The Singapore personal mobility startup started off operation with about 200 vehicles in Kuala Lumpur

E-scooter service Beam announced that it has set up operations in Malaysia, as reported by Asia One.

Its corporate affairs vice president Christopher Hilton said that the e-scooters will be available at various designated parking areas in Bukit Bintang, Lot 10 mall, and Mont Kiara township because of its high foot traffic, wide walking paths, and convenience to public transport.

With the service made available in mentioned areas, Hilton said that the users won’t need to park the e-scooters anywhere specific. “We believe the most natural way is for people to stop the ride where they choose,” he said.

During the launch, the company expressed that it welcomes businesses and shop owners that wish to have more traffic to offer parking spaces for Beam’s e-scooter.

By downloading the app, customers can use e-scooter connecting to Bluetooth and mobile data, and entering their credit/debit card details.

The rides start at S$0.80 and cost an additional 30 cent for each extra minute with facilities such as general liability and personal insurance while using the service.

The e-scooters can travel a distance of 45km to 50km or about four to five trips before it needs to be recharged. The vehicles are tracked on the app using the rider’s smartphone and an IoT (Internet of Things) device on the e-scooter.

Also Read: Sustainable and healthy food startup Boxgreen raises funding

The e-scooter has a 20kph speed and helmets are not mandatory although encouraged. It’s also looking at providing a helmet with the vehicle and parking responsibly will get the customers a discount on the next ride.

As for maintenance plan, a geofence is in place to make sure riders don’t park the e-shooter beyond the designated area with a fine at RM5 as a few “pick up” fee. The company claims that the vehicles are checked regularly by marshals for safety and will be brought in for maintenance after every 300 rides.

So far, Hilton claimed that the service has clocked over 15,000 rides, and the app has been downloaded 10,000 times.
–

The post E-scooter startup Beam sets up operations in Malaysia appeared first on e27.

The saturated and tricky Asian e-commerce space raises many doubts but little room for error

Thanks to the stunning rates of tech adoption, the increase of open trade across Asian borders and the rise of discretionary income, e-commerce has become the newest young-hot-thing.

The potential for growth is high as ever. Asia-Pacific (APAC), for instance, is currently home to over 60 per cent of the global population – and the world’s fastest-growing economies.

Given that the online economy of Southeast Asia (SEA) alone is expected to hit US$240 billion by 2025, global players are keen to participate in the space despite the challenges they have to face.

To start, they have to compete with homegrown ventures that already have a pool of loyal local customer bases. This is perhaps best exemplified by Amazon’s recent retreat from China due to its struggle to compete with the likes of Alibaba and JD.

Still, the relative newness of the space means that there are opportunities for established companies with global experience to offer value to the region’s various e-commerce stakeholders. Texas-based e-commerce platform BigCommerce, for example, announced on February that the company had opened an office in Singapore in an effort to expand its reach in the region.

BigCommerce Director of Asia, Dene Schonknecht, recently agreed to share his thoughts on the challenges and strategies involved with expanding an e-commerce presence through a partner ecosystem in the APAC region, in this article.

The APAC e-commerce opportunity

Despite rapid developments in Asian e-commerce infrastructure and fintech, barriers to launching an e-commerce business still exist.

Many Southeast Asian merchants simply choose to set up shop on marketplaces like Lazada, Tokopedia and Shopee, opting to trade sales percentages and pay fees for an easier way to establish their online presences.

Smaller sellers even continue to rely on free online classifieds and Facebook Marketplace due to the capital and technical expertise needed to create an e-commerce app or site. These businesses miss out on the benefits that having their own e-commerce channel brings, such as better branding, customized experiences, and omnichannel opportunities.

“We’re still seeing a gap in the platform market, so we believe in the opportunity available to us in APAC – and believe that we can add value to merchants in the region,” Shonknecht explained. “We spend a lot of time telling our story, educating merchants and partners on how we are unique relative to the established competition.”

Also Read: E-scooter startup Beam sets up operations in Malaysia

By entering the arena, BigCommerce is banking on continued growth in regional demand for e-commerce tech solutions, which in turn, is contingent on continued e-commerce shopping growth in the region.

While it already has existing customers in Asia including brands like Isetan, Resmed and Suntec, the company believes that the wider community of Asian entrepreneurs is still under-served.

The challenges of being a challenger

Schonknecht says that he sees two key challenges to his company’s Asian penetration efforts. First is market prioritisation. They need to ensure that their team is focused on markets where there is the best combination of merchant demand, product fit and partner competency.

Second is branding and education. As a new entrant in the space, the company needs to be able to communicate its distinct identity as well as its global credibility.

To overcome these challenges, it’s critical for them to establish a partner ecosystem consisting of agencies and developers, to encourage merchants to adopt the solution.

