Temasek, others invest US$28.5M in UK-based Tropic Biosciences

Singaporean government-owned Temasek has led a US$28.5 million Series B funding round in UK-based biotech company Tropic Biosciences, according to TheBusinessTimes.

Other backers include Sumitomo Europe, Genoa Ventures, Agronomics and Skyviews Life Science.

Tropic utilises gene-editing techniques to develop high-performing commercial tropical crops, which foster grower well-being and maintains the plant’s nutritional benefits.

“These massive crops currently face a wide range of critical challenges, from diseases and pests to climate change. Tropic is working closely with growers to address these major issues and, in doing so, promotes consumer well-being and positive grower economics, while increasing crop stability and addressing unmet nutritional needs,” the company said in a statement.

Temasek’s makes longer-term investments in telecom, financial services, transportation, real estate, life sciences, agriculture, energy and resources.

Singapore’s car-sharing platform Smove shuts down

Car sharing platform Smove said today it has filed for liquidation after it failed to cover its operating cost, according to Vulcan Post.

Quoting a Facebook post from Smove, the publication said the government had requested the firm “to cease operations because they were no longer deemed an essential service during the extended COVID-19 circuit breaker”.

The Singapore-headquartered firm was launched in 2013 as an hourly car-rental company, with a team of four members. The startup had reportedly been facing cashflow problems previously as well.

Also Read: Relocation startup Moovaz acquires SPH’s The Finder to build its digital community

The company, however, remains optimistic about the future and has commented that “it will wait on the government’s instructions in regards to future operation,”.

Microsoft launches programme to bolster the growth of agritech startups in India

Microsoft has announced the launch of “The Microsoft for Agritech Startups program” in India, according to The Tribune.

Agritech startups selected for the programme will be provided with business resources and technological support like Azure and FarmBeats without investing in deep data resources.

“The Microsoft for Agritech Startups programme is among the early steps in our journey towards empowering these startups in India and transforming global agricultural practices,” said Sangeeta Bavi Director of Startup Ecosystem, Microsoft India.

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In a recent webinar with e27, Wanying Zhang, Investment Managers at Qualgro Partners, explains how the firm’s portfolio companies are doing relatively well in times of COVID-19 pandemic –and that their investment focus on B2B startups has something to do with it.

“Part of the reasons why our portfolio companies are doing relatively well is that we tend to be B2B-focussed. They tend to be less impacted by the current COVID-19 situation. Most of our companies still have 12-18 months left in their runway. So far, in our 25 portfolio companies, we have no write-ups,” she says.

While she acknowledged that a number of them have to readjust growth plan or team structure to reserve cash and extend the runway, for the rest of them, the VC firm actually advised them to seize the opportunities.

“Interestingly, for some of our companies, sometimes we suggest them to not to be overly conservative, especially when there are good fundamentals in the business. Because this is the time for them to leverage the opportunity and grow if they have the capacity to do so,” Zhang continues.

Beyond the region

Based in Singapore, Qualgro was founded by Heang Chhor, a French-Cambodian serial entrepreneur who also had a background in business consultancy.

The firm invests in Series A-B stages companies in Southeast Asia (SEA), Australia, and New Zealand, with a specific focus on B2B companies.

Also Read: Morning News Roundup: HR tech startup EngageRocket secures US$3M in Series A funding led by Qualgro

Last year, following their exit from Wavecell, Qualgro was even awarded “Exit of the Year” by the Singapore Venture Capital & Equity Association (SVCA).

“Back in 2015, we don’t think there were a lot of investors that focussed on the B2B sector. There weren’t that many B2B startups as well. But we do think this region has a great potential to produce international B2B tech companies that are just as good as those in Silicon Valley, China, or Europe,” says Zhang.

Qualgro launched its first fund of US$15 million in 2015; it has been fully deployed in 19 companies that included top names in the startup ecosystem such as Patsnap, Shopback, and Wavecell.

In a separate interview with e27, manager Minh Vu Hong says that the firm is currently fundraising for its second fund and is looking to make final close “soon.”

