Many of us have seen the recent headlines featuring Naomi Osaka’s withdrawal from the French Open due to her mental health condition. Osaka’s decision led to an outpour of support worldwide and even triggered The International Tennis Federation to review how tennis players and media interact during tournaments.

Mental health problems have been on the rise and those who work in fast-paced, high-stress environments such as startups can be at risk. Osaka’s withdrawal from the French Open may reveal some surprising lessons that startup entrepreneurs can learn.

The balance between mental health and startup momentum

Today, more business leaders are aware that mental health impacts workplace productivity. As a startup work culture can be fast-paced, always prioritising business growth and moving the sales numbers upwards can lead to adverse effects on mental wellbeing.

According to a research study, Singaporeans have one of the highest rates of the major depressive disorder compared to eight other high-income nations. Statistics from the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) also reveal that mental disorders are on the rise in Singapore.

Lifetime prevalence of mental disorders in Singapore

Researchers from IMH claim that the increase in lifetime prevalence of people experiencing a mental disorder could be due to increased awareness of mental disorders and more sources of stress.

Reportedly, more than three-quarters of the people with such conditions do not seek any form of professional help. While there are a handful of simple remedies to prevent mental health problems, here are four lessons from Naomi Osaka that can be applied to any startup work culture.

Learn to stand your ground and say no

Remember the last time someone asked for a favour and you wanted to say no but also felt the pressure to succumb to external demands? Did you stand your ground or did you go along to avoid confrontation? In our society where saying no might lead to a string of missed opportunities and repercussions, not many of us are brave enough to speak our mind.

Also Read: How to deal with stress: 8 practical tips for entrepreneurs

As an entrepreneur, you might think that pushing yourself over the limit is the winning formula to grow your business. However, always saying yes may lead to increased physical and mental deterioration that can cost more money down the road.

If there is one lesson to learn from Osaka’s encounter, it is her bravery to make choices based on her personal limits despite having to say no to more money-making opportunities. Fundamentally, knowing your stress limits and learning to say no is the key to maintaining a work-life balance.

Set healthy boundaries

As American author Napoleon Hill once said, “You are the master of your destiny. You can influence, direct and control your own environment. You can make your life what you want it to be.”

It’s better to set and control your own boundaries than to leave them in the hands of others. Setting boundaries is an important part of establishing one’s identity but it is also crucial for maintaining your business philosophy so that you can manage client expectations without over stretching your resources.

Boundaries can be physical or emotional, and they should strike a balance between being overly rigid and too versatile. Healthy boundaries fall somewhere in between.

Stay humble and apologise

While saying no and setting boundaries are perfectly justifiable for self-protection, it should be done humbly and mindfully. Like Osaka, startup leaders should not be afraid to define their role. But you should also be mindful that your actions may cause inconvenience to others. If so, be willing to face the situation humbly and apologise for any negative outcome.

A quick review of Osaka’s tweet may present some valuable tips on how to do this graciously. Be truthful about your boundaries, be brave enough to own up to any shortcomings and limited abilities, sincerely apologise without reservation.

Focus on solutions at the right time

Osaka’s solution was recognising her limits and putting a stop to her work so that she can regain mental wellness, what’s yours? All too often, the first thing we do in the face of a problem is focused on the negative situation. This could mean overextending yourself to meet a client’s unreasonable demands or working past regular hours to meet deadlines.

Also Read: Overworking is not sustainable, and these 4 steps will help you become proactive in dealing with stress

When you choose to focus on the problems instead of implementing workable solutions and processes with long-term benefits, you’re allowing the same problems to repeat themselves. To turn failure into a gift and grow through stressful times instead of just casually going through them, you need to focus on resolving the underlying cause of those problems.

Whether this means finding business loans or better credit facilities for your startup, or leveraging technology to handle tedious tasks, focusing on solutions at the right time can be a game-changer for you and your business.

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Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing contributions from the community. This season we are seeking op-eds, analysis and articles on food tech and sustainability. Share your opinion and earn a byline by submitting a post.

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Reflecting on the past year and a bit, it’s easy to feel as though time stood still. Lockdowns, working from home and travel restrictions have all contributed to a sense of hibernation. But below the surface, things are buzzing in many aspects of work and life. The pandemic has been an accelerator for technology usage. And companies that are looking to get ahead are accelerating their digitisation agendas.

