Singapore’s blockchain accelerator Tribe goes virtual

The story: Singapore’s government-supported blockchain accelerator Tribe will be going virtual for its third cohort. The batch consists of 10 blockchain companies operating in the health-tech, fintech, supply chain, data and cybersecurity industries.

Here are the 10 startups enrolled in the programme:

Accredify:  An edtech management company that resolves the issue of fraudulent certifications and transcripts across educational institutions.

Hashstacs: A fintech development company that builds enterprise blockchains (STACS blockchain) for banks and stock exchanges.

Humanscape: A healthtech company that increases the chances of developing cures for diseases through collection and provision of clinical, genetic, and health data on the blockchain.

Merkle Science: It provides blockchain transaction monitoring and intelligence solutions for government institutions to detect, investigate and prevent money laundering, terrorist financing, and other criminal activities.

Quantstamp: A blockchain-enabled smart contract security company.

Chainstack: It enables businesses and governments to leverage multiple blockchain networks to facilitate the deployment, orchestration, and management of decentralised apps

Sentient.io: It provides AI and data solutions integrated closely with a Data Alliance (DA) blockchain fabric.

Shalom International Movers: It encompasses a range of logistics solutions to insure high-value cargo and facilitate dispute resolutions.

Tramés: It enables diverse parties in global trade to seamlessly connect and securely exchange information.

Xfers: A blockchain-enabled ledger for payment methods that reduces efficiencies present in domestic and cross-border fund transfers.

SaaS startup Base.vn launches HRM solution

The story: Base.vn, a Vietnamese software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform, has announced the launch of Base HRM, a “comprehensive” HR solution with 20-plus integrated apps.

The 20-plus apps cover four areas  — organisational design, attendance management, performance management and people development. Developed together on Base.vn platform, these apps can be easily integrated and exchange data with one another, while the core business problems are handled separately and optimally.

“By helping companies to build up a framework for HR and giving them real time data about everything related to their management, we hope that companies would fix things faster and renovate faster. That’s our main mission in building HRMs and we know it’s a long way,” said Pham Kim Hung, CEO of Base.vn.

COVID-19 set to push digital pay up to 37% by FY2022 in India: report

The story: COVID-19 has been leading to a shift in habits, one of which is the switch from cash to card payments. In a report titled Indian Mobile Payments, India’s digital payment volumes will increase at a compounded annual growth rate of 37 per cent, according to The Economic Times.

The trend: The only time this trend was seen was when previously there was a currency ban of some notes in India in a report by RedSeer Consulting.

This habit is also being largely seen among users in smaller towns, both on the merchant and consumer payment side.

“Demonetisation of November 2016 acted as a trigger point in India’s digital payments story when the ‘common man’ had his first interaction with cashless payments,” said Anil Kumar, founder and CEO of RedSeer. “The outbreak of Covid-19 has brought about another major turning point in this journey.”

Indian startup DaveAI raises funding

The story: Bengaluru-based Artificial Intelligence sales augmentation platform, DaveAI, has raised an undisclosed amount in pre-A funding.

Investors: Mumbai Angels Network, GHV Accelerator, IIIT Technology Venture partners and Mr Mohan Kumar, CEO of Crestere Technologies

What does the startup do?: Dave.AI is a platform that creates virtual sales avatars. Its avatars can be deployed on web, kiosks, VR and AR. DaveAI is a Nasscom Deeptech club member and part of Intel’s Maker Lab, an accelerator programme for hardware startups by Intel India.

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

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Image credit: Tribe

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Hiring and retaining talent is one of the biggest challenges for the Human Resource department of any organisation, big or small. The process is even tougher for early-stage ventures and startups, which often lack the financial resources to attract the right talent and retain them.

More often than not, many people leave the employ when they find a better opportunity, just weeks or months after they joined a company, which could even affect its growth. This always puts companies in a crisis mode.

It is a universal problem and there has not been a ‘quick fix’ to address this, other than make the workplaces employee-friendly, encourage great culture, and provide perks and incentives. Liberal leave policies and access to top management could also make a difference.

Southeast Asia, which is rich in talent, is no different. Irrespective of the size, organisations find it cumbersome to hire people, a process which consumes a lot of time, energy and money.

E-commerce honcho Tiki, which employs nearly 3,000 people across Vietnam, also faces these HR challenges.

Here, in the first episode of e27‘s deep-dive content project, Chief People Officer Sakshi Jawa shares insights into the company’s hiring process and how it addresses the challenges of discovering and retaining talent — in her own words.

Skilled talents are not easy to get

E-commerce has been one of the fastest-growing fields among all industries. In the region, Tiki is one of the fast-growing and leading e-commerce companies. Due to this growth, we need to take quick actions and quickly switch gears.