“As anyone who has done business in APAC will know, there is no monolithic market known as ‘Asia,’” Schonknecht asserted. “In order to be able to serve this region effectively, we need local agencies and developers that operate close to merchants and understand the intricacies of the local or regional e-commerce markets they operate in.

They will ultimately be the ones working with merchants to bring all parts of the ecosystem together – including localized solutions for payments, shipping, tax and marketplaces,” he said.

The region’s diversity is both a boon and bane for e-commerce players. While the variety of niches and locales can provide them with fresh opportunities, this also means that platforms need to support integrations with hundreds of locally favoured services.

How to win as an outsider

Other platforms like Magento and Shopify have already made some headway in the region, establishing regional offices in 2017 and 2018, respectively. A Magento veteran himself, Schonknecht is aware of the strategies needed to make a splash in the Asian market.

Each of these American e-commerce giants have attacked Asia with their own distinct strategy.

“Shopify’s approach seems to be more focused on serving smaller startup businesses with a closed ecosystem of Shopify services like payments and point-of-sale,” Schonknecht said.

“Magento, on the other hand, is trying to push more into the enterprise segment of the market following the Adobe acquisition and subsequent price increases for its Commerce Cloud. So while our strategies may be similar in terms of market entry in Asia, we believe the BigCommerce value proposition of ‘open SaaS’ will serve a significant segment of Asian markets.”

Indeed, the platform’s customisability and available integrations will also be key. The specific needs of e-commerce stakeholders in a market like Asia may not be supported out-of-the-box by platforms that were initially designed for use in the West.

For example, due to the large population of unbanked customers, cash-on-delivery (COD) remains to be a preferred payment method in the region. For a platform to be of value to merchants, it must be able to work smoothly with the various logistics providers that can handle COD.

“It’s early, and the market feedback has been validating our approach. That said, we are making tweaks – for example, around which agency or technology partners we work with – in order to have the most impact in the markets we prioritise,” Schonknecht shared.

“For example, we often provide product roadmap feedback and development requests to our teams in Austin or Sydney to accommodate a local requirement like a specific payment gateway, logistics solution or the like.”

New players are (somewhat) welcome

Considering that its formal foray in the APAC scene is just a few months old, BigCommerce’s efforts in building a partner network is already showing promise.

“On the agency partner side, during Q1, we have signed up 50 per cent of the target agencies we intend to work within 2019, so interest in partnering with BigCommerce is strong,” said Schonknecht.

Also Read: Are you the solution to Asia’s content crisis?

“The partners are already driving the incremental net new pipeline of business that we simply would not have been in consideration for until we had established our presence here.”

It will be interesting to see how well the platform fares in the year ahead. E-commerce stakeholders in the region definitely stand to benefit from the presence of another platform, especially one that offers support, active development and a growing ecosystem.

But nothing is a sure bet anymore, particularly given how saturated and tricky the Asian e-commerce space is. And with increasing signs of global and regional economic uncertainty, Schonknecht and team have their work cut out for them.

—

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

The post Being the apex of the APAC is no menial feat for an outsider, says BigCommerce Director of Asia appeared first on e27.

The funding for Singapore-based Performance Rotors marks the she1k’s first investment ever

Singapore drone startup, Performance Rotors, raises funding from she1k, who was joined by other undisclosed institutional and angel investors.

she1K is a women’s corporate executive network that champions, funds, and boards startups. In its first-ever investment, she1K said that it’s syndicating angel investments from its members.

Performance Rotors is a UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) solutions company focussing on confined spaces inspection. she1K decided to invest in the startup after selecting it during the first she1K private pitch to its members and co-investing partners that are held every 2 months, both in-person in Singapore and Hong Kong and via Zoom calls globally.

Also Read: Yummy Corp acquires Berrykitchen, aims to become the largest online catering service

Around 10 startups are regularly selected to pitch to she1K members, angel investors, and VCs. Two or three will be shortlisted for further examination and within two months an investment decision would be made by syndicating investments from members and co-investing partners.

“Performance Rotors was chosen because they have a highly qualified team, acquired some significant reputable customers, and are already revenue generating. Furthermore, they were recently accelerated at PortXL, the world’s first maritime tech accelerator, which opened doors to large maritime, oil and gas and plantation conglomerates – which can use their drones to conduct inspections in confined spaces,” said Christina Teo, Chief Builder of she1K.

“By using Performance Rotors’ drones, companies can reduce manpower and completely eliminate significant human hazards in toxic and flammable confined spaces.”

Performance Rotors’ drone confined space solutions have already made inroads into oil & gas and brewery storage tanks and will be moving into mining, agriculture, aerospace, underground tunnels further down the road.