While this is true of most companies, in the world of insurance, it is particularly relevant. After all, it’s a sector already in the midst of seismic change. Rapid advances in technology, changing customer behaviour and an environment where customers are looking for more protection are fundamentally changing the industry. For insurers, there’s an existential need to keep up.

At Manulife, the pandemic hasn’t been a catalyst for change per se, because change was already underway, since we embarked on our digital transformation journey several years earlier—a strategy taken up with real zeal in Asia. But the pandemic has upped the ante to change faster. Manulife has responded by doing just that, fast-tracking digitisation efforts across the region.

More than C$700 million (US$579 million) has been invested in new digital capabilities globally since 2018. As a result, customers in almost all of Manulife’s Asia markets can now submit claims electronically, including on their smartphones, while agents can close deals virtually and through electronic point of sales systems with auto underwriting built-in.

To further accelerate that rapid pace of digitisation, we wanted to tap the very dynamic fintech, insurtech and healthtech community in Asia. So, in December 2020, Manulife linked up with Brinc, a global venture capital and accelerator firm, to launch Manulife BOOST, a programme that is essentially designed to identify established start-ups with which to collaborate and form meaningful partnerships.

The idea is to have the winning startups work with Manulife’s Asia business units and innovation teams on proofs of concept to validate solutions that ultimately improve and protect people’s health and financial wellbeing—and then potentially scale those solutions to millions of customers across the region.

Also Read: From our community: SME financing, insurtech in APAC, branding lessons, and more

Twelve finalists, three key themes

Manulife BOOST received almost 300 applications when it opened for entries at the beginning of the year, and 190 of these met the programme criteria.

That number was whittled down over several rounds of selection to just 12 finalists, all with creative business ideas that are based around three key themes central to Manulife’s ambition to be the most digital, customer-centric global company in the industry: cultivating a health services ecosystem; creating personalised and impactful customer journeys; and boosting agent performance and productivity.

The final round, where each of the 12 start-ups pitched to Manulife leaders in Asia, took place in May. The two to three winning cohorts are now being selected to develop their ideas with Manulife in Asia, and will be announced in the coming months.

The themes for the programme are also framed against the pandemic and its impact on our lives and our work. Helping to inform that was our Asia Care Survey. The most recent survey findings, released in January, spotlighted some emergent trends that echoed feedback from insurance customers on the ground.

Among those surveyed in Asia, 92 per cent said they had increased monitoring their health and well-being, while 95 per cent are taking actions to improve their overall health. The survey showed that 71 per cent planned to buy insurance, while over half (52 per cent) said they prefer to manage their policies through digital means like mobile apps, including for claims and payments.

While speaking to insurance agents remains important, it found the use of digital tools for a self-service approach to be very popular. The findings were useful in highlighting how people have put renewed emphasis on their health and mental well-being.

This includes more exercise and healthier diets. The survey results also revealed the familiarity and liking people have for using wearables and other fitness trackers.

Also Read: How insurtech is changing the game in Southeast Asia

Benefits startups and Manulife alike

The BOOST programme has obvious benefits for Manulife, which can work with startups and support the development of new cutting-edge technology for the insurance sector. More generally, working with start-ups drives greater innovation and an agile mindset, while increasing the access and adoption of technology.

The exchange of ideas between different teams also nurtures fresh perspectives that, for the case of Manulife, helps address Asia’s rising health, protection and retirement needs.

For startups, a partnership with Manulife offers an invaluable experience, with learning and growth opportunities. They can have access to tools, resources and expertise via Manulife’s innovation lab, where teams of business strategists, experienced designers and engineers work with them exploring innovative technologies. The startups also have the opportunity to tap into Brinc’s global network of mentors, investors and service providers.

The 12 finalists comprise three on the customer journey, three on agent enablement, and six with a focus on the health services ecosystem.

