KBank plans to leverage its 14.5 million customer base to appeal to startups who want exposure

KBank, Thailand’s third-largest lender, recently launched its KATALYST project to help startups work with the bank, as reported by Thailand Business News.

The project aims to “equip startups with advice on business operation, knowledge and application of technology for business expansion both at home and abroad as well as financial support to propel Thai startups toward success”.

In the press conference, KBank said that startups participating in the KATALYST project will get an opportunity to make a campaign with KBank, which has a customer base of over 14.5 million.

In addition, the startups will have a chance to receive capital via Beacon Venture Capital Co., Ltd., which is KBank’s venture capital arm.

They also can expand their business bases abroad via KBank’s KVision Co., Ltd., which is the bank’s established holding company to invest in startups and explore innovation at a regional level.

Also Read: Grab launches GrabTukTuk Electric in Chiang Mai for greener transportation

 

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The three-year-old London-based fintech, TrueLayer, sells open-banking software

Singapore-based, government-owned fund Temasek has joined Chinese tech company Tencent in investing to TrueLayer, a U.K-based fintech that sells open-banking software, as reported by Bloomberg.

TrueLayer said that it will use the funding to focus on expanding to Europe and Asia, with a goal of connecting most of the continent’s banks by the end of the year.

Northzone Ventures and Anthemis Group will also participate in the new round being a previous backers of the company. To date, TrueLayer has raised US$47 million.

The fintech is a three-year-old company that sells open-banking software that lets people share or aggregate their financial information from different providers.

TrueLayer’s funding is the newest U.K. fintech funding scored since the interest to invest in fintech companies from the country has spiked. Recently, SoftBank Vision Fund invested US$800 million into U.K. fintech Greensill, followed by the US$175 million funding that WorldRemit, a London-based technology company that helps expatriates and migrant workers send remittances back to their home countries, has raised.

Also Read: Asset tokenisation platform STP Network raises US$7M; to launch IEO on Bittrex

With its digital-only bank Monzo as well as peer-to-peer lender Zopa, TrueLayer already has a presence in Germany, France, Italy, and Spain.
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Crea will help e-commerce companies target millennial and younger customers through social media platforms.

Lazada Co-founders launch social ecommerce startup [TechInAsia]

Lazada Co-founders Aimone Ripa di Meana and Alessandro Piscini have launched Crea, a social e-commerce startup, to help e-commerce companies target millennial and younger customers through social media platforms.

The company will help businesses with online branding, analytics, and digital marketing, among others.

According to a media statement, the company will focus on the beauty and personal care industry in Thailand over the next 12 months, which is expected to reach US$5.5 billion and is growing at 7.5 per cent a year. It will also expand regionally over the next 12-24 months.

India’s NoBroker raises US$51M from General Atlantics, Beenext, others [press release]

NoBroker.com, a brokerage-free real estate platform, has announced that it has raised US$51 million in Series C funding, led by General Atlantic. Existing investors SAIF Partners and Beenext also co-invested.

This brings the total funding raised by NoBroker to US$71 million.

Saurabh Garg, CBO and Co-founder of NoBroker.com, said: “This funding round will help us reach more people across cities and go deeper in current cities to become the preferred choice for any real estate transaction in India. We believe that with our differentiated technology and product, we will continue to enhance the experience for users of our platform.”

Singapore’s Accelerating Asia launches ASEAN ‘Smart City’ accelerator programme [press release]

The Australian Government announced today that it will partner with Accelerating Asia, a regional network of startup programs, to develop a Singapore-based ASEAN Smart Cities Accelerator (ASCA).

ASCA is a first of its kind seven-month startup accelerator programme, which is designed to provide the best possible support for early-stage Southeast Asian startups specialising in future city development, an initiative supported by Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).

ASCA is a seed-stage accelerator programme that selects, funds and provides a development programme for smart city startups in Southeast Asia through access to regional opportunities, knowledge, networks, and resources. The programme is split into two parts beginning with a three month program period with weekly activities in Singapore and followed by four months that consists of remote support, a Demo Day as well as a one-week immersion trip. Women entrepreneurs are vital to the success of this programme and are encouraged to apply.

