The Southeast Asian startup ecosystem has been one of the fastest-growing, but it is now threatened by the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to research by Google, Temasek and Bain & Company, the Southeast Asian Internet economy is currently worth a massive US$100 billion (tripling its value over the past four years) and is expected to be worth $US300 billion by 2025; while the focus on startups in SEA has generally been on early-stage startups, the number of matured startups continue to grow, with many going on to achieve Unicorn status; these include startups such as Singapore’s ride-hailing platform Grab, Indonesian ride-hailing platform Go-Jek, Vietnam’s online gaming and e-commerce platform VNG, and the Philippines’ prefabricated home company Revolution Precrafted.

COVID-19 infections in Southeast Asia are rapidly growing, and the chart of the current outbreak is similar to what we’ve seen in other COVID-19 hotspots; experts are predicting that Southeast Asia could be the coronavirus outbreak’s next hotspot.

Not only could this fact threaten the Southeast Asian economy, but it poses serious threats to the region’s rapidly growing startup economy. So far, governments across the region have started to take steps to curtail the spread of the coronavirus, and these steps are already threatening the business model of the region’s most successful startups.

This significantly threatens the business model of one of the country’s most successful startups, Grab. The Philippines is also currently on a lockdown which it’s the president has publicly admitted there is no end in sight to — this is also certain to affect the business model and growth of the country’s ride-hailing startup Go-Jek, despite recently securing funding of about US$1.2 billion during the pandemic.

Southeast Asian startups have been coping in so many ways. They’ve made several moves including pivoting service and product offerings (for example, Singapore’s ComfortDelGro is making its taxi drivers deliver meals and groceries) and by being frugal when it comes to spending. More notable, however, is the compulsory shift towards remote work — which a lot of startups are unfortunately unprepared for.

Also Read: How gamification is increasing productivity during COVID-19

I believe that besides changes forced by the current COVID-19 circumstances, there are several reasons why SEA startups should move towards having pretty much all their employees work remotely post COVID-19. Here are some of those reasons:

Disruption will force startups to work from home

Southeast Asian startups are no stranger to disruptions that force them to work from home — the latest of which is COVID-19. Just recently, in the Philippines for example, several incidents have prompted startups to work from home before COVID-19; there was the Typhoon Kammuri that forced startups to work from home for a few days in late November, there was the Taal Volcano that forced startups to work from home in early January, and there is the COVID-19 lockdown now.

Whether it is due to natural disasters or pandemic, there will be other occurrences in the future that forces startups to work from home. It is much better, then, to make working remotely part of the culture if possible.

It makes it much easier to attract talent

An advantage Southeast Asia has over many other regions of the world is its huge talent pool. While a lot of other regions are suffering a brain drain when it comes to talent, Southeast Asia continues to see its talent pool — consisting mostly of young and tech-savvy people under 30 — grow.

Unlike a lot of regions, the “Sea Turtle” phenomenon has been coined to describe the eventual return of people who are trained abroad to further their careers in the region. A remote work ecosystem makes it much easier to attract the best of these talents.

It leads to better employee satisfaction

There is a correlation between employee satisfaction and startup growth, and if available data is anything to go by then startups will have more happy employees by embracing remote work.

Also Read: StarFab’s TAIRA accelerator joins forces with Taiwan’s biomedical firms to develop screening platform for COVID-19

Recent research by EngageRocket analysing the response to Singapore’s COVID-19 Circuit Breaker lockdown has found that a whopping 80 per cent of employees wish to continue working from home after the lockdown.

Preventing a productivity crisis

As Southeast Asian startups move towards more remote work, it is essential to also take steps to prevent a remote work-related productivity crisis.

So far, available data shows massive interest in remote work but the associated productivity issues should not be ignored. The EngageRocket study earlier referenced found that 46 per cent of employees report lower productivity and taking more time to achieve the same result as before.

This isn’t necessarily an argument against working remotely but an argument for why remote work systems should be optimised.

There are several ways in which a remote work productivity crisis can be prevented:

Ensure employees have access to the right tools and resources

The push towards remote work this time around was all too sudden for a lot of startups so there hasn’t been enough opportunity to prepare, but going forward an emphasis should be put on the availability of the right tools for remote workers.

