Indonesian cloud kitchen startup Yummy Corp bags US$12M Series B; Investors include SoftBank Ventures Asia (lead), Vectr Ventures, Appworks, Quest Ventures; To date, Yummy claims to have served over 5M meals and has over 70 kitchens serving more than 50 brand partners. e27

Malaysia’s JomParkir secures Series A from Korean VC TheVentures; The smart parking startup will capitalise on Korea’s advance technology to be a vehicle-to-everything tech company in SEA; JomParkir is working with MARii, Cyberview, MDEC, MaGIC, Cradle towards making Malaysia a smartcity. e27

Conscious consumption is driving the trend in foodtech, says White Star Capital study; In Asia, food delivery and online grocery sales are growing at a 24.4% CAGR, accounting for a 55% share of the global online food delivery market; Pet food is a sub-sector that has grown more than 33x since 2011, reaching US$375M globally in 2019. e27

What does Peter Thiel-backed SPAC Bridgetown’s IPO mean for SEA’s startup ecosystem?; SPAC is faster than a traditional IPO and it involves less process and legwork needed to go public; It can also be a great way to introduce liquidity into tech companies as well as experienced executive talent into private companies. e27

Google Pay launches all-in-one payments solution for Singapore; Users can send and receive money as easily as sending a chat message even if the recipient is not on Google Pay; The integration helps Singaporeans who have more than one bank account to streamline money transfers from different banks on one platform. Tech Coffee House

Central Food Retail to launch B2B e-commerce platform; Named Chef Yim, it will provide access to fresh ingredients from Thailand and abroad to local restaurants, cafes, hotels, caterers; The app will source ingredients from a network of over 1K suppliers nationwide. Bangkok Post

Policymakers must be sensitive to impact of digital tools on inequality, says S’pore Minister Desmond Lee; Lower-income households in the city-state faced more challenges with tasks such as online learning during the circuit breaker period. The Straits Times

As Chinese funding dries up in India, local tech startups are looking elsewhere; Following political tensions between the two countries, Indian government rolled out a new policy in April to block opportunistic takeovers; China is by far the largest supplier of foreign investment, and the initial effects of the funding roadblock are already felt. KrAsia

SEA becomes centre for instant cross-border payments growth, says research; ASEAN is moving towards having its very own Europe’s SEPA-style payments network; SEA has been making strides in terms of innovation in real-time payments with many regulators launching tools including instant payments, QR codes, and real-time direct-debit networks. Fintech News

Malaysia’s Kenanga partners with Merchantrade to launch own e-wallet; Kenanga Money will enable clients to easily transfer funds from their stock trading account into an e-wallet and prepaid card for retail payments, remittance and withdrawals worldwide. Fintech News

Mobile operator M1 enables 5G in Singapore; Starting at just S$15 for 25GB and up to S$40 for 100GB, the 5G Booster packs will be extended to all M1 customers with compatible 5G non-standalone devices; M1 is on track to start the rollout of its 5G Standalone network early next year. Tech Coffee House

Prudential Myanmar and Pun Hlaing Hospitals collaborate to provide AI-based digital healthcare service; The partnership will focus on the development and delivery of digital solutions to provide affordable and accessible healthcare to people across all socioeconomic segments in Myanmar. Myanmar Tech Press

5G is raising ahead in Asia as it is poised to reshape connectivity; In May, Bangkok became the first city in SEA to roll out 5G, while Singapore in Aug started a 6-month trial; With 1.14B subscribers, APAC is the largest region for 5G adoption; It could account for almost 65% of global 5G subscriptions by 2024. Yahoo News

Razer Fintech keeps options open on digital banking licence in Malaysia, says CEO; In Singapore, it leads a consortium of Sheng Siong Holdings, FWD, LinkSure Global, Insigna Ventures Partners and Carro to bid for digital full bank licence; It will take up 60% stake in Razer Youth Bank. Bernama

Is your startup the next Tik Tok?; The Bytedance-owned app developer appears headed for a shutdown in the US, after the already convoluted talks stalled out this past week; For startups with physical supply chains, existing tensions are squeezing business activity from Chimerica out into other parts of the world. TechCrunch

Logistics firms wield digital tools to boost operations; Besides safety concerns, logistics players have also been using digital tools to improve operational processes; The overall efficiency that technology brings to asset and manpower management can help companies optimise resources and streamline operations. SGSME

Amidst COVID-19, where are the unicorns of SEA; Most unicorns in Southeast Asia have to face reality and reassess their business strategy to survive the winter; Here is a look at how these unicorns –Traveloka, gojek, Grab, Bukalapak — are helping build the SME ecosystem. Tech Collective

In the tough market of co-working spaces, WORQ believes it has what it takes; Its recent US$2.4M funding shows that not all investors are negative on the co-working model; It predicts real estate will be consumed on a buy-as-you-need basis and if companies need a bite-sized space one desk at a time, they should have access to it. Digital News Asia

Entrepreneurship and investing as social good; Increasingly, angels, institutional funds have begun allocating a portion of their funds to startups focused on diversity and social good; For startups of all sizes, democratized access to investors will accelerate the use of capital for social good. TechCrunch

