How will a post-COVID-19 look like?

There is no a clear answer to this question. But one thing is certain: this pandemic will force some behavioural changes — not just on the people but also industries. And those who effect the changes as soon as possible will come out successful.

Southeast Asia will be no different. The region, home to over 650 million people and startup unicorns like Grab, gojek and Tokopedia, will certainly be impacted severely.

But the silver lining is that its young population and budding startup and VC landscape, which will present a greater opportunity to fully realise the region’s potential.

Cathay Innovation — a VC firm operating across Europe, North America, China and Southeast Asia — published a detailed report on the impact of COVID-19 on the region.

As per this report, the current crisis presents an opportunity for the region to leapfrog many economic activities into the digital world as businesses will be required to run more efficiently after a big reset.

Also Read: Why Khailee Ng puts mental healthcare support as key to successful founders-investors relationship

The healthcare, education, retail, agriculture, and logistics sectors will specifically see a new wave of digitisation and local startups and tech companies will be well-positioned to participate in the reinvention of these industries.

“With mobile technologies and connectivity more prevalent, the population will have better access to information, financial services and education, which are fundamental for people to learn about, identify and seize economic opportunities,” Cathay Innovations’s Co-founder and CEO Denis Barrier in a blog post.

As per this report, the most transformation and opportunity will be visible in the following industries:

1. Healthcare 

Apart from Singapore, most SEA countries suffer from an under-developed healthcare system, lacking the hospital beds and doctors to satisfy demand.

The digital health sector has attracted large amounts of investment, even before the pandemic, with APAC drawing over US$6.8 billion in investment in 2018 and SEA alone coming in at US$242 million in 2019 (according to Galen Growth Asia).

Telemedicine in particular has proved extremely valuable as a way to optimise consultation management while doctors are scarce.

For example, take a look at Indonesian mobile health tech platforms Alodokter, which has raised over US$45 million in funding, and Halodoc, with nearly $100 million from investors such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, serving around seven million patients per month with 80 per cent of patients residing outside the main city centres.

“Digital health and tele-medicine platforms are well-positioned to compensate for the deficiencies of SEA’s healthcare systems and will certainly grow further during the pandemic. While many different models will co-exist, we’ll likely see influence from the large Chinese digital health platforms like Alihealth, WeDoctor, Ping An Good Doctor, DXY and others,” Barrier shares.

Singapore will have a major role to play as the center of excellence for healthcare in the region. Healthcare and biomedical sciences is one of the four pillars of Singapore’s national R&D strategy, representing a US$4 billion budget for the Research, Innovation and Enterprise (RIE) 2020 Plan of the National Research Foundation.

2. Mobility, logistics, retail, and supply chain

The pandemic will revolutionise several sectors, pushing small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to reinvent their operating model by impacting mobility, logistics, retail operations and supply chains.

Naturally, the retail sector will suffer the most as populations will be in lock-down for several weeks to months. The recovery of offline retail will certainly imply a wave of digitisation of retail operations to build more resilient companies.

In parallel, online retail and last-mile delivery will clearly benefit from social distancing.

Companies like Grab, gojek and Ninja Van, have had to quickly ramp up to meet the demand for fulfilment of online grocery, food delivery and e-commerce all over the region.

Innovative technologies such as Machine Learning will be required to optimise platforms that are reaching operating bottlenecks and will benefit from more data-centric models in areas like pricing, addressing, inventory management, routing and supply chain management to make logistics and e-commerce operations faster and more resilient.

3. Fintech, edutech and future of work

In an environment where 70 per cent of consumers are underbanked and 70 per cent of SME merchants accept cash-only payments, fintech companies and online lenders are likely to emerge as big winners with the closing of physical bank branches and more transactions driven online.

As most of these companies acquire users online, the increase in e-commerce and online transactions will bring more traffic to fintech companies in the region who are positioned well to help people in precarious financial situations after a loss of income or unemployment.

“Finally, the crisis will create massive opportunities in the edutech and ‘future of work” space,” continues Barrier.  “In China, we saw investment in online education spike at the end of the lockdown with the drastic increase in time spent on online education platforms.”

New ways to work and vocational education will also be very promising sectors. Just like the explosive rise in video conferencing services like Zoom, we can anticipate that collaborative and decentralised work platforms will gain in popularity, the report states.

With unemployment rising, online hiring platforms (such as Kalibrr in the Philippines or older generation JobStreet/JobsDB portals) are expected to accelerate during the post-pandemic recovery period.

“The opportunity for innovation and investment in Southeast Asia (SEA) remains strong, with the region fundamentally enjoying favourable growth factors due to its demographics, modernisation, rapid growth of its digital economy, and accelerated tech adoption,” Barrier concludes.

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COVID-19 has deeply affected our daily lives and forced us to reinvent the dynamics of our professional relationships. For instance, it led to the (perhaps overdue) mass adoption of remote work across companies.

How do you continue doing business on an international scale, in spite of COVID-19? Through the internet, of course.

Tools abound: From communication platforms such as Zoom (whose stocks were at an all-time high while the rest of the stock market plunged), to project management tools and apps through which we can get online business interpreters on demand.

