Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) freelancers can work up to 12 months in the country

The government’s digital arm Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) announced that it has partnered with the Singapore blockchain-based non-profit organisation NEM Foundation and the Estonian cross-border job marketplace Jobbatical. The partnership will set up an up to 12-months work visa programme for tech and distributed ledger technology (DLT) talents, as reported by The Star Online.

Malaysia has seen a growing demand for blockchain technology talents, which prompted MDEC to launch mentioned programme.

MDEC’s collaborators, NEM Foundation, is a Singapore-based non-profit organization in charge of the NEM (XEM) blockchain project, and Jobbatical is an Estonian startup that connects tech professionals around the globe with firms in need of their services.

The roles of the collaborators will be NEM Foundation to specify the type of talents needed, and Jobbatical on scouting for them via its platform.

According to the vice president of MDEC growth ecosystem, Norhizam Abdul Kadir, proposals have already been sent to the country’s Immigration Department and the Home Ministry, to support the Digital Freelancer Programme and approve the selected talents.

Also Read: Funding news is not public relations: Building your startup’s story world

The program, Kadir said, will ride on the existing Professional Visit Pass, which enables foreign workers with the relevant professional qualification or skills to migrate to Malaysia to work as expatriates for up to 12 months. Besides working, the ones qualified can also undergo practical training with a local company on behalf of an overseas firm.

As of now, MDEC confirms that the programme will be focussed mainly on blockchain experts, even with the country’s interest in attracting talents with skills in new technologies such as AI and IoT.

“The number of Visas to be issued depends on the projects that will be run by DLT companies in Malaysia,“ said Kadir.

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In Taiwan, Uber hasn’t been able to make themselves indispensable enough to get by local regulators.

I’ve just finished the second week of my summer internship at AppWorks in Taipei and I’m loving it so far! Living in Taipei has been just as I imagined and I’m really going to enjoy it before going back to New York in the fall.

One of the biggest lifestyle differences I’ve noticed between being in New York City and Taipei is: I’ve found myself using traditional taxis in Taipei, yet I can’t think of a single time I’ve hailed a cab in New York, instead opting for ride-hailing services like Uber or Via.

In fact, Taipei is probably the only place I’ve used a traditional taxi in the last five years (except in Mainland China, where I wasn’t able to use Didi without a Chinese bank account).

And it just so happens that Taiwan has been a giant headache for Uber, who will have to rethink its operations in Taiwan entirely after the Ministry of Transportation and Communications re-affirmed that Uber, as it is currently licensed, must operate as a rental car company and charge passengers by the hour (or day), regardless of the length of their trip.

Furthermore, as rental car drivers, Uber drivers would not be allowed to drive around waiting for the next ride — they would have to drive back to the rental car lot before initiating another ride. This, clearly, would render Uber’s business model inoperable. Uber has four months to comply before the fines start rolling in.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Taiwan has been a place where I haven’t missed ride-hailing apps at all and is also a place where Uber is having such difficulty.

Also Read: Today’s top tech news, May 10: Uber sets IPO at US$45 per share

In other markets, Uber and other ride-hailing apps went in and became essential before local regulators could react. By the time regulators wanted to step in, ride-hailing companies had mobilized users into their own political base, making it politically difficult for regulators to protect local taxi companies and stamp out ride-hailing companies.

Why hasn’t the same thing happened in Taiwan? I’ll make some observations and compare them to the US:

1. Public transportation is convenient, non-stigmatized, and pleasant.

This is not the case in many US cities. Where I spent most of my life in Columbus, Ohio, public buses were avoided as dangerous and “for poor people”. I would say at least 95 per cent of my college classmates had never ridden the bus before, despite it being free for students.

The same applies for my classmates at Columbia (which is in Harlem), where in my experience the buses are mostly used by low-income, African-American riders. The New York subway, while used by most, is dirty, old, and unpleasant compared to most other subway systems. Some of my classmates avoid it at night for safety reasons.