Also Read: Tiki reportedly raises US$130M in funding led by Northstar Group

Hence, along with the fact that all companies are looking for candidates with good technical skills, we also have the challenge to recruit people who can adapt quickly with our changes and are always willing to learn and try new things to lead the change.

Secondly, with many new tech firms, there is a lot of competition in the market in attracting engineering talent. As a result, skilled software engineers are not easy to get. We have had many changes in the recruitment process and candidate evaluation methods, career pathing, job rotations, and competitive pay scales with total reward philosophy. This holistic approach helps us to be competitive and get top engineering talent.

On discovering talents

We believe in leveraging internal resources to hire talent. Our internal team can gauge the best cultural fit, versus external agencies. Our acquisition team is built as an internal headhunting service and a lot of the team members have experience in working in different recruitment consultant agencies.

Based on the type of vacancy, we use different media or platforms. It can be a combination of activities on various platforms. As for some critical positions, we also run marketing campaigns to promote those jobs.

Besides using traditional recruiting channels, we have built a candidate database proactively to store all candidate profiles who applied to Tiki or are interested in Tiki. From this source, we can be more active in discovering potential candidates.

Moreover, we also pay attention to employer branding activities to maximise our exposure to mass candidates, such as updating our internal activities and Tiki initiatives on career sites, and accompanying universities and colleges to support students.

This contributes to building the image of a young, dynamic and eager-to-learn workplace, as well as helping candidates understand more about the business culture.

On referral programmes

At Tiki, we have made the candidate referral programme an interesting activity. Besides providing an incentive to employees who successfully refer to talent, we have gamified the programme to make it more fun.

After an employee refers to a successful case, he or she will be offered reward points. He or she can accumulate these reward points to compete for a big monthly or annual prize.

More than that, we look at the referral programme as an employee recognition programme and their dedication to Tiki.

On verifying social media accounts of candidates

In needed cases, we will refer to reliable documents and data such as background checks or reference checks to verify the information needed.

Social media accounts that are profession-driven such as LinkedIn may be a referral source, but not the platforms to base the final hiring decision. We have strong interview tools which we believe help us in making the right hiring decisions.

The interview process

We always want to meet the talented candidates and appreciate the chance to collaborate with them. Moreover, we believe in culture fit which might bring more impact and retention, not just the technical fit.

Also Read: How AI is helping Tiki address price hike, fraud, product quality issues during the outbreak

Depending on the level and type of job opening, we would invite the candidate to join the phone screen first as a preliminary round. A home test or on-site test might be required for some special technical skills after the phone screening round.

Then the face-to-face loop interview (three to four rounds) will be set up to gauge the technical skills and culture fit of the candidate. A final calibration or a debrief session for all of the interviewers is then held to make the final hiring decision.

We strongly believe that a rigorous loop interview is not only a chance for Tiki to have the right hiring decisions but also a chance for candidates to understand more about our culture, the scope of work and how he or she might fit the team.

Having multiple interviewers also helps us ensure that the hiring manager’s decision is not biased due to the urgency of the position.

On-boarding

We strongly believe that a good start and relationship is not only built from the on-boarding day but also gained from the very first step of approaching the candidates. Employees need to be well prepared and be equipped with enough information about company processes and policies, as well as the role.

It’s never enough to state that we are doing great. At Tiki, we always do our best to improve day by day to make sure that we could bring a pleasant experience for candidates and employees.

We always have an office tour, orientation sessions and especially the buddy programme to make sure that a newbie could receive the support timely. We also run surveys for the new joiners to help us improve every day.

We are currently running some projects to further enhance the new joining experience.

Employee churning 

We regularly conduct market research to collect data related to the churn rate; not only focus on the local market but also the regional market. Based on that, we can benchmark ourselves and adopt best practices.

Currently, our churn rate is healthy as compared to the market. We take the total reward approach, which we can ensure for both short-term and long-term benefits and varies with levels of performance.

We also have a robust internal transfer policy that helps employees take up new challenges and learn new things. It is both compensation and benefits (C&B) policy and opportunities to learn and make differences that retain talent at Tiki.

On eliminating frauds

Tiki’s DNA is ‘living and breathing customers’, obviously shown by the strong commitment to providing authentic and quality products to customers.

Likewise, we look for candidates with the same philosophy, no toleration for giving fake documents or degrees. We will take action when there is a case.

On leave policy

We have a young population who have a great passion for their career, so maternity or paternity leave needs to be competitive and favourable for our employees.

Tiki was the best workplace in Vietnam’s e-commerce and internet industry in 2018 and among best places to work in Asia in 2019. These show our great desire to apply the competitive benefits to our members, not only in the Vietnam market but also in the region.

Also Read: How AI is helping Tiki address price hike, fraud, product quality issues during the outbreak

While we are pretty competitive in the local market, we want to compete on benefits at the region level. We are in the process of building a new benefit programme which will be launched next year to bring more happiness to our Tiki’s members.