The problem is not a lack of tools to stay in touch with international business partners. The problem is what to say, how to plan in times of instability, and how to maintain relationships when no news (or no good news) can be given in the short term.

As noted in a recent presentation from Ogilvy, although every brand is differently equipped to face our current situation, some feelings are present across all organisations. And they are not particularly positive.

Most brands are working towards an action plan, but struggle with setting the right tone, are concerned about sounding exploitative and are puzzled at what “the day after” might look like. All these feelings are present  — if not amplified — among entrepreneurs and startup founders.

Also Read: How a startup founder in China tackled the COVID-19 crisis –and what you can learn from him

If we are trying to expand our business, make new partnerships and make ourselves known: How could we go about it during a pandemic?

Join online communities

Online business communities can be great networking spaces. Especially nowadays. Do more than LinkedIn groups. Platforms such as the StartupSauce Academy, Healthpreneurs, and Indie Hackers can be great places to meet potential customers and business partners.

You should also be up-to-date regarding hangouts, webinars, and online events. The “social life” of your industry (or startup ecosystem) did not end when the quarantine began. It just moved online. And, by doing so, some events that might have been limited by geographical boundaries are now available for an international audience. This might be the right time to grow your network beyond your city — or even beyond your region.

Be helpful

Nowadays, brands are especially focusing on comforting customers and communicating that they care about their wellbeing. This might include sharing important information, writing empathic and positive messages, as well as offering discounts and freebies. For instance, some online course platforms are providing free access to normally paywalled material.

Brands have also focused on giving back by helping fight back the crisis. For instance, fashion heavyweights such as Zara, H&M, and fashion conglomerate LVMH (owner of Dior, Louis Vuitton and Givenchy, among others) have helped cope with mask shortages by producing thousands of them themselves. This is the right time to establish strong partnerships with the goal of helping your community.

Aspire to move from a self-interested approach focused on promoting your products and services, to a more purpose-focused approach. And, as part of that purpose-focused approach, you can re-engage with competitors. But this time, as potential partners.

Also Read: How a startup founder in China tackled the COVID-19 crisis –and what you can learn from him

Sensible communication

On the other hand, be very aware of your tone and language when networking. Talk to colleagues and clients in a way that lets them know that you are there for them. Make yourself available. Ask yourself how you can make these times less stressful for them, and offer some value in that direction.

It might be a free meeting to discuss their needs, free advice, or a heavy discount on your regular services. It all depends on what you do, what you can offer, and who you are offering it to. Show strong leadership while remaining empathetic and human. Prioritise good relationships over short-term revenue.

Plan for tomorrow

These are uncertain times. But they will not last forever.

As McKinsey’s Kevin Sneader and Shubham Singhal note in Beyond Coronavirus: The path to the next normal, the financial effects the virus is having — and will have — are deep and undeniable. The aftermath will be a need to reimagine our place in the market:

“A shock of this scale will create a discontinuous shift in the preferences and expectations of individuals as citizens, as employees, and as consumers. These shifts and their impact on how we live, how we work, and how we use technology will emerge more clearly over the coming weeks and months. Institutions that reinvent themselves to make the most of better insight and foresight, as preferences evolve, will disproportionally succeed.”

It will be vital to partner with innovation-focused, future-proofed businesses that do not shy away from but thrive on reform. And having a disruption in our company’s DNA will be, more than ever, a key competitive advantage. Focus your networking efforts on the day after the quarantine, not under the belief that everything will go back to normal, but with a hunger to explore and innovate once the rules of the game have changed.

Also Read: Is COVID-19 eating jobs away?

The key to a great business is great relationships

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about a very difficult time for business. To continue networking, growing, and creating the strong bonds that drive good business, you need to be a leader, be sensitive, and be relevant.

Revisit your brand’s purpose, and turn it into concrete actions that not only help your brand but also your community and your partners. Actions are more impactful than words.

Reach out with an honest desire to help in any way you can. Understand the human implications of what’s going on, and adapt your tone accordingly. Be compassionate and attentive. Of course, this carries yet another challenge.

Do not forget who you are

Staying honest and not sounding exploitative are very common and justified concerns. Entrepreneurs that are just developing their brand might be inclined to completely reshape it so it meets the caretaker archetype. That, too, is opportunism. You don’t need to pretend you’re someone you’re not. Your brand should have the capacity to worry and be compassionate from its place and without losing its tone.

The reason why your product deserves to exist is that it’s unique, that it can provide something your competitors cannot. Now it is time to figure out what is the unique role your brand can play to help others throughout this crisis. And find the key partners who can help you carry out your mission.

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‘When life gives you lemons, make lemonade’ – this could not stand truer than ever! When you have got an unprecedented lockdown staring at you, what do you do?

Instead of getting entangled by the thought of boredom, make the most of it count! Take each day as an opportunity to develop a new skill, explore hobbies, or do things you’ve always wanted to. Never have we received an opportunity such as this, to do what we wanted to amidst our busy lives.

Lockdown Challenge

At DevX, we also navigated the team into a unique direction by asking them to initiate a Lockdown Challenge! The team, with utmost interest, took upon the challenge of considering an activity, a unique one, that they never attempted before.

