For a leading global gamer lifestyle brand such as Razer, product development is the centre of the business that they are doing.

Founded in 2005, the company has had a long history in creating products that enable gamers to play games, engage with each other, and identify with the gamer lifestyle. It has won the Best of CES award consecutively for seven years –and has no plan to stop innovating. This year alone, despite a raging pandemic, Razer continues to launch new products such as the Razer Kiyo camera and the Razer Seiren X microphone, among the few.

In fact, as part of its effort to help the fight against COVID-19, the company also introduced a fully automated mask line.

Certainly, there are several things that startup founders can learn from the gaming giant. This is why e27 speaks to Ayush Sharma, the Lead Product Developer for Mouse Category, and Andrew Philippou, the Product Developer for Keyboard Category, to understand how Razer develops its products, the challenges that they are facing, and how they get through it.

What you can find in this article:

1. Principles and process of product development
2. Product testing
3. Challenges in product development
4. Next steps

Principles and process of product development

When asked about the key principles of product development that the company applies, Sharma starts by pointing out that as a business that targets gamers, Razer needs to have a deep understanding about the needs of their customers. And that begins with putting themselves in their customers’ shoes.

“We are all gamers. Not just those of the team; even people who are not involved in the product development process. We all play games; we love games. So we really understand the needs of all types of gamers,” he says.

Also Read: Afternoon News Roundup: Amartha CEO resigns from Indonesia’s presidential staff position; Razer launches fully automated masks

“We also have a team of passionate gamers and e-sports athletes and streamers that we continuously work with,” Sharma continues.

Speaking to e27 in a separate occasion, Philippou agrees to the explanation.

“It all comes down to addressing the needs of individuals,” he adds. “And just looking for opportunities to solve problems and make things better.”

Philippou then gives an example of Razer Kiyo (pictured), one of their recent releases. The product itself is a web camera with a built-in ring light that enables newbie broadcasters to set up and use the lighting correctly for their sessions.

The development of this product stems from the team’s understanding of the struggles faced by newbie broadcasters: Setting up and positioning their camera and light correctly. Having a product that combines both features in one device can help simplify the works for these users.

In developing a product, Razer begins by creating the concept of a product. There are two ways that a concept can be built upon: First, the engineering team can work on a new area of technology for the product team to consider creating a product based on. Second, they can also build a product based on the team members’ combined experience or inputs from users.

According to Philippou, the use of data plays a great role in this process, especially in deciding which problems to solve.

“We produce products that can solve issues that users are facing, but we do it in a way that is sustainable from the business perspective,” he says.

The team also aims to be “laser-focused” in deciding the main purpose of a product, instead of trying to create a product that “tries to do everything”, as Sharma suggests. They divided their target demographics based on the types of games being played or the purpose of the products.

“Then we basically flesh out that concept, add all the details to it, and have a vision of what that product needs to be and how that’s going to address all the needs and wants of our customers,” Sharma explains.

Also Read: After Razer and Grab, China’s Ant Financial applies for digital banking licence in Singapore

“Once that is done, we essentially go to the feedback phase where we make a few hundred or a thousand prototypes. Then we send it across to gamers across the globe … We also work with a bunch of partners and even external engineers and scientists. We tweaked on those designs until we are satisfied with the results,” he continues.

Within the company, there are different individuals that work on different products, but they are all considered as under one team. Each week, the product team conducts a routine brainstorming session where they are able to share ideas freely. They are also able to test out each other’s works.

“We also look out to develop synergies within our products,” Sharma adds.

While the products team works mostly with engineering and software team, they also work closely with marketing.

Product testing

Another crucial part of product development is testing. According to Sharma, this process is being divided into two parts: Subjective testing (how potential users feel about the product and how they would like to use it) and objective testing (testing the quality of the product itself).

Subjective testing is the part where Razer would send product prototype to gamers, e-sports athletes, and other influencers in the industry to get their feedback while objective testing is being done in the company’s internal laboratories or partner organisations.

“We work with different companies to develop, for example, our ball switch sensor and other related technologies. We take their help to test our products as rigorously as we can, and we keep on fine-tuning them to perfection,” Sharma explains.

But what if a product turns out to have flaws in it, and the flaw is only revealed after the product is being launched? According to Sharma, the first step to take is to admit that there was an issue.

“Then we work with our partners to ensure that the product got an update that fixes the issue and essentially addresses all the other concerns that the customers have raised,” he explains.

Also Read: Razer Fintech leads consortium for youth-targeted bank as part of digital banking license bid

Challenges in product development

When asked about the challenges that they faced in product development, both Philippou and Sharma give a similar answer.

For Philippou, it is all about finding the balance between idealism and business. As developers, they certainly want to understand customers’ challenges and explore all the possibilities that the technology can offer. But they also have to consider the commercial side of things: Is there a big enough market for such a product? Is it going to be sustainable?

