Year: 2019

What you need to know about social media tech in Southeast Asia

Over the past few years, Southeast Asia has continued to grow and advance digitally. In 2017, a study found that there 339.2 million internet users and 305.9 million active social media users, with more than 200 million of those people using their mobile devices to browse social media networks.

Unlike in the U.S., internet access isn’t something that was always so readily available. But with more than half of Southeast Asia’s population using the internet, it’s no surprise that users have quickly picked up on social media platforms.

With continued growth in digital connectivity, it’s expected that more and more people will begin to use and invest in social media tech in the region. Here’s what you need to know about social media tech in Southeast Asia.

A boom in influencer marketing

For years now, influencer marketing has experienced a huge uptick in popularity. These days, companies are always looking for the latest and greatest ways to best market their brand and image. In the U.S., influencer marketing has experienced amazing success, and the same stands true in Southeast Asia.

With influencer marketing, brands are able to depend on modern-day word-of-mouth in order to increase brand recognition, reach, and visibility as ways to drive more interest and sales.

According to a survey conducted by PwC Global Insights, social media is the top factor that consumers consider both online and off. In fact, the survey found that more than half of Malaysian consumers reported being influenced by social media networks.

So what does this mean for you? If you’re a brand on Instagram or some other social media platform, you’ll want to place a heavy emphasis on not only getting Instagram followers and building a community but also identifying a well-known name in your industry that can serve as an influencer.

Mobile connectivity is on the rise

In terms of mobile social media use, Southeast Asia is ranked third worldwide. In fact, there are more than 376 million people that access social media using their mobile devices on a routine basis.

Just as mobile usage has become very popular in the U.S., it’s become common in Southeast Asia for similar reasons, including:

1. Ability to interact with content

2. Instant and convenient online shopping

3. Access to more information and connections

As more and more people become connected, it’s expected that the middle class will grow and get stronger, which paves the way for new businesses that look to social media and mobile connectivity as a way to marketing and engage with consumers.

Facebook is extremely popular

More than 60 per cent of Southeast Asia’s population is active on social media, a number that has steadily increased over the years. While people in the region use many social media platforms, Facebook is one of the most popular.

In fact, Malaysia, the Philippines, Hong Kong, and Taiwan make the network’s top ten largest advertising audiences. With almost 98 per cent of its population aged 13 and above, social media sites like Facebook have become the goldmines of social media, allowing brands to reach millions of users on a regular basis.

For businesses, this means that Facebook should be the first platform to use as a way to digitally market your brand in Southeast Asia.

…and so are other social networks

While it’s not uncommon for people in Southeast Asia to use Facebook, Instagram, and other well-known social media platforms, the region also has a host of its own networks.

For example, people also use platforms such as WeChat, Sina Weibo, and others to stay connected and in the know. WeChat is the most popular social media network in China, serving more than one billion monthly active users.

Sina Weibo works very similar to Twitter in that users can share short messages, use hashtags, tag people, comment on posts, and even create polls.

Online regulation is real

As the online space in Southeast Asia continues to grow, governments in the region have quickly learned that regulation is a must. There are all sorts of laws that have been passed in order to provide an online environment that promotes social harmony and respect for the government.

For example, there are anti-fake news laws as well as laws that allow the geo-blocking of certain platforms and apps in many of the Southeast Asia countries.

While these laws are designed to keep citizens safe, there are opponents of many of these laws, citing free speech and overly broad legislation that is open to interpretation by those enforcing said rules.

We face similar challenges

For years there’s been an ongoing debate as to whether or not social media is more helpful than it is harmful. Have you ever looked at a photo on Instagram or Facebook and wish that you had that person’s life? You aren’t alone.

Many people use social media as a way to share an insight into their enviable lifestyles that seem to be nothing short of perfect. And while others don’t let lavish photos both them, studies have found that for some, these posts can have a damaging effect.

Indonesian researchers found that teenagers and young adults often feel resentment towards their richer friends after seeing their posts on social media. In a region where there’s dramatic inequality, many agree that social media can lead to jealousy, bitterness, and envy.

Indonesia and other countries in Southeast Asian have a growing consumer class, but this class is a stark contrast between those who are unemployed or have less education.

Conclusion

Whether you’re an everyday consumer or the owner of an upcoming business, it pays to know what’s going on in the world around you.

While you may be aware of how people in your country use and embrace social media tech, it’s eye-opening to see the changes and statistics in other places throughout the world.

