Month: April 2020

Australian fintech startup Airwallex locks US$160 million Series D for expansion

Cross-border financial startup Airwallex has raised US$160 million in a Series D round from ANZi Ventures according to TechCrunch. Other investors include Salesforce Ventures, and existing investors DST Global, Tencent, Sequoia Capital China, Hillhouse Capital and Horizons Ventures.

The new funding will be used on potential acquisitions and expansion to the US, Europe and Middle Eastern markets. Plans to launch new products, such as payment acceptance tools, have also been expressed.

The unicorn company had already reached a valuation of more than US$1 billion last year, according to TechCrunch.

“Being able to transact and do business with customers all over the world is a key criterion for companies who are going through a digital transformation. We’re excited to partner with Airwallex at this critical time in its growth, expanding both its footprint globally and its product capabilities,” said Salesforce Ventures’ head of Australia Rob Keith.

Fintech company TransferWise plans to launch cross-border money transfer service in UAE

London-based TransferWise, which already has an extended reach in Asia now plans to expand to the Middle East and North Africa with the launch of cross-border money transfer service in UAE, according to Kr-Asia.

The company has around 14 offices across the globe and claims to have handled US$3.9 billion (S$5.34billion) in cross-border transfers every month for four million customers.

“Sending money abroad should be as easy as sending an email, yet many people are still reliant on expensive, slow legacy services. People can now send money to over 80 countries without leaving their homes, and all at the real, mid-market exchange rate,” said Kristo Käärmann, co-founder of TransferWise.

Transferwise had also partnered with PayNow recently to offer more customers more choices to make payments.

Setu lands US$15M Series A for its financial service platform

Setu, a Bengaluru-India based startup that provides open APIs across bills, savings, credit, and payments has raised US$15M in a Series A round led by Falcon Edge Capital and Lightspeed Venture Partners US. Existing backers Lightspeed India Partners and Bharat Inclusion Seed Fund also joined the round.

The fresh capital will be used to develop its platform further, strengthen the hiring team and introduce new features.

“We want to reimagine financial services for every Indian, rich or poor, by enabling developers to build products that weren’t possible before. Patience, capital, experimentation, and stellar execution are essential to make this magic happen,” said Nikhil Kumar, co-founder of Setu.

“We are on a decades-long path to building financial infrastructure that will be used for generations to come,” he asserted.

Revolut, StashAway, PolicyPal join forces to support medical heroes during COVID-19

Fintech company Revolut, investment management company StashAway, and insurtech company PolicyPal come together to support medical heroes during COVID-19 in Singapore.

The goal is to offer financial, insurance and rides benefits, to support their wellbeing during this crisis.

Also Read: News Roundup: Novade raises Series B funding; Temasek JV invests in UK startup

Revolut will be providing medical personnel three per cent cashback for every transaction made on Revolut VISA card and up to S$50 rides rebates per week for any ride services.

PolicyPal will offer Personal Accident COVID-19 insurance with a diagnosis benefit of US$3,000 and up to US$2,000 outpatient medical expenses reimbursement. Medical personnel are also eligible to receive free investing for six months offered by StashAway, making sure they will be financially secured once COVID-19 is over.

Indonesian government criticised over relationship with presidential special staffs’ startups 

In an article by The Jakarta Post, critics are questioning the relationship between startups founded by presidential special staffs with the Indonesian government after the former are being called to get involved in national-scale programmes. The presidential special staffs were accused of conflict of interests and lack of transparency.

The pre-employment card programme is an initiative by the government to aid job seekers and laid-off workers by granting them access and funding to a range of training.

Adamas Belva Devara, a presidential special staff who also happens to be the CEO of education startup Ruangguru, got tangled in controversy when the government appointed his company (among several other startups) to provide training for the programme.

Devara, in a statement on Twitter, said that he was ready to step down from the position but the decision “should be discussed with the palace”.

Other than Ruangguru, education startups MauBelajarApa, Pijar, Pintaria and Tokopedia Pintar are among the startups engaged in the programme.

“Some startups are cosying up to the government to keep getting projects and sustain their business,” Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (Indef) economist Bhima Yudhistira told The Jakarta Post.

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Image Credit:  Sean Pollock

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As the coronavirus spreads across the world, the worsening situation has triggered many countries to accelerate its containment measures from enacting curfews, closure of public areas, to locking its national borders.

Fresh from reeling in the slowdown from the disruption from e-commerce players, brick-and-mortar stores have once again taken a massive hit from stores closure and consumers not wanting to step out of their homes, causing global retailers to sustain massive cash flow pressures from zero sales and high overheads from salaries and rents.

Based on data from America’s National Retail Federation (NRF), the US retail sales account form US$2.6 trillion of its annual GDP and employs 29 million people in the country alone.

