Southeast Asia was among the first regions to experience the full-scale impact of COVID-19. During these times, multiple industries and business verticals have witnessed the effect of a shift in consumer behaviour, both positive and negative.

MoEngage analysed over 650 million mobile app users in Southeast Asia and translated their behaviour into an easy-to-understand graph by plotting new users (downloads) and active users (DAUs) of some of the top consumer apps in different business verticals. This quadrant is a part of MoEngage’s report on the business impact of COVID-19 on global apps.

• The Explosion quadrant has industries and apps that have seen a surge in both new and active users. 
• The Growth quadrant represents industries that have seen an increase in active users, but a decrease in new users. 
• The Slowdown quadrant, on the other hand, consists of industries that have seen a decline in both new and active users.
• The last quadrant, Emergence, denotes a decrease in active users, but an increase in new users

Travel and Hospitality

Countries in Southeast Asia, especially Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia, were the first ones to put up domestic and international travel restrictions. This resulted in a complete stop of flights both to and fro from these countries – which naturally led to a steady decline in both new and active users for OTAs.

OTAs saw a 37 per cent decline in daily active users around the last week of February 2020, which went up to 50 per cent by the end of March 2020. On the Hospitality side, major hotel booking and lodging apps have shown a downward slump from as early as the second week of February.

Also Read: How are Asian startups dealing with the side effects of COVID-19?

Businesses in Southeast Asia implemented WFH protocols earlier than most regions – which meant a complete stop of business travels and cancellation of all seminars, events, and conferences. This led up to a 30 per cent decline in downloads and a 10 per cent decrease in active users of hotel booking apps and apps that provide lodging and homestay experiences.

One of the most common use-cases for Mobility apps was regular travel to and fro from work. Naturally, due to the WFH protocols, there is up to an eight per cent decline in active users, and about a 25 per cent decline in new users since mid-February in Southeast Asia.

Online conference and media apps

Work-from-home protocols have caused meetings to move from a physical setup to virtual rooms. In fact, the number and frequency of online events have increased since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

More and more brands are conducting webinars, virtual meetups, and roundtable discussions over video chat apps. This has led to about a 200 per cent increase in active users for video chat and online conference apps in Southeast Asia.

Honestly, though this trend was kind of expected, the percentage increase is definitely a head-turner. Zoom, arguably the leader in this cohort, has seen more than a 300 per cent surge in its new user base since the first week of March. Microsoft Teams (including Skype) and Google Meets are the next big names in this list.

Also Read: Survival vs growth: ShopBack co-founder shares 3 golden rules to withstand the pandemic

There is one app, however, that deserves a shout-out – Houseparty. Saying Houseparty’s organic, word-of-mouth growth has been meteoric is an understatement. The app has gone absolutely viral, reporting as much as a five-digit growth rate in app downloads in March.

There was a scare, however, for a while for Houseparty and its parent company Life On Air Inc, when there were allegations of data breaches and privacy concerns. However, these claims were denied.

Just as video conferencing apps have seen a surge in users, media & entertainment apps have witnessed more than a 20 per cent increase in new and active users. Recreation has moved online – people are consuming more online content, streaming more videos, and watching a lot more TV shows and movies.

Now, this trend has proven to be quite harmful to theatres. Movie production houses are looking at Direct-to-OTT releases, which is causing turmoil among theatre owners.

Back in 1998, when Netflix started as a DVD rental service, it reshaped the way people consumed long-form video content – primarily due to the convenience factor of watching a movie on-demand in the comfort of your home, without any commercials. This pandemic is perhaps an indication of another significant shift that will be spoken about for years to come.

Real estate apps

The impact this pandemic has had on the Real Estate industry and rental service apps is quite predictable. In Southeast Asia, there is about a 19 per cent decline in new users and an eight per cent decrease in active users.

Also Read: How are Asian startups dealing with the side effects of COVID-19?

