In his presentation about the factors that help the South Korean startup ecosystem to thrive, Startup Alliance Managing Director Jung Wook Lim mentioned “the growing number of aggressive venture investors” as one of them.

In fact, Big Hit Entertainment, the entertainment company behind K-pop giant BTS, is one of those venture-backed companies, despite not being in the tech industry.

“In the last five years, VC investment in South Korea has doubled over US$3 billion. By 2014, there are only 901 VC-backed companies in the country. But by 2018, the number has grown to 1,400,” Jung Wook Lim explained in the presentation.

The managing director also explained that today there are more than 200 local VC firms operating in the country. Even foreign investors are making considerable success in the market; for example, Altos Ventures have four unicorns under their belt.

He pointed out that prominent entrepreneurs in South Korean tech ecosystem are transforming to become angel investors or partners at venture capital (VC) firms, leading to a transfer of knowledge and a continuity in the ecosystem.

Also Read: Singapore-based fintech startup M-DAQ raises funding from Samsung, bringing cross-border payments to South Korea

In addition to aggressive VC investment, the success of the ecosystem was also attributed to other factors such as strong governmental support, the emergence of startup communities, an influx of capable talents, and warm receptions from local Millennial customers.

In addition to having talents with overseas experience in major corporations or research firms, South Korea also recorded the highest increase in the number of women entrepreneurs over the past year. Notable women founders in the South Korean startup ecosystem included Kyungmi Suh of LinkShops, Mikyun Kim of cizion as well as Mihee Kim and Kyunghee Choi of tutoring.

This notable achievement was reported in the Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs 2019.

The presentation was given at the opening of K-Startup Week ComeUp 2019, held in Seoul on November 27-29, 2019.

The event was hosted by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, Korea Institute of Start-up and Entrepreneurship Development, and the country’s private startup ecosystem.

Also Read: South Korea’s Shinhan GIB invests in Bukalapak, pushing its valuation past US$2.5B

It was meant to gather startups, investors, entrepreneurs, media, and the general public in one place to provide an effective occasion for industry networking.

The event stated that it was attended by 15,000 startups and 60 speakers from 30 countries.

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Christine Ayroso also contributed to the writing of this article.

Image Credit: K-Startup Week 2019 ComeUp

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According to the World Health Organization’s data, 15 per cent of the world’s population has a disability, which makes Southeast Asia carves a whopping number of 90 million people with disabilities.

The problem with the numbers is that to this day, many members of the disabled community still feel excluded from society. In Indonesia, for example, has become one of the leading countries in the region when it comes to disability inclusion, as the recently re-elected President Jokowi has put emphasis on a few times in his governance planning.

Quoted in Tempo, the near future plan that tries to include Indonesian people with disabilities is the launch of a systematic map for inclusive health service aimed at people with disabilities, targeted from next year to 2024. The map seeks to distribute the disability-friendly healthcare that is accessible, affordable, and empowering people with disability.

However, even with the planning at hand, it’s still not significant in really supporting those living with a disability.

One of the many ways to create a more inclusive society is by educating the public and facilitating the people living with disabilities to live in the state of normality. We’ve gone around the region and found eight startups that leverage their technology access and background to create inclusion and to provide it fast, faster than the government’s often delayed agenda.

Kerjabilitas, Indonesia

Kerjabilitas is a wordplay of “kerja” and “abilitas”, which means work and ability in English. In its interview with Gov Insider Asia, the startup described itself as “a digital startup working to create accessible job opportunities for people with disabilities”.

The startup was founded by Rubby Emir, who is the CEO of Kerjabilitas. He mentioned his own experience growing up with a sister who had learning difficulties as the inspiration behind the startup.

In 2014, the startup proposed the idea to Ciptamedia Selular, a Ford Foundation-funded programme for tech-based social projects and it ended up winning a prize and received a grant of US$52,000 to develop the initiative.

Also Read: Batam’s TOP100 winner is on a mission to destigmatise disabilities

Kerjabilitas designs its platform to be compatible with screen readers in a way that allows visually impaired people to read the screen with a text-to-speech output. It also provides special icons and symbols which are easier to understand for people who have hearing impairments.

It also offers Disability Accessible Job Search feature where users can search for and apply to vacancies based on their type of disability and needs. It also caters to the skill building area by providing a feature called Career Online Course where people with disabilities can seek career advice via its blogs, e-books, and podcast series.

Kerjabilitas noted that the interest in recruiting people with disabilities in the workforce remains low. What it does is finding potential companies by looking at the type of jobs and the nature of the companies.

