February 2021 marks a significant milestone for fintech in Singapore. Starting this month, the first wave of non-bank financial institutions (NFIs and fintechs), including Wise (formerly TransferWise) where I work, are now connected to FAST, Singapore’s real-time payment rails.

This is a momentous occasion not only for our journey in Singapore, but also a regulatory milestone that heralds the maturing of the local fintech industry. By giving firms access to FAST, previously the exclusive domain of banks, regulators are enabling greater competition and innovation in the payments space.

This is ultimately to the benefit of consumers, because if there is one thing that the pandemic has shown us about payments, it is that speed, reliability and near-universal access have never been more important in a world powered by instantaneous digital interaction. 

A win for the Singaporean consumer

Whether it’s listening to music or taking an online class, consumers are benefitting from a better experience — one that is becoming faster, cheaper, more convenient and most importantly, offers a variety of choice, no matter where you are.

In contrast, the financial services industry has largely not kept pace; fintechs have gradually begun to fill this void by offering a variety of services that were traditionally the domain of the incumbent banks. 

For the consumer, the benefits of this seemingly obscure change to the payments plumbing may not seem obvious. But, direct participation in FAST helps non-banks level the playing field with traditional banks, increases competition and allows fintechs to offer a better, cheaper and faster service in a digital world.

Also Read: How blockchain-powered fintech services can improve financial inclusion

Beyond this, fintechs gain better control on the entire customer experience when connected directly to the payment system, rather than having this access through a bank.

Take international payments as an example. Even though sending an email around the world takes seconds and is virtually free, moving money across borders remains often incredibly slow, hard and expensive. This is because historically financial systems were built primarily with domestic needs in mind. Thus, sending money from one country to another involved having to move funds through a circuitous chain of banks across a number of borders 一 a system we’re still largely reliant on even with trillions of dollars moving globally.

This results in delays, inefficiency and most of all, high fees. A recent report from The World Bank’s Remittance Prices Worldwide showed that sending remittances costs an average of 6.75 per cent of the amount sent — far higher than the United Nations’ goal to push this down to lower than 3 per cent. More middlemen in the money movement process means additional costs and delays resulting in a sub-optimal experience for the end consumer, especially for small businesses. 

The evolution of the UK’s real-time payment scheme, Faster Payments Service (FPS), is a great example of how opening direct access has encouraged competition and benefited consumers. For instance, the number of direct  participants increased significantly from 18 (primarily banks) at the end of 2017 to 33 today (with a significant number of fintechs), boosting competition in the payments space.

At Wise, we also were able to make payments cheaper by 20 per cent for our UK customers after we became the first non-bank to gain access to the FPS in 2018.  Here in Singapore, legacy regulation meant that until now, non-banks were walled off from this infrastructure. After months of investment and commitment to building a highly resilient FAST-compliant system and undergoing rigorous testing, we eventually gained the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) approval for entry.

I’m excited to see that we are now live and look forward to building more competitive products that make payments even faster and cheaper for Singaporean residents. Congratulations are also in order to Grab, LiquidPay, MatchMove and Singtel who joined us this month in connecting directly to FAST. 

The role of regulations

Fintechs are changing the status quo here. From neobanks such as Aspire who provide financial services to the underserved SME segment to Stashaway’s personalised wealth management solution for retail investors, new players are building innovative ways to navigate through the complex world of financial services to give consumers more options.

Also Read: How fintech is disrupting the Southeast Asian payments market

For the fintech sector to thrive, policymakers need to manage risks while encouraging growth. Striking this balance between regulation and fintech innovation is not easy, especially with the rapid speed of technological change. In this regard, MAS has often adopted a forward-thinking approach.

For example, in 2018, MAS removed the need for mandatory face-to-face user verification. This enabled us to onboard new customers digitally, and subsequently, with access to the MyInfo national database, complete this process for our customers in a matter of minutes. Other initiatives such as the Fintech Regulatory Sandbox and the recent guidelines for financial institutions to mitigate cyber risk are good examples of progressive regulatory responses. 

As one of the centres of innovation in the world, Singapore is well-placed to foster a more open and transparent ecosystem that benefits consumers. I’m heartened to see Singapore leading the charge in the region to encourage constructive competition and closer collaboration. 

