HashKey Capital is the affiliate of Hong Kong-based fintech company HashKey Group that mainly invests in blockchain assets traded on exchanges

Singapore-based blockchain startup Terra announced that it had secured an undisclosed sum from HashKey Capital, which is an affiliate of HashKey Group, DealStreetAsia reported.

HashKey Group is a Hong Kong-based fintech company that focusses on investments in blockchain assets traded on exchanges, fundamental research, and technical analysis.

Terra stated that it plans to use the funding to expand its e-commerce and retail alliance across Asia.

Terra is cryptocurrency that is price-stable and seeks to boost payment network and grow the real GDP of the blockchain economy. It does so by partnering with e-commerce firms such as South Korea’s Ticket Monster (TMON), Singapore’s Carousell, and Vietnam’s Tiki.

In an interview with e27, the company explained that its cryptocurrency was conceived in response to the need for a stable digital currency, that is immune to the price volatility that comes with speculation and manipulation.

It also aims to bridge between digital currencies and real-world applications by becoming an open platform where financial apps can be built upon its promised stability.

Also Read: How Terra aims to get people to use its price-stable cryptocurrency

To keep the price stable, Terra is backed by a decentralised asset called Luna, that derives its value from transaction fees collected on the Terra network.

As for HashKey Capital, the company released a statement regarding its decision to invest in the startup.

“We have decided to invest so that we can grow our portfolio of promising fintech companies in Korea/Asia, as well as diversify it with up-and-coming startups in the blockchain space,” said Deng Chao from HashKey Capital.

In terms of partnership, Terra has sparked several integrations with prominent fintech companies especially in Korea, such as mobile payments app Chai, in which Terra’s Alliance’s two e-commerce partners power its online transactions with blockchain technology.

Another blockchain-empowered partnership in Korea that it has seen is with music streaming Bugs and B2B fashion platform Sinsang Market.

Before this round of funding, Terra secured another undisclosed amount from LuneX Ventures, the blockchain-focussed investment arm of Golden Gate Ventures in May. Kakao Ventures, the investment arm of South Korean internet provider Kakao, has also invested in the company.

Also Read: Blockchain firm Terra to launch instant remittance, lending services in Mongolia’s capital city

In January 2019, e27 reported that Terra announced a partnership with Mongolia’s capital city of Ulaanbaatar, to launch instant money transfer and lending services in the city’s Nalaikh District through a pilot programme, with plans to expand citywide.

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Image Credit: Terra

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In addition to Astra International, we also have updates from Grab, LivePerson, and FreshToHome

Astra International seeks to acquire seed, pre-seed stage startups – DealStreet Asia

Astra International Director Paulus Bambang WS announced that the company is “actively looking” to acquire seed and pre-seed stage startups that are in line with one of its diversified business, Dealstreet Asia reported.

He also announced that the company is close to acquiring a local startup in the logistics startup, though he did not disclose any name.

“We are not seeking for unicorn startups [to acquire]. We are hoping [to find] such [smaller] startups that could find us solutions that are related to our business,” the director said.

Grab plans major investment in Vietnam – Reuters

In an exclusive interview with Reuters, Grab President Ming Maa said that the company is set to invest “several hundred million dollars” in Vietnam where the company sees its next major growth market.

The announcement came just “weeks” after it announced a US$2 billion investment plan for Indonesia.

Ranking third or fourth in the company’s top markets, Ming Maa said that the Vietnam market has “very similar” characteristics with Indonesia.

Also Read: GOJEK, Astra launch all-in vehicle maintenance service GOFLEET

Indian e-commerce startup FreshToHome raises US$20M – TechCrunch

Indian e-commerce platform for fresh produces FreshToHome announced a US$20 million funding round led by Iron Pillar, TechCrunch reported.

Japan’s ZIGExn founder Joe Hirao also participated in the funding round.

Closing its US$11 million Series A funding round three months ago, the startup has raised a total of US$33 million.

Currently available in Bangalore, Mumbai, and Pune, the startup wants to use the funding to expand its service nationwide.

LivePerson opens office in Singapore, names regional sales director – Press Release

Live chat pioneer LivePerson today announced the launch of its new office in Singapore, that will serve as a central hub for its Southeast Asian operations.

The company also named Lim Wee Tee as Regional Sales Director of Southeast Asia in July 2019.

He will be responsible for spearheading sales and customer success operations in ASEAN, with a focus on expanding the business into the region.

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Image Credit: Muhammad Rizki on Unsplash

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5 tools that can be used to obtain a holistic view of a business

Starting up a company is never easy. Many factors can affect the survival of a company – be it those within an entrepreneur’s control or outside of it.

Fortunately, there are plenty of analytical tools that can be used, which help to make informed decisions. Here we present the top five business tools that help you to obtain thorough analysis and make actionable decisions.

SWOT analysis

Knowing the company’s strengths and, even more importantly, weaknesses is the key to creating greater value while mitigating possible losses.

Also Read: Top 3 underused business tools for entrepreneurs that can help improve your business

The SWOT analysis is useful in analysing the company as well as your competitors. With the understanding of internal competencies and weaknesses, you can carve a sustainable niche in their market, uncover opportunities to exploit and eliminate threats.

To gain further insights, entrepreneurs can analyse the strategic choices of the company by using the TOWS Matrix.

