Darwinbox, an India-based enterprise HR tech platform, announced today it has closed a US$15 million funding round led by Salesforce Ventures.

Existing investors Sequoia India and Lightspeed also participated in the round.

As per a press note, the startup plans to utilise the new funds to accelerate its expansion in Southeast Asia by onboarding new partners, improve product innovation and “significantly grow” its team in the region.

Founded in 2015, Darwinbox is a cloud-based SaaS HR tech platform that combines “highly configurable” workflows with “intelligent insights” to help enterprises manage their HR needs across the employee lifecycle.

The firm shared it has witnessed a surge in the adoption of HR tech solutions during the pandemic as employers sought for solutions critical for remote working, including features such as touchless attendance and digital onboarding.

“More enterprises are abandoning legacy solutions in favour of our modern, agile platform that helps them stay ahead of change,” said Jayant Paleti, Co-founder, Darwinbox.

Darwinbox claims it has grown by more than 300 per cent since its US$15 million Series B funding round in September 2019. The Hyderabad-headquartered company further remarked it serves over 500 corporates across more than 60 countries. Notable corporate clients in Southeast Asia include Tokopedia, Alodokter and 99.co.

Also Read: What will the next wave of VC investment in HR tech look like?

“Cloud adoption in Asia is growing at a monumental pace and the pandemic has only further amplified the importance of going digital,” remarked Alex Kayyal, Partner and Head of International, Salesforce Ventures.

“We strongly believe that Asia, with its millennial heavy population and a high affinity to mobile-first products, has requirements that western products are unable to serve,” added Dev Khare, Partner, Lightspeed India.

“75 per cent of the workforce globally will be millennials by 2025. This young workforce wants to be enabled and empowered with the best technology. The most progressive companies understand this,” opined Harshjit Sethi, Principal, Sequoia Capital India.

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Image Credit: Darwinbox

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Turochas “T” Fuad, a veteran entrepreneur and founder of co-working space provider Spacemob (acquired by WeWork in 2017), has launched a new venture in the fast-growing buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) space.

Named ‘Pace Enterprise’, the fintech startup aims to bring in financial access and inclusion by facilitating extended buying limits to underserved segments in the Asia Pacific region.

Headquartered in Singapore, Pace is also available in Malaysia, Thailand and Hong Kong.

Additionally, the BNPL startup announced it has raised a “high seven-figure seed round” co-led by Vertex Ventures and Alpha JWC.

The capital will be used to further develop its platform and offer progressive services and solutions to consumers and merchants.

Also Read: How hoolah aims to tackle the misconceptions of Buy Now Pay Later

Using a bespoke financial profiling algorithm, Pace matches customers with appropriate spending limits that allow them to split their purchases over three interest-free instalments.

As the adoption for its BNPL solution grows, Pace plans to leverage those insights and unique buying patterns to offer the right fintech solutions to a developing digital banking ecosystem.

“The reason we launched Pace — and our long-term goal — is to create a broader and more inclusive digital fintech platform that empowers underserved populations. To achieve this, BNPL is the right first step that flexibly and seamlessly extends customers’ buying limits while giving merchants access to financing alternatives and entirely new customers segments,” said Founder and CEO Fuad.

“Pace has a clear and bold vision to create an inclusive and accessible ecosystem. With a strong founding team that has worked together for over 10 years and has a proven track record in building successful ventures, Pace is already transforming the fintech space,” said Kee Lock Chua, Managing Partner, Vertex Ventures SEA & India.

Since rolling out its BNPL offering in November 2020, Pace claims to have rapidly added over 300 points-of-sale from over 200 merchant partners, including Goldheart, OSIM, Sincere Watch, Carousell, Reebonz, and FJ Benjamin. Since implementing Pace’s easy-to-use and unique solution, merchants are already reporting greater reach and higher sales.

With Pace, businesses of all sizes can easily activate and offer BNPL payment options to their customers, including debit cardholders. This, it claims, enables greater reach and higher sales through sustainable spending.

As part of a BNPL pilot programme in Singapore, Pace has signed a partnership that enables specially curated Carousell merchants to offer Pace’s BNPL payment option to their customers.

The company aims to reach 5,000 merchant partners by the end of 2021 through its geographical expansion into North Asia and the rest of Southeast Asia.

