SATURDAYS, a D2C (direct-to-consumer) eyewear brand, announced today that it has raised undisclosed seed funding from VC firms JWC and Kynesis Group. Alto Partners also joined the round.

The company intends to use the new funding to expand its online and offline platforms across Indonesia, it said in a press statement.

SATURDAYS was co-founded in 2016 by CEO Rama Suparta and Andrew Kandolha to make designer-quality eyewear affordable for people. Its eyeglasses are made in-house with premium materials like Italian acetate and ultra-lightweight Japanese titanium for consumers in Asia.

Aside from having physical stores across Indonesia SATURDAYS also launched an app to make it easy for customers to try out eyewear virtually. The app will also include features such as vision test booking conducted by licensed opticians at home. Customers will also be able to pick a try-on date at home with 10 frames of their choice and a specialty coffee for free. 

Also Read: Online eyewear retailer Lenskart raises US$21M in Series C funding

“We also want to provide an unmatched experience for customers, who have been accustomed to shopping for eyewear in dull, conventional manners. We will keep innovating our products and services to become the dominant market leader in Indonesia,” added Suparta.

The brand currently operates eight stores in the Greater Jakarta Area and had managed to add three more stores to its list of stores despite the pandemic. 

SATURDAYS is one of the latest non-tech companies that Alpha JWC Ventures have invested in. In the past, the firm has been investing in non-tech companies that are undergoing a digital transformation by combining offline presence with digital tech.

Examples of such companies in Alpha JWC’s portfolio include Kopi Kenangan, Goola, and Bobobox.

According to BlueWeave Consulting, the  Asia Pacific Eyewear Market is expected to be USD$114.4 billion by 2026 from USD 63.8 billion in 2019, at a CAGR of 8.7 per cent from 2020 to 2026.

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Image Credit: Axle Adamos

 

 

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Updates: This article has been updated with more details on the platform as communicated by co-founder Naga Tan

ErudiFi, a startup that provides access to affordable education financing in Southeast Asia, has raised US$5 million in Series B capital, co-led by Monk’s Hill Ventures and Qualgro.

The Indonesia-based startup will use the capital to make key hires across product and engineering, marketing and operations, business development, and data functions.

The company also has plans to scale its services, deepen its footprint in its existing markets (Indonesia and the Philippines), and accelerate product innovation.

Founded in 2017, ErudiFi is a tech-enabled platform that helps financially underserved students get access to quality education centres with its “Study Now, Pay Later model”.

What makes ErudiFi different from other similar players in the market is its B2B2C approach, unlike other platforms that have a sole focus either on B2B or B2C.

ErudiFi operates in the name of Danacita in Indonesia and Bukas in the Philippines.

Also Read: Meet the 7 startups from edutech accelerator EduSpaze’s second cohort

Aside from not being able to enroll in higher learning, student retention is also a challenge in Southeast Asia. Many schools experience a 10-15 per cent dropout rate annually, largely due to financial difficulties faced by families.

To address these challenges, ErudiFi has launched a service that provides partner schools with a way to track disbursements and provide real-time analytics for dropped students.

So far, the startup claims to have onboarded over 50 leading universities and vocational schools in Indonesia and the Philippines, including President University, UNTAR, IT PLN, Wall Street English, PHINMA Education, Far Eastern University, Adamson University, and Mapua University.

“Access to affordable tertiary education remains a huge pain point in Southeast Asia where the cost is nearly double than the average GDP per capita. ErudiFi is tackling an underserved market that is plagued with high-interest rates by traditional financial institutions and limited reach from peer-to-peer lending companies,” said Peng T. Ong, co-founder and Managing Partner of Monk’s Hill Ventures.

“By taking a first-principles approach, Naga and his team have been laser-focused on bringing a tech-enabled and data-driven solution that provides students with access to education,” Ong added.

On being asked how the pandemic has affected the startup, co-founder Naga Tan told e27 that the pandemic has only widened the inequality across different income segments, as those with limited household income/savings drop out of school altogether.

“Many of our current school partners have seen a corresponding drop in enrollment rates and an increase in student attrition as a result. This means that our financing solution is even more critical in this environment in providing support to schools and ensuring their continued viability,” he said.

According to HolonIQ, edutech is a growing sector in Southeast Asia and the region has managed to raise a total of US$480 million in investment for startups operating in this sector over the last 5 years.

