The public bank’s VC arm signs MoU with the P2P lending fintech for the agriculture sector to support microloans

Mandiri Capital Indonesia (MCI), the corporate venture capital of Bank Mandiri Indonesia, announces that it has led the US$1 million Pre-Series A funding for agriculture-focussed P2P lending startup Crowde, as reported by DailySocial. Along with the funding, Mandiri also participates as an institutional lender for credit loans through Crowde for US$7.1 million.

CEO MCI Eddi Danusaputro said that the VC chose to invest in Crowde because it fits what the bank was looking for as well as its mission statement. Mandiri also revealed that it currently aims to increase the productivity in credit loans for SMEs, especially the credit microloan.

Crowde was deemed feasible because it focusses on productive sectors such as agriculture, fishery, and commerce.

MCI also confirms that it will soon lead to another funding in a company that also focusses on financial management.

Also Read: Aiming to add 4 new startups, Mandiri Capital Indonesia targets insurtech, investment management sectors

“We tend to back startups in Series A, but we made an exception for Crowde because of its capacity in fulfilling Mandiri’s needs,” Danusaputro added.

Crowde CEO Yohanes Sugihtononugroho said that Crowde will use the funding to build the farmer-supporting technology as the company believes that there is not much segmentation in the agriculture-related technology in the country.

“Our focus will remain to reach to more farmers by building technology that can be used by Indonesian farmers,” said Sugihtononugroho.

The Pre-Series A funding round of Crowde is still ongoing as the company said it still looks for other strategic investors to come aboard. The number of funding it seeks to raise remains undisclosed.

Mandiri’s credit loan to Crowde will allow the company to reference a potential creditor to join the selection process and to determine the loan for each potential creditor.

Also Read: Mandiri Capital Indonesia prepares fresh funds for 4 startups this year

Based on the selection process, Mandiri will process the credit loan application with a maximum accessible platform of US$14,000.

Up until August 2019, Mandiri reportedly has issued a micro-credit loan for US$1.7 billion to Indonesian SMEs. Crowde, on the other hand, has backed almost 17,000 low and middle-class farmers in Java, Sumatera, and Eastern Indonesia by issuing US$6.4 million in credit loans.

Crowde’s previous investors include Gree Ventures, Crevisse Ventures, and “local, prominent” angel investors.

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Image Credit: Colin Watts on Unsplash

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When it comes to employees, you can’t expect the best of the best unless you provide the best of the best

Attracting awesome employees to your company is one of the most effective methods in bolstering your business’ standing in a competitive marketplace, yet countless budding entrepreneurs and established business owners have little to no idea where to begin when it comes to heightening their workforce.

While offering lucrative benefits to attract particularly amazing employees can be expensive, it’s ultimately worthwhile, as it will produce results in the form of stellar human capital that enables your company to please more customers while using fewer resources.

Here are 5 benefits to attract awesome employees to your business, and why it’s so important to reward good workers if you want them to stick around for long.

Preventative dental benefits will pay off – literally

Many businesses discovered long ago that offering excellent health insurance is essential if you want to avoid legal calamities and sick workforces alike, yet far too few entrepreneurs and business owners are willing to include dental coverage in their existing employee health insurance regimes.

In many instances, however, preventative dental benefits will pay off, in some cases by literally saving you more money than they cost.

Better oral care generally mitigates the number of employee claims that are made in the first place, for instance, so don’t dismiss the cost-benefit factor of good dental coverage when mulling your existing health insurance plan.

Keep your fleet in good shape

Attracting awesome employees is easier if you have excellent fleet insurance, but even those companies that don’t actually manage corporate fleets can still benefit from offering car insurance options to their workforce.

This is because your workers are humans who need to commute to and from your office every day, an unfortunate fact which is often complicated by inclement weather, poor driving conditions, and traffic. Your employees will be in much better shape to show up to work happily and healthily if you offer them ideal vehicle insurance rates that keep them driving safe cars.

This is why car title loans in Moreno Valley have been growing in popularity lately, but businesses everywhere can benefit by helping their employees afford safe affordable vehicles. Businesses with huge investments in their workforce should pay particular attention to what kinds of vehicles their top workers drive, as dangerous cars or motorcycles could deprive them of life or limb.

Ensure you have a flexible work schedule

A cost-free benefit that companies can consider is a flexible work schedule, which can go a long way in ensuring you get ideal candidates by giving them freedom.

Some old-school entrepreneurs believe that certain working hours are ideal for productivity, but it is a simple matter of fact that some workers perform better at different hours.

Also Read: 8 ways to kill your employees; productivity

It may thus be perfectly reasonable to permit some employees to work nights while allowing others to maintain traditional hours. Or employees might leave your workforce to join another, more accommodating one.

Give them a retirement promise

Businesses actively working towards recruiting younger workers should try to consider the needs of younger workers. This may seem logical, but many older professionals who haven’t had to fret about entry-level marketplace concerns can easily dismiss the needs of younger professionals they’re trying to recruit.

One concern many youthful professionals have these days is retirement, with many young citizens being deeply concerned about when they can retire.