Foreign employees

Tiki is a local technology champion, not only offering the best products and services to customers but also nurturing Vietnamese talent pool.

Tiki, moreover, is in the process of transforming, in which we aspire to value the diversity and build a global culture. We are also a learning organisation, so we welcome the participation of people across the globe.

This not only helps us learn the international knowledge and mindset in all activities but consolidates our ambition and long-term development vision as well. As of now, we have employees from 8 different nationalities working with us.

Founded in 2010, Tiki is a fast-growing B2C e-commerce platform. The platform initially sold e-books, but it has since diversified to become an all-encompassing marketplace, selling goods such as toys, digital devices, lifestyle and beauty products.

In June this year, Tiki reportedly raised US$130 million, led by Singapore-headquartered PE firm Northstar Group. Prior to this, it received US$44 million from Chinese internet giant JD.com in November 2017. This figure was twice the amount Tiki secured from Vietnamese internet group VNG in 2016 — a US$17 million funding that gave VNG a 38 per cent stake in Tiki.

In August last year, Tiki.vn acquired local online ticketing platform Ticketbox.

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Image Credit: Tiki

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Within Southeast Asia, the financial services industry holds a tremendous potential that could be unleashed if fundamental underlying challenges are addressed.

Out of a population of 570 million in Southeast Asia, more than 70 per cent of the adults are “underbanked” or “unbanked” and have limited access to financial services. In addition, millions of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSME) face large funding gaps.

According to Bloomberg more than one in three MSMEs expect their need for financing to increase in the future. The funds will likely be used to invest in new technologies, as solutions used on a daily basis evolve; and business opportunities as they arise.

MSMEs are seeking sources of funding that are available ‘on-demand’, enabling them to respond to opportunities and threats that quickly arise.

Traditional funding options are failing to meet the demand and hence MSMEs are looking for ‘alternative’ funding options that can meet their needs.

According to Bloomberg, based on the findings that businesses are increasingly adopting novel digital tools and platforms, a logical next step for MSME could be to seek out complementary, non-traditional microfinancing solutions when it comes to funding.

The importance of MSME and the funding gap

MSME plays an important role in the Asian economy. Although estimates vary, several sources suggest that MSME account for over 95 per cent of all firms, contributes to 50–70 per cent of employment, and constitutes 30–60 per cent of various countries’ gross domestic product.

The MSME loan to GDP ratio remains low in most ASEAN nations, with figures ranging from three to 34 per cent. The situation is particularly severe in the Philippines and Indonesia, both of which have ratios in single digits.

Also Read: How fintech can help reach the unbanked and underbanked in Southeast Asia

Malaysia and Singapore fare better with 55 per cent and 36 per cent respectively, while Thailand leads the way with 105 per cent of the GDP ratio in SME loans.

According to studies, the vast majority of MSMEs in Southeast Asia currently fund their businesses with their own savings (90 per cent), or rely on family or friends (40 per cent).

Why is there a funding gap?

A lot of MSMEs have little to no resources and some lack even the most basic business skills, such as how to add a markup to products or filling out business loan applications.

Approximately 80 per cent of MSME say they want to borrow but lack access to affordable credit.

The top four reasons why MSME are struggling to get a loan:

• High interest rates
• Troublesome process
• Don’t know where to go
• Application rejected

And so MSME remains a largely underbanked segment in most markets within Southeast Asia.

Why are traditional banks not filling this gap?

• The costs to provide a US$5-10,000 loan are high so banks won’t find it worth the effort
• A general lack of data on the financials of the MSME for the banks to give a proper credit rating
• Banks lack the digital infrastructure to analyse and disperse smaller loans
• There’s a general risk-averse perspective on unsecured loans also because other bank products might be more profitable and less risky

And so technology-enabled business models that offer a more effective way to serve MSME are leading the way and are creating new market opportunities.

Customer gatekeepers

Established players risk (partly) losing the MSME segment to new (technology) players that can use nontraditional data sources to create access and supplement underwriting, and offer a broader suite of products and new delivery models (such as offline-to-online platforms) to address the needs of MSME.

New players that can serve as a customer gatekeeper will have an advantage in the battle for MSME. Innovators that offer a vertically integrated solution to meet different MSME merchants’ needs will gain marketshare.

Offline-to-Online

Fully digitalising the process immediately is not realistic and in the next five years we will need hybrid solutions where data is processed automatically while keeping in-person interactions to create trust and provide guidance.

Underbanked MSME in Southeast Asia generally still rely on the physical presence of a bank to handle their finances. Some innovators are closely working together with banks to utilise their existing physical retail presence.

Others have integrated with point-of-sale systems or accountancy software and leverage existing trusted business relationships.

However, one can expect that the offline element will almost completely disappear in due time as has already happened in more advanced markets like Singapore, several countries in Europe and the US.