“We already made six investments from this fund,” he says.

Echoing the statement that Zhang said during the webinar, Hong stresses on the firm’s focus on startups with the potential to go regional and even global.

Also Read: Qualgro makes first close of US$100M second fund, will continue to invest in B2B services

An example of Qualgro’s global perspective is its foray to European startup scene through US$11.2 million Series A investment in Pazzi, a French robotics food tech startup.

“What we have as a thesis is that there are strong similarities between Europe and SEA. It’s a one-economy region that is fragmented into different markets. It goes both ways; we can invest in European companies that want to enter SEA, and we can invest in SEA companies that have the potential to become, at least, a regional player,” Hong explains.

In search of the right one

During the webinar, Zhang also took the time to give advice for startups on fundraising.

Apart from the potential to go regional and even global, Qualgro is also looking for startups with a sustainable competitive advantage and a clear path to profitability.

“Most founders are already familiar with the list of things to check when pitching to a VC in general, but for us, we noticed two things: Sometimes, some founders can be a little defensive during idea brainstorming … We just want to see whether the founders really understand market trends and the potential risks. Also, we just want to see whether we are in a position to add value. We really hope to have an open and collaborative discussion,” Zhang elaborates.

For the future, Qualgro aims to focus on investing in early stage startups in the region, with a particular focus in Vietnam.

The firm sources their potential investments through various channels, from an in-house developed tool used to screen the market to referrals from other VCs or accelerators and partners such as the e27 Pro membership programme, which Qualgro is a member of.

Missed the webinar? Check out the video here:

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In a world mired in the chaos brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, a transition to a more digital way of life seems to be inevitable in many aspects of life, not least the banking and financial services sectors. In fact, a digital banking revolution is already underway in many countries across the Asia Pacific region, and those countries that have been a little slower off the mark will soon be forced to catch up.

If COVID-19 has shown us anything, it’s that the future is digital. What’s a little less clear, however, is whether banks and financial institutions across the Asia Pacific region are ready to capitalise on the enormous opportunities this new age will present.

In the banking world, the need for a truly agile approach has never been higher. Senior leaders across a range of financial institutions in the Asia Pacific are facing a serious challenge right now as they grapple with the best ways to enhance their core banking systems so that they align more effectively with a ‘cloud-native’ world.

At Mambu, we’ve identified four pathways that legacy banks can take as the digital revolution takes hold.

Option 1: Wait and see – AKA do nothing

Many legacy banks have hundreds of years of history, and equally ancient core banking systems, processes and ways of servicing customers in place. But for now, it works, so why change it? This approach sees incumbents sit back and wait for the dust to settle as the new wave of fintech and challengers fight amongst themselves for primacy in the digital space.

However, this approach assumes that there will be a place for non-digital banks in a digital world moving forward … an assumption inherent with risk. In fact, McKinsey & Co. states that legacy financial institutions that ‘fail to evolve digitally’ could see profits fall by up to 60 per cent by 2025.

Also Read: Is Japan ready for the digital banking revolution?

Option 2: Invest in a challenger

It sounds like a good idea, right? Maintain the legacy bank’s status quo as a trustworthy and reliable brick and mortar institution, while purchasing one of the fresh-faced new fintech challengers that are taking off. But does the legacy bank have the funds available to make a worthwhile purchase, and the human resources to make it happen?

And what about the inevitable culture clashes that will occur between an upstart challenger and an established bank with, shall we say, less than modern ways of thinking?

While it may seem like a good idea on the surface, the integration and micromanagement required in a situation such as this are often extremely complex and fraught with risk.

Option 3: Knockdown, rebuild

This path sees the legacy bank undertake a complete swap out of its ageing systems with new and improved core banking tech. But at what cost? This ‘all or nothing’ approach is an incredibly high risk, potentially gambling the entire business on successful implementation.

What if it fails? We don’t have to look very far afield to find examples of total disasters of the ‘rip and replace’ approach – in the UK, both the Co-operative Bank and TSB lost hundreds of millions of pounds and took a serious reputational hit thanks to their failed implementations of new core banking systems.