EngageRocket’s study found that one of the major reasons for employee’s low productivity during this period is a lack of access to resources and tools they need and had access to in the office.

Also Read: Report: 3 out of 4 major online marketplaces in Vietnam experience traffic drops during COVID-19

It is important to realise that there are several remote collaboration tools and processes, and startups should be able to avail themselves of these; this includes the use of project management software to set goals and keep track of projects, video conferencing apps to ensure regular meetings, and effective tracking systems to ensure progress is being made.

Ensure regular follow-ups and check-ins

Following up regularly and checking on employees is not necessarily due to a lack of trust; instead, it is because you want them to succeed. It is important to realize that one of the major reasons why remote employees suffer low productivity is due to environmental distractions in their new work environment; regularly checking on them while they work remotely pushes them to ensure they achieve results in spite of these distractions.

Integrate a social component into the remote work experience

It is important to understand the loneliness and mental health issues that can come with working remotely; a lot of times, employees who had for long been working in an interactive environment with peers and colleagues are unprepared for having to all of a sudden work alone from home.

This can be addressed by introducing a social component into the remote work experience; this could be a group chat, an employee only forum, or occasionally video conferencing that allows employees and team members to interact with one another and discuss issues beyond work every once in a while.

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COVID-19 is forcing every business to reconsider their strategies and develop more powerful ways to grow. DevX initiated a webinar on the growth opportunities for any business during COVID-19 where startups and businesses could take the opportunity of grabbing knowledge from the industry experts from various domains.

The webinar focused on the important factors for entrepreneurs and early stage startups. Different sectors have been affected due to this pandemic in different ways. The prospective funding opportunities in the changing scenario and various support activities that could help the businesses to maintain their position in the market were the few key points discussed by the speakers.

The event was moderated Faraz Wadhwania, Head of Ops at DevX. He requested everyone to share their experience in terms of how they began their startup and the major struggles faced in their respective industries. Yash Shah, CEO and Co-Founder at Gridle, shared his experience on how they spent years researching and developing the customer life-cycle software. Lalit Aggarwal, Co-Founder at F5, started off by mentioning how they conducted a pilot research study for testing their business model. Sucharita Reddy, Co-founder at MeraCashier, mentioned how the co-founders understood the importance of automation for any business owner through their past experiences thus wanted to create an accounting automation tool for businesses.

During this period, how can young entrepreneurs work on their idea or MVP and kickstart their businesses?

Addressing the question, Yash mentioned that at this point in time, early stage companies should focus on survival rather than focusing on their growth. They should also validate the assumptions behind their business ideas as much as possible. He further mentioned certain factors that would help in growing the business which includes:

• The cost of acquiring the customers or branding has reduced drastically in the market, so the companies can use this opportunity to market their products.
• Position yourself in a way to help your customers grow, understand the situation of crisis, and support them through various activities.

Lastly, he also suggested taking this period as an opportunity to provide a demo of your product/service to your prospective customers which would ultimately help to broaden your funnel as everyone is relatively free at this point of time.

Also Read: Quoting Victor Frankl’s book, Grab CEO urges businesses to stick together during tough times

Should businesses adopt new strategies to improvise or change their product?

On this, Sucharita mentioned that there is no particular formula. It purely depends upon the market and the customer requirements. If a particular company is offering a product that has a synergy with the current situation such as sanitiser manufacturers then it is a great opportunity for them in the market.

Timing and opportunity play a major role in any business. It depends upon the company as to how they want to pivot their business to earn more revenue. She also mentioned that it is not necessary to make revolutionary changes for a small period of revenue or growth. She did, however, recommend getting accustomed to digitalisation, which would be of benefit, especially for the local stores.

How can businesses that have hit hard bounce back?

Discussing this question, Lalit answered that altogether these sectors can be seen very differently. He mentioned that there are many cities where the restrictions will ease off sooner than expected. He also added that consumer preferences and taste are changing and thus the traditional ways may not work any longer.

Instead, they would have to adopt new and modern styles of working patterns. So, the opportunity in these specific sectors can be catered by thinking out of the box. People might travel from one geography to another for work purposes rather than leisure now, so it could benefit those sectors. He concluded by saying that these companies might have to modern up their ways for a broader picture that is soon to come up.

How do you see WFH as a cost-saving strategy for the startups?