The team, with full vigour and spirits, came up with some very unique ideas to make the most of this quarantine phase interesting. A long list of recreational activities started coming in! Wondering what those activities are?

You’ll find them below; we certainly can assure you that you’ll find not one but many useful activities to put up with the COVID-19 lockdown stress.

Since things are going haywire, courtesy the COVID-19 pandemic, each one of us is dealing with mental stress in our own way! Though we are all in this together, we must take care of our own selves first & then help others in need! Making room for an activity that refreshes you from the news about the world outside may help big time!

Also Read: Report: 3 out of 4 major online marketplaces in Vietnam experience traffic drops during COVID-19

Here’s the list of activities that Team DevX tried their hands on to shift the focus from the COVID-19 stress:

• Sketching/Painting
• Learning a new language
• Shuffling through old photo albums
• Breathing exercises
• Indulging in a hobby such as playing an instrument, singing, writing, dancing, etc.
• Play age-old games with the family such as carrom, chess, snakes and ladders, 21 questions, Name-Place-Animal-Thing, Ludo, etc.
• Take time to reflect, see what you have accomplished, set goals for the future!
• A good book is always a winner
• Cook, alone if you may!
• Finish off a long pending task such as organising a draw, cleaning the corners in the house, etc.
• Reconnect with old friends
• Take up a challenging task such as developing a habit to drink green tea, exercise regularly, quit smoking, or waking up early.
• Maintain a healthy diet
• Complete a stimulating Puzzle or Rubik’s Cube
• Focus on self-care
• Do the once-a-year jobs such as flipping over your mattress, purge your phone of unnecessary photos and contacts, etc.
• Gardening calms your mind perfectly well
• Spending time with family (we can all agree upon the need of this very much)

For those of you working from home, any of these activities can be of great help to take a quick break in the middle of your routine. It is important to stay healthy, physically as well as mentally. Also as rightly said, an empty mind is a devil’s workshop.

In a world where fake news and rumours spread at a speed faster than light, we must be careful as to what information we receive. Rather than spending time over-thinking about possibilities, occupy your time into healthy activities & useful conversations that may help you overcome stress & give you some relief.

Also Read: Business in the time of COVID-19: Best practices to stay afloat

This is a perfect time to take a pause and reflect upon our life choices and priorities. For most of us, probably it’s a first, to spend this much time with ourselves. A time long enough for many discoveries of our, very own, surrounding.

Enjoy the happy realisations as big as something your kid must be doing until today that you’ve failed to notice all along or as simple as the number of formal black shirts you own!

Now is the time when we need to stand united and help each other get through this. Mental wellbeing is of utmost importance at a time like this. Let’s pull up our sleeves and put all our efforts into this.

Stay strong, stay healthy, stay safe!

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April has been a month of many firsts. While the global prices of oil dipped into the negative for the first time, businesses across the globe had to transition to working remotely. As public transport in many of the major cities of the world came to a standstill, e-commerce growth quadrupled.

As world leaders are trying their best to keep calm and hold their nations together in these trying times, the business fraternity is coming together to learn from each other by sharing best practices to gear up for the recession.

Some of the e27 thought leaders have shared their thoughts on the COVID-19 crisis, leadership, how to manage teams, and more. Here’s a roundup of the best ones this month.

From investors

• When the Managing Director of Monk’s Hill Ventures and serial entrepreneur Peng T. Ong is giving a piece of advice and tips on what founders need to do now, you ought to listen. Need we say more?
• Since we are currently in the midst of a ‘great reset’ caused by COVID-19, Maarten Hemmes says right now is a good time to start thinking what the startup ecosystem will look like in the next five years. One thing is for sure, we will continue to need the innovation that startups create in order to bring our society forward.
• As unprecedented economic uncertainty continues across the world and it is now fair to ask if the tech and VC world runs into its own financial crisis. In the coming weeks, as the tech companies report their Q1 results, it will be clear where we are heading in 2020, says ex-Rocket Internet leader, Anu Shah.

Also Read: Five e27 Pro member-companies describe their experience with e27 Connect

From entrepreneurs

• Founder of PatSnap kindly shared his words of caution and COVID-19 experiences from China. Initial news of the outbreak in China occurred during the Lunar New Year holiday when many of their employees had travelled back to their hometowns and were spread out across the country. Jeffrey Tiong said, “My hope is that sharing my learnings might benefit other senior leaders in the West as we go through this tough situation”.
• There is no doubt anymore that the economy will suffer. With governments rolling out bailout packages and startups debating hibernation, Managing Partner at RHL Ventures, Rachel Lau has done a great comparison of the economic damage of COVID-19 in Malaysia and the world. When we wake up after a coma, will we see a world that has a standstill or a world that has slipped away from us? She questions.
• As a leader, this is not the time to panic. It is time to embrace empathy and do whatever you can to sail through. In adversity, one can build the strength and resilience of businesses and positively challenging entrepreneurs to broaden horizons. This heartfelt note from Shaun Djie is the Co-Founder of Digix, are the only words of inspiration you need right now.