In Southeast Asia, there are many edutech startups such as Topica (Vietnam), Taamkru (Thailand), Ruangguru (Indonesia), and Classruum (Malaysia) that are helping plug the educational gap by increasing the quality or access to education.

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Image Credit: ErudiFi

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The worst-kept secret in venture capital? VCs love software-as-a-service (SaaS) startups.

With SaaS startups bringing in predictable and recurring revenue, often at more or less the same fixed costs, the upsides to their businesses make them an attractive investment. Besides, unlike their consumer counterparts, SaaS companies can scale globally right from the get-go.

Despite the promising proposition, SaaS startups within Southeast Asia have not enjoyed as much success as their European and American counterparts. Compared to the West, success stories have been few and far between in the region.

However, Akshay Bhushan, Partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners, remains optimistic about the sector. He believes the large concentration of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) within Southeast Asia, coupled with the push towards digitalisation, would make the region a fertile breeding ground for SaaS companies.

e27 sat with Bhushan to dig deep into the region’s SaaS industry. Below are the edited excerpts from the interview:

What are some aspects of the SaaS model that have made it a favourable vertical for investors to invest in?

When it comes to SaaS, investors are most interested when the startup has early product-market-fit with enterprises. At that point, the risk for the investor is more on execution rather than the business model or product. This attractive risk-reward perspective makes it alluring to investors.

The other attraction is the inherent nature of SaaS products such that they can be developed anywhere and built for global markets.

For instance, the SaaS solutions of our portfolio companies Yellow Messenger and Darwinbox were first developed outside of Southeast Asia. However, their current clientele chiefly comprises enterprises operating across the world, including several customers in Southeast Asia.

Also Read: 5 things Saleswhale learned about building a global SaaS platform from Southeast Asia

Due to the pandemic, enterprises have gotten more comfortable with remote sales, making it easier for SaaS companies to scale their business. Besides, many enterprises were forced to digitise, even in sectors that were previously resistant to change.

What are the common challenges faced by SaaS companies in their early stages of operations?

For SaaS products, the iteration and testing cycles are typically longer than other types of startups. Hence, achieving a product-market-fit takes longer.

This is because the process of getting feedback from enterprise users (which often spans multiple individuals across multiple types of organisations) is longer relative to a consumer startup that can directly monitor user behaviour and speak to them and make direct inferences.

How do you see SaaS as a vertical grow within Southeast Asia in the next one to three years?

We are optimistic about the prospect of SaaS in the region, especially in leading markets such as Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia. These countries have very prominent SME sectors in which many enterprises are seeking to adopt digital solutions.

Certain countries, like Singapore, are also strategic launchpads for SaaS companies in the region. It is a gateway to Southeast Asia for regional and international corporates who base themselves out of there and an ideal hunting ground for customers early on.

With two of your portfolio companies (Chilibeli and Ula) focused on working with SMEs, what were some initial challenges faced getting warung owners to digitalise and how did both companies overcome these?

Chilibeli and Ula are unique in the way that they’ve lasered their focus to one particular SME segment — microbusinesses, which in countries like Indonesia, are mostly known as warungs. SME digitalisation is already a challenge in itself, but it is more pronounced for microbusiness owners as their needs are more nuanced.

Also Read: How BukuWarung is changing the back alleys of Indonesia

Microbusinesses typically have less capital to invest in software and may not be as digitally literate as larger enterprises. Hence, solutions geared for this segment need to meet ‘must have’ needs’ rather than ‘nice to have’ needs.

More often than not, the biggest question an SME owner asks is: “How can the product either make me more money or save a substantial amount of money?” Hence, the value proposition for the owner has to be clear from the beginning.

Does the rise of SPACs interested in acquiring Southeast Asian tech startups bode well for the startup ecosystem as a whole?

Essentially, anything that helps drive liquidity is good for the startup ecosystem. SPACs are just another vehicle to help stakeholders generate more value through liquidity.

Also Read: What does Peter Thiel-backed Bridgetown’s IPO mean for SEA’s startup ecosystem?

While SPACs aren’t new, we are cognizant of how it is trending as a channel for liquidity, so it’s something that Lightspeed has been tracking very closely.

With the increased attention on SPACs and the value they provide for companies in helping them go public, could we see a scenario where companies rush their public exit and list prematurely (without strong fundamentals and a sustainable business)?

