iMedia, an integrated digital media group in Malaysia, today announced it has acquired a 90 per cent stake in BeautifulNara, a Malay language portal.

This deal marks the fourth acquisition by the group within the last three months.

Also Read: Media buys controlling stake in Goody25’s Malaysian parent

With BeautifulNara joining OhMedia, Ittify and Goody25 in the group, the combined network will have a reach of over 13 million Malaysians, the company claimed.

As part of the acquisition, iMedia has signed an exclusive advertising representation agreement (EARA) with Nara Media, which will be responsible for the acceleration of revenue across websites.

In addition, it will build its content marketing business and introduce social selling as a new revenue platform.

Led by CEO Shahzeeq, BeautifulNara will continue to work closely with iMedia to focus on the overall expansion of its websites, including affiliated pages such as Amazing Nara, covering trending daily news and Kimchi Daily,  featuring all things KPOP. Together, they hope to build a larger community of Malay speaking audience and social media influencers.

Voon Tze Khay, CEO and Co-founder of iMedia, said: “This acquisition will further strengthen the company’s dominant position in the Malay language content network in Malaysia and our reach to the overall Malay urban youth speaking online community.”

“We will continue to build upon the revenue potential in sponsored content and video advertising that is in line with the rapid growth in the region’s overall digital advertising spend. We see this as an opportunity for a sustainable solution to generate greater revenue,” Tze Khay added.

Also Read: How Southeast Asia is becoming an entertainment capital of the world

Launched in 2013, BeautifulNara primarily focuses on the latest news in the local entertainment and lifestyle scene, as well as the trendiest stories on celebrities, fashion and travel.

The portal has social following of over 1.2 million followers on Facebook and Instagram combined, and recorded an average of 9.6 million page views and 1 million users per month.

In September, iMedia acquired a controlling stake in Goody Technologies, which runs the internet properties Goody25 and GoodyMY. This came just a few days after REV Asia signed an agreement to acquire iMedia

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Image Credit: iMedia

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Indonesian travel tech company Tiket records spike in sales despite pandemic

The story: Indonesian online travel agency (OTA) Tiket announced that it has recorded a skyrocketing spike in flight ticket sales in Q3 2020, despite pandemic hit. It further claims that the increase is three times more in comparison to Q2 2020.

“The positive trajectory of anchoring sectors such as transportation and accommodation becomes the benchmark in monitoring the current recovery condition. With skyrocketing transactions and numbers of users on the app, as well as the declining trend of refunds and reschedules, we are primed to assist all travelling and holiday needs from our fellow Indonesians,” said Gaery Undarsa, co-founder of Tiket.

Future plans: In Q4 2020, Tiket will leverage domestic destinations’ promotion in an attempt to revive Indonesia’s tourism industry and to contribute to the nation’s economy. It will also offer clients discounted packages as it expects demands to grow during the holiday season.

India’s Fedo raises US$1M to help insurers predict health risks of clients

The story: Bangalore-based insurtech platform Fedo has raised US$1M in a pre Series A funding round.

Investors: Mumbai-based early-stage VC Unicorn India Ventures (lead), SEA fund, Ashish Mehrotra (Former CEO, Max Bupa)

About Fedo: Fedo’s AI allows insurers to onboard, track and manage product portfolios of their clients. It helps insurers to enhance sales, reduce costs and enrich the quality of their portfolio using data.

More about the story: Other than helping insurers Fedo has also partnered with health departments of local governments in and outside of India to help support population risk predictions.

Also Read: Traveloka confirms US$250M fundraise, admits historic drop in biz activity due to COVID-19

Due to the current COVID-19 crisis, there is a rise in awareness of insurance products which has resulted in an increase in demand for good insurance policies.

“Our vision is to offer AI-backed solutions to insurance providers, which enables early identification of potential health risks by using non-invasive methods thereby reducing out of pocket expenditures of individuals and making insurance accessible, affordable and personalised,” said Prasanth Madavana, co-founder of Fedo.

CapBay acquires Kenanga to create Malaysia’s Islamic Supply Chain Finance fintech

The story: CapBay has acquired a 49 per cent stake into Kenanga Capital Islamic Sdn Bhd (KCI), a subsidiary of Kenanga Investment Bank Berhad (KIBB), forming a joint venture to create Malaysia’s Islamic Supply Chain Finance fintech.

