Temasek co-lead US$100M investment in US biotech startup Pivot Bio

Temasek and Breakthrough Energy Ventures have co-lead a US$100 million Series C funding round in US-based biotech fertiliser startup Pivot Bio, Dealstreet Asia reported.

The funding round also included the participation of DCVC, Prelude Ventures, Spruce Capital Partners, Codon Capital, Bunge Ventures, Continental Grain Co., Tekfen Ventures and Pavilion Capital. It also included individual investors Alan Cohen and Roger Underwood.

The startup said in a statement that the funding is meant to scale its microbial nitrogen technology which aims to increase crop yields while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and pollution.

GoBear co-founder joins Standard Chartered

Standard Chartered today announced the appointment of Marnix Zwart as Global Head, Partnerships of its Retail Banking division, effective immediately.

Zwart is known as the co-founder of financial comparison site GoBear in which he had held the position of Chief Commercial Officer. He was previously Chief Product Officer and co-founder of Kroodle in the Netherlands.

Zwart will be based in Singapore and reports to Aalishaan Zaidi, Global Head, Client Experience, Channels and Digital Banking.

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

Tokopedia probes alleged user data leaks

Indonesian e-commerce giant Tokopedia announced that it is investigating the attempted hack and data breach of its users, a spokesperson told The Straits Times on Saturday.

The statement followed the publication of a Twitter post on Saturday by data breach monitoring firm Under the Breach that shows screenshots from an unnamed individual who claimed that he had acquired personal details of Tokopedia users through a hack in March.

Survey: Remote learning in Indonesia hampered by lack of student-teacher engagement

In a recent survey, the Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI) revealed that students in the country have complained about a lack of engagement from their teachers after classes were forced migrate online as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, The Jakarta Post reported.

Conducted between April 13 and 21 with 1,700 students and 602 teachers in 54 cities and regencies involved, the survey results stated that 79 per cent of students reported little to no interaction with their teachers in the virtual classrooms. They explained further that the teachers only used the platform to assign homework.

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Singaporean logistics-tech platform Ninja Van has secured nearly US$124 million in a Series D round of funding from new and existing investors, including Geopost and Facebook Co-founder Eduardo Saverin’s B Capital, say various news reports citing public filings.

Other participants are US-based Carmenta Capital, Brunei’s state-owned fund Zamrud Sovereign Wealth Fund, Bangkok Bank, Thai telco Intouch and GxH Investments, also joined the round.

Ninja Van is yet to confirm the news.

Founded in 2014, NinjaVan is a tech-enabled delivery system operating in Southeast Asia. It offers custom solutions for different individuals to fulfil their logistics needs.

The firm also recently launched Ninja Direct, a feature that helps online sellers, source, purchase, ship and finance wholesale products.

In a recent interview with the Peak, Ninja Van’s CEO and Co-founder Chang Wen Lai spoke about the changing landscape for retail companies amid the COVID-19 crisis.

“The big question here is, when will social distancing end? Retail may open again, but will footfall remains the same in the next year? Previously, online was considered ancillary to the overall revenue, but COVID-19 has forced the retail world to shift online,” he said.

Also Read: Ninja Van and Grab join forces for intercity parcel delivery service

Ninja Van recently also launched a national movement for individuals and organisations, #SGPAYSITFORWARD, where people can help vulnerable communities in Singapore by buying an essential care package.

The company raised its Series C round in January 2018, led by international parcel delivery firm DPD Group.

To date, it has raised a total of US$241.5M in funding over five rounds.

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Image Credit: Ninja Van

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By now, most of us are settled in this new “not so” normal phase, where all our worlds have merged into one space and all we have is a window of talking heads on a screen as our communication to reach the outside world and our different spheres of life.

We all need to chart out a sustainable approach to keep our body, mind, team, and business healthy during this time. As I am in the second phase of Singapore’s circuit breaker –de facto lockdown– I never thought I would become a whiteboard colour-coded timetable kind of working mum scheduler, who allocates “office hours” to her kids to ask me anything while I get through my tasks for the day.

But extreme times call for extreme measures. The saying “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail” never held truer, especially for communications.

The four main areas for a leader to consider as a CEO or founder during times of crisis are empathy, transparency, your purpose, and leadership style.

Empathy

This unprecedented situation has everyone in it, so acknowledge and be aware of the hurdles and difficulties everyone is going through as you are going through it yourself and understand the depth of it.

Also Read: 3 essential crisis communication strategies every entrepreneur should know

The health, well-being and sanity of the person on the other end is the most important thing right now before talking about deliverables and KPIs. Relate on a personal level first, and then focus on work.

Start with “you” instead of “me” at the centre and talk about their state and well-being as being part of “us” and a team vs the company or business. This can be hard for some leaders and I have seen some pretty cold, uninspiring and robotic messaging from companies since this begun. The tone you want to take is a community-oriented one where your communication should give your team members advice on how to survive this.