In the last two weeks, over 10 million of unemployment insurance claims have been made, with a bulk of the claims being accounted to major US retailers. Macy’s, Kohl’s and JC Penny have announced furloughing nearly 80,000 employees each with fast fashion retailer Gap looking to furlough 80,000 of its 129,000 employees.

It is noted that the domino effect from the store closures and decline of US retailers have not only significantly impacted retail workers, but also clothing manufacturers, textiles, leather and fabric producers. The virus has caused chaos for millions of garment workers, especially in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam, where these clothes are produced.

Facing greater drawback of orders being suspended or holdback from distributors and retailers from the US and Europe, and a disruption of raw material supplies from China (where 90 per cent of raw materials in Myanmar are sourced from), we have seen the first sign of massive job losses of garment workers that are earning wages barely able to cover their basic needs, leading to a series of social issues and at the same time, sparking the possibility of a national crisis.

Also Read: Ex-Oway Director’s e-commerce app Ezay makes life easy for rural woman retailers in Myanmar

Bangladesh and Cambodia garments account for 80 per cent of export and 16 per cent of GDP while Vietnam anticipates 30-50 per cent of its 2.8 million workers employed in the garment and textile industries to be laid off in the coming months.

Perhaps the worst hit is the luxury segment, by shutting the doors of 40 per cent of its stores globally, it is revealed that Burberry Group’s sales have fallen by 50 per cent.

Nonetheless, the luxury segment has taken the lead in the adoption of technology. Shanghai and Milan Fashion Week livestreamed on Tmall and Tencent respectively this year, pivoting to livestreaming opportunistically as a way to reach a larger and savvier younger audience.

These brands have also stepped effort in their digital integration strategies as they integrate into WeChat’s Mini Program to showcase runway looks and enable orders from Customers.

The bright spot emerging from COVID-19 is the adoption of technology and the use of e-commerce platforms. Amazon announced that they are opening job positions for 100,000 employees in the warehouse and logistics department, Alibaba assisted over 300,000 merchants to host daily livestreaming sessions on Taobao Live and JD.com has seen a 400 per cent rise for sales of fresh produces.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on overall economic growth will depend on the duration and effectiveness of coordinated fiscal measures taken by governments around the world. The coronavirus-necessitated economy slowdown is predicted to position global economies into a technical recession, driven by general uncertainties regarding individuals’ physical wellbeing and consumers’ negative perceptions about growth.

Also Read: How are small brick-and-mortar retailers in Malaysia coping with the e-commerce revolution

To weather the storm, it is paramount for retailers to reconsider their business models and adopt a different approach when it comes to consumer engagement.

Whilst digitisation initiatives are essential to transform traditional retailers, it is worthwhile to rethink diversification of supply chain. Perhaps we should be thinking local before global?

For more insights by RHL Ventures on COVID-19’s impact on the retail industry and various other sectors, please visit this link.

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Register for our next webinar: Mindful meditation for working professionals

Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing contributions from the community. Become a thought leader in the community and share your opinions or ideas and earn a byline by submitting a post.

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The post How COVID-19 is fostering new wave of retail appeared first on e27.

All of a sudden, it feels as if the world is put on fast forward as we begin to come up with virtual solutions for all the events that were once a part of daily life.

Many companies are now beginning to implement  Zoom happy hours to maintain company culture while some of us still joke about going out on a FaceTime date.

Creators are also taking advantage of technology during this time and turning their cancelled IRL events into easily accessible URL events.

That being said, e27 strives to keep up with the promise of supporting the startup ecosystem by bringing you nine virtual events that you should not miss if you’re a startup founder.

1. April 15 (ongoing), Dezeen “Dezeen’s virtual design festival”

If you’re the type of person who follows Elon Musk on Twitter, this should be the perfect event for you. 

As the first virtual design festival, this event will feature talks, movie screenings and workshops and include a showcase of architecture, futuristic technologies,  problem-solving product packaging and many more. 

2. April 16, e27 “Mindfulness meditation for working professionals amid COVID-19“

Are you a busy working professional who can barely find the time to sit down and relax? e27 has designed a webinar specifically for people like that.

Join Bjorn Lee CEO of MindFi as he guides busy bees in simple, quick and easy to do practices to provide relaxation that can make a significant difference at work.

Also Read: e27 Webinar: Why silence is not golden

3. April 16, Draper House ” How we raised US$200K in our first crowdfunding campaign“

If you’re someone who is having trouble fundraising for your startup during this hard time, this is the perfect opportunity to learn first hand from new founder Marcos Bulacio journey.

Marcos Bulacio began selling Pangea bamboo travel towel on Kickstarter campaign and successfully managed to attract capital.

Also Read: Lessons from a student entrepreneur on building a successful startup

He will be sharing his experience on how he managed to do this along with tips on what founders can do to create a successful campaign.