WeWork pulls back on Asia ambitions with sale of China business; With this, the firm will give up majority control of its Chinese JV; Its local partner Trustbridge Partners will invest an additional US$200M in the JV which will give it a majority stake in WeWork China; The co-working spaces giant manages more than 100 locations in 12 Chinese cities. Nikkei Asia Review

Why digital events should be part of your marketing mix; The opportunity for your company in participating and sponsoring digital events is huge, arguably equal or even bigger than in person events because digital event presence scales better. The Next Web

Ohmyhome shares the reason behind its incursion into Philippines; For co-founder Rhonda Wong, the expansion is a timely move for both Ohmyhome and the country’s real estate industry; With over 5K property transactions in Singapore and Malaysia and a customer satisfaction rate of 99%, Ohmyhome expects to replicate the feat as it advances its technological capabilities in Philippine. Pinoy Manila

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According to the Global Innovation Index 2019, Hong Kong is the third most innovative state in Southeast Asia, East Asia, and Oceania. The last year has been amazing for the Hong Kong startup ecosystem. This growing ecosystem has caused Hong Kong to enter the list of top 25 startup hubs. This has been declared in the Global Startup Ecosystem Report of 2019.

According to lnvestHK’s 2019 startup survey reports, significant improvement has been observed in all key parameters that decide the growth of the startup ecosystem of a particular region. Some of these factors include:

• Up to 21 per cent increase in the total number of Hong Kong startups raising the number to 3,184 startups.
• Over 31 per cent increase in the employment rate causing the total number startup of employees to rise to 12,478.

“The backbone of this ever-growing startup ecosystem is the multi-cultural group of founders,” says Julia Markle of ClothingRIC. “They keep on creating job opportunities for the economy of Hong Kong.”

As a result of this, there has been a remarkable rise in the number of accelerators, coworking spaces, and incubators. This ecosystem is backed with a solid network of stakeholders and builders.

The rapidly growing startup ecosystem of Hong Kong

The Hong Kong startup ecosystem has been growing by leaps and bounds. In 2019, the total investment in the startup industry raised to US$720 million. Today, Hong Kong has over seven official unicorns. The government has not only lowered the taxes but has also eased its progressive visa policies.

This has caused the tech and non-tech talent from all across the world to contribute to the growth of Hong Kong’s economy. With access to the latest technology, considerable government funding, and utilisation of technology to reduce business expenditure, the Startup Ecosystem of Hong Kong is expected to reach unprecedented heights in the near future.

Let’s discuss what is causing the startup ecosystem of Hong Kong to expand at such a rapid pace. So, without further ado, let’s dive deep into the details.

Also Read: Startup Impact Summit 2020 lends insight to break into Hong Kong startup industry in 2-day virtual conference

Funding from a diverse group of investors

“Global investors have realised the potential that the startup ecosystems of East Asia have,” claims Alex Reynolds of EMUCoupon. “Since Hong Kong has the fastest-growing of all Asian ecosystems, it has been attracting the most diverse group of investors from major origin countries.”

The interest of non-local funders is taking this ecosystem to the top of the list of global investment opportunities. Today, 34 per cent of the Hong Kong startup founders are non-locals. 59 per cent of these founders are local, whereas seven per cent are Hong Kong returnees.

The non-local founders are from diverse territories including the US, the UK, Australia, France, Canada, Mainland China, Italy, India, Singapore, Germany, and more.

Access to the widest range of industries

Today, every industry has been growing. There is no field that entrepreneurs don’t want to enter. Young developers in Hong Kong are designing apps with international appeal, disrupting fintech, and providing unique and innovative solutions to retailers. There’s hardly an industry that is not being reshaped by startups.

According to 2019 stats, the following are the industries that have the highest number of startups:

• Fintech has over 456 startups
• E-commerce/supply chain management have 342 startups
• Logistics technology and information is leading with 342 startups
• Computer and technology operates 322 of the startups
• The design has taken over 301 startups
• Professional or consultancy services cover around 287 of startups
• Data analytics has taken over 224 startups
• The hardware industry owns 210 startups
• Education and learning cover 158 of the total startups
• Health and medical is running 151 startups
• Biotechnology has 32 startups
• Robotics and smart manufacturing industry has added 33 startup
• Foodtech is operating around 41 startups
• Social innovation and venture has 54 startups
• Retail technology covers 61 of the total Hong Kong startups
• The sustainable green technology industry is expanding with 93 startups
• The smart city has 104 startups
• Gaming and digital entertainment owns 135 startups

The future of Hong Kong startup ecosystem

To grow at an even faster pace, the Hong Kong startup ecosystem needs more of everything from more talent to entrepreneurs, accelerators to angel capital, education of coworking space, there is a lot that still needs to go in to maintain the unprecedented growth of the Hong Kong startup ecosystem.

With the ever-growing startup ecosystem awareness, the young generation has become more conscious about entrepreneurship. For startups in Hong Kong, it is a great opportunity that should be utilised. The authorities should especially promote a culture of entrepreneurship where innovation and ingenuity are valued.

Also Read: Hong Kong startup ecosystem reaching for the top floor

Regardless, Hong Kong has an incredible startup environment that welcomes people from diverse areas of life. Here, every individual regardless of the skill he possesses can find a meaningful career. To support this startup ecosystem, it is important to bring parents on board.