2. Cabs are plentiful.

It has been so easy to find an empty cab at all times of the day and night in Taipei that I was actually concerned about their occupancy rates (it’s a decent 68.4 per cent). Contrast this with pre-Uber New York, where illegal “gypsy cabs” were rampant because traditional cabs were often frustratingly hard to get.

3. The lack of competition in ride-hailing services led to higher fares.

Interestingly,  Uber is the only major ride-hailing company operating in Taiwan. Didi made an attempt before leaving last year after being deemed an illegal service. I conjecture that the price wars and driver/rider subsidies which had produced artificially low fares in other cities did not materialize in Taipei, so ride-hailing fares were not so low that enough people developed the habit of calling an Uber instead of looking for a cab. I still remember five years ago when Uber and Lyft were giving away ride credits left and right, on top of already-low fares.

4. Taiwan cabbies have more integrity compared to cabbies in other countries.

The last time I took a cab in the US was in Las Vegas, getting from the airport to our hotel. The conversation was pleasant, and the car was clean enough, but unfortunately, the driver took the “scenic route”. After I declined to tip the driver, the driver called me out and I told him I didn’t appreciate being long-hauled. He could only look down in shame.

Also Read: Will Uber’s global alliances help or hurt its future as a public company?

This is, of course, common treatment towards outsiders in many places. Most cabbies are not like this, but one experience had me swear off traditional cabs and made me a loyal Uber user. Before starting my internship I spent a week as a tourist in Taipei with family and we took plenty of cabs and this never happened. Drivers were pleasant, helpful, considerate, and honest. In other words, how Uber drivers behave in the US.

5. Tipping is not part of the culture in Taiwan.

Honestly, tipping is my least favorite thing about America. It is mostly uncomfortable, forced, and insincere. Although ride-hailing apps have now added tipping functionality, the experience is cashless and tipping happens through the app after the ride ends. No awkward face-to-face tipping. This has never been an issue in Taiwan, where you only might be inclined to round up to the nearest NT$10 (US$0.30) as a form of appreciation.

Conclusion

So although Uber in Taiwan has offered a useful service at a cheaper price, I believe the factors above have contributed to the political feasibility of Taiwanese regulators blocking Uber from operating as they do in other countries. The Taiwanese people haven’t protested regulations to the same degree as other countries because a life in Taiwan without Uber is still pretty convenient, which is something you can’t say about the US.

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With devices such as Amazon Alexa and Google Home seeing widespread adoption, more customers are relying on voice commands to purchase items online

Voice recognition devices are quickly becoming the driving force behind a shift in consumer behaviour. People no longer want to waste time typing out a query into Google, they want to simply be able to speak it aloud and find the answers they’re looking for.

In fact, according to a recent survey, around 71 per cent of smart technology users would prefer to use a voice search assistant than actually types out their search. Given that just five years ago this technology was still in its infancy, it’s incredible to see how far it’s come in such a short space of time. It’s already the norm in many people’s lives.

Thanks to the developments in technology pioneered by the major players like Apple and Google, it is now easier than ever to ask a question from the comfort of your own sofa or while you’re in the car.

Because of this dramatic shift in the way we use the internet, it’s only wise for businesses to adapt in order to keep up. Brands need to take voice search into consideration when preparing content for their website. So, what do you need to do to meet such requirements? And who is leading the way when it comes to voice search?

Where did it all begin?

In the beginning, voice search used to consist of calling a number from your phone and speaking your search term down the phone. And for much time, that seemed to be what voice search was going to be. In 2011, Google announced it would be rolling out voice search through Google.com. At first, it was only accessible in English, and now it’s available in 60 different languages. However, since then, it’s come on leaps and bounds.

