Day: March 4, 2020

Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Xavier Niel, Marissa Mayer. What do these visionaries have in common?

Qualities that have led them straight to success! Do you want to follow in their footsteps?

Let’s take a look at the seven qualities required to become a successful entrepreneur.

Humility

Humility Precedes Honour!. Successful entrepreneurs know how to be altruistic, to help their employees. Yes, they have succeeded, but they want to share the reasons for their success. They are ready to help those who have carried out their project.

Tenacity

“Never give up! “is the leitmotif of successful entrepreneurs. They don’t stop at first “no,” or the second “no” for that matter. They persist until they get what they want. Giving up is not an option. and that’s good because it opens doors for them.

Tenacity is proof that successful entrepreneurs believe in their ideas and will do anything to see their dreams come true.

Risk-taking

“He who risks nothing has nothing! ». Success usually has a taste for risk. The times when an entrepreneur faces risk will be legion. It is in these moments that an entrepreneur’s courage is recognised. Leaders regularly step out of their comfort zone and look to the future.

You know Bill Gates, of course? You can’t say his name if he didn’t dare to leave Harvard at 20 to start his own company.

Also read: 5 financial tips from established to new entrepreneurs that will help you generate a better cash flow

Bold doesn’t always guarantee success, but it’s worth the risk.

Creativity

Creativity involves moving away from established structures and trying new things.

This quality helps entrepreneurs discover new ways to solve problems. Better yet, it gives them a head start on the competition!

The world is changing rapidly, and continuing in the same direction at all costs is no longer appropriate.

Unlimited vision

You certainly have an opinion about the future, about the world of tomorrow. What is your company’s place in this future? The answer is a vision that guides the decisions of successful entrepreneurs. It gives hope and purpose, and it is a source of inspiration.

The only thing that distinguishes successful entrepreneurs from others is their boundless vision. Successful entrepreneurs continue to evolve goals as the market, the environment, or consumers change.

Passion for their work

Impossible to realise your project without passion. How can you stand up to adversity, be patient, and creative if you don’t like your job? Before starting a business, think about how to combine passion with your business idea.

An exceptional team

The leaders all have a great team to help them move forward. Your professional entourage plays an essential role in the achievement of your goals. Your employees not only provide expertise but also support in difficult times. An exceptional team pulls you up, drives your business forward.

Success is defined as the ability to achieve your goals. Develop these seven characteristics, and you will see that you will have the same sense of satisfaction as a Jeff Bezos!

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Finance

Vietnam’s services platform JupViec snags funding from venture builder STI Holdings

JupViec, a Vietnam-based service platform, has received an undisclosed amount of funding from venture builder STI Holdings, making it the largest institutional shareholder in the company, DealStreetAsia has reported. The funding will help the firm to accelerate staff training, enhance its service quality, and upgrade technological capacity.

Its previous backers are Japan’s Cyberagent Capital and impact fund Patamar Capital.

JupViec serves to connect women-majority gig workers to households who demand helpers.

For the upcoming projects, the startup will provide new service offerings, including viral disinfection, household sanitation, electronics cleaning, and ironing.

Singapore’s knowledge sharing startup Arches receives US$450K from Vietnam-based accounting firm I-GLOCAL, others

Singapore-based knowledge-sharing service firm Arches announced today it has raised US$450,000 funding from Vietnam-based accounting firm I-GLOCAL and individual investors, including Masashi Suekane, Managing Director of Bain Capital Private Equity, Hiroyuki Ono, Partner at ACA Investments, and six other angel investors.

With the funding, reports DealStreetAsia, the startup will continue to grow its operations in Singapore, Tokyo, Ho Chi Minh City, Shanghai, and Tashkent.

“In Asia, especially in the fastest-growing economies, industry information belongs to a small group of insiders, and public data and reports available to the market are extremely limited,” said Hiroki Kato, representative director of Arches.

