As demand increases, more merchants will be looking towards solutions that are convenient, cost-effective, secure, and accessible by large amounts of people

Blockchain has experienced a decrease in hype recently as the ICO bubble has officially burst and the market has slowed down. While likely temporary, entrepreneurs and companies have taken the opportunity to focus in on building and shipping products that can be instantly used.

One of the most compelling and obvious applications of cryptocurrencies are for daily transactions, both online and offline. While sceptics might argue everyday use of cryptocurrency brings risks such as volatility in prices, security concerns, and lack of usability, the data proves otherwise. 

In Japan alone, over 10,000 retailers have started to accept bitcoin. These retailers include everyone from local diners to Rakuten, one of Japan’s leading companies with over  US$7 billion in revenue in 2016. 

On a global scale, retailers such as Overstock.com, Shopify, Intuit, Expedia, and Virgin Airlines have already started to accept bitcoin as a payment option. Even Deloitte announced earlier this week that they are testing employees paying for lunch using cryptocurrency. 

In total, there are thousands of retailers either accepting cryptocurrencies or exploring ways to integrate them into their payment options. 

Validation for cryptocurrency payment solutions

In Asia, consumers and businesses already accept various forms of digital payments, touchless payments, and digital money such as WeChat Pay. The integration of crypto payments would make sense as the user experience would be nearly identical to current e-payment methods, and crypto users continue to grow in most major Asian markets. 

Naturally, there is still an education gap that needs to be solved, but as time passes, more and more people are becoming familiar and comfortable with cryptocurrencies, especially beyond speculative trading. The benefits of crypto payments include convenience, discretion, lower fees, and in some cases, the elimination of chargebacks. 

One company, PumaPay, was the first company to introduce fully decentralised subscription payments on the blockchain and focuses on offering the flexibility and ease of use of credit cards with the advantages of blockchain. To date, their payment solution for merchants has attracted the likes of Wix.com, FashionTV, PornHub, Rent24, Ubex, and over 100 other companies. 

You might be wondering how these transactions work. Put, PumaPay has a payment protocol that inverses the mechanics of the transaction and allows merchants to “pull” funds from customers wallets based on pre-approved terms. This means cryptocurrency can be used in real-time for transactions, eliminating chargebacks and fees besides what is needed to push the transaction on the Ethereum blockchain. 

This allows the creation of billing mechanisms that are very common in people’s daily lives but were not possible on the blockchain previously. The outcome means businesses can now easily integrate cryptocurrencies into their payment systems. 

Demand for crypto payments in distressed environments

Recently, Hong Kong protestors have made a vocal plea for merchants to start accepting cryptocurrency payments to help address the uncertainty being felt. As a result, malls and various retailers have begun to integrate cryptocurrencies. 

Around the world, similar tensions have led to an increase in usage and demand for retailers to offer this option. In Argentina, the government re-established capital controls in September 2018, limiting the number of Pesos a person could sell on the open market. This has caused a strong movement of crypto advocates who understand how such usage can be a hedge against macro-political and economic events.

As this demand increases, more merchants will be looking towards solutions that are convenient, cost-effective, secure, and accessible by large amounts of people. The benefit of cryptocurrencies is that they check all of these boxes and are available with an inclusionary rather than an exclusive approach.

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To make sure that we produce enough food for a growing population, we need to optimise our farming industry, and this is where IoT comes in

The current technologies are changing the world around us. If you are not convinced, take a look at self-driving cars and the application of artificial intelligence. However, do you think that internet-of-things (IoT) can have the same impact on our farming sector?

In this article, we will try to answer the above question. But, before we start, we first need to understand the problem that our farming industry is going through. Currently, we are growing food more than we need. But, this doesn’t mean that we are safe in future.

Our population can easily shoot to 9.9 billion by 2050. To make sure that we produce enough food, we need to optimise our farming industry, and this is where IoT comes in. It is also estimated that by 2050, over 2 billion smart agro-sensors will be used. This will improve agriculture by more than 2% while reducing risks and use of water by 7% per acre.

IoT can also help farmers to help deal with thousands of unforeseen circumstances such as diverse weather conditions. It can also help them understand what they are doing wrong and improve their farming practices. But, how it can be done? Let’s explore it in depth below.