This tool helps you to identify strategic alternatives while addressing the following questions:

Strengths and opportunities – How can you leverage the opportunities using your strengths?

Strengths and threats – How can you manage your threats using your strengths?

Weaknesses and opportunities – How can you circumvent your weaknesses by using the opportunities?

Weaknesses and threats: How can you minimise the impacts of your weaknesses and defend against threats?

PESTLED

PESTLED is an acronym that stands for Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, Environmental and Demographic factors. It is an analytical tool to analyse the environment that the company works in or wants to enter.

By monitoring the macro-environmental factors, you will be able to see if how these factors will impact your company’s performance.

PESTLED is often used in collaboration with SWOT analysis and Porter’s Five Forces (as shown below) to provide a clear and thorough understanding of the related internal and external environmental factors.

To use this tool, you will have to create a list of existing environmental conditions in each of the seven factors that will impact the environment. The list can be classified into opportunities and threats using SWOT framework (as shown above).

Ansoff’s Product Matrix

Ansoff’s Product Matrix is a tool that provides you with four different strategies that help your company grow. At the same time, you will be able to analyse the risks that are associated with each strategy.

Also Read: 8 reasons to check out this Hong Kong fintech analysis

The safest strategy out of the four would be Market Penetration (lower left quadrant), which targets the existing markets using the existing products and services.

The risk increases diagonally to the riskiest strategy of Diversification that uses a new product and service in a new market.

As an entrepreneur of a new start-up, Market Penetration and Product Development will be more relevant. Once you have obtained success in the first two strategies, you will then shift to Market Development and finally Diversification.

Porter’s Five Forces

Porter’s Five Forces is a framework often used to analyse the attractiveness of a particular industry.

This model identifies and analyses the five main competitive forces that shape every industry, helping you to determine the strengths and weaknesses of an industry.

By making use of this framework, you will be able to understand an industry’s structure clearly. As a result, determine the optimal corporate strategy that ensures high profitability.

Porter’s Five Forces allows you to identify threats and determine the level of bargaining power your company have.

The threats of substitute products and new entrants will affect your company’s market shares while the bargaining power of buyers and suppliers helps you to determine the price that you can set for your product.

BCG Model (Growth Market Share Matrix)

The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Model can help you make long-term strategic decisions regarding your product portfolio. It allows entrepreneurs to decide if to further invest in, eliminate or further develop a particular product in a portfolio.

Also Read: How analysis paralysis can ruin your productivity and how to stop it

BCG categorises products based on the market share and the potential market growth. The following is how one can interpret the quadrants:

Dogs: Although Dogs hold low market share and have limited market growth, they may be profitable in the long-term or provide synergies to other brands within the company. However, in general, they are not worth investing and usually will be eliminated from the portfolio

Cash Cows: Cash generated from Cash Cows should be invested in Stars for overall growth. Usually, Cash Cows will not be invested to promote further growth, but mainly to maintain their current market shares

Stars : Stars should be the primary units in which the company invests in as they operate in high growth industries and are likely the cash generators. Typically, Stars will become Cash Cows unless they have been outcompeted by new technological advancements, which turn them into a Dog

Question Marks: Question Marks tend to consume a large amount of cash and incur losses. They can become a Star or become a Dog, which makes it harder for you to decide if they are worth investing their money and time

As with all startups, speed is the key factor to determine the success of a company.

With the five business tools, you will be able to obtain a holistic view of your company and take decisive actions that allow your business to stay ahead of your competition.

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‘Even as a highly-fragmented landscape, we use data and learnings to better understand the social and cultural nuances as well as behaviour patterns’, he says

It is no mean task to succeed in a highly fragmented market like Southeast Asia and a highly competitive atmosphere — unless you have a great understanding of the customer behaviour and cultural requirements of each market. RedDoorz had realised this early on and adopted a hyper-local approach to win customers and partnerships with hotels.

The startup, headed by Founder and CEO Amit Saberwal, has just bagged US$70 million to make the first close of its Series C funding led by Asia Partners, with the participation of Rakuten Capital, Mirae Asset-Naver Asia Growth Fund, existing investors Qiming Venture Partners and IFC. It is now set to expand its footprint in the region.

In this email interview with e27, Saberwal shares more details about the competition and the company’s plans.

You have just secured US$70M from a set of prominent investors to expand in Asia. Can you share the details of your expansion plans? 

The US$70 million is the first close of our larger Series C funding. We will be focusing our efforts to grow in the markets we operate in across Southeast Asia (Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam), where we intend to penetrate deeper in our quest to increase market share and solidify our position as the market leader in the affordable travel and hospitality industry. 

We are also opening up new markets within the next 12- 18 months. We also plan to enhance our data and tech capabilities and solutions, where we plan to set up a second technology and development centre in Vietnam, following our first in Delhi, India.

How did you convince your new as well as existing investors to keep investing in RedDoorz even as your close competitor with a much deeper pocket is fast gaining market share in India and offers more investment opportunities?

We have a well-thought-out and prudent business plan that we are steadily executing. To date, we have been very successful, having attained 500,000 room bookings — an industry-first in Southeast Asia’s travel and hospitality segment.

Also Read: RedDoorz bags US$45M as its competitor OYO is fast expanding in Southeast Asia

We’ve successfully developed a business model focused on Southeast Asia, a model that works for us. We’ve grown at a rapid pace to scale in a disciplined and sustainable manner. This approach has attracted investors to trust us and continue to back RedDoorz with high ambitions of growth. 