Customer journey

• CareVoice, an integrated digital ecosystem for customer health management
• Insurely, a digital insurance wallet and marketplace
• Planner Bee, a digital financial and insurance aggregator

Agent enablement

• BeeFintech, a SaaS and CRM tool for insurance brokers and agents
• Gnowbe, a rapid authoring and collaborative learning tool
• Rallyware, a performance enablement solution to engage a distributed workforce

Health services ecosystem

• DocDoc, an AI-driven healthcare solution for insurers and employers
• EloCare, a menopausal diagnosis and tracking wearable and platform
• Homage, a personal care solution to provide on-demand holistic home caregiving to seniors
• Mixcare Health, a quality and affordable healthcare solution for SMEs
• OME Health, a personalised nutrition and coaching platform
• Pulse Active Stations, an AI- and IoT-enabled health kiosk for lifestyle diseases

They originate from a diverse set of geographies, including mainland China, Hong Kong, India, Singapore, Sweden, the UK and the US, and are all looking to deploy their solution in Asia. All the finalists have at least a functional prototype and demonstrated product-market fit with proven customer traction.

Also Read: Why Asia’s insurance industry is poised for collaborative disruption

An intriguing mix of ideas

The mix of startups in the final is intriguing. On the health side, their specialisations include fitness and wellness, telemedicine, health kiosks, and care homes for the elderly. These are all big subjects in areas we’ve all heard so much about over the past year.

The other finalists cover end-to-end digital health services, insurance policy and financial data aggregation, performance management and learning, and a customer relationship management (CRM) solution for brokers.

Again, all essential ingredients for the insurance industry—if done well, can make a huge difference to addressing Asia’s growing health, protection and retirement needs.

All of the proposals submitted are highly relevant to our business and if they can pass the proof of concept, it would be easy to see them going to market—a Manulife one—in the not-too-distant future.

Regardless of the outcome, all the finalists will have achieved high visibility and will go away with meaningful feedback and recommendations on how to advance their ideas. For the winners—there will be two or three—it will mark the start of a collaboration with Manulife to hopefully bring their products to the fastest-growing as well as the most dynamic region in the world.

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Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing contributions from the community. This season we are seeking op-eds, analysis and articles on food tech and sustainability. Share your opinion and earn a byline by submitting a post.

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BondEvalue co-founders Rajesh Johar and Rahul Banerjee (R)

BondEvalue, an electronic bond trading startup in Singapore, has raised US$6 million in Series A round of fund raising from a slew of investors, including MassMutual Ventures Southeast Asia and Citigroup.

Existing shareholders Potato Productions, a company helmed by entrepreneur Lee Han Shih, and Octava, a Singapore-based family office, also joined the round.

This brings the total capital raised by BondEvalue to US$10 million.

BondEvalue will use the proceeds from the new round to increase its international members.

Also Read: What entrepreneurs can learn from Naomi Osaka’s withdrawal from the French Open

The startup also announced a joint venture (JV) in Mexico to form a Peso bond exchange and represents the first local currency expansion by BondEvalue.

BondEvalue was established in 2016 to provide electronic bond trading and to make bond investments accessible to a wider group of individual investors.

The company’s proprietary technology and enterprise-grade blockchain enables BondbloX investors to buy and sell bonds in denominations of US$1,000 instead of the usual US$200,000, and through a public exchange where prices are highly transparent.

The platform operates on a B2B2C model and connects to the end investor via their bank or broker.

BondEvalue Information services brings innovation to bond price discovery, AI-based news, analytics, and delivers these services via mobile, web and APIs.

Last October, it received a Recognised Market Operator (RMO) approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore to operate BondbloX Bond Exchange, the world’s first fractional bond exchange.

Co-founder and CEO Rahul Banerjee said: “We are focused on executing our mission of bringing bond investing to the so-called HENRYs (High earners, not rich yet), who hitherto were unable to buy bonds.”

Anvesh Ramineni, Managing Director at MassMutual Ventures, said: “Investing in corporate bonds has typically been out of reach for most retail investors in Asia. BondEvalue is changing that by bringing greater transparency and democratising access to the fixed income asset class.”

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Image Credit: BondEvalue

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Las week, we learned why building thought leadership was essential for your fundraising efforts. This week, we will focus on the ‘how’.

While every founder in Asia Pacific understands that they need to be a thought leader (check out the effort our contributors put in), more often than not, it is ad hoc.

Finding time to speak at (virtual) conferences, networking with journalists to be interviewed and build your your own fan base via LinkedIn and other writing platforms is a lot to juggle with the tasks of running a startup.

And it is this very juggling that makes most of them sound like a content marketing studio. They fail to realise that thought leadership is not just about your product and its features — it is a reflection of your thoughts put forth confidently.

