Coinomo, the company behind the latest cryptocurrency exchange OMO which is focused on Southeast Asia, has secured an undisclosed amount in a new round of financing led by Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India.

The round was also joined by zVentures, the corporate VC of Razer; Spartan Group, a blockchain advisory and digital asset management firm based in Singapore and Hong Kong; and Leo Cheng, an investor with MetaCartel Ventures, a community-driven investment decentralised autonomous organisation consisting of founders and builders.

Existing investor Turn Capital, the family office of 17LIVE’s co-founder and non-executive chairman Joseph Phua, also participated.

This development comes just a month after Singapore-based Coinomo acquired Taiwanese crypto wallet Dapp pocket and yield aggregator Cappuu.

OMO merges Dapp Pocket Wallet and Cappuu into a single platform and is aimed at being the gateway for Southeast Asia’s new and mainstream adopters to the world of crypto.

Also Read: Joseph Phua’s Turn Capital acquires Dapp Pocket to create SEA-focused retail crypto exchange

As per a press statement, OMO offers a high-quality user experience and eliminate unnecessary details and confusion.

Coinomo also offers OMO finance, a platform that serves as a higher order product, catering to more seasoned crypto investors, to join and enjoy the raging waves of crypto movement on the main street. Diligently crafted investment-grade products will be offered exclusively on this platform.

The company has also announced the launch of OMO’s beta version that allows users to buy and sell cryptocurrency pairs and participate in yield products of various return profiles.

The crypto space has seen a strong resurgence in the last 12 months, and especially high levels of publicity and trading in the past months. New use cases for cryptocurrencies have breathed new life into the already booming industry, the division between main street and crypto is getting thinner and thinner.

“There is increasing interest and continued innovative applications in the crypto space. Coinomo is putting in place a platform to enable retail investors to easily participate in the ecosystem according to their return profiles. It provides significant value by abstracting away the complexity and perplexity for the general public retail users, while also mitigating risks away from many projects,” said Genping Liu, Partner at Vertex Venture SEAI.

“Vertex sees this as an infrastructure play to facilitate further development of the cryptocurrency ecosystem,” Liu added.

“We want to bring our expertise in consumer products into Coinomo and make this a fun and vibrant community. Investing with Coinomo is fun, our customers would love to open our app and to stay in the app. Easy-to-use and fun are the foundation for consumer products. We keep that in mind in every detail and product feature in our design,” said Evie Zhang, CEO of Coinomo.

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Image Credit: Coinomo

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As a startup that is working closely with the F&B and retail sector, one might imagine that the pandemic must have hit Mosaic Solutions hardly. But surprisingly, in 2020, the Philippine-based company recorded its highest revenue in December –exactly at the height of the pandemic.

According to Mosaic Solutions CEO Brett Doyle, the number was even higher than their pre-pandemic ones. It is also continuing to grow.

“We were impacted last year, obviously, but we were able to make some shifts … where we were able to increase our addressable market,” he explains in an interview with e27.

“We have moved into the cloud kitchen [segment] in a pretty big way, and have the top three providers of cloud kitchens in the Philippines as clients now … We have also moved into retail and have some clients in the retail side as well.”

Doyle acknowledged that the most challenging part of the situation was the unknown nature of the factors that are involved in it. But looking back into March 2020, when the lockdown measure was being announced in Metro Manila, Doyle recalls seeing the massive change coming.

“We moved our employees to work from home before everything got shut down. Because we wanted to be able to control the process and make it as easy as possible for everybody,” he says.

“I said [to the team], ‘Listen, we have two choices, right? Now we can hunker down and hope for the best and see what happens. Or we can get out there … and do what we need to do to help our clients and the community in general,’” he continues.

This impressive milestone has led Mosaic Solutions to exciting new progress such as its latest funding round: An additional US$1 million in its Series A funding round which Doyle says has enabled the company to further continue its growth.

Also Read: Mosaic Solutions raises US$1.5M to provide data analytics, inventory management solutions to SEA’s F&B industry

In addition to that, it has landed Mosaic Solutions in the list e27 Luminaries companies, a new initiative by e27 that is meant to celebrate the unsung heroes Southeast Asia’s tech startup ecosystem.

In their participation in this programme, Mosaic Solutions nominated Aziel Salve, Director of Client Onboarding, for her contribution in ensuring the company’s continuous growth and fostering clients’ trust during the pandemic.