“So it’s been about, from my perspective, opening my thought process for developing products and making sure that they make sense for both the end-user as well as the business,” he elaborates.

As for Sharma, the challenge lies in making sure that everyone is happy with their products.

“We obviously get so many feedback and requests from our community … And it takes a lot of time to perfect and fine-tune a product. So I think the biggest challenge is to ensure that we have a good balance of the right portfolio,” he says.

Next steps

The ongoing pandemic has impacted the global tech ecosystem greatly, but according to Philippou, Razer is able to handle and finish their projects on time. In fact, in its recent RazerCon 2020 event (which has hosted virtually), the company announced a list of new products for its customers including the Iskur Gaming Chair, the Tomahawk Gaming Chassis, and the highly sought-after Sneki Snek Plushie.

—

Image Credit: Razer

The post For gamers by gamers: How Razer incorporates its understanding of user behaviour into product development appeared first on e27.

 

Intro

Hello everyone, and welcome to the very first episode of the We Live to Build podcast.

I wanted to say hi because this is probably the first time you’re ever heard my voice, and it’s a great chance for us to get to know each other.

My name is Sean Weisbrot, my background is in Psychology, I’ve been based in Southeast Asia for 12 years, and I’ve been encouraging people to talk about their mental health since 2008 when I started out as a teacher in China.

I found that a lot of my students had mental health issues, but they didn’t have anywhere to go.

Their teachers didn’t want to hear it, their parents didn’t want to hear it, and in general, society basically kind of just swept it under the rug.

Throughout the years, I’ve become an entrepreneur and faced a lot of these issues myself, which you’ll learn about more.

Despite spending an enormous amount of time learning and applying techniques that help me manage stress (like developing daily routines with exercise, meditation, sleeping early, taking breaks often, etc), I have still endured hardship along the way that sometimes came close to breaking me.

Also Read: Why we started a podcast amidst COVID-19 to grow our businesses

If you want to learn more about my back story, I urge you to check out our About page.

Anyways, COVID-19 has fundamentally changed the way the world works, and the increase in pressure on a daily basis has finally caused people to start talking more openly and honestly about what they are experiencing.

I believe firmly that entrepreneurship is needed now more than ever to foster a new generation of ideas that can take us into a post-virus world that will hopefully be better, but the challenges that await us will be even harder than the past.

That’s why I decided to build a platform to encourage entrepreneurship in a way that also exposes aspiring entrepreneurs to the reality of what they might come to experience.

In that way, I hope you will be able to prepare yourselves so it will limit the problems you experience by taking better care from the start.

What you can expect

With that in mind, going forward you can expect three types of podcast episodes from us.

The first kind of episode is an informal conversation between myself and another entrepreneur, but instead of merely praising their successes, we’re going to talk about the rollercoaster journey they went on to reach where they are today.

The guests will be expected to share the hard truths they’ve experienced, as well as encourage you with their successes.

The second kind of episode is a monologue where I talk about a topic I think is extremely important, like why meditation saved my life, or how to turn a weakness into a strength.

Also Read: Vietnam’s podcast platform Voiz FM snags seed funding from 500 Startups

The third kind of episode will be where we answer a question from the community about something they are currently struggling with, like “How do I know when to delegate a task to someone else,” or “How do I determine the best country to incorporate in?”

Beyond these podcasts, we’ll also have content of several types, like roundups where multiple entrepreneurs will answer a question with a short response, or entrepreneurs and mentors writing a long-form article about a specific topic like “What was it like to hire my first employee?” or “What was it like to launch my first MVP?”

Thanks for spending some time listening to our introduction, if you liked this please sign up for our newsletter now, follow us on Twitter at @welivetobuild, and get ready to hear some wild stories that could be your life one day soon.

And remember, entrepreneurship is a marathon, not a sprint.

—

This article was first published on We Live To Build.

Image Credit: Michal Czyz on Unsplash

The post Podcast: Entrepreneurship is a marathon, not a sprint appeared first on e27.

Mangan, an on-demand B2B food service startup in Indonesia, has secured an undisclosed sum in investment from Richard Avila, Senior Director at food distribution giant US Foods.

The round, which takes Mangan’s valuation to US$1 million, will be used for product optimisation and to add new features to its products such as ManganDaily.

The company was started in 2019 by brothers Hardi Halim (CEO) and Hutomo Halim (CFO). The concept was inspired from the duo’s personal experiences.

Also Read: Yummy Corp bags US$12M Series B to grow its cloud kitchen brand in Indonesia

“I had faced difficulties in getting lunch and choosing the meal varieties while working for a logistics company in the US. Back then, my employer didn’t have canteen facilities except a vending machine that only offered frozen sandwiches,” said Hardi.