Also Read: Will the new digital banks sound the death knell for traditional banks?

Option 4: Evolve and augment

This final pathway is what Mambu recommends as the ‘gold star’ approach to digital transformation. It sees legacy banks evolve progressively, changing systems over time, with less upheaval on the organisation, and minimal disruption for the end-user.

Instead of implementing a wide-scale ‘knockdown, rebuild’ of entire systems, individual systems are targeted for transformation with pinpoint precision. Taking what is known as a ‘composable banking’ approach allows legacy banks to invest in lean, flexible technology that can enable a faster response to changing market dynamics, while also encouraging greater innovation as the bank moves into the cloud in a staged response.

This approach also comes with an inherently lower risk, by maintaining control of the legacy infrastructure while new systems are introduced.

What is ‘composable banking’?

In a composable banking approach, functions are separated to allow for the rapid and flexible assembly of independent, best-for-purpose systems, which allows legacy banks to truly adapt, react and thrive in the new era of digital banking.

Composable banking relies on open banking, APIs and plug and play connectivity to quickly and efficiently add new technology, enabling a rapid transformation that would otherwise not be possible. New product launches or pivoting into different services areas become quick and simple exercises, and banks can maximise their chances of delivering optimal customer experiences and meeting their business objectives while minimising risk and cost.

Also Read: 5 key trends in banking for 2020 and beyond

Composable banks are built to change, which is undoubtedly essential for a business’s longevity as we head into what looks to be the most disruptive market environment the banking and financial services sector has ever seen. Adapting to change used to be a bank’s biggest liability. Now it can be its biggest asset.

To find out more about how incumbent banks can navigate a path to success in the fintech era, download Mambu’s white paper today: Core banking in a cloud world.

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I am sure you have found out in (not-so-) recent news that COVID-19 beat most of the CEOs and CTOs hands down in driving digital transformation in organisations across all sectors globally.

It is dubbed as a the “before and after moment in the digital transformation” by one Forbes contributor Andrew Filev in his column, greatly accelerating previously slow-moving trends such as telecommuting, on-demand food and services, virtual events and the cloud.

“Despite the uncertainties in the macroeconomic and geopolitical environment, there is one thing we are certain – the world is moving toward digital-first and digital-everything.”

The benefits are not new, but why does it take a global pandemic to realise these transformations?

It is precisely because COVID-19 threw us off what we know as normal and the reality that we are so familiar with. We are now forced to unlearn the established and traditional ways of how society and businesses work. Only when we are pushed to unlearn, did we truly embrace the possibility and power of change and finally move into the new normal.

Why is it only through unlearning that you transform?

A word of gold from Margie Warrell, Forbes Columnist & Advisory Board Forbes School of Business & Technology: “Unlearning is about moving away from something -—letting go— rather than acquiring. It’s like stripping old paint. It lays the foundation for the new layer of fresh learning to be acquired and to stick. But like the painter who needs to prepare a surface, stripping the paint is 70 per cent of the work while repainting is only 30 per cent.”

Also Read: How can startups factor in the unpredictability of COVID-19 in their Machine Learning models?

Unlearning challenges assumptions in the conventional wisdom that may have become invalid and obsolete. The world changes whether you accept it or not.

Daniel Zhang, Alibaba Chairman and CEO, commented recently during their earnings call that “despite the uncertainties in the macroeconomic and geopolitical environment, there is one thing we are certain – the world is moving toward digital-first and digital-everything”. Before or after COVID-19, it is an undeniable phenomenon.

Through the global pandemic, unlearning acts as a catalyst to overcome the inertia of conventional wisdom and shake up the assumptions of what works and what doesn’t. For instance, it pushes organisations to realise:

• You do not need your employees to work in the same physical space, in the same time zone, and within specified business hours to get things done.
• You do not need to physically attend events or even fly for international forums and conferences to access content and networks.
• You do not need that many meetings to complete and agree on a plan and execute it.

By unlearning, you remove all the prior multi-layered assumptions and pare your problems down to their first principles, a basic assumption that cannot be deduced any further.