From topic experts

• There was no better way of putting this. Amidst all the gloom of the COVID recession, Eddie Lee of Revolut seems to be looking for the silver lining. If the global financial crisis gave birth to fintech. What will COVID-19 recession bring?
• Andee Chua is a skilled community builder, connector and collaborator. He is a social catalyst/agitator and believes in the importance of growth in people, both personally and professionally. He talks about how to engage your communities as you are compelled to move all activities from offline to online, in the combined efforts to practice physical distancing and yet preserving social connectivity.
• While bigger corporations opt for a sustained public relations strategy and positioning that spans multiple years, startups and SMEs do not always have the luxury of resources. Alow Christel Goh to help your PR strategy. She strongly reinforces that PR is an awareness tool, not a strategy for your brand to drive sales.

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Recently, there was a witty response to a multiple-choice question that went viral on social media. Like a tsunami, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in unprecedented and almost instantaneous cash flow problems to retail, hospitality, travel, and tourism industries globally.

The crisis also raised fundamental questions on whether such companies can adapt to Industry 4.0 and cope with the new digital economy. While many companies have already embarked on their digital transformation journey— many others were completely caught off guard by COVID-19, often termed a “black swan” event.

Gone are days when we talk about “digital transformation” as a buzzword. I posit that digital transformation is now a question of survival because the aftermath of COVID-19 is likely to involve lasting and permanent changes in the consumer purchase journey.

In about a year, companies that choose to reject the digitalisation process as part of their daily or business continuity plans will not be able to fulfill consumers’ expectations and be forced out of business. 

To consumers, COVID-19 is a period of experimentation

Consider the last time you stepped outdoors. Most likely, it was to do something classified under “essential services”.

Indeed, as countries face lockdowns globally, regular consumers like you and I are forced to stay home and minimise our social activities outdoors. 

Also Read: A survivor’s guide for businesses dealing with COVID-19-led supply chain disruption

Let’s take the simple example of online grocery shopping as an example.

When Singapore’s DOSCORN level was raised to orange, RedMart’s weekly average number of orders tripled, while FairPrice said that demand for online orders exceeded that during the Lunar New Year period. For the first time in their lives, consumers felt compelled to shop online to feed themselves because they did not want to risk exposure to the virus. 

Would consumers return to their original consumption habits “once the virus is brought under control?” I am compelled to say no. This is because the fear and unfamiliarity with the technology used to be a major barrier to online grocery shopping amongst the elderly and even some homemakers.

With this extended period of experimentation due to the circuit breaker in the context of Singapore, new consumption habits start to form. Furthermore, it is likely that Singapore will implement on and off circuit breaker measures until a vaccine is found for this virus. 

And bear in mind– it just takes 21 days for a new habit to form! There will be consumers who find great convenience and value in shopping for groceries online and will continue in this new habit.

And consumers who switch back to physical offline shopping might not do so entirely: they might feel lazy some days and choose to do part of their grocery shopping online. It is clear then that supermarkets that do not also go digital will lose out to those who do. 

Ultimately, digital transformation is about how companies can deliver new and greater value to customers digitally. We look forward to the type of novel consumers’ experiences which can emerge out of this period of experimentation, not just in the food industry but across all industries.

Also Read: Entrepreneurs share COVID-19’s impact on their businesses in a survey by Startup Genome

From zero to one: How companies can kickstart digital transformation

It is clear by now that the post-COVID-19 world will be vastly different from the world we used to have before the ordeal. The pandora box is now open and we are now testing the boundaries of what does work digitally, and what does not. Concurrently, consumers’ expectations have radically changed to include digital, and this seems to be an irreversible process. 

How can companies not “miss the boat” and kick-start their digital transformation then? The key is to remember that digital transformation is not about cutting edge technology and instead about a growth mindset and work culture.

Here are some tips: 

• Start small. It is okay to make mistakes from time to time, for these are data points from which the company can learn from. A growth mindset here is essential, as well as a strong sense of curiosity and a willingness to learn. 
• Engage a digital transformation consultant. Companies with more budget can consider engaging a digital transformation consultant to advise on their business processes and even business models. Consider digital transformation consultants as professionals who can assist in helping you navigate the currently unfamiliar digital landscape. The caveat here is to look at past case studies and testimonials before engaging a company.
• Remember that digital transformation is a mindset, not a cutting edge technology. At the heart of digital transformation is people– ask yourself, is the technology making the consumer or employee experience better? Happier employees can serve customers better, and delightful customers are likely to result in repeat businesses. Focus on these experiences and expectations as opposed to the newest technology.

Adapt or die

All in all, perhaps digital transformation is indeed a question of survival due to the lasting change in consumer experiences and expectations brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. Companies that are already more advanced in their digitalisation path before the pandemic would have obtained good data from this time period and become aware of which digital areas to hone further. This would have given them a competitive advantage as compared to companies that have zero digital presence.

For the latter group, the time to start is now. If you are interested in more topics on digital transformation, TeamSpirit is currently working on a thought leadership series— so be sure to check back for updates!

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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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In the coming months, cynics will continue to denounce the death of retail, media will still be urging the government to cap online sales, undeterred by all, e-commerce players will continue to curate quality customer experience and grow invincible. The damage done to the retail sector is irreparable, also worsening customer experience has done more damage to the retail sector than online sales.

