Day: March 21, 2020

Finance

Community-based social commerce platform Chilibeli raises US$10M led by Lightspeed Ventures

Indonesian social commerce platform Chilibeli that connects farmers and manufacturers to bring fresh and quality products at affordable prices, has received US$10 million in funding, led by Lightspeed Ventures. 

Also participated in the round are Golden Gate Ventures, Sequoia Surge, Kinesys Group, and Alto Partners.

Also Read: Meet the 8 Southeast Asian startups who will receive US$1-2M each from Sequoia’s Surge programme

According to the company, the funds are being used to strengthen Jakarta, Tangerang Selatan, and Depok’s networks of communities, while also expanding its reach to Bogor and Bekasi. It also plans to continue to improve the UI and UX of its application, as well as advancing the facility of its Depok’s warehouse.

Launched in July 2019 by Alex Feng, Damon Yue, and Matt Li, Chilibeli empowers its agents (partners), many of whom are housewives, with the opportunity to create value for consumers, promote community bonding, and increase their household income.

Chilibeli saw a social opportunity in Indonesian housewives being in control of household spending. The firm is seeking opportunities to pursue their aspirations by also finding another source of income to the family, and Chilibeli benefits housewives by leveraging social networks amongst their communities and neighbourhood through the most basic household spendings, and also by making the price of groceries more affordable compared to the price of the market, daily.

Genomics-tech startup Nusantics raises seed funding led by East Ventures

Indonesia-based genomics technology company Nusantics announced today it has raised an undisclosed amount of seed funding, led by East Ventures. 

The fresh funds will be used to “accelerate company in pioneering the BioGenome journey” in the country.

Nusantics focusses on applying advancements in genomics and microbiome research to fulfil consumer needs of a healthy yet sustainable lifestyle. The company was founded in 2019 by Sharlini Eriza Putri, Vincent Kurniawan, and Revata Utama.

Microbiome is a complex ecosystem of microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi that live on and inside every human and every living thing on earth. It is instrumental to the immune system and each person has a unique microbiome profile.

Nusantics believes that understanding customers’ own microbiome profile is essential in helping consumers pick the necessary products that fit their bodily needs and also are more sustainable. 

The firm said it plans to begin to introduce its technology to the Indonesian lifestyle market by applying them for human skin — a living ecosystem of billions of microbiomes.

Corporate angel network she1K injects over US$348K in 3 startups

Corporate angel network she1K has invested over US$348,000 in three startups, which participated in its C-shark Tank programme. The startups are marketplace startup Lumiere32 (Singapore), petcare startup Kibus (Spain), and medtech Nephtech (Singapore).

According to an article by DealStreetAsia, the top three startups were selected from 12 finalists of the C-shark Tank programme. According to she1K, startups were evaluated based on valuation appeal, defensibility, team, traction, business model and scalability.

Also Read: Singapore’s version of ‘Shark Tank’ will send the winner to the UK

She1k was founded by Christina Teo, founder of Startup Asia Women, with the aim to expose more corporate women to startups and angel investing. It seeks to push for more gender diversity on company boards, especially in the startups it invests in.

Indonesia-based edutech startup Pahamify raises US$150K funding from Y Combinator

Pahamify, an Indonesia-based edutech startup that provides lessons for senior high students, has received US$150,000 funding from Y Combinator. 

The company said that the funds will be used to add new learning materials for junior high students and teachers to the platform, as reported by KrAsia.

“Our target is to remain innovative in helping Indonesian students reach their maximum potential and feel the thrill of learning,” said Pahamify CEO Rousyan Fikri.

Before this funding, Pahamify has also received an undisclosed amount in grants from YouTube and Y Combinator. Pahamify is listed among Y Combinator’s winter 2020 batch, together with two other Indonesian startups, Newman’s, and YukStay.

Founded by a YouTube science influencer in mid-2017, Pahamify combines science learning, film-making, and gamification to create high-quality educational content under its Pahamiframework. The platform uses animated videos, quizzes, and summaries to engage users.

