As the world pushes for digitalisation, the amount of data being collected or exchanged digitally has increased over the years. With each app download or website signup and for every harmless checkout at that e-commerce platform, we leave traces of our data up for collection in the digital space.

The socio-economic implications of such staggering data can no longer be put on the backburner. In Southeast Asia, governments understand that principles and guidelines have to be established in order to promote and strengthen personal data protection in the region.

In Singapore, the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) of 2012 set in motion the call for businesses to align themselves with various rules governing the collection, use, and disclosure and care of personal data. As a subset of this law, appointing a Data Protection Officer (DPO) is mandatory for organisations (including businesses) to ensure their compliance with the PDPA.

A DPO can be either an employee with a dedicated responsibility or as an additional function within an existing role in the organisation, or a third-party, outsourced to a service provider. The important question is, what do DPOs do exactly?

Roles and responsibilities

• Ensure compliance of PDPA when developing and implementing policies and processes for handling personal data;
• Foster a data protection culture among employees and communicate personal data protection policies to stakeholders;
• Manage personal data protection related queries and complaints;
• Alert management to any risks that might arise with regard to personal data; and
• Liaise with the PDPC on data protection matters, if necessary.

Dexter Ng, Chief Technology Officer at AntiHack.me (a cybersecurity company) adds that, “It is the DPO’s responsibility to ensure organisations with websites and mobile apps that collect data have reasonable security measures in place, such as conducting yearly penetration tests.”

Also Read: 4 perks of continuous data protection for businesses

However, just appointing a Data Protection Officer does not mean that your organisation has fulfilled its data protection obligations and is just the very first step in your PDPA compliance.

Training for DPOs are a must

Without training, the employee is tasked to lead the data protection efforts in the organisation would not know where to even begin.

Furthermore, if the responsibility of a DPO is a secondary function on top of his primary job, they will not have sufficient time to perform all the required research and seek clarity for knowledge.

By attending a data protection course, your DPO will gain a better understanding of the scope of his responsibilities and the steps he can take to ensure your business complies with the PDPA, in the shortest amount of time.

For instance, Singapore startup Privacy Ninja conducts regular training for appointed DPOs in order to give them an overview and understanding of the nine core PDPA obligations and more.

I believe that education is key to being a proficient and competent DPO for any organisation. Understanding the fundamental requirements of the PDPA is essential to formulating your organisation’s Data Protection Management Programme.

One of those who underwent such training is Alvin Decruz, Head of Engineering of tech startup and digital publishing house Tickled Media. “Privacy Ninja is knowledgeable and professional in what they do,” Alvin shared. “We engaged them to conduct PDPA training for my staff and everyone greatly benefitted. I am safe to say we are much more aware and aligned to the PDPA’s regulations.”

Every organisation is encouraged to register their DPO with the PDPC. Additionally, the appointed DPO can subscribe to the PDPC’s e-newsletter, DPO Connect.

Subscribing to the DPO Connect will keep your DPO informed of the latest matters concerning data protection, upcoming events conducted by the PDPC, and information on where to seek help for data protection matters.

Also Read: Ignorance is never bliss: What a whitehat taught me about data privacy

Transparency is sexy

Appointing a Data Protection Officer is just the very first step, you will also need to make his/her contact information available to the public, and this is typically displayed on the privacy policy page on an organisation’s corporate website.

Since the month of May 2020, PDPC has collaborated with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) of Singapore to develop an e-service to enable business entities to register their DPO Business Contact Information (BCI) on ACRA Bizfile+, making it publicly available, which is another mandatory requirement.

For organisations that have previously registered their DPO with PDPC, PDPC encourages such organisations to register their DPO again in ACRA BizFile⁺ to ensure that the DPO’s details will be accurate and updated.

This is usually in the form of an email address, and in the case of telephone numbers, be Singapore telephone numbers.

While appointed DPOs are not required to be physically present in Singapore, they should still be readily accessible from Singapore and operational during Singapore business hours.

To be fully prepared for any personal data protection query or complaint from the public or PDPC, have team members who are competent to answer personal data related queries and complaints on behalf of the organisation, or at least be able to provide an interim reply while the respective matter is brought to the appointed DPO’s attention.

The startups’ dilemma

For startups in Singapore, appointing a DPO from among the existing team members might pose a dilemma. Every member may already have their plates full of business-related tasks, and adding a DPO role on top of it may prove to be too much. On the flip side, hiring a full-time DPO can mean straining the company budget further.

Privacy Ninja understands it too well, being a startup themselves. Hence, seeing a need and lapse in this area, they formed a well-rounded DPO team to provide their expertise to businesses in Singapore, targeting SMEs that face resource constraints in developing their in-house DPO capabilities.

Privacy Ninja’s outsourced Data Protection Officer function, DPO-As-A-Service, allows your business to fully adhere to PDPA compliance without straining your budget or manpower. This includes performing “surprise” audits on the company, developing the necessary policies and data protection documentation, and round-the-clock data protection support and assistance.

Also Read: 10 data security predictions by Gartner for the year 2020

In a nutshell, if your business operates in Singapore and you haven’t appointed a DPO for your company yet, don’t wait until the government slaps you with hefty penalties, which from past enforcement cases typically ranges from SG$5,000 (US$3,600) to SG$20,000 (US$14,600).

Now is the best time to begin your journey toward full compliance of the PDPA law.

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Currently, the Vietnam food delivery market is dominated by two giants, which are Now Delivery and GrabFood. Any other business is sharing a small market share that warmed the competition level across Vietnam.

However, in the past, there was an app, which had nearly won the competition for leading positions, named Foodpanda. But it suddenly failed due to financial difficulties.

In 2020, the old legend has begun to return with a strong ambition and well-preparation. Unfortunately, it is not a piece of cake for Foodpanda in a location where all the rule has seemingly been settled.