There’s a possibility of companies reacting this way. However, companies would generally choose the avenue they think is most beneficial. This means that this selection would happen on a case-to-case basis, and is highly dependent on the company itself and the specific situation it is in.

What are some sectors you are looking at within Southeast Asia that have great potential to grow in the near future?

Southeast Asia is rife with opportunities and there are many sectors primed for growth. We believe that the ‘foundational’ sectors are very interesting. These include sectors that power the infrastructure of the digital economy such as fintech (payments), logistics-tech and commerce use cases.

Another very interesting area is in the consumer sector — namely, the rise of the creator economy. We’ve observed that there’s tremendous growth in online social behaviour in fast-growing markets like Indonesia and Vietnam. This rise has also contributed to the growing influence of new-age content creators.

As such, Lightspeed has been looking closely at next-gen commerce models leverage such influencers. The current generation — pioneered by social selling and video-based influencer selling — represents the tip of the iceberg when it comes to commerce penetration.

We believe that, as the role of online creators grows, there will be many new models of commerce which will get unlocked.

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Image Credit: Lightspeed

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Filmplace raises US$220,000 to help influencers, media houses shoot content in unique rented spaces

Investors: New York’s Admiralty Holdings.

What the funding will be used for: Bolster infrastructure, marketing capabilities and tech solutions to expand further into Southeast Asia.

About Filmplace: Based in Singapore, Filmplace is a platform that connects brands and the media production industry with unique locations to shoot. It helps film companies and influencers secure a location within a short period of time at an affordable rate.

More about the story: Lincoln Lin founded the company when he experienced the difficulty of sourcing for locations while working as a director in the film industry.

“Currently, production companies need to hire a location manager which costs US$300-US$500 per day to nail down a couple of locations. The companies will then need to receive the locations, so it is very labor-intensive and manual,” Lin said.

“Traditionally, the location manager takes four to seven days to scout a location. On top of that, there is no fixed price, the catalogs are outdated, and multiple risks such as unsecured payment transactions are involved,” he added.

Filmplace has branch offices in Malaysia, Taiwan, South Korea and India.

Rephrase.ai, a mail-chimp like startup for videos, nets US$1.5M seed funding

The story: Rephrase.ai, a synthetic media production platform, has raised US$1.5 million in seed funding

Investors: Lightspeed Ventures and AV8 Ventures.

What the funding will be used for: To scale its platform, strengthen its presence in North America, and hire across engineering and research roles.

About Rephrase.ai: An AI-powered platform that helps businesses create personalised, customisable video content for sales and marketing.

More about the story: Rephrase.ai was founded in 2018 by three Indian Institution of Technology graduates — Ashray Malhotra, Shivam Mangla, and Nisheeth Lahoti.

“Our goal at Rephrase.ai is to reimagine how we communicate to better match our visual culture,” Malhotra said.

Also Read: Ecosystem Roundup: Philippines set to take rare top spot for IPOs in SEA; Why Robert Downey invested in a Singapore startup

“Now, enterprises can create high-quality video content for targeted sales and marketing initiatives while saving time and money. This technology will change the way we think about video production, both for business communication today and filmmaking in the future,” he added.

Line Financial, Mizuho Bank invest US$112M into their online bank

The story: Line Financial and Mizuho Bank have invested US$112 million into their planned internet bank, Line Bank.

The aim: The companies said in a joint statement that the necessary steps are being taken as they proceed to establish a user-friendly online bank connected to the LINE app in Japan by 2022.

More about the story: To further strengthen cooperation between LINE Financial and Mizuho Bank, a co-CEO management structure will also be introduced.

As opposed to the current CEO headed by LINE Financial, a co-CEO will now be appointed by Mizuho Bank.

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Image Credit: Filmplace

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The past month has been interesting for the Philippine startup ecosystem — with a report on the massive capital raise by a startup, an update on the prospectives offered by the archipelago’s digital banking sector, a news report about an edutech startup‘s acceptance into Y-Combinator and another on the regional expansion plan announced by a fintech company.

But the one who stole the show in the past few days was Robbie Antonio, who was forced to resign from real estate developer Century Properties following allegations of scandals involving its property-tech platform Revolution Precrafted (RP).

Let us take a little trip down memory lane. In 2017, RP made headlines by becoming the first unicorn to originate from the Philippines. But things turned rocky for RP when leading media publications such as The Ken and Dealstreet Asia exposed the slow — if not disappointing — executions of its various projects.