Connect with individual team members and reach out for regular “pulse checks” and block out time on the calendar to do this. At Antler, we have increased the number of town halls we have and people share their states of mind, along with the week’s highlights and low points.

A lucky member of the team will get called to share a joke and everyone needs to be prepared because you never know who is going to be asked. As a frame of reference for tone, think “We are here for you; We understand; We care.”

Transparency

This is especially important when communicating with customers, clients, and stakeholders. Living in an age of information overload, don’t be afraid to directly address your customer in relation to your business.

For example, for Antler, our first line of contact outside the team would be founders from the program- we wanted them to know we are there for them, have their backs, and share advice and help in any way possible. This might not be easy for everyone, but the situation is universal.

Also Read: Unexpected things Singaporeans searched for while working from home

Likewise, for a business to support customers, first reach out to them and then track and document intel across your customer base. To strengthen relationships and build trust, keep the focus off yourself and explore how you can truly help your customers. Cash flow and job security is on everyone’s mind.

You could propose payment schedules to ease their liquidity crunch or offer pro bono or in-kind provision of services. Keep in mind who you are talking to in terms of the personas of your consumer.

When we talk about personas, think about what demographic your customers or clients are? Are they millennials, millennials with young families, Generation Z singles living alone or with their parents, Generation X with families, Baby Boomers or singles with older parents?

Bear in mind not everyone will have the facilities and environment to work from home or cook from home regularly– so when you communicate, contextualise the communication by referring to these specific real-life situations everyone is dealing with and don’t be afraid to over-communicate online.

This can be implemented in many ways via e-mails, increasing the frequency of newsletters or going all out on specific social media channels you know your customers live on. Internally, be as transparent as you can be about your company’s fortunes, the challenges that lie ahead, and how you plan to make it through these tough times.

Also Read: Why silence is not golden

Your purpose

If you couldn’t really answer or justify the reason for your company’s existence before the pandemic, now might be the best time to do some business soul searching and consider pivoting. However, if you did know your why, now is a good time to re-evaluate it or make your product or service better for your customer, while adapting to the current situation and truly being helpful to your customer.

Collect and amplify positive messages, successes, acts of kindness, obstacles that have been overcome to show you care on a more collective level. This could be a great time to partner with communities that complement your business and expand your customer base. For example, if you are an F&B outlet that already relies largely on takeaways, tap into communities of healthcare or migrant workers or go directly to hospitals and offer them free or discounted meals.

Many companies are tied to a noble purpose such as saving lives, manufacturing medical equipment, helping markets function more efficiently, or simply, providing joy through experience. Ask yourself, what’s the effect of what has happened in relation to your business?

Then link it to your brand and product. It’s not just about being adaptable but there has to be a mindset shift in how you approach your consumer.  This would entail being creative, having some humility, and thinking hard about how you are going to manage the next six to 12 months on various levels.

As a business, showing a dedication to your customers as well as your people take a long-term and thoughtful approach in your actions and the way you strategise action and communications around it. The obvious examples are brick and mortar stores or restaurants that didn’t previously deliver, digitising and getting online.

The not so obvious ones are how much more mental health support people are going to need to get through this and how to get it to them in their own language, market and context. Due to all the screen time children are getting, there has also been a resurgence of craft making and tangible, tactile toys as parents want to ensure they get other experiences.

Also Read: A founder’s guide to successfully working from home

And let’s not forget the making of hundreds of master chefs globally- so many people I know are now home bakers and chefs with fancy appliances for various cuisines and diets. Businesses have taken some interesting pivots and you need to look at the larger picture and think ahead as this pandemic period unfolds.

Communication leadership style

Though there isn’t usually just one type, this once-in-a-lifetime situation brings out some distinct leadership characteristics in people. I am sure you can relate to these personas based on some of my observations during COVID-19.

The Speed Runner

This is the one who preempts and implements before anyone else and is the CEO who communicates quickly and efficiently, but not necessarily with a long term or well-thought-out plan. She is adapting and moving fast to catch up with the continuous changes so the frequency of communication is high, but not often detailed.

The Frozen One

This leader is living in another world and wants to hold onto the past or keep a Business-as-Usual (BAU) mindset. She thinks this is temporary and all else will return to normal after it’s over.

The Fighter

This leader is completely focused on dealing with only the most important issues at hand and is relentless at prioritising. She will not focus on starting new things or thinking too much out of the box and handle only one mountain at a time.

The here and now

This leader is aware and mindful of the COVID-19 tsunami and is laser-focused on how to mitigate the negative effect on the business and getting her company out of this tough phase, no matter what it takes.

Also Read: 5 ways to improve your productivity by working from home 

The optimistic realist

This is the one that looks ahead and plans ahead while being very real about the current situation and relating that message to employees on a personal level. Think of someone who is a visionary looking forward and is also able to acknowledge as well as take into account the current situation in a balanced way.