Parakerja, Indonesia

If Kerjabilitas is a job seeking a platform that champions empowerment for people with disabilities, Parakerja focusses on the job training and preparation.

Parakerja’s mission is to “help job seekers with disabilities overcome obstacles to become well-functioning workers in the professional world”.

The company’s platform was launched in June 2018, after starting as a traditional school for special needs students. It provides a vocational curriculum in areas like culinary, hospitality, entrepreneurship, and automotive.

Besides training, it also provides job seeker services such as certification, work placement, and consultation.

Recently, the company managed to claim the Judges’ Choice title in e27’s Echelon Asia Summit 2019.

Difalink, Indonesia

Previously known as Diffago, this Bali-based startup also focusses on facilitating people with disabilities access to jobs and better mobility.

It connects job seekers with disabilities to employers and assists employers from the beginning of the recruiting process until the end. What differs from the previous two is that it also helps people with disabilities to mobility aids providers.

In the interview with e27, Difalink’s founder Ni Komang Ayu Suriani, or Suri, shared about how people on the disabled spectrum are still overlooked in Indonesia. She decided to form Diffago in 2017 and run it full time since last year.

Initially, Diffago was meant to only provide people with disabilities the chance to get financial help through the crowdfunding system.

Also Read: 6 social enterprises that want to change the world

But then, it decided to pivot into an all-in-one solution platform, dedicated to helping people with disabilities according to what they need. The company did so after being a part of an incubator program called Rise Inc Unlimited with Instellar.

It now provides users with access to education by opening up individual crowdfunding, conducts training based on the highly needed skills, and helps people with disabilities to get a secure job. It leverages on companies’ Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR) to fund the programme it has.

(these)abilities, Singapore

(these)abilities is a design and technology company that uses designing & building products to provide equal chances for people with disabilities at work, at home, and during play.

The company provides high and low tech products that are designed together with people with disabilities and with design thinking as well as community engagement put into account, targeted at the public.

Its main mission according to its website is to put an end to unequal life lived by people with disabilities by providing technology that is affordable and accessible, reintegration, involvement in effective problem solving, as well as humane education about the needs of people with disabilities.

The disciplines the startup covers are design, engineering, computer science, and community engagement.

Enabled, Singapore

Through its platform, Enabled Singapore provides disability inclusion education and consultancy to government bodies, educational institutions, and corporate companies.

The social enterprise is led by professionals with lived experience of disability, all together as a part of a global team with members in Australia and Germany.
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As the website states, the company that was founded by Mano Karan believes that society needs to move on from the mentality that ‘disability’ is a hand me out or charity case into a social and economy-driven society.

Embodied Sensing, Singapore

Embodied Sensing Pte. Ltd. is another Singapore-based social enterprise that was established in 2014. As a product design firm, it specialises in inclusive/assistive technologies, wireless sensors, and IoT devices.

Embodied Sensing is known for its product called Knoctify, a smart notification device for the deaf that lights up whenever a visitor knocks on the door and can be put in a vibrate mode so it can notify people who are sleeping. It can also alert people of incoming messages on their phones.

Hapticus, Singapore

Focussing on the efficiency of transportation, Hapticus seeks to help people with disabilities by building a virtual transportation hub that caters to the navigation needs of people with special needs in major metropolitan areas.

The app helps drivers navigate to the correct address and inform the rider if they are delayed because of something like a traffic jam.

As a Singapore-based mobility solutions technology company, Hapticus’ system, comprises of a set of mobile and web applications, matches adequate transportation options with the specific user’s mobility needs.

Enablecode, Vietnam

A Vietnamese software company, Enablecode’s goal is to transform the Vietnamese perception of people with disabilities by employing computing experts who are not as physically able as the majority of society

Established in 2014, the Ho Chi Minh City-based company said that if specialises in complex custom web application development, and offers all aspects of innovative, creative, complex web design, including graphic layout, custom coding, advanced functionality, and SEO.

Also Read: This Bali-based startup wants to create a more inclusive life for people with disabilities

Quoting Emir, the founder of Kerjabilitas, in its Gov Insider Asa’s piece: “The biggest challenge is to increase the awareness of society since the knowledge and awareness of disability issues in Indonesia is still quite low. This results in the low number of vacancies available for people with disabilities.”

“Many of our existing partners still see this initiative as charity or as a channel for their own corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes. They do not yet see this as business-as-usual because they have yet to consider people with disabilities as an asset for their companies, in the same way, they see their other employees. We feel that as a society, we still have a long way to go on this issue,” he added.