Trump Hotel’s Indonesia partner Qiming is also an investor in your latest round. How did this investment come about? How do you complement each other?

We have an excellent relationship with Qiming, who sees the value in what we are trying to achieve, and have supported our mission to become the leading service in Southeast Asia’s highly competitive travel and accommodation sector.

Do you think the budget hotels market in ASEAN is not tapped to its potential yet? Is there more room for new players? Where is this industry heading for? 

While competition is rife, the budget hotel market in Southeast Asia still has ample space to grow. We are building a business around consumers and their evolving needs. 

According to Roshan Raj Behera, business partner at consulting firm RedSeer, Southeast Asia has more than 120,000 budget hotels in the three-star or below segment as of 2018, providing RedDoorz with the right environment to grow even more. The industry is also driven by a growing middle class that will be 350 million strong by 2022, based on Bain & Company’s Understanding Southeast Asia’s Emerging Middle-Class report.

The Phocuswright Travel 3.0: Mobile Rising in Southeast Asia study has also revealed that Southeast Asians are prioritising their discretionary spend on travel and tourism.

There is a lot of headroom for growth and room for new players to enter the market. 

With competition intensifying, how do you look to differentiate yourself? Do you aim to leverage technology to further improve the customer experience? What is your USP? 

At our very core, we are a tech company. We have developed our innovative tech solutions such as RedFox, our dynamic pricing system, and RedEagle, our proprietary supply management solution, that support our partners in better understanding supply and demand patterns, as well as recognise trends and patterns using advanced Machine Learning and AI technologies. 

Our USP is our deep understanding of the consumer in Southeast Asia at a granular level, from country-to-country, city-by-city. Even as a highly-fragmented landscape, we use data and learnings to better understand the social and cultural nuances as well as behaviour patterns. 

As we have built a sustainable and rapidly growing business on consumer data, we also deep dive on our understanding of the consumer to make improvements to customer experience — whether it’s to the properties or overall experience following a stay at a RedDoorz property. 

RedDoorz is built upon a strong tech solution. We see the future of our business as technology-enabled and technology-driven, in order to sustain future growth.

Can you walk me through the AI features you introduced for your hotel partners? Do you have more such innovations in the pipeline? Do you think new-age technologies like AI and IoT have big roles to play here?

We have introduced RedFox, a dynamic pricing and inventory management tool for revenue optimisation and operational excellence, to our hotel partners. It is a data-driven system that can identify trends by incorporating multiple indicators on user interactions, marketing, and transactional datasets. RedFox also helps in price forecasting by applying a large volume of distributed data, including geography, occupancy rates, profitability, type of day and general seasonal factors, which are related to the time of the day. 

There is a broader scope for AI and IoT, which we’ve been utilising and will continue to invest in to improve our service offering for our hotel partners and consumers alike.

We plan to build our second technology hub in Vietnam to complement the current regional tech hub in India, to further develop technology that can drive business strategies. 

Do you plan to venture into uncharted territories, in terms of introducing new products and solutions to generate more revenue and to remain distinct?

We are looking at penetrating the markets we cover even further, as well as entering new markets in Southeast Asia — a primary focus area for us. We are building upon our deep understanding of the Southeast Asian consumer, to test new product lines and services that will cater to their immediate needs and desires – based on our own data and insights. 

Our main focus is to grow our customer base while retaining their loyalty. Our hotels and rooms offer excellent value-for-money for our customers and we will expand upon the different options available in order to meet their accommodation needs and requirements — this is why we have introduced RedDoorz Plus and RedDoorz Premium

While Oyo has taken an aggressive growth strategy, RedDoorz has always taken a slow and steady approach. Is it a conscious decision to go slow?

What sets us apart is our deep understanding of the Southeast Asian landscape, especially the markets we operate in. Southeast Asia is a highly-fragmented market that takes time to understand. We don’t look at Southeast Asia from a purely macro perspective, but also on a much more “hyper-local” one. Our hyper-local approach sets us apart from our competitors.

We are always looking to expand upon our learnings around social and cultural norms in each of the markets we operate in.

We see it paying off, given that we have attracted new investors while retaining existing investors. Our results of achieving 500,000 occupied room nights in July 2019, and growing five times year-on-year, also show that our approach has been successful. 

In some Southeast Asian markets like Indonesia, you are taking Oyo head-on. How do you plan to sustain growth in these markets? What are your customer acquisition strategies, given Oyo has committed US$200M for Indonesia?

We see competition as a positive thing; it pushes us to grow and offer an added and improved value to win our customers’ hearts and thus sets us apart from them. 

At RedDoorz, we will continue to build a strong relationship with local hospitality owners to refine not only the quality of their properties but also elevate the skills of their on-ground staff through our training and development programs.

What are your inorganic growth plans? Do you see yourself merging with any company or acquiring small players in the future? What are your ultimate aims?

We will remain focused on growing our business within Southeast Asia. We want to the preferred option for affordable hotel accommodation in Southeast Asia by offering high-quality rooms with clean linen and bathrooms, free Wi-Fi, satellite TV, bottled mineral water and the essential toiletries — all as standard — to ensure that those who stay at a RedDoorz property receive best-in-class customer experience. 

What are the current trends in the budget hotels segment in Southeast Asia?