The BNPL industry in Asia has witnessed massive growth over the past year with the change in consumer behaviour following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. In Singapore itself, there are a few startups, which include Rely and Hoolah.

Rely is probably the pioneer in the segment, which in December last year secured US$74.8 million credit facility from Polaris, the strategic partnerships arm of Singapore-based Goldbell Financial Services. Hoolah, which is also making inroads into the market, raised an 8-figure sum in Series A round, led by Allectus Capital, in March last year.

A well-known face in Southeast Asia’s startup ecosystem, Fuad has successfully launched and sold three startups thus far. His first startup was WUF Networks, an Internet of things software company based out of Silicon Valley. The company was acquired by Yahoo! in 2005.

Also Read: Buy now, pay later: The changing face of finance for a mobile generation

Fuad was also CEO and founder of travelmob, an online marketplace for vacation rentals. Headquartered in Singapore, travelmob was acquired by HomeAway (now part of Expedia) in mid-2013.

He established and ran Spacemob in 2016. He was appointed as Managing Director of WeWork Southeast Asia and Korea after the Spacemob acquisition.

In between his startups, Fuad was Managing Director for Skype Asia Pacific, responsible for its business expansion across Japan, China, Australia, Taiwan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia.

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Image Credit: Pace

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With a PhD in Computer Science and a comfortable career as an Associate Professor at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, it would have been safe to assume David Chen would see out the remainder of his career in academia and groom the next generation of tech talent.

However, he had other ideas. Having been awarded with Nanyang Assistant Professorship’s (NAP) S$1 million (US$752,000) startup grant in 2009, he set out on a new career in entrepreneurship as he sought to solve real-world problems.

Since then, he has started consumer lifestyle app Nestia and career matching platform Matchimi. In 2017, he joined Singapore-headquartered AI and Big Data firm Advance.AI as a Group Partner and Chief Product Officer.

His latest venture is Atome, a buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) payments platform. Launched in December 2019, the startup has since grown to a 200-member team and claims it is expanding rapidly across the region into Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, and Vietnam.

In this wide-ranging interview with e27, topics discussed with Chen include:

• Skillsets from teaching that were relevant in entrepreneurship
• Future developments within the BNPL industry
• How to attract more women to join the tech industry

Below are the edited excerpts from the interview.

What were some skillsets from the teaching profession that were useful in entrepreneurship?

Similar to a good educator, a successful entrepreneur is often driven by a deep sense of purpose and the desire to make a difference to the next generation. Similarly, Atome was set up to improve the lives of consumers through technology. In fact, that is what Atome stands for: Make products and services “available to me”.

My PhD speciality was in algorithm design and analysis, and data analytics. Having a background in data is certainly useful as it aids in being able to interpret them and make data-driven decisions in business.

Another teaching skillset useful for entrepreneurs is a passion for learning and knowledge sharing. When it comes to technology, it is crucial for you to keep up with the latest trends and be ahead of the curve. We can never stop learning and improving, and as we grow Atome, this mindset would be important in helping us increase efficiency across the business too.

What were the problems you were looking to solve when you set out to start Atome?

I was tracking the increasing popularity of BNPL worldwide and how it served both consumers and merchant needs. As a consumer myself, I also never understood how credit card late interest charges worked or how much I had to pay when I missed a payment.

Also Read: How my entrepreneurial failures led me to rethink learning and upskilling

At the same time, I knew a buy-now-pay-later version in Asia could really address the needs of underserved and underbanked consumers in emerging markets like Indonesia and Vietnam.

We had the technology to solve this as our core expertise at Advance.AI was in AI-based credit risk profiling and assessment. That’s how Atome was born — with the aim of driving financial inclusion and empowering our consumers with the ability to pursue their passions in their own time.

Younger consumers don’t like the idea of applying for products that charge interests and annual fees. Many of them like to shop but also want a way to control and manage spendings without getting into debt.

What future developments you foresee could play out in the BNPL industry and the payments space as a whole?

As BNPL understanding and maturity grows, I foresee the business model could develop in a few ways.

Firstly, BNPL platforms will become e-commerce marketplaces like Amazon and eBay. Besides that, providers will extend their services through financial services such as cross-selling to banks, lending, and other financial products.