The reason: The acquisition will allow both the companies to establish a seamless digital platform by leveraging on CapBay’s strong technological expertise. The goal is to allow SMEs to have access to quick and affordable financing.

“We have always been committed to offering our customers the solutions they need to advance the growth of Malaysian businesses of all sizes. I am confident that this partnership with KIBB will allow us to grow as an organization and better serve our customers as we invest in our infrastructure and service offering,” said Ang Xing Xian, co-founder of CapBay and CEO of KCI.

The partnership is expected to support underserved SMEs that are estimated to grow five folds from its current amount.

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Image Credit: Unsplash

 

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By now, we all know how COVID-19 has battered the industry and ecosystem globally — with offline tech events among the casualties. To this end, major event organisers had to either cancel, postpone indefinitely, or move their event to the virtual realm.

While these key overseas startup events saw changes in response to the pandemic — especially in terms of the initial dates set — one rising conference in South Korea has kept things according to the original plan while removing the element of offline gathering. From the timeline, to the experienced lineup of speakers and investors, to the agenda and various side events, COMEUP 2020 has been moving ahead at full speed with its entire programme unscatched.

Also read: Cashflow and financing: what companies need to know

The organising committee has made this possible by establishing a clear identity for the event and setting a global standard model (at the onset of the pandemic) with their thorough preparations as an online-oriented event.

Launched in 2019, COMEUP serves to promote the Korean startup ecosystem at home and abroad, while also embracing innovation from international startups. That year, the conference welcomed over 21,000 attendees from 60 countries, with more than 4,900 startups and 650 VCs in participation. Even though it’s only in its second year, the event has seen a rapid growth in interest from foreign startups and stakeholders. Not surprisingly, considering the force behind its organising committee: their local government via the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the Korea Institute of Startup and Entrepreneurship Development (KISED), and the private startup ecosystem.

A locally initiated gathering for the global audience

Spread across three days, the event’s virtual platform will hold keynote speeches, panel discussions, exhibitions, networking events, and other startup-exclusive events. Each component in the agenda aligns with the theme, “Meet the Future – Post Pandemic” and will explore how startups everywhere will solve and overcome the global challenges.

This year, there will be over 100 subject matter experts who will cover 12 sessions on topics critical to startups today: K-Quarantine, Policy, Digital Healthcare, Environment, Open Innovation, AI & Robots, Telecommuting, Manufacturing, Commerce, and Education. The sessions are based on three focus areas: Social System, Work, and Life.

Also read: How interns with innovative skills can help bolster the workforce

Among the line-up of speakers are well-known global lecturers, such as Co-Founder and CTO of IONQ, Professor Kim Jungsang of Duke University, CEO of Kurly, Kim Seulah, and professor Henry Chesbrough of UC Berkeley, known for his contributions in open innovation.

Participating in the K-Quarantine sessions are Chun Jongyoon, CEO of Seegene. Seegene is the manufacturer of COVID-19 test kits and widely regarded as an exemplary company of K-Quarantine. Joining him is Kim Jinyong from Incheon Medical Center, Division of Infectious Diseases, the office that established global standards with its “drive-through testing”.

Investor networking and business matching

Selected startup participants will have the opportunity to network with the 90 plus investors joining the virtual event, such as Albert Shyy, Managing Director at Burda Principal Investment, Andreas Surya, Principal at Kejora Ventures, and more. Corporate partners will also be joining the event, so startups will

K-Startup Grand Challenge 2020: COMEUP Stars

The three-day gathering will not be complete without the special events geared towards startups. A few months ago, the COMEUP organisers opened the global call for startup applications for an opportunity to pitch their innovation at the event. From over 1,000 applications received during the call for applications, 120 startups made it to the “COMEUP Stars” roster — 59 of which are from South Korea.

These COMEUP Stars are provided with support for production of their corporate promotional videos and online booths, as well as opportunities to make promotional pitches to the investors participating in the event.

Online booths and other exciting features on a powerful platform

The COMEUP homepage will be structured to showcase and stream all the programmes, such as the main conference and the rest of the events. Additionally, the IR pages and corporate overview pages of the COMEUP Stars will be visible, so anybody can access their information.

The excitement doesn’t end there. Online booths will also be built so investors can login and view the corporate information of these startups and make business matching requests. This feature will enable real-time matching of startups, investors, and buyers, and host one-on-one counseling sessions.