The budget travel and hotel segment in Southeast Asia has seen incredible growth over the past decade and continues to grow.

According to e-Conomy SEA 2018 study by Google-Temasek, online travel is the largest and most established of the four verticals of the internet economy in Southeast Asia, reaching US$30 billion in gross bookings value (GBV) in 2018 and heading towards US$78 billion GBV by 2025.

There will be a surge in independent travel as younger Asians grow more affluent and desire to go on solo trips.

Furthermore, the demand will be driven by a rising middle class that will be 350 million strong by 2022, according to Bain & Co.

Have you ever considered a merge with Oyo? 

No comments.

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Having proven itself as the birthplace of unicorns and even decacorn in e-commerce and ride-hailing verticals, the spotlight is now on Indonesia’s healthtech startups

Back in October 2018, Indonesia’s Minister of Communication and Information Rudiantara mentioned that both healthtech and edutech verticals are set to grow the country’s next unicorn.

The statement is not without credence, considering the country has seen the rise of gojek as a decacorn, and Tokopedia, Traveloka, and Bukalapak all steadily grow at an encouraging pace holding the unicorn status.

“In theory, healthtech has a bigger chance than other tech sectors in Indonesia, considering five per cent of our state budget goes into the health sector,” said Rudiantara during the IdeaFest 2018 event, as reported by Bisnis.com.

Rudiantara also noted that the Indonesian government continues to support the country’s startup, especially by inviting more investors to put money into edutech and healthtech startups.

Whether or not the minister’s prediction will come true, these eight healthtech startups are certainly up for the race.

Medigo

Focussing on the growth in the health service ecosystem, Medigo claimed that it leverages digital technology to build a bridge for basic problems encountered in Indonesia.

Medigo is a platform that assists hospitals and clinics to become connected digitally with patients, standardise manual filings, tackle problems in reference management, and create a more efficient way to connect with insurances, including with the government-aided BPJS.

Also Read: Your cheat sheet to the top-funded healthtech startups in Singapore

Medigo was founded in May 2018 by Harya Bimo, to focus on the issue of interoperability in all levels of healthcare facilities from Puskesmas (local health centre), clinics, to hospitals. There is also inefficiency in accessing medical records for both patients and healthcare providers, along with complicated referencing process between healthcare facilities. Not to mention the manual process required for insurance claims.

To address the problem, Medigo introduces an out-patient management platform for hospitals to manage their polyclinics operations such as registrations, queue, patient slots, and doctors’ schedules through API connection.

For clinics, Medigo provides an integrated clinic management application called Medigo Qlinik, which is aimed towards clinic owners or management to digitise their operations.

It received seed funding from Venturra Discovery, which is the new investment arm of Venturra Capital in April 2019.

Pasienia

Here is another facet of healthtech that is easily overlooked: a social connection. Pasienia, founded by Fadil Wilihandarwo, an alumnus of Gajah Mada University, offers the Android-based app to find and connect with friends who are also going through the same thing.

If the notion seems too much of a melancholy, Google Business Group (GBG) Stories sure did not think so. It was chosen as the champion, beating 468 apps back in April 2017, and given chance to visit Google HQ in Mountainview, Calfornia. The competition itself is an annual entrepreneurs-targeted occasion to encourage business owners to go digital.

Pasienia allows access to two timelines: One for patients to be connected to each other, and one for doctors to consult symptoms directly with doctors online.

Using the app, patients can get information about healthcare and programmes to support the recovery journey. The connection to fellow patients can also help them improve their quality of life.

The company’s currency is undoubtedly the sense of community and companionship and the sharing of information on the basis of solidarity. Something that is refreshingly needed by digital adopters, who easily grow inept to social connection.

PesanLab

PesanLab dubs itself as “the first platform for lab test and medical check-up in Indonesia that gives the customer the ability to make a better decision for their health”.

In 2014, PesanLab began with LabConX, a platform that gathers and analyses data from medical check-up result around Indonesia and processes it into actionable information.

LabConX then added lab testing and medical check-up booking platform in 2015, that came in with a partnership with several local, reputable clinical laboratory to give autonomy to customers to decide the kind of service they want to get. It then changed its name into PesanLab in 2016.

Also Read: A sneak peek into healthtech startups operating in Vietnam

Using the platform, PesanLab customers can book a wide range of services, from a blood test that can be done with home service, to an x-ray test. They can also access the results online. From the other end, medical staff can access a dashboard that enables them to access patients’ data, requested services, and track the payment process.

PesanLab is CEO-ed by Dimas Prasetyo and is a sister company of HaloDoc, gojek’s health collaborator along with medicine delivery startup ApotikAntar. The startup shared with e27 back in August 2016 that it has raised its seed round of funding from undisclosed angel investors.

Homecare24

Homecare24 was established in 2017. It focusses on providing a variety of homecare services, on-demand booking with qualified and certified nurses to ensure the ability to perform emergency medical action if needed. The tech-enabled platform highlighted that its main mission is to “provide healthcare access for all while maintaining nurses’ wellbeing with a dependable career”.

Homecare24 was founded by Theresia Lumban Gaol who is a graduate of the University of Indonesia’s nursing faculty, with co-founders Monica Lumban Gaol and Alexander Horison.

She discovered that the poor quality of healthcare services in Indonesia is related to the meagre wages that nurses are receiving, which may go as low as IDR500,000 (US$37.5) per month in rural areas, Lumban Gaol told e27 in an exclusive interview.