Which countries and who is disrupting?

Southeast Asia is a huge market, but it is an extremely fragmented region. There are 11 countries, each differs significantly in terms of regulation, economy, infrastructure, and culture.

This space has been heating up and a range of players have launched over the past few years and are trying to get a piece of the pie. Some working closely together with banks, others launched P2P lending platforms and some players have even obtained a license to lend directly from their balance sheet.

Some examples:
Funding Societies (Singapore + Indonesia): Kelvin Teo, co-founder

“Even if we focus on bigger markets such as Indonesia or its capital Jakarta, there are nuances working with people who come from the 17,000 different islands in Indonesia. Each time we enter a new country, we need to rebuild the business from scratch. And for most parts of Southeast Asia, regulations are still unclear, credit and fraud risks are high, and the legal framework does not provide meaningful recourse for lenders. Hence we paid quite a bit of ‘school fees’ in terms of time and resources to build and scale.”

Grab Finance

When you start a small business, you’ve got big dreams. And GrabFinance is here to help. We’re committed to empowering SMEs across Southeast Asia with funding, tools, and insights so they can reach their goals, no matter what they are.

Offline-to-Online problem remains

Few innovators seem to have tackled the offline-to-online problem in a scalable manner through and so the real customer (MSME) gatekeepers still have to emerge.

This is likely due to the fact that these players have mainly focussed on their internal operations and credit algorithms to keep default rates low, rather than purely focussing on building new channels to grow loan origination.

Also Read: Banking the unbanked: Have cryptocurrency project achieved the most claimed utility of the blockchain?

Next to this, there’s a large group of ‘advanced’ MSME, such as e-commerce businesses (vs. brick-and-mortar), that can be accessed without having to solve the fundamental offline-to-online problem.

Lending is the biggest opportunity

By 2025, digital financial services are expected to generate revenues of about US$38 billion and account for 11 per cent of the total financial services industry.

Digital lending is expected to grow 33 per cent annually to reach US$18 billion by 2025, replacing digital payments as the largest contributor to the digital financial services revenue pool.

Google and Temasek have predicted that SEA’s loan book will increase two-to threefold reaching $110 billion by 2025.

Regulations needed to reach full potential

Attaining the full revenue potential requires several factors to fall into place, including continued investment and incentives to stimulate innovation and user adoption. But the biggest uptick will come from supportive regulations and government policies.

ADBI in 2019: While several legal and regulatory challenges remain and the resilience of these new funding models have not yet been tested in a downturn, new technologies have already started to transform SME financing.

We can conclude that digital lending services are a large opportunity in Southeast Asia. Multiple players have entered the market over the past few years and are trying to ‘crack’ the problem.

It seems that the complete recipe for success is still to be invented but a winner in the market likely looks like this:

A strong (offline-to-online) customer gatekeeper with a scalable business model that is supported by the government and has a vertical integration with third-parties to collect data and disperse loans.

Such a winner might come from an unexpected corner such as a point-of-sale company or a provider of accountancy software that has an established relationship with MSME.

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eFishery, an online platform for fish and shrimp farmers in Indonesia, has announced the closing of its Series B financing round, co-led by Go-Ventures (a VC fund with gojek being its cornerstone investor) and Singapore-based PE firm Northstar Group.

Existing investors, including Wavemaker Partners and Aqua-Spark (a sustainable aquaculture investment fund), also joined the round.

The size of the investment has not been disclosed.

The money will be used to strengthen its product development and grow the team. “This new funding will allow us to grow the company, roll out across Indonesia, and achieve our vision of being a leading aquaculture intelligence company,” said Gibran Huzaifah, Co-founder and CEO of eFishery.

Launched in 2013, Bandung-based eFishery offers an end-to-end platform providing fish and shrimp farmers with access to feed, financing, and markets.

Also Read: eFishery, Shiok Meats co-founders on MIT Technology Review’s list of emerging innovators from APAC

It has four main products:

eFisheryFeeder, a device that enables automated feeding for fish and shrimp, which can be monitored and scheduled via a smartphone;

eFisheryFeed, which provides farmers with quality fish feed at affordable prices;

eFisheryFund, which helps farmers gain access to funds to grow their business;

eFisheryFresh, an online platform to connect Indonesian fish farmers with their customers (both end consumers and merchants).

The startup recently set up eFisheryPoint, a one-stop physical hub located near the farmers to allow them to access the firm’s products easily.

At these hubs, farmers can purchase eFishery products, sell their fish, or participate in other engagement activities, such as arranging product training, product demos or repairs.

Currently, there are 30 hubs in Indonesia, and it plans to open 100 new ones across Indonesia by end-2020.