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F-drones, a Singapore-based developer of large-scale autonomous drones for maritime logistics, has raised an undisclosed amount in seed investment, led by ship management company Eastern Pacific Shipping (EPS).

The round also saw participation from Germany-based ship management firm Schulte Group (which invested through its venture arm Innoport), besides SEEDS Capital, Entrepreneur First, Orient Ventures, Superangel (Estonian early-stage investor), and a few unnamed Singaporean angels.

The funding will enable F-drones to form more technology and commercial partnerships and hire global talent in aircraft design, avionics, autonomy, and computer vision, it said in a statement.

F-drones was started in 2019 by Yeshwanth Reddy and Nicholas Ang with a mission to provide 24×7 commercial Beyond-Vision-Line-Of-Sight (BVLOS) drone deliveries to ships.

Unlike VLOS (Visual-Line-of-Sight) flights, which are operated within the pilot’s sightline, BVLOS flights are flown beyond the visible range, giving the company’s drones an added advantage.

The startup is also developing Hyperlaunch Heavy (HLH), a fully-electric and autonomous proprietary drone, capable of delivering 100kg payloads over 100km.

Also Read: OceanShield raises US$800K to safeguard the maritime industry from cyber attacks

At present, F-drones is conducting test flights on Hyperlaunch, a scaled-down version of HLH, capable of delivering 5kg loads over 50km.

The startup is planning to start test flights to ships in Singapore later this year, and commence commercial drone deliveries with Hyperlaunch soon after.

“We firmly believe F-drones will reinvent the shore-to-ship delivery process by being faster, cheaper, and cleaner than any existing model in use today. F-drones also adds an urgent layer of safety for seafarers and service providers by limiting human contact for routine deliveries,” said Gil Ofer, special advisor for Innovation at Eastern Pacific Shipping.

F-drones’s development has also been supported by various government agencies, including the Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) and Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS).

“As a key maritime hub, we support maritime tech startups which push the envelope driving the next phase of Maritime Singapore’s industry transformation. By providing an enabling environment for solution providers to testbed within our waters, we accelerate the translation of new technologies into commercial-ready solutions. MPA is glad to be able to support tech startups such as F-drones to take their solutions to market at a faster pace,” commented Thomas Ting, CTO at MPA.

Singapore has been accelerating its efforts towards innovation in the maritime sector since the launch of the Maritime Singapore Green Pledge in 2011, after which a total of 90 companies have pledged their commitment towards promoting clean and green shipping in Singapore.

Just last week, Rainmaking, a corporate innovation and venture development firm along with VC firm SEEDS Capital, launched a US$22-million fund to jointly invest in maritime startups.

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Image Credit:  Dileep M

 

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Indonesia-based Emtek Group, which was founded in 1983 as a provider of personal computer service, has evolved into a modern, integrated group of companies with three main business divisions: media, telecom and IT solutions, and connectivity.

The group also owns and operates several internet properties, including DANA (one of the most-used digital wallets with over 40 million members) and Bukalapak (an e-commerce marketplace with almost 7 million mom-and-pop stores).

Emtek is participating in Enterprise Singapore’s inaugural Southeast Asian Open Innovation Challenge (OIC), which brings together some of the region’s largest conglomerates to collaborate with innovative startups, scaleups and SMEs.

e27 caught up with Emtek’s Senior Vice President (Business Development) Andya Daniswara to find out more about the group’s objectives at OIC and its various corporate innovation initiatives in Indonesia.

Edited excerpts:

Emtek is a conglomerate with multiple business interests and units, and is capable of developing own products and solutions to support its units. Why does the group still require to partner and work with startups to support its existing businesses?

In the technology sector, speed to market is very crucial. While organic product/business development is always ideal, time is required to support the development and understand the various stress points in different operating contexts.

Also Read: Why Indonesia is the hottest payments apps battleground in Southeast Asia

If we are able to fast-forward products/services that are not core to the business via partnerships, then this will allow the organic team, including management’s bandwidth, to focus more on the development of core products.

It is widely perceived that corporates are often resistant to change and are unwilling to break the status-quo. How true is this when it comes to Southeast Asia’s conglomerates? Does Emtek foster a culture of innovation?