Recent surveys indicate that broad swathes of youthful workers are determined to retire early – if you can expedite that desire by offering ideal rewards packages for long-term service, you can rope these excellent job candidates into your workforce while they’re still young, healthy, and eager to be productive.

Don’t ignore worker wellness

Finally, one of the cheapest yet most effective means of bolstering your workforce by attracting awesome employees is considering the wellness of those under your employ. Oftentimes, mental wellbeing and everyday wellness are shunned in the workplace as being topics unsuitable for professional discussion.

In reality, the wellness of your workers should be one of your primary concerns, as failing to make them comfortable guarantees your workplace will soon become dysfunctional.

Also Read: How workplace mentoring can help employees achieve their goals

Health and wellness programs are essential, so don’t be afraid to offer healthy foods, exercise programs, and discounted athletic programs to workers. A workforce that remains in shape and loves healthy food is coincidentally one that doesn’t have many health problems, either, so you’re really investing in your workforce’s long-term vibrancy by spending on short-term wellness needs.

Keep these 5 benefits in mind during your next recruitment drive, and you will be roping in some of the most awesome employees in no time.

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Image Credit:Nastuh Abootalebi

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In addition to Go-Viet, we also have updates from the Indian government, OVO, and Crowde

Go-Viet general manager to leave the company in October – Deal Street Asia

Go-Viet, the Vietnam-based affiliation of Indonesian ride-hailing giant gojek, today announced the departure of general manager Christy Le, Deal Street Asia reported.

The company stated that the general manager, who was appointed in April, will step down starting next months. It does not name any replacement.

A former Vietnam country director at Facebook and COO at wearables company Misfit, Le was appointed after the former management of Go-Viet, including its CEO and CTO, resigned over a reported operational dispute.

“We always work hard to find a mutually agreeable way forward, but were unable to do so in this instance, so we wish her the best in her future endeavours,” Go-Viet commented.

India cuts corporate tax rate for local companies – Bloomberg

India’s finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that tax on all domestic companies will be lowered to 22 per cent from the current base rate of 30 per cent, Bloomberg reported.

The effective new rate will be 25.2 per cent including all additional levies and is applicable only for companies.

This cut will lead India to have one of the lowest corporate tax rates in Asia while providing a more than US$20 billion boost to revive economic growth from a six-year low.

New companies formed from October 1 will attract a base tax rate of 15 per cent and effective rate of 17.01 per cent.

Also Read: Go-Viet, Go-Jek’s international debut, officially launches in Vietnam

Indonesia’s Crowde raises US$1M in ongoing Pre-Series A funding round – e27

Mandiri Capital Indonesia (MCI), the corporate venture capital of Bank Mandiri Indonesia, today announced that it has led the US$1 million Pre-Series A funding for agriculture-focussed P2P lending startup Crowde.

Along with the funding, Mandiri also participates as an institutional lender for credit loans through Crowde for US$7.1 million.

Crowde will use the funding to build its farmer-supporting technology.

OVO appoints Karaniya Dharmasaputra as President Director – e27

PT Visionet Internasional (OVO), an Indonesia-based digital, rewards, and financial services platform, has appointed Karaniya Dharmasaputra as President Director to succeed Adrian Suherman, who led the company for three years.

Karaniya Dharmasaputra is co-founder and CEO of Bareksa, an integrated online mutual fund marketplace in Indonesia, and the Co-Founder and Chairman of Indonesia Fintech Association (Aftech).

Dharmasaputra’s previous stints include positions in local leading media companies such as KOMPAS TV, KapanLagi Youniverse, Liputan6.com, The Jakarta Post, VIVA, and Tempo.

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Image Credit: Go-Viet

The post Today’s top tech news, Sept 20: Go-Viet general manager to leave in October appeared first on e27.

Elite Trafford Global Equity Fund offers investors exposure to companies that have strong long-term fundamentals but are being undervalued by the market

Singapore-based alternative asset management firm Elite Partners Capital has launched a new equity fund, which aims to provide investors with the opportunity to invest in undervalued equities with strong long-term fundamentals.

Called Elite Trafford Global Equity Fund, it has already raised more than US$20 million, with a target of US$200 million, according to a press release.

The fund will primarily target high net-worth individuals qualifying as Accredited Investors under MAS guidelines.

Also Read: MatchMove acquires stake in P2P lender MoolahSense to strengthen its SME financing capabilities

The fund offers investors exposure to companies that have strong long-term fundamentals but are being undervalued by the market – depressed by short-term negative factors. The fund will hold concentrated positions in these undervalued companies with a two to five year investment horizon.

Due to the time required for its investment strategy to play out, the fund is suitable for investors who are seeking long term capital appreciation and understand the risks involved in investing in such an equity fund.

Lai Zehan, Portfolio Director of the Fund, said: “Rather than trading on market sentiments, the Elite Trafford Global Equity Fund seeks to invest in companies that have strong fundamentals which can carry them through unpredictable market conditions and a slowing global economy.”

