According to Kudo Co-Founder Agung Nugroho, the acquisition process by Grab was “coincidental”

In 2017, Indonesian O2O e-commerce platform Kudo made headlines when it was acquired by Southeast Asian ride-hailing giant Grab to strengthen its foray into the fintech sector.

On the first day of Echelon Asia Summit 2019 at Singapore Expo on Thursday, May 23, Kudo Co-Founder Agung Nugroho revealed that the acquisition process can be considered “coincidental.”

Three years after founding the company in 2014, Kudo sent its engineers to Singapore to learn from bigger startups such as Grab.

Due to a miscommunication, the team of engineers ended up meeting Grab’s corporate finance team instead.

“We [ended up] pitching about Kudo without any intention to raise any fund,” Nugroho said in a fireside chat with Business Times Deputy News Editor Kenneth Lim.

“Grab saw a good value in Kudo, and Kudo realised that in order to grow across Southeast Asia, the best thing is to be part of the winning horse,” he continued.

Also Read: Agung Nugroho on Kudo’s latest innovation, and keeping tabs on financial inclusion for all

Is there any difference in the way Nugroho run the company following the acquisition? More importantly, how does he feel about being an employee again after years of being an entrepreneur?

“To me, being an entrepreneur is not a title. It’s a mindset. Even when I was working at Boston Consulting Group (BCG), I was already quite entrepreneurial,” he answered.

“Grab is a big company and I do not see myself as an employee,” he continued.

Nugroho stressed that Kudo operates as an independent subsidiary with enough freedom to grow and innovate within their own corridor.

A strong support system

 

Nugroho’s enterpreneurial journey itself began when he was studying for an MBA programme in the US. His study was sponsored by his former employer BCG; despite the privilege, he felt reluctant about returning to work in the company again.

“Seeing all the cool, tech things in Silicon Valley, we felt like doing something,” he said.

Also Read: Former Kudo exec Sukan Makmuri joins P2P lending startup UangTeman as CTO, COO

Together with co-founder Albert Lucius, he developed a concept of using individual, offline agents to facilitate underserved communities in using digital services.

By the time, the co-founders promised that if by the time they had to return to Indonesia they had not secure any investment, then they are going to let go of the idea.

“No investors in the US were familiar with the model that we were trying to implement,” Nugroho explained.

Five days before their flight to Indonesia, the co-founders attended a dinner party where they met East Ventures Co-Founder & Managing Partner Willson Cuaca. Even after the restaurant was closed, they had a conversation that ended with the firm investing in the idea.

Nugroho then decided not to return to BCG –which led to him being indebted with the company.

“When you are a founder of a company, you need to have a good support system. By the time, my wife was a very good support system. She told me, ‘Agung, the debt [that you acquired from your former employer] is very big. But believe that you worth more than that. You can have bigger impact, beyond this IDR2 billion (US$138,000) loan,’” he said.

Also Read: Grab opens R&D centre in Indonesia, reveals more details about Kudo partnership

“It gave me the confidence I needed to start the company. Thank God, three years down the road, I can finally pay back that loan … I learned that becoming an entrepreneur is a life choice. It requires full support from those around you,” the co-founder stressed.

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The social media blockade was meant to prevent the spreading of fake news and provocative posts that may trigger further escalation of the situation

Indonesia’s minister of security Wiranto today announced that the authorities will limit access to several features on social media platforms in certain areas in Jakarta, following the post-election riots that have been going on in the city since yesterday.

The blockade was meant to prevent the spreading of fake news and provocative posts that may trigger further escalation of the situation.

The minister did not provide further detail on which feature on social media platforms that are being blocked.

However, several users on Twitter have reported being unable to upload videos and pictures to their Whatsapp and Instagram accounts.

Also Read: Today’s top news, May 15: Singaporean AI company AIQ partners Russian social media VK.com

The blockade followed a riot that has been going on since Tuesday evening, May 21.

Starting off in the Tanah Abang area in Central Jakarta, by this afternoon (local time) the riot has spread to Slipi in West Jakarta.

According to a report by The Jakarta Post, the riot has caused six deaths and 200 injuries.