Also Read: Why we need to rethink how we measure SEO

The hummingbird update came in 2013, changing the concept of what it means to search via your voice through your phone. What if you didn’t need to call a number or search a site just to ask your query? What if you could simply speak to your phone and it could search instantly? This updated algorithm focused on natural language, taking the user’s way of speaking into consideration, as well as the context of the question being asked.

How are voice recognition devices currently being used?

Now, over tens of millions of Amazon Echo devices have been sold, with app developersintroducing a staggering 70,000 skills for Alexa. Having a personal assistant in the home is a completely common occurrence in many countries around the world.

It’s only natural that consumers are curious, as they always are when it comes to innovative, potentially life-changing technology. This curiosity has led to sales, and consequently, a change in the way we do things. Because where more devices are being sold, it’s an indication that consumers are also searching the internet in a new way.

Businesses are being thrown in the deep end when it comes to meeting consumer demand, having to create suitable content that’s going to be easy to find when they search with their voice.

Gearing content towards voice search

Currently, a great deal of content available on the web is keyword-focused, meaning that it’s aiming to target customers through the keywords that they’re searching Google for. This could be anything from ‘printed t-shirts’ to ‘best restaurants in Shoreditch’. However, when a user starts asking Google a question using their voice instead of typing it into the search bar, the way it’s worded will inevitably be different.

To try and target their audience asking such questions, businesses may try adding more FAQ’s to their website. That way, they can word them using LSI keywords which will seem more natural, emulating the way a person may actually ask the question. The idea is that this will capture both long-tail and voice search traffic, effectively preparing for the switch in searching methods before it’s begun.

Another way businesses may try to tailor their content towards voice search is to have clear, concise content that’ll serve as a rich snippet for when consumers ask questions. This will mean there is a short, effective reply for any query.

Furthermore, page speed is also a big factor when it comes to voice search. This also influences whether or not your page will appear in the voice search results.

Considering the person using voice search is likely to be on-the-go or in a hurry, your page speed optimisation should be a high priority. If you fail to ensure your page loads quickly, you risk losing out on a potential customer if they visit a competitor instead.

It’s crucial that companies stay ahead of the game when it comes to this shift in voice search. If they don’t, they risk losing out to competitors who were quick to roll out these changes to the content.

Setbacks with voice search

One of the main things holding voice search back is people’s lack of willingness to do it public. At home, searching via your voice on a device is fine, nobody’s around to hear you talking to a device. But in public, people are still little reserved when it comes to voice recognition helpers like Siri or Cortana. Over time, as the popularity of this way of searching grows, the hope is it will become more normalised.

With increased use should come increased accuracy, a problem that users have recently been experiencing with their voice recognition devices. Often, their queries are met with an ‘I’m sorry, I do not understand the question’ response.

In addition to this, people do still needa physical search result in some cases where the information simply can’t be digested. For example, if you’re looking for things to do in London, seeing a block of information is a lot more helpful than information being read out to you. As a reader, you’re a lot more in control.

Voice search and the IoT

Another element to voice search is the Internet of Things (IoT). Voice search is superior now, capable of doing more things far beyond just answering your search queries. The IoT refers to smart appliances and machines, geared to work with voice recognition devices. These smart devices aim to help people with tasks all around the home, such as controlling the heating, turning on the lights, picking a TV programme and using entertainment systems.

Also Read: What role does big data play in the insurance industry?

The smart sensors in the devices gather information from the user, before actioning it into a task. When it comes to voice recognition ready appliances, all commands can be done via the voice. This isn’t just for use around the home, either. It can be used across a number of industries such as healthcare, agriculture and retail.

What the future of voice search could bring

It’s predicted that by 2020, around 30 per cent of web browsing sessions will be done without a screen. At the rate that Amazon’s Alexa devices are flying off the shelves, it’s not hard to imagine this prediction becoming a reality.

It’s likely that it will become even more seamlessly integrated with the Internet of Things, meaning the whole home will become voice-recognition ready. It’s an exciting time for both voice search developers and the public alike, as we look forward to a futuristic world.