Within the past five years, the Hong Kong startup ecosystem has gone through tremendous progress. The success of this ecosystem can be attributed to entrepreneurs without whom it couldn’t have happened. However, talent, technology, and education have also played equal roles in promoting startups and earning them funding from all across the world.

This Asian startup ecosystem offers amazing investment opportunities that bring a high return on investment and more.

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Syfe, a Singapore-based digital wealth manager, announced today that it has closed a SG$25.2 million (US$18.6 million) in Series A funding round, led by US-based VC firm Valar Ventures.

Other participants in the round include Presight Capital and returning investor Unbound, a UK-based investment firm, which led Syfe’s seed round in July 2019.

The funds will be used by Syfe to enter new markets, develop new products and services, hire top talent, and enhance its technology platform.

Also Read: Syfe raises US$3.8M to launch digital wealth management services in Singapore

“We are currently in advanced conversations with regulators in three different markets in the Asia Pacific region and expect that we will enter new geographies within the next 18 months,” said Dhruv Arora, Founder and CEO, Syfe. “We now already have clients who are based across 23 countries, despite only advertising in Singapore.”

He also added that the need to invest for the future has become even more evident during these times of increased uncertainty. “Since the beginning of the year, we have seen our customer numbers and assets increase by ten times and this fundraising allows us to sharply accelerate our growth to help even more individuals plan, save and build their wealth for the future.”

Founded in 2017 and publicly launched in July 2019, Syfe is a digital wealth manager that helps people invest and make smarter financial decisions. Its automated platform and optional advisor support enables all users — from beginners to experienced investors — to access a range of wealth management services.

The platform has no minimum investment amounts and maintains a low annual fee, starting at 0.4 per cent of the total amount invested.

Also Read: Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam the most attractive fintech hubs in SEA: Study

Syfe is licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore under a Capital Markets Services License.

Andrew McCormack, Founding Partner, Valar Ventures, said: “The potential of Asia as a region — with a fast-growing number of mass-affluent consumers aiming to grow their wealth combined with the pedigree of the team and strong traction — makes Syfe a very compelling opportunity.”

Valar Ventures was co-founded by billionaire investor Peter Thiel (co-founder of PayPal, Palantir and an early investor in Facebook), Andrew McCormack and  James Fitzgerald. The firm has in the past led early funding rounds of successful global fintech companies like TransferWise, Xero and Europe’s leading digital bank N26.

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Image Credit: Syfe

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Since the first cases of COVID-19 were announced on March 23, the local economy in Myanmar, including the real estate industry,  went into a rapid downward trend, especially due to the closure of borders, airports, public transport and blocked imports of building materials necessary for developers’ construction sites.

By April, all major cities including Yangon –the largest city– were completely locked down, which forced almost every businesses to transition to work from home. The majority of SMEs (especially real estate agents) either closed shop, downsized their headcount and stopped all subscription payments in readiness for a severe drop in revenue to their businesses.

In Q2 2020, the entire real estate market crashed.  Small real estate agencies with little or no revenue, bunkered down for a forced recession.  Myanmar has thousands of individual brokers (non-paying advertisers) and only 25 small real estate agencies that advertise around 50 per cent of the properties on real estate websites.  Ad revenues from this sector were already limited; with COVID-19 – it dropped to near zero.

This combined with the notorious monsoon season arriving which is known for being the worst time for property sales in Myanmar; 97 per cent of all real estate developers also followed suit by completely stopping all marketing spend to ride out what has become a very deep recession in real estate, and property transactions turned off like a tap.

This will have a material negative effect on all related businesses including ours, other real estate portals, and real estate industry service providers.

The Second Wave: A horse with wings arrives

By September 12, the ministry of health reported a record 351 cases in a single day, the Second Wave of COVID-19 arrived and so did 200 new patients daily in hospitals.

Also Read: 5 survival strategies for startups in a post-COVID-19 world

“It is like putting wings to a horse.  A horse is originally strong and fast. With wings, it just becomes faster,” said U Than Naing Soe, spokesman for the health and sports ministry.

With the Second Wave,  the whole country is now under stay-at-home orders and the entire city of Yangon is in complete lockdown. Without doubt Q2 – Q4 2020 is going to be the hardest period ever faced by the real estate industry in Myanmar.

The effect to players in the real estate market is a massive reduction in property transactions, with revenue numbers down to around 10-20 per cent of normal sales – which for real estate portals, including ours, and other property transaction businesses eliminate any chance of profitability.

Homebuyers and renters, who make up the majority of property transactions, want to see the property they are purchasing but are unable to due to lockdowns, therefore transaction sales have been nearly non-existent since April.

With revenues declining and profitability out the door in what is now a severely wounded real estate market – reaching investor projections is unlikely.  To reach even 25-30 per cent of last FY revenue numbers would be an act of superhuman powers!

The Second Wave is much more impactful than the first and it will negatively affect full-year 2020 forecasts for every business working with the real estate industry.   Most SMEs under 100 staff serving the real estate market, will be forced to further reduce costs, completely shut down, inject external funds or personal loans to stay afloat.