China’s Didi Chuxing starts ride-hailing services in Chile, Colombia [Reuters]

Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing said on Thursday that it had launched services in Chile and Colombia, as part of its push into Latin America.

The company kicked off operations of Didi Express in the two countries earlier this week and plans to launch a taxi-hailing service in Colombia later this year, it said in an e-mailed statement.

Reuters reported in February that Didi was recruiting managers in Chile, Peru and Colombia as part of a planned launch that would see it take on US rival Uber.

Pratilipi raises US$15M Series B led by Qiming Venture Partners [press release]

Bangalore-based Indian language story telling platform Pratilipi  has raised Series B funding of US$15 million led by Qiming Venture Partners.

Existing investors Nexus Venture Partners, Omidyar Network India, Shunwei Capital, Contrarian Vriddhi Fund and WEH Ventures also participated in the round.

Founded in 2014, Pratilipi is an Indian language story telling platform. It has over 100,000 writers who have published over 800,000 stories in 9 languages and over 5.2 million monthly active readers across its web and app platforms.

Over the next 12-18 months, the company will be focusing primarily on improving the technology infrastructure including its recommendation and personalization engines and on expanding the number of writers on platform. The company will also be focusing on expanding to newer forms of storytelling including audio stories.

 

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The new product allows people to buy goods directly from the livestream without impacting the show

One of the most important developments for e-commerce was the growth of live streaming during the mobile phone era. For years, retailers have used live streaming to sell goods via localised streaming platforms.

If we think more deeply, the business model is old, it just has been redressed for a mobile audience who can more directly interact with the seller. But people have been “live streaming” commerce on television for decades (the ‘Home Shopping Network’ was launched in 1977).

However, what has changed is the democratisation. Marketplaces themselves can now launch their own channel and sell directly to their user base.

This is the revenue stream Shopee plans to attack with its new product called Shopee LIVE.

Shopee LIVE is essentially a walled-garden live streaming product that allows merchants to start their own shows and sell goods via the brand.

The neat thing about Shopee LIVE is that it is designed so people can buy something without disrupting the stream. On the bottom left-hand corner of the live stream is little shopping bag icon. When someone clicks the bag, they are given a list of items they can buy and can purchase the product instantly. The livestream never stops during the process.

“This offers a variety of content because different sellers can make their own content,” said Zhou Junjie, the Chief Commercial Officer of Shopee.

When asked if Shopee will be courting influencers, Shopee made it clear that would be the decision of the individual brands but they will certainly embrace that hypothetical development.

“I think more and more merchants, be it brands or sellers, they will increasingly utilise influencers to better interact with their buyers. Whether they do it is the merchant’s choice,” said Zhou. 

Also Read: Temasek, Tencent inject US$35M into open-banking software company TrueLayer

For Shopee, it is part of a larger strategy of increasing app engagement as an ends, not a means. Per that logic, the company also has an online quiz product (with rewards) and various different mobile games (including one that looks a lot like Fruit Ninja). 

The company sees a correlation between how long people in the app and their increased likelihood to buy something. 

While the Shopee app is neat, they are not first-movers in the space.

Lazada launched their own live streaming platform in Thailand last year. It is now live in the Philippines and Malaysia with more markets coming.

Recently, they ran a show called “See Now, Buy Now” in Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand.The company claimed had the three versions of the show had 300,000 viewers across the three countries.

The launch of live streaming is another battle between two brands that have emerged as the top-two platforms in the Southeast Asian e-commerce industry. Both companies offer statistics that prove they are the most popular brand and while the numbers are true, statistics are often used to fit a narrative.

What is fairly clear is the two companies are neck-and-neck and if this were a horse race it would be impossible to predict the winner.

Shopee LIVE is another data point that shows that, while a late-comer to the game, Shopee has to be viewed as one of the most important brands in Southeast Asian e-commerce.

Also Read: How to apply cognitive biases into the fundraising process

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Swiggy Super and Zomato battle with FoodPanda and UberEats for dominance in India

As investor capital continues to pour into the online food delivery industry in India, companies are working hard to compete for diner demand.

To win customer loyalty, some platforms explicitly guarantee things like pricing consistency or speedy delivery, while others are starting to offer subscription-based rewards or other monetary benefits.