Also Read: Techstars community leader on how to save yourself from the gloominess of a pandemic

That is when you can address the problem directly, effectively, and efficiently and identify the solutions:

• You need your employees to be contactable, responsive, and accountable to get things done.
• You need to leverage the rich media enabled by technology to access content and build your local and global networks.
• You need to identify the key personnel in charge of the different tasks and projects and empower them to make decisions.

Only when you unlearn, can you relearn

With change being the only constant in the world, there is a need to keep adapting to stay competitive. Darwinists know best that “it is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change”.

But after being put through highly structured (and time-honoured) systems of education and learning, most people would have a structured box of basic toolkits to help them understand and navigate the world.

Without unlearning, humans tend to fit everything into the box and use the (sometimes irrelevant) tools to fix novel problems and answer new questions. Sometimes, that will leave the problems badly fixed and questions badly answered, but all will agree and adopt it because it will not shake up the systems and disrupt the comfortable status quo.

That will no longer cut it, as waves of innovation and tech startups come in to disrupt the status quo. And more recently with COVID-19 catalysing this process. Businesses, government, and the people came to unlearn the old ‘rules’ and relearn the new ones.

Also Read: Think like a fintech company: How banks can capitalise on the digital banking revolution

Unlearning breaks imaginary limits

Unlearning is not about forgetting. It’s about removing limits and choosing an alternative mental model or paradigm.

Michael Porter’s five forces is a foundational framework that most business and strategy experts learn and use to build their competitive advantage. It is about setting limits to achieve based on what you know.

However, in a VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous) world, it may become irrelevant by the time you set the limits and definitions to achieve, causing the organisation to always be falling behind.

“The Porter model of strategy isn’t obsolete. But it is decidedly incomplete. It takes unlearning to see the model as only one possibility rather than canonical truth”. From design thinking to lean and agile to Ross and Lemkin’s From Impossible to Inevitable, recent popular frameworks that guide businesses and strategy starts with breaking imaginary limits, rapid prototyping, and iterations, and finding a combination that works for you.

This had allowed breakthroughs of immensely successful companies such as Google, Facebook, Uber/Grab, and Airbnb, as they focus on removing limits rather than setting them.

Also Read: Meet design thinking: An approach to problem-solving that can increase the probability of breakthrough in innovation

In all, real transformation is not just about learning but unlearning. By unlearning, you challenge obsolete assumptions and conventional wisdom, enable yourself to relearn, and achieve breakthroughs in mindset limits. Let me end with a short story I came across:

“Once a very bright student from Japan comes to see a Zen master with excitement and pride and says ‘Master. I’ve gone all around the world and studied all religions; I master now all philosophies, the only thing I don’t know is Zen. Teach me everything I don’t know about Zen so that I can become a master myself.’

The master doesn’t respond, instead, he puts an empty teacup in front of the student and starts pouring tea. He doesn’t stop, he keeps on pouring and soon the tea starts spilling on the table. The student got very upset and almost yells at the master. ‘Master stop!! You can’t pour any more tea in it. It’s full.’

The master stops, smiles, and says, ‘Like this cup, your mind is also full. How can I teach you Zen unless you don’t empty your cup?’

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Healthtech startup Homage launches home-based medical services Homage Health

Singapore-based Homage Health has launched a new home medical services offer that includes mobile medicine, tele-consultation, and medication delivery for families and care recipients.

The new offer has been built on top of Homage Care, which includes its core nursing, caregiving and rehabilitation services.

The new services were added after the startup observed a spike in inquiries from existing care service recipients on the availability of medical tele-consultations and home medical services, as families increasingly look for options to minimise infection risk during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gillian Tee, Co-founder and CEO of Homage, said that as part of providing a holistic healthcare experience, existing trained Homage caregivers and nurses can be engaged to provide in-person support to seniors to carry out tele-consultations with doctors.

Homage Health provides access to local doctors, all of whom undergo a stringent selection process, and are registered with the Singapore Medical Council.