Also Read: Why the Buy Now Pay Later concept makes sense for the Southeast Asian market

I also expect to see more regulation around payments and the fintech space in general as this concept is still nascent in many markets.

We observe that a large segment of consumers in Southeast Asia are still underserved by traditional banks, especially in markets like Indonesia where credit card penetration remains stubbornly low at under 3 per cent. Therefore, there is huge potential in this segment and we are certainly looking to capture it.

Why is it important to foster diversity and inclusion in tech and what more needs to be done to improve this?

Having a diverse team makes a business stronger because it reflects the real-world customers and society you serve. Also, constructive debate and differences in views reduce blind spots and help you do things better.

The Singapore government is encouraging more students to go into science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). This is a welcome move and particularly important if we want to encourage more women to join the tech industry.

Equally, it’s not just about women, but also ensuring no one gets left behind by tech — the Singapore government has been very proactive and supportive in encouraging lifelong learning and mid-career switching.

What more needs to be done by tech companies to attract women into tech?

Have more women in senior leadership roles. For that to happen, we have to build and groom the next generation of female leaders through various mentorship and training programmes. We also need to develop a flexible work culture to recognise the various roles women play in the family and company.

Also Read: How the tech industry can become friendlier for women

Being a former professor, I believe it is essential to develop opportunities for women to enter into tech and would also encourage more female students to explore the STEM industry.

Could the regional tech talent crunch develop into a problem which stunts the growth of Southeast Asia?

Yes, as digitalisation across all industries accelerates, so will the need for tech talent. However, there are bright spots too. Indonesia is quickly maturing as a tech hub and several big companies there are grooming local talent. Many overseas-educated Indonesians are now returning home to support the national digitalisation drive.

Similarly, in Vietnam, we see a tech boom and several mature local startups that will only grow and regionalise, supported by a young and energetic workforce.

Singapore, of course, is a global tech and talent hub, supported initially by international talent but local talent is also quickly being groomed and developed.

What are the skill-sets you look for in prospective hires and have the educational system in Singapore been adept at cultivating these skillsets?

We look for a balance of hard skills (technical experience and skills that are core to their function), but it’s also increasingly important for talent to have soft skills such as a growth mindset and good communication skills.

One area where I think the Singapore education system needs to broaden its academic criteria is to go beyond textbook teaching and grade-based assessments, and include more real world-based learning.

The post-pandemic world also requires our students to move beyond subject specialisation to problem-based and experiential learning.

What are your top three takeaways from your journey as an entrepreneur?

Firstly, never forget your “why” behind starting your business. For me, it’s about doing something that can create value, helping people, and benefiting the community.

Secondly, find a big problem to solve. You should aim to launch a product or service that addresses relevant real-world problems. These problems should also be sufficiently large so that you would have a ready market of customers willing to pay for a solution.

Lastly, learn from your mistakes. As we expand our business, we will make bets — both big and small — and some don’t always work out. It is important to fail and learn quickly by institutionalizing that learning so organisations become more efficient and execute better.

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Image Credit: Atome

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Gpay, a Vietnam-based e-wallet provider, has received an undisclosed amount in Series A funding from Korea-listed bank KB Financial Group.

G-Group Technology Corporation, the parent of Gpay, also joined hands with KB Financial to launch a US$13-million fintech joint venture.

As per a press note, the fresh funds will be used to expand its team and customer base and also upgrade its tech solutions. The latest investment round values the digital payment firm at VND 425 billion (US$18.5 million).

Also Read: 2021: Predicting another bumper (un)predictable year for payments

Established in 2018, Gpay obtained its e-payment license in April 2020. However, competition is expected to be tight within the Vietnamese digital payment market. There are currently 39 licensed e-wallet providers.

Last week, local rival MoMo announced it had raised its Series D funding, which sources have pegged it at over US$100 million.

Nguyen Thuan Chat, Co-founder and CEO of G Payment Joint Stock Company, that owns and runs Gpay, said that the company aims to reach five million users by 2023.

G-Group has other tech arms including peer-to-peer lending firm Tima and social networking app Gapo.

Last week, Momo, another payments app in Vietnam, raised an undisclosed amount in Series D financing, co-led by Warburg Princus and Silicon Valley-based VC firm Goodwater Capital.