4. April 17, New Campus “The New Virtual Reality: The Future of Remote Work“

This conference will gather a variety of leaders from corporations and startups as they speak about resiliency, team leadership, and mental well being in times of crisis and how it can be overcome.

With the growing need for remote teams, founders share how such problems can be tackled and how organisations can bounce back.

5. April 17, Startup Grind “Freaky Friday Virtual Happy Hour” 

Who said that you can’t still network with professionals from around the world?

Startup Grind is hosting a free Friday virtual happy hour for professionals from all over to network and make friends with.

This event will feature a “quarantine” drink contest, where “virtual drink” experts will judge the contest and where winners will receive some interesting prizes.

6. April 22, Startup grind “What investors think about before they finance your startup“

This is an event specifically for startup founders who are actively seeking angel investors or are curious to know more about them.

Florin Pop, founder and Managing Partner at Primainvest Capital Management, will be the guest speaker for this webinar and he will share insights on behind the scenes of the world of investments along with actionable tips on how to please investors.

Also Read: e27 webinar: Sailing through COVID-19 crisis with mindfulness meditation

7. April 23, Women of Influence Asia “How to get savvy with your money”

At a time like this, this is probably one of the most valuable webinars one can tune in.

Join Mina Chung, a serial entrepreneur who owns a boutique hotel, Petite Dalat, and co-founder of a tech incubator, TerraTech as she speaks about how you can stop overspending and begin investing along with some ways to set financial priorities during different stages of life.

8. April 23, e27 “How founders can become thought leaders“

From founders to team leaders, many people are using thought leadership to boost brand awareness and strengthen consumer trust.

In this e27 Webinar, Muara Makarim, author of Vertical Journey and regional PR manager of Revolut, will speak about how leaders can become one by observing trends for the industry and being able to stimulate the ecosystem.

9. April 28, SGInnovate “Let’s Play Quantum Computer Games! “

Interested to know about the latest trends in quantum computing? For a long time now people have been trying to improve the gaming experience through better-than-ever graphics and non-player characters that move realistically.

Join Junye Huang a Quantum Developer Advocate at IBM Quantum as he talks about how games can introduce people to quantum computing and the future of gaming on quantum computers. An exciting online puzzle game featuring quantum components will also be shared during the talk.

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Image Credit: Leon Seibert

 

 

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A hardware-as-a-service startup is a startup that blends the smart use of hardware through a SaaS backend.

The technique creates hybrid venture models that enable traditional business models to utilise connected technology in new ways.

Taiwan has seen a few of these types of initiatives, due to its excellent reputation as a contributor to the global hardware ecosystem and its reputation as a producer of talented engineers.

In general, over the past few years, early stage founders from around an economic region we refer to as Greater Southeast Asia (ASEAN + Taiwan) have found their way to Taiwan to take advantage of the country’s unique ecosystem set up and create engineering operations, research and development centers, or business development offices.

In a new podcast, Startup Island, we will feature these and other entrepreneurs who have taken part in the semi-annual AppWorks Accelerator, a twice-yearly free accelerator in Taiwan that assists the growth of GSEA startups in Blockchain and AI.

Also Read: The SaaS pricing model is broken, let’s fix it

In the first episode of Startup Island, we talk to founder Andrew Jiang, co-founder at Soda Labs, a Hardware-as-a-Service venture builder.

 

He has spent a significant amount of time in Taiwan and he has evaluated the qualities of the country that have made it a good choice for building a startup there.

Jiang’s startup builds new companies from the ground-up using a mix of internally-driven team ideas and partnerships with ventures that combine hardware and a SaaS model.

In this podcast, he goes into some specifics of what this means, and how it focuses his outlook in marketing the company and generating new partnerships.

In the bigger picture, there are three reasons why Soda Labs and other startups are driven to explore Taiwan, especially those founders that are interested in ideas that utilise supply chain or hardware.

Jiang talks about these in this nearly 15 minute-long interview.

Talent Pool: Founders can work face-to-face with innovative engineers and the leading OEMs that have made the island nation famous for providing the supply chain in software and hardware for robust global tech companies like Foxconn, Apple, and Samsung, among others.

Digital First: This country of 23 million people has perhaps the most robust e-economy in SEA, at US$ 42.2 billion a year, a figure that has attracted software and web companies like Facebook and Google to set up R&D offices here.

Peers and Mentors: Fast-growing unicorns and other startups that started in places like Singapore have quickly set up operations in Taiwan to take advantage of its access to Greater Southeast Asia. The includes companies like Shopback and Carousell.

AppWorks analyst Jun Wakabayashi spoke to Andrew about how he managed his learning curve in figuring this out after first starting in Silicon Valley.