We would like to believe that we are one of the frontrunners in Indonesia’s digital transformation, being one of the first movers and leading players in digital entertainment, commerce and payment.

As most of SEA’s conglomerates are currently undergoing transitions between generations, we see more and more are embracing digital disruptions.

Emtek routinely holds forums/workshops for the group’s executives across the subsidiaries to brainstorm visions and roadmaps. These sessions align each of the executives on the state of progress or achievements happening amongst the subsidiaries and current or future capabilities that may open up further collaboration opportunities. These workshops typically last several days, with clear action plan and ownership from executives-in-charge.

Why does Emtek believe that it is one of the frontrunners in Indonesia’s digital transformation? Can you share some examples for the digital initiatives it has taken over its many years of existence?

Emtek was one of the first Indonesian business groups that built a presence across various internet verticals and established a digital ecosystem in Indonesia.

Now in its digital ecosystem, the group operates Vidio.com (the largest local video OTT platform with 60 million MAU), Kapanlagi Youniverse (group of news/content portals that serve over 1.3 billion article page views per month), Bukalapak (provides digital and supply chain solutions to 7 million small shops and agents across Indonesia), and DANA (digital wallet that has amassed 55 million registered users), among others.

How does Emtek define corporate innovation? Is it about inculcating and fostering innovation among its employees? Or is it about partnering with startups and working with them for a long term? Or is it much beyond that?

We continuously highlight corporate achievements and innovations from any of our subsidiaries to all executives within the group. This fosters a spirit of competition in innovation and most importantly, as these innovations are socialised and embraced by members of the group, they often result in further derivative innovations.

Other than organic means, innovations are also often sourced through strategic acquisition/investments to bring about a new technology capability to the group, enabling more innovation opportunities.

How will you work with your innovation partners, startups and entrepreneurs? How mutually beneficial are these partnerships? Will you provide funding/make strategic investment/look to acquire these startups later?

Startups that participate in the Open Innovation Challenges (OIC) will have the benefit of having an implementation case in Emtek’s digital assets, which may also scale their business volumes. This relationship may potentially result in strategic investment in the startup, if the products/services delivered are able to demonstrate values synergistic to the group’s overall ecosystem.

Can you share more details about the innovation partners that you are looking for at OIC? What are you looking for in them? Don’t you think it is better to source Indonesian partners given the proximity, culture, language etc.? What role can Enterprise SG play here?

Emtek is keen to explore talented and aspirational founders who have strong belief in and commitment to their products. As the recent pandemic hit, teams and workflows are becoming more digital and borderless than ever.

Also, that price disparity of engineering talents are narrowing across ASEAN markets, which allows us to explore regionally for exceptional talents, obviously for key positions that do not require much localisation or external stakeholder interactions.

Do you think the Indonesia government is doing enough to encourage corporate innovation? What are the solid initiatives taken by the government in this regard?

In my view, technology innovation has been at the forefront of government’s agenda. Though Indonesia is constrained by fiscal limitation in general, the government has worked quickly to facilitate and regulate digital innovation happening in the country.

Key initiatives include loosening the investment-negative list related to digital business, R&D tax incentives, and quickly framing regulatory framework to facilitate digital payment, P2P licenses and soon digital banking.

Corporate venture capital (CVC) plays a vital role in fostering innovation which in turn bolster the startup ecosystem. However, Asia seems to be lagging behind the West in terms of CVC. What are the reasons for this lag? How can Asia overcome the barriers, if any?

I am not so familiar with Asian markets outside of Indonesia, but I will comment that numerous Indonesian business conglomerates participate in the startup ecosystem through CVC or other initiatives. Among them are Djarum, Sinarmas, Lippo, Telkom, Kompas, and Triputra, besides Emtek.

Also Read: Standard Chartered partners with Bukalapak to launch digital banking solutions

Internet startups have been probably regarded as typically a cash-burning or unsustainable business model that consume intensive capital, in favour of well-capitalised players from the West.

Typically, we see most Asian CVCs are active in the early/mid phases of the startup, and thereafter the investment is regarded as a hedge for the future.

How important is CVC for Indonesia’s ecosystem? Does Emtek already run a CVC or does it have plans to launch one to back local startups?