Hutomo also had similar experience in establishing restaurants in Surabaya. He often found it hard in getting new customers because the business was still new. At the same time, existing restaurants found it difficult to accept large orders from bigger institutions due to limited connections.

This prompted the siblings to come together and start Mangan.

In a nutshell, Mangan provides popup restaurant and drop-off catering services by connecting restaurants serving on-site food with diverse institutions such as startups, MNCs, hospitals and schools in the archipelago.

Mangan claims it has partnered with more than 200 restaurants and serves more than 40,000 food packets to 80 office locations in Jabodetabek and Surabaya.

“We receive orders from 11 industrial sectors. A few months ago, we also opened an online marketplace for individuals to book catering service for events,” said Hutomo.

Also Read: iSeed SEA launches micro-fund targeting Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand

Avila, who has previously worked with Nestle, said he believes in the vision and mission Mangan brings to create innovations by offering new revenue streams to restaurants.

“I hope the foodservice sector is resilient and is able to come out of the pandemic and continue to grow significantly over the coming decades by going through a period of transformation with the support of technology and innovation. This is where companies like Mangan come in and contribute to change,” said Avila.

—

Image Credit: Mangan

The post Mangan receives angel funding to provide on-demand food services to diverse institutions in Indonesia appeared first on e27.

NCS, an ICT services provider based in Singapore and a member of Singtel Group, has entered into an agreement to acquire 2359 Media, a local digital services consultancy focused on ideating and building digital products and platforms.

The transaction details are not known.

The completion of the acquisition is subject to fulfilment of closing conditions.

As per a statement, the deal will enhance NCS’s capabilities in agile development, design thinking and cloud native application development, complementing its NEXT service offerings in digital, cloud, platforms and cybersecurity.

Also Read: The cloud has moved mountains, but always keep an eye out for security

Post-acquisition, 2359 Media, which also has offices in Vietnam and Indonesia, will become part of NCS NEXT digital arm.

The combination of 2359 Media with NCS NEXT’s digital capabilities and strengths in large-scale application and infrastructure implementations will offer clients access to a range of digital services — from design thinking, rapid prototyping, cloud native app development, to creation of innovative digital solutions.

Ng Kuo Pin, CEO of NCS, said: “By leveraging on the strengths of 2359 Media in creating innovative mobile apps and solutions, we are in an even stronger position to help our clients accelerate their digital transformation agendas through experience design and purposeful adoption of digital technologies.”

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

According to Research and Markets, the global digital transformation market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 22.5 per cent from 2020 to 2027, to reach US$1,392.91 billion by 2027, with the Asia Pacific region accounting for US$379.95 billion in 2027.

Wong Hong Ting, CEO and Founder of 2359 Media, said: “Joining NCS NEXT presents a strategic opportunity for us to drive acceleration of digital solutions across a variety of industries. We started our company with the purpose of transforming the way people live and work through innovative application of digital technologies. With the backing of NCS’s resources and NCS NEXT services teams, we can create lasting impact and deeper changes with clients in Singapore and the region.”

2359 Media was part of the consortium led by Enigma Group to apply for a digital bank licence in Singapore.

—

Image Credit: NCS

The post Singtel unit NCS acquires 2359 Media to accelerate the growth of its digital arm appeared first on e27.

Singapore-based hospitality startup RedDoorz, today announced the launch of SANS, a trendy, economy lifestyle hotel brand as part of its strategy to build the “largest new-age hospitality company” in Southeast Asia.

SANS — derived from the Indonesian word “santai” (roughly translated as “chill”) — aims to provide a vibrant and cosy stay experience at a low cost.

Properties under the new brand will feature trendy furnishings and amenities, and are intended for consumers who value stylish comfort and modern design without having to pay a hefty price.

Also Read: Founding RedDoorz “was like hitting the reset button” after years in the corporate travel industry: Amit Saberwal

With this launch, RedDoorz aims to become an ecosystem of various accommodation products, each backed by distinct brands and catering to the different needs of consumers — from no-frills budget stays to more premium, design-inspired experiences and even extended stays offering.

“We’ve had a great journey over the last five years growing RedDoorz into the region’s number one hotel brand. We are now getting ready for our next phase of growth, and despite COVID-19 we remain deeply committed to Southeast Asia’s hospitality potential,” said Amit Saberwal, Founder and CEO, RedDoorz.

“We want to continue to transform how people travel and live in Southeast Asia, provide more economic value to our accommodation partners and become the largest hospitality platform in our region,” he added.

Customers will be able to book rooms at SANS Hotels via the RedDoorz mobile app or its website.

SANS is the second brand launched by the company this year after KoolKost (an extended stay co-living brand in Indonesia that allows customers to rent long-stay rooms under flexible leases), which was launched in beta mode in January 2020.

KoolKost addresses the supply-demand gap in the long-term rental housing space and eliminates the unnecessary hassle of having to pay hefty deposits, worry about contract lock-ins or stress over unpredictable living conditions like maintenance, furnishing, and unreliable housekeeping.