Respecting quarantine and lockdown protocols, Southeast Asians aren’t shifting houses or purchasing new properties currently. The real estate and rental services giant, Zillow, saw a downward trend in new app downloads as well as daily active users. The company, in fact, has seen a combined worldwide drop in downloads by about 24 per cent – which to them is a big decrease considering the number of users is in millions.

As long as social distancing policies continue, house hunting will be the last of peoples’ concerns. Online shopping for groceries and essentials is going to keep us all busy for the time being.

Online shopping and food delivery apps

Speaking of online shopping, apps in Southeast Asia have seen a 40 per cent increase in active users in March 2020 – particularly for grocery deliveries and essential services. Although physical stores and retail outlets are functioning, people are opting to get their essentials and grocery items delivered to their doorstep to avoid travelling outside.

E-commerce apps need to figure out what products are favourable to consumers today. Looking at what product categories customers are visiting and using Google trends to find out if the search volume for specific terms has changed is a good starting point.

Food delivery apps have witnessed a 21 per cent increase in new users during the COVID-19 pandemic. Restaurant partners are taking WHO mandated steps and safety protocols to maintain hygiene in their kitchens. They’re sanitising packaging equipment and are ensuring regular temperature checks for their delivery partners.

One interesting reason behind an increase in active users for food delivery apps is also the fact that people have started “gifting” food to their family members by ordering on their behalf. There is an increase in the order frequency of comfort food like desserts, especially during dinner time.

Also Read: How to scale blockchain as COVID-19 hits traditional markets

Healthcare apps

There is an interesting trend in downloads and DAU for Healthcare apps, which is quite different from most businesses – the number of new users has increased by about 25 per cent, whereas the number of active users fell by 40 per cent. This trend implies that people in Southeast Asia are looking to solve particular pain points and want features that healthcare apps are unable to provide.

To combat this fall in active users, one notable healthcare brand, Alodokter, is taking an interesting step to engage their users. Alodokter has deployed real-time chatbots that help users with COVID-19 related queries and safety measures. The responses of the chatbots have been reviewed and approved by a panel of doctors. This chatbot has already interacted with more than a million users in less than a week!

Next steps for online businesses

First and foremost – businesses must use this time to revisit their strategies and figure out ways to adapt to the current times and for the near future. This is not business as usual. Right now, the customer’s current pain points supersede everything. Brands that understand their customers in these changing times will come out stronger.

Marketers must review all active and scheduled ad campaigns to check if they are relevant to the current situation of the customers. What was relevant a few weeks ago may no longer be useful to the customer today. If something is not working, turn off the campaign immediately and realign the remaining budget.

Businesses also have to diversify to other essential segments either by partnerships or on their own to engage and delight their users. Here are some steps different brands are taking during these times:

• E-commerce giants across Southeast Asia like Blibli, Tokopedia, and Bukalapak are making sweeping changes to their business models to assist with the response to the coronavirus outbreak or to survive the crisis without going bust. A few brands have also switched to manufacturing hand sanitizers, and are sourcing material to produce PPE like masks and hospital gowns.

• Food takeaway services like Foodpanda have already implemented a “no contact” service, giving customers who are self-isolating or keeping their distance from other people the option to have meals left on their doorstep.

• Fitness apps like Strava and HealthifyMe have launched “workout from home” challenges and are gamifying the entire process by showing the scores of all their users and giving grades according to their performance.

Another point that businesses have to remember is to empathize with users and change the communication accordingly. Businesses don’t have to remind everyone that they’re in a pandemic – everyone knows that – instead they need to focus on what your users can do during the lockdown.

Read MoEngage’s report on the impact of COVID-19 on online businesses to get insights from North America, Europe, the Middle East, and India.

Note: If you prefer watching a video explaining how online businesses have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in Southeast Asia, you can check this out:

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Carousell launches CarouBiz Booster Package to help SMEs digitise business

Online classifieds marketplaces startup Carousell announced the launch of CarouBiz Booster Package, an initiative supported by Enterprise Singapore, that seeks to help 1,000 local retailers and service merchants in Singapore in digitising and growing their businesses online.