Generally, Foodpanda was initially an online food ordering system owned by Delivery Hero, a German company. Foodpanda first entered Vietnam in 2012; its services rapidly expanded its presence to the five largest cities in the country.

In 2017, it suddenly shut down all activities and closed its brands in Vietnam. According to Foodpanda, at that time, the company had a focus on the market, which had been already profitable.

Although Vietnam was a remarkably potential market due to enormous purchasing power and massive population, it required a large investment that FoodPanda could not afford.

Also Read: Setting new rules for the food delivery industry in a post-pandemic world

After three years of absence, Delivery Hero decided to come back to the Asia market through an M&A transaction with Baemin, which is a leading delivery service in South Korea.

In 2019, it restarted business activities again in Vietnam by launching Baemin, serving citizens with food delivery services. Until now, one year after revising, Foodpanda or Baemin is still struggling with doing their business. So, what are the reasons?

Aggressive war in the food delivery market

Vietnam food delivery market is expected to worth roundly US$300 million at the end of 2020, with over 9.5 million users shared between five key players, which are GrabFood, Now, GoFood, Loship, and Baemin.

Many experts proposed that promotions and innovative menus tend to be the core competitive advantages, deciding the winner in the market.

Now had been leveraging the attractiveness of the Foody platform, which is one of the most popular food ordering platforms. In which, Now has rapidly attracted a large group of loyal customers to its delivery services.

Besides, GrabFood promoted a strategy called “unique food” that connect with local restaurants to provide exclusive dishes. With abundant resources of shippers and food providers, GrabFood tends to catch up Now’s position in the race of delivery.

On the other hand, Baemin introduced its promotion for new customers with 70 per cent off first orders. Also, it provided an attractive remuneration policy to shippers with the purpose of expanding the community of vendors.

With the massive investment, all players confessed that they are getting stuck with challenges coming from customer behaviour.

Struggling with infrastructure

Back to Baemin, its background was from the fried chicken delivery in Korea from 1950. For over 70 years, Korean customers have been educated to be acquainted with food delivery as the norm for consuming restaurants’ food.

Most food stores in this country have attached with online food ordering and at least one shipping service. In fact, roughly 70 per cent of Koreans have already used food delivery.

On the contrary, Vietnamese consumers have experienced this service for roughly eight years, which came up with a lack of online payment transactions. At present, e-banking, e-wallet, or other e-payment methods are seemingly at the initial stages that are only popular with people living in big cities.

Accordingly, cash-on-delivery (COD) refers to the most common payment method currently in Vietnam. In which the habit of using cash payment in the daily orders of most Vietnamese has deterred the growth of delivery apps, especially Baemin.

Also Read: Understanding the economics of food delivery platforms

Additionally, Vietnamese people tend to prefer eating in restaurants as a kind of relaxation and tasting hot foods that also challenge delivery services. This behaviour is due to several dishes commonly using with broth, which are believed to be less tasty when takeaway.

However, with the outbreak of COVID-19 and social distancing, there was a sign of switch in customer behavior in favour of food delivery.

Massive capital requirements

In the past, the main reason that forced Foodpanda to leave Vietnam was lack of financial capacity in the context of economic crisis. With returning plan, Baemin was backed by Delivery Hero so it decided to start burning money in exchange for new customers.

A recent investigation revealed that only 15 per cent of respondents use Baemin, while the number using Grab and Now were 79 per cent and 56 per cent, respectively. Accordingly, Beamin needs to invest more money to attract users.

In fact, the loyalty of Vietnam users to delivery services was estimated at the lowest group among several Asia and EU markets. It means, to retain users, food delivery apps need constantly to implement discounts and promotions. Whereby those activities do require massive investment.

Apart from Baemin, its competitors Grab and Now also pumped new capital to win the market share. Grab announced it will invest more than US$500 million in Vietnam until 2024.

Meanwhile, GoFood has fundraised US$1 billion to its business, which could invest in its delivery business. Although Delivery Hero paid US$4 billion to own Baemin, it still experienced difficulty in using capitals to defeat competitors.

Final words: the food delivery culture in Vietnam came after Korea several decades that Foodpanda is struggling with localising its services to fit with Vietnam users. Besides the expansions of competitors, it also gets stuck with challenges from the purchasing habit of Vietnamese. So, is there any space for Foodpanda or Baemin to grow?

The answer is yes. After all, the core values of food delivery mobile apps are technology and services. Once its leaders use the investment properly to deliver outstanding services and catch up with technology innovation, Baemin can conquest any of the obstinate markets.

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Singapore-headquartered relocation services company Moovaz has signed an agreement to acquire local on-demand van rental services startup GetVan.

The transaction details of the deal haven’t been disclosed.

Moovaz said in a statement that the acquisition will allow it to bolster its end-to-end relocation ecosystem with GetVan’s technological offering and strong driver-partner network.

Also Read: WW-III may already be happening online. Here’s why you need better cybersecurity

As part of the agreement, GetVan Founder and CEO James Neo will join Moovaz as Head of Supply Chain Operations.

This latest development comes about four months after Moovaz signed a deal with Singapore Press Holdings to acquire its expat-focussed publication The Finder, with plans to add content for the purpose of community-building to its digital-first relocation service.

Founded in 2018, Moovaz is an all-in-one digital platform operating in the logistics and international relocation industry. It is a global network of over 2,000 certified partners.

In April, Moovaz raised a US$7 million in Series A financing round, led by Quest Ventures, YCH Group and SGInnovate.

Founded in 2016, GetVan is an on-demand van-hire service designed to help city dwellers with their moving and transportation needs. Its intra-city logistics solutions are available for businesses and individuals.