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By now, we all know that human bodies are programmed to progress as per the cadence of our solar system – typically known as the circadian rhythm.

The circadian rhythm is the internal clock of the human body that is responsible to regulate the sleep-wake cycle. In other words, it is responsible to regulate the alertness and sleepiness in our bodies by responding to the slight variations in our environment. Naturally, living beings are habitual of sleeping in the darker hours and feel alert in the early morning. This is all because of the synchronization of the circadian rhythm with the solar system.

Every single one of us wants to do give our best to the day with every next sunrise, and what factors we consider to be most important to achieve that are healthy nutritious intake, ample sleep, less stress, and sufficient workout. However, sadly, the reality is not so!

The human body is far more than what a layman imagines.

Digging the advancements of science and growing in an era of circadian rhythm lighting, by now, who doesn’t know the detrimental impacts of poor exposure to sunlight. The world knows that low or no exposure to sunlight can turn out to be disastrous for one’s health resulting in conditions like fatigue, eye strain, debilitating mental health, and just what not.

But what if I told you that sunlight has a directly proportional relationship with your productivity provided that your mind’s optimization is wholly dependent upon the lighting conditions you spend your day in.

Circadian rhythm lighting

Human bodies should progress with the harmony of their innate rhythm—the Circadian Rhythm to have the most out of their existence.

For suppose, you wake up on a heavenly bright day and feel empowered, prepared to get up and handle whatever agenda strikes you throughout the day.

Contrary to that, the next morning, you are welcomed to a dark stormy day as soon as you slide the curtains from the window, you feel like creeping back under the sheets to have some more sleep. Only if you are having vibes that your energy level is dependent upon the intensity and the frequency of the light exposure you have, you are not fooling, either assuming, because this is what it is!

Circadian rhythm lighting is a rare type of lighting system that was initially designed to mimic the daylight with respect to the changes in colour and brightness witnessing the fact that the sunlight has an ability to impose a dramatic impact on our body’s overall energy and productivity.

It is like a 24-hours internal clock regulating the sleep-wake cycle commanding a living being’s mind for staying alert and sleep.

What influences our circadian rhythm?

Have you ever pondered “how our internal clocks decide when we are supposed to be alert and sleepy at a certain time?”  It’s all because of plenty of light or lack in the opposite scenario, respectively. This is the reason that you won’t experience a similar energy spark on a dark stormy day as you enjoy on a bright sunny morning.

It is often assumed that the sun is the only one to be responsible for our productivity.  However, it is not so: artificial lights play a vital role when it comes to affecting our energy and productivity. You name it—and science will have it for you, here, we are drooling over the circadian lights, mood-enhancing lights, and many other healthy light bulbs bringing a revolution in our daily lives. Similar to how sunlight and moonlight regulate our sleep cycle, circadian rhythm lighting can also control it in the same way.

Overviewing artificial light sources, we came across blue lights that are more prevailing to interfere in our day-to-day routines. What a layman is unaware of:  blue lights are basically mood-enhancing lights and the ones responsible for condensing your sleep!

There are many devices like television, mobile phones, PCs, etc. to have an emittance of such blue light rays. As a result, it lightens your sleepy feeling while enhancing your mood at the same time.

How productivity is increased by circadian rhythm

The concept of circadian rhythm and productivity revolves around the secretion of a hormone called melatonin. The phenomena are regulated by the hypothalamus presented within the cerebrum of the human brain. This region is primarily responsible to transmit signals from the eyes to the brain alerting/notifying mind about day and night time. Hypothalamus is responsible for the secretion of melatonin to harmonize sleep with darkness and light with alertness.

It has been discovered that light imposes an effect on both, our visual and non-visual system—now may it be electric light or solar light, both imposes an effect on our circadian rhythm.

Circadian light is the innovation to support human health by minimizing the symptoms of circadian rhythm disorder. It is believed and proved that prolonged exposure to blue light at a certain intensity can affect the secretion of melatonin, adversely. The idea of circadian lighting is still new in the market. Hence, it is still residing in its early stages of development and research.

However, up till now, there are three approaches validating the circadian lighting system:

1. Intensity tuning

2. Colour tuning

3. Stimulus tuning

Intensity Tuning

Intensity tuning has a very prominent share in the circadian lighting technology. These lights maintain a fixed correlated temperature but the intensity is customized as the hours’ pass and we move minute by minute from sunrise to sunset.

For instance, kick-starting the day with lower intensity in the earliest hours as the sun begins to rise, crawling to the maximum intensity in the afternoon, and wrapping up with a remarkable reduce in it as the sunsets and we encounter evening.