All doctors on Homage’s platform have also received training on Singaporean telemedicine guidelines. Users can consult a doctor anytime through video consultations to diagnose common acute conditions such as colds and saw allergies, or when medication refills are needed.

Grab releases Mastercard-powered GrabPay Card in Philippines

Grab has launched the GrabPay Card in the Philippines, a digital-first prepaid card powered by Mastercard.

This extends GrabPay’s reach globally with online payments and expands rewards ecosystem to bring the convenience of cashless payments to more Filipinos.

GrabPay Card supports the ride-hailing giant’s direction to promote safer payments by doubling down on cashless services that help curb the spread of the virus.

The GrabPay card is launching today with a digital version that gives the user complete control via the Grab app.

The features include secure cashless payments, online payment, GrabRewards, mobile protection insurance, as well as e-commerce protection that allows users to receive coverage for online transactions in the event that a wrong and/or defective item is delivered, and incomplete or non-delivery of the item.

Beenext invests US$500K in Indian fintech firm Cube Wealth

Cube Wealth, a digital wealth management service in India, has raised US$500,000 in funding from Singapore-based venture fund Beenext and Japan-based Asuka Holding.

Also Read: Caregiving provider Homage secures Series B funding from EV Growth, to launch personalised healthcare service

Cube Wealth is led by Satyen Kothari, founder of Mumbai-based payments firm Citrus Pay.

According to VCCircle, the company will use the funds to expand its engineering team and marketing.

Cube Wealth was launched in June 2018 to help users get investment advice from experts through its iOS and Android apps.

It also runs a new cross-border software service and marketplace called Cube Cloud that seeks to help fund managers in India with a full-stack cloud-based marketplace to access capital from investors across 50 countries.

The platform handles everything from marketing to information and capital tracking to regulatory permissions and compliance.

Currency exchange app Fincy launches in Singapore

Fincy​, a mobile app that facilitates contactless currency exchange across Asia, has forayed into and established its global headquarters in Singapore.

Led by GBCI Ventures, Fincy’s expansion serves as a strategic base for growth across Asia.

Fincy was founded in 2019 by co-founders Douglas Gan, Vanessa Koh, and Lim Ming Wang targeting business travellers.

The app allows users to top up their multi-currency wallet via local bank transfer and then enables currency exchanges at the best possible rates and with transaction fees as low as zero per cent.

Also Read: CurrenSeek helps travellers find the best currency exchange rates

This contactless approach is already being utilised in Myanmar’s Yatai City, a smart city powered by the same Building Cities Beyond (BCB) blockchain protocol upon which Fincy is built.

In Yatai City, Fincy is the exclusive provider of financial infrastructure to 40,000 residents, allowing them to make purchases, perform transactions, receive salary, and manage their money without the need for physical contact.

Fincy is also providing contactless mobile payments in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, where it is a fully licensed money app accepted at more than 700 merchants and used by over 40 companies for payroll.

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Southeast Asian (SEA) ride-hailing giant Grab has announced the launch of its digital-first prepaid card GrabPay Card in the Philippines, the result of its collaboration with Mastercard.

The company looks to unlock hassle-free online payment solutions and expand its rewards ecosystem, in order to encourage cashless payments amidst the no-contact norm in this pandemic.

Last year, by announcing its partnership with Mastercard, Grab introduced the prepaid card that will enable users to pay for purchases with their GrabPay e-wallet balance to merchants anywhere in the world.

The card debuted in Singapore and will extend its service to the rest of the SEA region.

Also Read: T. Fuad leaves WeWork Southeast Asia Korea, Samit Chopra takes over as MD

Through the card, users can pay for everything online, which includes 53 million global merchants that accept Mastercard cards. Some perks include Grab Rewards, mobile protection insurance and e-commerce protection that allows users to receive coverage for online transactions.

The rise of a cashless society

As many countries in Southeast Asia begin to loosen their lockdown laws, there is still a major focus on maintaining social distancing.

The pandemic’s outbreak has undoubtedly prompted many businesses to adopt mobile payment methods as a form of payment and, in turn, contributed to the rise of a new cashless society that would reduce the risk of the virus.