Also Read: Words that matter most when raising capital

GetVan founder James Neo is a military officer-turned-entrepreneur, with a background in ride-hailing through his former capacity as the Head of Driver Acquisitions and Market Insights at gojek.

“Moovaz and GetVan share a common belief that to win with customers, we have to first win with our partners. I am impressed by the strong commitment to protecting partner earnings and experience within the Moovaz platform,” said Neo.

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Image Credit: Moovaz

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Moovaz acquires van-hailing platform GetVan; This allows it to bolster its end-to-end relocation ecosystem with GetVan’s technological offering and strong driver-partner network; Recently, Moovaz acquired The Finder from Singapore Press Holdings; In May, the relocation startup raised US$7M Series A led by Quest Ventures. e27

E-commerce aggregator iPrice raises funding from JG Digital Equity Ventures; This is the continuation of its Series B, being led by ACA Investments; This financing will allow the group to tap into the Philippines’s large e-commerce market and enhance its current product. e27

WW III may already be happening online. Here’s why you need better cybersecurity; In this century, cyber threats are often as dangerous as bombs; A well-planned attack could shut down a city and cause massive financial losses, injuries, and even deaths; In APAC, digital threats reveal increasing diplomatic destabilisation. e27

Malaysia’s digital money services firm Merchantrade acquires Valyou from Telenor Group; Merchantrade will now have a combined annual remittance turnover value of over US$2.7B; The merged entity will have a staff strength of over 1,200, a network of over 1,700 touch-points, and will serve a customer base of over 3M. e27

Singapore’s AMTD Digital raises US$285M from Value Partners, Greater Bay Area Homeland Investments, others; It builds a one-stop digital solutions platform that connects different stakeholders in the SpiderNet ecosystem via digital innovations; AMTD recently acquired insurtech firm PolicyPal. e27

Singapore is seeing a rise in ‘buy now, pay later’ (BNPL) services: Will it help fill retail’s gap?; According to Singtel MyBusiness, 25% of consumers who abandoned their shopping carts did so because of high prices; Since most BNPL solutions keep interest rates at 0%, customers don’t feel the pinch of having to pay extra for the same product, and are more likely to make the purchase. Vulcan Post

Alibaba’s logistics arm Cainiao expands its last-mile network into Singapore; It has partnered with Singapore Post, BEST, Roadbull, and Park N Parcel; The last-mile network will comprise over 1,600 collection points, 600 couriers and 500 lockers island-wide; Singapore’s US$2.4B e-commerce industry is projected to grow at 12-20% annually over the next 5  years. TechCoffeeHouse.com

Could a Chief Biology Officer (CBO) make your company more profitable?; The CBO will help you identify vendors that use sustainable biological manufacturing, secure supply chains, and completely transform your business; In the beginning, your CBO will help your CEO identify the low-hanging fruit that will transform your company. Forbes

IFC acquires stake in debt management firm Collectius to launch US$60M investment platform; It is solely dedicated to acquiring and resolving unsecured debt in Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand and soon Vietnam; The post-pandemic economy may restructure the debt collection model in Asia. Fintech News

Disgruntled consumers want regional e-commerce players to step up their game in ASEAN; Indonesia (54%) and Malaysia (57%) recorded the lowest satisfaction levels in the region when it comes to online experiences, says a study; This suggest that while major brands (Shopee, Lazada, Grab) enjoy high usage rates in the region, this growth has come at the cost of greater scrutiny from consumers. TechCoffeeHouse

Plant-based incubator NEW FOOD Startup 2020 launches in Indonesia; Up to 10 winners will be chosen to receive up to US$25K in funding; Startups targeted include those working on plant-based meat alternatives, plant-based dairy alternatives, alternative protein technologies and novel packaging solutions. Green Queen

UMG Idealab invests in Indonesia’s team monitoring app Jari; The app is equipped with features such as managing employee attendance with check-in and check-out selfies and GPS-based location recording; UMG Idealab is a unit of UMG Group Myanmar and has invested in nearly 30 startups. e27

PhillipCapital, PrimePartners, Fundnel commence trading private company shares HGX; This enables investors and issuers to gain global liquidity and access opportunities in funds, high-growth companies and other alternative private assets; The private exchange is also allowed to list and trade both digital and non-digital Capital Market Products. e27

GIC returns as lead investor in consumer credit unicorn Affirm’s US$500M Series G; The Singapore wealth fund had also backed Affirm’s Series F in April 2019;. It first entered the firm in December 2017 by leading the startup’s US$200M Series E. DealStreetAsia

NTUitive’s new programme VB18 will help Singaporeans get paid while building a business; The 12-month venture building programme will be funded by the SGUnited Traineeships Programme; 18 fresh graduates will be selected for this; Selected participants will receive a monthly stipend of US$1,800/month. e27

Words that matter most when raising capital; Before you even begin fundraising so you know whom you want to take money from; It means speaking to founders who previously raised from that investor and knowing what to ask; Looking into their previous investments and their appetite to deploy capital. e27

Digitisation is the future that will empower Malaysia; Today, Malaysia is one of the most digitally connected societies in the world, with more than 90 per cent households having access; However, only 62% of businesses are connected to the Internet. MiDec

Bank of Thailand develops digital system for better SME funding access; The central bank has continued to develop its authentication technology National Digital ID, and expanded the service to other financial service providers apart from banks. Bangkok Post

Singapore taps Apple for national health initiative, called LumiHealth, using Apple Watch; LumiHealth uses technology and behavioural insights to encourage Singaporeans to keep healthy and complete wellness challenges through their Apple Watch and iPhone; The 2-year program will be offered from late Oct 2020. HIT Consultant