A NASDAQ study predicts, “By 2040, 95 per cent of all purchases will be made through e-commerce”, also “50 per cent of companies are willing to divert their advertising budgets towards customer experience innovation”. The growing impact of e-commerce and customer experience will render a few existing players obsolete and turn nascent organisations into the next big thing.

E-commerce sector is growing annually at 23 per cent because it is relying heavily on analytics to predict what customers want. By investing heavily in understanding customer behaviour and predicting their next move, e-commerce entities can recommend better products, control customer attrition and increase sales.

Upcoming trends

These upcoming e-commerce trends can be leveraged by e-commerce platforms to offer quality customer experience. All these trends will help online stores improve on varied customer experience metrics such as CLV, CSAT, NPS, and Churn Rate.

Predictive experiences will enhance customer lifetime value 

Personalised experience has helped e-commerce players garner a great response from customers. Customised offers created fear of missing out and drove sales.

With the increasing competition, online stores need to pivot from personalised experience to offering a predictive experience.

Also read: Customer experience: The opportunity that growing businesses are failing to see

Predictive experience is when stores analyse the existing customer data to identify what product the customer will be needing in the near future. Analysing purchase history data, how frequently a product is bought and the time gap between two purchases will help marketplaces offer predictive experience and increase conversions.

Predictive Experience has worked wonders for subscription-based services; a gentle reminder seven days before a subscription expiration has helped Netflix offer uninterrupted streaming and a quality customer experience.

Amazon drives 29 per cent of sales just by recommending products to its existing customer users. Amazon has invested heavily in creating a predictive experience. Amazon analyses the following metrics to offer an accurate recommendation:

• Purchase history
• Wish list
• Similar products bought by customers of same age group and demography

Offering predictive experience increases customer lifetime value because it not only recommend good products but offers a reason to buy it too. Reminding customers that they are running out of a product and they can order with a click is a great way of driving sales and increasing customer’s lifetime value.

Customer journey management will control customer churn rate

With new e-commerce players setting foot in the playing arena, the cost of customer acquisition is rapidly increasing. Also, multiple organisations trying to acquire the same customer demographic drives brand loyalty away.

Also Read: Coping with consumer behaviour during the COVID-19 crisis

In such times of despair, e-commerce businesses should rather concentrate on retaining the existing customers. Also, a repeat customer’s average e-commerce spending is US$52.50 whereas a new customer spends US$24.50 on average.

Now that online stores are pivoting from customer acquisition to customer retention mindset, customer journey management is going to play a crucial role. By drawing a pictorial representation of customer’s interaction with an online store, businesses can identify roadblocks and remove them.

Such intricate scrutiny will highlight multiple hindrances but will also offer incomparable insight into customer’s expectations.

Customer churn rate

Just when businesses start to analyse the customer’s journey and try to remove the bottlenecks, the overall customer experience increases while customer attrition goes down. Since the customer churn rate is defined as the number of users at the end of a period divided by the number of users in the beginning, by improving customer experience, customer churn rate can be controlled.

Omnichannel experience

Today, customers want to start the conversation from where they left it last time, irrespective of the device they are on. The fact that 65 per cent of customers are not willing to do business with an organisation just after one bad experience, it becomes indispensable for enterprises to invest in offering omnichannel experience.

Since big players such as Google and Amazon have already set the standards high for omnichannel experience, customers tend to expect the same from every other online entity. With omnichannel experience already shaping up as a stimulating trend in 2020, investing in it will only drive businesses towards excellence.

E-commerce businesses can also leverage capabilities like interaction analytics to understand customer’s expectations and the overall sentiment associated with their brand.

Also Read: How COVID-19 is fostering new wave of retail

Net promoter score

When customers are valued, catered on priority, and offered with a seamless experience through varied platforms, they are likely to tell about it to their friends.

A study shows that a happy customer is likely to tell six friends about the experience. Just by offering omnichannel experience, existing e-commerce players can improve their Net Promoter Score.

AI can drastically improve customer satisfaction

From chatbots to enhanced search functionalities, Artificial Intelligence will empower e-commerce users with the power to get more done in less time. By deploying Artificial Intelligence, online stores will be looking forward to improving search, simplify the retail catalog and offer better customer support.

The good thing about artificial intelligence is that it learns on its own. All you need to do is integrate them with the central repository and assign access. AI will monitor varied searches made by customers and study them. Once they have monitored enough data, they will start predicting patterns followed by customers. They will assist with search queries and category selection based on their browsing and shopping history.

Customer satisfaction

Alexa and Siri are the best examples of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. Based on the data you feed them with, they try to optimise your experience.

They not only schedule interviews for you, order stuff from an online store but also remind you about things you might have forgotten. AI and ML have established their utility and presence in our daily lives even without us becoming aware.

Also Read: Why a learning-integrated life is important amidst the COVID-19 pandemic

Online stores can rely on AI for offering a better experience leading to higher customer satisfaction rates. Whenever a customer seeks assistance with searches, discover products faster and checkout, AI can be the best ally. Artificial Intelligence, when leveraged by e-commerce stores, will use locations, purchase history, and shopping patterns to offer better recommendations, simplify searches and checkout processes leading to better customer satisfaction.