Business

gojek denies laying off employees and merger with Grab, stating profitability

gojek has addressed the issue that it has recently laid employees off amid the company’s profitability. In a TechInAsia’s article, gojek CEO Andre Soelistyo reportedly told employees that the company’s transportation business has been profitable for “a few months” during an internal town hall meeting, while its food delivery and a payment gateway arm remain unprofitable.

During the town hall, Soelistyo also denied a recent report that said gojek has let go of over 100 mid- and lower-level employees.

In addition, Soelistyo said that news about merger talks between Grab and gojek, is false.

Recently, the company raised US$1.2 billion in fresh funding.

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Picture Credit: Nusantics

The post Morning News Roundup: Chilibeli raises US$10M, gojek denies staff layoff and Grab merger reports appeared first on e27.

The novel coronavirus spreading fast globally, affecting about 180 countries and territories and claiming over 10,000 lives. While almost all industries got severely affected by the virus, e-commerce is seeing massive growth as people prefer to shop online while staying indoors. 

Tiki.vn, a leading e-commerce firm in Vietnam, is also witnessing a growth in the number of orders. Let’s look at how Tiki is growing amidst the corona crisis and the different measures it has taken to tide over the epidemic.

15% revenue growth from the beginning of February

Since the beginning of February, the demand has recorded a 15 per cent increase over the November-December 2019 period. The most purchased items have been masks, wet towels and air purifiers.

The reason for making a comparison with the Nov-Dec 2019 period is because Q4 was a shopping festival time in Vietnam. During peak time in this period, e-commerce firms in the country saw an average of 3,000-4,000 orders per minute.

Also Read: E-commerce wars in Vietnam intensify. Here is all you need to know

“Tiki is always committed to high quality and good prices of all products on our platform, especially for disease prevention products such as hand sanitizers or masks. Besides controlling the prices of products, we also strive to ensure the product supply, particularly hand sanitizer products as washing hands is considered one of the effective disease prevention methods recommended by medical experts and doctors,” said Ngo Hoang Gia Khanh, Vice President of Corporate Development at Tiki.

Books witnessed 1.5X growth 

The first two months of 2020 (as Covid-19 breakout was in the initial stages), Tiki witnessed a 1.5x y-o-y growth in the books category. The top-5 bestselling genres were literature books, self-help books, children’s books, books on economics and manga-comics. 

Two genres with remarkable growth rates were medical books and family knowledge books with 2.7x and 2x growth, respectively. Foreign language learning books, reference books, mother-baby books, and medical books also got attention.

Tiki is currently running an online book fair until March 31, 2020, 

Safety first

The company has disinfected all of its workplaces and fulfilment centres (areas such as canteen and offices are disinfected daily). Mandatory wearing of masks by employees is strictly implemented to ensure the safety of customers when shopping demands are high. 

As online shopping peaked, Tiki’s logistics unit TikiNOW Smart Logistics (TNSL) swiftly activated/made operational all of its 33 fulfilment centres and warehouses of over 80,000 sqm in 13 key cities, including Hanoi, HCMC, Hai Phong, Da Nang, Nha Trang, and Can Tho.

“Goods are sourced and stored in our fulfilment centres, which allow us to proactively respond to the needs and wants of consumers,” said Henry Low, CEO of TikiNOW Smart Logistics.

Safe delivery

In peak times, the site received 4,000-5,000 orders per minute, requiring continuous stock-in. Top-selling products on Tiki have been masks, wet tissues, and air purifiers. Besides, other essential products like commodities and consumer goods are also adequately supplied to customers in 63 cities and provinces.

Tiki is also closely working with business partners (manufacturers, suppliers and retailers) to keep minimal the negative impact of Covid-19.

“Tiki has encouraged the partners to join hands with us to quickly and safely conquer the acute challenges of the Covid-19 storm,” said Vu Thi Nhat Linh, Vice President of Managed Marketplace at Tiki.