The riot began when thousands rally to protest the announcement of the recent presidential election results, which revealed incumbent President Joko Widodo as the winner.

More on this story as it develops.

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Image Credit: Sara Kurfeß on Unsplash

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Investree also plans to start fundraising for their Series C, if their expansion plan goes well

Indonesian fintech startup Investree is aiming for the Philippines to become its third market next year. Apart from that, the startup is also preparing a strategy of setting up several subsidiaries to accelerate the SME financing.

Investree Co-Founder and CEO Adrian A. Gunadi explained that the company’s Southeast Asian expansion move had revealed that SME across the region are facing a similar issue. A great number of underserved communities in these markets are providing an opportunity for Investree to seize.

“The problem [that they are facing] is the same: Many SMEs are still untouched by banks. This provides a unique case study, that Indonesian fintech companies have the opportunity to expand region-wide. Many of these markets ended up copying what has been done in Indonesia, from products to regulation,” he told the press on Thursday, May 21.

The expansion to the Philippines will begin next year, but the company has found a potential partner to help with the operations. The potential partner has even visited Indonesia to see how things are being run in the field.

Earlier this year, Investree has named Thailand as its first international expansion location. Together with eLoan, the company has worked with local partners and conducted a soft launch in April.

Also Read: Indonesian P2P lending startup Investree raises Series B funding, expands to Thailand

In the meantime, it is actively building connections with several ecosystems to accelerate their expansion plan. However, the company has not begun any business activities as they are required to enter a regulatory sandbox programme by the authority in Thailand.

“This month we are going to register ourselves to a regulatory sandbox so that we can start channeling financing,” Gunadi said.

He further explained that Vietnam was the second country that the company has expanded to. But since the regulation in the market has not accommodate the business model that Investree is implementing, they are operating manually there. Despite the challenge, Investree claimed to have channeled up to IDR144 billion (US$10 million) of financing in the market.

“Vietnam does not implement the host-to-host system as the regulation is yet to accommodate the system. We are operating the way we did in Indonesia four years ago in the market; the data are being uploaded manually. But regulators in the country plans to accelerate the implementation of sandbox in the second semester as they are trying to catch up with Indonesia,” Gunadi said.

According to Gunadi, once the expansion plans has been finalised, the company plans to start fundraising for their Series C funding round. The early stages of their expansion plan is being supported by the funds from their Series B round last year, led by SBI Holdings.

Also Read: Indonesian P2P lending site Investree to enter Vietnam, launches sharia-based service

Setting up subsidiaries

 

In order to further develop Investree’s business in Indonesia, the company plans to launch new subsidiaries by setting up joint ventures with partners in the logistics, supply chain, and other sectors with strong relations to SME financing.

Gunadi did not mention specific details on the number of subsidiaries that they are planning to set up, which may go beyond two companies. He assured that the announcement will be made after June.

“It will be in the form of a strategic partnership. So that we are going to have a captive market,” he said.

Through the subsidiaries, the company will be able to acquire SMEs more effectively as there will be no need for them to approach the SMEs one-by-one. When entering a new ecosystem, this can serve as an added value.

Gunadi also stated that from the point of view of capital expenditure in setting up a new business, the company will be able to manage their budget more effectively as the company that they plan to work together with are already working in the tech sector. They only need to integrate their existing systems.

Accumulatively, by April, Investree has channeled up to IDR2.1 trillion (US$144 million) in financing and grew 82 per cent YOY. Its sharia-based service Investree Syariah has channeled IDR69 billion (US$4.7 million) and grew 311 per cent since it was first launched eight months ago.

The number of retail lenders on Investree has reached 14,375 individuals; there are also institutions such as BRI and Credit Saison while the number of loan receivers has reached 1,084 businesses. Seventy per cent of them are repeat customers.

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The article Investree Segera Rambah Filipina dan Buat Beberapa Anak Usaha Baru was written by Marsya Nabila in Bahasa Indonesia for DailySocial. English translation and editing by e27.

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The Indonesian serial entrepreneur and mentor reportedly started recruiting on LinkedIn

Former co-founder and CTO of Indonesian online travel startup Tiket, Natali Ardianto reportedly began recruiting people on LinkedIn for a healthtech startup he’s about to start. As reported by KrAsia, so far there’s been no name associated with said healthtech startup.

