The partnership will have Grab invest in Ninja Van and enable GrabExpress to offer intercity parcel delivery and other courier options

Logistics tech company Ninja Van announced a partnership with Grab Inc., seeking to empower small-medium sellers and social commerce communities through a logistics network expansion with intercity parcel delivery and other courier options.

With the partnership, Ninja Van’s logistics services will be integrated on the Grab app via GrabExpress, Grab’s on-demand parcel, and courier delivery service, sometime in the current quarter.

As part of the strategic partnership, Grab has invested in Ninja Van. Ninja Van will also work towards adopting GrabPay across its platform and collaborate to roll-out lending and insurance products offered by Grab Financial Group to its merchants and delivery partners.

It will also include more options like nationwide scheduled deliveries for GrabExpress.

GrabExpress is currently available in 150 cities across Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam, and Indonesia.

On the other hand, as a last-mile logistics company, Ninja Van said that it’s covering more than 450 cities across the region, connecting sellers and shoppers in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam, and Indonesia.

Also Read: Golden Equator Group of Singapore raises US$18M led by Taizo Son

“By leveraging Grab’s wide user base, we can offer users the most convenient way to access our full suite of logistics services, and provide reliable, hassle-free delivery services powered by technology,” said Lai Chang Wen, Co-Founder, and CEO, Ninja Van.

The service will be rolled out in phases across the region.
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Do you consider yourself a diehard Marvel fan? It might be worth a ticket to Echelon!

Avengers: Endgame is out and we are here to spoil everything! Jokes, your humble author won’t be able to see it for a few weeks.

But we did think we would have some fun in the moment and provide an opportunity to nab some tickets to Echelon.

Here is how it works. We will provide three clues to a ‘name the character’ trivia question. The answer to the question is a promo code for free Echelon tickets.

Important: You must enter it in the format of E27-XXXXX . Make sure it is spelt with capital letters. If you have questions, comment in the section below this article and we will answer your queries.

Guess this Marvel character

Clue #1: He is not the most savoury of men, his job is immoral, but he is a happy man. You can tell because he whistles while he works.

Clue #2: He raised the man who would go on to save the universe on multiple occasions. If you ask him, he would say it was because, “he was small and could fit into places a grown man can’t go”.

Clue #3: If roses are red, this man is a violet.

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Two simple ways to determine whether your startup idea is ready to take off —or not

The startup life is very attractive to many and it tends to attract too many ambitious people that ultimately end up hating themselves for even trying to start one.

More and more university graduates in Southeast Asia are opting the entrepreneurial path following their graduation; many do not even wait until their graduation to begin. But success remains the exception instead of the rule, and many of the companies they have founded failed to last beyond the first year.

Entrepreneurship is very much like a theatrical performance, in the way that people tend to not see what goes on backstage.

So this let’s take a peek behind those curtains and understand what it takes to build and run a sustainable startup. Why is this important? In case you haven’t realised, 90 per cent of startups fail within the first year. If that is new information to you, strap in as we enlighten you on the two reasons why startups have failed and whether you have what it takes to succeed.

Also Read: 3 startups shaping AI in Southeasia Asia

Market

Ambitious human has an idea, they start working on the idea and development of the product or service. Once they start trying to sell, they realise no one is catching onto what they have built, and soon they find themselves hating what they have created and canning the product or service.

Or worse, they sail that burning ship and go down in flames with it.

According to the Lean Startup methodology, which was pioneered by Eric Ries in his book of the same title, many startups failed to take off simply because founders never take the time speak to their potential customers. About their needs, and how your product can help fulfill these needs. This is a barrier in product development as they never get to find out if there is even a demand for their product.

Be sure to consider whether there is even a need for your product/service.Analyze the market and evaluate the current solutions for what you have in mind.

In addition to conversing with potential customers, doing even a simple SWOT Analysis would be useful to comprehend the market need.

It is also important to understand who your potential competitors –and what you get to offer to differ yourself from them.

Also Read: Check out the 6 sizzling startups that pitched at MOX Demo Day batch 5

Money

So you found a need for your product in the market? Great! Now, have you considered all aspects of the finances required?

Taking into account how much you have on you right now, would you have enough to keep the business afloat for at least 12 months? How about three years? Do you need more cash to fund your operations?

Alexander Jarvis, founder of 50Folds has done a very in depth analysis that talks about understanding and proper utilisation of a runway calculator.

What if you realised that you do not have enough to support your operations? Then it is time to look into other potential sources.

Despite the rise of alternative fundraising methods such as ICOs, venture capital funding remains a popular, go-to method of financing a business for most tech startups.

But make sure to prepare yourself well for it. Not only in terms of the information that you need to provide on your pitch deck, but also the time you will need to pitch –and the time the potential investor will need to get back to you.

Fact: In Southeast Asia, it often takes three to six months for investors to decide whether or not they are even interested to invest. So be prepared for a marathon.

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Image Credit: SpaceX on Unsplash

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Four batches of GK-Plug and Play Indonesia participating startups have obtained a total of US$20 million in investment

The local branch of Silicon Valley-based accelerator programme GK-Plug and Play Indonesia on Thursday announced insurance company Sequis Life and horticultural company Great Giant Pineapple as its new corporate partners.

The two companies will existing partners Astra International, BNI, BTN and Sinarmas in the accelerator programme’s ecosystem.

“Synergic collaboration must be formed not only between startups, government, and venture capital, but
also with large corporate giants who have the capital, resources, and human capital to support
the innovation ecosystem,” said Melisa D. Alim, GK-Plug and Play Indonesia Vice President of Corporate and Partnership.