Which one are you?

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GoBear, a financial products comparison startup based in Singapore, has acquired AsiaKredit, a consumer lending platform operating in the Philippines, according to a press release.

The financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

This acquisition will allow GoBear to strategically expand its reach within the Philippines and further drive expansion of its services beyond insurance and credit cards to digital lending.

Additionally, the deal will allow the Singapore firm to improve financial inclusion by introducing lending as a service to its network of more than 100 partners, helping them provide loans to underserved consumers in Southeast Asia and Hong Kong. It will also see the expansion of a direct consumer lending service through pera247, AsiaKredit’s flagship mobile app.

Besides, GoBear will be utilising the network of AsiaKredit, which claims to have processed over one million loan applications in the Philippines.

By giving its users more access to financial products and services, GoBear plans to leverage data and insights from both banking and insurance verticals to assess better and manage price risks.

As for AsiaKredit, which is also headquartered in Singapore, this deal will enable it to leverage on GoBear’s regional presence and expand the reach of its credit lending services to Southeast Asia’s and Hong Kong’s underserved consumers.

“Both GoBear and AsiaKredit share a vision to offer accessible and responsible financial services to those across the region. This acquisition represents a fantastic opportunity for AsiaKredit to leverage GoBear’s regional presence and expand the reach of our credit lending services to Southeast Asia and Hong Kong’s underserved consumers. We are excited to take the AsiaKredit platform beyond the Philippines in the next phase of our growth,” said Mike Singh, Co-founder and CEO of AsiaKredit.

Access to credit remains a challenge for millions in Southeast Asia, with more than 70 per cent of the region’s population being underbanked or unbanked, according to a study by Bain & Company.

With economic growth in developing countries set to decline sharply in 2020 due to the impact of COVID-19, providing consumers with access to credit will become increasingly important.

Last year, GoBear raised US$80M from the Netherlands-based asset management company Aegon and Dutch VC firm Walvis Participaties. Since then, its revenues claims to have increased by over 100 per cent from consumer finance products.

Also Read: Morning News Roundup: Temasek invests in Pivot Bio, GoBear co-founder joins Standard Chartered

“With AsiaKredit as part of the GoBear family, we will be in a stronger position to fulfil our mission of improving the financial health of the underserved across Southeast Asia and Hong Kong. GoBear and AsiaKredit, together with our banking partners, will be able to offer millions of consumers access to an alternate source of credit and ethical lending,” added Adrian Chng, CEO of GoBear.

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Image Credit: GoBear

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Singapore’s d:tribe Capital invests in Australian AI startup Shelfie

Singapore-based investor d:Tribe Capital has announced a Series A follow-on investment into Shelfie, an Australian Artificial Intelligence company focussed on retailers.

The startup will use the additional investment from d:tribe to expand into the US and European markets.

Shelfie has developed a breakthrough solution that helps retailers to grow revenue and improve staff productivity by using AI and deep learning technology to automate the manually intensive and error-prone process of minimising stock gaps on shelves.

It uses cameras and AI to scan shelves, taking images and enabling real- time stock reporting. A cloud-based advanced Machine Learning and image processing algorithm is used to analyse the shelf images.

The data is sent to the dashboard and mobile app, which are updated automatically to mobile devices informing floor staff to re-stock specific items.

This is designed to help identify sales trends via every SKU and provide real time insights to optimise merchandising layouts.

Coda Payments partners with Riot Games to enhance gaming experience 

Coda Payments has announced a partnership with Riot Games, a global firm that develops online games, the Singapore-based payments firm said in a statement.

This partnership will allow Coda to improve financial transactions in Riot Games and enhance gaming experience. It will be able to accept more than 40 local payment methods within its game title and sell in-game currencies on several third-party e-commerce platforms.

“Here in Southeast Asia, we recognise that gameplay and payment preferences are extremely diverse,” said Justin Hulog, General Manager of Riot Games Southeast Asia. “Our partnership with Coda will allow gamers to access and enjoy all our upcoming, new games with comfort and ease.”

Coda will also offer payment solutions for Riot Games’s upcoming titles, including VALORANT, League of Legends: Wild Rift, and Teamfight Tactics Mobile.

Jio platforms remain unscathed by the pandemic, secures another US$747M 

India’s telecom operator Reliance Jio has secured US$747 million in funding from Silicon Valley-based PE firm Silver Lake, according to Moneycontrol.

This investment brings Jio’s valuation to nearly US$65 billion.

This round comes less than two weeks after Facebook acquired just approximately 10 per cent equity in the firm for US$5.7 billion.

Also Read: Morning News Roundup: Temasek invests in Pivot Bio, GoBear co-founder joins Standard Chartered

Some of Silver Lake’s portfolio companies include Skype, Ant Financial, Twitter, Airbnb, and Didi Chuxing.

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Image Credit: Shelfie

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