“eFishery’s products support tens of thousands of fish and shrimp farms in over 180 cities, based in 24 provinces across Indonesia. There are some 3.3 million fish farms across Indonesia. Our most effective sales channel is marketing our products directly to the farmers by arranging field visits. With the launch of eFisheryPoint, which allows us to engage with farmers easier, as well as our efforts to penetrate the domestic market further, we are aiming for a 10-fold increase in our business,” added Huzaifah.

eFishery raised a pre-Series A round in 2015 and a US$4-million Series A round in the late 2018.

The firm also has plans to double its team of 250 employees by the end of 2020.

Also Read: Indonesia’s agritech industry is at an inflection point

The business has been profitable for the past two years.

“Although we started some pilot trials in Bangladesh, Thailand, and Vietnam, our main focus for the remainder of 2020 will be to secure our position in Indonesia through scaling up our products and creating more strategic collaborations. Once we have built a strong and replicable model throughout Indonesia, we will then be ready to explore expanding regionally,” Huzaifah concluded.

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Image Credit: eFishery

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Aruna, an online marketplace-cum-auction-platform for fishery products in Indonesia, announced today it has closed a fresh investment round to the tune of US$5.5 million from existing investors East Ventures, AC Ventures, and SMDV.

The funds will aid Aruna to scale its fisherman community ecosystem by expanding to more coastal areas and scale its operations into new domestic and export B2B markets.

Also Read: Go-Ventures, Northstar Group co-lead eFishery’s Series B round

Aruna’s deal coincides with the announcement of a Series B round of investment by eFishery, an online platform for fish and shrimp farmers in the country.

Aruna was started in 2016 by Farid Naufal Aslam, Indraka Fadhillah, and Utari Octavianty. The three graduates of Telkom University Bandung started Aruna to leverage technology to create a sustainable and fair-trade ecosystem for fish and marine products.

The startup helps local fishermen export their products to countries in Southeast Asia, East Asia, North America and the Middle East. Aruna has worked with thousands of fishermen in 31 coastal areas across Indonesia, covering multiple regions between Sumatra and Papua.

Aruna also provides fishermen more direct access to the B2B domestic market.

“Aruna’s mission is to make the sea a better livelihood for all. E-commerce helps create more fairness and transparency in the fishing industry, as well as making a more efficient supply chain. By reaching more coastal areas across Indonesia, Aruna joined the effort in building economic equality in Indonesia,” CEO Aslam.

Aruna claims it recorded an 86x growth in revenue in H1, 2020 compared to H1, 2019 as global demand for fresh sea products remains strong despite the coronavirus pandemic.

“Aruna remains optimistic to reach further growth in the middle of the pandemic. As a source of protein and a multitude of nutrients that are essential for the immune system, fishery commodities are products that consistently have growth in demand even amidst the pandemic,” Aslam added.

To cater to the spiking demand for home delivery of fresh produce and staples, the agritech company launched ‘Seafood by Aruna’, a home delivery service for fishery products. It provides fresh fish and seafood products, ready-to-eat products, and ready-to-cook products for consumers in the Greater Jakarta area, Bandung, and Balikpapan.

Seafood by Aruna is available at Tokopedia, Shopee, Bukalapak, and Grab Mart. Aruna also collaborates with Sayurbox, Nalayan, and Delisari and are open to opportunities for new resellers.

Also Read: Indonesia’s agritech industry is at an inflection point

In April 2017, Aruna had secured an undisclosed seed funding from hardware and machinery distributor UMG Indonesia.

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Image Credit: Aruna

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ACE raises US$400K in funding from Manila Angel Investors Network

The story: Singapore-based personalised celebrity video platform ACE has raised US$400K in pre-seed funding to propel global growth of the largest celebrity shout-out platform in Southeast Asia.

Investors: Manila Angel Investors Network (MAIN), celebrity investor Max Loong, angel investors hailing from Grab, Carousell, Ayden Payments, and Google.

The plans: ACE will be using the funds to scale ACE’s talent and consumer base both regionally and globally, with domination of the Southeast Asian market in sight.

What does ACE do? Founded in November 2019 by Dene Schonknecht, ACE is a collaborative platform designed for fans to connect directly with their heroes or favourite celebrities for exclusive content. ACE aims to unite a traditionally distant celebrity-fan dynamic and revolutionise the entertainment industry with accessible, authentic celebrity connections.

Singaporean fintech startup BondEvalue launches bond exchange platform BondbloX

The story: Singapore-based fintech startup BondEvalue has launched blockchain-based bond exchange BondbloX (BBX).

BBX makes fractional ownership of bonds possible by allowing them to be traded in smaller denominations of US$1,000, which the company believes to be paving the way for many more investors to buy and sell bonds, making bond trading much faster, transparent, and at a lower cost.

Also Read: In brief: EDBI invests in Vesta; edutech startup ACKTEC raises funding

The process: Settlement on BBX is on a T+0 basis, that is within seconds instead of the normal two-day settlement cycle, thereby reducing counterparty settlement risks for investors. Investors around the world can trade on BBX via web and mobile devices by opening an account with their banks, wealth managers, family offices or robo-advisors, subject to individual country restrictions on bond trading.