The episode hit a nadir last Thursday (February 18) when ABS-CBN reported that National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) of the Philippines has opened an investigation into RP’s “questionable” deals, forcing Antonio to put down his papers.

The report detailed that nine contractors and suppliers filed a complaint, claiming that they were lured into different contracts by RP. During the process, they were informed that they would win the contracts in RP’s real estate development projects if they pay 10 per cent of the contract’s value.

These contractors claimed the contracts to be “dubious” as RP was said to have failed to secure permits for the projects.

Those who follow the ‘RP saga’ may feel a sense of déjà vu: two years ago, co-working space giant WeWork’s failed IPO triggered a conversation about financial sustainability for startups — and accountability.

Also Read: Ecosystem Roundup: Filipino fintech Mynt nears unicorn status; EVs in Singapore: how much is just hype?

When the unicorns step out of the lanes

It is not that the unicorns of Southeast Asia (SEA) have never been involved in any kind of troubles/scandals. In fact, if you look at e27‘s past news coverages of major companies such as Grab and gojek, there is bound to be at least one story that is borderline scandalous. Think of how gojek had to fight against regulators when they tried to ban ride-hailing services in Indonesia years ago, or when Grab (and Uber) was fined by the Singapore competition watchdog for their merger.

But at some point, there is a need to address the gap between expectation and reality.

For investors, investing in a company means having a set of expectations that they would demand the company to deliver, in exchange for the financial commitment.

On the other hand, for customers, the value of using a platform goes beyond monetary investment; it is also the promise of solving a pain point that has been bugging them for a while.

Meeting these expectations is more significant than attaining and being the product of unicorn status. Having said that, a company is not solely responsible for its faults. In all its honesty, everyone — from the media to government agencies — is equally responsible for a startup’s fault because they, too, are in search of the next unicorn to put them under the spotlight, often disregarding what really matters at these companies.

It was like we are telling startups that becoming a unicorn is enough and that having a high valuation is all it is cracked up to be — until Something Big occurs and we realised that the party is over (if there has ever been one).

Chances for redemption

So, how should we view what RP is going through at the moment?

I recently saw a tattoo on Instagram that was so beautiful I just cannot get it out of mind. It was an image of the word “relapse” but the “lapse” part was crossed out with red lines — and the artist added “start” on top of it. So I took that the meaning of the tattoo was that relapsing (or making any mistake) is actually an opportunity to restart.

When unicorns go bad, the first priority would be to demand and deliver accountability. This would not be easy for everyone involved, particularly when we add the elements of shame into the equation. But this is the moment for us to clear the air and focus on the work that really matters.

Last year, when the world came to a standstill thanks to the restrictions imposed in many countries, we were given a chance to rethink our direction. For those who had managed to go through this process with patience and a good sense of responsibility, the reward is the promise of a better day.

Will RP be able to get out of this crisis? Will customers and partners be able to take back what is theirs? We can only wait and see in the next days.

The ball is in their court now.

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Image Credit: Rosalind Chang on Unsplash

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Korean retailer Shinsegae Group invests in Grab; As per DealStreetAsia sources, the funding has been routed through the group’s newly-formed corporate VC arm Signet Partners; The retailer continues to spot significant opportunities in Grab’s mobile platform adoption. More here

Fast pace of digital adoption spurs Beenext to ramp up early-stage investments in Vietnam; Beenext will target startup that serve industries contributing to VN’s growth story such as industrial development, real estate and consumption themes; It typically invests in the range of US$500K-US$1mn. More here

Why ‘Iron Man’ star Robert Downey Jr. places his bet on Singapore’s RWDC Industries; RWDC develops cost-effective biopolymer material solutions, which are naturally produced by bacterial fermentation of plant-based oils or sugar; To date, the biodegradable plastic startup has raised nearly US$170M from a clutch of investors such as Vickers Venture and Downey’s fund FootPrint Coalition. More here

Transcelestial raises US$2mn from Ayala-backed Kickstart Ventures, enters Philippines; Its Centauri device provides a wireless distribution network between buildings, traditional cell towers, street-level poles and other physical infrastructure; Transcelestial is building what it claims to be a space laser network to “deliver a step-change in internet connectivity globally”. More here