“As a true homegrown startup, our technology is completely developed in Singapore. Raven is the smallest smart inspection drone which can operate in non-GPS assisted and dark environment. With Ultrasonic Thickness Measurement and AI (artificial intelligence) analysis platform integrated, we provide proactive and more effective detection of surface structural defects,” said Keith Ng, CEO, and Co-Founder of Performance Rotors, explaining the product.
–

The post Women-powered organisation she1K invests in drone startup appeared first on e27.

For people who are in the very early stages of their startup journey, a pre-accelerator can be great

Unlike accelerator programmes that jump straight into accelerating a startup with a confirmed business idea, pre-accelerator programmes are like a marketing strategy phase.

Dedicated to early-stage founders, pre-accelerators help to give an indication of where your idea stands in the market and how well it will appeal to your potential customers. In a sentence, it is a high-growth results-driven startup programme designed for early-stage founders.

As Robin Wauters from tech.eu said about pre-accelerators,

“Pre-accelerator programmes essentially cater to people with ideas (or not even that yet) who are gearing up to join a ‘proper’ startup accelerator such as Y Combinator or Techstars, or for an early product launch – but aren’t quite ready yet.”

Applying to a pre-accelerator requires work; though catered to early-stage startups there is still expectations to meet for companies hoping to get into the programme. The fact is that pre-accelerator programmes typically have low acceptance rates.

This year, we kick-started The Start, our inaugural pre-accelerator programme powered by StartupX, and selected 10 teams to be part of the programme. The selection process required our team at StartupX to be objective, smart and rational about the decisions we made.

Here are some tips early-stage founders can follow to get a spot in our next pre-accelerator programme.

Be transparent about your startup

It can be enticing to exaggerate about the achievements made by your startup to put you at a better position when applying for such programmes.

However, all companies appreciate honesty, especially from the startups that they are going to partner with. We want to be able to understand you completely, including your past mistakes and current struggles. Being transparent about your company will allow us to provide you with the relevant resources needed to achieve the most efficient results during the pre-accelerator journey.

In essence, we only want what is best for you. So, be honest and transparent, and we will try to help you with the best of our abilities.

Do your prior research on the people you are trying to impress

Take some time to learn about the programme you are applying for, the company running the programme, and the team behind it! Ensure that the programme is the right fit for your company and that their values are aligned with yours.

It is important to have trust and confidence in the programme that you are participating in, because it encourages you to give your hundred percent throughout the course of it.

Also Read: Yummy Corp acquires Berrykitchen, aims to become the largest online catering service

Besides, companies are usually impressed when applicants are able to point out how the programme is able to help them grow and achieve specific goals that they have set for themselves.

Highlight your experiences and achievements

Unlike normal accelerators, pre-accelerators do not place a focus on traction or numbers. We understand that at such an early stage, ideas are still being built and founders are still searching for funding.

Therefore, being able to showcase your other achievements can increase your chances of being noticed by the pre-accelerator.

Come with a good attitude

Apart from funding, the highlight of a pre-accelerator programme is the mentoring sessions specially planned out for participants.

A good pre-accelerator programme usually brings together the best mentors in the industry to help its startups in specific areas they require help with; they are dedicated to supporting and coaching participants in the programme.

These mentors are more than willing to spend their time and effort on participants, however, they like to see their efforts being reciprocated.

Therefore, pre-accelerators have to consider the attitude of the founders applying for the programme as one of the criteria of a successful application. It is important to select founders who properly deserve a spot in the programme, especially since there is a limit to the number of teams a pre-accelerator programme is able to support per cohort.

Have a solid team

At StartupX, we value companies with a strong and solid team of co-founders and employees.

At such an early stage for companies, we put a strong emphasis on the quality of teams because we believe that the team plays a crucial role in driving the success of a startup. Your team will always be your most valuable asset in a startup, hence we take into account the makeup of your team and the chemistry between all co-founders and employees.

Fortunately for early-stage founders, pre-accelerator programmes do not look at how good your traction is. In fact, pre-accelerator programmes are there to help you get your first paying customers; to validate your idea.

Also Read: 3 promising fintech verticals in Southeast Asia

If you think The Start Pre-Accelerator could be just the programme for you, start your journey with us. We’ll be sure to notify you when applications are open for our next cohort of early-stage founders in Singapore. We want to watch you grow and begin an exciting entrepreneurial journey!

—

Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash

The post How to get into a pre-accelerator programme appeared first on e27.

Whilst more women are breaking into the industry, the pay gap still persists

It is almost always men who appear in the news, often as innovative technological pioneers and thought leaders.

Upon thinking about the big names and personalities who inspire the tech industry, it isn’t Susan Wojcicki, Meg Whitman, or Sheryl Sandberg who spring to mind.

More often than not, its Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and Andrew Jassy. It is no secret that men dominate the industry, and the only time we really hear about female CEO’s is upon their appointment.