Myanmar’s shape-shifting tech sector

Throughout the crisis, Myanmar continues to have a thriving tech sector, with many reputable startups who have successfully raised millions of USD in funding and have achieved rapid traction, including ShweProperty having raised US$3 million in late 2019.  As the last frontier in Southeast Asia (SEA), the tech sector opportunities are enormous for experienced first movers with strong management teams.

Also Read: How proptech startup iMyanmarHouse remains profitable despite COVID-19

However, other market news has not been so kind to the industry, especially with some tech startups closing down or forced into liquidation. This includes the:

• Withdrawal of Rocket internet’s online property and classifieds in March 2018. After five years of educating the market, then withdrawing from the country after the entry of more experienced and well-funded players.
• De-listing of the publicly listed social app MySQUAR from the UK-AIM in December 2018, reported to involve related party transactions and significant cash payments to a shareholder without signoff or disclosure.
• The shutdown of payments company Red Dot Network in February 2019 after being sold to a new owner, then reported to have left the country, leaving lots of agent’s deposits unpaid.

Myanmar’s 2020 GDP growth according to the ADB is forecast to be 1.8 per cent, one of the highest in SEA. However the World Bank’s ‘ease of doing business’ difficulty ranking is 165 / 190, and the corruption index is 130 / 180, making it a not-so-attractive destination for many investors.

The country remains mainly a cash society, which can be particularly difficult (or useful) for inexperienced tech startups who are trying to raise funds at high valuations – i.e. cash transactions can make it easier to falsify financial reporting by recycling cash or transactions through a company, then declaring it back as revenue or profit.

Investors can have significant opportunities in Myanmar, but if they are to invest without a seasoned Lead Investor on the ground, turn a blind eye and/or forego an intensive due diligence process (not just a statutory audit) to ensure 100 per cent financial, legal, employment and taxation compliance, then they risk losing their money and reputation when everything eventually comes out.

Fortunately, Myanmar has clear laws on compliance and although local statutory reporting can be easily approved in the short-term, any discrepancies or non-compliance that are re-discovered in the future will be subject to hefty fines, possible imprisonment, or liabilities passed to the directors or shareholders.

The future: Preparation for success

Although it looks like Myanmar’s real estate market will remain stagnant until the end of 2020, ShweProperty’s experienced management team remains very confident and positive about the future.

We have been through three recessions previously and believe that our compassion, decisiveness, long-term strategic thinking and diligent execution will lead the business through the crisis and emerge 100 times stronger.

Also Read: How to market your business in a post-COVID-19 world

Our business remains financially stable and our people motivated.  We have retained all our top talent and management team who have over 100 years of combined industry experience.  We will punch out of COVID-19 with more products and services, and more efficient and effective than ever before.

The business continues to be run with strong governance and fair employment contracts to ensure compliance with the law at all times.  Although some companies choose to use employment contracts that oppress their employees, we believe in employment agreements to support our staff and are approved by the labour department.

Having a professional and proven local and international management team gives less chance of a single point of risk or failure.  We have a policy to not hire direct family members or close friends, especially in sales or finance management roles which can be easily exposed to fraud.

ShweProperty also believes in strong partnerships. This year the business forged an exclusive partnership with PropertyGuru for the Myanmar Property Awards.  We were selected because of our top position in the real estate market in Myanmar.  This allows the business to work closely with developers to deliver multiple online channels to help sell and market their projects both locally and internationally.

Additionally, ShweProperty is still hiring, particularly to further strengthen the management team, and for top sales and marketing professionals to help rapidly grow the business post-COVID-19. We see strong long term potential in the market and through our streamlined property sales transaction model, we will continue to lead, dominate and support the real estate market in Myanmar.

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This article is published as a part of a partnership with Future Food Asia. Soos Technology is one of the 11 finalists of the US$100,000 Future Food Asia (FFA) 2020 Award to be hosted from September 21-25.

What comes first, chicken or egg?

It is a classic question. But even eggs are not born equal. The poultry industry is tasked to provide, with chicken meat and eggs, a cheap protein source for fighting global hunger. And so for farm owners, every point of profit counts.

But hatching male layers is pointless (male broilers are still the star of the farm) and has led to this disastrous industry practice of male culling. What if humans could work hand in hand with Mother Nature and put an end to it?

Enter Soos Technology, an Israeli startup that has developed for chicken a sex-reversal technology, something the aquaculture industry has been practicing for many years.

Soos’ proprietary incubation system affects the sex development process and turns genetic males into functional female chicks. While the industry has been obsessed with early sex detection, with solutions that are still sub-optimal in terms of biosecurity and efficiency, Soos deals with the root cause of the problem.

Music to chicks’ ears

Yael Alter, CEO and Founder of “Soos Technology” said that the idea for Soos started after she met her colleague and co-founder Nashat Haj Mohammad in an industry event. He had discovered that sound vibrations could induce sex reversal in poultry embryos.

As an industry veteran, Yael realised this was a game-changer for the poultry industry. Every year, the egg industry exterminates 7.5 billion male chicks since they have no commercial use. It’s not just an ethical issue, it’s also a plain waste of resources.