In a recent survey by Master Card in the Philippines, 40 per cent of Filipino consumers are now employing contactless payments due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Also Read: Here’s how Bobobox is challenging the doomed narratives of hospitality sector to survive and thrive

“As cities slowly get back on their feet after months of lockdown brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, digital payments become the critical enabler to embrace this new reality,” said Jonny Bates, Head of GrabPay Philippines in a statement.

“The launch of the digital GrabPay Card powered by Mastercard supports our mission of providing safer transactions and bringing more cashless opportunities to Filipinos not only for local transactions but also everywhere in the world,” he added.

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Image Credit: Grab

 

 

 

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Indonesian e-commerce giant Tokopedia reports new shopping trends during Ramadan

Indonesian e-commerce company Tokopedia has released a report that sheds light on the new shopping trends that are emerging during Ramadan, according to a press statement.

According to the internal data, food and beverage, household, health, and electronics categories are among the four most popular categories.

“In addition to purchasing local coffee, gardening has been a highly popular activity among Indonesians during the large-scale social restrictions on Ramadan. This can be seen from the increased sales of plants, pots, and storage areas in the household category,” explained VP of Corporate Communications at Tokopedia, Nuraini Razak.

Naturally, there was also a rise in the number of phone credits sold since virtual gatherings were the new alternative for Indonesians to celebrate Ramadan, Tokopedia revealed.

Australian subscription-based video company Shootsta launches headquarters in Singapore

Shootsta, the Australian subscription-based video company, has announced the launch of its global headquarters in Singapore, according to a press statement. Co-founders Mike Pritchett and Tim Moylan will lead the HQ after having relocated to the country in February.

“As we continue to serve our global clients at scale effectively, this move made perfect sense. Singapore’s technological advancement, level of connectivity, and accessibility are unrivalled, making this decision a no-brainer!” said Moylan, who is also the CTO at Shootsta.

Also Read: gojek names Facebook, PayPal as new investors in latest funding round

Founded in 2015, Shootsta is a video company that empowers brands to create high-quality, cost-effective videos within a day. Its team is located across London, Sydney, San Diego, and Hong Kong,

Taralite receives operational license for its financial services platform by Indonesian Money Authority

Indonesian financial technology startup Taralite, which was recently acquired by e-wallet company Ovo, has received an operational license today from the Indonesian Monetary Authority (OJK), according to Kr-Asia.

Taralite is a P2P lending startup which focuses on lending money to the underbanked population in Indonesia.

“We hope to overcome the financing gap in Indonesia by providing access to safe and competitive loan services,” said Taralite president director Sharly Rungkat.

Google takes down Indian app that automatically deletes Chinese apps from phone

Google has removed an Indian mobile application from its app store that allows users to delete Chinese apps from their phones, according to NDTV.

The app named “Remove China Apps”, become one of the top trending free apps on Google’s app store in India with more than five million downloads since late May. Apart from India, the Remove China Apps application was also gaining momentum in Australia.

Also Read:  Going big? Then Go e27 Pro.

A spokesman from Google confirmed the news and said that the app had removed due to violation of app store policies, he refused to comment further.

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Image Credit: Tokopedia

 

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XA Network, an investment network comprising senior executives from leading global and regional technology companies, has invested an undisclosed amount in Vertex Venture’s fourth fund.

The US$305-million fund aims to back Series A and B startups in Southeast Asia and India.

As part of the partnership, Vertex will be able to access XA’s deep-tech expertise and vast talent network to support its investments and portfolio companies.

Also Read: Going big? Then Go e27 Pro.

In return, Vertex will provide XA insights from a global investor’s perspective and access to its affiliates from Silicon Valley, China, Israel, Southeast Asia and India.

Joo Hock Chua, Managing Partner at Vertex SEA and India, said that this partnership would help both the companies grow their portfolios and provide them with the necessary aid it will need to expand further.

“XA members have deep and diverse expertise in tech, marketing and operations. We certainly look forward to working with them closely to help our portfolio grow,” Chua said in a statement.