Indonesian business conglomerates are very influential in shaping the direction of the country’s economy. Thus, its business network, reputation and regulatory knowledge are very valuable to any business startup.

Emtek conducts its technology investments via subsidiaries consolidated to its public listed entity. This is done in the spirit of transparency to all shareholders of Emtek.

How crucial is ‘intrapreneurship’ for the corporate world? Does Emtek foster an intrapreneurship culture? Can you share details?

Intrapreneurship is a very favourable concept where key management of a company proactively seeks business growth opportunities, while being prudent in maintaining costs. Management in the group are often incentivised in form of bonus or share ownership plans, based on business target achievements.

What’s more effective as well is that the group facilitates all-year and real-time collaboration forums for executives within the group to connect and identify collaboration opportunities.

Does the group also look to startup partners from the other parts of the world (from outside of the OIC network) as well?

We are open to explore cooperation with great startups from any regions or channels. In the past, we have explored and worked on business collaboration with startups from China, India and the US.

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Bukalapak and Dana are participating in Enterprise Singapore’s inaugural Southeast Asian Open Innovation Challenge (seaoic.com). To find out more about the range of open innovation challenges in Singapore, visit openinnovationnetwork.gov.sg.

Image Credit: Emtek

 

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This will be an unforgettable year.

Amidst the numerous adversities that the COVID-19 pandemic brought about, Southeast Asian (SEA) startup ecosystem has proven its resilience. Despite challenges, 2020 was rife with action: e27 has covered updates from the ecosystem that ranged from massive funding rounds, regional expansions, up-and-coming IPOs (even via SPACs), product pivots, to rapid digital adoption.

But they say behind every great startup is an even greater team. After all, it takes a good team to build a great organisation.

Throughout the years, coverage on the SEA tech startup ecosystem has been centred around the people who founded and invested in a company. When a company becomes successful, we put the founders and investors in the spotlight as we try to understand what is behind its big name and what is coming up for them.

But this time, we decide to pursue something different. It is a hard fact that most startups would not have been successful without their army of undeterred, ambitious and high-achieving individuals, who do the day-to-day grind and make it all work. Individuals who have made the founders’ vision comes true and utilises the existing resources to grow it.

Considering the crucial role that they play in the ecosystem, we do not wish for these individuals to become just another face in the crowd — let alone invisible. This is why, this time, we decide to put the spotlight on them.

We are presenting to you e27 Luminaries.

Bringing out the heroes

e27 Luminaries is an initiative to recognise executives and managers who have played instrumental roles in the success of their respective organisations, particularly throughout the challenging year that was 2020. They could be individuals who have led groundbreaking projects, implemented life-saving ideas, or made mind-blowing achievements despite the unfavourable situation.

We aim to list and celebrate 100 such individuals who have driven significant changes and milestone events at their organisations during the pandemic.

The e27 Content team is curating a list of companies who managed to leave remarkable traces along the way — beyond surviving the turbulence. We will reach out to these companies to nominate one person whom they believe should represent their organisation and feature them in a list that is set to come out at the end of March.

In addition to the listicle, we have also teamed up with the up-and-coming podcast show the Growthspurt, hosted by Drew Calin, to do a special interview with 10 of the selected individuals. Because who wouldn’t want to understand the secret sauce behind their success?

As part of the curation process, we will reach out to selected companies to nominate a manager or executive that have played a key role in driving changes within the organisation throughout the pandemic, be it a successful pivot, notable funding round, or even an entry to a new market.

These individuals will also receive opportunities for mentorship and partnership with our partner organisations.

Join the party

Do you know an individual or a company that you believe should be on our radar? Someone who fits the criteria, and deserves the spotlight? We would like to hear from you! Feel free to send us your recommendations through this link by March 7, 2021.

It is time for us to celebrate the unsung heroes of SEA startup ecosystem.

The post Year of the e27 Luminaries: A celebration of the unsung heroes of the SEA startup ecosystem appeared first on e27.

As a chief player in the global semiconductor sector, Taiwan is well known for its innovations and advancements. Taiwan claimed the twelfth place out of 141 economies within the 2019 Global Competitiveness Report released by the World Economic Forum. In recent years, the country has seen an increase in venture capital investment, government initiatives, and sectoral reforms fostering innovation and leading to more global entrepreneurs setting up their base in the country.