From May 25 to December 31, eligible merchants will receive a one-time 90 per cent support from Enterprise Singapore when they sign up for the ​CarouBiz Booster Package​. Each package is valued at US$508 before support, comprises a six-month ​CarouBiz (Carousell for Business) subscription, and US$338 worth of ​Carousell coins (marketing credits) to purchase additional seller ads and promotional tools on Carousell.

CarouBiz provides tools include video listings, custom collections for product categorisation, profile cover photo for branding, and premium seller badge for credibility.

B Capital, Antler partner up to tap into respective networks

VC firm B Capital Group announced that it has partnered with startup incubator Antler, seeking to widen the respective startup community, according to a report by DealStreetAsia.

B Capital and Antler have agreed to launch events to support entrepreneurs focussing on enterprise application software across multiple industries.

Antler, an early-stage venture capital firm, recently raised US$50 million funding while B Capital reportedly has snagged US$600 million for its second fund.

Also Read: Antler raises US$50M from investors including Facebook co-founder to expand into new locations

Indian e-commerce venture JioMart starts operations in 200 cities and towns

Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani-owned e-commerce venture JioMart has entered into more cities and towns in India, as reported by TechCrunch.

Kicking off its local expansion, JioMart launched its new website and started accepting orders in cities such as Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Pune, Bokaro, Bathinda, Ahmedabad, Gurgaon, and Dehradun.

The service now includes the provision of fruits, vegetables, and dairy items in addition to staples and other grocery products for households across the country. Under Reliance Industries, JioMart is to be present in more than a thousand districts in a year and also widen its catalogue to include electronics and office supplies.

Mukesh Ambani, the chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries, first unveiled his plan to launch an e-commerce platform last year. In a speech then, Ambani invoked Mahatma Gandhi’s work and said India needed to fight another fresh battle.

Ambani recently received more than US$10 billion in investment from KKR, Facebook, Silver Lake, Vista Equity Partners, and General Atlantic.

Indonesian digital coffee chain operator Flash Coffee enters Thailand

Flash Coffee, an Indonesian digital coffee chain operator backed by Rocket Internet, has arrived in Bangkok.

DealStreetAsia reported that after launching its first store in Indonesia in January, the coffee chain has revealed plans to expand to other Southeast Asian capital cities.

In Thailand, Flash Coffee claims that it will have a World Latte Art-winning curated menu by champion Arnon Thitiprasert and Indonesian Latte Art Champion Robby Firlian, all at affordable prices.

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Image Credit: Carousell

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With community building at the core of Facebook’s mission, the social media company is launching the Facebook Community Accelerator — a programme that aims to equip communities with the training, mentorship, and funding they need to grow.

The project, an evolution of Facebook’s Fellowship programme which in 2019, supported 115 participating leaders worldwide, seeks to support communities across the Asia Pacific region. The goal of the programme is to help enable community leaders to understand and address their needs in sustaining and strengthening their communities, while establishing and managing strategic relationships with key partners.

This goal is achieved by providing support to credible and qualified community leaders who are selected out of the programme’s pool of applicants.

Selected community leaders stand to gain a slew of perks that include:

• Growth Focused Training where participants go through an intensive training programme geared towards helping them create a growth plan for their communities with the help of tools offered under Facebook’s family of apps.
• Mentorship and Partnership under the skillful guidance of Facebook team members and experts in product and community growth who will be imparting knowledge and insights through hands-on mentorship, as well as connecting them to local funders and partners.
• Funding opportunities to approved growth plans that emerge on top after a process of iteration and execution. This also comes with funding and continued support from Facebook’s network and dedicated teams encompassing a total of $3 million worth of funding which will be awarded to up to 80 participants.

With all these benefits at stake, Facebook will be gathering some of the most passionate community leaders in the region through a rigorous selection process. Selected community leaders will be spending three months of their time learning from experts, coaches, and Facebook’s custom curriculum to craft a growth plan that matches their goals.