In Singapore, BBX is open to accredited and institutional investors. The ability to trade bonds in smaller denominations means that investors can build a diversified portfolio without a hefty outlay.

BBX will charge a flat fee of US$2 per trade, irrespective of size and a platform fee of 20 basis points annually, while its partners can opt to charge a commission for each transaction.

BondEvalue operates from offices in Singapore and India, and recently expanded to Mexico with the appointment of Jaime Zenizo as the CEO of BondEvalue Mexico.

Shippit expands to Singapore, partners with SingPost

The story: Today, Australian logistics technology company Shippit announced a partnership with e-commerce courier service Singapore Post (SingPost) as a part of its expansion to Singapore.

Shippit officially launched in Singapore on 14 July to serve as the startup’s regional headquarters. It plans to expand into Malaysia, the Philippines, and Indonesia in the near future.

The deal: The company plans to scale by providing users with instant access to more delivery options — including packages to be delivered directly to Pick Own Parcel Station (POPStations) and letterboxes — a service typically reserved for larger companies.

As part of the deal, Shippit will also offer SingPost’s Speedpost Express Service to SMEs, alongside discounted, pre-negotiated rates for next day and economy delivery services.
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Indonesian startup Titipku is based in Jogjakarta, a city known for being a hotbed of tech talents and a budding startup ecosystem — something that co-founders Ong Tek Tjan and Henri Suhardja do not take for granted.

Suhardja and Ong speak to e27 for an exclusive interview to explain the idea behind Titipku, a location-based marketplace aimed to facilitate MSMEs and sellers in traditional markets to go digital.

From early on, Suhardja immediately pointed out the uniqueness of the dynamic duo. “Our age gap is more than 20 years,” he says, which prompts the question on how they got together in the first place to run the business that was established in 2017.

“I first knew Ong when I came to Jakarta and joined an entrepreneur WhatsApp group. I first approached him for a light discussion. Then he shared his business idea and I was intrigued by the idea of helping traditional sellers go online, so the rest is history,” Suhardja recalls.

Ong had 26 years of banking experience. In October last year, he resigned from his director position at PT Bank Sahabat Sampoerna to go all-in with Titipku with Suhardja, who is also an investor in three F&B MSMEs.

Ong adds that the fact that they both shared an alma mater in Gadjah Mada University make it seem like a match in heaven. They were joined by other four co-founders: CFO Ian Stephens, CTO Fransiscus Pandhu, COO Stephanus Deo, and CMO Faradhita Delicia.

Also Read: Why digital lending services for MSMEs are the next big thing in SEA?

Why Jogjakarta

Ong and Suhardja agreed to set up Titipku in Jogjakarta because MSMEs and traditional markets have been defining the lifeline of the city for centuries.

“More than other big cities, we see that traditional markets and sellers are the souls of Jogjakarta, and they are precisely why we started Titipku: so they can keep up with the digitisation around them and gain something from it,” Suhardja says.

“Besides, the cost of running a startup business from Yogyakarta is far more affordable than say, Jakarta, where startups are flocking and crowding the scene. Here, it’s much quieter and we can focus on tackling Yogyakarta first,” Ong adds.

Helping MSMEs going digital is not something novel in tech startups, especially in the time of COVID-19, where physical contacts are discouraged. But digitalisation is particularly challenging for older sellers who were previously almost untouched by technology.

With an idea to solve a problem, come the challenges of implementing it on the field: How to convince these traditional sellers to go online.

Enter the Explorer.

Explorer is the name given by Titipku to the younger generation or anyone interested to help and get extra income by onboarding these elderly sellers into the app. Explorers are the ones who visit traditional markets to properly onboard sellers by taking pictures and creating their profiles on Titipku.

“We believe that this is something that would benefit both Explorers and the MSMEs, to connect them in such a way that happens under one ecosystem,” Suhardja explains.

Also Read: Lesson from the failure of several startups in the sharing economy

Besides Explorers, Titipku also has Nitiper and Jatiper, other terms they use in addressing the customers and the couriers, respectively. Together with Explorers, Titipku aims to create an ecosystem that is centred around helping the MSMEs thrive digitally.

“I’m gonna make you an offer you can’t refuse”

Made famous by The Godfather (1972) movie, the quote captures the essence of what Titipku is trying to do.

With gojek and Grab dominating the on-demand services scene, the question remains the same: How can the rest of the newcomer providers compete to get the attention of the market? Might as well pivot or start with something entirely different that has not been taken by the archnemesis.

Titipku confidently comes in with the offer of share vouchers for three parties that are involved in helping MSMEs going into the surface: Explorer, Nitiper, and Jatiper.