Safe TNSL has assured safety regulations during product processing and delivery to consumers. All employees working at TNSL’s fulfilment centres, hubs and sorting centres are required mandatory temperature checks before and after their work shift and are required to use hand sanitizer regularly.

Shippers and delivery executives, who regularly work outside and have direct contact with customers, are asked to wear masks all the time.

Thousands of back-office employees are allowed to work from home from March 15 to 22 to mitigate the risk of infection amongst. They are required to set up work objectives and deadlines and update their work daily through an internal work management system. All departments are requested to have online meetings.

Employees are discouraged from travelling to regions hit by Covid-19.

The post How Vietnam’s e-commerce firm Tiki is tiding over Covid-19 crisis appeared first on e27.

Singapore government-owned startup builder and investor SGInnovate announced today that its Board has appointed Lim Jui as its new CEO, effective 1 May 2020.

He will be taking the helm from Steve Leonard, who stepped down as SGInnovate’s founding CEO in January. Leonard announced last month that he will join US-based Singularity University as its CEO.

Dr. Jui has over two decades of experience in innovation, research commercialisation and investment. “I am fortunate to have experienced commercialisation through multiple lenses as an investor, startup CEO, and most recently, seeing through early-stage technology commercialisation. I hope to bring this experience to bear at SGInnovate,” he said.

Also Read: SGInnovate’s Steve Leonard to join Singularity University as its CEO

“I intend to build upon the very considerable successes of SGInnovate by focusing on the deeptech sector, in which Singapore has established competitive advantage and thought leadership, but which remains relatively underfunded. Deeptech startups need more tangible support than others,” he added.  

Yong Ying-I, Chairman, SGInnovate said: “The Board and management are confident that given Jui’s experience in commercialising research and bringing new technologies to international markets, under his leadership, SGInnovate will be able to continue its good work in building and strengthening the Deep Tech ecosystem in Singapore.”

SGInnovate works with local and international partners, including universities, venture capitalists, and major corporations to help technical founders imagine, start and scale globally-relevant early-stage technology companies from Singapore.

Since its launch in 2016, the SGInnovate team has been part of the building and investing in 90 deeptech startups, as well as creating an engaged deep tech community of more than 33,000 people.

The organisation said in a statement that it would continue to work closely with a wide range of partners and co-investors to back entrepreneurial scientists through equity-based investments, access to talent and business-building advice. 

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Image Credit: SGInnovate

The post Lim Jui named CEO of SGInnovate as Steve Leonard departs in May appeared first on e27.

Uber considers suspending ride-sharing options in India after US, Canada

Ride sharing company Uber is considering to suspend its Uber Pool service in India, according to Tech In Asia. The company had made a similar decision in US and Canada on March 17 and is speculated to do the same in India.

The group ride-sharing feature in US and Canada has been called off to “help flatten the curve on community spread in the cities we serve,” according to Vice President Andrew Macdonald, directing towards the pressures of coronavirus and rules of social distancing.

An India serves as a key market for Uber, discontinuing this service could temporarily result as a setback for the company.

KKR names new APAC tech lead

Lucian Schoenefelder, KKR’s head of European technology growth deals division, will take over as the new Asia Pacific head of technology, according to South China Morning Post.

Schoenfelder will be helping with private equity deals and building growth equity for smaller businesses.

Last year, according to The Financial Times and DealStreetAsia, KKR was also looking to move into early-stage investing.

Also Read: Morning News Roundup: Chilibeli raises US$10M, gojek denies staff layoff and Grab merger reports

Indonesian government launches chatbot to spread COVID-19 awareness

The Indonesian government announced today that it has released a chatbot on WhatsApp to spread basic awareness and prevent misinformation about coronavirus to citizens, according to Kr-Asia.

The account will be released in the name of COVID19.GO.ID, which will be the same as the government’s URL information portal about COVID-19. It can also be accessed at this number: +62-811-3339-9000.

Singapore also has a similar chatbot feature.