As per Yash, large teams would face a little difficult to manage work. So, if we want to monitor the tasks of our teammates, then, first of all we will have to build an internal trust initially. He does believe that productivity and flexibility have improved in a way as compared to when people were working from offices. He pointed out that there are many other benefits like people do not have to pay any miscellaneous costs. Two aspects that need to be considered are:

• Brainstorming ideas, creating content, developing strategies etc. where you need to connect with people and discuss things.
• All the tasks that people need to do on regular basis, are predefined and do not need any discussion process.

Lastly, he concluded by saying that people can overcome this is by developing new ways of connecting with each other to increase their productivity while working from home.

Also Read: A case for businesses leading healthcare digital transformation

How can people leverage the benefits of digital marketing during these times?

Sucharita said that digital marketing has to be the centre of focus during times like these for each and every business out there. She mentioned that companies can use any form of digital marketing method, whether it be SMS, emails, Whatsapp, or Facebook for promoting their business.

She also suggested that companies could connect to their customers via Facebook live sessions and address their queries and concerns. For Sucharita, this is the right time to engage with your customers and make them understand your product. Influencer marketing is one such technique to build trust among people. Lastly, making proper content and placing them to the right customer is very important!

How to keep your operation cycle going with limited cash flow during this situation?

Lalit mentioned how this can be different for both, startups who have raised as well as not raised their funding. Collaborating with different players in the market can be of great help. He mentioned that businesses should focus on increasing the lifecycle value of the customers. Lastly, he said that companies should be well aware as to when they should focus on profitability and when to work on the expansion!

Summing this up, Faraz quickly highlighted the key points of the entire session by our speakers during the webinar as follows:

• The Team should be chosen wisely
• Startups should research well and choose their idea accordingly
• Build a strong MVP and business model that lasts for a longer period of time
• Brainstorming for new ideas while working from home
• Use various digital marketing strategies to grow your business
• Focus on the core of your business and identify the best for your business

On a hopeful note of resuming to the normal lives soon, all the speakers & participants signed off post the conclusion of the entire session. DevX will make sure to engage the community with another engaging discussion on topics affecting us soon.

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Southeast Asia (SEA) is a diverse region that includes 10 countries and is home to over 630 million people. With more than 330 million of the total population being internet users, which is more than the internet users in the USA, SEA is witnessing a mobile and digital revolution.

A report by Google forecasted that between 2015 and 2020, 3.8 million users will get online every month. This would make Southeast Asia the fastest-growing region of internet users in the world. The internet economy is estimated to be worth US$200 billion by 2025.

As compared to other regions whose internet infrastructure is far more developed, in SEA, people rely on the internet on their smartphones to access information, consume entertainment, and upload and share content on social media. More than 90 per cent of Southeast Asians who use smartphones spend 3.6 hours on mobile internet, surpassing everyone else on the planet.

The SEA region, with the fastest-growing disposable income, smartphone ownership, and access to the internet, this region presents an exponential opportunity for global brands to expand their customer base.

Simultaneously, SEA brings along unique challenges for global companies looking to expand their business locally. Although the economic patterns are similar, the people in this region speak different languages, have cultural diversity and diverse consumer preferences. Many users are in the process of getting familiar with online payments and mobile shopping, with internet speeds slower than the global average.

Also Read: 6 tried-and-tested branding tips for your startup

Here are the four things to remember while localising multinational marketing in SEA, for brands wanting to penetrate in this market.

Localise your content

Localising into the regional languages is critical to building a presence in the SEA market. In markets including Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam; English is not the first language, nor widely used. Translating the content into the native languages helps you empathise with your audience, which gives you a competitive advantage over the other players in the market.

Consider localising the content as per the cultural norms of the region. There are cultural differences between SEA and other regions. Each country has a unique set of etiquettes and social habits. Hence, think about localising your website, logo, and visuals making them culturally relevant to that audience.

The popular fast-food brand KFC localises its website, the layout, visuals, and media in every country. The cost of entering a market, with the branding and marketing going wrong is a lot more than not entering it at all. Conduct ample research about the buyers, their cultural and social diversity before launching there.

Localised pricing

As compared to developed markets, the disposable income in SEA is comparatively lower. This means when you localise the pricing in different languages and as per their purchasing power, it helps you connect with your customers. Prospects buy from brands they feel connected to, and hence, you need to package and market your proposition based on the varying needs of each region.