The AI landscape is shifting from ‘data’ to ‘knowledge.’ Here’s why that matters; Big Data requires sophisticated AI models to analyse and derive knowledge and insights, while the AI models need the critical mass of Big Data for training and optimisation. The Next Web

How SEA startups are using content marketing to scale; Startups generally have a love-hate relationship with content marketing; It costs about 62% less than traditional marketing to generate 3x as many leads but can be tricky to master. Tech Collective

Halal Street UK launches Malaysia’s halal e-commerce platform; HalalExtra.com will enable Malaysian halal products to be sold in the UK and Europe; The platform promotes day-to-day products under food, health, beauty, snacks, seasonings and condiments, and meat and poultry, among others. Malay Mail

gojek kick-starts Thai operation after brand unification; The Indonesian decacorn plans to unify its Thai and Vietnamese brands and bring them under one tech platform to take the fight to Grab; gojek has more than 50K drivers and 30K merchants in Thailand, where food delivery is booming. Nikkei Asia Review

Coinbase is looking for a country manager in Singapore; The exec will be spearheading the crypto exchange’s expansion strategy in the region; This includes evaluating and recommending growth options in Asia based on individual market analysis. TechInAsia

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Despite the economic bottleneck, many tech heavyweights still surprisingly prevail at the top of the investment chain. Across the tech ecosystem, e-commerce giants from the US and China are flourishing, while startups from emerging markets like Southeast Asia are doing their best to adapt and follow suit.

While the next normal is undoubtedly shaking things up, the question remains: can Southeast Asia outclass the prominence of tech companies from the US and China that are currently dominating the global tech landscape?

It is true that Southeast Asia tech companies are still beating the odds despite the global market shift. But if anything, history has taught us that some of the unicorns we have come to know and respect were born out of various forms of crises, all because they simply had the right idea. If it is possible for them, it is certainly possible for many startups in Southeast Asia today.

Rising to the occasion

US-based taxi-hailing app Uber and accommodation matchmaker Airbnb were by-products of the financial crisis in 2008 that snowballed globally from the US housing bubble. One co-founder admitted that the crisis created a unique opportunity for companies to innovate and cater to a new market.

This time, the pandemic has certainly made a rapidly growing market demand for digital services. Companies that serve mostly by connecting people such as e-commerce and media streaming prove to be indispensable. In effect, many startups and new businesses are pivoting towards that direction to stay relevant — whether by shifting verticals altogether or by digitalising their interfaces in order to meet consumer demand.

Also Read: Why the TradeGecko acquisition by Intuit is a promise fulfilled by the SEA tech startup ecosystem

But as competition is getting stronger, the dominance of tech giants from the US and China are also outsizing the market.

BBC reported that tech moguls such as Amazon and Facebook, for instance, have seen a steep increase of activity and stocks at all-time highs during the pandemic. Both Amazon and Facebook saw stock prices rise 80 per cent and 45.5 per cent respectively compared to the previous year. Recently, Apple also hit a record-breaking $1.9 trillion market cap before a share split.

The Power of Big Tech

Everyone including world governments have growing dependencies on these companies’ products and services. The UK government, for instance, announced in June that it was switching its coronavirus-tracing app to a model based on Apple-Google technology.

They have grown so large that the US House of Antitrust Subcommittee had to hold a congressional hearing in July to probe CEOs of Facebook, Google, Amazon, and Apple for thwarting competition in their industry.

Ironically, platforms such as Amazon Cloud for data services, and Google and Facebook ads for advertising are undeniably essential for many types of businesses to run. In China, most businesses, especially small enterprises, highly depend on WeChat, Alibaba, and even Xiaomi to survive the crisis.

The Challenge for Startups

On the flip side, Big Tech companies can stifle innovation from a startup with policies that restrict access to their services. “We used to have a policy that restricted competitors from using our platform,” Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg said.

Besides weaponising their policies, large tech companies also have the unrivalled market power to tempt a big buyout of an emerging rival before it becomes their equal. Facebook bought Instagram for US$1 billion only and WhatsApp for US$16 billion — a small price to pay when compared with its US$600 billion market valuation last year.

Also Read: A closer look at MyStartupEquity: digitising, automating, and securing company assets

But sometimes, acquisitions are risky, especially in recent times with the looming tech cold war. So, when they cannot buy, big techs have the resources and financial muscle to replicate innovations created by a smaller company and augment it into their products. For example, the 24-hour stories feature from Snapchat lost its market grip to Facebook which replicated the feature on Instagram and WhatsApp. Microsoft made the same “copycat” move to the communication platform Slack for its office messaging system, Microsoft Teams.

There is no one-size-fits-all strategy for tech startups to thrive in the next normal against the giants. According to Harvard Business Review, a copy-proof innovation is essentially required to outsmart big companies like Google from wrongly taking their property.

The Spotlight on Southeast Asia

While a global economic squeeze is on the horizon, Southeast Asia unexpectedly becomes a more welcoming and attractive market to big tech dealmakers. The regional advantage, with rising internet economy and favourable demographics, inspires cross-border trade and company expansions.

“While the region is diverse and varied, the growing middle classes in ASEAN share similar demands and consumption patterns,” said former ASEAN Secretary-General Le Luong Minh. In the first half of this year, Series B and C funding in Southeast Asia is up about 25 per cent from a year ago, making a total record of US$1.2 billion.

Southeast Asia is accelerating its efforts in digital expansion in the diversified market. It is largely thanks to proliferating unicorns that provide e-commerce, fintech, and on-demand services in the region.

Also Read: How to train a diverse and dispersed workforce during COVID-19 and beyond

In general, most of Southeast Asia’s unicorns have outgrown their humble beginnings to rank third in the APAC region behind China and India. Grab, one of the most familiar Singapore-based tech giants, boasts a market valuation of more than US$14 billion as of September 2020.