Also Read: Podcast: A conversation with Sebastian Starzynski, CEO Of TakeTask

This is a good conversation for founders because it shows the thought process a founder has to go through to take two very different cultures and ecosystem experiences and integrate them into a business model.

The results have proven promising for Jiang. He has a continued partnership with Foxconn and his team is delivering new products, even during the COVID19 pandemic.

Times are very challenging for founders right now. It makes sense to seek out a community that can provide answers and firsthand experiences in this environment.

Keep an eye out on the AppWorks Accelerator for more.

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Register for our next webinar: Mindful meditation for working professionals

Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing contributions from the community. Become a thought leader in the community and share your opinions or ideas and earn a byline by submitting a post.

Join our e27 Telegram group, or like the e27 Facebook page.

Image credit: Christian Wiediger on Unsplash

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Singapore’s foodtech startup Hoow Foods raises funding led by Nanyang Realty

Food reformulation technology startup Hoow Foods has announced that it has raised an undisclosed strategic funding, led by the Singapore-based Ang family office Nanyang Realty. Korean-based Venture Capital funds Sunbo Angel Partners and Lighthouse Combined Investment Co. also participated.

The funds will be used to expand Hoow Foods’s scientific headcount, enhance its technology infrastructure and accelerate its operations and R&D capabilities in the region.

Established in 2018, Hoow Foods is one of Singapore’s pioneers in the food technology scene. Aside from its low-calorie ice-cream brand Callery’s, Hoow Foods also commercialises its products via its collaboration with Singapore heritage brand Killiney Group.

In 2020, Killiney launched several new merchandises, including its new Premium Milk Tea and reformulated Premium White Coffee products, with all these offerings co-developed by the Hoow Foods team.

Both Hoow Foods and Killiney are currently working on new flavours to be launched in the near future, with emphasis on producing healthier versions of instant beverages.

ScaleUp Malaysia invests US$46K each in 10 growth-stage companies

ScaleUp Malaysia has announced that it has selected its top 10 companies for its inaugural cohort.

Each of these companies will receive an investment of RM200,000 (US$46,400) each to grow and scale their business further with a focus on regional and global expansion.

Also Read: ScaleUp Malaysia kickstarts 3-month programme with 20 companies in first cohort

Aaron Sarma, General Partner of ScaleUp Malaysia says, “We’ve been working with these companies for the last four months. The final decision was not easy but ultimately our investment committee selected companies with teams and products that were best positioned to scale into large markets.”

The selected companies are:

• ATX, a digital payments service provider that helps micro SMEs participate in the digital economy.
• AutoCraver, a startup that provides a cloud-based end to end management software called “Turbo” for car dealers to automate processes and facilitate car sales.
• Batik Boutique, a premier Malaysian gift brand with an artisanal story that creates social impact by empowering the B40 segment through education, training, and job creation.
• GOLOG, an on-demand cold chain logistics platform that uses data and machine learning to digitise the traditional supply chain.
• Iimmpact, a technology solution that enables digital payments to over 100 billers inclusive of mobile top-ups, utility bills, entertainment portals, local councils, and many more.
• Kwikcar, a peer-to-peer car-sharing platform that aims to change the future of mobility and car ownership.
• AOne, an educational platform for learning centres to manage their classes, teachers, and students through scheduling, fee collection, and process automation.
• BiiB, a community platform that creates gamified virtual events for runners and transforms running into a team sport.
• Agiliux, a cloud-based core insurance platform with extensive policy and claims management capabilities.
• Tripcarte, a travel technology company that provides a distribution platform for travel activity and attraction tickets.

ScaleUp Malaysia has conducted its final Investment Committee Pitch Session and virtually selected the 10 startups during the Movement Control Order period.

ESPL partners with Paytm to accelerate growth during lockdown

Esports Players League (ESPL), the global e-sports tournament network and platform, has entered into a strategic partnership with India-based Paytm First Games.

Paytm First Games will introduce ESPL’s mobile and online focussed tournaments to gaming enthusiasts in India. It will oversee the rollout of ESPL’s amateur e-sports platform in the country and execute tournaments, acquire users, secure local sponsorship and partnership deals, and create local media content.

Also Read: ESPL launches new tournament platform, aims to create a bedroom-to-champion pathway for online gamers

ESPL will support Paytm First Games’ efforts by delivering the complete tech solution, global sponsorships, media deals, and e-sports strategy.

The first ESPL season is scheduled from May to November 2020.

Paytm First Games has more than half a million daily active gamers on the platform, spending anywhere between 30 to 45 minutes per session. It is the digital gaming platform of Gamepind Entertainment Private Limited, which is a joint venture between AGTech Holdings Limited and One97 Communications Limited, the parent company of Paytm.

Fintech platform Razer pledges US$50M to support its business partners during COVID-19

Razer, the global lifestyle brand for gamers, has pledged to support its business partners, both current and future, through the economic downturn brought about by COVID-19.