At the Expo Day 4.0 event in Jakarta, the programme also named the 16 Indonesian and foreign startups that have successfully completed the three-month accelerator programme as its fourth batch:

Piniship (Indonesia)
The startup helps export-oriented companies with cargo delivery scheduling, price comparison, documents procession, and payment transactions.

LogicNesia (Indonesia)
A distribution optimisation software for manufacturers and logistics to maximise vehicle drop-in locations, reduce delivery cost, and vehicle utilisation.

Also Read: Plug and Play’s Christian Knipfer describes Taiwan’s strengths in building a startup ecosystem

Lacak.io (Indonesia)
The platform helps logistics companies track their fleets or drivers’ location, measure each delivery’s performance, and evaluate drivers’ driving behaviour.

RaRa Delivery (Indonesia)
A last-mile delivery service for e-commerce businesses that aims to make same-day delivery scalable with asset-light operational model and AI-enabled real-time optimisation technology.

ATM Sehat (Indonesia)
Anjungan Telehealth Masyarakat (ATM) Sehat is an all-in-one device that for public health promotion, monitoring, and prevention. Users can perform health checks and screening, do live consultation, buy health products, and even call an ambulance using a panic button with just one device.

TernaKopi (Indonesia)
The startup produces cold brew coffee that is deemed safer for customers with gastritis problem. It already runs a coffee shop in East Jakarta.

Redkendi (Indonesia)
Redkendi is an online marketplace for meal catering services.

Bizhare (Indonesia)
Bizhare is an equity crowdfunding platform that enables users to start investing in franchise businesses from US$400. It also distributes financial statements and monthly profit distribution through its e-wallet feature.

Also Read: Plug and Play Indonesia brings in 17 startups into its 3rd batch

Bandingin (Indonesia)
Bandingin is a price comparison platform for various insurance products.

PayOK (Indonesia)
The startup aims to simplify personal finance by offering consumer behaviour insights. In addition to monitoring and visualising their spending habits, users can also get relevant promotions at merchants.

Aquifi, Inc. (US)
The startup automates repetitive, time-sensitive tasks such as end-of-line and order inspection with proprietary 3D sensors and deep neural networks.

Intello Labs (India)
Intello Labs said it has pioneered a “first-in-the-world” app and equipment to test, grade, and analyse the visual quality parameters of agricultural commodities.

Magpie (the Philippines)
Magpie is a digital payments platform that enables financial institutions to create experiences from mobile-based invoice collection to text message-based payments using their APIs.

PolicyPal (Singapore)
The startup builds a mobile app that enables users to compare and get insurance policies at affordable prices.

Also Read: 11 startups graduate from Plug and Play Indonesia as the accelerator opens third batch registration

CoinHako (Singapore)
Cryptocurrency wallet CoinHako has operations across Southeast Asia and hosts a portfolio of multiple cryptocurrencies paired with local currencies.

Throughout the programme, the startups are being provided with mentoring programmes, connection to venture capital firms and media, business tools, coworking space, initial investment fund, as well as opportunities to collaborate with GK-Plug and Play Indonesia’s corporate partners.

The programme said that all startups that had been supported throughout its four batches had obtained investment funds of more than US$20 million, with US$5 million obtained in 2018 alone.

GK-Plug and Play Indonesia has opened application for its fifth batch, which will be focussing on six verticals including IoT and Mobility, Food and Agriculture, as well as Fintech and Insurtech.

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Image Credit: GK-Plug and Play Indonesia

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Nikkei Inc came through and bought a majority stake in the media company based in Singapore

Nikkei Inc announced today that it has acquired a majority stake in Singapore-based media startup DealStreetAsia.  DealStreetAsia reports on private equity, venture capital activity, deal flows, fundraising, and startup news across Southeast Asia and India.

The deal is facilitated by Nikkei Group, which owns the Financial Times (FT) and publishes the Asian news in English under the title Nikkei Asian Review.

With the acquisition, the company said that it also strengthens Nikkei and FT’s arm of corporate news and data service scoutAsia.

“With the partnership, it will expand and deepen our reporting of the thriving Asian technology and startup landscape, with a strong focus on developing the editorial offering at Nikkei Asian Review, a key product in our global strategy,” said Naotoshi OKADA, President and CEO of Nikkei Inc.

“Joining forces with Nikkei will help us accelerate our mission of helping the PE-‑VC industry and dealmakers understand the changing megatrends in this space,” said Joji Thomas Philip, Founder, and Editor in Chief of DealStreetAsia.

Also Read: GK-Plug and Play Indonesia names new partners, graduates 16 startups

DealStreetAsia was launched in 2014, and runs a business event called the Asia PE-‑VC Summit that is held every September in Singapore. It attracts the regionʼs top private equity, venture capital, and M&A executives and startup founders.

One of the existing investors in DealStreetAsia, the Indian business daily Mint, published by Hindustan Times, will continue to be a minority shareholder. Other shareholders, including SPH Ventures, North Base Media, Alpha JWC, Ozi Amanat’s K2 VC, SGAN, and angel investors such as Paytm CEO and founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma and chairman of Rogers Holdings, Jim Rogers, among others, have all agreed to exit.

e27 previously reported that the Financial Times was in the process to acquire DealStreetAsia. The representative from the company had replied and declined to comment further at that time.
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Image Credit: DealStreetAsia

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