Together with other Southeast Asia unicorn peers, Grab has nearly 40 mergers and acquisitions of smaller startups in Southeast Asia. Its counterpart from Indonesia, Gojek, entered Vietnam with an ambitious US$500 million international expansion plan, with Thailand next. More than that, big tech companies from elsewhere around the world like Facebook are gearing to strengthen their presence in Southeast Asia as the region’s digital economy continues to flourish, evidenced by its recent investment to Gojek.

The swift change in customer behaviours also brought growth to another Singapore-based company, Razer. The gaming hardware and brand producer was reported to have recorded US$447.5 million in this year’s first-half revenue. Meanwhile, another Southeast Asian unicorn, Sea Group, also got into the radar of investors with their share price doubling over the last six months. Chairman and co-founder Forrest Li said to Forbes that the pandemic only speeds up the disruption already in place.

Also Read: EMDDI raises funding to allow users to connect to 30K taxis across Vietnam on a single platform

Such developments resulted in diversified ventures such as Razer Fintech under Razer, and e-commerce powerhouse, Shopee, under Sea Group.

“The stock market demonstrated a fairly dramatic reaction. The whole market — the tech market in particular — is hitting the roof. Obviously, there is a lot of euphoria. But digitalisation behind small and medium-sized enterprises and their consumers is real. That’s why the market is kind of playing ahead,” said Jixun Foo, Managing Partner of GGV Capital in an interview with Dealstreet Asia.

Furthermore, Binny Bansal of Mobikon, said in an interview with Forbes “the digital world has been accelerated thanks to the pandemic, giving a boost to ventures in edtech, digital finance, and health care technology.”

With political and societal uncertainty particularly between the US, China and India, Southeast Asia is on the radar as a profitable and viable market for innovators and investors alike. Opportunities abound for those daring enough to seize them. Will Southeast Asia’s big tech reach the prominence of its counterparts in the US and China? The jury’s still out on that. But one thing’s for sure: it will be a battle for dominance unlike any we’ve seen before.

Changemakers Conversations: Our New Normal

In order to discuss strategies on how Southeast Asian startups can seize the market during today’s global crisis, Singapore Management University (SMU) Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (IIE)’s marquee event, the 10th Lee Kuan Yew Global Business Plan Competition (LKYGBPC) invites all to its inaugural Changemakers Conversations – Our New Normal on 30 September 2020, 4:00pm to 5:30pm (SGT)!

Key Topics of Discussion:

● Beyond Resilience – The new playbook for growth strategies in this new era; where are the opportunities for entrepreneurs and investors?
● The Rise of Techno-Nationalism – The risk of a looming tech cold war; what does it mean for startups and investors?
● Dominance of Big Tech – A complicated yet symbiotic relationship with innovation; how can startups flourish under the new masters of the universe?

Featuring esteemed speakers:

● Foo Jixun – Managing Partner at global venture capital company GGV Capital
● Prof Gerard George – Dean of Lee Kong Chian School of Business at Singapore Management University (SMU)
● Piyush Gupta – Chief Executive Officer & Director at the leading financial services group DBS
● Prof Lily Kong – President, Singapore Management University (SMU)
● Oliver Tonby – Chairman & Senior Partner at global management consulting firm Mckinsey & Co
● Shirley Wong – Chairperson of Lee Kuan Yew Global Business Plan Competition Steering Committee and Entrepreneur-in-Residence of SMU Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Register HERE to be part of this revolutionary event. For more information on SMU’s Lee Kuan Yew Global Business Plan Competition, click HERE.

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This article is produced by the e27 team, sponsored by 
SMU Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship

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Global interest in decentralised finance has exploded within recent months. With over US$6 billion currently locked (and counting), DeFi mania shows no signs of slowing down.

If you are unfamiliar with DeFi, it stands for decentralised finance and represents an ecosystem of protocols and projects that mimic traditional financial services, but on steroids.

In DeFi, you can lend, borrow, and provide liquidity to earn interest rates that are impossible to find in traditional markets. Naturally, there is a risk attached, but now users can purchase insurance to protect their loans and upside.

This momentum has attracted some of the biggest funds and entrepreneurs in Asia, who are helping spawn a new financial revolution. 

Surprisingly, Asia was seen as “slow” to the original DeFi party last year. According to The DeFiant, only three of the top 20 DeFi projects in 2019 were based in Asia, representing only 10 per cent of the US$500 million locked in various DeFi applications. 

Looking forward, Asia presents a golden opportunity for DeFi applications to demonstrate their utility beyond short-term speculation. With significant parts of the population remaining underbanked, and traditional financial institutions often overlooking small businesses, Asian markets are ripe for financial disruption.

Golden Opportunity

Luckily, the disruptive potential of DeFi technology hasn’t been missed by regional startups. Despite a slower start, targeted products and use cases are now being developed at lightning speed.

Singapore is currently deep in the process of completing its digital bank charter and infrastructure by 2021, China has already soft-launched its own sovereign digital currency (DCEP), and Cambodia is tantalising close to finalising its nationwide blockchain payment system. 

Despite the outburst in productivity, Asia’s interest in DeFi shouldn’t come as a surprise. A significant amount of global blockchain web traffic comes from users within the region, despite a relatively small number of officially registered projects.

Savvy consumer interest and legacy financial inequality are potent motivators for plucky fintech startups. 

This can best be seen in the emerging community that has grown around DeFi in Asia, despite challenges with the global pandemic. In June and August, Southeast Asia DeFi Week launched two events, bringing together thousands of companies and DeFi users in a completely free to attend digital setting. 

Also Read: Fiat or crypto? Why the payment giants are warming up to digital assets

Ongoing developments with less volatile DeFi solutions may rapidly pave the way for wide-spread adoption. Here are some of the projects and people to watch in DeFi’s Asia scene. 