Razer will deploy up to US$50 million within 2020 through three main support arms within the ecosystem:

• Razer Gold, Razer’s virtual currencies for its digital offering that will provide support to current and new content partners through marketing contributions and other immediate cashflow relief measures such as cash pre-payment, cash rebates, special rates and reduced settlement periods from 30 to 15 days. Razer will also explore potential investment opportunities in channel and content partners.
• Razer Fintech, Razer’s offline-to-online digital payment networks in Southeast Asia that will utilise both its business verticals for this initiative. Razer Fintech’s B2B vertical, Razer Merchant Services (RMS) will help new and existing merchants and platform partners via cashflow assistance, fee waivers, and customised marketing programs for essential services and online businesses, while its B2C vertical, Razer Pay, will offer packages such as reduced rates and value-added promotions and will selectively explore potential investment opportunities with startups and businesses.
• zVentures, Razer’s corporate ventures arm that will focus its investment efforts on companies with technologies dedicated to fighting COVID-19 or supporting people through the pandemic, such as autonomous food and beverage, delivery and logistics, and healthcare.

The fund will be split across these three pillars in the form of financial contributions, cashflow support, and investments.

This initiative will also provide businesses with access to Razer’s ecosystem of hardware, software, and services worldwide, and bring positive business impact through alliances and partnerships.
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Digital Commerce Intelligence receives US$706K from Velocity Partners

Singapore-based AI startup, offering real-time e-commerce data Digital Commerce Intelligence (DCI), has received US$706,000 in a funding round, led by Athens-based Velocity Partners, according to KrAsia.

The new funds will be used to scale DCI’s services across Southeast Asia.

“What makes a brand a leader is often the wise use of data. This is particularly true in e-commerce, where the pace and dynamics of trade are so much faster than any other commercial channel,” said Kyriakos Zannikos, Founder of DCI.

Indonesia Government, Cakap team up to develop skills related to tourism and creative sector

The Indonesia Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy has teamed up with a live tutoring startup Cakap to empower tour guides and professionals in the hospitality sector to develop English language skills.

Also Read:  (Updated) 2C2P sets up VC arm to make strategic investment in payments firms in Southeast Asia

The COVID-19 crisis has already hit tourism in Indonesia with a significant drop in hotel occupancy to 40 per cent, according to an article published by katadata.id. However, the government believes that language is a vital element to support and speed up the post-pandemic recovery in the tourism sector.

“Especially with the decline in activity in the tourism industry, this could actually be a golden opportunity to improve skills for workers in the tourism sector,” Tomy Yunus, Founder of Cakap, said in a statement.

Logistics SaaS platform FarEye raises US$25M Series D

India-based logistics SaaS platform FareEye has announced a Series D investment of US$25 million, led by M12 (Microsoft’s venture fund).

Eight Roads Ventures and Honeywell Ventures also participated in the round.

The new capital will be used to enhance the FarEye’s predictive capabilities and further accelerate growth in Europe, APAC and the US, it said in a statement.

FarEye enables companies to orchestrate, track, and optimise their logistics operations.

SBA, BEST launches Blockchain Association Singapore to bolster collaborations through blockchain

The Singapore Blockchain Association (SBA) and the Blockchain, Enterprise and Scalable Technologies (BEST) have merged together to launch Blockchain Association Singapore to encourage collaborations through blockchain, according to a company statement.

Also Read: News Roundup: Hoow Foods raises funding led by Nanyang Realty, ScaleUp Malaysia invests in 10 firms

BAS will be the centre that will spur engagements and collaborations through the use of blockchain to drive business growth and build a sustainable pipeline of talents for the digital economy.

“Singapore has become a burgeoning hub for blockchain and there is a need for an industry push to facilitate and encourage the development of new and existing players in this space. I am confident that the establishment will add more vibrancy and support to the current ecosystem while providing guidance for enterprises who are keen to adopt blockchain solutions,” said Chia Hock Lai, Co-chair of BAS.

Filipino cloud kitchen startup CloudEats raises US$1.4M for expansion

The Philippines-based cloud kitchen company CloudEats has raised US$1.4 million in seed funding, according to TechInAsia.

The round was led by local family offices in real estate and food and beverage industries. Regional angel investors also participated in the round.

CloudEats claims that food brands in its platform offer 15 per cent to 20 per cent cheaper rates compared to competitors. “As we grow, we may be potential customers for the growing cloud kitchen companies and enhance the food delivery ecosystem further,” said Kimberly Yao, Co-founder of the startup.

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Image Credit: FarEye, Pixabay

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Singapore’s recent Budget 2020 welcomed the commercialisation of innovative solutions that aim to turn the constraints of the nation into strengths, especially the energy sector.

Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean said in his budget speech that Singapore aims to halve its 2030 peak greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, and to achieve net-zero emissions “as soon as viable” in the second half of the century.

For e27, there was no better time to speak with CEO of Electrify, Martin Lim, to get a lowdown on how the clean energy space is evolving and his visions of a “Solar Singapore”.

Electrify, which operates Singapore’s first retail electricity marketplace, calls itself the answer to innovation in energy. Under Lim’s leadership, the firm developed a pioneering solution, called Synergy, to enable peer-to-peer energy transfers across the main grid.

Singapore’s commercial trial for Synergy is slated to launch in Q3 2020, with other pilots in Southeast Asia slated for early 2020. In addition to Singapore, Electrify is also working with Malaysia’s electricity utility company Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) and others in markets such as Japan and Thailand.

What makes Electrify a pioneer in the energy marketplace? And how will your P2P trading platform boost cleaner energy adoption?

Back in 2017, we started as a marketplace and then within the same year started finding ways to deploy energy. And found that P2P was the most sustainable form of it all. P2P addressed one very significant need — most users want green energy, but demanding it and getting are two different things.

Also Read: Today’s top tech news, August 14: ELECTRIFY seeks to raise US$5M to develop its P2P Energy Trading Technology

The government has a huge role to play here. For governments, the challenge always lies between balancing subsidies and tariffs when it comes to cleaner sources of energy. In fact, Europe and Japan have been struggling with this problem for a while now and Japan has even started winding down the feeding tariff system.

So we pushed for innovation and decided to come up with a model where people would have an economic power to produce more power than they need and then be able to sell this excess to someone who needs it.

Most power grids and companies have buyback solutions but they do so usually at wholesale prices. But creating a transactional layer what we are doing is essentially allowing users to sell excess power at a preferred price as close as the retail price.

This encourages users in turn to produce more sustainable energy, for example, via solar power on their rooftops. In 2018, we tested the first pilot with 15 households with TEPCO as an observer who then became our first investor.

So what we are essentially telling power companies is that if we can bring you more sources of green energy at no additional cost and maybe even earn revenue, would you not be interested in implementing it?

Now we are looking to do more such pilots in Singapore and overseas. In Malaysia, we are working with TNB to run a P2P pilot and also exploring running two pilots in Thailand.

The energy sector is highly regulated and not the easiest to earn revenues. So what motivated you to start this?

We always wanted to bring in more transparency in the energy space and make it more dynamic. Singapore deregulated energy sector in 2001 but there were very little understanding and interest in its potential.

Also Read: Singapore’s energy marketplace Electrify raises investment from Japan’s utility firm

The environment for energy everywhere in the world is changing drastically. The proliferation of DER’s (distributed energy resources) like bio-waste energy, solar panels, micro wind turbines etc. are growing. And this is going to be the grid design of the future.

But in Singapore, according to Environmental Agency (EMA), we have installed solar panels on only about 1,000 households while the market size is 65,000 households. So the potential to make it a more engaging sector drew us to it.

What were your initial challenges? And how does it influence your funding goals?

The most difficult thing was to get buy-in from utility service providers. Utility service providers have a more intimate relationship with the users. And we plan to go via them to save on large user acquisition costs.

Plus, every market in SEA has got its own unique set of rules. Moreover, energy as a sector is heavily regulated in most countries.

Energy businesses measure their horizon in years or decades because they are asset-heavy. When we approached them, we realised that these companies know they are being disrupted but on many fronts and they don’t know where to start.

In Malaysia, for instance, it took us a year and a half to just convince them to carry out a pilot. Thailand too took seven months of lobbying.

But once we do prove a point, there will be good and stable revenue for the next five to 10 years. Thus we have to be prepared to go to market without expecting revenue in the short term. And that is something we keep in mind even while looking for investors.

Also Read: How to create a green ‘Clickmas’ with sustainable e-commerce operations

The traditional investors looking to grow and earn fast will not work for us. We need partners who can understand the long term journey.

Is user acquisition different for you?

Yes, that is a very big challenge for us as we have to shift the consumer mind from apathy to consideration. We aim to use user education for the same but it is going to be an uphill task. To make it easier, we have demystified the user experience and made it a lot simpler to gain the users’ trust when they use the P2P trading platform.

Our key strategy is to go en masse together with utility services. Much similar to how a vaccine is sold to a market. The national health services buy and give it to the public for free.

You are already spreading wings in the region even with the challenges above. Why are you eager to expand?

We realised that only Singapore will be a very small market size, so we moved around in SEA and always marketed ourselves as an Asian brand. Hence, we started working on doing pilots closer home but larger than Singapore in size.

We are also looking at Japan because of the TEPCO involvement, but it has been relatively slow. We are also looking at Australia since its closer home. We working with a home-grown Singapore brand to take us to Europe.

Where do you see Electrify in five years?