While these eight startups might be a small start to more included future for people with disabilities, all of them continue to carry the values and become a beacon of knowledge for society to be more accepting, and to the people living with disabilities, a hope for empowered future.
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Photo by 张 学欢 on Unsplash

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Media spend has grown exponentially – especially so in the Asia Pacific, where digital ad expenditure constituted 46 per cent of total expenses in 2018 and is set to rise to 55.1 per cent by 2022, according to eMarketer.

On the flip side, the lucrativeness of the industry, coupled with the relative ease in which nefarious players can get away scot-free, has unfortunately made adland very arable for fraudsters.

To put it in perspective: the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) predicted that ad fraud would grow to become the second biggest organised crime enterprise within the next decade, pipped to the top spot only by the global drugs trade.

More recently, the industry has been left reeling by the dismantling of 3ve – a massive botnet operation that infected at least 1.7 million computers with malware, generating high volumes of fake traffic.

As many as 60,000 fake accounts were created to swindle money from marketing campaigns. The fraudsters also hijacked IP addresses at corporations, redirecting them to their own servers.

Over four years, 3ve is thought to have collectively defrauded brands and businesses out of millions in advertising dollars through various fraud networks, with the biggest among these costing businesses US$29 million in ad spend.

These are staggering numbers, but relative to the US$34 billion lost to ad fraud globally in 2018, and US$17 million lost to ad fraud in APAC on a daily basis, it’s a drop in the ocean.

And as fraudulent practices become increasingly sophisticated to evade detection, we’re likely to uncover many more 3ves, while more sophisticated operations continue to go under the radar.

The vulnerabilities of Southeast Asia’s startups

The digital behaviours of Southeast Asian people put it especially at risk.

According to eMarketer, all markets in the region saw the mobile ad spend grow by at least 50 per cent in 2018.

This, along with high mobile penetration growth rates in the Philippines (33 per cent growth, 2018-2022), Malaysia (14 per cent) and Thailand (10 per cent) would mean that fraudsters have even more avenues to target and infect devices.
Meanwhile, more mature smartphone markets – such as Singapore – aren’t spared either.

Unlike the region’s emerging markets, however, it’s the high amounts of advertising dollars going through the nation that make the country a target.

That puts small businesses and startups in the region in a tricky situation – because to achieve scale, these younger organisations are typically more reliant on digital advertising than anyone else, standing to lose the most from ad fraud.

Shifting perceptions

Needless to say, the growth of ad fraud globally, combined with the region’s vulnerabilities, have been a major wake-up call.

The speed and dynamism of said operations has cast a spotlight on the shortcomings of the prevailing industry attitude towards ad fraud — one which prioritises reactive detection when it really should be preventive and proactive.

If we compare ad fraudsters to bank robbers — by preventing fraud, you stop the robber from stealing the money.

However, an approach that focuses on detecting fraud to reclaim ad spend is akin to watching the robber flee with the cash and wait for the insurance policy to kick in.

The fraudster makes a clean getaway with their pockets lined and as long as they can make money, they will come back for more.

Also Read: First set of Echelon Asia Summit 2019 speakers—revealed!

As such, every effort, and every decision made in dealing with ad fraud, across all levels of the industry, should be focused on stopping the flow of media spend to fraudsters, and removing the incentive for fraud — not waiting to fight among ourselves when the funds are gone.

With that in mind, let’s go into the specifics of what a prevention-focused approach looks like.

The ideal solution will be driven by AI

Fraud evolves at a startling pace.

In 3ve, for instance, evasion tactics were found to be constantly mutating — detection of one tactic or blacklisting of IPs resulted in only temporary interruptions before the agile operation adapted and resumed in full force.

The unrelenting nature of the vice makes it tricky to envision the types of fraud we’ll face in the future. And if we don’t know what fraud is going to look like tomorrow, how can we stop it?

The right antidote leverages on big data to inform decisions. Relative to traditional advertising, online advertising has a higher degree of accountability, due to the swathes of data available.

We get to see what ad led someone to a website or app download page, the location they accessed the ad from, the type of device used, and even the duration between the initial click of the ad and eventual purchase.

However, the problem is there’s a lot of data — the scale of the data and need for real-time insights puts this job beyond human analysis.

This is where machine learning comes in to play — it makes sense of data, removes noise and, by analysing the data to note patterns and correlations, determines what normal human behaviour looks like versus what fraud looks like.

In doing this, it’s possible to invalidate traffic not by what the fraud tactic is (as this changes), but by comparing it to what normal traffic is.

By not relying on any single method of detection, which a sophisticated fraudster could easily reverse engineer to evade the next time, and instead, by utilising a complex array of hundreds of behavioural, device, and network indicators, we can effectively prevent fraud even as it mutates and evolves.