Also Read: 6 simple tips for branding your website

Decode, how much your customer is willing to pay for the service as well as the native currency. Evernote, a productivity app has localised its pricing for every country.

 

Along with pricing the offerings based on the user’s ability to pay, consider the payment gateways commonly used in the regions. For example, in Vietnam, people prefer paying through Moblamo and VTC Pay while transacting online. In Singapore, the most tech-savvy SEA region, the preferred mode of payment is through Mastercard and Visa. Indonesia, with the highest number of internet users in SEA (260 million) prefers paying through Doku Wallet, along with Mastercard and Visa.

The currency type displayed on your website or app affects the customer’s perception of your brand. It is beneficial to charge in local currency instead of in dollars.

Optimise your offerings for the growing markets

Let’s take the example of one of the most successful globally localised fast-food chain McDonald’s. Their offers differ vastly based on local tastes. They iterate their menu to accommodate regional cuisines.

Also Read: Branding basics: 6 steps to an effective e-commerce branding strategy

In a country such as India, where the population is largely vegetarian, they offer vegetarian options such as McRoyale Paneer. In Korea, their menu includes Shrimp Burger Deluxe. The spice levels are also different in every geography. They do not serve beef burgers in India, while in Indonesia their menu does not include pork, thereby respecting the local sentiments.

Every nation has a unique palette, authentic flavours, and culinary preferences that are based on their traditions. What is considered a delicacy in one culture would be inedible in another part of the world.

The downside of ignoring or not understanding cultural connotations leads to offending local consumers. Don’t fall prey to that.

Localising social media

As per a report by Hootsuite, 63 per cent of internet users in Southeast Asia are active on social media. Staggering indeed!

Facebook is so popular in the Philippines, Hong Kong, and Taiwan that they are among the world’s top ten advertising audiences. While Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and WhatsApp are extensively used, SEA has its local networks. Also consider WeChat, Seina Weibo, Naver, Line and Qzone to digitally market your brand in SEA and to provide customer support on the local social media platforms.

One of Asia’s largest ride-hailing company Grab uses separate Twitter accounts for the Philippines and Indonesia. The Indonesian account uses Bahasa Indonesia to communicate with the users. While on the Philippines account you can see tweets in both Filipino and English.

Also Read: How Sorabel was able to push for growth after rebranding

Research about the social networks commonly used in the location you are targeting. You could start building your brand’s presence on the top two of the most popular networks and then expand to the remaining social media. Afterall social proof skyrockets the trust and credibility of the brand.

To support your multicultural marketing campaign, hire native customer support agents, allowing the website visitors to communicate in their native language, through live chat, chatbots, emails, phone calls and social media. You could research the available cloud resources and service providers using GetVoIP. The reviews and ratings on thousands of vendors will help to make the right choice about the business communication solution to opt for.

As economies in Southeast Asia continue to grow, international brands are presented with tremendous opportunities to find new users and boost their revenues in this market. For global brands to nail localized marketing, tailor your offerings, content, pricing and customer support to the geography you want to enter.

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With various businesses operating in a volatile economic environment, technology giants such as Google and Facebook, all the way to smaller local enterprises and multi-generational family businesses are future-proofing themselves in this time of unprecedented turbulence.

Prevailing market pressures have forced legacy companies to relook and evolve their internal business operating systems – the assumptions and protocols underlying how management motivates and applies their human resources – as they seek to build resilience.

With COVID-19 causing tremendous economic loss — JPMorgan estimates lost output at US$5.5 trillion — the cost to developed economies will be similar to past recessions of 2008-2009 and 1974-1975. But there are ways for businesses to survive and even thrive in the aftermath of the current recession; Amazon survived the 2000 dotcom bust and 2008/2009 financial collapse.

Companies that survived these recessions prepared contingencies and reacted defensively. Through navigating reforms in debt, decision making, workforce management, and digital transformation, as well as a healthy cash pile, companies that were sufficiently flexible endured.

How will businesses adapt

To survive this, businesses across sectors are pivoting and innovating, forcing companies to adopt new solutions in the face of market shifts. Young technology enterprises are pivoting and operating with agility, but legacy firms face different challenges.