Dole Asia launches US$2mn “Sunshine for All” fund; It’s part of its larger “Dole Promise” initiative launched in 2020; The fund aims to accomplish goals including providing access to sustainable nutrition for 1bn people by 2025, having zero fossil-based plastic packaging by 2025, and net-zero carbon emissions in operations by 2030. More here

Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam have huge potential in APAC for neobank growth: A UnaFinancial study says the 4 SEA countries have approximately the same degree of attractiveness as India and Singapore; Australia is the most attractive country for online banking. More here

China just 55th on e-commerce index due to low internet access; Despite being home to some of the world’s largest e-commerce companies, the country received a lower score than Ukraine and Oman on the latest B2C e-commerce index published on Wednesday, which measures an economy’s online shopping support. More here

Meet the 23 startups accepted into SMU Business Innovations Generator’s maiden programme; An equity-free and industry-agnostic programme, it leans slightly towards digital and sustainable urban technologies; The 4-month-old programme will provide startups with financial support, mentorship, access to community events, masterclasses, the Greenhouse workspace, and credits from corporate partners. More here

Why disaster-tech in Asia holds great potential, and how to scale the field; Despite increasing sophistication in delivering response, relief, and recovery efforts, solutions on the ground are far from reaching their full potential; In assessing funding strategies into disaster assistance, the Center for Disaster Philanthropy (CDP) and Candid found that only 2% was allocated for building resilience and 4% towards disaster preparedness in 2018. More here

How HappyPlus app is helping corporates measure the happiness index of employees; The Indian startup focuses on creating and developing happy and healthy habits for working professionals; The app has six parameters across which people can rate their happiness — timescale, our being, achievements, relationships, work-life, and meaningfulness. More here

AI social media influencers on the rise in Singapore; The number of virtual influencers on the market is likely still in its double digits compared to real human influencers, but they have already begun competing with human influencers for partnerships with brands. More here

Philippines set to take rare top spot for IPOs in SEA; Investors and bankers say consumer retailers and real estate investment trusts are lining up record fundraisings that could top US$4bn in 2021, more than the combined tally of the last seven years, according to Refinitiv data. More here

Why logistics startup Pickupp built an e-commerce arm to support home-based businesses in S’pore; Pickupp’s flexible delivery windows and handy scheduling feature enable customers to be nimble and capitalise on business opportunities; The startup also uses a hybrid of freelancers and in-house delivery fleet to cater to fluctuating levels of demand. More here

Indonesian tech startups consider going public; Tech companies might see the prospect of going public in Indonesia as a gamble because local retail investors are yet to truly understand the business model of tech companies; By going public, these tech companies can familiarise regulators about their business models to encourage further relaxations for the sector. More here

How Thai VC SCB 10X is helping to build the future of blockchain financial solutions; The firm invests in early-stage startups — up to series C rounds — from all over the world and also helps with building technologies in some cases; It establishes joint ventures and partnerships with selected growth-stage startups as well. More here

Singapore sets aside US$760mn to co-fund digital solutions with businesses; A new Emerging Technology Programme will co-fund the costs of trials and the adoption of frontier technologies such as 5G and AI, which will help companies commercialise their innovations. More here

Indonesian banking regulator says Sea Group’s Shopee has acquired Bank BKE; The aim is to transform it into a digital bank; Shopee has yet to make an official application with the banking regulators to transform Bank BKE into a digital institution, but they are “currently preparing the infrastructure to do so.” More here

Asia’s cloud kitchens expect delivery boom to outlast COVID-19; Cloud kitchens and food deliveries have not only become wildly popular during the pandemic but they have also negated the need for prime locations; Big names like Jollibee Foods, Grab and Central Restaurants Group are making massive investments in the sector. More here

Thai government is banking onbio-, circular and green (BCG) model to propel recovery; Based on Thailand’s strengths in agriculture, rich natural resources and diversity of biological resources and physical geography, the BCG strategy will focus on promoting four industries: farm and food, healthcare and medical services, energy and biochemicals, and tourism and the creative economy. More here

Malaysia set to roll out 5G by the year-end; Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said the country will emerge as one of the first in this region to build a 5G ecosystem using Internet and cloud services in real-time to enable instant sharing of information; A total of US$3.7bn will be invested over a period of 10 years for the implementation of 5G nationwide. More here

Personal finance firm CompareAsiaGroup rebrands as Hyphen Group; The personal finance firm also said it tracked an over 80% revenue growth in 2020, driven by over 650K financial product applications; Last year, Hyphen acquired Seedly from Shopback as a measure to capture the millennial demographic. More here

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Photo by Eugenio Pastoralon Unsplash

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A war is raging on the Australian media scene. At the behest of the Oz government, Google has agreed to pay publishers for their content – which the search engine in effect sells advertising against.