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Image Credit: Unsplash

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If we examine the kind of direction businesses around the world have been taking, the reality is that there has always been a steady surge in remote working trends over the past decade or so. If anything, recent events have merely expedited the already emerging trend.

Researchers, human resource managers, and key stakeholders have been observing the benefits of remote teams for years not only in the APAC region but all over the world. In 2013, Stanford professor Nicholas Bloom conducted a study where he closely observed two groups of employees of a Chinese travel agency: ones who worked from home and ones who worked from the office. The study revealed that employees who worked from home were more productive than their in-office counterparts. They were more focused, took shorter breaks, lesser sick leaves, and as an added benefit, they reduced their carbon emissions by avoiding the commute. The company also saved lots of rent money by reducing its overall office space.

From startups to big corporations: More businesses are opting for remote staffers

With the world turning into a global village, thanks to technology, from startups to SMEs and big corporations, all kinds of businesses are getting increasingly inclined towards remote teams. Founded in 2017, Singapore-headquartered public relations and content marketing startup SYNC PR has a presence in four different countries, including Malaysia, India, and Indonesia, and they have built the entire business on solely remote staffers. US-based GitLab, one of the world’s top enterprise software startups, has no offices. It has been remote since its inception in 2014.

Also read: Gpay raises Series A from KB Financial to expand its e-wallet platform in Vietnam

Automattic, the parent company of WordPress — the most popular blog and website creation tool in the world used by around 30 per cent of all websites, was created with a completely virtual workspace. InVision, a product design and prototyping app, has been operating with a distributed team across 25 countries. In fact, startups in Southeast Asia love remote teams so much that recruitment companies like Glints saw the opportunity to offer remote teams for hire to companies around the region.

Increased productivity and better outcomes

Since 2005, the number of people who work remotely has increased by 140 per cent and it is estimated that by 2028, 73 per cent of all sectors will have remote workers globally. There are several factors that have contributed to the rise of remote teams in the past few years. Companies get to dab into a larger talent pool, localising and conquering new markets have become relatively easier with teams on the ground across the market and real estate as well as electricity costs can be cut down significantly. Furthermore, studies have shown that remote teams get more done in less time, which allows them to start new projects, spend more time doing what’s working, and ultimately improve the bottom line.

Another key aspect of working from home is better work-life balance, and hence, happier employees. Happier workers are automatically better workers. They are able to focus more and do better because they are happy and content in their personal lives. Studies have proved that remote work helps improve retention rate by over 10 per cent. So, it is a win-win situation for both employers as well as employees.

Struggles and challenges of working from home

According to the 2019 State of Remote Work Report by Buffer with 2500 remote staffers, 99 per cent said that they prefer working remotely citing a flexible schedule as the biggest benefit. However, remote working comes with its own set of unique challenges and struggles. As per the Buffer survey, among the top three most common struggles that people who work remotely face are:

● Unplugging after work
● Loneliness
● Collaborating and/or Communications

Companies can help improve productivity among remote employees by providing them with the right kinds of tools and resources. For starters, a flexible, comfortable, and efficient workstation at home is a must. There have been many reports and studies on how the right kind of IT support, as well as access to the right tools, can help employees perform better when working remotely. In India, companies like Royal Bank of Scotland even went ahead to the extent of providing comfortable chairs and tables in addition to laptops and wifi for their remote employees during the pandemic.

Ergonomics and optimising productivity

Nearly two-thirds (63%) of workers experience musculoskeletal problems, including back pain, neck pain, and knee injuries, as a result of working from home, according to a recent study by the health insurer, Bupa. Meanwhile, a Facebook survey with respondents from the American Chiropractic Association suggests that more than 92 per cent of chiropractors have reported a spike in patients with neck pain, back pain, and musculoskeletal injuries since they began working from home.

Also read: Spacemob founder Turochas Fuad launches BNPL startup ‘Pace’ with a high 7-figure seed funding led by Vertex

This means that despite all the benefits that come with working from home, both for employees and employers, it often comes at the price of working under less-than-ideal ergonomic conditions. This problem underscores all the reasons why companies should invest in tools that help support remote working employees especially in terms of mobility and ergonomics.

How can employers support remote teams?