Legacy companies need to invest in and implement new technologies, given how the younger generation will take over. With industries evolving and the emergence of bionic companies — organisations that meld the capabilities of humans and machines to drive efficiencies and improvements — it comes down to how legacy firms adapt to technological shifts.

Also Read: Why SEA startups should not go back to office post-COVID-19

With companies able to access data that grants unique insights into how their customers interact, granting them the tools to build competitive advantages.

The question is, how do these companies future proof themselves? Key factors include identifying and managing risks; developing and reinforcing brand identity through unique identifiers to be distinct in a large market; adopting new technologies to stay relevant and current; as well as identifying key customer needs.

Fundamentally, legacy companies must adapt to keep up with consumers’ changing behaviour. Agility is an essential trait, not a choice.

Companies that decline to adapt have no insurance they will survive, especially if they refuse to be open to external perspectives nor invest in the new tools required for their business context. Gradually, these firms will be overtaken by more adaptable enterprises.

Venture intelligence platform CB Insights reports that in the manufacturing space, consumer technology brands heavily reliant on Chinese manufacturing, players such as Apple, HP and Microsoft, are anticipating production delays and revenue declines.

For instance, on February 17, Apple warned investors that it did not expect to meet quarterly revenue guidance, partially rooted in reduced Chinese manufacturing output.

Also Read: Lessons from a travel tech startup founder on navigating the pandemic-stricken business landscape

Meanwhile, many luxury brands have experienced reduced first-quarter sales, as Chinese shoppers account for a major percentage of worldwide luxury sales; they account for an estimated 40 per cent of global spending on luxury items, according to Jefferies and the Financial Times.

To adapt, these luxury brands need to explore how to augment and automate their online shopping and delivery experience. These will permit them to remain accessible to their customers.

Organisational responses

Companies are redesigning their products and services, as well as creating new items. This is in response to new market demands as various jurisdictions undergo quarantine periods meant to break infection cycles.

For instance, in the shipment visibility domain, France-based Shippeo provides real-time global shipment visibility to retailers and consumer goods brands. This helps businesses to enhance their accuracy in efficiently managing their inventory amid unexpected delays.

Meanwhile, in the autonomous delivery space, Chinese e-commerce major JD.com has employed autonomous delivery vehicles and drones to distribute goods and supplies while minimising human-to-human contact.

And in the manufacturing sector, the current pandemic is driving automation in warehousing and manufacturing technology. Goods production will be less dependent on physical labour, with technological improvements enhancing robotic dexterity, computer vision.

Also Read: COVID-19 is taking a toll on mental wellness, but this startup wants to provide a Safe Space

The potential for human interaction has also strengthened the robotics business case. Collaborative robots (cobots), which interact with humans in workspaces are seeing increased adoption. Large industrial robot makers like ABB and Kawasaki Industries have released cobots for industrial use, with greater robotification of the production process.

The solutions needed now should not involve removing people from the business equation – human capital is critical to business continuity – but means enterprises must build better systems for people to work remotely, on a part-time basis, or when quarantined. Such systems should be intuitive and simple for workers to use.

Organisations also should not have to spend more capital to invent new systems, as they are already out there.

Those organisations which have not made progress decoupling from legacy systems and rely on them for data and information are also unlikely to survive. Elements of the Singapore governments’ response offers a model for legacy enterprises – it has engaged in testing, travel restrictions and the use of mobile technology to track potential infectees – and managing to minimise it relative to worldwide figures and population density.

Moreover, Singapore’s public sector has established mechanisms for doctors to share information; logistics updates for the private sector and public relations; and tried to restrict social media misinformation.

COVID-19 endgame

Adaptation is a necessity for organisations in this uncertainty. Companies will continue to innovate in a post-COVID world; the economic shock and its losses will force companies to cope with new and complex global realities. COVID-19 is arguably the largest digital disruptor for legacy enterprises.

Those businesses which have centralised business functions or require in-situ staff will face challenges surviving. Mature companies cope through maintaining their large market share and leveraging their bigger investment capabilities, though this entails greater risk. Legacy enterprises often aim to be leaders in adapting to changes, but advances in practices and technology may not propagate management or the businesses’ continuum.

Also Read: StarFab’s TAIRA accelerator joins forces with Taiwan’s biomedical firms to develop screening platform for COVID-19

Work from home (WFH) arrangements require a different management style versus co-located groups, with workplace flexibility and trust in employees vital to new work models. A lack of this means companies will not be successful.