1. Precision Farming

Currently, the agriculture sector has to go through a lot of risks. It can range from not knowing when the rains will happen to the lack of knowledge for identifying bad soil conditions.

These uncertainties are alarming. However, IoT can change how the parameters can be controlled, all thanks to the agro-sensors. The ago-sensors can collect data which is both accurate and real-time. By doing so, the farmers can make decisions based on the collected data and minimise the risk associated with it.

2. Big Data

When we speak of agro-sensors, we also indirectly speak of big data. In the year 2014 alone, agricultural land has access to 20 million data points. However, the number can easily jump to 4 billion data points by the year 2050.

So, what does that mean for the farming sector? This means that have more information regarding the different aspects such as pest infestations, soil quality, storage, and so on. In short, the huge amount of data will open doors to a better understanding of how things work, and also help researchers innovate and improve the overall farming sector.

That’s why you will find many IoT development companies that are already working on different solutions surrounding farming.

Also read: More details emerge on early stage funding round for Indonesian agritech startup Sayurbox

3. Agricultural Drones

Until now, drones have been used for surveillance, saving people’s lives during disasters and so on. Aerial drones can also be used to improve the agricultural sector. Yes, you read it right.

Agricultural drones open up new opportunities for the farmers to monitor crop and other important parameters such as health assessment, planning and so on. By using drones, the farmer can save time and use it in finding new strategies to combat farming issues.

Things like soil health and weather forecast can also be monitored using agricultural drones. All of this gives the farmer an eagle-eye view of their farms. In short, they are pretty useful and hold the key to revolutionise the farming sector.

4. Remote control

Farms are huge, and they require multiple workers to be maintained carefully. However, with the use of IoT, it will be possible for the farmers to take control of their farms remotely.

There are many problems such as soil dryness, low water presence, etc. All these problems bring huge losses if not fixed early. With IoT and the smart tools, the farmers will know what needs to be done when a problem occurs. This type of technology is known as “middleware technology.” Also, the apps that are created for showing the information are always available on the mobile application.

Conclusion

IoT can change and revolutionise the farming sector. Until now, there was no way for farmers to collect data and act upon it, but with IoT, they will have an eagle eye view on their farms.

All this is only possible due to the new technologies that we have. It is a combination of all of them, where IoT plays a core role. The biggest hurdle is to educate farmers about their benefits and equip them with the required tools. So, what do you think about IoT’s impact on the farming sector? Comment below and let us know.

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With its online travel agency, ride-hailing services, and corporate fleet services, Oway is one of the leading names in the local tech ecosystem

Looking at the services that Oway is offering, it is hard not to compare the Myanmar-based startup with its regional competitors Grab and gojek.

Starting off an as online travel agency, which was the first in the nation, the startup expanded its offerings to include ride-hailing and corporate fleet services.

Apart from that, Oway also counted Northstar Group, one of the early investors in gojek, as one of its backers.

Speaking to e27 over the phone, Oway CEO Alok Kumar even explains how Oway has also implemented the super app concept ahead of gojek and Grab. But he sees that their move has not been “well-discovered” since the startup has been focussing on the Myanmar market.

“We are constantly looking at options to upload more and more services and products onto the platform, but we have to be cautious with the timing of the market, whether they are ready for those services or not. One big challenge that we have is the capability and investment balancing act.”

Myanmar itself is considered as one of the emerging markets of Southeast Asia. Having been closing itself from the international world for years, in 2012 the country began to open itself up, marked by the entrance of foreign telco companies such as Ooredoo and Telenor into the country.

Also Read: iMyanmarHouse appoints Flymya’s ex-COO Grace Ei Thwe Aung as General Manager

Operating a tech startup in such market certainly comes with its own unique challenges. A Telenor report in 2018 mentioned underdeveloped digital infrastructure and low digital literacy rate as some of the challenges; the government itself has responded by establishing the Digital Economy Development Committee (DEDC).

But Oway manages to come out as a top player in this market. In terms of ride-hailing services, the company is the biggest in Myanmar due to its physical presence. It is also the largest fleet service provider in the country at the moment.

What is the secret sauce of taking over this promising new market? Kumar reveals the secret to e27.