Also Read: Our hyper-local approach sets us apart from competitors: Amit Saberwal of RedDoorz

RedDoorz to rebrand in Q1 2021

The vision of RedDoorz as a multi-brand accommodation platform will come to life with a new redesigned app and rebranding campaign in Q1 2021. The new app design will feature easy access and navigation to the different accommodation brands and will also be complemented by a new loyalty programme, which can be used to earn and redeem discounts and access exclusive partner offers and benefits.

Launched in 2015, RedDoorz is among the leaders in the hospitality sector win Southeast Asia. The startup has since expanded its presence into Indonesia,  the Philippines and Vietnam.

In July last year, RedDoorz bagged US$45 million in Series B round of funding, led by Qiming Venture Partners, alongside Jungle Ventures and its network of Limited Partners.

Prior this round, RedDoorz raised a US$11 million pre-Series B funding round in March 2018 from Asia Investment Fund of SIG, IFC, InnoVen Capital, and Jungle Ventures. This was preceded by a US$1 million in venture debt from InnoVen Capital in 2017.

—

Image Credit: RedDoorz

The post RedDoorz launches new-age, trendy, economy lifestyle hotel brand SANS appeared first on e27.

Tauseef Qadri has been an avid horse-rider since early childhood.

Born to a Pakistani father and an Indian mother, Qadri spent his formative years in Saudi Arabia, where he used to ride horses at the Military Equestrian Centre in Tabuk.

Later, Qadri went to a boarding school in Warwick in the UK, a country famous for horse-riding. A passionate Qadri travelled throughout the country in search of horses but the exploration proved to be quite challenging, as Google Maps didn’t exist back then. 

“However, I found wonderful horse properties all over the UK,” he recalls. “Later, I returned to the Middle East and experienced horses in every corner of the region. I was also fortunate to land a job in a horse company in Dubai. I also travelled extensively and visited different horse properties in the US, South Africa, Spain and Portugal,” says Qadri.

Also Read: 5 things entrepreneurs need to know about running a business in the new normal

This experience helped Qadri — who holds an MSc in Sustainable Development from the University of London and later went to pursue a course in Executive Education, Business Strategy and Artificial Intelligence at MIT — to learn a lot about the horse industry and came in handy when he started Cavago.

Headquartered in Singapore, Cavago is a tech company for people who love horses. In boarder terms, Cavago is a booking platform built to bridge the gaps in the equestrian community by unearthing hidden gems and bringing them together on a single, digital platform.

“It is the product of a desire to share the best that the equestrian service world has to offer,” Qadri tells e27. “With more than 500 breeds of horses and literally millions of horses and horse people, Cavago is a celebration of horse cultures around the world.”

Put differently, Cavago is where hosts can offer their equine and equestrian offerings — from basic riding lessons, horse lease, clinics, to fully-fledged riding holidays to users/riders/guests. The app unites a global community of horse lovers and equestrian properties, clubs and hotels with horses.

“Visualise us as an Airbnb.com or a Booking.com for horse riders, where hosts can offer their equine and equestrian offerings and users/guests can search, compare and book online,” explains Qadri. “We follow a similar concept and a business model.”

The founder says Cavago takes great care in curating and selecting its hosts, who are both rich in their experience and diverse in reach. Some of the world’s most prestigious and luxurious equestrian properties, destinations and facilities are featured on the app.

“Many of these properties are the ones that I have either personally visited in the past or been recommended by experts. We also have passionate Cavago Ambassadors such as Rebecca Walters, who is a Champion Female Polo Player based in the UK,” he replies on being asked about the curation process.

Also Read: PoC to prototype to MVP: Software development 101 for early-stage tech startups

Some of the renowned properties available on the app are Yeguada Cartuja, where horse lovers can experience the birthplace of the iconic Andalusian Horse Breed at a Monastery dating back to 1475 Jerez, Spain; and Al Jiyad (Dubai), where riders can experience authentic desert heritage mounted on famous Arabian horses and enjoy horse riding experiences.

Elite, Olympic-level coaching and equestrian clinics in places like Monte Velho are also added to the platform. This is where the current Portuguese national horse and riders are based, poised to represent their country in the Olympics.

“Similarly, one can learn specialised Show Jumping at elite facilities such as PHR Equestrian with Grand Prix riders and horses in Madrid or Monterosato, where an aspiring equestrian can combine it with a holiday in Fermo, Italy. These facilities are also listed on Cavago,” he says.

A massive industry

Qadri estimates that the annual economic impact of the Global Equine Industry is significant, involving some US$300 billion and 1.6 million full-time jobs, with a GDP revenue of over US$100 billion in North America, which has the most number of horses with over nine million.