The contents will be provided by the Indonesian National Board for Disaster Management (BNPB) and the Ministry of Health and will be updated in accordance with global developments for increased credibility.

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Image Credit: Dan Gold on Unsplash

 

The post Afternoon News Roundup: Uber mulls suspending ride-sharing options in India appeared first on e27.

Singapore is the hub of the e-commerce sector in Southeast Asia, given its strategic position and economic status. From Singapore-headquartered firms like Lazada and Sea Group-owned Shopee to homegrown ones like Qoo100 and newcomer Amazon.sg, it seems like there’s a seat for everybody on the table.

However, according to the 2019 Yearend Report put together by iPrice, App Annie, and SimilarWeb, it’s still Lazada and Shopee that hold the key positions in the e-commerce race in the city-state. Both are the most actively used e-commerce shopping apps in 2019, according to App Annie, not only in Singapore but also in Southeast Asia.

The report goes into detail intending to keep track of the city-state’s world-class digital economy and ambition to achieve the Smart Nation status by analysing the most interesting developments of the top-performing e-commerce players in the Lion City as of 2019.

According to Google, Temasek & Bain company, the e-commerce industry in Singapore is predicted to contribute a total of US$6.8 billion in 2025, a 22 per cent increase from 2015. It signifies an ample room for further growth in the country’s e-commerce sector within the next five years, and from the looks of it, the ecosystem welcomes new players with open arms.

The report concludes with four insights regarding the e-commerce scene in the country:

Singapore as the vanguard

Lazada and Shopee, as Singapore-headquartered companies, were consistently the most actively used e-commerce apps in Singapore and Southeast Asia in 2019, according to App Annie. Data reveals that the two giants showed clear stability throughout the year, indicating strong customer loyalty.

Also Read: E-commerce wars in Vietnam intensify. Here is all you need to know

For web visits, Shopee maintains its stability in 2019 both in desktop and mobile web platforms, garnering more than two billion visitors across Southeast Asia.

On the other hand, Lazada continued to thrive on the market share in Southeast Asia, as it experienced a 13 per cent growth in visits as of 2019.

Singapore-focussed e-commerce company

Singapore’s e-commerce sector already has two early unicorns — Sea Group (owner of Shopee) and Lazada. Despite the tight competition against these two, Qoo100 (formerly known as GMarket) maintained a strong presence in 2019.

Not a unicorn itself, Qoo100 managed to come through the other end sitting on the second most-visited e-commerce website platform, with almost 30 per cent of the web market share in Singapore as of 2019. The same also goes for its app, up until the third quarter in 2019 before it slid to 3rd position in the fourth quarter.

Growth of Amazon.sg since its debut

Amazon has recently launched in Singapore under Amazon.sg, and it quickly rocketed into the 4th position.

It managed to garner more visits than older e-commerce portals within a quarter, which is the result of its localisation strategy to tailor their products to Singaporeans, according to the report.

Also Read: How ShopBack sweetens shopping in Southeast Asia

Both Amazon Prime Now and Amazon apps also remained in the top 10 most-used e-commerce shopping apps as of 2019’s fourth quarter. The report further predicts that due to its nature of various inventory of products and local and international shipping reach, the company is most likely to increase the demand of local consumers in Singapore in 2020.

Singapore to outgrow the pond

According to the report, Singapore is at the forefront of having the highest average basket size in Southeast Asia. In 2019, shoppers in Singapore had an average basket size of US$69 on Single’s Day.

The high spending on online sales events was driven by the positive interest of consumers of the sales event paired with extravagant deals & marketing initiatives by various e-commerce companies.

Moreover, many possibilities that most likely led to high spending on online sales events were probably due to high per capita incomes. With its maturity in technological advancement, the average order values in Singapore’s e-commerce sector are 3-4 times higher than its neighbouring countries.

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Photo by Bench Accounting on Unsplash

The post Singapore’s e-commerce is getting stronger thanks to highest per capita income in the region: iPrice report appeared first on e27.