This week, I would like to enlist some tips for you to keep in mind to build your own thought leadership strategy especially when you do not have personnel to take care of it.

What to do

• Thought leadership distinguishes you and your brand from others. Events, podcasts and blogs can help you build leads, future investors, and even increase consumer base. But bear in mind that it is a slow process and yields no instant returns. It is a consistent and long-term process.
• Its starts with you. As the founder you are the face of the company and should work on enhancing your PR and marketing skills. Freely share your views about the industry and what’s happening at your startup via your company blog, LinkedIn, Twitter or more. Once the startup grows, the founder can take a backseat, but don’t stop doing it.
• As your startup grows, it’s important to know who participates in where. Divide and plan all your thought leadership efforts. Slowly, a startup can involve its technologist, sales and market leaders, or even HR executives to share their company practices, product know-how, etc.
• Steer clear of product marketing. It should not be the thrust of your thought leadership. You never want to appear as just a salesman hawking his products. No one, after all, likes to be sold to. What people do appreciate, on the other hand, is having their problems solved.
• The major thrust of your thought leadership should always be market education, especially in Asia, where most consumer and enterprise tech industries are still relatively new (at least compared to Silicon Valley).

Where to start

• Start a company blog if you can. But let it not just talk about your products, but also about what’s happening at your company, how you make decisions, etc. This will help engage all your stakeholders.
• Join Telegram groups or communities and network your way with peers. The e27 Facebook community is a great place to start. You can not only share your views and tips but also learn from others and stay up to date with industry sentiment.
• Contributor posts at media such as e27, Inc42, Forbes, etc. Contributed posts are a good break from story pitch and press release and an easy way to earn bylines for key members of your company. LinkedIn is a great tool too and the best way for brands to put company updates out there.

Anyone can become a thought leader and benefit from the added visibility. All you need are passion, expertise, and honesty, says Muara Makarim, who has helped startups such as Shopee and Circles.Life at their PR and thought leadership game.

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Abhinay Peddisetty, co-founder of BukuWarung

BukuWarung, a fintech firm that helps Indonesia’s micro SMEs digitise their business, has raised US$60 million in Series A funding.

American VC firm Valar Ventures led the round, along with fintech unicorns Wise, N26, and Goodwater Capital.

Former GoPay CEO Aldi Haryopratomo and Klarna founder Victor Jacobsson, as well as partners from SoftBank and Trihill Capital, also participated.

This brings the two-year-old company’s total funding raised so far to US$80 million.

The fresh capital will be used to enhance the company’s tech and product capabilities across its core accounting, digital payments, and commerce products. They include building a robust payments infrastructure to solve deeper use cases for Indonesian merchants such as QR payments and financial services.

Furthermore, it plans to double its team size to 300 and triple its engineering and product teams across Indonesia, Singapore, and India, as well as remote teams in other locations.

A customer using BukuWarung app

Chinmay Chauhan and Abhinay Peddisetty (former executives at Carousell and Grab) founded BukuWarung with the vision to digitalise Indonesia’s 60 million MSMEs.

Also Read: BukuWarung raises strategic financing from Rocketship to help Indonesian MSMEs improve bookkeeping process

They launched an app for micro-businesses that could help them improve the bookkeeping process by tracking daily transactions, including cash flow, credit, expense, and sales.

The company also recently launched a Shopify-equivalent, called Tokoko, which allows MSMEs to create online storefronts and sell their products.

Over the last six months, BukuWarung claims to have recorded over US$15 billion worth of transactions and US$500 million in payments. The team size grew 5x to around 150 people over this period.

“BukuWarung is already a market leader in MSME digital payments growing in a cost-effective and sustainable manner since its inception. This investment will further help us build an operating system for MSMEs, creating a positive socio-economic impact across Indonesia as the country emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Peddisetty.

“COVID-19 continues to expose the vulnerabilities of Indonesian MSMEs who remain a linchpin of the national economy. We have since seen the ecosystem rally between stakeholders — big and small – to accelerate the MSMEs’ digitalization by improving their operational resilience and market reach. From my experience, BukuWarung is not only building on such efforts but also emerged as one of the key actors accelerating this much-needed transformation,” added Aldi Haryopratomo, former CEO of
GoPay.

The company most recently secured an undisclosed amount of financing from Rocketship.