One of the first, and arguably the most important things to focus on is the laptop. Being a remote worker and freelancer for the past five years now, I can personally attest to that. My laptop is my office and having just the right device is crucial. A device that can be adjusted to different angles for different work nooks and is lightweight is always a better choice. Not only does it help with working in different postures comfortably but also enables concentration and focus for long hours.

One of the best choices in the market when it comes to devices ideal for working from home is Dynabook’s Portégé X30W-J. Built with magnesium alloy offering excellent durability and weighing only 989 grams, this is the world’s lightest 2-in-1 convertible.

The laptop can be adjusted to five different work modes- Laptop Mode, Audience Mode, Tabletop Mode, Presentation Mode and Tablet Mode.

● In the Laptop Mode, the Portégé X30W convertible PC functions like a traditional laptop and can be used easily while working on a desktop or a café, a table or a plane seat—anywhere you want to be productive.
● The Audience Mode allows users the flexibility to flip the screen and create their own viewing space to consume content anywhere- in the break room, remote office or study hall.
● The Tabletop Mode is ideal for those who love to collaborate. Users can lay the device flat and collaborate with colleagues in smaller workspaces using this mode.
● The Presentation Mode helps users share engaging presentations with larger groups in sales meetings, conference rooms or customer sites easily.
● Last but not the least, the Tablet Mode is perfect to use the convertible PC as a large-screen tablet to browse the Internet, read documents or take notes using Dynabook’s exclusive Active Pen with Wacom AES 2.0 Pen Technology & 4,096 levels of pressure for exceptional natural handwriting.

A durable, secure, and powerful device for remote teams

Offering flexibility with multiple modes, a device like the Portégé X30W is ideal for remote teams. In addition, the Portégé X30W is loaded with the high-performing 11th Gen Intel® Core i5 and i7 processors. It is also equipped with powerful storage and memory options, including up to 32GB of dual-channel LPDDR4x memory running at 4266MHz, and ultra-fast PCIe SSD storage (up to 1TB) for uninterrupted productivity. Ideal for today’s increasingly data-intensive business applications, the convertible is also available in configurations with the new Intel® Iris® Xe powered graphics technology, delivering best-in-class performance, discrete-level graphics, responsiveness and battery life.

Also read: Volopay raises US$2.1M from Tinder co-founder, others to make expense tracking easier for startups

The device also comes with other perks like battery life that last up to 16 hours and long-lasting durability owing to its high-strength magnesium alloy chassis and Corning® Gorilla® Glass NBT®. The Portégé X30W is engineered to pass MIL-STD-810G standard testing methodologies for strength and durability. Plus, Dynabook also conducts an array of extreme tests on the hinge, keyboard and ports; these laptops are subjected to Highly Accelerated Life Tests (HALT) that simulate repetitive motions of a laptop user over time and undergo tests for drops, spills and other mishaps as well, ensuring durability.

Equipped with a robust combination of next-level hardware, software and identity protection, including Dynabook’s own BIOS, enterprise-grade encryption and authentication using face and fingerprint biometrics, the device has a solid security foundation. A webcam shutter and security Lock slot also provide further privacy options.
With video conferencing seeing an unprecedented increase in recent months, the device is well-equipped for dispersed teams. It boasts high-quality sound with harman/kardon speakers and Dolby Atmos for sound enhancement, as well as noise-cancelling dual mics. The webcam and a further 8MP world-facing webcam with anti-reflection coating also help to deliver an unrivalled audio/video experience.

For startups, SMEs and big corporations exploring tools and resources to help their remote staffers increase productivity and help with business growth and scalability, Dynabook’s Portégé X30W-J is an ideal choice. Empower your employees with the right tools and build a better, more resilient team for a brighter tomorrow.

Learn more about Dynabook’s Portégé X30W-J at Asia.dynabook.com/portegeX30W-J and for sales enquiry, contact Dynabook at DBS-b2b@dynabook.com

Please note the following product disclaimers:

Lightest disclaimer – Based on 13.3” convertible laptops with 11th generation Intel Core processors as of 4 Nov 20, research conducted by Dynabook Inc.
Weight Disclaimer – Weight may vary depending on product configuration, vendor components, manufacturing variability and options selected.
Battery Life Disclaimer – Battery life rating based on MobileMark 2014 running Windows 10. MobileMark is a trademark of Business Applications Performance Corporation.

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This article is produced by the e27 team, sponsored by 
Dynabook

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