Community leaders will also get to showcase their communities and progress to external funders and partners in an event that will culminate the programme.

Partnership with e27

In Asia Pacific, Facebook has chosen to partner with e27 to bring the Community Accelerator to life. Over the next six months, Facebook will work closely with the e27 team to deliver learning, ecosystem connections and core coaching for the selected community leaders.

“The goal of the Facebook Community Accelerator is to help impactful communities grow. To achieve this, we want to ensure that we deliver a programme that is highly personalized and pertinent to our community leaders across the region – equipping them with the tools they need  to meet their goals and create further impact in their communities. We are excited to partner with e27 to deliver this in Asia Pacific”, said Grace Clapham, Head of Community Partnerships APAC, Facebook.

For years, e27 has been one of APAC’s go-to platforms for news, community, events, talent, funding, and more. Having made connections and establishing many different partnerships in its vast network, e27 has long positioned itself as a community leader in the tech startup ecosystem.

Also read: Are you a community leader? Facebook wants you.

“We’ve been fortunate to grow as a community over the years and, in partnership with Facebook, we hope to help more communities scale and grow. Facebook brings a tremendous amount of knowledge, partnership activities and support to fledging communities and we hope communities can take advantage of this to scale the impact of their respective efforts,” said Mohan Belani, CEO and Co-Founder of e27.

e27 will also tap into its APAC network to gather support and exposure for the participants and their respective communities.

“It is in our DNA to work with small organisations and enable them to succeed. As a community ourselves, we understand the pains of growing a community and know how to solve them,” added Belani.

End goals

In order to positively impact the lives of millions of people and break systemic barriers that obstruct community growth, Facebook seeks to help community leaders grow their memberships and expand to new geographies.

Not only will selected community leaders benefit from the training and mentorship that is part of the programme, but they will also become part of a peer network of similar stage leaders with similar challenges whom they can also learn from. Through the programme, they will be able to network with potential funders and ecosystem partners, while enjoying increased visibility through Facebook’s and e27’s support.

The programme will run for a total of six months. By the end of the programme, participants are likely to gain tools and knowledge that will help define a strategic roadmap for their respective growth plans.

More importantly, they will be able to go through tested community models for sustainable scale, gain a network of funders and support partners to help sustain their growth, access a bigger reach that includes entry into new markets, and positively impact people’s lives.

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Indonesia’s Bonza secures seed funding from East Ventures

Bonza, an Indonesian startup that develops big data analytics, has secured an undisclosed seed funding round from early stage venture capital firm East Ventures.

The company’s new funding will be used to scale up its new operations and focus on product development.

“There is a gap between leading machine learning and AI research, and its implementation in the real world. We see Bonza as the bridge to close that gap,” said co-founder of Bonza, Elsa Chandra.

“Our mission is to support organisations to make sense of all their data from various sources, and use the data to build and deploy AI and machine learning solutions for better decisions at scale,” the ex-Traveloka executive added.

ThinkZone, CJCC partner to support startups in Vietnam and Cambodia

Vietnam-based accelerator ThinkZone and governmental organisation Cambodia-Japan Cooperation Center (CJCC) today announced a cross-border partnership, according to a press statement.

This partnership will organise collaborative activities between the two countries which will include mentoring, training, accelerating, and investing.

Also Read: Meet Mentor For Hope, the startup mentorship programme that will donate 50K meals for those in need

“CJCC and ThinkZone together would like to develop entrepreneurship and nurture startups effectively,” said Sy Vanna, Manager of Human Resource Development Department at CJCC.

“At the same time, we are also capable of providing both financial and non-financial support to startups and SMEs as well as encouraging local and international VCs or investors to invest in both markets,” he added.

Established in 2004, CJCC aims to develop highly-skilled human resources for Cambodia.

StaffAny launches workforce management app to help businesses comply with Singapore’s Circuit Breaker regulations

Singapore-based StaffAny has launched a new mobile app called CICO (Clock-in, Clock-out) to ease workforce management during Singapore’s Circuit Breaker phase, according to the company statement.