Tiket was acquired back in 2017, but Ardianto has since started multiple tech ventures, and has arrived in the healthtech sector.

Looking into Ardianto’s LinkedIn page, the man has started recruiting an IT team for the health tech venture with no further details about the company’s name, product, or services. Ardianto only mentioned that this new venture will start operations after June 17 with secured initial funding.

With four partners, Ardianto built Tiket in 2011 after bagging funds from angel investors. The platform was in a tight race with online travel unicorn Traveloka until it was acquired by e-commerce platform Blibli in June 2017.

Just six months after the acquisition, Ardianto resigned from Tiket.

Also Read: Home design and renovation platform Livspace raises funding from IKEA

Ardianto’s track records include co-founding Urbanesia and Golfnesia, and being involved in launching EmasDigi, a fintech platform for gold investment, as CTO.

Healthcare applications in Indonesia are still at an early development stage with one success story, which is HaloDoc, a local startup that secured a US$65 million round of funding from Go-Jek and other major investors.
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Also, RB Capital, Tencent, Pearson invests in AI company Prowler.io

Rental marketplace MyRent launches in Singapore [Press Release]

Following its Beta launch in December 2018, peer-to-peer rental platform MyRent officially launches in Singapore today. MyRent seeks to help Singaporeans monetise their belongings by renting their items out to its community of users.

MyRent was co-founded by by Ishwar Dhanuka, Mark Kok, and Rahul Sharma. “The idea behind MyRent is to primarily allow users to own experiences instead of things. We want to decentralise ownership, and create a win-win for both listers and renters. Simply put, why buy something when you can rent it?” said Dhanuka, CEO and Co-founder of MyRent.

To date, MyRent claimed that it has over 2,000 registered users and over 800 active listings in Singapore – from photography equipment and drones to winter wear and sporting equipment.

RB Capital, Tencent, Pearson invests in AI company PROWLER.io [Press Release]

British AI company PROWLER.io has completed a Series B funding round at a post-investment valuation of US$100 million with backers including Amadeus Capital Partners, Atlantic Bridge, Cambridge Innovation Capital, Mandatum Life, Passion Capital, Pearson, RB Capital, SGInnovate, and Tencent, who invested US$24 million.

The company said that it plans to use the funding to accelerate the product development and application of VUKU, PROWLER.io’s decision-making platform built over the last three years.

PROWLER.io offers a decision-making AI technology that can help businesses and organisations make better decisions in processing dynamic, real-time data in complex and uncertain environments.

Also Read: Ex-Tiket co-founder Natali Ardianto to open new healthtech startup

Its core platform VUKU is founded on an integrated approach – combining branches of mathematics, engineering, and economic theory. It’s being rolled out for deployment in logistics decisions, allocating resources, and assisting financial decisions in asset management.

PROWLER.io was founded in 2016 by mathematicians and engineers following years of research into machine intelligence, probability theory, and multi-agent problems.

Arcadier launches in North America, offers enterprise marketplace [Press Release]

Singapore-headquartered online SaaS marketplace Arcadier has just had its first exhibition at Collision, the largest tech conference in North America. It also had appointed June Boo as its first General Manager and Head of Group Strategy of North America and opened its Las Vegas, NV office.

Arcadier also unveiled their full suite of revamped APIs and developer community, which will allow corporations to develop customised marketplaces with Arcadier’s platform. Developers will also be able to join Arcadier as an accredited expert partner to assist in customisation projects and build applications for the broader Arcadier user base whilst generating revenue for these value added services.

With offices in Singapore, Sydney, and Manila, Arcadier has an established user base in North America with almost 25 per cent of its over 400 monthly new marketplaces created coming from the United States and Canada.

“North American eCommerce continues to be robust and is set to grow even further, as emphasised by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s opening remarks. Arcadier is incredibly proud to be the only Partner exhibitor representing Singapore at Collision,” said Arcadier’s CCO Kenneth Low.