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Image Credit : Karsten Neglia

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All startups had received funding in the past year and have been hailed as one of the respective country’s achievements

When it comes to funding, these startups and their countries are on a fast-track and catching up to its neighboring countries like Singapore and Indonesia. Remember their names because it might be the next big thing coming out of the frontier market tech ecosystem.

Groupin, Cambodia: The Buzzfeed of Cambodia and Myanmar

Based in Cambodia, Groupin is the holding company of e-commerce Little Fashion and digital media firm Mediaload. It has raised a Series A funding of US$5 million from Mekong-focused private equity firm Belt Road Capital Management (BRCM).

The company can lay claim to have raised the largest public funding round in the Cambodian tech startup scene. Groupin is set to expand its footprints by investing in mobile technology, logistics chains, product vertical expansion, and customer support.

Groupin was founded by siblings Vichet In, Vichea In, Visal In, and Mayan In. Managing companies from two vastly different sectors seems to be working in their favor.

Little Fashion, its fashion and lifestyle brand, was launched as an informal Facebook retailer distributing fashion apparel from China/Thailand into Cambodia in late 2010. It slowly grew into a low-cost online fashion platform called L192.

Mediaload, on the other hand, is a digital media firm boasting 8 million monthly users and 20 million social media followers.  It focusses on a content generation of local information with topics ranging from entertainment to sports. It is best known under the brands Khmerload in Cambodia and Myanmarload in Myanmar.

2019 is showing some signs that the Cambodian startup scene is beginning to burgeon. The country saw its first startup conference called Cambodia Outlook conference being held in March and the launch of a US$5 million USD startup fund by Smart Axiata.

Cambodia is sprinting, and Groupin is its first of many success stories.

Honorable mention: Food delivery Meal Temple, edutech SALA, mobile gaming GoGames, and more here

Leflair, Vietnam: The flash-sale model, branded goods e-commerce platform

Leflair is a Vietnam-based e-commerce platform that sources branded goods and becomes the official distributors to Vietnamese customers. In January, it raised a total of US$7 million in series B funding, with US$3 million from South Korean TV home shopping company GS Shop, and US$4 million from Cambodia-based Belt Road Capital Management, as reported by Tuoi Tre News.

Just a year before that, the startup raised US$3 million in series A fundin.  In total the company has raised almost US$12 million.

Loic Gautier, the co-founder, and CEO at Leflair, said that the company is optimistic that cross-border is the future of e-commerce in Southeast Asia. Founded in December 2015, Leflair follows the flash-sales model that has proven successful in Europe.

Also Read: This co-working space tackles the number one problem working moms face: Guilt

In a recent development, Vietnam has seen multiple deals from prominent investors that have committed to bankrolling the country’s startup industry.

Just a week ago, an agreement at the Vietnam Venture Summit that saw Golden Gate Ventures, Access Ventures, Burda Principal Investments, 500 Startups, Jungle Ventures, and Cyberagent Ventures, among others will see them committed VND10 trillion (US$425 million) investment in Vietnamese startups for the next three years.

The country’s top VC Vina Capital also entered into an agreement with Mirae-Naver Asia Growth Fund in which Mirae Asset invested an undisclosed amount in VinaCapital Ventures. Naver will provide access to its portfolio companies to facilitate their expansion plans.

Honorable mentions: e-Wallet service startup MoMo, travel accommodation platform Luxstay

Rent 2 Own Myanmar: Motorcycle access for the rural population

Launched in January 2016, Rent to Own (R2O) provides an affordable motorcycle contract for rural users. R2O managed to cover a massive portion of central Myanmar — spanning the Ayerwaddy delta area to Shan State mountains. The startup says it means they are serving 70,000 clients.

Last year in November, it received a US$6 million investment from Germany’s development finance institution DEG and agRIF, an impact focused fund which provides funding to financial intermediaries targeting farmers and the rural population.