In America, the Equine industry has a greater economic impact than motion pictures, he says.

In the UK, there are 374,000 horse-owning households. The industry contributes more money to the UK economy — and has more participants — than rugby, fishing, or cricket, and the sector employs more people than agriculture. Of the 2.1 million regular riders in the UK, 84,000 have taken a riding holiday in 2017.

“There are 27 million people in Britain with an interest in the equestrian industry. There are five million British households with at least one ex-rider,” he estimates.

When it comes to the eastern part of the globe, China is a prominent market, where horse clubs have been growing at more than 1,500 per cent for the last seven years.

According to Research International, there are currently more than 400,000 amateur riders and nine million horses in China. Investments in the country’s equine industry grow at 15-20 per cent every year.

According to statistics from the Beijing Equestrian Association, there are over 500 equestrian clubs in China, of which about 200 are located in Beijing. Over recent years, 10 new equestrian clubs are being established annually in the capital city alone.

In Southeast Asia, the sports item is slowly picking up, thanks partly to the massive growth in China.

Digitalisation a challenge

“I often say that horse businesses are very good at working ‘in’ the business rather than ‘on’ the business. What I mean is that they have become very good at managing the horses and their performance. However, in an age of digitalisation, they lag behind,” he points out.

The tech industry hasn’t given much attention to the horse world. Plus, there is reticence in the equestrian industry to engage technology firms. He feels that the horse world needs to embrace it, particularly because their consumers, horse lovers in many cases are evolving with the trends and hence tech-savvy, he maintains.

Also Read: Are your influence skills ready for remote work?

In its early days, Cavago raised a round of funding from angels to develop tech, mostly focused on host engagement, scaling and marketing. 

Qadri — who has studied, travelled and worked in different industries, such as sustainability, AI and foodtech, in different parts of the world — has gained rich experience, which is helped him build a sustainable Cavago, he claims.

“Sustainability allows me to explore how we can ignite unique horse experiences from their local, often rural contexts. It also brings me closer to an animal and encourages empathy with the natural world,” he says.

“Horses evoke a passion and a sense of wonder about the deeply interconnected world we share with other living creatures. From a sustainability stand-point, igniting livelihoods associated with horses in a circular and sometimes localised economy has great potential,” he adds.

Artificial Intelligence is interesting because he sees it as an extension to his Data Science-based Management Sciences degree. “It allows me to explore how tech can really benefit horse business. It also keeps me informed of trends that we could apply to the horse world. Working at Yum! Brands was incredibly helpful; I learnt a lot about scaling and igniting people capability to fuel great results,” he concludes.

—

Image Credit: Cavago 

The post Cavago wants to be the Airbnb for horse-riding enthusiasts around the world appeared first on e27.

Vietnam’s e-commerce forecast to grow 20% in Q4 to reach US$12B by year-end; E-commerce revenue in H1 declined 6% y-o-y despite the number of transactions increasing by 25%; The market size is expected to reach $35 billion by 2025, ranking third in SEA. Vietnam News

Singapore’s Temasek, ABC World Asia join Australian startup v2food’s $55M Series B: V2food will use the Series B funds to complete its production facility in Wodonga, Victoria, as well as to expand its team and to take its products into new markets; The plant-based meat company’s goal is to build “version two of meat” using legume-derived protein to create a product that looks, tastes, and cooks like minced meat. AFN

Traveloka to break even in 2021 if sector recovers to 50% of pre-COVID-19 levels by year-end; The OTA’s backerEast Ventures claims Traveloka has seen its revenue regain ~ 80-90% of the pre-pandemic number in Vietnam, ~50% in Thailand, ~10-15% in Indonesia; In late July, it raised US$250M funding. DealStreetAsia

Singapore’s TurtleTree Labs wins Entrepreneurship World Cup, US$500K cash prize; TurtleTree, the first biotech company to develop cell-based milk, competed against 175K entrants from over 200 countries; Beyond cultivated dairy milk, the company is one of the first in the world to create high-value, nutritionally matched lab-grown human breast milk for infants as well. GreenQueen.UK

Plant-based egg producer Eat Just to build a factory in Singapore; The US firm has partnered with a consortium led by Proterra Investment Partners  to build the plant-based protein production facility; The consortium will invest up to US$100M and Eat Just will invest up to US$20M to build and operate the factory. Channel News Asia

Singapore’s Propseller raises US$1.2M seed funding; Investors include Iterative, Hustle Fund, XA Network, Rapzo Capital, Lazada co-founder Stein Jakob; Propseller combines the use of an online platform with in-house, salaried property agents to help ease property sales and rent for its customers. e27

SEA wants to love wind energy but shouldn’t bank on it; A realistic scenario is for each country to pick a mix of renewable energy sources combined with grid infrastructure reinforcements and technological innovation that keep pace with their energy needs, geographical strengths and cost concerns. Channel News Asia