DP Information Group (DP Info) rebrands to Experian [Press Release]

Information service provider Experian announced the rebrand of DP Information Group (DP Info) to Experian. Experian had fully acquired the DP Information Group business in 2014, after a 40 per cent stake investment in 2008.

The rebranding will create a single, unified business that provides customers increased access to a broader range of services across Credit Services and Decision Analytics, powered by the scale and industry-leading capabilities of Experian. The legal entity name will be changed from DP Information Network Pte Ltd to Experian Credit Services Singapore Pte Ltd., and the company logo will change from DP Info to Experian across the brand’s websites, marketing collaterals, products, and services.

“The Southeast Asia region is primed for digital transformation; with emerging technologies, powered by data, reshaping the way we live and work. As a trusted provider of Credit and Business Information Services in Singapore, DP Info has been a critical part of Experian for over a decade; generating valuable data for Singapore and its companies since its inception,” said Dev Dhiman, Managing Director, Southeast Asia & Emerging Markets, Experian.

Also Read: Smart wearables company KaHa secures US$6.2M Series B funding

DP was formed in 1978 and has a heritage that spans over 40 years in Singapore as a provider of Credit and Business Information Services. The move to a unified brand reinforces Experian’s commitment to the local and regional markets; helping businesses to thrive and grow, driving innovation around data and decisioning, and in launching new capabilities in the region and for existing customers.

Toy marketplace Toy Around app launches in Singapore [Press Release]

Toy Around, a free-to-download toy marketplace app that allows parents to buy, sell, or swap preloved toys locally, has officially launched its app on the App store for all Apple users.

The app, created for the Singapore market, will provide a user-friendly interface and simple functions where users can upload toys or search for them quickly and easily. Toys are listed by category, age, condition, and location which helps connect buyers with sellers more efficiently.

“With Toy Around, we hope parents and kids will view toys differently and embrace the value in reducing toy clutter in the home. At Toy Around we believe no toy should be left behind. We also endorse child development through play. The right toys at the right time can help the development of a child considerably,” said Tulika Sahai, Founder of Toy Around.

The user interface only allows ‘live’ photos to be taken without any existing photos from a user’s photo gallery to be used to ensure the quality of the toys uploaded are of satisfactory standards. Moreover, any sale of toys can only happen face-to-face unless otherwise agreed by the buyer and seller to ensure that the quality of the product is similar to how it was advertised as.
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A one-stop-shop for cleaning and household repair services, Clean on Demand now eyes regional expansion

Cars. Food. CPU cycles. Almost everything today can be ordered on-demand. As long as there is a market for it, many services now can be booked through the use of an app. This enables service providers to give you the best possible rate at your best time of availability.

Southeast Asia is considered to be the bastion of on-demand services. While Uber left the region a couple years back, there is no lack of services here, from basic needs like groceries, to niche and luxury items like helicopter rides.

Cleaning services are no different. Yes, such chores can be basic enough for anyone to accomplish. However, the reality of life is that not everyone has the time nor energy to clean one’s own premises. In some cases, the job might not just involve basic cleaning but other miscellany as well – minor repairs, deep-cleaning jobs, and the like.

In Singapore, one company has learned to adjust with the market’s demands. “We clean everything – except money,” says Ben Xavier, Founder of Clean on-Demand. The Singapore-based company caters to a wide array of customers, from individuals to businesses in need of cleaning and related services.

“Most of our customers are professional expats who are renting apartments,” he says. “As part of their tenancy agreement contract, tenants are supposed to return the apartment in good standing order, which includes professional cleaning.”

Xavier shares that this particular service is the one most ordered by customers. “The most popular is our end of tenancy cleaning service, and it is profitable.”

A one-stop shop

Clean on Demand’s services go beyond cleaning only. The team discovered that there is value in providing additional household services related to cleaning the premises, and here is where their competitive advantage lies.

“Most cleaning companies focus only on one cleaning category, which is end of tenancy or general cleaning,” Xavier shares with e27. “However, the feedback from most of our customers is that they have to search more than one company to get the job done, such as air conditioner cleaning, marble polishing, etc.”