Honestly, I want to see Electrify go global in five years. Once the pilots start running and we go into operation mode in SEA, we will be looking to Europe and the West.

We will deploy it in limited fashion initially but whether the governments will embrace it and deploy it fully locally, remains to be seen.

Also Read: [Exclusive] Singapore blockchain firm ELECTRIFY takes major step to bring its P2P electricity marketplace to Japan

On a 10-year horizon, I would ideally like to see the P2P energy trading to work like how credit cards work today. Consumers don’t need to fully know how the transaction happens but it just works and benefits everyone. Electrify, infact, also brings in economic gains (think redeemable credit card points), although that should not be the primary lure.

The key motivation should be to take power in our hands to develop cleaner sources of energy and use more green energy instead of waiting for the governments to do it.

One word for aspiring founders

Just keep hustling, there are no two ways about this!

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Pawel Netreba (Co-founder of Bfab and former MD of foodpanda), Patrick Linden (Co-founder of Dealguru and Food Runner, which was later acquired by foodpanda), and Linden’s brother Rene, have come together to launch a not-for-profit initiative to help Singapore’s businesses survive the COVID-19 crisis.

iSaveSG is is an online platform that allows customers to support businesses financially by buying offers/gift cards from restaurants, bars, cafés and boutiques. This will give businesses the much-needed cash to pay their bills, cover running costs, and save jobs.

It will also help merchants market their lock-down-related offers, and users can find the best deals on a single platform.

Also Read: What foodpanda taught me is ‘execute, execute, execute’: Pawel Netreba of Bfab

Anyone running a restaurant, café, hotel, bar or mom&pop store can register on the platform and upload their special deals, or provide a link to their website where customers can purchase a gift card or order take away/delivery.

iSaveSG is completely free for both merchants and users.

“Cafes are clearing away their tables, restaurants are limiting opening hours, bars remain empty, and boutiques are losing their customers: COVID-19 has the city firmly in its grip. There is much less income, but running costs are still being incurred. This increasingly threatens the existence of local restaurateurs and businesses,” said Linden.

The team also has plans to launch a community forum on the platform for businesses to connect with other businesses and people so they can exchange ideas on how to cope with the situation, extend a helping hand to each other, and post questions and jobs.

The trio will also expand the initiative to Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries soon.

“We worked a lot with local merchants in the companies we co-founded previously in Singapore and Malaysia. When Singapore announced the first wave of restriction measures a few weeks ago, we thought we should do something to help local businesses. Then we came up with the idea and put it together over a weekend,” explained Linden.

As of today, close to 100 offers are live on the platform. The site gets 1,000 visits per day.

“We believe that if a customer supports a local business by buying an offer, he or she should get a special deal; it can be a free delivery or a discount. So it ends up being a win-win situation,” Linden concluded.

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Data management company Cohesity raises US$250M in Series E funding led by DFJ Growth, others

Data management company Cohesity announces that it has received US$250 million in Series E funding, led by DFJ Growth, Foundation Capital, Greenspring Associates, and Wing Venture Capital. DFJ Growth and Greenspring Associates are new investors along with Baillie Gifford and Sozo Ventures, who joined existing investors, including Sequoia Capital and SoftBank Vision Fund 1, as well as strategic investors Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Cisco Investments.

With the fresh funding, Cohesity is now valued at US$2.5 billion, more than double the valuation from the company’s Series D round less than two years ago.

Cohesity said it plans to leverage the new investment to advance research and development — building new capabilities to serve enterprises. The company will also continue to broaden its reach and awareness both domestically and internationally while extending its relationships with alliances and partners.

Cohesity offers a platform that simplifies the way businesses back up, manage, protect, and extract value from their data — in the data centre, at the edge, and in the cloud.

Mohit Aron, CEO, and founder, Cohesity, said that the company has completed its transition to a software business model since its last funding round.

Telehealth startup Doctor Anywhere to launch COVID-19 medical advisory clinic, partnering major insurers

Doctor Anywhere, a Singapore-based healthtech company, announces that it will be launching the Doctor Anywhere COVID-19 Medical Advisory Clinic for individuals in Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. In line with the Singapore Government’s social distancing measures to reduce the risk of exposure to COVID-19 infection and efforts to ring-fence confirmed cases, the service will help to identify COVID-19 signs and symptoms and escalate suspected cases for further medical assistance.

Also Read: Doctor Anywhere raises US$4.1M to offer patients easy access to healthcare providers through video consultations

In doing so, the startup partners major insurers, including AIG and Cigna Global, to offer the COVID-19 Medical Advisory Clinic as a free service to their policyholders.