Who to Watch

For a lot of DeFi spectators and participants, Singapore-based Ramp DeFi is one of the most highly-anticipated DeFi launches. Ramp aims to free billions of dollars in liquid value through their innovative liquidity bridge and ecosystem which will enable effortless cross-chain value accretion and essential liquidity movement.

This means users are able to deposit their staked assets and recycle them into liquid capital (Total Value Unlocked). 

A key advantage of Ramp’s novel approach is the retention of staking returns whilst minting fresh capital for investment. No longer will investors have to choose between opportunity cost and staking yields. Speaking of investors, leading Asia investors, such as Hong Kong-based Alameda Research, have backed the project and many others in the ecosystem.

Polkadot Projects

If you have been following blockchain, you have likely heard of Polkadot, the flagship project by Web3 Foundation, with a token (DOT) now ranked in the top 10 largest cryptocurrencies by market cap.

Polkadot allows companies to build a custom blockchain in just minutes using the Substrate framework and provides startups with a large community filled with resources to build and scale applications. 

While not completely Asia-based, Polkadot has been the technology of choice for many of the top DeFi projects in Asia, such as Mantra Dao, RioDeFi, and others. 

Mantra Dao is a DeFi platform focused on increasing adoption for the staking and lending by facilitating instant access to stable coin loans in exchange for cryptocurrency collateral. Users are also able to lend their crypto and receive interest if they choose.

Also Read: How Blockchain is disrupting the traditional finance industry

Built on a Parity Substrate for the Polkadot ecosystem, Mantra Dao’s has amassed over 13,000 addresses soon after launching, making it the fastest-growing Polkadot DeFi project. 

Based in Hong Kong, RioDeFi is on a mission to accelerate the adoption of digital assets by bridging traditional and decentralised finance. Similar to Mantra Dao, RioChain is built on the Parity Substrate framework and fully compatible with the Polkadot network.

RioChain will allow lower transaction fees, faster confirmations, and more efficiency for applications that build on RioChain. With this in mind, businesses, and as a result, everyday people will have greater access to distributed ledger technology and DeFi services. 

Investors to watch

Asia-based investors have not been shy when it comes to investing in DeFi. Funds such as Kenetic Capital, Alameda Research, Waterdrip Capital, Signum Capital, Blockwater VC, and others can often be found backing many of the latest leading DeFi companies. Industry veterans such as Korea-based Hashed and FGB Capital have also been very active in supporting DeFi projects in both seed and private rounds. 

What is important to note about the current DeFi movement is the synergistic relationship that has taken place between funds, especially those providing strategic support. As with any bull market, money becomes easy to obtain for good projects and things such as networks, strategic value adds, and partnerships help funds obtain access to the top projects. 

There are many exciting possibilities for the future of decentralised finance. What’s more, Asia’s increasing interest in equitable, inclusive and decentralised financial applications looks set to propel the DeFi space to unprecedented heights. Watch this space and how Asia continues to be the centre of attention for blockchain innovation. 

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Recently in the news for starting Launcho Ventures, DTribe Capital has pioneered the venture studio model in Southeast Asia.

DTribe seeks to fund, build, and scale successful companies across the region by identifying and transforming ideas with viable business cases into independent companies through collaboration with entrepreneurs and skilled professionals.

A successful serial entrepreneur, Launcho founding partner Martin Berry has built and sold companies with values in excess of US$600 million and has gone on to make over 50 venture investments in early stage technology companies to date.

He is also the founder and CEO of DTribe Capital, a Singapore-based, opportunity-focused VC firm empowering founders seeking to enhance people’s lives and create positive economic impact through technology.

Berry founded Gong Cha Korea in 2012, acquired its parent company Royal Tea Taiwan in 2016, and went on to scale the Gong Cha brand globally to 18 countries and 2,000 outlets worldwide.

Over the last 20 years, he has built, acquired and exited several companies and served as a board member for many financial and technology companies.

In our latest Meet the VC webinar, we spoke to Berry to understand this venture studio model better and the opportunities for startups in 2021.

Key takeaways

• Started a career in technology and fell in love with it. Worked in the banking sector at the onset of internet banking
• His long journey in the corporate world made the various gaps evident to him and his startup journey started as a side hustle in tech companies
• The GFC ultimately made him take the plunge to become an entrepreneur
• Gong Cha grabbed his attention although he never really understood the Asian love for tea. He literally would sit outside the store and study the audience and reverse engineer the economics

Also Read: Expansion and exposure: iGlobe talks about the traits necessary to succeed in local markets

•  He decided to franchise it to the South Korean market, a market Berry knew well. And went from zero to 400 stores in three years and became the fastest-growing beverage brand in the country.
• Eventually, with some PE support, he bought the Gong Cha brand. And sold it last year whilst retaining a majority stake
• He has so far invested in 16 tech-first companies to help the next generation of founders and that’s how DTribe Capital came into being. It invests in early-stage tech companies
• SEA has a growing population and disposable income and nascent technology but Berry feels the ecosystem to support the founders is still not where it’s supposed to be
• Hence he chose to go the venture studio route where he is working with first-time founders who have an idea but need help with other elements of running an organisation — hiring, management, financials, etc.
• Launcho Ventures is not a time-bound programme such as accelerators. It is actually milestone-driven
• Berry spoke to many founders and realised that finding a co-founder and fundraising were major pain points that averted founder attention from actually building a business
• DTribe not only provides support but also gives founders SG$300,000 to get started
• DTribe has no LPs, so they are not constrained by investment mandates. This allows it to be very open-minded
• The quality of the idea and the founder’s passion majorly drive Berry’s investment decision
• Often times, people are in love with the idea of being an entrepreneur and they are surrounded by family and friends who support it, but there is hardly anyone who can give them candid feedback that an entrepreneur needs to pivot, move and groom.