Right now, Homecare24 is available as an Android- and iOS-based mobile app and offers one-hour and eight-hour services, as well as live-in services for the duration of up to one month.

HaloDoc

Among all healthtech startups being mentioned in this article, HaloDoc would be the one with the most development in the past year.

Operating a mobile platform for patients to access doctors consultation, pharmacy delivery as well as home lab services, in March the startup raised US$65 million funding from UOB Ventures. In July, it received another investment from Bill and Melinda Gates foundation.

In the past, HaloDoc made waves after President Joko Widodo mentioned its name as one of the four startups that shape the country’s “digital energy”. In 2017, gojek integrated its Go-Med option with HaloDoc platform, which runs until today.

In total, the startup has raised US$100 million so far.

TeleCTG

TeleCTG described itself as “a simplified CTG device consists of developed hardware and software that is cost- effective, portable, and can directly send the result.” The device aims to provide a more affordable Tele-CTG device that it can fulfil the needs of CTG as a diagnostic device by four to 10 times.

With an affordable device, the company said it has contributed in succeeding the achievement of one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which is lowering the mortality rate of mothers and babies. Such a device can help with accurate and timely diagnosis, as well as better governance to take place.

TanyaDok

TanyaDok allows users to access health information and consultation online with the vision “better health access for all”. It provides health access for the family of Indonesia, in the form of the health community, online doctor Q&A, health articles, healthy living solutions, and referral to suitable health care.

Also Read: In Thailand, these healthtech startups are tackling a wide variety of challenges

Having been around since 2006, TanyaDok has been in operation significantly longer than the other healthtech startups. The company claims that it has over 200 doctors joining its community and has been building awareness about health through its platform, email, and social media.

TanyaDok was started by medical doctor Gregorius Bimantoro, and it was the representative for Indonesia at Echelon 2013, winning the Indonesia Satellite.

AloDokter

AloDokter boasts 18 million monthly active users since it was established in 2014. The startup bases its service on providing understandable and accessible health information in Indonesian.

AloDokter provides integrated medical service from updated content, chat with doctors, online booking platform for consultation, and hospital searches on both web and mobile app.

The company was established in 2014 by Nathanael Faibis after a four-year stint at Lazada and Sanisphere in Vietnam and Jakarta. Faibis sat down with e27 in 2017 shortly after raising its Series B funding by Softbank and Golden Gate Ventures explaining about its fast growth.

AloDokter first raised seed funding in 2015, and steadily fundraised over the next couple of years, with US$2.5 million in Series A funding led by Golden Gate Ventures in 2016 and US$9 million in Series B funding back in 2017.

These eight healthtech players are occupying a hot seat that launches directly into the market needs, given its digital readiness, answering and sorting out problems in Indonesia’s healthcare issues. Whether or not they can emerge as the next unicorn as predicted remains to be answered.

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The e27 Startup Database connects the community to the hottest internet companies in Asia. We encourage startups to visit their profile and regularly update their information.

Image Credit: Ken Treloar on Unsplash

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Analysing the leading e-commerce shopping apps and websites in Singapore as of Q2 2019

The end of H1 2019 marks an important milestone for e-commerce in Singapore as we draw closer to Google & Temasek’s SG$27 billion predictions on the size of the country’s internet economy by the year 2025.

In the same report, Google stated that e-commerce is the most ‘dynamic sector’ in the internet economy, with an expected 18 per cent CAGR growth in less than seven years.

This study was conducted to keep track of the latest developments of the internet economy’s most ‘dynamic sector’ in Singapore and across Southeast Asia’s largest digital markets.

The rapid growing e-commerce companies such as Lazada, Qoo10, Shopee, and Taobao have been deploying strategies to build stronger improvements to provide reliable services for Singapore value-driven shoppers.

Also Read: How analysis paralysis can ruin your productivity and how to stop it

Together with AppAnnie, we have updated our quarterly study Map of E-commerce to picture the most significant developments in e-commerce shopping app via the average of Monthly Active Users (MAU) and downloads.

In addition to this, we also analysed the total average visits (desktop & mobile web) garnered by the top e-commerce platforms in Singapore utilising data by SimilarWeb in Q2 2019.

 

Lazada recorded the highest MAU (mobile app) and the highest total visits (desktop and mobile web) on its website in Q2 2019

According to App Annie Intelligence, Lazada is the most actively used mobile app in Singapore, Q2 2019.

To date, the Alibaba-backed e-commerce company is also the most actively used app in H1 2019 as Lazada ranked 1^st in MAU in the previous quarter as well.

Among the many initiatives, the company implemented that perhaps attributed to its growth was through its “shoppertainment” initiative.

The campaign was launched in conjunction with the company’s rebranding campaign which aimed to uplift the shopper’s experience & empower its sellers in areas such as branding, marketing & sales.

This also benefited Lazada from its website standpoint as it rose to 1^st place as the most visited e-commerce platform in Singapore, garnering an average of 7.5 million visitors in Q2 2019.

From the regional point of view, Lazada’s mobile app is the second-highest most actively used shopping app & is the 2^nd most downloaded e-commerce shopping app in Q2 2019.

While in terms of total visits, Lazada is the second-highest most visited e-commerce website, garnering an average of 174 million visitors (desktop & mobile web) in the same period.