Within Myanmar

The story of Oway began when chairman and co-founder Nay Aung returned to Myanmar from the US in 2013. Having worked in tech giants such as Google, he set up an online travel agency (OTA) business in 2014.

Back then telco penetration in the country was quite low, with only seven to eight per cent of the population having access to it.

But Nay Aung saw an opportunity coming his way when the telco licenses were being given to Telenor and Ooredoo, which fundamentally meant that the market will leapfrog in digital services and online biz.

Also Read: ShweProperty raises US$3M in fresh funding as 500 Startups makes an entry into Myanmar

The business was eventually expanded into two new verticals: ride-hailing (Oway Ride) and corporate fleet services (Oway Fleet).

Kumar explains that there are three important milestones that the company has made: Having the largest inventory of airlines and hotels in international and domestic destinations in its platform; pioneering and inventing a new business model in the ride-hailing space; as well as the partnership with Telenor and Wave Money.

These milestones are playing a crucial role in Oway’s strategy in winning the market, which displays a behaviour that is distinctive to an emerging market.

“What we are looking at in Myanmar today is a behavioural shift from the physical to digital. Myanmar was a closed economy and there is already a really strong behaviour existing in the market. People still have a certain higher level of trust … on purchasing with travel agents they know well,” Kumar begins.

This is why the startup invests heavily in making sure that the behavioural shift happens successfully.

“We want people to move and interact with us online because of three core reasons: We bring widest choices online, conveniences and ease of transaction that is not limited to store operation hours, and price value.”

Also Read: Cambodia’s Meal Temple Group invests in Myanmar’s food delivery startup Freshgora

The partnerships that Oway has fostered enable them to make these lucrative offerings for their customers. For example, its partnership with local digital payments provider Wave Money enables Oway Fleet drivers to digitally process any advance payments which include tolls, maintenance, and repair costs.

Oway is also not beyond offering discounts to customers of its OTA, a practice that remains common among fast-growing tech startups.

Beyond Myanmar

 

Since its inception, Oway has raised over US$14.7 million from investors such as Northstar Group, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Openspace Ventures.

The company says it is “on track” to raise its Series E funding round, which is aimed to further improve its existing verticals and operations.

In Southeast Asia, Grab has long expanded its business beyond its home country with massive investment plans in markets such as Indonesia and Vietnam.

Its rival gojek has also begun to expand its presence beyond Indonesia by entering Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, and soon Malaysia.

When asked if the region is going to see Oway launching its services in countries other than Myanmar, Kumar reveals that the company is actually embracing the idea.

“It is in our wishlist and we are constantly evaluating options. But this is currently in the evaluation phase.”

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Image Credit: Oway

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If you think incompetence is a problem, now is the time to think again

Incompetence is on fire, especially in global politics. It’s one of those trends to be bullish on. That’s here to stay. You know, like blockchain and artificial intelligence and design thinking and agile. Disrupt or be disrupted. You know what I mean. Here’s a list of the top ten reasons why you should champion the incompetent:

1. They won’t call your bluff, to avoid you calling theirs. Finally, peace of mind if you suffer from imposter syndrome. Especially relevant for us millennials.

2. They will never make you feel inadequate. In an age of hyper-competition, this will soothe your soul. Nothing reveals your own abilities more clearly than looking after cleaning up someone else’s mess.

3. They will humble you with their entitlement. This isn’t great at first, but it helps you with your own self-development in the long run.

4. They find seemingly easy solutions to problems because they aren’t privy to realities in their industry or field of, um, expertise. This looks especially good with the execs. You know, out of the box thinking and all!

5. They will make you regret every single minute and dollar you wasted on them, thus encouraging the betterment of your time management and financial discipline in future.

6. They will make you look competent. Great feeling. It allows you to dissociate from all those incompetent people around you.

7. They encourage your colleagues to focus on other, personal aspects of their lives in order to minimise frustration, which may lead to increased work-life balance for the rest of their team.

8. They are great with the media. If you ever wondered how to ‘dumb down’ something so more people could understand it, you will find the best way to achieve this is not knowing anything about the matter in the first place.