Colour tuning

Circadian rhythm lights are designed with customized color tuning to mimic the correlated color temperature for different times of the day. These lights are capable of being customized to cool color temperatures of 4000K to 10,000K during the late evening hours so that a person may feel relaxed and sleep peacefully without any disturbance being caused by exposure to the blue light or anything else. Similarly, they are featured to customize to a warm-cool temperature ranging from < 2700K to 3500K simulating daylight to help a person stay alert.

Stimulus tuning

Paired with intensity tuning, these light fixtures are inherent to reduce the bad blue light effect and transform it into a good blue effect during the night time hours. The feature is present to keep the CCT In place while suppressing the melatonin secretion so that a person may fall asleep quite easily.

Techniques to reduce stress

Crawling down to techniques to reduce stress, blue light therapy is regarded as the best source for the purpose. Scientists prove that where blue light disrupts your sleep, it also works at enhancing your focus and concentration, significantly. Hence, directly or indirectly, it can help one reduce stress easily.

Conclusion

Circadian rhythm is one of those things that are not supposed to be ignored by any individual. If you want to stay healthy and function like a normal healthy person, it is vital to keep a check of your body’s internal clock.  Circadian rhythm does more than one thinks of it.

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Evermos team

Evermos, a Halal/Sharia-compliant social commerce company based in Bandung, Indonesia, has raised US$8.25 million in an “oversubscribed” Series A funding led by Jungle Ventures.

Shunwei Capital and existing investor Alpha JWC Ventures also joined the round.

The startup plans to use the funds to expand its presence in the digital Islamic economy ecosystem, accelerate growth by focusing on further collaborations with local brands and organisations, and build and support a vast online reseller network.

Founded in November 2018, the Evermos platform focuses on bringing the everyday needs of Muslims by providing halal products in various verticals, including fashion, food, cosmetics and home and business opportunities that comply with Sharia laws.

It also the reseller to own a business or online store without requiring operating capital and complex e-commerce system. For individuals, it incentivises them to share products on their messaging apps or social media.

Since its launch, the company claims to have grown into a network of over 20,000 paid resellers across the country and is marketing thousands of local products from hundreds of local brands.

Also Read: A blessed opportunity: Your guide in understanding SEA’s rising halal tech industry

Co-founder and Evermos CEO Iqbal Muslimin said: “The digital economy in Indonesia has grown particularly fast, and its Sharia economy has an enormous potential to become a part of this expansion. The Indonesian government has also been showing support to accelerate the Sharia economy by providing supportive regulations and plans, and we are keen to support that with our technology ecosystem.”

“Given the size of our Muslim population, this Sharia economy will have a positive impact throughout the country. Evermos will continue our work to build an end-to-end social commerce platform and ecosystem to connect brand owners to our resellers and to end consumers. We will also do business with our partners in compliance with Sharia law requirements,” he added.

Ilham Taufiq, Co-founder and Head of Partnership of Evermos, commented, “We believe Evermos is not limited to a business platform, but it is also an economic driver for the Muslim community. There’s a lot of untapped potential on this that we will address in the future, including social goods, ZISWAF, halal travel and Sharia fintech.”

According to Thomson Reuters, the market for Sharia-compliant goods surpassed US$2 trillion in 2016, and it is likely to increase to US$3.8 trillion by 2022. As the country with the largest Muslim population in the world, Indonesia will see a significant chunk of this growth of the Islamic economy, globally.

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Mirae Asset Venture Investment, South Korean VC firm that focusses on investing in enterprises and provides technology and management consulting, has co-invested US$19 million in Series B funding of bioscience startup Hummingbird Bioscience alongside GNTech Venture Capital, the corporate investment arm of Kooksoondang Brewery Co. Ltd..

Existing investors, Heritas Capital and Seeds Capital, as well as new investors, Delian Capital; Mirae Asset Capital; DAValue-GiltEdge; HB Investment; Wooshin Venture Investment; and Kiwoom Investment- Shinhan Capital also participated in the round.

Hummingbird Bioscience is a biotherapeutics company that brings the discovery and development of new precision antibody therapeutics for difficult-to-treat conditions.

The funding will be used to support the discovery of new disease targets that will expand Hummingbird Bioscience’s pipeline of first and best-in-class antibody therapeutics, as well as fueling the work on the co-discovery projects.