Compared to other markets in the region, Taiwan’s demographic of 23.5 million is modest, but consumer habits and market openness make it a relatively easy market to navigate. Taiwan provides an appealing consumer base for software companies to test consumer acceptance of new services. Taiwan also recognises the essential role that startups play in bolstering economic growth, thus, yielding numerous changes in its startup ecosystem designed to increase competitiveness.

Problem-solving through entrepreneurship

Aiming to unleash the power of entrepreneurship to solve big problems with the world’s leading companies, Rainmaking Innovation recently inaugurated its Center of Excellence and Expertise in Southern Taiwan Science Park (STSP). Rainmaking innovation has been in Taiwan for two years and joined the STSP to implement projects with the Ministry of Science and Technology in March last year. The Secretary-General of STSP stated that with the southern Taiwan innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem that started in 2016, the ecosystem will be more globalised via a partnership with Rainmaking Innovation.

Also read: Indonesia and Singapore are teaming up to build Southeast Asia’s digital hub of the future

Rainmaking aims to help startups go internationally and create Taiwan-based unicorns through cooperation with large enterprises in Taiwan, with one of the partnerships being their first venture development in Taiwan with MMXtion Technology – PETZZO.

With PETZZO, MMXtion Technology is developing novel, future-proof business models outside their traditional business. PETZZO developed a pet insurance application that based its core technology on blockchain, a secure and traceable system of recording information. This technology helps them in fraud prevention and framing up a pet health ecosystem by connecting over 200 hospitals in Taiwan in 3 months.

Being active in the market for more than 30 years, MMXtion Technology recognised the need to address concerns in order to evolve. Through their innovative technologies and their collaboration with MSIG Mingtai Insurance, the PETZZO app brings convenience by integrating medical records, pet identity recognition, and insurance applications and claims. With over 1800 veterinary clinics on board, clinics could upload individual pet diagnosis reports encrypted by blockchain technology. On the cloud, this medical database also serves as a reference for the insurance company in underwriting and claim settlements. The service increase claims processing efficiency by 75%, from 15 days to 3days.

Using the power of blockchain

The director of Mingtai Insurance said that the application of blockchain technology removed possible forgery of pet insurance claims. As more veterinary clinics join PETZZO’s platform, various clinics will have a basis for comparison, solving the lack of uniform fee standards for pets, and reducing unreasonable claim amounts. If the insurance business is to be sustainable, it requires a comprehensive platform to reduce moral hazards and improve transparency. Pet owners will know which pet clinics are better in value and quality, encouraging improvements among veterinary clinics as well. The application of blockchain technology can create a win-win situation for insurance companies, pet owners, and clinics.

Also read: Get to know these 10 verified investors who are ready to connect today

MMXtion Technology also focusses on dog and cat facial recognition, replacing chip recognition technology. PETZZO has set up the first pet health database system combined with pet facial recognition technology, allowing every pet to have their own pet ID. With this ecosystem, PETZZO will be able to analyse data to support pet owners and help them take good care of their pets.

Building teams to support innovation

MMXtion Technology is wholly-owned by Tung-I Information Service company. Since its establishment, Tung-I Information Service is committed to becoming the best IT partner for customers. It has accumulated years of professional information service experience in finance, telecommunications, government, and other security sectors. MMXtion Technology was born under the demand for efficient, stable, and automated transformation, to become a leading hyper-automation service provider, combining artificial intelligence, machine learning technology, and humanities to realise innovative services.

In 2020, Rainmaking Innovation in STSP raised funds of up to 50 million NTD, and the amount of orders exceeded 10 million NTD with 3 new ventures cooperated with STSP enterprises and 4 new ventures entered international markets such as Singapore, Australia, and Japan.

The estimated order amount for new businesses in the coming year is 40 million NTD. In addition to accelerating new businesses, it will continue to promote the digital transformation of large-scale enterprises in Taiwan and establish a venture capital fund to target Fortune 500 companies in smart manufacturing, digital healthcare, financial technology, and smart city technology sectors.

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This article is produced by the e27 team, sponsored by 
Rainmaking Innovation

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