Advice for founders

• Founders should rigorously be disciplined to keep looking for their strong value proposition, study their audience, consumer choices to succeed
• Be very research-driven and consumer-centric. Build something that customers want and need. Everything will follow, the revenue, funding etc.

Also Read:Why Kay Mok Ku of Gobi Partners thinks VCs will become like influencers in a post-pandemic world

For the next year

• For 2021, VCs are keeping a lot of dry powder and this will continue as everyone is more careful about spending
• The key emphasis is going to be quality over quantity
• Helping retail to go from offline to online will be a big opportunity
• F&B is still far behind and the pandemic brought that to life. So startups that will help traditional businesses be more digitally enabled will be rewarded.
• Besides, health tech, AI for health, etc. will be undoubtedly be shining

Resources

Check out the full video recording and learn more about Berry’s thoughts on 2021 here:

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I won’t drag you along and leave you in suspense. The three most important words you need to remember when going out to raise funding for your startup are “know your audience.”

While this is a very good general rule of thumb in business and marketing, when it comes to fundraising, its significance is amplified.

Careful whom you take money from

A beginner entrepreneur might view fundraising as “Whoever will write a check will be our first investor. Let them do the due diligence –we’ll collect the money.”

In reality, as much due diligence as an investor should do, an entrepreneur should double it.

If an investor makes a bad investment, they can lose money. If an entrepreneur takes a bad investment, they can lose their company.

Come prepared

Knowing your audience in this context means doing research. Hence before you even begin fundraising so you know whom you want to take money from. That means speaking to founders who previously raised from that investor and knowing what to ask.

Was the investor founder-friendly? Did they bring added value to the table beyond the check? Did they get involved in decisions that they should not have?

Also Read: Lend East raising US$50M debt capital to connect institutional investors with alternative lenders in India, SEA

As part of the research stage, you also need to make sure you’re not wasting your time or the investor’s time. That means looking into their previous investments and their appetite to deploy capital.

Are they actively investing now? Do they invest in your stage or are they looking for more traction? Or maybe you’re too late for them. Do they invest in your space? If so, did they invest in a direct competitor? The last thing you want to do is send an in-depth investor deck to someone who is supporting your biggest competitor.

Contrary to popular belief, and much like entrepreneurship itself, the most important step that many ignore is the research step. That precedes the first meeting or even the first email.

You never want to give them a reason to say no

The more you know about that investor before even sending the first message, the better equipped you are to make it through the process. Lack of sufficient research is, in and of itself, a reason for an investor to say no. If you didn’t spend the time preparing yourself for the meeting, what does that say about your ability to build a market-defining company that requires endless research and hard work?

The entire world of fundraising can really be summed up in four letters: FOMO (fear of missing out).

Simply put, it is your job to create FOMO for investors so they feel the need to take out their chequebook or miss out on an amazing opportunity.

To create FOMO effectively, you need to know what that investor is interested in and excited by.

Culture plays a pivotal role in that first meeting

Another important aspect that almost no one pays attention to is that investor’s personality. Are they more laid-back or more formal? Do they have a specific way they like to conduct meetings or receive emails? Do they appreciate the small talk at the beginning of the meeting or does that annoy them?

Also Read: Wholesale Investor launches SaaS admin platform for capital raising CRIISP in Southeast Asia

These are all questions you can answer prior to the meeting by speaking to others who have experiences with that investor.

Social media is your friend

At the risk of sounding creepy or like I am encouraging you to stalk someone, I would recommend making use of platforms such as Twitter and Facebook to learn more about that investor before meeting her. What are her passions? What are her pet peeves? And, what are her most pressing agendas now? These are all questions you might find answers to in that investor’s tweets or social media posts. No one is suggesting you hire a private investigator here, but if the investor is speaking openly about this topics, perhaps that is a sign that they want you to know about them before initiating your correspondence.

The more prepared you come, the better impression you’ll make on that investor, and, let’s be honest, first impressions are everything when it comes to raising capital. Yes, you are going to have to answer many questions before the cash hits your account, but without chemistry, without that first impression, it is already game over.

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The article was first published on nfinitiv.

Image Credit: NeONBRAND on Unsplash

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In Australia, the summer of 2020 saw China allegedly perform a calculated attack on primary Australian government resources. In response to this unprecedented provocation, the Australian prime minister does not send fighter jets.

No bombs or missiles are launched. The people called to arms are not trained in hand-to-hand combat, but every one of them can tilt the balance in historic, decades-long conflicts: Hackers.

It is no secret that in the 21st century, cyber threats are often as dangerous as bombs. A well-planned attack could shut down a city and cause massive financial losses, injuries, and even deaths. In the APAC region, digital threats reveal increasing diplomatic destabilisation.

Only several months ago, violent incidents on the Ladakh region border between China and India reportedly led to Chinese DDoS attacks on Indian sites. Similar incidents allegedly occurred in disputes between India and Nepal, North Korea, and Pakistan. Cyber violence could be the result of armed conflict, or it could very well lead to one.

In the next years, we will see them playing a crucial part in conflicts already in place, as well as future points of friction. But why, exactly, did cyberattacks become such a go-to modus operandi for countries and nations in recent years?

Both the best option and the last resort

“Cyber activity offers governments unique advantages over traditional warfare,” says Evan Davidson, VP of Asia Pacific Japan at SentinelOne. “From a contemporary point of view, the digital front is far superior to the historic battlefields of the 20th century. Using cyber-based reconnaissance, governments can collect valuable information faster, from the safety of their own country.

The lives of their agents are in far less of a risk, too. The possibilities are incredibly varied, from military to trade secrets and intellectual property. China, India, North Korea, and other military superpowers have been employing those methods for years.