Also read: Why innovations in the air traffic space remain a priority for a more resilient future

The platform itself was designed to present a lively atmosphere by implementing Virtual Showrooms that utilise VR technology in the homepage so the users will feel as if they are participating in an offline event hall.

Minister Park Young-sun from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups has great hopes about the event’s direction moving forward, saying, “COMEUP 2020 consistently hosts online events despite the difficulties presented by the COVID-19 crisis and I wish the event creates a lot of interest and participation from all involved.”

COMEUP 2020 is happening virtually from November 19 to 21, 2020. For more information and to sign up to the exciting event, click here.

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Malaysian edutech company AOne announced today it has secured RM2 million (US$500,000) in a seed funding round, led by regional VC Wavemaker Partners.

This comes barley seven months after the startup received a funding from ScaleUp Ventures Malaysia and a MYR300,000 (~US$75,000) grant from Cradle Fund.

Founded in 2015 by Dr. Darren Gouk, AOne is an edutech solution that brings together a B2C marketplace and B2B backend management software for all kinds of local enrichment lessons across Southeast Asia.

Also Read: Why edutech is becoming an investor favourite this season

Its key product, AOneSchools, helps enrichment centres like tuition schools, kindergartens and enrichment academies to manage their administrative workflow.

On top of it, AOne also provides a B2C online marketplace for local classes that connects students with education providers near them.

The venture was originally designed as an online marketplace for local classes. As its client base expanded, it learned about the struggles of education centre owners with managing their operational workflow. Determined to help them, the team developed and launched AOneSchools, a management software that facilitates student enrolment, class scheduling and fee tracking for educators, in 2018.

Currently, AOne serves 800-plus enrichment centres, managing over 50,000 lessons and more than 100,000 learners and educators across multiple cities, with the majority of them located in Malaysia and Singapore.

At present, it serves educators in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Hong Kong, and Macau.

In the next 12 to15 months, the company plans to use the funds to drive market expansion across Southeast Asia, as well as enhance its current product offerings in education sector.

Also Read: Wavemaker exceeds initial target to close its third SEA fund at US$111M

AOne’s vision is to create a super-app in education, starting from a B2C lesson marketplace, a B2B backend management system, and an automated payment solution for educators all across Southeast Asia.

“Darren, who has the experience in running three mathematics centres, has built AOne with a firm understanding of what education centres, parents and their children need,” said Gavin Lee, General Partner of Wavemaker.

“This is powerfully reflected in the fact that AOne is a dual-sided solution that not only reduces manual work in education centres, but also allows parents themselves to manage their children’s schedules and payments. They’ve grown despite the pandemic and have happy clients in Singapore such as The Collective Knowledge, Frankel Tutors, My Chinese Steps etc.”

Also Read: Startup of the Month, November: Malaysian platform for verified part-timers GoGet

Since 2012, Wavemaker has backed 136 firms, of which 116 are in enterprise and deep-tech. Its portfolio includes startups in software, AI and cybersecurity as well as precision agriculture, cleantech, additive manufacturing and laser communications.

In June this year, Wavemaker hit the final close of its third Southeast Asia fund at US$111 million, exceeding its initial target of US$100 million.

It also has some exits to its name, including Indonesian mobile point-of-sale system Moka (acquired by Gojek), cloud communications software company Wavecell (acquired by 8×8) and regional payments solutions provider Red Dot Payment (acquired by PayU/Naspers).

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Image Credit: AOne

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Singapore-based Beamstart, the company behind global entrepreneurial platform and resource database beamstart.com, is launching a US$10 million digital accelerator fund for Southeast Asia.

The fund, which will be launched in several weeks and begin deploying capital as early as Q2 2021, will focus on investing in technology startups in their earliest stages.

The firm will be spearheaded by co-founders Kenneth Ho and Wallace Ho (not related), along with a financial services partner from Singapore.

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

Limited Partners for the fund will include high-net-worth individuals and family offices from China, Japan and Indonesia.

While investments will predominantly be sector-agnostic, Beamstart looks to invest in experienced teams focusing on tackling cross-border digital-related solutions in emerging markets with potential synergies to partner with China/Japan/US corporates.

Beamstart, arguably the first-ever digital accelerator in Southeast Asia, will enable startups to apply for funding and receive full support virtually by leveraging on its vast network of digital news/media platforms, business resources, technologies and investment/talent partners.

Also Read: The proliferation of 5G will transform businesses and societies: Here’s how

The fund will invest in startups mainly at the pre-seed/accelerator to late-seed stages where startups are believed to have the least support in the region.