Facebook, on the other hand, has decided to remove any media companies that employ professional journalists from its platform in Australia; thereby avoiding having to pay said publishers for their content (which Facebook also used to sell advertising against) under the proposed new rules.

Two very different responses to increased government regulation. No doubt other countries will follow with their own versions of this legislation, which is yet to be officially ratified by the way. It will be fascinating to see how things play out globally. There is already talk of the UK and European Union adopting similar laws.

However, the whole episode got me thinking about the immense power the Goo-book duopoly now has. At this stage, the internet is a public utility. And yet it’s real estate is owned by private sector companies who the critics say are willing to wield power in whichever way they see fit, in order to protect their business models. Even, it seems, if there is a negative effect on the citizens/customers and businesses that helped build the platforms in the first place.

There is an age-old theory that absolute power corrupts absolutely. The trouble with Google and Facebook is that they are swimming in so much cash and high-level influence that many fear they have become real-world practical examples, sadly proving the theory to be true.

The platform earthquake in Australia is just one case. For me personally, even though I disliked Donald Trump intensely, I thought it was wrong that social networks could in effect cancel a US president.

It sets an awful precedent for the future and will no doubt leave the 75 million Americans who voted for him seething (even more so than when in their natural combative state).

Also Read: Ecosystem Roundup: Investors are cautious but confident and optimistic about SEA, says Google e-Conomy SEA report

We don’t even need to get into Cambridge Analytica territory or the many other public relations disasters Facebook has been forced to apologise for.

Let’s not forget, Google has had its own fair share of scandals too. And while, as a ‘user’ (who, yes, realises I am the product), I love using both Google and Facebook– it does all leave a nasty taste in the mouth. Speaking of which, anyone who has been to their offices will tell you how the space, luxury and design is reminiscent of the 2017 tech dystopia movie The Circle. It’s not quite a cult, but it feels a little strange inside their buildings– to say the least.

Added to that, both companies are not that willing to share the pie when it comes to media and marketing partners, hence the possible law change in Australia. Try getting event sponsorship or advertising spend out of either, if you’re a media company. The somewhat arrogant response is usually along the lines of ‘we don’t pay, as we have the brand already so really you should be paying us to participate’.

You feel like saying: “Yeah, but you do realise people are starting to dislike your brand greatly, right?” Added to that, if you’re brave enough to let a Googler or Facebooker speak at one of your events, you will quickly feel the arm of an overzealous PR handler on your shoulder.

They will politely tell you which topics have to be avoided, and how there must be strictly no questions from the audience. Stage-management, as a dark art, at its finest.

And while neither Google nor Facebook is responsible for the programmatic ad fraud that now runs into billions of dollars every year, they are certainly part of the ecosystem that enables it. Vanity metrics are also somewhat of a poison in both business and societal terms.

As are down-the-rabbit-hole misinformation, trolling, narcissistic image obsession and behavioural economics techniques that provide the dopamine hit which creates device addiction in all of us.

There’s a lot to dislike. However, and here’s the paradox, at the same time the products are so great that they have benefitted billions of people and businesses. Search engines are kind enough to give you any knowledge you happen to be curious about within a millisecond. Social networks enable you to connect with friends, families, groups and businesses around the world with a simple tap.

You don’t expect all that for free, do you? Come on people, there is of course a price to pay. To be fair, it’s abundantly clear that we are all willing to become the product in order to add the convenience, learning and joy to our lives.

Also Read: Ecosystem Roundup: Google invests in Tokopedia; Alodokter raises Series C+; Singapore’s new visa to attract top tech talents

For the truth is, the world would be a poorer place without Google and Facebook. But the reality, however, is that they can’t go on unchecked without causing long-lasting damage to society. Politicians have to get ahead of the curve somehow and start regulating untrammelled big tech before these masters of the universe enter politics themselves.

Anyone else out there suspects that Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos have designs on the White House? At that point, it becomes too late. You just wouldn’t be able to put the genie back in the bottle.