Also read: How the on-demand economy is finding its niche in Malaysia

By engaging Clean on Demand, the customer is able to get everything solved in a matter of a few clicks on the mobile app: marble, mattress, and upholstery cleaning are available. Basic handyman tasks, such as fixing loose or broken handles, and lighting, are also done by its capable staff. The company also services air conditioning units. “Users are able to track their cleaners and chat with our admins via app,” says Xavier.

Engaging the ecosystem

An on-demand service will not work without suppliers, after all. Thus, aside from customers, this is another area where Clean on-Demand is putting focus on. The company assures customers of top-quality service by being hiring only competent cleaners. “We are very selective in getting them on board, and we ensure they are competent enough,” says Xavier.

The company also partners with other professionals, such as licensed property agents. They earn a 15 per cent referral fee for clients’ end-of-tenancy cleaning services.

The future of on-demand includes automation

While cleaning services are a highly-localised affair, there is benefit to market expansion, especially when deep tech is involved. According to Xavier, the company has plans to grow beyond Singapore and possibly expand across Southeast Asia.

An even bigger plan is to go deeper into the technology aspects of household cleaning. “We will be going toward commercial and robotics, with advanced technology,” says the founder.

As a parting word, Xavier shares something that fellow entrepreneurs might find useful in their journey: “Never, ever procrastinate. It’s just suicide on instalment plan.”

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The startup, previously based in Singaore, will move its headquarters to Boston

Biofourmis, a digital therapeutics provider, announced that it has closed US$35 million in Series B financing. The company also said it plans to move its headquarters from Singapore to Boston but will continue to expand its activities in Singapore.

The funding was led by Sequoia India, part of Sequoia Capital, and MassMutual Ventures SEA, the venture fund of Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual). Singapore government-linked investor EDBI and Chinese online healthcare platform Jianke also participated in the round, along with existing investors Openspace Ventures, Aviva Ventures, and SGInnovate.

Biofourmis’ digital therapeutics platform helps treat and manages a range of complex chronic conditions.

With the funding, the company said it will focus on growing its solution that combines AI, drug therapy information, wearable sensors and a smartphone app to deliver better patient outcomes. Biofourmis also plans on growing its teams focused on data science, clinical management, regulations, sales and operations.

“Our core focus has always been to optimize therapies to augment patient care and health outcomes,” said Kuldeep Singh Rajput, founder, and CEO of Biofourmis.

Also Read: Co-working space Outpost secures US$1.3M seed funding

Biofourmis was established in Singapore in 2015 and is a patient-facing companion app. It also has a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved wearable biosensor to optimise patient care and health outcomes.

The components work in synergy to drive patient adherence to medication regimens. The digital therapeutics technology can predict and prevent adverse events by remotely monitoring and analysing physiological signals.

The company built a platform called BiovitalsTM, which is based on clinical evidence that drug-software combinations can enhance clinical effectiveness. BiovitalsTM is used in tandem with Biofourmis’ lead product, BiovitalsHFTM, which is the first prescription software that utilises wearable biosensors and pharmacotherapy to manage and support patients diagnosed with heart conditions.

Once activated, a treatment algorithm dynamically prescribes guideline-directed therapies while driving adherence to the care plan through an interactive smartphone app.

“Biofourmis has already aligned with credible, high-quality institutional partners to transition digital therapeutics from concept to reality—and we support the team’s vision and ability to use technology to scale their products globally,” said Anjana Sasidharan, Principal, Sequoia Capital India Advisors.

Also Read: Home design and renovation platform Livspace raises funding from IKEA

Going forward, the company said it will continue developing its product and treatment algorithms via randomised clinical trials that generate data to demonstrating safety and efficacy.

“Our products would then have treatment claims akin to a drug, and they would need to be prescribed by a clinician,” Kuldeep explained.

“Insurance providers could then reimburse for the treatment just as they do with pharmaceuticals and therapeutic medical devices. Hence our commercialisation strategy will involve forming partnerships with global pharmaceutical companies. We aim to use them as a distribution channel to commercialise our digital therapeutics product in combination with a therapy—either as a value-added service or as companion therapeutics.”