Formerly known as Xoogler Angels, XA Network aims to provide smart capital to early-stage companies across the Asia Pacific region. The network was founded in 2018 by distinguished executives from companies such as Microsoft, Netflix, Apple, AWS, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and PayPal.

The network has invested in a wide variety of sectors and over 20 companies since 2018, including Tigerhall, Neuron, Pencil, and Infradigital.

Vertex is a global investment firm backed by sovereign wealth fund Temasek and focuses on Series A and B deals. Its Fund IV managed to raise US$305 million against the target corpus of US$230 million. Its portfolio firms include Grab, InstaRem, PatSnap and kids e-commerce firm FirstCry.

The VC firm has offices in Singapore, Jakarta and Bangalore.

Also Read: Meet Mentor For Hope, the startup mentorship programme that will donate 50K meals for those in need

Vertex recently joined “The Mentor For Hope” programme which aims to provides mentorship to founders affected by the COVID-19 crisis, besides helping charities raise funds.

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Image Credit: Aditya Chinchure

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Antler expands to India, hires Rajiv Srivatsa to head country’s ops

Global early-stage VC Antler has announced its plans to launch in India to enable more entrepreneurs to build startups through its platform, support, and global reach.

The local operation will start in Bangalore and be led by Rajiv Srivatsa, Co-founder of Urban Ladder, who is joining as Partner.

Magnus Grimeland, Founder and CEO of Antler said it plans to invest in up to 40 companies within its first year of operations in India through a dedicated fund.

Antler also has plans to expand to other major cities in the country in the next three to five years.

Headquartered in Singapore, Antler already has a global presence in 11 locations around the world. The firm said that it democratises entrepreneurship and works with exceptional founders regardless of background or geography.

Singapore’s AngelCentral invests in female essential products PSlove

AngelCentral, a Southeast Asian community of angel investors, has announced that it has invested an undisclosed pre-Series A amount in homegrown consumer brand for female essential products, PSlove.

With the amount raised from this funding round, PSlove will be expanding its product range and add more markets across Southeast Asia.

Also Read: Meet LoveGrid, a new social network developed to cheer you up

PSlove started off by designing and launching 100 per cent drug-free and odourless pain relief patches that produce heat for menstrual, back, neck, and joint pain relief.

PSlove did a zoom virtual pitch to over 40 angels and hosted zoom office visits where founders showcased their numbers and products.

NTU, Facebook collaborate to launch data centre specialist pilot programme

The Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and Facebook have announced to jointly launch a nine-month pilot programme that will offer new courses aimed at developing local data centre talent, Channel News Asia reported.

The public programme will be started in August and offer four specialist certificates and one graduate certificate, all eligible for funding and mid-career subsidies from SkillsFuture Singapore.

The four specialist certificates are in Design Engineering, Network Engineering, Site Operations, and Facility Operations, while the graduate certificate is in International Construction Management.

After the nine-month pilot, NTU’s Centre for Professional and Continuing Education will progressively introduce more courses in subsequent phases.

Alternative Android app store CWA Store raises seed funding form MRC Ventures-backed MOVA Store

With a mission to make Android apps accessible in developing countries, Singapore’s app store startup CWA Store has raised a five-figure seed funding from MRC Ventures-backed MOVA Store and an unnamed tech company.

CWA said that the funds will be mainly used for regional expansion and product development.

Also Read: This startup is a white-label WhatsApp that lets enterprises build their own private chat channels

The Android store was created with the core ideology that everyone deserves access to apps, regardless of their location or phone capacities. Its platform houses many Lite-version apps, suitable for mobile phones with a lower capacity or power configuration.

CWA Store itself is a vertically integrated app development company that’s not solely responsible for the creation of the app store but is an app creator themselves too.

Next, it plans to expand to India, Pakistan, and Indonesia, where there is large Android markets penetration.
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Picture Credit: Antler

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Because of COVID-19 and its unprecedented global economic implications, many businesses have been affected in unforeseeable ways. As such, these past few months have presented unique challenges faced by many startups — from being forced to shift to digital work environments, to losing investment opportunities, and even to losing actual business profit.

