working spaces are everywhere and thankfully one regular worker gave us access to his deepest darkest thoughts, 

We all know that co-working is exploding in Southeast Asia, but nobody has really dug deep into the minds of the minions,  the plebs, the faceless masses that share desks with strangers, queue up for their morning coffee and stare at one another with a mixture of curiosity, hostility and sexual attraction.

Thankfully, one local co-worker allowed us to peer inside his thoughts (Amazon provided the technology), and we are excited to share it with you. (We were slightly disturbed.)

8am to 10am

“Look at all of these bankers, dressed in suits like suckers. Check out my Hawaiian shirt. This is what freedom tastes like.”

“Oh god, I’m wearing a Hawaiian t-shirt downtown. Nobody is going to take me seriously and jeez look at these looks everyone is giving me. This was a mistake.”

“Free coffee. Free happiness.”

“This coffee is terrible.”

“Actually, you know what, it’s not that bad. I shouldn’t complain so much.”

“It is time to settle down in my spot for the day. Should I chose a spot in the open-aired area and stare at a complete stranger all day? Or, should I battle to the death for a mini-desk — I will get a great spot all day, but will burn bridges along the way. I know! I will take a call booth and open a live-streaming app so people just think I am talking to clients.”

10am-Lunchtime

“Is it too early for beer?…. yeah probably.”

“Is it too late for another coffee?… hell no!”

“That guy across from me has food stuck in his teeth, but I’ve never spoken to him before, do I tell him?”

“I wonder if the lady next to me is judging my decision to watch basketball while I work?”

“Oh! There’s a guy going for the beer. Kudos to you mate for not giving a single &*#*!.

Also Read: Fore Coffee raises an additional US$1M, aims hyper-expansion in Indonesia

“Can I nap yet?”

“If I did nap, I wonder if that would hurt the pitch these salespeople are giving.”

Lunchtime

“Looking forward to walking around the area for a bit!”

“This experience is far too stressful for a break in the day.”

“Oh, I recognise that girl! She is a co-working buddy, but I’ve never actually said hi. Oh my god! She is coming this way! What do I do!? What do I do!? WHAT DO I DO!?”

“Welp, she just walked by and now I feel terrible about myself.”

“I think I am ready to head back to the office, work is less intense than lunchtime.”

Lunchtime-Happy Hour

“I wonder what would happen if I burned that Ping Pong table? I am sure the staff would be angry with me, but the proletariat would obviously support the initiative. Worth it?”

“Suddenly, with all this noise, the Thanos plan doesn’t seem half-bad.”

“Uh oh, my office credit seems to be running out. Should I use it to book that important client meeting? Or should I print my side hustle comic book in full-color to pass around the office?”

“Wow, this comic book is taking a lot longer to print than anticipated.”

“I don’t like that guy. I don’t know why, but I just don’t like the look on his face.”

“Oh wow, he held the door open for me and asked my about my cool shirt. Dang. Time to find a new victim for my arbitrary hatred.”

“5…4…3…2…1….HAPPY HOUR!”

Happy Hour…End of Day

“Is it socially acceptable to just grab beer and then hide in my corner? Actually, looking around, not only is it acceptable, it seems to be the norm.”

“If I drink five beers does that qualify as dinner?”

“Wow, these emails are a lot easier to write…I’m getting in a flow!”

“Oops. Typos all over the place, maybe I’ll save the drafts and spellcheck them tomorrow.”

“That was a tender kiss. That is definitely her boyfriend. Thank goodness I didn’t ask her out…Brain! Get out of the gutter.”

Also Read: Why Tik Tok is not a real competitor to Instagram

“The energy of the space does help me at this time of day. It’s like a little caffeine push before heading home.”

“Oofta, this hour-long commute is feeling daunting. I wonder what would happen if I slept here? I’m sure I am not the first person to have done it. I could hit up H&M at like 6am.”

“Oh wait, the air-conditioning got turned off. There goes that plan.”

“Welp, there goes another day in the books. I think I was fairly productive, my boss hasn’t fired me so that’s a good sign. I think tomorrow will be the day I finally cut back on my coffee intake.” (It won’t).

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Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

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