Also Read: How Crowde aims to empower smallholder farmers in Indonesia

Instead of putting two million eggs in incubators you can get the same result with one million if you can tell male from female before. Together with Nashat, Yael decided to turn the challenge into an opportunity and make it a business.

Soos started off with small laboratory incubators of 50-100 eggs on which the concept was validated. They then expanded their R&D facility to include three industrial incubators, a pullet house for 1,500 pullets and a layer house.

These figures are still modest for an industry where the average hatchery hatches 164,000 eggs per year but they enabled Soos to fine-tune the technology and reach a good level of repeatability.

It is essential if you want to disrupt a well-established industry where production is demand-driven and hatcheries need to be very precise on forecasting their output. Otherwise, capex is engaged, and incubators could remain idle.

Soos brilliantly illustrates that improving animal welfare (by saving billions of male chicks from a gruesome death each year) and improving profitability are compatible, with the right level of innovation and technology.

At a time where alternative proteins are the talk of the town in the VC industry, Soos is here to remind us that there are unaddressed challenges in the animal protein industry, and more talents are needed to address them.

Where are the males?

Speaking of talents, since the company’s establishment in 2017, Yael was lucky enough to be able to recruit a team of extremely talented and dedicated individuals, sharing the same vision to transform the poultry industry.

But is it really luck? Yael’s enthusiasm is infectious, not to mention the psyche, perseverance and grit she has demonstrated all along.

Also Read: No animals were harmed in the making of this ‘meat’ burger

Since Soos was announced a finalist of Future Food Asia 2020 (FFA2020) finalist Yael is excited to see the interest for Soos from all over the region. As one of the rare female entrepreneurs in the male-dominated agritech industry, Yael is rightly proud of her achievements and she hopes to see more and more women in high positions in this and other industries.

A cause she will be able to advance further thanks to this exposure.

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Both the insurance and technology industries in Indonesia have lately generated great interest among national and foreign investors. In addition, the technology industry is also revolutionising the life of millions of people in Indonesia, it is changing consumer behaviour and is driving the development of the entire country.

Insurtech is, therefore, one of the most exciting and promising industries to be exposed to today in the country.

Indonesia remains the fastest growing market for insurance globally. A study by Munich Re Economic Research shows that Indonesia will lead the growth in Health and Life Premium with CAGR of 9.1 per cent from 2019 to 2030.

For total premium income in the whole year of 2019, insurance companies operating in Indonesia secured IDR185.3 trillion (US$12.6 billion) for life insurance and IDR80.12 trillion (US$5.5 billion) in total premium income for health insurance.

Furthermore, the insurance industry in Indonesia has benefited from the COVID-19 situation thanks to a higher awareness among consumers about life and health risks. In fact, a chart by Lifepal shows the speedy recovery of the Indonesian gross premium income for life insurance in 2020 after the pandemic hit earlier in the year.

Moreover, the growth percentage in June brought the insurance premium income in June 2020 into a number exceeding June 2019.

Despite growing at an exciting rate, buying insurance for Indonesian customers is not easy and transparent. Customers often have limited access to options as they need to talk to insurance agents that are not always educated about the insurance policies, not allowed to sell multiple brands, and do not help customers after-sales. 

In some cases, traditional agents have created mistrust and are no longer capable of helping more educated and digital consumers. The confusion for all the terminologies and bias recommendations from agents has made finding the perfect insurance policy more of a matter of luck than a carefully planned action.

Also Read: How insurtech is changing the game in Southeast Asia

Lifepal aims to solve these problems by being the trusted financial advisor thanks to technical content and policies reviews about insurance and financial planning, the possibility to find compare from the largest selection of policies in the country and receive convenient support and assistance pre and post-purchase such as easy claim, policy management and emergency support.

As an online insurance marketplace focusing on consumers, Lifepal has gained the trust of over four million monthly visitors, one million social media followers and 50 insurance brands with more than a selection of 200 products ranging from health, life, automotive, employee benefits, and other insurance products.

These numbers make Lifepal the biggest insurance marketplace in the country by the size of the inventory, online visitors and registered users.

Lifepal technology is directed to use data of Lifepal’s millions of visitors and understand their needs well before matching them with the most relevant insurance policy for their needs, wants, and budget.

“With our agent technology and recommendation engine, empowered by objective consultants, we hope to continue being the trusted source for those looking for insurance especially in turbulent times such as the pandemic. We see customers appreciating our services from our large social media base and sales growth that has been growing ~50 per cent every month since the beginning of COVID-19, despite the 20 per cent drop in the overall insurance industry this year,” mentioned Giacomo Ficari, Co-founder and CEO of Lifepal.

The founding team comprises executives of Lazada and Indonesian tech entrepreneurs that, after the success in building the online marketplace for consumer goods, are now focusing on building an online marketplace for insurances.

“Benny, Reza, Nico and I got together in January 2019 by common negative experiences with our insurance agents. We realised that the entire customer experience is currently broken: from selecting objectively the right coverage and using it with assistance when emergencies occur.”

Also Read: Asian insurtech on the rise: An overview of the main players

“We realised the important role that a “reliable friend” and technology can play when choosing and using the right insurance. Hence, our tagline ‘Teman Andalanmu’,” continued Giacomo.