#MentorForHope, a Singapore-based startup support initiative and charity fundraising, has secured additional support from Temasek Trust which will enable the initiative to provide up to 850 hours of additional complimentary mentoring sessions to startups whose businesses have been affected by COVID-19.

Temasek Trust is an independent steward of philanthropic endowments and gifts. The additional support comes in the form of a successful application to the Oscar@sg fund, wherein, for every dollar donated by the public towards the #MentorForHope programme, the grant will match with another dollar, up to a cumulative target threshold.

This empowers the initiative to significantly extend the programme’s reach and support by helping more startup businesses access expert advice and other crucial information on how to navigate today’s extraordinary challenges.

Furthermore, this emboldens the programme’s outreach by raising more funds for their beneficiary organisations that play vital community support roles for those that are struggling in today’s global health crisis.

Collaborating with volunteers

Being a 100% volunteer-led initiative, #MentorForHope aims to raise the equivalent of 50,000 meals for those in need. More than that, they have also gathered the support of more than 200 Venture firms, accelerators, incubators, and working professionals across Southeast Asia, #who are coming together to pledge time and support and guide founders whose businesses have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We were encouraged when #MentorForHope came forward to apply for the oscar@sg grant as this initiative allows this group of young professionals to take speedy action for our startup community who are affected by the current COVID-19 pandemic. The mentoring programme not only benefits startups during this challenging business climate, but also directly assists the beneficiary organisations,” said Cheo Hock Kuan, Chief Executive Officer of Temasek Trust.

Additinally, Cheo Hock Kuan remarked that their matching funding mechanism will be able to help the initiative double the pace of delivering quality mentoring to startups while also helping local communities by donating the mentoring proceeds. Not only is this beneficial to struggling startups, but it will also help feed communities through beneficiary organisations.

Temasek Trust manages the oscar@sg fund and supports ground-up initiatives responding to important community needs in Singapore, particularly ones that are arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Beneficiary organisations

“We are rallying support from all Singaporeans who believe in the value of supporting our startup and innovation ecosystem, and wish to do good for the less fortunate at the same time. My team as well as our partners and mentors are working hard to meet our targets,” said Elise Tan Yee Ling, who leads the #MentorForHope programme along with a team of volunteers.

The first beneficiary organisation is Beyond Social Services, an organization that launched its COVID-19 Family Assistance Fund as a way to help affected families during the pandemic, most of which are low-income families from precarious employment backgrounds that lack job security.

Donations funneled by #MentorForHope will help contribute to this fund, in conjunction with Tech SG Covid-19 Outreach efforts led by a group of leading Singapore tech startup founders and investors.

The second beneficiary organization is Willing Hearts Soup Kitchen, a secular, non-affiliated charity that runs a soup kitchen providing around 6,500 meals daily in support of the elderly, the disabled, low-income families, children from single-parent families, or otherwise poverty-stricken families, and migrant workers in Singapore.

Get in touch with #MentorForHope

Startup founders who are interested to learn from volunteer experts on how to better navigate the unique challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic may sign up here. Through the program, aspiring entrepreneurs and founders will receive access to exclusive investors and industry leaders network, one 1-on-1 mentorship session, group mentorship sessions, masterclasses, and two months of VentureCap Insights access. The Mentor for Hope team will work with you to maximise your takeaways from the programme.

Also, founders are encouraged to donate SGD 50 as a way of paying forward. This money will help vulnerable fund low-income families who are in greater need during the crisis.

As for those who wish to make donations in support of the #MentorForHope initiative and its beneficiary organisations, you may do so directly via the Give.Asia fundraising web-page, and nominating their preferred charity option.

The startup community and the public who are interested in helping out are also encouraged to start personal mini-charity fundraisers in support of #MentorForHope in order to help achieve the programme’s fundraising target.

Given today’s unique challenges, the Southeast Asian startup ecosystem continues to persevere not just in our efforts to lift the community up, but also in helping lift other communities who have greater needs.

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