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Image Credit: BukuWarung

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An image of a MooVita car

MooVita, an autonomous vehicle (AV) tech startups based in Singapore, has raised multi-million dollar amount in a Series A round of investment, led by Yinson Green Technologies Division, a subsidiary of Malaysian energy infrastructure company Yinson Holdings.

SMRT Ventures, the corporate venture arm of SMRT Corporation, also participated in the round.

This investment marks Yinson’s first foray into the mobility space.

MooVita will use the funds to accelerate the development, commercialisation and international expansion of its driverless solutions — beginning with the deployment of driverless solutions for public transportation and the urban environment.

As per a press note, these plans are aligned with Singapore’s “Sustainable Singapore Blueprint”, which sets out to achieve a cleaner and greener transport system by 2030.

Also Read: Vietnam launches first autonomous vehicle

“With this injection of capital, we will focus on advancing our driverless technologies, building a fleet of driverless shuttle buses and safe on-road operations, expediting the deployment of the MooVita’s driverless public transport solutions across Asian urbanscapes, starting from Singapore and Malaysia,” said co-founder Dilip Limbu.

Established in 2016, MooVita is specialised in designing and deploying roadworthy autonomous vehicles in urban cities worldwide. It is currently developing a component-based driverless software solution, which transforms various vehicle types into versatile autonomous vehicles for multitudinous driving conditions and applications, such as first/last-mile transportation, logistic transportation, agriculture, and utility solutions.

Headquartered in Singapore, Moovita also has offices in Malaysia and India.

MooVita’s early investors include Pioneer Smart Sensing Innovations Corporation (a consolidated subsidiary of Pioneer Corporation), SEEDS Capital and GreenMeadows Accelerator.

According to Digital News Asia, the company was also the first to receive approval to test its autonomous vehicle in Cyberjaya, Malaysia.

“Our plan is to replace existing infrastructure and develop innovative business solutions in order to make transportation sustainable through the adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies. The co-investment into MooVita presents a wonderful opportunity to contribute back to the sustainable transportation infrastructure in Singapore,” commented Yinson Group Vice President Eirik Barclay.

“We are adopting a targeted strategy where we tap into our existing strengths in logistics solutions, energy infrastructure, and renewables; and focus on the geo-markets where we’re currently active. We believe that this approach will help us to build profitable, disruptive businesses, that meet the needs created by the global climate action agenda,” added Yinson Group Chief Strategy Officer, Daniel Bong.

According to KPMG’s latest Autonomous Vehicles Readiness Index, Singapore holds first place for autonomous vehicle (AV) policy and regulation and second for infrastructure — surpassed only by the Netherlands — and is widely recognised as a global leader in AV development.

Some of the other AV companies currently active in the region include nuTonomy, Red Dot Robotics, and OpenSourceSDC.

According to data compiled by Tracxn, there are 10 smart car startups in Singapore as of 2020.

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Image Credit: MooVita

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Alodokter co-founder Suci Arumsari

Indonesian telemedicine “super app” Alodokter has announced that it has secured an additional investment from MDI Ventures, a subsidiary of Telkom group, and Samsung Ventures.

The size of the investment was not disclosed.

This deal takes place nearly eight months after the Jakarta-headquartered startup raised a funding round led MDI Ventures in November 2020 as part of its US$30 million Series C extension.

The health-tech firm will use the funding to further expand and develop new products.

Started in 2014 by Nathanael Faibis and Suci Arumsari, Alodokter provides all-encompassing digital health services that include reliable health content, access to general practitioners and specialists (telemedicine), online booking of doctor’s appointments at hospitals, medicine purchase through e-pharmacy and affordable insurance packages.

Also Read: Halodoc snags US$80M Series C led by Astra to expand its telemedicine platform in Indonesia

The firm claims it has more than 30 million monthly active users and more than 43,000 certified doctors across 1,500 hospitals and clinics on its platform.

Since 2019, Alodokter has raised significant investment from investors such as Softbank Ventures, Sequis, Golden Gate Ventures, Philips, Heritas and Hera Capital.

CEO Faibis said: “…Key focus areas going forward include technology innovation, increasing the talent pool, and adding new features and functionalities…By integrating our ecosystem with additional state-owned enterprises, we expect to provide tech-enabled healthcare access to more Indonesian patients.”