Joining the German investors was Daiwa PI Partners, an investment arm of a major Japanese securities firm who purchased shares from one of the existing shareholders, as reported by The Myanmar Times.

This move signified the growing attention towards Myanmar as an emerging startup scene by the international investors. Interest in Myanmar’s startups has been on the rise as investors scour the region for potential returns.

Partnering over 400 motorcycle dealers in the country, R2O allows their clients access to a fully insured bike, as well as maintenance, for a monthly fee, said R2O CEO Philippe Lenain.

Looking at what R2O does, Myanmar has been showing time and time again the knack for having fully-adjusted, innovative startups that provide the very solution for the country and its population. Myanmar recorded an 80 percent smartphone penetration rate that leaves room for similar startups to catch up.

Honorable mentions: Logistic tech Kargo, fintech Daung Capital.

First Circle, Philippines: Tapping into the GDP’s main contributor with friendly loan terms

First Circle was founded by CEO Patrick Lynch and CTO Tony Ennis with the goal of offering short-term, friendly loan for small businesses to scale. SMEs account for 99.6 percent in the country’s business, and First Circle provides a formal credit scoring system and reliable loan coverage.

In the investment led by Venturra Capital, with participation from Insignia Ventures Partners, Hong Kong’s Silverhorn Investment Advisors, and Tryb Group, Philippine-based SME-lending service First Circle raised US$26 million just nine months ago, as reported by TechCrunch.

Realising that emerging markets are not capital-developed, First Circle’s business model is to use third parties for capital-sourcing, including asset managers and family offices, who take half of the loan book.

From the Philippines, the most recent game-changing fund would be the one by JG Summit Holdings, a conglomerate in the Philippines. The conglomerate launched a US$50 million fund to back startups in Series A or Series B rounds that either supplement or disrupt its current holdings — such as real estate, retail, and airlines as well as targeting finance, consumer services, new media, logistics, and healthcare.

Honorable mentions: Healthtech startup MariaHealth, edutech Edukasyon, trucking logistic tech Inteluck, insurtech Saphron.

Sindabad, Bangladesh: a B2B, direct-to-office e-commerce service

Sindabad.com provides a B2B e-commerce service that supplements businesses like offices and factories with a platform for manufacturing and consumption purchases, all direct-to-office deliveries.

Just last month, Dhaka-based e-commerce company Sindabad.com raised a US$4.15 million in a Series A funding round from Aavishkaar Frontier Fund, which is managed by impact investment firm Aavishkaar, as reported by Business Standard.

Also Read: 5 growth stage startups that are leaders in Thailand’s ecosystem

Before this funding, Sindabad had received investment from Frontier Fund – a Bangladesh-focussed private equity fund managed by Brummer & Partners Bangladesh.

In one of our contributor pieces, it is stated that Bangladesh has around 90.501 million internet users, as of August 2018, which creates a huge opportunity for e-Commerce to grow. The startup environment in Bangladesh is nascent but very active, with 200 startups slated to launch every year, most of which are in e-commerce and software development, in a country of 170 million people.

Bangladesh’s tech scene is opening up, with a few local accelerators springing up training first-time founders, and the government set to add three more high-tech parks by 2020.

Honorable mentions: Ride-sharing platform Shohoz, P2P solar electricity trading SOLShare, Facebook shop platform ShopUp.

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Photo by Peter Hershey on Unsplash

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Tiket.com co-founder Natali Ardianto is now leading Indopasifik Teknologi Medika Indonesia as CEO and Co-Founder. However, its focus and branding remain a secret

Last year, Catcha Group released three predictions related to the future of Indonesian startup industry up to the year 2020. One of them was about the next unicorn company to come from the market, which was predicted to be from the fintech and healthtech sectors.

There might be some truths in the prediction. Indonesian healthcare market valuation is predicted to reach US$363 billion by 2025, up 18 times from the US$20 billion in 2010. This rapid increase is driven by the booming demand for healthcare services.