So far, Biofourmis has formed key collaborations with healthcare stakeholders, including its membership in the American Heart Association’s Center for Health Technology & Innovation’s Innovator Network to deliver personalised software-based interventions.
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Photo by Luis Melendez on Unsplash

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20 stellar companies bring a dynamic range of products to Echelon Asia Summit 2019

There are lots of great reasons for you to come to Echelon Asia Summit 2019! With more than 12,000 people attending from over 30 countries, the Echelon Asia Summit brings together a full-range of personalities across the field of tech: from tech enthusiasts, to up-and-coming startup founders, and even to leaders and experts! This makes Echelon Asia Summit 2019 the perfect opportunity for you to brush elbows with potential future partners, investors, colleagues, or other like-minded people who might appreciate your ideas!

More than 120 speakers will also be sharing key insights on emerging trends and disruptive technologies across four key stages, namely: Founder stage, Future stage, Capital stage, and the top 100 stage—where 100 of the most promising startups will be pitching live!

Also read: Ready to be won over by the right ideas? 20 more exhibitors will showcase at Echelon

And finally, one of the key features of Echelon Asia Summit 2019 is how it will showcase some of the most brilliant startup products in the region. With 300 exhibitors that will sprawl all over Singapore Expo, participants can witness firsthand how these companies are changing the world.

So without further ado, here is the ninth set of Echelon Asia Summit 2019 exhibitors!

AIBC Pte Ltd

AIBC Pte Ltd uses AI to help us understand politicians better.

Amred.id

Amred.id is a building & operating vehicle sharing solution that uses gasoline motorbike & electric scooters in INDONESIA to solve last-mile transportation.

Foxwood LLC

Foxwood is comprised of a law firm, personal, and corporate services arms that focus on the delivery of legal solutions.

Aqua Grow Greens

AquaGrowGreens designs, sources, and manufactures products that enable you to become an urban-farmer and live healthier.

Asmara

Asmara® is a Singapore brand that specialises in 100% natural beverages designed for health & wellness.

Aspire-cap

Aspire is Singapore’s First Credit App made for small business owners.

Ngee Ann Polytechnic

Ngee Ann Polytechnic is an institution of higher learning in Singapore with more than 14,800 full-time and 3,000 part-time students, 1,800 staff, and 148,000 alumni.

Beam Mobility

Beam is a 21st century mobility company rolling out e-scooter ridesharing across the cities of Asia Pacific.

Bifrost

Bifrost helps AI engineers get better data by simulating reality.

BlueMeg

BlueMeg is an independent corporate services provider, bridging the gap between tailored quality services and the new digital era.

Bollywoo

Bollywoo is India’s first and fastest growing content commerce platform.

Buddy Holdings Pte Ltd

Buddy Holdings strives to transform the business into a more innovative and yet sustainable business model leading in the new invention, development of the industry’s most advanced channel to market company products/services offering.

Clockster

Clockster is a clock-in-and-out, scheduling and leave management system for employees in HoReCa and retail space.

Caspar Technologies

Caspar Technologies Pvt Ltd launched in 2016 & backed by the prestigious IIMK LIVE Incubation program is the first company in Asia to offer machine learning based recommendations.

ZiO Health Ltd

ZiO Health Ltd is a biosensor platform technology that allows you to instantly analyse parameters in fluids from anywhere.

Chilindo

Chilindo is a leading online auction platform offering affordable products to consumers in Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam in a fun and engaging way.

ISSU

ISSU provides an online perfume subscription service.

CollabDeen

ColllabDeen is the World’s first Faith-Based social technology SaaS platform using Deep-Tech for community collaborations.

The Flying Thai Food

The Flying Thai Food overs Thai food that’s shipped China-wide by mail.

The Nurturing Co.

The Nurturing Collective is an offline/online business offering truly sustainable reduced / zero plastic packaging focused products.

Where to get tickets for Echelon Asia Summit 2019?

Catch this stunning set of companies showcase their brilliant work and more at the Echelon Asia Summit 2019! The event is happening from 23 – 24 May, at Hall 3A, Singapore Expo, 1 Expo Drive, Singapore. We don’t want you and your team to miss out on the important insights that will be shared by our speakers there, so get your Echelon Tickets today!