What pushed cyber warfare over the edge was how hard traditional intelligence and stealth activities were becoming. There are cameras everywhere these days – nothing you do goes unnoticed. The prevalence of biometric identification and face recognition renders the use of fake identities nearly impossible.

Also Read: Cybersecurity in the age of information warfare and IoT

Consider the assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in 2010 –allegedly done by one of the most prestigious covert organisations in the world. The agents were detected almost instantly, with basic security footage and rudimentary police technology.

Ten years later, any teenager with a smartphone could expose international operations with one tap. In that sense, cyberattacks carry a smaller risk for militaries.

The real threat is not military warfare

The number of cyberattacks on governments is steadily growing. In Australia, the number of cybersecurity data breaches and loss incidents rose by 78 per cent from 2017 to 2018 (BDO, 2018). Today, digital war fronts are still a playground for developed, wealthy countries with vast resources and advanced technologies.

Proven statistics from countries such as China, Russia, and North Korea are not available, for obvious reasons, but based on reports, they are well-known for taking on offensive cyber activities as part of their military strategy. This trend is already shifting in the APAC region and worldwide as more countries develop similar abilities.

However, the biggest unpredictable threats are not posed by governments, but by the real underdogs.

Digital attacks are unique in that private entities and organisations can carry them. All you really need is a computer and a network connection. This creates new subsections of threats that are hard to track and prevent. Guerilla groups, semi-formal organisations, or even individual aggressors can now cause real harm to anyone they have a grudge against.

Davidson agrees, adding, “It may be someone with a score to settle or a political or ethnic agenda. However, in most cases, the motives are economical. Countries, companies, and individuals alike work to gain a financial advantage over their enemies or competitors. In the future, we are likely to see a great deal of offensive activity coming not from militaries, but from business and financial entities.”

Also Read: Cybersecurity threats on the rise as companies shift to the WFH model

As the threat from players that are nations or entities working on behalf of nations increase, in parallel to the continued growth of cybercrime activity, new types of risks and attack models are being created. This calls for new types of solutions for cybersecurity since Nation players are often sophisticated enough to understand how to bypass existing solutions and also have the ability to combine cyber means with other more traditional means in a way that can jeopardise an existing array of cybersecurity solutions.

Such new solutions are likely to come from the startups’ ecosystem since they are usually the ones with the flexibility and speed to react fast to new types of threats.

While recently, most of the market for cybersecurity solutions was in the US, it has begun growing in Europe and lately in Asia. Today, Asia is already a ripe market for cybersecurity solutions, and we are witnessing a stream of startups from Israel and other places developing business efforts towards that market.

“Any person or company may be at risk. The good news? This is a risk you can mitigate,” sums up Davidson.  “With sound security infrastructure and air-tight solutions, you can give your assets 360-degree protection against all attack threats.”

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

Asia is home to some of the largest shrimp producers and consumers in the world. Production in Asia is dominated by intensive farms of varying sizes, which produce multiple crops of shrimp every year, with a fair share of them destined to be exported overseas.

In such conditions, food safety, biosecurity, and sustainability concerns are overwhelming, as antibiotics are frequently used to prevent disease outbreaks, and significant waste is produced from frequent water exchange. This is often inevitable, not only due to poor management but also a higher likelihood of contamination and disease outbreaks in intensive conditions.

Enter aquamimicry – a system that mimics and reproduces natural ocean conditions inside the ponds. Aqua Development, based in South Korea, derives its technology from aquamimicry to reproduce the most critical elements of the natural ecosystem inside their farm.

Nature is the world’s best teacher

Co-Founder Othman has derived inspiration from nature, which has for billions of years refined, optimised, and fine-tuned its processes, balances, and systems. Humanity has managed to understand some of them, but many still remain undiscovered or not fully understood. He thus believes that mimicking natural processes and balances is key to achieving great performance in aquaculture.

Classical aquaculture, such as RAS (recirculating aquaculture system), tends to eliminate any organisms and factors aside from the cultured species, placing the emphasis on crop specialisation to gain yield.

This eliminates the symbiotic dynamics between the cultured species and its natural environment, many of which are extremely important yet not fully understood. As a result, RAS often displays unexplained issues such as slow growth, animal fragility, short longevity, and strange smell and flavour.

Also Read: 7 Asian startups putting the spotlight on agriculture

Aqua Development tries to do the opposite by introducing natural factors into their pond ecosystem as possible, with particular attention to the micro-ecosystem. The entire ecosystem ensures that the shrimp stay alive and thrive by improving shrimp health and immunity, thus obviating the need for antibiotics, further chemicals, and additional food source.

This demonstrates a younger school of thought that considers biodiversity to be an asset, which eventually can positively impact yield.

Slowly but surely…

Othman strongly believes that sustainability doesn’t have to be achieved at the cost of high profitability, and vice versa. He hopes to make this statement the new ‘common sense’ within the industry, as Aqua Develop continues to grow and gain traction.

Their announcement as a finalist at Future Food Asia 2020 has recently helped them build a connection with several VCs, other startups, and potential partners within the ecosystem.

Also Read: How can fintech help agriculture

Aqua Development hopes to further grow and expand its technology to drive down the initial setup costs so that small scale farmers in developing nations would be able to afford it. By making their technology more accessible, they can allow for domestic production in countries often reliant on food imports, thus adding resilience to the local supply chain.

Another ambition is to adapt and generalise the system to other species of crustaceans and fish, thus adding sustainability and profitability to a wider farming community. There is a long road ahead, but it’s the thrill of the process that keeps them moving forward.

Their greatest achievement thus far has been seeing their idea transition into a company with its large-scale project – slowly but surely, they’ll get there.

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