According to an official statement from the company, these are part of the multi-target collaboration
agreement signed with Amgen in September this year. Current lead portfolio assets, HMBD-001, and HMBD-002, are expected to enter first-in-human clinical trials following regulatory submissions in the second half of 2020.

Also Read: As September ends, wake up to these notable early stage funding rounds of the month

“Our platform is able to accurately identify previously intractable targets, enabling us to engineer antibodies that precisely hit these difficult targets. This approach is demonstrated by our two lead candidates, which are progressing towards clinical trials in partnership with, and with the support from institutions such as Cancer Research UK and Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas. We will continue to execute on rapidly building our pipeline of potential medicines across different disease modalities to help treat and inspire hope for people living with cancer and other conditions,” said Dr. Piers Ingram, Chief Executive Officer, and co-founder, Hummingbird Bioscience.

Jae Joon Kim, Managing Director at Mirae Asset Venture Investment, commented: “Hummingbird Bioscience has invented a differentiated rational antibody discovery platform that designs and generates candidate therapeutic antibodies against difficult yet desirable targets. We are optimistic about the company’s potential to create breakthrough therapies that impact the lives of patients living with serious illnesses.”

To date, Hummingbird Bioscience has secured more than US$60 million in funding through financing activities and strategic partnerships.

Hummingbird Bioscience is located in Singapore, Houston, Texas and South San Francisco, California.

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Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. and trading house Marubeni invested a total of US$70 million in a new fund launched by state-owned Singaporean investment group Temasek’s venture capital arm Vertex Venture Holdings, Nikkei Asian Review has reported.

Marubeni is investing US$50 million in the fund, and SMBC US$20 million. They joined previously pledged Japanese investors such as Aozora Bank and Risa Partners.

Joining in the investment this time are ABeam Consulting and the government-backed Development Bank of Japan, making Japanese investors have put up US$180 million in all – which is around a quarter of the US$730 million in total funding.

The fund is aimed at nurturing Asian technology startups, primarily AI-powered and Internet of Things startups in China and India.

The Japanese investors will play a role in linking enterprises at home with the startups abroad to encourage technology and capital tie-ups, as well as acquisitions.

Also Read: Vertex Venture Holdings launches a US$290 million venture capital fund for technology firms in SEA

For startups, the fund will facilitate a chance to connect with Japanese companies with developed technological expertise and client networks.

Temasek’s Vertex has offices in several global locations, such as Silicon Valley, China, India, and Israel. It was known as an early backer of Singapore-based ride-hailing provider Grab.

In February 2019, Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India invest US$10 million in Thailand-based insurtech firm Sunday

Back in September, Vertex Venture Holdings also announced a US$290 million venture capital fund to invest in high-growth technology firms, with commitments from Temasek Holdings, Taiwanese chip design firm Elan Microelectronics and other institutions, family offices and funds based in Southeast Asia and Taiwan.

Vertex Venture Holdings’ long-time CEO Chua Kee Lock said: “The Vertex Growth Fund seeks to invest about US$10 million-US$15 million per company, typically in third and fourth round fundings, versus US$3 million to $4 million by affiliate funds in early rounds.”

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One company I keynoted for had their leaders create 12 days of appreciation for their employees (like 12 days of Christmas–accommodating for multiple denominations as well).

Also Read: Why fasting is the ultimate productivity hack for entrepreneurs

In the case of the Christmas crowd, they set up plastic stands shaped like a tree and each day would put envelopes with the employees’ names on them in the tree (containing a gift certificate one day, a warm note the next, etc.). You get the idea–and your employees will get the warm and fuzzies.

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The internet has changed consumption—whether it’s news, music, films or consumer goods in general. By being exposed to a broader selection of media and products, people are now freer to pick and choose what’s relevant to them.

This trend reflects the revolution that is happening in user experience (UX), the consumer journey and the consumer experience (CX) as a whole. It’s become somewhat of a paradox in that, as people rely more on technology, the more they seek a personal, more organic touch.

Consumers now have the ability to shape their own digital realities, thus shifting the balance of power to the people when it comes to product and UX design choices.

As technology becomes more sophisticated, so does the consumer and one of the fears for a brand is to be outpaced by change. In an increasingly saturated and digital-savvy global market, how does a company set itself apart?

Technology drives best practices in UX

As daunting as it may seem, it is important to understand that the consumer grows with the technology—and brands should be able to keep up with this growth by empathizing with the consumer. At the heart of the good design is being able to address pain points and reflect it on the consumer experience.