Behind this great potential, several challenges continue to haunt the local healthcare service industry, such as the limited number of medical professionals in rural areas and uneven distribution of healthcare facilities. There is even a belief that healthcare is something that is only accessible for upper class society

Having been known as the co-founder of Indonesian traveltech startup Tiket.com, Natali Ardianto jumps into the healthtech sector with a new startup that is set to be launched by the end of the year. After dabbling with fintech startup EmasDigi, Ardianto confirms that he had exited from the startup and is dedicating his time to develop the new healthtech company.

“Personally I enjoy starting over something from zero. The total addressable market (TAM) for healthcare industry [in Indonesia] is huge, but we still have not found any success story in this market. The same goes with online travel agencies; when Tiket.com was released in 2011, it was also due to a large TAM and lack of outstanding player,” he explains to DailySocial.

Also Read: Natali Ardianto joins EmasDigi as CTO

Ardianto considers the Indonesian healthtech industry to be in its infancy –this means many players have just realised its true potential and are now competing to be the biggest. He has no worries about this matter as he sees many opportunities to explore with his new company.

The man is now the Co-Founder and CEO of Indopasifik Teknologi Medika Indonesia (ITMI) as well as Advisor for Indopasifik Medika Investama (IMI). IMI is a holding company behind pharmacist PharmaPlus, homecare service platform Homecare24, general practitioner and specialist clinic PrimeCare Clinic.

IMI is affiliated with the Kwari family, who has been working in the healthcare sector for 40 years.

ITMI will be a healthtech startup under IMI that offers two services, set to be launched by the end of the year. Due to several considerations, Ardianto is unable to share further details about the startup, such as its name and sector.

“We are still unable to disclose what the service will be about, but we are building two digital products that are going to be launched by end of the year,” he says.

ITMI will be the fifth startup that Ardianto is working on. His first startup was city directory platform Urbanesia, which had been acquired leading news platform Kompas. He had also worked on golf course booking site Golfnesia, online travel agency Tiket.com (which was acquired by Djarum Group through BliBli), and gold trading platform EmasDigi.

Also Read: Indonesia’s Tiket.com co-founder, CTO Natali Ardianto has left the company

Optimism in ITMI

Despite his unwillingness to share any detail about ITMI, Ardianto expresses his optimism for the company. He projects that it will be able to make profit and grab 0.07 per cent of market share in Indonesia within just two years.

Ardianto believes that this is feasible as the concept has been proven successful in other countries. ITMI is merely replicating and modifying it for the Indonesian market; he also hinted that such service is currently available in the market in offline form.

“It’s the same as Go-Jek. They digitised the long-existing service of motorbike taxis; it is basically what we are doing at the moment. If you are trying to digitise a product, you need to know how to convert it into an online form. This is our task as engineers, while the experts are looking at the industry itself,” he says.

Currently on development stage, ITMI product will complement those of the sister companies within IMI ecosystem.

The company is run by a team of 11, which had only begun working on June 17. Ardianto serves as a co-founder with four other people; all of them happened to have worked at Tiket.com.

Ardianto expects to recruit engineers to accelerate the development of ITMI to 52 people by the end of the year. ITMI has also been supported by a pre-Series A funding round from its holding.

“As a CEO, I get to run the company the way I really want it to be. So the key here is execution; this is why we cannot say much at the moment. I hope that my experience [from the previous companies] will enable us to get it right,” he closes.

Ardianto’s entry to the healthtech sector is the latest amongst the country’s existing companies such as Alodokter, Halodoc, Medigo, HubSehat, Ayomed, Periksa.id, SehatQ, and Medi-Call.

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The article Optimisme Natali Ardianto Seriusi Segmen Healthtech was written in Bahasa Indonesia by Marsya Nabila for DailySocial. English translation and editing by e27.

Image Credit: Natali Ardianto

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