People

Gaming, e-sports startup yup.gg hires two ex-BBH agency execs into leadership positions

Singapore-based yup.gg has appointed David Webster as Chief Commercial Officer and Tim Lindley as Chief Experience Officer.

Both these executives previously worked at BBH (Bartle Bogle Hegarty). Webster held the role of BBH’s Singapore Managing Director for the past 14 years, leading global and APAC accounts for Nike, Samsung, and Riot Games. Lindley was BBH Managing Partner and Head of Content, working with brands including Nike, Samsung, Riot Games, Sentosa, and YouTube, who’s also a former Red Bull exec.

According to yup.gg, the appointment of Webster and Lindley its executive team is the start of expansion plans across the region.

CEO and Co-founder Rai Cockfield said: “In their new roles Webster and Lindley will develop the demand side of the yup.gg marketplace, deepening partnerships with brands and agencies, and working closely with the platform engineering team to evolve the product experience to fit the needs of today’s brand marketers.”

Business

Global financial settlement network EMQ partners with Singapore’s FAST to establish Southeast Asian presence

EMQ, a global financial settlement network, announced today that it is augmenting its footprint across Southeast Asia with direct connectivity to Singapore’s Fast and Secure Transfers (FAST) network and extensive bank coverage across Malaysia.

“As the digital transformation journey continues in Southeast Asia, enterprises today are increasingly international in scale to capitalise on the cross-border business opportunities. It is fuelling the growth in digital payments, which is expected to exceed US$1 trillion by 2025.

Hence, the ability to make and receive cross-border payments quickly and transparently is critical for businesses to thrive globally,” said Max Liu, Co-founder, and CEO of EMQ.

Also Read: Here’s how global businesses could drive sustainable development

Powered by EMQ’s global financial settlement network, businesses can now have instant access to 19 banks under Singapore’s FAST and bank coverage across Malaysia under one single, secure, and comprehensive API integration. EMQ’s Connect API integration platform is designed to streamline the complexity of making cross-border payments by providing solutions that can scale to meet the needs of businesses with high transaction volumes, enabling them to control their workflows for seamless user experience.

EMQ’s network currently spans across Europe, the UK, Singapore, Malaysia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Taiwan, and the Philippines.

In the coming months, the company said it will expand across Africa and the US.
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Picture Credit: JupViec

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Global payments giant Mastercard has announced that it will be leading Indonesian fintech holding company Digiasia‘s Series B funding round.

Other details were haven’t been disclosed.

Mastercard will provide both capital and strategic assistance to Digiasia in strengthening its suite of financial services that the company claims expand the ways individuals and MSMEs can take part in the digital economy.

Also Read: Asia Pacific markets see a significant jump in women entrepreneurs: Mastercard study

Digiasia’s focus is to work together with all stakeholders to increase financial inclusion in Indonesia. The firm is affiliated with several fintech companies in Indonesia with a technological framework that provides security across transactions, guards against risky lending, and allows funds to be accessed and transacted in both digital and physical ways. The companies it has affiliated with are KasPro (digital payment with electronic money), KreditPro (P2P lending) and RemitPro (remittance).

The investment comes at a time when the government and its stakeholders are focussed on driving financial inclusion. According to the Financial Services Authority, Indonesia is looking at the financial inclusion index hitting 76.19, passing the government’s target of 75 per cent for the year. With this, the digitalisation of commerce in the country could help add an additional US$150 billion to the GDP by 2025.

The company is working with a number of transport operators to allow for easy payments for services; large vendors such as iRMA and Metrodata who can offer B2B sales financed
by KreditPro; remittance companies like Western Union and Mandiri Syariah, and is digitising the supply chains of DistroPro.

In addition to Mastercard’s financial investment, Digiasia will also leverage its banking and business networks and cybersecurity expertise.