In this opportunity, e27 also speaks to Salve to understand more of her background and how she managed to achieve the milestones that she had made in 2020.

Putting the clients first

Salve starts the conversation by explaining that she graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Information Technology, so building a career in the tech industry has always been an aspiration for her. Prior to joining Mosaic Solutions, she worked in a company that builds a hotel management system, where she did support implementation and training.

“We make sure that the hotel staffs … know how to use your system and deploy it properly,” she describes her responsibilities in more details.

This experience provides a background for the next steps in her career. After meeting Doyle, Salve joined Mosaic Solutions in 2016 when the situation was completely different than today. Apart from the company having a different set of products, she started out as a senior analyst and training head.

“After a few years, the products evolved, and now I am handling the training, onboarding and support for the POS and the purchasing products,” she says.

When asked about her approach in handling clients, Salve begins by saying that most of Mosaic Solutions’ clients discovered the products through word-of-mouth as the company did not have massive marketing campaigns before.

Once these clients are onboard the solutions, Salve believes in providing a service with empathy as its foundation.

“I always believe in making sure that the client receives the support that they need, and make sure that the support is always there, that Mosaic will always be there for any concerns that they have … We have to make sure that on my end, I am always available for them,” Salve elaborates.

Also Read: Mosaic Solutions raises US$1.5M to provide data analytics, inventory management solutions to SEA’s F&B industry

“We always put the customer first … by putting ourselves in the customers’ shoes. How would I like to be served if I were the client?” she continues, stressing that this is where her past work experience plays a role.

For people who would like to enter the tech industry, Salve shares a piece of advice: Believe that one person can do whatever they want as long as they put their heart in it. She also brings a gentle warning about the nature of the tech industry.

“Technology is ever-changing, so you must have a heart for learning. Always welcome new learning [opportunities],” she stresses.

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The e27 Luminaries is an initiative by e27 to celebrate the unsung heroes of the SEA startup ecosystem. Discover these notable companies and individuals here.

Image Credit: Mosaic Solutions

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Singtel-owned restaurant reservations and dining deals & rewards portal HungryGoWhere is shutting down.

“HungryGoWhere will be ceasing operations, and our last day of service is 11 July, 2021”, the company said in an announcement on its website.

The closure is “due to the competitive pressure in the industry which has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic”, a spokesperson of Singtel told Channel News Asia.

Most of the HungryGoWhere team will be deployed to other roles within Singtel Group, and the rest will be provided with re-employment assistance.

“We hope that we’ve helped make dining out a better experience for you and that you will continue to support the awesome restaurants, eateries, and hawkers in Singapore. Thank you for being with us all these years and we are really proud to have served you,” the company said in a Facebook post.

Also Read: HungryGoWhere Co-founder Dennis Goh joins Wavemaker, now hungry as VC

HungryGoWhere was launched in 2006 when the restaurant reservation industry was still in its early stages but was growing in Singapore.

It first launched as a food review site but gained popularity and expanded its offerings to provide restaurant reservations, dining deals, and dining rewards to users.

After six years of operations, it was acquired by Singtel for S$12 (US$9) million.

Singapore recently imposed a month-long aggressive restrictions, including on dining inside restaurants, due to an increase in the number of COVID-19 infections.

The F&B industry globally has been hit as uncertainty wavers around when the situation will improve.

Restaurants continue to face lower demand and decreased sales due to closures or declining traffic. Many customers are showing signs of caution about dining out with COVID-19 cases still on the rise in many areas of the world and the fear of another wave.

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Image Credit: HungryGoWhere

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The story: Grab CEO Anthony Tan has said he is confident its merger with a US-based blank-cheque company will be completed by the end of the year, following a delay caused by a review of its financials, reports Bloomberg.

According to Tan, Grab wanted to be proactive and transparent in reporting the financials of special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Altimeter Growth, hence the delay.

It is considering a secondary listing in Singapore as one of its options, but it’s currently focusing on the Nasdaq listing.

Vistas Media Capital to expand footprint in MENA

The story: Homegrown media investment holding company Vistas Media Capital (VMC) will expand its footprint in the Middle East and Africa (MENA) across the media and entertainment sector.

Also Read: Vertex Ventures, zVentures invest in SEA-focused crypto exchange Coinomo

VMC founders have set up alternative investment fund management business, Vistas Media FZ-LLC, within the Abu Dhabi Media Free Zone’s “twofour54” for content creation and entertainment events production services in the region.