If deciding among multiples platforms, a consumer must consider restaurant availability, cost, delivery speed and overall customer experience. With no obvious choice, we researched the relevant players in the space to help Indians differentiate and decide which service to use.

Rewards and Monetary Benefits

With their respective rewards programs, Zomato and Swiggy have a leg up on FoodPanda and UberEats, which do not offer rewards. With 10% back on every order (redeemable at certain restaurants and currently cost-free), Zomato Piggybank is the better choice for consumers who typically order moderate-to-high priced meals.

Swiggy Super, which provides free delivery for a monthly fee, is the better option for consumers who order cheap meals and/or quite frequently.

When it introduced Piggybank, Zomato said that it would eventually charge an annual subscription fee of Rs. 299 for this benefit, but for now it appears to remain free via select invitation or user referral. If Zomato sticks to its initial announcement and eventually makes the program subscription-based, one would need to spend at least Rs. 2,990 annually, or Rs. 249 monthly, to break even on a membership.

Swiggy Super offers unlimited free delivery and no surge fees. Membership costs vary by city, but we have seen quotes from Rs. 49–99 for 1 month and Rs. 129–149 for 3 months.

Also Read: Today’s top tech news, June 06: Lazada Co-founders launch social e-commerce startup Crea

Given that general delivery fees tend to range from Rs. 10–40 depending on the city and the restaurant, members would generally have to order at least 2-10 deliveries per month for them to breakeven on their subscription cost.

Minimum Deliveries to Break Even on Swiggy Super

Zomato Piggybank vs. Swiggy Super

If both are available in one’s area, Zomato Piggybank is better if one typically orders moderate-to-high priced meals. Swiggy Super wins for cheap meals, where the delivery fee is a relatively high percentage of the total order.

For example, let’s conservatively assume that one’s monthly Swiggy Super membership is Rs. 99. To make Swiggy Super more valuable than Zomato Piggyback, a diner would only need to order a Rs. 150 meal 4 times per month if delivery fees in his area are on the higher end (e.g. Rs. 40). If delivery fees are lower (e.g. Rs. 20), one would need to order such a meal practically daily to make Swiggy Super worth it.

Quality Guarantees

Swiggy and FoodPanda edge out Zomato and UberEats with their service guarantees. Swiggy’s 30 Minutes or Free ensures delivery in under 30 minutes for orders under Rs. 500 from select restaurants, so Swiggy is the winner on delivery speed.

FoodPanda’s Price Promise essentially ensures the price you pay will not differ versus the restaurant’s menu, although our own check (albeit limited) did not show much variability between the apps in terms of menu pricing.

Regional Availability

One obviously cannot use a restaurant delivery service if it does not operate in one’s area. Zomato’s widest reach makes it the winner here, having recently expanded its presence to 213 cities, and its eyes are set on 500 by October 2019.

To help with your selection process, we’ve rank ordered the 4 companies by number of operating cities.

App Ratings & Customer Experience

Zomato and UberEats are tied for the highest ratings in India on the Apple App Store at 4.6 stars out of 5. Swiggy isn’t far behind at 4.3 stars, but FoodPanda’s poor 1.8 rating is a red flag.

Is There a Clear Overall Winner?

In short, there isn’t one service that clearly stands above the rest in all aspects. However, Zomato Piggybank and Swiggy Super give those companies a significant edge over their competition.

Also Read: Temasek, Tencent inject US$35M into open-banking software company TrueLayer

Although FoodPanda’s Price Promise is a great feature, it may not be enough to outweigh its poor app rating. The one aspect where UberEats stands out is its high app rating, which may present a strong enough case for some consumers to choose.

Getting the Most Out of Dining Spending

In general, using a credit card to pay for daily purchases is the best way to get the most out of your spending due to the valuable rewards offered like cashback or airline miles.

There are a number of credit cards in India that provide high rewards specifically on dining spend. How much one can earn using a credit card depends on one’s spending profile, but annual rewards could easily amount to thousands of rupees every year, which is essentially free money if you use your card responsibly.

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This article originally appeared on ValueChampion’s blog

Photo by shivam Grover on Unsplash

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