In a period where many staff must WFH – a move that may become integral to businesses in the future – technologies that permit digitalisation and automation of procurement will serve to minimise time-consuming activities in supply chains. Online e-commerce is one automation procurement solution that highlights this.

According to McKinsey, the broad implications for businesses are shifts in the future of work and consumption. New technologies such as e-commerce and remote-working are gaining traction, with new working and shopping practices likely to become a ‘new normal’.

At RS Components, we have been preparing and innovating for a long time, as the majority of the companies that we work with have been online globally for more than 10 years. The solutions we provide to businesses operate in a way that does not compromise their compliance but complements their requirements, meaning we have been improving our platforms regularly to encourage and propel such behaviours.

With the pandemic exposing how dependence on vulnerable nodes in global supply chains is a vulnerability, massive restructuring in production and sourcing will see shifts to be closer to end-users, as well as greater localisations or regionalisation of supply chains.

But for RS Components with its corporate history, which has developed resilience and future-proofed its practices, it’s simply another challenge in a different age.

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Indonesia-based venture capital firm MDI Ventures has appointed Donald Wihardja as its new CEO. He most recently served as the VC Partner at AC Ventures and has played a crucial role as the chief information officer (CIO) in leading companies such as 2C2P, Indomog, and Quvat Management.

MDI Ventures had been operating without a CEO for nine months ever since former founder and CEO Nicko Widjaja stepped down from his position last year to join BRI Ventures, the VC arm of Indonesia’s state-owned bank, Bank BRI.

Managing partner Kenneth Li, Vice President of Investments Aldi Adrian Hartanto, and Alvin Evander will continue to stay. Under their leadership, the company has headed towards three profitable exits and the closing of three new associated funds.

The multi-stage VC firm backed by Telkom Indonesia conducts operations both in Singapore and Silicon Valley.

It combines a unique VC model by providing companies with funding and access to operational help after making a financial investment. Disruptive and innovative companies in the online, media and mobile internet space are the ventures MDI aims to invest in.

Also Read: Google SEAs MD on why women should be confident, speak up and contribute

In conjunction with the appointment, MDI Ventures will be launching two parallel funds this year, a seed-stage fund as well as a later stage vehicle this year.

Its most recent funding is an investment in an Indonesian insurtech company called Qoala.

The company also managed to achieve five exits last year – which is more than any other Indonesian VCs to date. According to Crunchbase, MDI has made a total of 14 lead investments out of 37 investments to date.

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Image Credit: MDI Ventures

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Pandemic-hit Indonesian budget hotel aggregator Airy shuts down

Airy, a budget hotel aggregator startup in Indonesia, has said it is “terminating its agreement with its partners” due to the company’s decision to permanently stop its operation.

As reported by TechInAsia, Airy — a venture built in-house by Traveloka — shared the decision in an email to its property partners, explaining that the COVID-19 pandemic was the main reason for its decision, which has hit the tourism sectors.

Also Read: Indonesian healthcare information platform Alodokter lands US$9M from SoftBank, Golden Gate Ventures, FengHe

The company said in the email that its services will no longer be available after after May 31, 2020. “We have made our best efforts to overcome the impact of this [international] disaster. However, given a significant technical decline and a reduction in human resources that we have at the moment, we have decided to stop our business [activities] in a permanent manner,” Airy said.

BookDoc partners with China’s WeDoctor to launch the Global Consultation and Prevention Center

Malaysia-based healthtech company BookDoc has announced that it is collaborating with WeDoctor, China’s healthtech company, to introduce Global Consultation and Prevention Center (GCPC) which supports English-Chinese bilingual languages.

This brings together medical resources from home and abroad and offers 24/7 real-time online medical services to fight the lethal invisible attacker.

BookDoc and WeDoctor said they will explore partnerships in medical tourism and devise strategies to gain a competitive advantage to reach out to medical tourists from around the globe.

The two companies will also leverage their technology, know-how, and local knowledge to expand borderless healthcare.

Myanmar’s Dakota Ventures allocates US$1M to invest in local startups

Dakota Ventures, a Myanmar-focussed Southeast Asian asset management company, announced plans to invest US$1 million in local startups, targeting “synergistic and millennial-focused startups” that supports education, consumer and infrastructure projects in the region, DealStreetAsia has reported.