Shopee was the most downloaded mobile e-commerce shopping app in Singapore and garnered more than 2.8 million average visitors

The SEA-backed e-commerce platform was probably the most successful in acquiring new consumers as Shopee was the most downloaded mobile e-commerce shopping application in Singapore in Q2 2019.

The e-commerce company also saw improvements on its website as Shopee saw an increase in traffic by 11 per cent when compared to the previous quarter, garnering more than 2.8 million average visitors in Q2 2019 in Singapore alone.

Also Read: Hong Kong e-commerce analysis shows Alibaba is king of the hill

Among the many initiatives that most likely led to a high number of downloads was the introduction of various entertainment and engagement features in its recent sales event which recently saw an increase in sales up to 75 per cent in its Shopee LIVE initiative.

Shopee’s high number of total downloads was probably driven by marketing initiatives to promote its 7.7 Orange Madness sale which took place on July 2019.

Other incremental updated that possibly assisted in the high number of downloads was the introduction of additional features on its app such as a live streaming feature called “Shopee Live” that enabled sellers to engage with customers in an interactive and attractive manner.

In SEA, the Singapore-based e-commerce company is ranked 1^st as the most actively used mobile e-commerce app & garnered the highest number of total downloads.

In terms of the number of total visits, Shopee is also the most visited e-commerce platform, recorded an average of 200 million visitors on its website.

Qoo10 remained the best Singapore-focused e-commerce platform, recording the second-highest in MAU and is the third most downloaded app in the country

The Singapore-focused e-commerce company remains a strong competitor as one of the top three most actively used app.

The company recorded the second-highest monthly active users, although it only ranked the third most downloaded app – combined iOS and Google Play.

Qoo10 performed consistently against the industry’s unicorns since Q1 2019 and remains as the 2^nd most actively used app in Singapore for H1 2019. The e-commerce company obtained more than 7.1 million average visitors

Additionally, Qoo10 was in a further push of its growth by deepening its localisation strategy to improve consumer’s affinity towards the e-commerce platform.

Commenting on the localisation strategy of Qoo10 Sarah Cheah, an associate professor at the National University of Singapore’s Business School said “They (Qoo10) started off as a local player, they had a certain advantage in familiarity with local consumers and preferences”

Taobao is the most actively used mobile e-commerce shopping app that isn’t tailored for the Singaporean market

Contrasting the localisation strategy of players such as Qoo10, Lazada & Shopee, international mobile e-commerce shopping apps such as Taobao, AliExpress & Amazon were actively used in the Lion City as well.

Currently, the Chinese & American apps rank at 4^th, 7^th & 8^th place respectively.

Apps by Alibaba such as Taobao & AliExpress remained prominent among Singaporean consumers, probably due to the increased popularity of Chinese products and Chinese language proficiency in the country.

A similar story can be seen in the American e-commerce giant, Amazon. The data by App Annie Intelligence suggests that Singaporeans are more engaged on Amazon’s platform as compared to the localised Amazon Prime Now.

Also Read: An industry insiders analysis of Indonesias adtech industry in 2019

This suggests that consumers remained highly interested in products from the United States as compared to products available on its Singapore-localised Amazon Prime Now app.

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A thorough insurance plan is the only protection against unexpected accidents for your startup

A startup needs to be handled with care. While in the middle of the opening, or even working on current concepts, one small mistake can lead to a total meltdown.

Accidents occur, and preventing them is essential, but there is no way to stop some occurrences. You must cover the business property and even go beyond when it comes to liability for your customers.

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

Most startups that fall because of an unsatisfactory insurance policy are surprised when the moment arrives that there is a sum they have to cover themselves.

Do not be that startup.

Every business has certain risks

Startups in any field will have risks which need covering. Depending on the type of business, large machinery will need covered, or protecting customers from accidents on the business’ property. It is entirely dependent on the startup.

Be sure to know the risks in your business, no matter how unlikely they are to occur. Know what is working for one business may not help with the needs of your company.

Anyone who steps on the property, especially visiting clients have the potential to suffer an injury, and the company will be held accountable.

The responsibility a business has to its employees is also essential when it comes to what aspects need to be covered if the company has them.

Your company becomes liable for the employees as soon as they are hired. So, be sure to have your policy in place before adding employees, since the premiums will change drastically.

Liability does not only extend to bodily harm but breaching private data is a risk in most businesses. When you hold client information, their data is protected under the law, so the startup is liable for any web hacks.

Also Read: Implications and solutions for Big Data in insurance

This was not such a big issue in the past, but now since most businesses have an online presence, it is becoming an insurable aspect of a business.

There is more than one type of insurance

Having thorough coverage of the startup reflects your knowledge of the different types of small business insurance. Specific insurances will only cover certain circumstances, and the number of people or vehicles are variant, as well.

There is a general liability and professional liability. These two insurances are not interchangeable.

General liability will cover losses from theft, damage, and be a broad coverage amount for bodily injury. Professional liability is the company’s protection against being sued or servicing people because of errors and omissions.

It is always smart to protect the business you run, even if you do not think of the option of ever being sued.

Policy and claims loopholes are everywhere

Claim amounts do not always align with what is covered in your policy. Always look for the small details, so no price gap will come from the pockets of the startup.

There is gap insurance, which is an extra precaution covering any amount after your liability coverage.

Some insurances have specific items they cover. Even if you think something is covered, always double-check within the policy.