Aligned with the Indonesian government’s target to increase financial literacy, Lifepal routinely publishes data-based articles and social media posts, making clear topics within personal finance, financial planning, investments, business, stocks, and insurance. 

The varying backgrounds in the team help them extract and articulate data in a manner that is relatable and easily understandable by the public. Lifepal hopes to help more Indonesians to have a true understanding of their own financial planning and protection. 

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Bridgetown Holdings, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) formed recently by Peter Thiel’s Thiel Capital and Pacific Century, on Thursday filed for an initial public offering (IPO) with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to raise up to US$500 million.

A Renaissance Capital report says, the Hong Kong-based Bridgetown “plans on targeting a company in Southeast Asia with operations or prospective operations in the technology, financial services, or media sectors”.

What is SPAC and what does it mean?

As per Investopedia, SPAC is a company with no commercial operations that is formed strictly to raise capital through an IPO to acquire an existing company. They are also known as blank-check companies.

While the concept has been around in the market for many years and is used as a mechanism to bring companies public in the US, it has been relatively new to Asia, where companies are yet to jump on the SPAC bandwagon.

There could be many reasons for this “lack of enthusiasm” among Asian companies, one being that SPAC has less shine compared to a traditional IPO because perception-wise, it provides a less-than-ideal signal to the strength of a business.

“Conventional wisdom points to companies preferring typical IPO route where they get to go on a roadshow to raise funds, project a positive image or branding, and by way of market forces, command for competitive pricing,” says Dave Ng, General Partner of Altara Ventures, a newly-launched US$100 million plus fund in Singapore.

Also Read: What Ant Group’s upcoming IPO means for the Southeast Asian startup ecosystem

Notwithstanding, SPAC brings into table many benefits for companies looking to raise capital. Speed is one, meaning SPAC is faster than a traditional IPO and it involves less process and legwork needed to go public. It can also be a great way to introduce liquidity into tech companies as well as experienced executive talent into private companies.

“Because of these advantages, people are increasingly turning to SPAC as an alternative. Recent examples include DraftKings and Virgin Galactic,” Ng adds.

What does Bridgetown IPO mean for SEA?

No doubt, SPAC means more pathways to exits and liquidity for Southeast Asian (SEA) companies. It is also a great validation of the long-term potential for the region and its founders, employees and investors, experts feel.

“This is just another example of how Southeast Asia will be a driver of growth globally over the next five to ten years,” says Vinnie Lauria, Managing Partner, Golden Gate Ventures.

Specifically, Bridgetown’s targeting a tech or media company in Southeast Asia implies a few things: 1) the trend is picking up in the region, given the need for a quicker option to go public, and 2) there is also an appetite in the market coming from investors and as well as companies in the region’s tech and media industry.

Agrees Sanjay Zimmermann, Senior Associate at White Star Capital, saying he sees more SPACs being announced in the future. “Having seen the more than 100 SPACs emerge in North America earlier this year, we are not surprised to see this new SPAC coming out to focus on Southeast Asia. We welcome this initiative, which will provide an alternative path to liquidity and access to public markets for one or more rising tech, financial services or media company in the region.”

“We expect to see more Southeast Asian SPACs being announced over the coming months and look forward to seeing the impact that this will have on generating a new path to exit and/or funding for startups in the region,” Zimmermann predicts.

Echoing a similar view, Chia Jeng Yang, Principal at Singapore-based Saison Capital, shares that SPACs can be an excellent way to balance both global public investor exposure to the region as well as allow leading tech companies to focus on building its future.

“As SPACs allow for companies to customise their entry into the public markets (through how much/when they sell, lockup periods, incentive instruments, etc), they can be helpful for companies that may have a longer-term growth story,” shares Yang.

Also Read: ‘Growth at any cost’ has shifted to ‘growth with reasonable unit economics and a path to profitability’: White Star Capital’s Sanjay Zimmermann

What is the flip side?

Data suggests that SPAC is witnessing a boom in the US. According to Pitchbook, the amount of SPACs in the US rose drastically to over 100 in 2020 from just 46 in 2019.

This is expected to have some reverberations in Asia as well, given IPOs are becoming harder due to the situation created by the COVID-19 outbreak.

But can SEA companies make the most of SPAC?

Although SPAC usually means the buyout of a huge stake in one selected company, it may not mean much for companies in SEA, according to Sergei Filippov, Managing Partner, Morphosis Capital Partners.

“I do believe that majority of SEA startups won’t see this money coming in and won’t benefit from SPAC, as these are not traditional early-stage VC investments with multiple startups in a portfolio,” predicts Filippov.

Instead, this money (US$500 million being raised by Bridgetown) will be perfectly targeted to merge with the soon-to-be-acquired company to eliminate the pricing uncertainty that comes with traditional IPOs.

In his view, the Bridgetown IPO might also be related to Palantir Technologies’s delayed IPO and is an attempt to get funding from Singapore’s Temasek Holdings.

“But it is too early to say that but let’s see how this money will be used,” concludes Filippov.

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Image Credit: Founders Fund

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Yummy Corp., which runs a cloud kitchen management company under the brand name Yummykitchen in Indonesia, has raised US$12 million in Series B funding, led by SoftBank Ventures Asia.