Victor Song, CEO of Elite, said: “The Elite Trafford Global Equity Fund will provide investors exposure to discounted but high-value equities which will yield above-market returns.”

The post Singapore-based Elite Partners’s new US$200M fund to invest in undervalued firms appeared first on e27.

Regulations are leading innovation in Bahrain, says Bahrain investor an technologist

Singapore is the startup hub for not just the Southeast Asian region but all of Asia, undoubtedly. With its technological sophistication, standardised regulation; it has attracted startup founders and VC’s alike. But the tiny island nation has its physical limitations and ranks as the most expensive country in the world to live in, from time to time.

And a tiny island with an equally affluent standard of living is inching towards becoming a technology hub like its eastern cousin, Singapore. Bahrain in recent years has been building its own financial technology hub to cultivate a vibrant startup ecosystem. Be it the regulatory sandbox or Temasek-like Tamkeen, Bahrain is heavily inspired by Singapore in powering itself as a startup incubator.

CEO of Almoayed Technologies– a privately-owned investment and digital infrastructure provider, gives us a lowdown on potential business development opportunities Bahrain presents to Southeast Asians tech startups. A technologist at heart, Abdulla Almoayed established Almoayed Technologies in 2016 with a clear vision to drive and accelerate the MENA region’s digital transformation and become a world-leading technology investment company.

How is the start-up scene brewing up in Bahrain?

In Bahrain, enabling and supporting start-ups is a core focus and priority of the government. The government is creating a system that supports start-ups and innovation, through embracing innovative minds and solutions, in addition to programmes which help upskill local talent. The government has also streamlined processes to make it easier for start-ups anywhere in the nation to create value propositions that address Bahrain’s development needs. For us, because we may have started a little bit later, it has allowed us to learn from other markets and companies and implement ideas that worked while avoiding some of the mistakes that others made.

How is the government facilitating this boom?

The Bahrain government has taken on numerous initiatives including launching a platform called StartUp Bahrain. It is a single source for startups to receive all the information they need, including a consolidated calendar of events and meetups, both large scale (like Unbound) and smaller meet-and-greets and fireside chats. It also gives startups direct access to accelerators, incubators and VCs to learn about the opportunities there. Additionally, the government labour fund (Tamkeen) works closely to enhance the startup ecosystem, through training initiatives and certification programmes to upskill the local community.

Tamkeen also co-invests in startups through incubators like Brinc and Flat6Labs. There is also a growing cross-border collaboration between Bahrain and its neighbouring countries, with the government providing mentorship on how start-ups can navigate these opportunities, and export our technologies. For example, the Export Bahrain initiative by the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Tourism supports any entrepreneur and start-up by hand-holding its operations in order to enable export capabilities.

So once you are in Bahrain, not only do you get support from incubation all the way to acceleration to attain growth, but when you arrive at the growth stage and are looking for neighbouring countries to penetrate, the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Tourism practically rolls out the red carpet for you and hand-holds you throughout the entire process.

What lessons did they borrow from Singapore and Southeast Asia?

Bahrain has always looked at Singapore as a reference point when it comes to fintech adoption. Historically, Bahrain, just like Singapore, has always been bold, and a pioneer in the world of financial services. The Central Bank of Bahrain has a history of being one of the first in the region to initiate Islamic banking, and as we see it being replicated in well-articulated and well-studied initiatives, we are taking away learnings from these markets to ensure that the infrastructure in Bahrain remains robust.

A lot of these learnings were taken from Singapore as well. For example, the regulatory sandbox, the processes for which companies are screened, and the collaboration of the Global Financial Innovation Network (GFIN) initiative where regulators are speaking to each other to potentially get passporting capabilities for Singapore companies to come to Bahrain, and vice versa. So, we are very excited about what is going on in Singapore and are constantly watching and learning.

Also read: What Singapore entrepreneurs can learn from Thailand’s energised ecosystem

Can Singapore and Bahrain coexist?

Although Bahrain is smaller in scale compared to Singapore, Bahrain has the ability to pilot a project and scale it up to Singapore, owing to the close ties and collaboration across the governments. This creates a beautiful corridor of opportunity for collaboration between Bahrain and Singapore. Doing business in Singapore is a lot like doing business in Bahrain as a foreigner: 100 percent ownership rights across most business activities,  hand-holding opportunities where the government invites and supports you. Bahrain is in itself an incubator with the ability to test ideas while supporting a lower-cost lifestyle but lack of awareness is probably its major shortfall.

Can Bahrain supersede Singapore?

While we will never be able to match up in scale, I think Bahrain can match up to Singapore in terms of innovation pace, and adoption of regulations. Bahrain can match up is with the initiation of Team Bahrain– a public-private sector initiative that collaborates on innovative solutions to improve the investment landscape. With a simple phone call, people are able to reach key decision-makers to discuss issues and ideas, and that is something that really allows the Kingdom to accelerate regulations and embrace new technologies. In Bahrain, we are really being led by regulations at the moment, and regulations are leading innovation here.

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Image credit: Todd Gardner on Unsplash

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