Also Read: Can your data actually be anonymous?

This is true for every aspect of happenstance that could occur. For example, if the company’s area has large amounts of hurricanes, water damage needs special insurance care.

Any coverage dispute is a hassle

Even if you have a good case, and you are sure your startup will win the dispute with the insurance process, it is still long and tedious.

Avoid even getting to this point by having a perfect amount of insurance for your scaling business. The dispute will take a lot of time to be settled and will be an added hassle for running a business.

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It is essential that companies adopt new performance appraisal strategies to meet their business requirements in the current scenario

Employee performance appraisals are very integral to organisations to increase employee productivity and business results.

Although employee performance appraisals are very crucial, they are rarely done the right way. It is essential that companies adopt new performance appraisal strategies to meet their business requirements in the current scenario.

At times, performance appraisals do not give the strategic outcome of the business. 

This is because they are often very past-oriented and do the minimal towards improving employee competencies. In addition to that, performance appraisals are confined to a standard procedure to evaluate employee competencies.

Let us begin by defining performance appraisals. Performance appraisals are usually an annual process that mostly seeks to evaluate an employee’s performance against a set of objectives.  

Also Read: How to be an effective manager in 2019

Performance appraisals help in evaluating an employee’s skills and competencies and determine salary revisions and promotions.

However, conventional methods of conducting appraisals have limitations in terms of following an operational framework evaluating an employee’s performance in the past rather than discussing what is needed in the future. In this article, let us discuss some of the ways in which we can improve the way performance appraisals are conducted: 

Set clear goals and objectives 

One of the reasons why performance appraisals don’t work sometimes is because they are contingent upon goals that are not set.

When you are conducting performance appraisals, including SMART goals can do wonders because they serve as guidelines for employees so that they know what is expected out of them. Employees will be able to prioritise their tasks accordingly and can make their own decisions based on the requirements. 

Moreover, setting SMART goals ensures the smooth flow of performance appraisals. This is because clear goals set the groundwork for managers and employees, and they will be able to work based on mutual understanding and review performance objectively.

Lastly, it is always beneficial when you tie your employee goals with business objectives because then employees will have something to strive for. The focus here is not just performance reviews but achieving the strategic outcome of the business. 

Continuous feedback 

Feedback is vital to every business. Feedback needs to be continuous and ongoing because that way, managers will be able to handle the team properly.

Constant feedback is pivotal because it motivates the employee to do his best to achieve the strategic outcomes of the business. Constant feedback is essential because it helps the employee understanding if he is proceeding on the right track. With continuous feedback, it is easier for managers to give constructive feedback. 

In addition to that, employees will be able to analyse their strengths and weaknesses and enhance themselves to suit the needs of the business.

Also Read: How technology can make the HR department more productive

But this will work only if the organisation has a positive culture where continuous feedback is given significant weight. It is always better to train your employees on how to give and receive feedback so that it eliminates the biases and fears that accompany performance appraisals.  

Not only that, including continuous feedback in performance appraisals will minimise the gaps and inaccuracies in employee performance. 

Automated performance reviews 

Isn’t it tiresome when your employees have worked tirelessly, and at the end of the year, they feel like they have not been evaluated properly? Moreover, performance appraisals that are conducted once a year tend to create anxiety among employees because they are not prepared for it.

Therefore, to eliminate that fear and anxiety, it is only better if performance reviews are conducted in a periodic fashion, let’s say on a monthly or a quarterly basis. Well then at least, your employees can view their progress and prepare themselves for the next appraisal cycle. 

This is only possible if you partner your performance appraisals with technology that can automate the process for you. Companies can invest in performance management software, that will help automate performance appraisals for them.

This is a good option because then companies will be able to nurture the performance of the employees with continuous development. Not only that, it saves a lot of time and money and minimises the administrative burdens of HR. So, no more excel sheets…YAYY… 

Employee self-development 

Performance appraisals are meaningful only when there is scope for employees to develop themselves and grow. There was a time when managers would go over the past performance records of the employees and send out appraisal letters.

But little do they realise that performance appraisals are not just meant to look at the performance of the employee objectively, but is tied to the strategic intention of the business. To fulfil this strategic outcome, it is essential that employees are improving themselves continually. 

We must realise that employee development is tied to the growth of the organisation. Your employee performance appraisals are meaningful only when you incorporate employee developmental plans.

This results in better employee productivity. What you could do is in terms of understanding the needs of the employee after the appraisal cycle. Managers can create developmental plans according to the specific professional requirements of the employees. 

Rewards and recognition 

Appraisals need to provide the opportunity for managers to recognise the employees for the work that they do. Managers must ensure that employees feel valued for their contributions.

Also Read: How OKR training for managers can create a more realistic approach to learning

After an appraisal, managers can offer rewards in terms of bonuses and salary hikes to the employees who have performed well. Managers can always show their recognition of employee’s work by sending them notes of appreciation and expressing gratitude.  

Now, this form of appreciation does not have to be necessarily financial, but if managers give their sincere acknowledgement of an employee’s work, then it becomes a huge step towards maintaining employee engagement.  

Conclusion 

When it comes to performance appraisals, obviously there is no one size that fits all, but you can use some of the above-mentioned strategies to effectively conduct performance appraisals and actively engage your employees.

The key here is to build that trust and transparency with your employees. So, what kind of strategies do you have in mind? 