Dakota is the company which runs Kaplan Myanmar University College and Gohanya, a central kitchen for Japanese cuisine catering in Yangon. Besides education and food distribution, Dakota Ventures has also invested in F&B equipment and solutions as well as eSports.

Also Read: OYO raises US$250M Series D funding round, will further expand to Southeast Asia

Recently, Dakota partnered with Israeli-headquartered cybersecurity firm Cybint to establish a cyber training centre that will begin construction in June 2020 and targets to provide 500 certified cyber professionals by the end of 2022.

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Bukalapak denies reports of user data breach

Indonesia’s e-commerce platform Bukapalak has denied reports that the data of millions of its users were compromised and sold on the dark web, says a report by The Jakarta Post Report.

The denial comes days after the unicorn Tokopedia was reported to have faced an internal system breach.

The personal data of around 13 million Bukalapak users, including usernames, email addresses and encrypted passwords, are being sold for an undisclosed price on data-exchange platform RaidForum.

“After an internal investigation, we found that the reports currently circulating were sourced from a data breach attempt last year. There have been no new incidents,” Bukalapak corporate communication head Intan Wibisono told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

Vista Equity Partners to invest US$1.5B in India’s Jio Platforms

Private equity firm Vista Equity Partners will invest US$1.5 billion in India’s Reliance Jio Platforms, according to TechInAsia.

Vista Equity Partners will now join Facebook and Silver Lake, which have also made bets on the Indian telecom giant recently.

Reliance Jio was launched in the second half of 2016 and has since then altered India’s telecommunications industry with low rate data plans and free voice calls.

Also Read: News Roundup: Indonesia’s budget hotel aggregator startup Airy shuts down

“Like our other partners, Vista also shares with us the same vision of continuing to grow and transform the Indian digital ecosystem for the benefit of all Indians,” said RIL chairman and managing director Mukesh Ambani.

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Image Credit:  Ishant Mishra

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Like any other business, Triip started the year with fresh positivity and a team huddle to discuss their plans for 2020. They brainstormed ways to encourage people to travel more sustainably, a value that’s at the core of their business. Hai Ho, the CEO and Co-Founder of Triip, was “ready to rock 2020” armed with exciting plans.

Then COVID-19 broke out and disrupted all of those plans. In its wake, Hai and his team found themselves navigating through unfamiliar territory – one where travelling was either restricted or totally banned.

I recently had a quick catch up with Hai, whose team we featured in one of our articles towards the end of last year.

In this conversation, he shares some of the lessons he and his team have learned along the arduous journey which they are still riding out together. The common denominator of these lessons? Choices.

Lesson 1: You can’t escape the laws of nature, but you can choose to adapt to the changes

“After going through different stages, worrying about all the plans changing, plus fearing the uncertainty for this industry, we realise this pandemic won’t end soon,” Hai shares.

Furthermore, they figured that the travel and tourism industry needs time to fully recover as it is one of the most impacted industries by COVID-19. “While we are not fighting back to get revenue, we still have to start doing something instead of waiting,” he continues.

Also Read: Today’s top tech news, December 12, 2018: Vietnam-based travel company Triip now allows blockchain booking

For Triip, this meant embracing the challenges and adapting to the regulations, such as moving fully to remote working. To continue to have the atmosphere of togetherness, the Triip employees go into “biweekly Happiness Calls” where they share about what makes them happy both at work and outside of it.

“The pandemic isn’t in our plan. But looking on the bright side, this is a good opportunity to take a crash course on how to adapt to situations outside of our control on a scale that none of our team members has experienced before.”

Lesson 2: You can choose to work together as a team

“We decided to fight together amid insufficient resources,” Hai explains. His team members, all based in Vietnam, are of one mind to go through this together. When revenue came to a standstill, the employees agreed to be paid in stock options instead of cash to make sure the company would have enough runway to last for as long as possible.

Remaining intact amid the difficult situation enabled the team to spot an opportunity, work on it together as a team, and come out of it victorious. Right now, he says, he and his team “are like the Rebel Alliance in Star Wars. We train, we rest, and we will strike back.”