Since an Invesp study found “It’s seven times more expensive to get a new customer than to retain existing ones”, it is safe to say investing in customer experience innovations is a better idea than betting big on customer acquisition.

By identifying and focusing on the latest trends such as Predictive Experiences, Artificial Intelligence and Omni Channel, e-commerce organizations can offer better customer experience and score better on varied customer experience (CX) metrics like CSAT, NPS, and CLV.

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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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It did not look like the COVID-19 has affected the fundraising efforts of these startups –at least not at the moment.

While one might argue that this is because the funding rounds were secured before the pandemic hits the world, we can definitely say that the month of April ended on a high note for the Southeast Asian (SEA) startup ecosystem.

We covered a total of 29 early stage funding rounds in SEA-based companies, particularly for seed and Series A stages. There was a great variety of sectors being funded here, from agritech to B2B to logistics.

The following is a glimpse of the funding rounds being announced in April, in chronological order:

1. TaniHub

Funding: US$17 million Series A+
Investors: Openspace Ventures, Intudo Ventures, UOB Venture Management, Vertex Ventures, BRI Ventures, Tenaya Capital, and Golden Gate Ventures.

With this round, TaniHub aims to strengthen its market position and accelerate the expansion of service and geographical coverage for farmers and customers to encourage and build inclusivity.

2. ProSpark

Funding: Undisclosed pre-seed
Investors: Agaeti Ventures, Prasetia Dwidharma and angel investor Adi Adisaputro

ProSpark, which fosters capability building in organisations by bringing a distributed content marketplace and gamified engagement, will use the funds to expand its commercial footprint and strengthen its position in the market.

3. eDoctor

Funding: Undisclosed
Investors: CyberAgent Capital, Genesia Ventures, Bon Angels and Nextrans

According to Doctor co-founder Huynh Phuoc Tho, the funding will be used to enhance further its remote healthcare consultancy and the capacity in connecting offline services to the users.

4. Rara Delivery

Funding: US$834,000 in seed funding
Investors: 500 Startups, Lim Der Shing, GK-Plug n Play, Royston Tay, Yang Bin Kwok, Vidit Agrawal, Neelesh Suryavanshee, Vishal Gupta

Karan Bhardwaj, Founder and CEO of RaRa Delivery, said that the funds will be used to acquire talent in Business Development, Operations, and Technology to further expand RaRa’s business in Indonesia.

Also Read: Morning News Roundup: Tigerhall, Growthwell Group raise funding rounds

5. BukuWarung

Funding: Undisclosed seed funding
Investors: AC Ventures, Golden Gate Ventures, Tanglin Venture Partners, Michael Sampoerna

The company will use the funds to strengthen its market leadership and expand its team to grow across engineering, product, design, growth, and partnerships based out of Jakarta.

6. Webtrace

Funding: Undisclosed seed funding
Investors: Prasetia Dwidharma, Astra Ventura

The company said it plans to use the funds to strengthen its marketing and customer acquisition strategy as well as to expand sales headcount.

7. RISE

Funding: US$8 million in seed funding
Investors: Metro Company Limited, D2C Inc. (Japan), Chanwanich Company

RISE has announced plans to scale its services beyond Thailand to Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia.

8. Homebase

Funding: Undisclosed seed funding
Investors: Antler, Iterative, angel investors

The startup said in a statement that it will use the new funds to expand its infrastructure, make new hires, and push forward with its regional expansion plans.

9. MightyJaxx

Funding: US$3.2 million in Pre-Series A
Investors: KB Investment Co, Greycroft Partner, SGInnovate

Mighty Jaxx plans to channel the investment towards the further development of MightyVerse, its proprietary technology platform.

10. Kargo

Funding: US$31 million in Series A
Investors: Tenaya Capital, Sequoia India and Southeast Asia, Intudo Ventures, Coca-Cola Amatil, Agaeti Convergence Ventures, Alter Global, and Mirae Asset Venture Investment

The employees of the company recently joined the fight against COVID-19 by pledging US$1 million Logistics Relief fund for truckers moving essentials throughout Indonesia on the platform.

11. Kumu

Funding: US$5 million in Series A
Investors: Openspace Ventures, ABS-CBN, Summit Media, Kickstart Ventures

With the new funds, the company aims to develop its platform and improve its user experience.

Also Read: Thai edutech startups Conicle, Vonder receive funding from Stormbreaker Venture

12. Hoow Foods

Funding: Undisclosed
Investors: Nanyang Realty, Sunbo Angel Partners, Lighthouse Combined Investment Co.

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.

13. Digital Commerce Intelligence

Funding: US$706,000
Investors: Velocity Partners

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

14. CloudEats

Funding: US$1.4 million in seed
Investors: Undisclosed family offices, angel investors

CloudEats claims that food brands in its platform offer 15 per cent to 20 per cent cheaper rates compared to competitors.

15. Easy Eat

Funding: Undisclosed Pre-Series A
Investors: Bala Chandra, angel investors

The less-than-a-year-old startup, which also has offices in Malaysia and India, will use the capital raised to build the team and launch the product.