It will no doubt be difficult, given the lack of technical expertise in the political corridors of power. But if nothing else, rightly or wrongly the Australian intervention has at least proved that it’s possible to assert some sort of control. So let’s not sleepwalk into a world whereby the worst elements of Goo-book outbalance all the good stuff. Nobody wants that, Silicon Valley aside.

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While COVID-19 has accelerated the disruption in traditional banking and payments, with fintech introducing viable operating models and services or better experiences, the disruption in the industry has, in actual fact, been taking place for several years now.

Though relatively nascent, the digital wealth management space has also come to the fore during the pandemic, and there is no reason why it won’t soon become as ingrained in our lives as, say, mobile banking.

I would like to share three learnings from my journey so far as a founding member of digital wealth management platform Syfe, which I hope will inspire anyone with aspirations to start their own venture in the space as we move into a post-COVID world.

Understand unmet needs

In an environment where the value of savings in a bank account gets eroded over time because of rising inflation and low-interest rates, placing a part of your income into investments – which deliver higher returns over the long-run – has become a necessity.

While “having enough for the future” is a major financial need for everyone, traditional wealth management services have always been geared toward serving the high-net-worth – or approximately only five per cent of the population.

For those that do not qualify for services such as premier or private banking, they are often left with the option of lower-grade investment solutions when they approach traditional banks.

This problem is felt by those that have a sizeable amount of savings, a part of which they are willing to put into investments, and yet are unable to enjoy the same solutions that are offered to the premier or private banking clients.

Having identified this as a pain point for the remaining 95 per cent of the population, which includes the emerging affluent population, digital wealth managers have designed technology-driven operating models and automated platforms to allow anyone to start investing at any amount while offering much lower and affordable annual fees.

Also Read: Digital wealth management startup StashAway raises US$16M Series C led by Square Peg

Interestingly, better off individuals who have access to sophisticated solutions are also finding value in such platforms. We witnessed high-net-worth individuals seeing merits in our digital approach towards wealth management, and the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of such wealth management experience, which provides the convenience of digital services and significantly lower fees.

Design your model or products to account for human emotions

In the course of developing your model, you should acknowledge that the ‘purchasing decisions’ of your prospective customers are often emotionally-driven. We believe that by carefully addressing these emotional intricacies and having a solution that responds to them, we’ve been able to grow Syfe’s platform users by more than 10 times in the first nine months of 2020.

According to research we conducted in 2019, 62 per cent of Singaporeans, for instance, do not invest enough because they feel that investing is too complicated.

For newer investors, fear of loss when there are wild market swings can often lead to panic selling. In the same vein, investors who are excited by the prospect of day traders’ returns from stock picking might feel compelled to do likewise, while being unaware of the saying that 90 per cent of such traders actually lose money.

To address this, we ensure that our content for market education is as jargon-free as possible. Our investment strategy focuses on diversification.

We, therefore, design, monitor and rebalance individuals’ portfolios based on each person’s risk appetite to minimise losses during market swings, so they avoid panic selling but instead remain well-positioned to capture the gains when the market inevitably bounces back. Anxious investors might sometimes need a listening ear, so unlike pure-play robo-advisors, we have human wealth experts available to speak.

Secondly, the emotions of your frontline employees must likewise be considered and built into your servicing model. Traditional wealth managers have commission-based fee structures. Syfe has steered clear of a commission-based fee structure when remunerating our wealth experts, and therefore ensuring that they have no interest other than their clients.

Be honest with yourself about what you know, and what you do not know

Finally, if you’ve dreamed up a business idea to disrupt a specific sector, it’s highly probable that you already have a good amount of expertise and experience in that field. That said, it always helps to surround yourself with experts in the skills you do not possess or other individuals in your field who can constructively play the role of a devil’s advocate.

The idea of Syfe came up when Dhruv, our CEO, was an exchange traded fund portfolio trader at UBS almost a decade ago. He knew that the success of Syfe would require a team’s effort, and started recruiting talent to help him realise his vision.

Also Read: Wealth management need not be complex, if WeInvest can help it

I joined Dhruv a few months before Syfe launched to lead distribution. We have a fully in-house, dedicated team of software engineers to build the actual digital wealth management platform from scratch. Our PhDs and portfolio construction experts – who used to work at prominent investment banks – were responsible for developing the algorithms and strategic investment approaches that underpin each product.