How SGInnovate plans to further support the deep tech ecosystem; Its mission is to pave the way for the next generation of ‘Creatives’, ‘Teslas’, and ‘SpaceXs’, says CEO Dr Lim Jui; Singapore has all the key ingredients of success for deep tech growth – a strong education system, a robust pool of scientific and technical talent and thought leadership in medicine, finance and engineering, he says. e27

Pitching from home: How to get investors’ attention in a virtual world; According to Golden Gate’s Vinnie Lauria, to make an online pitch engaging and conversational, it has to be kept short, sweet and paused to check in after every major point; Founders should think of pitching as a play of seven acts — market, problem, solution, product, traction, revenue model and team. e27

GFC-backed Klikdaily plans to launch IPO in 3 years; It is a one-stop solution for traditional mom ‘n’ pop stores to get various products from multiple brands with a competitive price; In May, Klikdaily secured Series A led by Global Founders Capital; Its business claims to have grown more than 900% between Jan 2019 and Sep 2020. e27

20 Indonesian startups selected for Startup Studio’s new batch; It is an accelerator programme run by the Indonesian Ministry of Communications and Informatics; Startup Studio said that it has received 668 applicants from 32 provinces in Indonesia. e27

Inside the changing landscape of Asian cryptocurrency exchanges; Asia has always been the most active and important region for the industry, as deep-rooted technology and gaming prowess create a natural fit for digital currencies; This has led to many exchanges, service providers, and ancillary companies being set up in Korea, Hong Kong, Thailand, Japan, and other top markets. e27

Clean energy in Malaysia: Opportunity amidst uncertainty; Big players who see potential in clean energy are jumping on the bandwagon, as they see the possibility that it could one day replace traditional oil and gas; National oil company Petronas is already pivoting to clean energy after it posted a US$5B loss due to weak oil prices. e27

How to build organisational resilience; Organisations need to embrace changes such as digitalisation and evolving customer behaviour and preferences, develop early warning systems and reporting processes; They should make it compulsory for all functions across the organisation to have risk management on their agenda and develop business contingency plans. SGSME

Singapore organisations adopt AI, ML amid COVID-19-induced uncertainties; They are embracing AI and ML at a much faster pace than their international peers, with 78% of organisations already using AI to cope with today’s marketplace unpredictability while 79% are leveraging ML. Fintech News

How Singapore builds tech so quickly; Its steady investments over the years in digital was a key factor; Singapore also has a common repository of tech tools that agencies can use to build their own digital services; The city-state also set up Smart Nation and Digital Government Office (SNDGO) to cut across several ministries, as “digital projects are by nature multi-disciplinary. Gov Insider

B2B fintech startups descend on Singapore; Their number increases by 70% over the past year to more than 1K; There were only 50 fintech companies in Singapore 5 years ago, but the number has jumped, with 400 emerging just in the past year, according to MAS. Nikkei Asia Review

Kasikorn Line unveils social banking platform Line BK; It allows customers to save/transfer money and apply for/avail personal loans, and aims to tap underbanked and unbanked users as the first social banking service in Thailand; Line has 47M users in the country whose average time spent per day on the platform is 63 minutes; KBank has 16.5M users, 13M of whom use the K Plus app. Bangkok Post

MDEC launches digital skills training directory to assist job seekers in Malaysia; The directory will act as a guide for Malaysians in selecting digital courses that meet their career needs; About 173 courses and certifications offered by 43 training partners on the directory have been reviewed and endorsed by a panel of digital industry experts. Malay Mail

Malaysia’s Astral Asia to diversify into e-commerce business; It will invest US$120K to set up website, build storage equipment, for inventory and marketing cost; The diversification provides an opportunity for the company to venture into the e-commerce business and diversify its earnings base by providing an additional income stream, thus reducing dependency on its existing businesses. Bernama

Luring tourists here with 3D models of Singapore icons; Prospective tourists will soon be able to view 3D models of the likes of Merlion from their living room, as part of an AR push by the Tourism Board (STB); It’s working with the National Heritage Board to create 1K 3D models of cultural and heritage items, among other things, that can be viewed through a user’s phone camera. The Straits Times

MaGIC, MDEC, Microsoft launch the ‘Highway to a 100 Unicorns’ initiative; Top startups from Malaysia will stand to gain from a year-long mentorship programme, access to enterprise clients, engagement opportunities with Microsoft experts and industry leaders; This is in line with the goals to develop a sustainable startup and social enterprise ecosystem in the country. Digital News Asia

Thailand’s plant-based meat startup battle intensifies as the annual Vegetarian Festival kicks in; There are 3 notable homegrown startups in this segment — Meat Avatar, More Meat and Let’s Plant Meat. Major supermarkets are displaying local animal-free meat brands alongside imports and now the locals just took over the majority of the shelf space. e27

—

Image Credit: Unsplash

The post Ecosystem Roundup: Vietnam’s e-commerce forecast to grow 20% in Q4; Traveloka looks to break even in 2021 appeared first on e27.