“Each of them gets a share voucher that’s worth US$0.017, that is multiplied every time they board new MSMEs into Titipku’s app and a transaction happens,” explains Suhardja.

The decision to let their shares be owned collectively by all of the members of the ecosystem is an approach that not every startup is willing to take.

On this, the co-founders share their takes. “I was intrigued by whether or not being an on-demand courier … is a sustainable profession in the long term. I mean, what do these people gain in the long run if they keep being a courier? There is no guarantee of financial security for these people,” Ong explains.

“The usual rewards such as points can be redeemed anytime, but this won’t sustain them. So we figured, why not our company’s shares?” Suhardja adds.

With this being their main offer, the hope is that members of the ecosystem will be encouraged to onboard more MSMEs and bring them into visibility.

Also Read: BukuKas makes book-keeping easy for Indonesian MSMEs to save money and time

“This also serves as a tool for us to work even harder, so our company can one day go public. Then these people who’ve been with us since the beginning can get the financial security or at least the rewards from all the voucher shares they have worked for,” says Suhardja.

What’s still missing

MSMEs account for 60.34 per cent of Indonesian Gross Domestic Product, which according to data provided by Titipku, is worth US$150 million. It is also the backbone that can help bring people out of poverty and can create 120 million jobs.

Titipku also believes that supporting MSMEs can bring forth economic equality tools for the people, even in the remote area.

However, even with Indonesia being the fifth country with most internet users (143 million users in total), local products produced by the MSMEs only contribute a total of seven per cent of online transactions.

“This is what we wish to change,” Ong says. By empowering MSMEs in going digital, Titipku believes it has solved the MSMEs’ number one problems of access to a loan with its approach.

“Most of these MSMEs are unable to get loans because of its high-interest rates, so we seek to solve this by bringing them online through our Explorers, who act as their salesperson,” explains Suhardja.

With the shares vouchers, on the other hand, the company wishes to change the “quickest way to get money” mindset most startups and people joining on-demand professions are used to.

“We want this to also be a tool to educate people on financial planning, that if we work together towards a common goal, we might be able to succeed together. Nothing in this world is free, and the free offer is not something that will last,” Ong closes.

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Image Credit: Titipku

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Airbus Ventures, a venture capital company sponsored by the global aircraft manufacturer, recently made its debut in Singapore with an investment in last-mile internet connectivity startup Transcelestial last month.

The global VC firm, with its Asia Pacific operations being managed by Partner Lewis Pinault, who is based in Tokyo, now looks to make more investments in the region.

“I’m a firm believer that Asia Pacific is rich in innovation,” Pinault told e27 in an interview, shortly after the Transcelestial funding. “There’s a tremendous amount of innovation happening in Asia Pacific, some of which may not be too obvious. Many investible companies are emerging in the region.”

Also Read: Navigate through our collection of Perks in this exciting e27 Pro update

According to Pinault, it was tough for the VC firm to choose between Japan and Singapore to base its Asia Pacific operations. Both countries have smaller but respectable VC markets and activities and have strong engines of underlying innovation that make them attractive.

“Both draw international pools of talent. We like the transparency of both the markets. There’s even a natural affinity between the two countries: we see many Japanese investors in Singapore and many Singaporean talents in Japan. So, we are so excited to be investing and becoming more active in Singapore,” he added.

While it has already a handful of investments in Japan (Carbon Fiber Recycling Co., InfoStellar, Telexistence), Singapore had always been in the VC firm’s radar.

“What is so impressive about Singapore is that while it attracts talent from around the world, there is a common language infrastructure for English. Whatever the ethnicity or origins, the people of Singapore are completely competent in the language and are often very competently multilingual, which is another asset,” he noted.

“In terms of having a view of the world, recognising that there are multiple cultures, sources of innovation, ways of adding positive diversity and complex systems is what innovation is all about. I think that’s a natural advantage for Singapore,” said Pinault.

He also thinks the city-state has a great education and university infrastructure and governmental support programme. Although it is small as an international hub, it is vibrant.

“And for me, it’s a huge privilege to be looking at this kind of access, this dynamic between Japan and Singapore because they each bring different things to the tables,” he said.

He also added that the VC firm will soon announce its second investment in Singapore in new and deep space capabilities.

Founded in 2016, the VC firm (it doesn’t call itself a corporate venture capital) operates with substantive independence and autonomy. According to Crunchbase, Airbus Ventures has so far raised a single fund, Airbus Group Venture Fund, worth US$150 million, in January 2016.

According to market sources, Airbus Ventures is in the midst of raising a new and larger fund.

It primarily invests in “extraordinary startups” whose important future impacts are set to redefine the aerospace industry. So far, it has made 46 deals across the globe.

Also Read: VCs get behind Disaster Tech in search for innovative life-saving technologies

“In the Asia Pacific, we are seeing advances in real frontier technologies like new and deep space capabilities and teleoperator robotics, and connectivity systems, which we think are special and important,” he said.