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These vital business tools can serve as guides to improve the processes of starting your business

The business ecosystem has been bustling with new life as more people are increasingly empowered to start their businesses.

With mentoring and funding initiatives rolled out by various institutions, fuelled together by strong global government support, many new start-ups have entered the market in recent years.

However, as any experienced entrepreneur knows, the market is a brutal place that requires strategic thinking and tactical actions for survival.

While many entrepreneurs rely on supportive parties as lifelines for advice and funding, it is simply not sufficient in the long run. Being equipped with the right business tools gives businesses a weapon that can be used to gain clarity and direction for proper decision-making.

There are three business tools, underused by businesses today, that can serve as methods to improve business ideas and to enhance decision-making models.

Project Portfolio Matrix (PPM)

The PPM aims to classify different projects based on their contribution to strategic goals. Various factors are used to compare plans to one another for prioritisation, allowing for capacity management and more efficient resource allocation.

Some common PPM factors include Importance vs Feasibility, Value vs Cost, Net Present Value vs Technical Success.

By classifying projects based on two important factors, businesses can make better decisions on which projects they should take up, together with the required resources to be allocated.

A meaningful PPM is constructed through intentional steps of planning, organising, leading and controlling.

Also Read: 10 must have online tools for small business owners

Using PPM effectively can help a business in three ways:

Capacity Management: Prioritising important projects to achieve strategic goals

Resource Waste: Preventing excessive resource allocation to projects

Project Cannibalisation: Removing projects that do not align with strategic goals

This increases the effectiveness and efficiency of operations in achieving organisational goals.

Morphological box

The Morphological Box is a tool for generating creative solutions to existing products or problems. It breaks down a problem into different attributes, creating multiple options for each attribute to derive a large number of whole solutions for evaluation.

Understanding the different options for each attribute allows for more opportunities for solutions, making brainstorming more effective. It is instrumental when tackling complex problems that are too big for typical brainstorming tools.

Despite its simplicity, this is a tedious process meant to expand the number of solutions available for selection. Cross-functional teams with specialised expertise should be included in the process to give their expert opinions on relevant attributes to ensure the feasibility of the final solution.

However, it can be rewarding with alternative solutions being generated simultaneously to save resources in the future. When brainstorming for product solutions, it may also provide options for new products and variants.

Scamper

In this increasingly competitive economy, where intellectual property (IP) rights are being challenged every day and new solutions are created to supersede the old. Businesses must constantly reinvent to even maintain their market share.

Scamper tackles seven aspects of a product or service to challenge the usefulness of existing characteristics. Regularly questioning existing solutions pushes businesses to keep their solutions relevant to target customers, preventing competitors from swooping away customers.

Entrepreneurs seeking to keep their products competitive in the market must look and rethink how their solution can be continuously improved and built upon.

Using data gathered from customers and employees through feedback channels can serve as valuable input into the scamper model to create a product that satisfies customers. Scamper can also be used by new businesses looking to enter a market to relook at their Go-To-Market (GTM) strategy.

Also Read: From top trends to new tools, here are five articles to help improve your product

Conclusion

Entrepreneurs and management teams are often focused on bringing their product to the market, without focusing sufficiently on how.

The fundamental objectives of business operations are to maximise efficiency and effectiveness when bringing solutions to the market.

These can serve as guides to improve processes and products to reduce costs, increase customer satisfaction and promote organisational creativity. 

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Up until last week, these fintech startups have made some of the biggest funding rounds in 2019

Within the Southeast Asian region, Singapore has always been seen as the hotbed of fintech innovation due to the opportunities it has and the support that is given by its government. For example, the government has recently announced a Sandbox Express initiative that supports faster market testing for financial firms’ products and services.

It is not surprising to see many fintech startups thriving in the country. In fact, the e27 startup database revealed that there are at least 400 companies listed that are working in the finance sector.

Many of these startups have also raised more than US$10 million early- and growth-stage funding. We have gone through more than half of the year and discovered four of the most notable funding rounds in fintech in Singapore.

The following is a list of those funding rounds:

Bambu
Funding: US$10M Series B (July 2019)
Investor(s): Franklin Templ​eton, PEAK6 Strategic Capital

Bambu, a Singapore-based startup providing digital wealth technology for B2B businesses across the globe, plans to use the new funding to reach a wider B2B audience.

StashAway
Funding: US$12M Series B (July 2019)
Investor(s): Eight Roads Ventures, Asia Capital & Advisors

StashAway, a robo-advisor for both retail and accredited investors, wants to use the new funding to support product development and Asia Pacific expansion plan.

Also Read: All women-led fintech startup VESL wins She Loves Tech Philippines 2019

YouTrip
Funding: US$25.5M Pre-Series A (May 2019)
Investor(s): “major Asian family offices”, Insignia Venture Partners

Singapore’s first multi-currency mobile wallet YouTrip will use the funding to drive the development of YouTrip’s technical payment infrastructure, to launch of new product features, and proceed with its regional expansion plans in Southeast Asia.

Credit Culture
Funding: US$29.5 million
Investor(s): RCE Capital Berhad

Credit Culture is a Singapore-based fintech startup that is among the six entities selected for a pilot by the Ministry of Law. This funding is meant to build its operational capability.

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The e27 Startup Database connects the community to the hottest internet companies in Asia. We encourage startups to visit their profile and regularly update their information.

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