 

ProfitBoard Ventures, an investment arm of tax and legal firm Taxmantra Global (TMG), has launched a US$100 million fund to back tech startups based in Southeast Asia and India.

Headquartered in Singapore, the newly-created fund will assist early- and growth-stage startups specifically in getting fundraising from its network of investors.

Also Read: Travis Kalanick to launch venture fund; targeting India, China

“Inadequate capital is the number one roadblock on the path to scale from the idea stage. This is where ProfitBoard Ventures will offer quality capital and much required hand-holding to early and growth-stage founders. Our medium-term 3-year goal is to nurture 100-plus startups from India and Southeast Asia,” Managing partner Alok Patnia said.

In order to be considered for funding, startups can directly approach ProfitBoard and share their business models/plans. The proposal will then be reviewed by its advisory board after which selected startups can pitch their businesses to the ProfitBoard Consortium of global investors in a Virtual Hot Pitch.

Investors can also join the consortium by signing up via TMG’s website.

According to ProfitBoard, the shift towards digitisation and remote working, will highly benefit startups in the deep-tech, edutech, health-tech and AI/ML sectors.

With a presence in India, Singapore and the US, TMG is primarily engaged in helping companies in setting up their business and assisting with cross-border tax and legal compliance with fundraising.

Also Read: Singapore venture builder Hatcher announces US$100M venture fund

It claims to have assisted in more than 100 deals in the last three years, which has translated to a total of US$180 million in funding for its existing portfolio of startups.

Its portfolio include food delivery platform Swiggy, AI-powered chatbot niki.ai, full-stack OKR platform Fitbots.

—

Image Credit: Unsplash

The post ProfitBoard Ventures launches US$100M fund to back early, growth-stage startups in SEA appeared first on e27.

Crypto startup Bonded raises US$2.25M

The story: Singapore- and Australia-based Bonded, a fintech platform that deploys Decentralised Finance (DeFi) financial instruments which endeavour to leverage dormant capital, has closed US$2.25 million in its first round of funding.

Investors: AAM, Spark Digital Capital, Blackedge, and Rarestone Capital.

About Bonded: Bonded Finance is a blockchain-based platform dedicated to creating and supporting innovative financial products made possible only by decentralised technology.

Currently, the overwhelming majority of crypto lending is transacted with BTC, ETH, and stablecoins. Bonded has identified nearly US$50 billion locked up in altcoins that remain unserved and is creating an array of financial instruments to access these virtually stranded assets so users may lend altcoins, access lines of credit, as well as bundle assets and participate in risk mitigated indices.

Bonded’s contributors include a mix of venture funds, blockchain entrepreneurs, and prominent crypto community leaders.

Vinasun lays off employees after reporting first loss in 12 years

The story: Vietnam’s online taxi booking company Vinasun has let go of 1,300 employees to cut costs in a recent restructuring attempt, according to Vnexpress.

The story comes after the company posted its first annual loss in 12 years due to the pandemic impact.

Also Read: Compassionate layoff; Airbnb shows the way

More about the story: The management told the publication that “they expect the recovery process to be slow due to a lack of foreign visitors. After Vietnam closed its borders and stopped international flights in March,”.

Adzymic expands into Thailand, Japan and Hong Kong

The story: Singapore-based adtech company Adzymic has expanded into Thailand, Japan and Hong Kong, according to a press statement. The news comes after the company’s recent expansion in India earlier this year.

More about the story: Along with the official expansion, the adtech company has named Spikebrand as its agency partner for Thailand; Maadtech Global for Thailand and Hong Kong; and Atlas Associates for Japan.

Some of the brands it has worked with include DBS, Harvey Norman, Daimler, Pan Pacific, Sony Pictures, Toyota and Esplanade Singapore.

About Adzymic: It is a platform that helps advertisers and agencies transform display advertising into personalised content ads like digital banners, carousel ads, social display, and more vertical videos without the need for design and coding expertise.

—

Image Credit: Unsplash

The post In brief: Crypto startup Bonded raises US$2.25M; Vinasun lays off employees appeared first on e27.

In many countries in Southeast Asia (SEA), sexual health remains a topic that is discussed in secret –if it were ever being discussed at all.

This becomes a concern as many reports have linked the lack of access to sexual health education and treatment as a cause of many problems in the society, such as the spread of HIV/AIDS and unwanted pregnancies. In fact, according to Dr Maria Tanyag in an article published by the Australian Institute of International Affairs, there is even a link between sexual health and reproductive issues with regional security.

It is mind-boggling to realise the impact of an issue that we do not even talk about. But the good news is that many organisations and individuals in the region have decided to take action on the matter, with some of them using technology as a platform for their cause.