“Broadly speaking, we are focused on a thesis on autonomy and autonomous systems connectivity, as well as electrification, cybersecurity, advanced computing, robotics, AI, new space and deep space technologies. Also new material tools and design for manufacturing, particularly in Southeast Asia,” Pinault stated.

Airbus Ventures invests from its global fund and doesn’t run a separate fund for the Asia region. It invests in early-stage and growth-stage companies.

“We don’t invest from the balance sheet of Airbus. We have a separate fund. We function as a General Partner to our LP. We are a global fund and we don’t have a separate fund for Southeast Asia,” he said. “We have an expectation that a significant proportion of the fund will be spent and investing in the Asia Pacific region.”

According to Pinault, the COVID-19 has been a terrible crisis for the whole world to face. “Certainly, there will be some necessary innovations and some spectacular innovation. And I hope that we learn to adapt to different collaboratives system approaches.”

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Image Credit: 123rf.com

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Incomlend, a global online invoice exchange platform headquartered in Singapore, has raised US$20 million in Series A round of investment led by Sequoia India.

Existing investor CMA CGM Group, a company operating in the shipping and logistics industry, also participated.

The fintech firm will use the funds to drive expansion into Europe, Southeast Asia and North Asia, while advancing its technological development in digital invoice finance underwriting and processing.

Also Read: ‘Asia Pacific is rich in innovation’: Airbus Ventures Partner Lewis Pinault

In December last year, e27 had reported that Incomlend was in the final stages of closing its Series A fundraising with large global equity investors.

The new round comes more than two years after it received an undisclosed sum in funding from GTR Ventures, an investment and venture-building platform specialised in trade and supply chain.

Incomlend was established in 2015 by former Columbia Business School classmates Kouchnirenko and Morgan Terigi as software that could provide finance directly to trading companies from a private investor pool.

Its invoice exchange platform connects exporters and importers with institutional investors. Through Incomlend, exporters can get paid early for supplied goods and services while importers are able to extend payment terms and minimise the risk of supply chain disruption.

Investors, meanwhile, can access an attractive new alternative asset class and accelerate return on capital.

Incomlend’s innovative model is designed to solve the credit crunch hampering growth among cross-border trading companies worldwide.

More than 40 per cent of trade finance applications from small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are rejected by banks, according to a 2019 report by the ADB.

The impact is acute in high-growth Asia where SMEs — which account for more than 95 per cent of all businesses and provide two out of three private-sector jobs in the region — need more financing options to meet their growing demand.

Further, low-interest rates in Asia — and negative rates in Europe — are prompting many global investors to seek alternative asset classes.

“Incomlend’s mission is to increase financial inclusion on non-recourse basis for companies of all sizes across the globe while offering investors real alternatives non-correlated to financial markets to existing asset classes,” said Terigi. “International trade is the cornerstone of Asia’s economy, and we aim to help exporters develop their business by providing alternative working capital finance when and where they need it.”

Also Read: The future is hybrid: What will events look like post-COVID-19?

To date, Incomlend claims to have facilitated over US$330 million in financing and covered invoice finance trades across 50 countries.

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Image Credit: 123rf.com

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Beenext, others invest US$1.4M in India’s online climate school Terra.do

The story: Terra.do, an online school for climate change, has raised US$1.4 million, according to YourStory.

Investors: Beenext’s Emerging Asia Fund (EAF), Stanford Angels and Entrepreneurs (lead), Zerodha-backed Rainmatter Capital, undisclosed angel investors

What is Terra.do?

A startup that selects individuals who care about climate change, and takes them through a 12-week boot camp to work on high-impact climate projects.

India’s Flipkart launches consumer tech-focused accelerator programme

The story: India’s e-commerce company Flipkart has announced the launch of its accelerator programme, Flipkart Leap, specifically focussed at idea-stage startups in the consumer internet technology sector, according to Economic Times.

More details: Shortlisted startups will receive an equity-free grant of US$25,000 along with a 16-week mentorship from Flipkart’s leadership from business, operations, product, and technology.

Entry requirements: Applicants should be based out of India and have a working prototype

Traveloka clears close to US$100M in travel booking refunds after pandemic hit

The story: Indonesia’s travel unicorn Traveloka has cleared up to US$100 million travel refund requests after the pandemic, according to TechInAsia.

The firm recently raised US$250 million in fresh funding from an undisclosed investor along with EV Growth.

In another interview with e27 Andhini Putri, Head of Marketing, Transport said that the company has already seen a demand for travel and staycation from countries that have ended their lockdown. Even though the industry is far from total recovery, revival is slowly crawling up.

Also Read: In brief: EDBI invests in Vesta; edutech startup ACKTEC raises funding

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Image Credit: Beenext

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