Cheque sizes will be up to US$100,000 per company.

Founded in 2016, Beamstart is a business social network and resource database with a mission of supporting entrepreneurs by connecting them to clients, funding and talent.

The company has supported many startups across Southeast Asia either in the form of fundraising, market access or digitalisation. It has also grown its investor community to over 10,000 angel investors, VC/PE firms, and corporate partners in the region.

Kenneth and Wallace believe that there is massive opportunity to invest in technology startups today in heavily populated emerging markets such as Southeast Asia, particularly with the rise of China, the pandemic’s after-effects, the emergence of 5G, rising ‘individualism’ among Gen-Z, and the exponential growth of mobile-internet usage.

“We believe there is tremendous potential in backing the next generation of companies in this part of the world, where early-stage startups lack lots of support. With some capital, lots of backing and leveraging on the power of technology, we believe many of these startups could rise to phenomenal heights,” said Director Kenneth Ho.

Also Read: East Ventures forms new US$88M seed fund for startups weathering COVID-19, announces first close

“We also believe that the rise of China, coupled with COVID-19’s after-effects, has created a whole new digital-first world where consumer behaviour, working patterns, and mobile usage have changed forever. It is the best time to create value that has synergy with technology giants in countries like China, Japan, and The US,” he mentioned.

Las month, AngelList’s India CEO Utsav Somani and its former top executive Wing Vasiksiri came together to launch a new micro-fund, called iSeed SEA, targeting tech startups in Southeast Asia.

iSeed SEA counts a clutch of renowned investors and entrepreneurs among its backers, including Naval Ravikant (Founder & Chairman of AngelList), Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal (Co-founders of Snapdeal), and Jonathan Swanson (Founder & Chairman of Thumbtack).

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Image Credit: Beamstart

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Singapore-based startup accelerator-cum-VC fund, Accelerating Asia (AA), is working on a “larger” fund to support the startups in its cohorts.

The firm, which has already raised the initial cheque, plans to launch the fund as early as Q1 2021.

“We already have a Monetary Authority of Singapore-licensed fund worth US$10-million vehicle to invest in the first two cohorts,” Co-founder and General Partner Craig Dixon said in an interview with e27.

“We’re going to be launching a larger fund in Q1 of 2021, which is purely to invest in our cohort companies,” he added.

Although the exact size is yet to be determined, the new investment vehicle will be “substantially larger”, probably in the range of US$20-50 million.

Also Read: Accelerating Asia announces 8 startups selected for its third cohort

AA expects its current Limited Partners to invest in the new fund. However, since the target size is much larger, it has opened up the doors to larger institutional investors and is having conversations with some institutions.

“The first fund was mainly funded by individual LPs and family offices, whereas the second fund will have a much larger stake taken up by institutional investors,” Dixon disclosed.

According to him, AA has the option to invest more during the cohort and then it has its standard pro-rata to participate in follow-on rounds.

“So the larger fund will probably have more money dedicated towards further pro-rata and the follow-on rounds, whereas the first fund was mainly around those initial investment cheques and the short-term financing needs of our startups,” he added.

On being asked about AA’s expansion plans, Dixon said that AA is expanding into new geographies in Asia, including India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

It is currently in the process of forming partnerships with some Indian investors, and already has tie-ups with several entities in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Also Read: Beamstart launching US$10M early-stage fund to back cross-border digital-related solutions in SEA

“Sri Lanka is interesting because it has a lot of similarities with Bangladesh. There is a lot of old industrial base that’s ripe for digitalisation,” he said.

The island country has started seeing investors such as Sequoia, and some other VCs also have started sniffing around. There is also a lot of business owners with capital.

“Lanka, like Bangladesh and Indonesia, also has a new generation of people who run family businesses that are looking to make their mark by investing in innovation and new product lines,” he continued.

“There is also a lot of government support for the startup ecosystem in Sri Lanka (it was through the government support that Singapore became number one in the region). So there’s a lot of dynamics that point positively towards good things coming out of Sri Lanka’s ecosystem. And we’ve had a good experience with that so far,” he said.

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Image Credit: Accelerating Asia

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SOSV, KISED to help Korean AI startups expand globally

The story: SOSV, an accelerator for mobile-first markets in Southeast Asia and South Asia, has partnered with Korea Institute of Start-up and Entrepreneurship Development (KISED) to help the country’s startups expand globally.