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By vertically integrating the entire value chain from food production to delivery, its mission is to make food delivery affordable for office workers

dahmakan, a Y-Combinator-backed cloud kitchen startup in Malaysia, today announced the closing of over US$5 million in Series A round of funding with existing and new global investors, including Silicon Valley’s Partech Partners and China’s UpHonest Capital.

Y-Combinator, UK-based Atami Capital and former CEO of Nestle also joined the round, bringing the company’s total funding raised to date to nearly US$10 million.

“In the last few years, we have developed an operating system that drastically reduces the traditionally high cost structure of food delivery. The technology allows us to deliver better quality food at more affordable prices compared to other on-demand food delivery startups while maintaining a higher profit contribution margin,” said Jonathan Weins CEO of dahmakan.

“This new funding round will allow us to drive growth in existing and new markets, including launching new distribution channels such as partnering with food delivery marketplaces and retailers as well as expanding our own delivery coverage,” he added.

Besides further regional expansion, dahmakan also aims to expand its leadership team.

Founded in 2015 by former employees of food delivery marketplace Foodpanda (acquired by Delivery Hero in 2016), dahmakan aims to cut out the middleman from food delivery and pass the value back to the customers. By vertically integrating the entire value chain from food production to delivery, its mission is to make food delivery affordable for millions of office workers in Southeast Asia.

Also Read: A little bit of fun to help you attend #EchelonAsia2019

“We are applying predictive analytics including machine learning to forecast sales and in food product development. Our proprietary routing algorithms and AI-powered operating system automates 80 per cent of workflow in both the food production and delivery, solving essentially, an on-demand food manufacturing problem,” Weins added.

In 2018, dahmakan launched a new brand of lower-priced dishes. The company claims this brand has been adopted by over 200 corporate partners in Kuala Lumpur as part of its digital canteen programme, a corporate food delivery offering, which is set to launch in 1,800 offices across Klang Valley in 2019.

Nicolas El Baze, General Partner at Partech Partners, said: “We have looked at different companies in the space in Silicon Valley, Europe and Asia. dahmakan clearly stood out due to its unique operating system that orchestrates all parts of the value chain. The company has reached a crucial inflection point as the system is now ready to expand fast into other markets in Asia.”

According to a report from Temasek, demand for food delivery has grown rapidly at over 73 per cent YoY in Southeast Asia. dahmakan capitalises on this demand for delivery-only food by servicing multiple satellite kitchen around Kuala Lumpur from one factory-sized cloud kitchen.

A recent UBS report researched the global megatrend of consumers outsourcing home cooking to out-of-home prepared meals. The report predicts that by 2030 “the home kitchen might be dead” and completely be replaced.

 

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Along with the 10 finalists, four other startups will be awarded the StartupSG prizes of US$36K each

Future Food Asia, a pan-Asia Pacific competition aimed at recognising leading agri-tech and foodtech startups, has announced the 10 finalists vying for its US$100,000 grand prize.

Along with the 10 finalists, four other startups will be awarded the StartupSG prizes of S$50,000 (US$36,000) each.

The Future Food Asia 2019 conference will be held at Matrix Auditorium on the 30 Biopolis Road in Singapore on June 3 to 4, 2019.

9th set of exhibitors chime in with 20 stellar companies at Echelon

The event will allow all finalists and winners to present their innovation in front of investors, industry leaders and domain experts.

“The line-up of finalists and winners evidences the wide range of technologies that can address some of the most critical challenges of the food supply chain. It is also interesting to notice how Artificial Intelligence is emerging as distinctive feature of the region’s propositions,” said Isabelle Decitre, Founder and CEO of ID Capital, the lead organizer of Future Food Asia Award.

An overview of the 10 finalists:

AgNet (China): The Shanghai based agri-tech startup has developed a cloud solution, which promises to lower livestock production costs and lay the foundation for trusted transparency with food companies and consumers. It uses Big Data, IoT and AI.

Biotelliga (New Zealand): Biotelliga utilises fungi, nature’s plant-interaction specialists, to develop sustainable technologies to protect crops from pests and diseases, allowing increased food production with low environmental impact. Biotelliga’s bio pesticides and seed-integrated protective fungi will enable reduction in use and ultimately replacement of environmentally harmful chemical pesticides.