“Financial inclusion is about more than just having people transact money via apps or make online purchases. It’s about finding simple mechanisms that broaden economic opportunities so that people at all levels of society can enjoy the benefits of a modernizing digital economy,” said Safdar Khan, Division President, Southeast Asia Emerging Markets, Mastercard.

“Mastercard is deeply committed in helping Indonesia to exceed its financial inclusion goals, and hence the decision to work with Digiasia, whose suite of financial services is already making a marked difference in the everyday lives of many Indonesians,” he added.

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Picture Credit: Digiasia

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The agritech industry in Indonesia is facing several pressing challenges, including poor infrastructure and digital literacy. The socialisation of the products and the mass market adoption are the other main hurdles.

“Socialising our platform for farmers and clients is a costly process, but this is something that all startups have to go through. Luckily for socialisation, the Indonesian government has introduced and sponsored several programmes to help increase awareness for farmers and fishermen to the available platforms,” said Pamitra Wineka, President and Co-founder of TaniHub.

Click here to know about the other grave challenges and also all the other things you need to know about the country’s agritech ecosystem.

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Singapore’s P2P knowledge sharing startup Kalpha expands to Vietnam

Singapore-based edutech startup Kalpha, which provides a P2P knowledge-sharing platform, will officially launch its application on April 2020 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. This also marks its first international expansion.

Founded in 2018 by Jack Soh and Jaden Teo, the startup aims to make learning affordable and universally accessible to everyone.

“We strongly believe that education should be relevant, experiential and personalised in this crazy fast-paced society. Learning from experienced individuals is always more engaging and rewarding as compared to textbooks in a formal classroom environment,” said CEO Soh.

Indian e-scooter rental firm Bounce raises US$6.5M to build an ecosystem of electric vehicles

Bounce, a bike and e-scooter rental firm announced a US$6.5 million investment today, according to TechInAsia. The company recently also raised US$105 million Series D funding, led by Facebook’s Co-founder Eduardo Saverin’s B Capital Group and Accel.

Also Read: Morning News Roundup: Vietnam’s STI Holdings invests in gig workers service platform JupViec

The new funds will be used to integrate electric vehicles (EVs) to its platform, expand regionally, and accelerate profitability.

Bounce aims to move towards sustainable mobility and assist in reducing costs per kilometre.

BEYOND selects OneConnect as strategic tech partner in the bid for Digital Full Bank license

Digital banking consortium BEYOND announced today that it has selected OneConnect Financial Technology, a member of NYSE-listed OneConnect Financial Technology, as the strategic technology partner to jointly develop innovative digital banking products and services for Singapore SMEs and their workforce.

The BEYOND consortium is led by V3 Group through its fintech arm V3 Fintech and Singapore’s contactless payment pioneer EZ-Link, and comprises leaders in the Singapore business community, including Singapore Business Federation, Far East Organization, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance and Heliconia Capital Management.

Gan Chee Yen, Chairman-designate of BEYOND said, “BEYOND is progressively building up a future-ready infrastructure that will position us to support and elevate Singapore SMEs and their workforce. The current economic difficulties experienced by many Singapore businesses and their employees have further reinforced BEYOND’s determination to support digital transformations in order for these businesses to be more sustainable and resilient.”

Tan Bin Ru, CEO (APAC & UAE) of OneConnect, said: “Together with BEYOND, we will create innovative products and services that will better serve consumers, SMEs, as well as other underbanked and underserved segments in Singapore and ASEAN.”

Vidhya Duthaluru named Engineering Head for Uber’s customer care platform

Global ride-hailing company Uber announced today Vidhya Duthaluru has joined as its Global Engineering Head for the customer care platform.

Duthaluru will be involved in leading teams in Uber’s Bay Area and Bangalore tech centres to improve customer support experiences and feedback mechanisms for users worldwide.

Prior to this Vidhya had joined Uber’s Bangalore tech centre in August 2018 to set up a team to build customer care platform technology known as the Customer Obsession team within Uber.

 

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