Strike back they did. This was how StayHome Heroes was born. When the call for #BuildforCOVID19 hackathon came in March, the team was quick to act. Within 72 hours, every Triip employee, from the product team to the growth team, from full-timers to interns, joined hands to brainstorm a worthy project. During the hackathon, they were one big team, not a group of smaller teams.

“We accomplished this as a team even without the assurance of winning,” Hai proudly shares.

Also Read: Vietnamese traveltech startup Triip raises new funding round, readies itself for ICO

The StayHome Heroes project did end up garnering a spot among the 89 global projects accepted, winning over a thousand other entries.

Lesson 3: Even if things initially go against your values, choose to step out of your comfort zone

“We have been motivating people to travel, and “sharing” happiness are our core values (SHARE – Sustainability – Happiness – Adventurer – Resilience – Excellence). However, what we can do at a time of social distancing seems to go against these values.”

Hai mused that if they were an e-commerce company, they could have ridden the waves. “But as a travel tech company, how can we deal with this tsunami?”

According to him, StayHome Heroes was ideated from changing their previous plan and their “stay now, travel later” perspective.

“We still do what we do best – inspire people. But now, we repurposed Proof of Travel to Proof of Stay. We call people joining this campaign – StayHome Heroes.” This project pays people for staying at home, reinforcing the implementation of social distancing.

Also Read: Vietnamese traveltech startup Triip raises new funding round, readies itself for ICO

“As a travel tech company, we adapt, we learn and change quickly. We joined a hackathon that specifically focused on finding solutions to fight COVID-19 and helping people during this tough time. We perform best when we don’t have much time, and under a lot of pressure.”

This too shall pass

Hai, who embodies the team’s core value of happiness, looks forward to the end of the pandemic. “Everyone will travel again and share memories together. We will meet again on a beautiful day. We will grow better and be more appreciative of each other.”

“Until the moment we can be travellers and allowed to have wanderlust again, we are StayHome Heroes, together,” he concludes.

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Nium, a Singapore-based startup that provides online cross-border money transfer services to individuals and businesses, has raised an undisclosed amount to close its Series C financing round.

Investors in the new tranche include BRI Ventures, the corporate VC arm of Bank BRI of Indonesia, and Visa.

The new funding will be used to improve and enhance Nium’s current product and payment infrastructure, which includes outreach to consumers, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), large enterprises, banks and financial institutions.

A part of the money raised will also be used to “tuck-in acquisitions” and growth in markets such as Europe, India, the UK and the US.

The company started its US$45 million Series C fundraise in 2018 from new investors MDI Ventures, the VC arm of Indonesia’s Telkom, and Beacon Venture Capital, the VC arm of Thailand’s KASIKORNBANK.

“Nium and Visa’s collaboration began in early 2019 when Nium joined the Visa Fintech Fast Track programme in the Asia Pacific. We’ve worked together on new commerce experiences like instant remittances for consumers and businesses in Southeast Asia,” said Chris Clark, Regional President (Asia Pacific), Visa.

The road to open money

Formerly known as InstaReM, the company rebranded into Nium in October last year. Nium offers a multi-featured platform called MassPay that helps corporate and SME users manage and control high-volume remittances to multiple beneficiaries in multiple currencies. This, it claims, enables businesses to reduce cross-border money transfer costs by up to 80 per cent.

It also solves inefficiencies that plague traditional payment processes, such as payroll disbursement and travel and expenses management, at e-commerce firms, corporates and SMEs.

The company is currently licensed in Japan, Indonesia, EU, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Malaysia, India, and Singapore, and claims to operate in over 90 countries, 65 in real-time, and in 63 currencies.

In an interview with e27 last year, the company said its mission is to “create a world of ‘Open Money‘ where everyone’s money is free for them to use — whenever, wherever and however they wish”.

Also Read: Singapore’s biotech firm RWDC bags US$133M to create a plastic-free world

“BRI Ventures always look to support developments in the banking and financial industry, especially for partners looking to provide digital financial care to customers in Indonesia,” said Nicko Widjaja, CEO of BRI Ventures.

“We have been working closely with Nium since their InstaReM days when they were processing consumer remittance, and are excited to witness their growth as they expand their service offerings to include financial institutions and corporates. The potential of financial technology is limitless, and we forward look to supporting Nium on their path of growth as they expand their presence into Indonesia and beyond,” Widjaja added.

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