Donald Wihardja, CEO MDI Ventures, said: “Alodokter has a proven track record of growing their comprehensive healthcare solution. All the innovations, from telemedicine to insurance, have been developed to cater to Indonesia’s needs for accessible and affordable healthcare services. The funding from MDI will further extend the growth of health services through the potential collaboration with several BUMN entities in Indonesia.”

“With the increasing demand for the use of health services, this follow-on funding aligns Telkom’s mission to increase innovative products within the SOE environment and continues to be committed to providing solutions to millions of people in Indonesia,” explained Director of Enterprise & Business Service Telkom Group, Edi Witjara.

Previously, Alodokter had raised seed funding in 2015 and US$2.5 million in Series A led by Golden Gate Ventures in 2016.

In April this year, Halodoc, another Indonesian telemedicine startup, raised US$80 million in a Series C funding round led by local automotive conglomerate Astra.

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Image Credit: Alodokter

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UNOBank CEO Manish Bhai 

UNObank receives digital banking license in Philippines

The story: UNObank has received approval from the central bank Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to operate a digital bank in the Philippines.

About UNObank: A company under Singapore’s DigibankASIA, it offers anyone in the Philippines to save, borrow, transact, invest, and protect their finances easily with speed and ease.

More about the story: The BSP has granted three digital bank licenses, two of which are conversions from previous bank licenses.

Tonik, another Filipino neobank, also received the license.

“The BSP’s vision and foresight to digitise the local banking industry is future-forward and apt because ultimately it will help align the Philippines as a modern banking center for the region,” says Manish Bhai of UNOBank.

Carousell ropes in former Razer executive as new CFO

The story: Carousell, a Singapore-based mobile listing service company, announced today the appointment of former Razer executive, Edwin Chan, as its Chief Financial Officer.

Also Read:  Ecosystem Roundup: Why SEA’s exits market looks bright

New role: He will oversee Carousell’s overall capital strategy, including corporate development, fundraising, as well as mergers and acquisitions.

Additionally, corporate controllership and accounting, financial reporting, investor relations, legal and compliance functions will fall within Edwin’s remit.

Gojek’s GoSend courier drivers protest over low incentives

The story: Drivers of Gojek’s delivery arm, GoSend, are planning to strike a protest today, according to messages distributed via WhatsApp groups. This was first reported by Kr-Asia.

The reason: GoSend is planning to cut incentives for deliveries by more than half the current rate.

More about the story: Yulianto, a GoSend drive and a spokesperson of the protest, said that the protest will run for three days in Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, Bekasi, and Bandung.

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Image Credit: UNOBank

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Autopair CEO Santi Vajanapanich

Autopair, an online automotive parts trading company in Thailand, has raised an undisclosed amount in a pre-Series A financing round.

Summit Auto Body Industry, one of Thailand’s largest suppliers of automotive parts, led the round.

Prior to this, Autopair has raised US$500,000 in seed funding from KK Fund in 2018.

Autopair said in a statement that it will use the fresh capital to help approximately 1,000 independent automotive workshops digitise their work processes through its newly launched digital business management platform.

Additionally, it has also announced plans to expand into markets like Indonesia and Malaysia.

Despite the slump in domestic car sales due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the impact on the industry has been offset by the corresponding increase in demand for car maintenance.

However, Autopair believes that independent automotive workshops have not fully capitalised on these opportunities due to high fragmentation and a reliance on traditional, inefficient operational processes.

Also Read: Carsome snags US$30M Series D to strengthen its C2B and B2C offerings

Founded in 2018, Autopair’s goal is to transform the automotive aftermarket industry via its online automotive parts trading platform.

Its SaaS offerings are ‘Smart Procurement’ and ‘Smart Workshop’ are its core features.  Smart Procurement provides a virtual inventory of parts, wholesale discounts, as well as a 90-minute contactless delivery of service parts at competitive prices.

The second product streamlines business solutions for calendar scheduling, tracking, managing labour efficiencies as well as inventory management and customer relationship management (CRM) tools for estimates and invoices.

The company has over 50,000 virtual stock-keeping units and its solutions are available in 29 provinces in the region.

In the past three years, Autopair claims to have recorded a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 385 per cent.

Some of its clients are industry leaders including Bridgestone Corporation, Toyo Tires, Nitto Automotive, and Nankang Tires.