16. SensorFlow

Funding: US$8.3 million in Series A+
Investors: Openspace Ventures, Gaw Capital Partners

The company said it plans to use the funding to develop solutions for automating heating ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems that help hotels manage COVID-19, hiring new talent in hardware and data science roles and for international market expansion.

17. OnPoint

Funding: US$8 million in Series A
Investors: Kiwoom Investment, Daiwa-SSIAM Vietnam Growth Fund II L.P

The company will use the funds for hiring and developing data-driven capabilities.

18. Axinan (igloo)

Funding: Undisclosed Series A+
Investors: InVent, OpenSpace Ventures, Linear Capital, Singtel Innov8, Cathay Innovation, Partech Partners

The fresh round — which takes Igloo’s total investment raised to date to US$16 million — will fuel its expansion plans into Vietnam, as well as help it strengthen its foothold in the Philippines and Thailand.

Also Read: Vickers Venture Partners leads US$34M funding round for US-based Lumitron

19. Moovaz

Funding: US$7 million in Series A
Investors: Quest Ventures, Supply Chain Angels, SGInnovate, others

Quest Ventures’ investment is a testament to its belief that the moving industry is burgeoning in Asia with 40 per cent of international relocations stem from Asia.

20. Tigerhall

Funding: US$2 million
Investors: Surge, XA Network, Taurus Ventures, angel investors

The company said it will use the investment for product development, new senior hires, market expansion, and supporting organisations in digitalising their learning programmes being key focus areas this year.

21. BuyMed (Thuocsi)

Funding: US$2.5 million in Series A
Investors: Surge, Genesia Ventures

The new capital will be used to expand locally as well as into other parts of Southeast Asia.

22. Tinvio

Funding: US$5.5 million in seed
Investors: Surge, Global Founders Capital, Partech Partners

The company plans to use its newly-raised capital for product development and market expansion, primarily focusing on Australia, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia (SEA).

23. Qoala

Funding: US$13.5 million
Investors: Centauri Fund, Sequoia India, Flourish Ventures, Kookmin Bank Investments, Mirae Asset Venture Investment, Mirae Asset Sekuritas

The company said that it will use the funding to invest further into its technology, people, and brands to fuel its multi-channel strategy.

24. ZuBlu

Funding: US$1 million in seed funding
Investors: Wavemaker Partners, Mana Impact, She1k

ZuBlu is also backed by Hong Kong-based startup investor and accelerator, Betatron.

Also Read: Insurtech startup Qoala secures US$13.5M in Series A funding led by Centauri Fund

25. Helicap

Funding: US$10 million in Series A
Investors: Saison Capital, East Ventures, Access Ventures, Lamivoie

This round pushes the startup’s total funds raised to date to almost US$17 million.

26. Conicle

Funding: US$900,000 in pre-Series A
Investors: Humanica, 500 TukTuks, Stormbreaker Venture

The funds will be used by the startup to expand into the international education market, as well as to further develop a comprehensive solution for Human Resource managers to improve their employees’ skills, drive digital transformation and respond to future work trends.

27. Vonder

Funding: Undisclosed seed funding
Investors: Pongsak Trakulsuk, Stormbreaker Venture

The seed funding will be used to further penetrate the B2B corporate training market for HR, corporates and SMEs, in addition to developing and expanding new products for the regional market.

28. Eduka System

Funding: Undisclosed seed funding
Investors: Init 6

The two-year-old Eduka develops online test system for schools and students.

29. Funtap

Funding: “Seven digit” Series A
Investors: Makers Fund, DT&Investment, Colopl Next, Soulbei

The company said in a statement it will use the funding to develop its digital content platforms for entertainment and education in the future as well as prepare for overseas expansion to countries such as Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, among others.

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The post Meet the 29 most notable early stage funding announcements of April 2020 appeared first on e27.

In April, there is one common theme among the later stage funding announcements that e27 managed to gather: Fintech.

There are at least three startups that are working in the fintech sectors announcing their funding rounds this month, and they are mostly working to channel capital towards small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Does this mean that the COVID-19 pandemic has zero to limited impact on fundraising activities in the region? It is hard to say as these funding rounds were likely to have been closed before the COVID-19 pandemic spread throughout the region. The next two months will be crucial in determining that.

1. BIT

Funding: “Seven figure USD” in Series B
Investors: Kyuu Roku (lead)

BIT will use this financing to invest in their automatic speech recognition, language sentiment analysis and other technology.

2. Voyager (PayMaya)

Funding: US$120 million
Investors: PLDT, KKR, Tencent, IFC, and the IFC Emerging Asia Fund

The investment is part of a broader fundraise for Voyager and is intended to support its fintech product PayMaya’s growth, as it pursues its mission to accelerate digital and financial inclusion in the Philippines and enable the wider Filipino population to participate in the digital economy.

Also Read: Meet the 29 most notable early stage funding announcements of April 2020

3. Investree

Funding: US$23.5 million in Series C
Investors: MUIP, BRI Ventures

Investree plans to further develop its services to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Indonesia and to expand activities in the Philippines and Thailand.

4. KoinWorks

Funding: US$20 million
Investors: Quona Capital, Triodos Bank, EV Growth, Saison Capital

The new money will go towards borrowers who are mostly digital SMEs.