A strategic alliance

Of course, while tools of the trade are important, there’s only so much a young business or startup can do by itself — and the ecosystem is only as strong as its weakest link. Remember our focus should be on prevention.

That means we must share information so that upstream intermediaries don’t pay for fraud either.

The rise of other more sophisticated, and savvier ad fraud operations is inevitable — and it has never been more important for businesses, brands and ad intermediaries to show a united front.

In-house fraud defences of media suppliers are just one line of defence. Transparency within the ecosystem of advertising is crucial.

Third-party verification, for instance, ensures that suppliers of media are accountable for the quality of their supply.

When media suppliers and verification solutions work together, ad campaigns benefit from the specialist skills and tech of the verification vendor — who specialises in ad fraud mitigation — and faster optimisation for better campaign performance, offered by an informed media supplier.

Also Read: Meet 9 of the fantastic judges for TOP100 2019

By subsequently sharing this intelligence with the ecosystem — such as its partner ad networks and agencies — the different players can all work together to optimise fraud out of the equation, meaning the fraudsters don’t get paid.

It doesn’t stop there.

A culture of openness wouldn’t be complete without continuity and consistency between partners.

The current, broken modus operandi is to drop an ad network when fraud is detected and find a new one. Real-time fraud prevention and shared fraud intelligence can actually help traffic sources optimise fraud out of their supply.

This means that every campaign benefits from the optimisation and insight of working with an experienced partner as opposed to cold-starting with new traffic sources.

Ultimately, the prevailing attitude of dealing with ad fraud reactively is one which is complacent and does close to nothing to deter fraudsters.

Through a concerted industry effort to tackle the challenge, powered by technology, we can pull the carpet from underneath fraudsters’ feet and stem the flow of money to fraud.

That means brands and traffic sources need to have access to the same set of data and analysis in real-time, not just at the time an invoice is raised.

The industry has to tackle the problem from its roots and begin by significantly eradicating vulnerabilities throughout the ad lifecycle — thus making ad fraud as risky and unappealing a business as it can be.

TrafficGuard/Juniper Research’s assessment of ad fraud risks in various APAC markets, according to 5 main indicators

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Southeast Asia-targeted fashion rental startup Style Theory has announced the closing of its Series B round, TechCrunch has learned. It closes US$15 million in Series B funding led by SoftBank Ventures Asia, the early-stage venture arm of SoftBank Group, with participation from Alpha JWC Ventures and The Paradise Group.

SoftBank Ventures Asia and Alpha JWC Ventures have previously participated in Style Theory’s Series A round, have made a comeback this time.

The company said that it plans to use part of the funding for developing its tech platform. The company also plans to start using RFID tagging and will attach passive RFID tags on each of its rental items to manage its inventory.

Style Theory was founded in 2016 by Raena Lim and Chris Halim with a mission to “counteract the waste created by fast fashion” through its app. It claims to store more than 50,000 pieces of clothing and 2,000 designer bags ready for rent.

“Style Theory uses machine-learning algorithms to personalise clothing and fit recommendations for users based on their browsing and rental history and decide which designers and styles to carry,” said Lim and Halim in an email interview with TechCrunch.

Also Read: East Ventures invests in Indonesian rental marketplace CUMI, eyeing growth and expansion

The startup also has its customised warehouse management system and distribution network using its own fleet of couriers to lower costs. Its app also includes different payment options because of the relatively lower credit card penetration rates in Southeast Asia.

Last month, the company also opened a flagship store on Orchard Road in Singapore.

Often being compared with the likes of Rent the Runway, Style Theory’s focus remains to serve the Southeast Asia market and it sets the startup apart, Lim and Halim say. Taking into account their target markets that often work longer hours and using mainly public transportation for deliveries, its brick-and-mortar store has partnered with automated locker providers, co-working spaces, and department stores for customers’ convenience.

Style Theory’s inventory is also curated with a diverse style of its customers, such as a formal and modest style for workplace and social settings, as well as the region’s tropical climate.

“We have introduced a line up of modest wear in Indonesia and more festive wear during the celebratory seasons in the year,” said Lim and Halim.

Also Read: Former Co-founder of Matahari Mall and Former Starcom SEA CEO are Quest Ventures’s New Partners

Style Theory said its subscribers rent up to 20 pieces of clothing and two designer bags a month on average. Lim and Halim add that the next plan is to launch new apparel categories in Singapore and Indonesia, before possibly expanding into more countries in 2020.
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Photo by BBH Singapore on Unsplash

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