Many companies at present have taken a more proactive stance in keeping pace with consumer trends by adding value for prospects and existing customer-bases through UX. And this is largely enabled by technology such as machine learning, artificial intelligence, big data analytics, augmented reality and mixed reality.

Subscription-based media platforms such as Netflix and Spotify have epitomized personalized experiences largely through big data analytics and machine learning.

Spotify changed the music industry forever by curating user dashboards based on listening activity, giving artist and song recommendations and “Daily Mixes” unique to a user. This takes a lot of effort and guesswork out of one’s listening experience and music discovery.

Netflix, which dubbed itself as the world’s leading Internet television network, did a similar thing for movies and tv shows.

The company has invested heavily on machine learning, constantly optimizing its platform to give accurate, individualized recommendations on its landing page. Netflix has also used big data to understand what makes a good film or tv show, providing valuable insight when investing in content for its subscribers.

When e-commerce goes mainstream

By 2021, E-commerce will balloon to a USD 4.9 trillion global markets with more than 2 billion online shoppers accounting for 17 per cent of total retail spend. Even now, this exponential growth has pressured businesses both new and established to innovate their digital storefronts to attract prospects and keep repeat customers coming.

Southeast Asian e-commerce giants Lazada and Shopee have created curated storefronts based on individual user purchase and product browsing habits to make relevant recommendations on the best deals and platform-wide sales.

Both apps have also gamified the buying experience, scheduling special events and contests in-app to boost traffic and engage users.

AI is also seeing success in e-commerce. Brands like Lazada, Sephora and H&M have increased customer service efficiency by providing 24/7 chatbot support, able to answer inquiries and provide recommendations.

Banking payments benefit from CX and technology convergence

During this time, it will become vital for traditional businesses to bolster their digital transformation with an omnichannel approach if they have any hope of fending off new players from disrupting their specific industries.

According to Business Insider, 97 per cent of millennials already use some form of mobile banking, for instance. This means that legacy industries such as banking have to follow suit in the trend if they want to stay relevant.

Very recently, the United Bank of India (UBI) added voice transactions to its digital banking platform, enabling customers to talk to a Voice Assistant. The new “Voice Commerce” will not only improve the individual experience but also the security of the bank’s mobile users.

In terms of customer experience, the feature allows account-holders to have more personal, context- and location-aware transactions compared to the traditional mobile banking experiences. This gives them access to a wider range of UBI’s services with a more organic customer journey, in the same vein as transacting with an actual bank teller.

Voice Commerce also gives financial institutions and businesses an added layer of security with multi-factor authentication which includes voice recognition.

The service was powered by Financial Software and Systems (FSS), itself a global leader in helping financial institutions and commercial businesses transform the consumer experience.

The company envisions a more personalized, omnichannel banking experience that unites physical and digital channels into one seamless, frictionless system to cater to the specific needs of users.

This partnership seems to be on-trend when it comes to AI and banking which, Business Insider Intelligence forecasts as a USD 450 billion opportunities for banks, allowing them to grow their businesses and cut costs from the front office to the back office.

In the future, many existing industries such as banking indeed will have to become either digital-first or digital-only if they would like to stay relevant to the increasingly tech-minded consumer who values personalised experiences, speed, efficiency, convenience and security.

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IdeaSpace, Philippines-based startup accelerator, announces that it has invested in three startups, injecting US$20,000 each, as reported by DealStreetAsia.

The startups that were part of its incubator programme are Airship Logistics, an end-to-end solution for courier companies; Cocotel, a tech-based property manager for resorts and hotels; and Experience Philippines, a community travel platform for domestic and foreign tourists.

The three startups were the top picks of this year’s startup competition after an acceleration program, in which 20 founders worked with mentors to refine their business and financial model, product, operations, and communications.

Besides investment, IdeaSpace will also provide the three startups with access to learning sessions, free use of office space, and linkages to corporate partners, strategic partner resources, and investors.

Also Read: 5 Filipino startups are giving Lazada, Shopee a run for their money, defying expectation

“We’re looking for resilient, creative, and disciplined entrepreneurs who understand the pain points they’re trying to solve in industry and society and who are willing to do the work to build a scalable, sustainable business,” said IdeaSpace executive director Diane Eustaquio.

IdeaSpace was launched in 2012 with US$12.5 million in funding. So far, the firm has backed eight startups, including PortfolioLauncher, TimeFree Innovations, PinoyTravel, Zipmatch, and Saffron Technologies.