Our first few years as a team, running Syfe, have been as challenging as they have been rewarding, and 2020 has been especially tough. What continues to motivate us though is that, despite significant growth in the volume of assets managed by digital wealth managers, it still represents only a fraction of what traditional wealth managers hold. The digital wealth space has huge potential, and we’re excited about what 2021 will hold for us, and the wider industry.

As COVID-19 continues to change the way we live, work and play, and as industries’ operational rulebooks get thrown out the window, I am excited about a new generation of high-growth businesses emerging to both challenge and collaborate with established players, so that industries can be reshaped to fully cater to our new behaviours and preferences.

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RateS, a social commerce platform operating in Indonesia, announced today it has closed an undisclosed amount in Series A round, co-led by Vertex Ventures and Genesis Alternative Ventures.

The fresh capital will go towards bankrolling RateS’s expansion into tier 2 and 3 markets in Indonesia by expanding the “density” of its reseller membership network, which the company claims to have surpassed half a million.

Besides, the funds will be used to improve product catalogues as part of future product and platform development.

Launched in 2016, RateS enables small businesses and individuals to start their online business through social channels. By using technology to modernise sourcing, distribution and credit, RateS helps resellers solve inefficiencies faced by resellers.

RateS claims that it has since expanded to over 400 cities across Indonesia and has more than tripled its growth in 2020 alone, with the bulk of its revenue stemming from tier 2 and 3 cities within Indonesia.

“For us, the true measure of RateS’s success will be in how much we can improve our resellers’ livelihood and businesses. We have already seen our resellers’ incomes increasing by up to 50 per cent since joining our platform,” said Jake Goh, co-founder and CEO of RateS.

Also Read: A look at the future of social commerce

“Our collective vision is to revolutionise social commerce through technology, creating digital entrepreneurs and empowering them with tools to conduct their business seamlessly and more profitably,” he added.

Social commerce in Indonesia has witnessed strong growth. A McKinsey report forecast that social commerce is expected to grow into a US$25 billion dollar industry by 2022, driven by the growing number of merchant bases.

“As with many other models we have seen, e-commerce marketplaces in Southeast Asia have long evolved into a race-to-the-bottom with cash serving as the only standing moat,” said Chua Joo Hock, Managing Partner at Vertex Ventures.

“RateS, on the other hand, has unearthed an efficient acquisition playbook to access Tier 2 and 3 cities in Indonesia that is not only cost-effective and sustainable but more importantly has huge untapped market potential,” he added.

Last month, Indonesia-based micro-retail e-commerce platform Ula raised US$20 million in Series A round co-led by Quona Capital and B Capital Group to expand its services within Indonesia.

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Image Credit: RateS

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Indonesian investment and personal finance management platform FUNDtastic today announced that it has raised US$7.7 million in Series A funding round in January. The funding round is led by Ascend Capital Group, with the participation of Indivara Group and other investors.

In a press statement, FUNDtastic CEO Harry Hartono explained that the funding will be used to support expansion and product development.

“This funding will enable us to continue developing an investment product that is easily accessible, even for beginner investors. We will use this new funding to expand market reach and to enrich our products and features offerings to help serve our customers’ needs better,” Hartono said.

In August 2020, FUNDtastic acquired 100 per cent of mutual funds and securities platform Invisee for US$6.5 million. As detailed in a report by The Jakarta Post, the acquisition was meant to support the startup’s product development effort.

Since then, Invisee had rebranded itself to FUNDtastic+.

Also Read: Philippine fintech startup Ayannah seeks Series B funding to fuel its expansion into Vietnam, India

Despite the ongoing pandemic, FUNDtastic said that their platform experienced growth in both the number of users and funds that they managed in 2020. The company has acquired a total of 110,000 users and managed a total of IDR200 billion (US$14 million).

FUNDtastic CIO and co-founder Franky Chandra credited this growth to several factors including a partnership with organisations such as Indonesia Fintech Association (AFTECH) and government agencies such as the Financial Services Authority (OJK). The pandemic has also encouraged digital transformation and pushed users to reconsider their finance management.

Founded in 2019 by Hartono, Chandra, and Medwin Susilo, the startup is currently based in Jakarta.

Other fintech startups in Indonesia that have raised funding in recent times include PasarPolis, GajiGesa, and ALAMI. Popular segments in the local fintech ecosystem includes P2P lending for SMEs, personal finance management platforms, insurtech, and e-wallet.

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Image Credit: Muhammad Raufan Yusup on Unsplash

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