Under content production services, Vistas Media FZ-LLC will focus on creating original local content along with providing and facilitating pre-filming, production and post-production services for Arabic, Bollywood along with other Indian regional languages and Hollywood films in Abu Dhabi.

This announcement follows the announcement of special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) merger of Anghami with Vistas Media Acquisition Company on Nasdaq New York

About VMC: It is the parent of the sponsor for Vistas Media Acquisition Company, a SPAC that is taking Anghami, a music streaming platform in MENA, public on the Nasdaq exchange.

VMC also plans to set up a US$150+ million multi-strategy investment fund, leveraging its expertise across SPACs and content specialty financing within the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) to invest across the:

1. The entire ecosystem of SPACs (from funding sponsor capital, investing in a portfolio of SPACs as an IPO investor and for PIPE financing) and pre-IPO financing for companies across key focus sectors in MENA and across the globe.

2. Structured finance in the content space across films, web series, music in India and the MENA region.

Malaysian state-owned accelerator opens applications for fourth cohort

The story: The Selangor Accelerator Programme (SAP) announced it has opened applications for the fourth edition of its startup incubator.

The accelerator is a three-month programme that aims to prepare 30 early-stage startups and help them become investment-ready businesses.

Focus sectors: Agritech, fintech, greentech, ecommerce, and smart-city solutions.

Also Read: Singtel-owned HungryGoWhere shuts down amidst COVID-19 crisis

About SAP: It is an initiative of Sidec (the Selangor Information Technology & Digital Economy Corporation), a company created by Malaysia’s Selangor state government.

German fintech Moonfare plans Singapore foray

About Moonfare: It runs an online platform for individual investors to bet their money on a curated portfolio of private funds.

Goals: The plan is to ramp up its Asia operations, says a DealStreetAsia report. Moonfare forayed into Hong Kong early this year. It is now looking to launch its second office in Asia with the establishment in the city-state as early as the end of the third quarter.

It is in the process of applying for Capital Market Services License from the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

The post In brief: Grab to complete SPAC merger by year-end appeared first on e27.

Malaysia-based Carro has raised US$360 million in a Series C funding round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, making it the first automotive marketplace unicorn in Southeast Asia.

This news follows Carro’s US$110-million raise in debt financing last year.

The company plans to use the fresh capital to strengthen its market position and expand the retail offering across Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore.

Carro has plans to enhance its portfolio of financial services by expanding beyond in-house loan financing, as well as accelerate the development of its AI capabilities.

Launched in 2015, Carro is a subscription-based service that allows customers to drive a car without the hassle of owning it.

The service is currently available in four plans: Daily, Roomy, Fancy, and Luxury. With the service, subscribers can pay a flat monthly fee that includes all costs associated with car ownership — such as insurance, road tax, warranty, 24-hour assistance, and maintenance costs. At the end of the term, customers can return the car.

Also Read: Carro raises US$110M funding as contactless car buying boosts its revenues

During the pandemic, it launched a contactless car purchase service in Singapore that allows customers to purchase pre-owned vehicles without any face-to-face interaction.

Carro claims to have closed its financial year ending March 2021 with over a 2.5x growth in revenue and continues to be EBITDA positive for the second year running.

Its group of companies include Genie, myTukar and Jualo.

As of June 2021, Carro has raised over US$470 million from SoftBank Vision Fund 2, EDBI, Mitsubishi Corporation, MS&AD Ventures, Insignia Ventures Partners and B Capital Group.

“We are grateful for the strong support from our investors, which reaffirms our belief in the transformative power of AI in the automotive industry to deliver an exceptional customer experience. As digitalisation shapes the global landscape through new consumer habits and business practices, it is a very exciting time for an end-to-end online car marketplace like Carro,” said Aaron Tan, founder of Carro.

“Carro is transforming the automotive industry in Southeast Asia by providing a seamless buying and selling experience for both consumers and car dealers. Powered by AI, its technology platform provides consumers with full-stack services and transparency throughout the car ownership process,” said Greg Moon, Managing Partner of SoftBank Investment Advisers.

Carro is Southeast Asia’s 14th unicorn. Other companies belonging to the coveted club are Sea Group, Razer, Trax, Grab, Lazada, and Patsnap (all Singapore); and Gojek, Traveloka, Tokopedia, and Bukalapak (all Indonesia); Revolution Precrafted (Philippines); VNG (Vietnam); and Flash Group (Thailand) which recently made to the club after raising US$150 million.

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Image Credit: Carro

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