9. Because they consistently fail to deliver, they will never notice their own failures or have to endure the tough emotions surrounding it. Emotions are really contagious so this spares you from falling into the trap of self-doubt.

10. They are easily able to tell their story and influence because they don’t have to worry about substance. Anything will inspire them to feel special and gifted, and relay this to the world. They are the ultimate motivational role-models. Just like the wonderful Lotus flower, which also grows on mud. Sh** is an impeccable fertiliser. And if that doesn’t inspire you, I don’t know what will.

11. They talk a good game because they prefer speech over actually attempting or doing something.

I think I overshot… time to conclude:

Incompetence makes us all better. It makes the world a better place. We need it to advance humanity. Incompetence is the new competence in so many important ways. Please take a moment to express your gratitude for the invaluable contributions incompetence has made over the course of your life.

If you want to make incompetence the hero theme of your next event or keynote, there truly are many promising options for you to deliberate. But you might as well look no further and book the ultimate one right here. You can even hire me to give you more great advice off the stage. It might also lead to something great.

Please don’t tag the people this reminds you of. You never know, the feeling may be mutual.

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This article was originally published on LinkedIn

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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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Editor’s note: e27 publishes relevant guest contributions from the community. Share your honest opinions and expert knowledge by submitting your content here.

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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

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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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The Indonesia-based startup is a part of the Y Combinator’s winter 2019 batch

Shipper, an Indonesia-based e-commerce logistics startup, announces that it has received a US$5 million investment from Lightspeed Ventures, Floodgate Ventures, Insignia Ventures Partners, and Y Combinator, Techcrunch reported.

The company said it will use the funding for hiring and customer acquisition.

Indonesia is known to be one of the fastest-growing e-commerce markets in the world, but the logistics industry is still very fragmented, the article read.

Shipper was launched in 2017 by co-founders Phil Opamuratawongse and Budi Handoko. This year, it graduated from Y Combinator’s winter batch.

In Indonesia, e-commerce sellers often use multiple platforms, like the existing Tokopedia, Shopee, Bukalapak, and Lazada. Smaller vendors also sell through Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and other social media.

In comparison, there are more than 2,500 logistics providers in Indonesia.

Also Read: Indonesian logistics startup Logisly gets seed funding from SeedPlus, aims to push for growth

“It is really hard for any provider to do nationwide themselves, so the big ones usually use local partners to fulfill locations where they don’t have the infrastructure,” said Opamuratawongse.

Shipper stated that its mission is to “create a platform that makes the process of fulfilling and tracking orders much more efficient”. The company offers a package pick-up service and fulfillment centers, as well as the technology stack to help logistics providers manage shipments.

Shipper started off by only focussing on the last-mile for smaller vendors, who keep inventory in their homes and fulfill about five to 10 orders per day, but with a choice of several logistics providers per their customer’s liking. This service meant they needed to visit multiple drop-off locations every morning.

Shipper then came up with the solution to pick-up service, performed by couriers (who are people like stay-at-home parents who want flexible, part-time work) that will collect packages from several vendors in the same neighborhood and distribute them to different logistics providers, serving as micro-fulfillment hubs.

Shipper signs up about 10 to 30 new couriers each week, keeping them at least 2.5 kilometers apart so they don’t compete against each other.

Also Read: Indonesian logistics startup Kargo raises US$7.6M in seed funding round

The company then began setting up fulfillment centers to keep up with vendors whose businesses were growing and were turning to third-party warehouse services.

Shipper’s technology can be used to predict the best shipping routes and consolidate packages headed in the same direction. It also provides a multi-carrier API that allows sellers to manage orders, print shipping labels, and get tracking information from multiple providers on their phones.

Shipper said its next plan will be focussing on expanding in Indonesia first, before tackling other Southeast Asian countries with e-commerce markets, including Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines.

For the past months, Indonesia has seen multiple fundraising aimed at its logistic tech sector. In March, Kargo raised US$7.6 million in funding from Sequoia Capital India, followed by Ritase, a trucking platform that received an undisclosed Series A funding.

The recent funding was led by Convergence Ventures and Genesia Ventures, who invest seed funding into Logisly, a startup that connects logistics service users (shippers) and logistics services providers (transporters) in Indonesia.

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Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

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