To access this full suite service include, Singapore’s customers are advised to:

1. Using the Doctor Anywhere mobile app to access ‘COVID-19 Medical Advisory Clinic’ video
consultation

2. Speaking to a doctor within five minutes

3. During the video consultation, the doctor will ask for travel history, signs of chest infection, or
whether there is any contact with confirmed cases, as well as other questions to triage and
determine possible infection

4. If the doctor suspects an infection, the Doctor Anywhere Care Team will assist to coordinate
next steps, including calling an ambulance to transport the user from home to Singapore’s
National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) in the next hour for a COVID-19 swab test

5. If the doctor assesses that it is not a suspected COVID-19 case, medication can be prescribed to ease symptoms, which will be delivered to the user’s home within three hours

In Thailand and Vietnam, the local Doctor Anywhere teams will provide assistance to connect the patient to the appropriate healthcare authorities to receive further medical attention.
Users in other countries can also access the Doctor Anywhere COVID-19 Medical Advisory Clinic, but the service will only include video consultation with a doctor to identify symptoms and provide advice on the next steps or a memo to obtain medication from a local pharmacy.

Doctor Anywhere recently closed its Series B funding round with an endorsement from the Singapore Government, said Lim Wai Mun, Founder, and CEO, Doctor Anywhere.

Public fees for video consultation via the Doctor Anywhere COVID-19 Medical Advisory Clinic is SG$10 (US$7). This does not include medication that might be prescribed by the doctor.

Singapore to support local food production with US$22M fund, to build alternative urban farming spaces

Singapore has just announced a new S$30 million (US$21 million) fund that is aimed at supporting local food production to prepare for external supply shocks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, as GreenQueen reported.

Also Read: Foodtech in Singapore through the eyes of startups

The new grant will be directed to support the production of leafy vegetables as well as eggs and fish. It will also seek to turn vacant industrial sites such as rooftops into alternative urban farming spaces with a tender started by Singapore Food Agency (SFA) and agri-food companies for rooftop farms on public housing from May this year to anticipate travel restrictions that include export bans that impact the global food economy.

Singapore currently produces only 10 per cent of its food demand, with the remaining 90 per cent of its supply reliant on foreign imports.

Furthermore, food techs may be selected and awarded a grant to accelerate their farm expansion to increase production capacity. Homegrown agri-tech startup Sustenir had already been assisting this goal by producing crops in lab-controlled vertical farms powered by artificial intelligence and LED lighting to help reduce Singapore’s dependence on food imports, as well as reduce carbon emissions and food wastage with shorter transportation.

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(This article has been updated with new details from 2C2P)

Singapore- and Bangkok-headquartered payments processing company 2C2P has established a VC arm to make strategic investments in payments and related sectors.

With the launch of 2C2P.VC, the fintech company aims to further accelerate the growth of its omni-channel payments platform in Southeast Asia and beyond.

The venture arm will primarily focus on strategic partnerships and investments in complementary businesses that offer opportunities for further vertical integration and geographic expansion outside of 2C2P’s core markets.

Also Read: 2C2P receives US$52M funding from IFC, Cento Ventures, Arbor Ventures, focussing on expansion

Aung Kyaw Moe, Founder and Group CEO of 2C2P, said: “There are a number of companies where we see a strong strategic fit — either due to exciting new technologies, complementary products or geographic presence in markets where we want to be in the future.”

“Above all, we look for teams who want to join our growth journey. With our latest funding round in 2019, we are now in a position to invest in such companies and partner with them even more closely going forward,” he added.

Headquartered in Singapore, 2C2P.VC will be led by Eva Weber, who recently joined 2C2P’s management team as Investment Director. Weber brings with her more than 15 years of experience in the financial services industry, having worked across a range of companies including Merrill Lynch, IFC, Naspers and Adyen.

“Our investment arm is part of 2C2P, not a fund,” Weber told e27 in an emailed response. “This structure provides us with a lot of flexibility and full alignment of interests – to accelerate the growth of 2C2P.”

Rather than targeting a specific number of investments, she said, 2C2P.VC aims to invest in companies that align with its strategy, i.e, to grow our omni-channel platform and expand into new markets.

“We evaluate each opportunity and determine the investment size and level of involvement we want to have, accordingly. Generally speaking, we look to take a minority stake with the view of increasing our stake over time,” she noted.

“We are constantly meeting new companies as part of our normal course of business, and often engage with them on commercial partnerships. We now have the opportunity to support them via our investment arm,” Weber added.

2C2P will continue to focus on strengthening its core markets of Southeast Asia (Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines and Singapore), but is also looking for companies that can help it expand outside the region.

The launch of 2C2P.VC comes on the back of the company’s US$52 million fundraise, led by an international consortium of investors, including IFC, Cento Ventures, and Arbor Ventures, in November 2019.

2C2P helps businesses accept payments from millions of customers around the world on its omni-channel platform (online, mobile and in-store channels). It operates across Southeast Asia, North Asia, the US, and Europe.

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