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Most people in Southeast Asia view the rise of food delivery platforms as a guilty pleasure. Yes, services like Grabfood, Lalafood, FoodPanda, and others are convenient, but they also enable us to indulge in treats that our stomachs (to say nothing of our wallets) may have likely ignored if it were not for the on-demand economy.

But food delivery platforms deserve more than just our dietary regret. The industry deserves recognition as but one pillar of an even larger industry: food tech. The field refers to the development of new products and services around food; a wide spectrum that spans delivery services all the way to the creation of new types of food as we know it, such as in the case of Beyond Meat, which produces plant-based meat substitutes that some say are indistinguishable from the real item.

Food, of course, has no market. We all eat food. That’s why it should come as no surprise that the food-tech industry is projected to grow to US$700 billion in just a decade. How can people in the startup and tech community get involved in this space beyond just satisfying their late-night cravings through a delivery platform? Fortunately for our diets, there are several key ways.

1. Foodtech as a digital transformation enabler

Most people discuss digital transformation as though it were some laborious task that every traditional business leader must undertake. On the other hand, the advent of food tech has given restaurants, eateries, and other small food businesses many ways to easily transform how they serve and connect with their customers.

Also Read: Foodtech in Singapore through the eyes of startups

Take the case of Booky in the Philippines. The lifestyle app and discovery platform allow users to enjoy discounts from restaurants and other services. Booky effectively becomes another digital storefront for restaurants, bringing them new business from the digitally-savvy consumers who are also likely to become loyal customers.

2. Food as a complement of fintech

Food is clearly the main draw in the fin techs drive to make digital payments a habit and a lifestyle. The benefits of bringing e-payments mainstream are not lost on the banking sector including regulators, now fintech’s biggest champions as it promotes the velocity of money and also financial inclusion of the unbanked in emerging economies.

And then there’s blockchain and cryptocurrencies that hold the greatest promise in terms of secure digital transactions in a more and more Internet-based world economy.

Blockchain too has banked on food to bring the important technology mainstream. The Singapore-based Pundi X launched the first blockchain-based Point of Sales Systems XPOS with its crypto-carrying XPASS and XWallet in restaurants and food festivals across Asia in 2018. The XPOS has been rolled out to stores in 25 countries around the world since, including a couple of Michelin Star restaurants that now accept all major cryptocurrencies.

3. Foodtech as a venture capital magnet

If the food-tech sector is projected to grow to USD$700 billion, you can bet that venture capital firms and other investors are doing what they can now to claim their piece of the pie. There is no shortage, in other words, of capital to be raised for founders launching in the food tech space. 

One of most high profile examples of this fact is evident in Uber founder Travis Kalanick, who raised US$400 million from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund for CloudKitchens. The company creates shared kitchens for the exclusive rent of delivery-only restaurants. 

But venture capital in food tech is not limited to big gambles like kitchens for rent. There is an increasing number of food-tech funds dedicated to backing ventures in every niche of the sector. Investments into the food tech space reached the US$1 billion mark in 2015, compared to only USD$60 million in 2008, and reached an all-time high of 459 unique investments in 2017. To put it simply, if you’re a founder in search of a hot idea, you can get funding in food.

4. Foodtech as a smart investment

With the food tech industry on track to be worth USD$700bn in a decade, the popular online global trading platform eToro recently created a new portfolio to help people invest in this fast-growing sector.

The context: Manufacturers and suppliers investing billions of dollars in developing new food and services as the world grapples with multiple food security challenges, requiring more sustainable agricultural production. On the lifestyle front, there’s the move towards more plant-based diets and consumer demand for out of home dining options that are opening up opportunities for manufacturers, retailers and even technology firms.

eToro’s new food tech investment portfolio comprises a diverse range of companies working in the sector, from established brands like Danone (BN.PA), which invests its own capital in food tech disruptors, through to innovators like Beyond Meat (BYND), which quadrupled its stock value in three months following its IPO in May.

eToro’s mission, of course, is to allow ordinary folks to get a piece of the action in otherwise prohibitive global stock investments. The company’s popular copy trading platform allows entry of USD$200 to invest in global brands and companies. Meanwhile, investment in the specially curated portfolio for food tech starts at US$2000.

Also Read: Meet the 10 agritech, foodtech startups pitching for Future Food Asias US$100K grand prize

Small business owners in the food space can use it to digitally transform their businesses, founders can easily launch venture-backed startups in the food tech gold rush, and online traders can even invest into the entire sector as a whole through a food tech portfolio.

So while those in the tech community are often advised to follow their heart, it may be just as smart and forward-thinking to follow your stomach.

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