The app will allow businesses to record staff attendance, track staff for contact tracing and notify employees for a shift. It is especially more advantageous for companies which regularly depend on hourly or part-time workers.

To sign up, companies can simply log in to CICO and create an account. CICO is offering the app for free until the end of this year for companies that sign up before June 30.

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Image Credit: rupixen.com on Unsplash

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If you’ve only been associating South Korea with K-Pop, award-winning films, and delicious cuisine, then you’re missing out on the bigger chunk of the South Korean narrative.

South Korea’s resilience trumps over tragedy

In February 2020, South Korea had the second largest number of COVID-19 infections in the world outside of China. However, their rapid action and stringent rules set an example for the rest of the world to follow. That is to say, challenges of pandemic proportions can be overcome through a timely and proper response.

And while the entire global economy has been hit hard including the richest nations like the US and European countries, South Korea has shown commendable resilience and has been less affected, according to the IMF survey. In fact, the IMF forecast that the South Korean economy will grow significantly in 2021 and the growth rate rebound projection is as high as 3.4 per cent. This expected so-called “V-shaped recovery” for South Korea means that it will be one of the top countries to bring forth thriving businesses.

South Korea, a nation teeming with opportunities for international startups in 2020

The promising projection of economic growth, a system that encourages innovation, a government that nurtures the startup ecosystem, and a culture of adopting new technologies make South Korea a very favourable destination for global startups.

Also, in recent years, the South Korean government has ramped up its efforts to invite foreign entrepreneurs to the country. Programmes like the K-Startup Grand Challenge offer an all-expense paid acceleration programme for 3 months for about 60 international startups. This makes it Asia’s biggest acceleration programme for foreign startups.

From those foreign startups that had participated in the programme, 70% end up continuing their business in South Korea long-term. Many of these startups cite the following reasons for expanding their business in the country:

• Strong local ecosystem – With one of the best wireless infrastructures, South Korea is the next big startup tech hub. Moreover, there are numerous angel investors, VCs and accelerator programmes for startups to increase their business and innovate. In 2019 alone, 11 South Korean startups achieved the unicorn status, putting the nation in 4th place among other countries with most startups.
• Easy adaptation to Technology & Innovation – As proof of this, technology and innovation has played a big role in South Korea’s fight against COVID-19.
• A myriad of growing sectors – Amidst the pandemic and due to it, e-commerce startups such as Market Kurly, Woowa Brothers, and Coupang have seen substantial growth. There is also a lot of potential for startups in Blockchain, FinTech, Biotech, and IoT which are key growth areas in South Korea.
• Availability of top-class workspace and sponsored programmes – The country’s aspiration to become the ‘Silicon Valley’ of the East means that it ensures businesses to get high-tech infrastructure and logistics. For instance, the Pangyo Global Startup Campus is home to all international companies chosen for the ace startup accelerator programme from the K-Startup Grand Challenge.
• Easy access for international startups with programmes like K-Startup Grand Challenge – With the domestic startup market thriving, the South Korean government is keen to invite foreign entrepreneurs and skilled workers into the nation. Penetrating the market has been made easier thanks to initiatives such as K-Startup Grand Challenge, the largest outreach programme for foreign startups since 2016.

K-Startup Grand Challenge 2020: the opportunity of a lifetime for promising entrepreneurs

In a nutshell, the programme is an opportunity to work with the brightest talents from the nation, to participate in business networking, and to secure cash prizes to help you kickstart your business in South Korea. Check out the benefits of participating in this programme:

South Korea has proven its mettle as a resilient country with an enterprising business community, even in times of global crisis.

On this solid ground, programmes like K-Startup Grand Challenge gives a robust opportunity to those businesses and startups looking to take their companies to the next success level. Are you ready to embark on your journey to startup success and grow your business in South Korea? Check out the full mechanics and application process here.

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