In this article, we compile a convenient list of Singapore-based startups that are working to provide greater access to sexual healthcare:

Ease

Launched in May, Ease is an online platform that enables users to purchase birth control pills and other contraception in a discreet and convenient manner. The platform also includes a telemedicine service that enables users to consult a medical professional.

As with many innovative startups, the founding of the company was inspired by the co-founders’ own experience, who had faced stigma or barriers when trying to access sexual and reproductive health services in Singapore. These experiences range from the long queue to uncomfortable encounters at the clinic.

“These experiences made us realise the significant barriers to accessing sexual and reproductive health services in Singapore and in Asia that exist due to prevailing cultural norms and an existing infrastructure which still relies on face to face consultations at clinics. As a result, people often do not get the help they need due to the stigma, time and cost involved,” Ease co-founder Rio Hoe explains in an email to e27.

“We realised that with technology, we could break down these barriers and revolutionise the ways in which these healthcare services are provided, such that users can conveniently and discreetly access these services from the comfort of their home,” he continues.

With their background in social activism, Hoe and co-founder Guadalupe Lazaro learned that in order to empower users, having access to medical services alone is not enough. Users also need a judgement-free space and community to share their experience and learn about sexual and reproductive health from experts, and this is something that Ease aims to provide.

Also Read: Inspired by the lack of reproductive health awareness in Myanmar, Myhealthcare allows patients to chat with doctors

The company said that it currently has over 5,800 members on its platform and is growing at 15 per cent rate each week, mostly organically. It is currently run a by a team of six and is funded through bootstrapping; Hoe writes that Ease is currently looking for new funding to support the next stage of their growth.

As their next steps, Ease wants to introduce other range of products and services such as at-home testing.

Ferne Health

Next, we have Ferne Health, a women-focused online sexual health platform that offers home-based self-test kits that screen for cervical cancer and common sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Launched in September, the platform enables users to get test kits delivered to their discreetly. It also provides telemedicine consultation by appointment and a blog for educational purposes.

“From our initial research, we found that while a lot of people are worried about their sexual health, they find it difficult to learn more about sexual health topics, given the wide range of information online,” Xi Liu, the founder and CEO of Ferne Health, responds to questions by e27.

“As such, in addition to increasing the accessibility and reducing the stigma of STI screening services, we aim to be a knowledge hub to bring credible sexual health information which educates and inspires people to bring sexual health to the forefront. My greatest hope is for Ferne Health to be a key driver in transforming sexual health and empowering women to take charge of their sexual health.”

Currently operating in Singapore, Ferne Health plans to expand to neighbouring SEA countries such as Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia in 2021.

“In addition to screening kits, we are also exploring providing educational content on sexual health in these countries. One area I am looking at is developing and strengthening sexual education in schools. From our research, a lack of awareness is the key reason for poor sexual health care. We hope to break the taboo surrounding sexual healthcare and provide the resources for people to better understand their bodies,” Xi Liu explains.

The startup is currently run by bootstrapping.

Also Read: Why sexual wellness is the next frontier for entrepreneurs

Noah

While the first two startups have a stronger focus on women as their target audience, Noah covers topics related to men’s health that are considered sensitive: erectile dysfunction (ED), premature ejaculation, and hair loss. The platform was built based on the founders’ understanding of the difficulties that patients have to go through to seek treatment, from the embarrassment to the cost.

“We didn’t start Noah because we like going to the doctors,” says Sean Low, Noah co-founder. “Quite the opposite.”

Noah received its first patients in June this year; the platform only took six weeks to develop.

“In wanting to bring accessible healthcare to all men in Singapore, we created a simple three-step process for them to get the help they need. And unlike traditional providers, where patients are charged for both the consultation and medicine, there is only one charge on Noah. Noah members only pay for their medication if prescribed. If in any event that our doctors do not prescribe, they do not pay a single cent at all,” Low elaborated.

In the beginning, Noah acquires its users through digital channels, but it is looking forward to experimenting with offline channels. It has also gained traction through word-of-mouth.

“This is a testament to our outstanding Patient Support team. We try to be as present as possible for our patients and if it means answering questions about ED treatment at 3 AM, then so be it,” Low says, adding that this is something that has actually happened.

Noah says that it has grown 50 per cent month-on-month with its patient count in the thousands. It also said that 73 per cent of the patients are first-time patients for such treatment.

Run by a team of eight, the startup has recently closed pre-seed funding round; the funding was used to support user acquisition and scale operations. It is also looking to bring a full-stack development onboard.

In the next year, Noah wants to continue on building its existing services while expanding to other product categories.

“Just like our patients, our growth is only just beginning,” Low closes.

The post Breaking the taboo: Meet the Singapore-based startups that are working to provide access to sexual healthcare appeared first on e27.