Other participants in the round include Vectr Ventures, Appworks, Quest Ventures, Coca Cola Amatil X, Palm Drive Capital, as well as existing investors Intudo Ventures and Sovereign’s Capital, also co-invested.

This comes less than a year after the startup received a total of US$7.75 million in Series A, led by SMDV (Sinarmas Digital Ventures) and Intudo Ventures.

Also Read: gojek’s VC arm invests US$5M in India’s cloud kitchen startup Rebel Foods

Launched in June 2019, Yummy Corp. is a cloud kitchen and online catering brand Yummykitchen, focused on using the latest technology to develop innovative solutions for corporates and F&B brands.

The startup not only rents out shared kitchen space but also carries out operational procedures on behalf of partner brands to help them accelerate their expansion and reach wider consumers.

To date, Yummy Corp. claims to have served over five million meals and has over 70 kitchens serving more than 50 brand partners to manage their daily F&B operations.

Also Read: With Wahyoo, traditional eating stalls have the economic makeovers they never knew they needed

“We have seen unprecedented growth for Yummykitchen. With this funding, we will focus on our mission to take an active role in helping the F&B industry grow their delivery business, especially during this pandemic,” Mario Suntanu, CEO of Yummy Corp, said.

The year 2020 has been a relatively difficult year for many industries in Indonesia. Various restrictions placed in the effort to suppress the growth of pandemic cases have had many impacts across different sectors, including F&B.

However, some F&B businesses — especially those who have focused on digital channels — have actually shown a positive increase.

In March last year, Yummy Corp. acquired online catering service pioneer Berrykitchen for an undisclosed sum.

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Image Credit: Yummy Corp.

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“Conscious consumption” or a more healthy way of diet has been the driving trend in the foodtech sector for the last five to ten years, finds a new study.

Companies are creating alternative and plant-based protein and dairy, incorporating alternative ingredients such as CBD and algae, and developing free-form and cell-based food, says the White Star Capital study.

This is largely due to a shift in people’s values of food consumption, towards a healthier lifestyle.

According to Pitchbook, a company providing private market data, a significant chunk of the market share will be taken away from the US$350 billion annual meat market.

Also Read: Bringing home the (mock) bacon: How Burgreens aims to transform Jakarta’s vegan food market

This is because a massive number of people are now switching from animal-based proteins to plant-based ones because of COVID-19 where many reports identify meat markets as the source of the virus.

Food innovation and bio-engineered food have been predicted to continue growing annually by 10 per cent with the possibility of reaching US$104.6 billion by 2025.

This has largely provided a surprise opportunity and boost to this industry, but North America has maintained domination in the market in terms of global sales.

However, more Asian companies are also coming up to join the trend.

Most of the current innovations in Southeast Asia are now centred around alternatives to animal products.

The White Star study further says Asia and North America have driven VC funding in the foodtech segment globally, attracting over US$33 billion over the last three years.

In Asia, on-demand food delivery and grocery sales are growing at a 24.4 per cent CAGR, accounting for a 55 per cent share of the global online food delivery market, which is driven by high adoption rates of super apps such as WeChat.

Pet food is a sub-sector that has grown more than 33x since 2011, reaching US$375 million globally in 2019 — primarily driven by changing pet owner values and preferences for things like natural and organic ingredients.

Also Read: Bühler invests in Big Idea Ventures New Protein Fund; to invest in up to 100 plant- and cell-based firms

White Star Capital is an early-stage VC firm which primarily invests in North America and Europe. Its portfolio companies include Asia Innovations (Hong Kong), healthy meal startup Freshly (New York), rewards app Drop out of (Toronto), on-demand photo platform Meero (Paris), ride-sharing mobility platform Tier Mobility (Berlin), and dog food startup Butternut Box (London).

Last year, White Star Capital opened a new office in Hong Kong.

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Image Credit: Burgreens

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Recently there has been a revival of point-of-sales (POS) loans, which has driven the success of a clutch of startups offering Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) solutions.

If you have done any online shopping in the last few months, as many consumers around the world have during COVID-19, you have probably seen several interest-free instalment payments offers depending on where in the world you are located.

POS loans have become increasingly popular worldwide thanks to a demographic of young, urban, cash-strapped millennials, most of whom don’t have credit cards. Although the concept of instalment loans is not new, for these millennials, who are entering a stage of life where big-ticket purchases are becoming more relevant and, many are choosing to borrow at the checkout counter.

New face of commerce

From Klarna (in Europe) that has doubled its valuation to over US$10 billion; Affirm in the US that’s rumoured to be nearing an IPO; to AfterPay, the Australian competitor that’s seen its stock increase 800 per cent this year; Oriente in Southeast Asia, that counts Wix Capital as an investor and serves over seven million customers; to even digital payments behemoth PayPal, who last week announced it was throwing its hat into the mix with the launch of “Pay in 4” its new BNPL (buy now, pay later) product that provides an interest-free, equal instalment plan (initially available in the US only).

These companies are reshaping the commerce and payments landscape by allowing consumers to conveniently finance their purchases and make incremental payments over a designated period.

Klarna, the Swedish pioneer in this space, which last week announced a mammoth US$650 million fundraise has seen its US customer-base grow 600 per cent in the first half of 2020 and now serves over 90 million customers globally.