“I believe that with an uncertain future in uncertain times, the best strategy is to be part of the disruptive wave instead of standing against it,” said Kornkrit Jurangkool, President of Summit Auto Body Industry.

“Autopair has demonstrated its success in digitising the automotive aftermarket industry to date, and given our connections throughout the industry and ecosystem, we believe we can help drive Autopair’s business forward,” he added.

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Image Credit: Autopair

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[L-R] wagely co-founders Tobias Fischer (CEO), Sasanadi Ruka (CTO), and Kevin Hausburg (CCO)

wagely, a financial wellness platform that enables earned wage access (EWA) in Indonesia, has received US$5.6 million in a strategic round of investment, led by Integra Partners (formerly known as Dymon Asia Ventures).

Also participated in the round were ADB Ventures, PT Triputra Investindo Arya (one of Indonesia’s largest privately held groups), Global Founders Capital, Trihill Capital, 1982 Ventures, and Willy Suwandi Dharma (former President Director of PT Asuransi Adira Dinamika).

Also Read: Impact-tech investor ADB Ventures in talks to raise US$100M debt fund

The Jakarta-headquartered startup will use the capital infusion to accelerate the adoption of its platform.

Founded by Tobias Fischer (previously with Grab) and Sasanadi Ruka (formerly with Tokopedia) wagely gives employees access to their earned wages and financial education.

EWA is a concept wherein an employ can withdraw a part of his/her already earned salary before the payday. For example, you have worked from 1st-10th June, while payday is on the 25th. You can withdraw a part (say, 50 per cent) of your prorated salary for that month (10 days) before the payday comes.

This is aimed at reducing financial stress for millions of low- and middle-income workers, who struggle with unexpected financial expenses between pay checks.

wagely claims it serves tens of thousands of employees across many industries, including restaurants, factories, hospitals, and retail stores.

“More than 100 million Indonesian lower- and middle-income workers are living paycheck to paycheck and struggle with unexpected financial expenses between paychecks, which in turn impacts businesses with higher turnover, lower productivity, and more employee loans,” said CEO Fischer.

“Our workplaces are changing rapidly, especially since COVID-19 struck. Now the way people are getting paid is changing, too, and at scale. wagely provides a financial flexibility that is perfectly suited for today’s agile and progressive workforce,” he added.

Its financial wellness solution is used by companies such as British American Tobacco, Ranch Market, PT Mustika Ratu, and PT Kencana Energi Lestari.

“wagely offers our employees financial stability in times of uncertainty. It is incredibly important and a crucial step for the long-term resilience of our business,” said Wilson Maknawi, President Director at PT Kencana Energi Lestari.

“With no changes to our payroll process, wagely’s solution has proven to increase our business savings and helped our employees to avoid predatory loans while providing savings and budgeting tools that increase their financial literacy,” he shared.

As concerns over COVID-19 continue to grow, employers around the world, including Walmart, Pizza Hut and Visa, are turning to EWA solutions to reduce turnover, enhance productivity, and increase business savings.

Dailypay, a leading US-based EWA provider, just recently raised US$500 million and reached unicorn status.

Other noted EWA providers are US-based Payactiv, UK-based Wagestream,  Mexican firm Minu, and US-based Even.

Payactiv already counts more than 2 million users and has processed more than US$5 billion in earned wage access, highlighting the tremendous potential of the space.

Also Read: 1982 Ventures partners with 3 Korean investors to help country’s startups enter SEA

Daniel Hersson, Senior Fund Manager at ADB Ventures, commented: “wagely offers workers what they did not have before: a fair and accessible financial tool to help them manage life’s inevitable contingencies and emergencies, including those caused by climate change.”

Over 70 per cent of the Southeast Asian adult population is still underbanked and lacking access to affordable and responsible financial services, while many of the 140 million low- and middle-income workers (72 per cent of the Indonesian workforce) who live from paycheck to paycheck are exposed to the cycle of debt caused by overdraft fees, high-interest credit, and payday loans.

Taking this opportunity, the earned wage access solutions offer a sustainable alternative to employees. With the COVID-19 pandemic and increased levels of financial stress that is directly impacting employers, wagely has become even more important to employees and employers and is well-positioned to further support millions of Southeast Asians with its holistic financial wellness platform.

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Image Credit: wagely

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