However, female tech positions are growing 238 per cent faster than their male counterparts, and 20 per cent of all tech startups across the world are funded by women.

Do not be mistaken. This is not a new wave of female interest in the industry. In fact, the first computer programmer, Ada Lovelace, a British mathematician became known for her pioneering work in technology long before any man in the 19th Century.

Also Read: Being the apex of the APAC is no menial feat for an outsider, says BigCommerce Director of Asia

During WW2, tech jobs were filled by women. Computers were expensive, but using women to advertise them inferred that jobs involving computers were easy and can be done with a cheap labour force.

But what does the women labour force in the tech industry look like today? And how does the gender pay gap measure up to that of the past? What external influences should be considered when determining the best location that meets the needs of women in tech? Which of these locations best closes the gap between men and women in the industry?

To begin with, there are a clear set of tech positions that are currently dominated by women. Project managers, business analysts, QA testers and technical recruiters within the industry are predominantly filled occupations by women.

These workforce and working environment considerations can all be addressed by carefully measuring and manipulating the variables in the 2018 Women in Tech Index. This index measures over 20 workforce and industry variables across over 40 different countries.

For example, in the United States, the tech workforce is made up of 6049.11 employees. The percentage of which are women sits at 24 per cent. This is relatively high compared to the percentage of women in the tech workforce of Turkey, Croatia and Spain, which are 9.9 per cent, 13.19 per cent and 15.39 per cent respectively.

The average pay for women in tech in the U.S. is US$86.608, making the gender pay gap in the industry a surprisingly high 11.86 per cent. If the world hegemonic power that claims to be leading in civil rights and equality are still facing challenges in the pay gap between the genders, what can we expect from the rest of the world, in particular, the LDC’s of the developing world.

Bulgaria is the poorest member state in the EU, and yet is an oddity in this discussion as it has the highest percentage of women in ICT positions in the entire bloc, at 30.28 per cent.

One possible explanation is the country’s communist history. There were fewer separations between men and women, both had to work and this notion has spilt over into today’s workforce.

Unfortunately, the gender pay gap in the tech industry is amongst the mid-higher percentages at 19.20 per cent. The impressive statistics when it comes to the relative percentage of women in the sector, are neutralised when it comes to light that there are three men for every woman in the industry.

Still, as Europe’s growing and leading tech hub, the “bro-culture” in Bulgaria is not that common.

Further hope for tech in Eastern Europe could be found in emerging technological areas like Augmented Reality and Remote AR, and the progressive organisations, like Watty and MedicHome that such developments support.

The difference in the tech environment for women between the UK and Ireland are astonishing. By crossing the 60 minute Irish Sea, women can find themselves in a far more accommodating environment. The average pay for women in tech in the United Kingdom is US$49,201, women in Ireland are earning on average US$60,558 in the tech industry.

If salary is any indication of the value placed on the workforce, the industry in Ireland appears to be more ‘pro’ woman in tech. At first glance. Further considerations into the gender pay gap, provides grounds to infer that perhaps there is still room to improve.

The gender pay gap in the UK is 16.80 per cent. In Ireland, 17.30 per cent.

If it is true that salary indicates some level of value, this might suggest that men still dominate the preferences of tech companies, as they are still paid relentlessly higher salaries. This is not exclusive to the UK and Ireland.

In fact, every country measured in the index has, to some degree, a pay gap that favours the bank accounts of men.

The lowest account being 8.42 per cent in Turkey, which has only 0.80 per cent of their entire working population currently employed in tech.

The significance of the percentage of women in tech, per country, can be resultant of accessibility and inclusivity of the industry. Yet, many of the countries with a higher number of women in their workforce, have a generally higher gender pay gap.

These figures show that whilst more women are breaking into the industry, the pay gap persists. Relative to other industries, the gap is slim.

For example, the financial sector can carry a gender pay gap of up to 70 per cent. Despite these relative industry differences, the ageing tech industry is seeing more women entering into it, with fewer advancements.

Also Read: 3 promising fintech verticals in Southeast Asia

Eastern European countries appear to have the highest number of female employees in the industry. The gender pay gap in these countries may emerge from their former Soviet Bloc status. A time where the rejection of feminism was tied to an idealised national past, where the roles of women were as wives and mothers.

Today, the rights of women in Eastern Europe are picking up momentum. This combined with its leading number of women in tech, may well lead to it overtaking the West.

The history of women in technology has been curious. Whilst it is great to see an increase in the number of women entering into tech, their efforts are proving to be less fruitful than their male counterparts.

As technology evolves at impressive speeds, it’s rather saddening to see its values seemingly stuck in the past.

—

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

The post Women in tech: A global evaluation appeared first on e27.