More details: SOSV, through its Asia-based accelerators — Chinaccelerator and MOX — will bring its cross-border expertise to the Global Startup Academy (GSA) programme, alongside 500 Startups, Plug&Play and Startup Bootcamp.

GSA is helping 60 Korean startups increase their footprint in Southeast Asia, the US, China, and Europe. Each of the four VC accelerators is working with 15 startups each.

The programme is geared towards bringing more Korean AI-startups to the global arena.

“The Korean government’s effort in initiating a project of such magnitude shows their seriousness and motivation to bring Korean startups to the global stage and we are happy to be a part of this initiative. The AI startups in the program have huge potential in terms of bringing more innovative solutions across different markets globally,” said William Bao Bean, SOSV General Partner.

Pomelo launches new app as part of its rebranding initiative

The story: Pomelo, one of Southeast Asia’s leading fashion e-tailers, has announced the official launch of its new app as part of its rebranding initiative.

The objective: Pomelo intends to transition from brand to a fashion and lifestyle platform

Also Read: How Pomelo tackles the problem of high product return with its O2O retail experience

More about the story: The app will include Pomelo’s new logo along with its latest omnichannel features, like live streaming.  The company has also expressed its plans to expand brand selection across other Southeast Asian regions in 2021.

FreshToHome scores US$121M Series C

The story: Bangalore-based FreshToHome has raised US$121 million in a Series C funding round, according to TechCrunch.

Investors: Investment Corp. of Dubai (ICD), the principal investment arm of the government of Dubai (lead), Investcorp, Ascent Capital, US International Development Finance Corp. (DFC) and Allana

About FreshToHome: An e-commerce startup that sells fresh vegetables, fish, chicken and other kinds of meat. Through its app, the company can directly negotiate with local fishermen and farmers for their produce instead of selling via middlemen.

Also Read: Startup of the Month, November: Malaysian platform for verified part-timers GoGet

What sets it apart from other similar companies is that it does not add any preservatives or chemicals to increase the life of its produce, unlike most retail stores.

It currently claims to have 650,000 customers and receives 14,000 orders per day.

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Image Credit: SOSV

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Logisly, a B2B tech-enabled logistics platform in Indonesia, has secured US$6 million in a Series A financing round, led by Monk’s Hill Ventures.

As per a press note, the startup will use the money to scale its operations in Indonesia by growing its sales and vendor acquisition teams and strengthen its network of shippers and transporters.

Also Read: Andalin raises pre-Series A led by Beenext to expand its B2B logistics solutions in Indonesia

A portion of the funds will also go into product development, which includes providing tools for shippers and transporters to improve their business operations.

Founded in 2019 by Roolin Njotosetiadi and Robbi Baskoro, Logisly is an e-forwarding logistics company that connects shippers with trucking companies from a network of verified corporate carriers. Shippers and trucking providers use the platform as a single point of contact for orders, payment and tech support.

Njotosetiadi said: “We are focused on digitising the logistics industry in Indonesia, which remains largely fragmented. The industry continues to face a plethora of challenges such as fragmented ecosystem players, high logistics costs, manual processes and unreliable drivers and transporters.”

By digitising the truck ordering process, Logisly aims to ease the high cost of logistics in Indonesia by increasing utilisation of trucks and providing more certainty in managing supply chains through a wide network of reliable transport, order transparency and automation.

Since 2019, Logisly has partnered with more than 1,000 businesses across Indonesia. This includes over 300 corporate shippers from various sectors, including fast-moving consumer goods, chemicals, construction, and e-commerce.

Logisly currently serves more than 300 corporate shippers from various sectors, including fast-moving consumer goods, chemicals, construction and e-commerce.

Also Read: 5 reasons to be bullish on logistics tech in Asia

This includes Unilever, JD.ID, Haier, Grab and Maersk, among others. With a network of more than 40,000 trucks, Logisly provides shippers with 100% availability of cost-efficient and reliable trucks to meet the demands of shippers.

The logistics industry is one of the industries that have seen an uptick in growth amidst the COVID-19 crisis. Southeast Asia saw at least four logistics-tech firms raise funding in the last month alone, which included Andalin, a four-year-old logistics startup which works with B2B shippers in Indonesia. Other notable investment deals were Thailand’s Mycloudfulfillment, Singapore’s Tramés, and Thailand’s Flash Express.

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Image Credit: Logisly

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