Sebastian Siemiatkowski, co-founder and CEO of Klarna, said, “We are at a true inflexion point in both retail and finance. The shift to online retail is now truly supercharged and there is a very tangible change in the behaviour of consumers who are now actively seeking services which offer convenience, flexibility and control in how they pay and overall superior shopping experience.”

Also Read: Can Millennials turn their data into dollars?

Not surprisingly, over a third of US consumers have already used a BNPL service, according to this recent study by Ascent. A separate report from PYMNTS.com reveals that 87 per cent of consumers aged 22 to 44 are interested in monthly instalment plans similar to BNPL services.

As consumer spending shifts from offline to online, BNPL adoption has also spiked for smaller items and amongst merchants, fintech, and traditional financial services and payments companies.

Banking meets fintech

Some major banks are also getting into the BNPL business. Goldman Sachs recently launched a point-of-sale (POS) deferred payment plan called MarcusPay that allows customers to break payments into monthly instalments over 12 to 18 months.

This system is different from other BNPL apps in that it charges interest, but like its competitors, it does not carry additional fees. Last week, Microsoft announced it would let consumers finance the new US$499 Xbox in monthly payments through a partnership with Klarna in the UK and Citizens Bank in the US.

This trend is starting to gain momentum in emerging Asia, where an upwardly mobile population holds vast potential for retailers. Seventy per cent of the people in Southeast Asia – a region of more than 650 million people – are still unbanked and don’t have credit scores, credit cards, bank accounts, or access to credit.

They are, therefore, unable to purchase big-ticket items or shop online easily – sometimes even living on unrealistically tight budgets until they receive their monthly paycheques. The opportunity for BNPL is, therefore, significant.

New-age consumers, especially millennials, increasingly want simpler mobile-based financing solutions that are easy and hassle-free. These consumers do not want complicated interest charges or associated fees.

The chance to split up payments for a new pair of shoes or a kitchen appliance instead of paying the full amount upfront is appealing to many consumers, especially the younger generation who don’t tend to use credit cards and may find them intimidating.

Also Read: ASX-listed Afterpay acquires EmpatKali to take its ‘buy-now, pay-later’ biz to SEA

Embraced by youth

BNPL solutions such as Cashalo, Hoolah, Finmas, and others can be accessed by consumers anytime and anywhere from the comfort and safety of their mobile devices. By establishing a completely digitalised application process, there is no cumbersome paperwork involved, and consumers can use their credit immediately across a nationwide network of retail merchant partners.

In emerging markets such as Indonesia and the Philippines, it’s not even a question of whether these consumers have good or bad credit. Unfortunately, people in these markets have no credit.

Consumers, especially underserved and underbanked consumers, are simply looking for simple, honest, financial services that provide them with the flexibility they need. We’re excited to be able to shape this new payment category for consumers in a meaningful way.

There is growing consumer hunger, particularly among younger consumers, for transparency and control of their credit products. Not only that, but easy-to-understand solutions will also result in faster adoption because of the enormous credit and financial literacy gap.

For consumers that are less financially literate, an accessible, transparent, and simple solution becomes invaluable because they appreciate the predictability of these ‘instalment’ payments and knowing exactly when they will end.

CB Insights recently recognised Oriente, among the 110+ Start-up Transforming fintech in Southeast Asia, for its innovative POS lending solutions built around a strong social purpose. The company’s fintech platforms enable millions of credit-invisible consumers to establish a financial identity, take control of their financial future, improve their economic well-being, and build a credit profile.

It’s also important to remember that BNPL solutions benefit merchants too. These digital tools help broaden the consumer base for merchants of all sizes by offering risk-free payment alternatives and customer insights.

Also Read: 500 Startups invests in buy-now-pay-later services startup Split

Data provided by Oriente-owned Cashalo indicates that its BNPL solution has increased sales for its merchant partners by over 20 per cent on average and become the second most used payment channel after cash, overtaking credit/debit cards in less than 18 months.

“In today’s challenging retail and economic environment, merchants are looking for trusted ways to help drive average order values and conversion, without taking on additional costs. At the same time, consumers are looking for more flexible and responsible ways to pay, especially online,” said Doug Bland, SVP, Global Credit at PayPal, in a statement about the launch of its Pay in 4 product.

In July, Shopify partnered exclusively with Affirm to offer a BNPL option to Shopify merchant customers in the US. Last week, the company announced a similar partnership with Tendopay, a little-known company in the Philippines, as it looks to grow in one of the hottest markets in the region.

Consumers expect and want a seamless commerce experience, so expectedly the number of players leveraging and adopting BNPL solutions is increasing. It is encouraging to see the continued innovation and collaboration between established financial services companies, fintech, retail, and e-commerce driving this transformation.

Southeast Asia, home to millions of young, tech-savvy consumers is at the cusp of a digital payment revolution. According to the 2019 e-Conomy SEA report, digital payments will exceed US$1 trillion in transaction value by 2025, and digital lending will be the largest revenue contributor led by innovations in consumer lending and working capital financing for SMEs.

The proliferation of “buy now, pay later” is fast becoming just the unexpected catalyst this movement needs.

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