Inong Agriculture (Taiwan): As a bioinformatics startup that specialises in microbial genetic analysis, Inong Agriculture is a Big Data-powered soil microbe expert, which offers cash-crop-specific solutions that leverage on customised probiotics to increase crop yield sustainably, alleviating the environmental burden from overdoses of chemical fertilisers or pesticides.

Jai Kisan (India): It is an agri-fintech platform catering to rural emerging markets by providing a risk-adjusted return to lenders while ensuring a low cost of capital and quick turnaround time with minimal documentation for the borrower. Jai Kisan finances agricultural equipment, dairy, and other yield generating rural assets.

MPT AgTech (Australia): It is building a range of tech-enabled, smart equipment for large scale farming operations. Their first product is a tech-enabled planter that can monitor the conditions of the soil in real time while seeding, and self-adjust its seeding depth, and seeding rate live, based on the measured soil profile.

RapidAIM (Australia): It takes the guesswork out of pest surveillance, detection and management. Delivered as a service, RapidAIM provides high-resolution, real-time information of the location of pests for early detection, and targeted control.

SaliCrop (Israel): It develops a non-GM seeds treatment for various crops varieties, vegetables and grain seeds. The seeds treatment stimulates a specific epigenetic trait of the plant which enables crop growing and yielding in high salinity soils or when irrigated with brackish water. Salicrop is a portfolio company of Rimonim Agro fund.

Also Read: Why Isabelle Decitre left France to start ID Capital in Singapore

SatSure (India): It is an innovative large area analytics company which leverages advances in satellites, Machine Learning and Big Data analytics to provide answers to large-area questions, with agriculture, forestry, and environmental management. It combines satellite imagery with weather, IoT, social and economic datasets, etc to generate timely, location specific insights.

THE.WAVE.TALK (South Korea): It detects bacteria in liquids much faster than conventional technologies. The startup targets to save millions of hours spent just waiting for the result by decreasing test time from days to hours (applications from water/beverage plants to water purifiers at home). Moreover, by applying AI, it is able not only to detect but also identify bacteria.

UlikeKorea (South Korea): It is a livestock ICT company with a smart livestock solution called LiveCare. The solution was developed with the support of globally respected Korean R&D institutions and it builds on a bio-capsule that once ingested by the animal, enables lifelong health monitoring. As the interest in sustainable animal husbandry continues to increase, it aims to make every effort to contribute to the advancement of the global livestock industry.

An overview of the StartupSG prize winners:

Intello Labs (India): It is a deeptech startup that uses Artificial Intelligence and multispectral tools to make quality monitoring and grading solutions for food commodities. Its image-based solutions, which come in the form of smartphone apps, bring transparency and standardization to the quality assessment process in food supply chains, reducing value risk and wastage from farm to fork.

Phyto Corporation (South Korea): It is an innovative food and biotechnology company creating the future of food with Salicornia, a plant grown by seawater. Phyto Corporation has developed the world’s first 100 per cent plant-based salt ‘PhytoSalt’, extracted from Salicornia, a plant containing high contents of salt. PhytoSalt is effective on high blood pressure and is a microplastics-free salt as well. By desalinating Salicornia, Phyto has also developed a new superfood and flour alternative ‘PhytoMeal’ that can solve the global food crisis.

Shiok Meats (Singapore): It is a cell-based shrimp company. Its aim is to bring cell-based crustaceans to your table, which is health-, animal- and environment-friendly, by growing cells instead of animals.

VakSea (US): VakSea uses insect larvae to biomanufacture functional feed additives that protect farm-raised fish and shrimp from disease. Using its innovative insect larvae production platform, VakSea can produce large-scale quantities of affordable protein-based feed additives for a variety of purposes, starting with preventing viral disease outbreaks on shrimp aquaculture farms.

Startup applications for Future Food Asia 2019 opened in February and closed in April 2019. More than a hundred of contenders applied, coming from 13 different countries from Asia Pacific. While North Asia continued to be the dominant region with 35 per cent of the applications, Southeast Asia emerged in the second spot with 27 per cent, marginally ahead of South Asia with 26 per cent.

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