5. Cohesity

Funding: US$250 million in Series E
Investors: DFJ Growth, Foundation Capital, Greenspring Associates, Wing Venture Capital, Baillie Gifford, Sozo Ventures, Sequoia Capital, SoftBank Vision Fund 1, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, 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.

7. Novade

Funding: Undisclosed
Investors: SIG, Vulcan Capital, Wavemaker Partners, Enterprise Singapore

The company plans to use the funding to accelerate its global expansion and market penetration in Europe, China, and Japan, as well as to increase investments in its technology and artificial intelligence capabilities.

8. Funding Societies

Funding: US$40 million in a Series C
Investors: Existing investors

The platform, also known as Modalku in Indonesia, originally intended to utilise the fresh funds in new initiatives, however, due to market uncertainty caused by COVID-19, the original plans have now been scaled down.

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The post In April 2020, we charged ahead with these later stage funding announcements appeared first on e27.

If there is anything more difficult than maintaining participants’ interest in a meeting, it is doing it online.

Videoconferencing has revolutionised corporate communication by providing flexibility and reducing physical barriers. Participants can connect from anywhere, save on commuting and space rentals, and benefit from faster information flows (because hundreds of employees can connect at once).

But let us be honest. For many, most online meetings are a total bore. I have met a few people who like attending them. Generally, they will say, “Gosh! I have a conference call. Let’s see if I can use this opportunity to send some emails.”

In 2014, InterCall, one of the largest providers of videoconferencing solutions, surveyed its thousands of users. Most respondents (82 per cent) acknowledged that they performed other activities unrelated to the conference theme during the conference. The most common activities were sending emails, eating, texting, browsing social networks, exercising, shopping online, even going to the bathroom.

If you have to run an online meeting or training and want to keep your participants engaged, here are seven tips that should help:

Communicate the purpose of the meeting

Have you ever been called to a meeting without an agenda? It happens more often than you might think. It seems that when someone makes internal calls – that is, to colleagues in their own company – they ignore the most basic rules of meetings.

Also Read: Here’re 5 online learning platforms to skill up your quarantined self

When an attendee connects to a meeting without knowing what it is about, they will probably check out fast if they do not hear anything interesting.

On the other hand, if a participant has received an agenda or been informed of the subject to be discussed, they will have an opportunity to think about it and will be better able to make valuable contributions during the meeting.

What is in it for your participants?

From the beginning, try to answer this question: “What is in it for them?” In other words, you need to clearly communicate what benefits the attendees will obtain by participating in the meeting. Will they learn something that will make their work better or easier? Will they receive important information?

Attendees are more likely to stay focused if they know the content is relevant to them.

Remember that every time you request an online meeting, you’re asking someone to give you something very valuable: their time.

Be the first to arrive

As an attendee, nothing is more frustrating than organising your schedule to attend a meeting, dropping everything you were doing, and making an effort to connect on time, only to hear: “You are the first participant to connect. The organiser has not yet arrived. Please wait.”

Also Read: Compassionate leadership in a time of crisis

If you called the meeting, you are the captain of the ship. There are no excuses for not showing up. If you can’t make it to the meeting for any reason, find someone who can replace you. Ask that person to start the meeting until you can join, or to lead it if you can’t.

Make sure everything works

God helps those who get up early – and especially those who connect early. If you are the meeting organiser, connect at least 15 minutes before it starts to verify that everything works correctly.

If you start checking five minutes before the meeting starts, you may not have enough time to resolve any technical glitches. Murphy’s Law states that “Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong”. It is true.

And plenty of things can go wrong. Your computer might ask you to update a driver or install an extension. The microphone may not work. Or the audio or the video from the webcam will be terrible or absent. If you connect early, you will be in a better position to find a solution.

A good host always welcomes his guests

Imagine entering a room full of people and nobody greets you. Everyone remains silent and ignores you. How would you feel?

As attendees arrive at the meeting, activate your video camera to welcome them one by one and chat with them. Remember the power of using proper names to connect with participants.

A “hello everyone” is not the same as “How are you, David?”, “Hello, Laura?”, “Welcome, Jane! How was your day?”

Pay attention to time zones

The content of a meeting may be super-interesting, but if you have to get up at 4AM to connect, you will never have enough coffee to keep you awake and attentive.

Also Read: Tapping into online platforms, bridging network gaps, and bouncing back as a community

If you have to convene a meeting with participants in different time zones, try to figure out what time of day will work best for most attendees. If it is impossible for you to find an acceptable hour for everyone, consider arranging two different calls.

If the meeting requires participation and interaction from everyone, give advance notice so that attendees who must connect outside of their normal working hours can organise themselves. Do not forget to acknowledge their extra effort!

Introduce the attendees

In meetings with many participants, it is likely that some people will be strangers to others. If you can, take time to introduce the attendees who are online and indicate what functions they perform. This will foster a closer, more intimate, and collaborative environment.

When sending a request for an online meeting, allow the recipients to see the addresses of the other employees. This way they will be able to identify their colleagues and interact with one another.

This is especially useful in international meetings, where first and last names are sometimes difficult to understand on the phone.

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The post Zoom in: 7 ways to make online meetings more interesting appeared first on e27.