Back in 2014, Southeast Asia had only three unicorns: VNG, Garena (now ‘Sea’), and Razer.

Fast forward to today, the region has 20 unicorns. This stupendous growth can partly be attributed to the region’s growing number of internet users. It also demonstrates a tremendous opportunity — evident from the fact that US$19 billion was invested into tech startups in the region in H1 2021.

According to a report by Google, Temasek, and Bain, the digital economy in Southeast Asia is projected to hit US$300 billion by 2025. This could also mean the region is going to add more companies into the billion-dollar club.

As a tribute to entrepreneurs who put Southeast Asia on the map, e27 has compiled a list of all the 20 unicorns that are an inspiration for millions of to-be entrepreneurs.

Bukalapak

Founded by three friends, Bukalapak is one of the biggest success startup stories from Indonesia. Bukalapak, which means ‘open a stall’ in Bahasa Indonesia, helps millions of local small mom-and-pop stores to sell their goods online.

The e-commerce unicorn plans to get listed on the Indonesian Stock Exchange on August 6. The firm, which counts the likes of GIC and Microsoft among its backers, is now set to create history by launching the biggest local listing in 13 years and the largest ever by a startup in the region.

Founding year: 2010

Headquarters: Indonesia

Total funding raised: US$784 million

Unicorn date: Jan 10, 2018

Carro

Started originally as an online marketplace for cars, Carro has registered significant growth. In 2021 alone, the firm posted a 2.5x revenue growth and it continues to be EBITDA-positive for the second year running. The startup also has plans to launch an initial public offering (IPO) in the next 18-24 months.

Carro is a subscription-based service that allows customers to drive a car without the hassle of owning it. It also provides a range of services that offer car owners everything they need, including an in-house financing solution, after-sales services, and a flexible car ownership experience with Singapore’s car subscription service.

Founding year: 2015

Headquarters: Singapore

Total funding raised: US$589.5 million

Unicorn date: June 15, 2021

Carsome

Carsome is the only unicorn that emerged from Malaysian so far and is valued at over US$1 billion. With operations across Indonesia, Thailand, and Singapore, besides Malaysia, the firm claims to have an annualised revenue of US$800 million with plans to achieve US$1 billion this year.

The company provides end-to-end solutions to consumers and used car dealers — from car inspection to ownership transfer to financing. Every car that transacts on the platform goes through a comprehensive 175-point inspection, and every car purchase is backed up with an extended warranty and a money-back guarantee, it said in a statement.

Founding year: 2015

Headquarters: Malaysia

Total funding raised: US$107.4 million

Unicorn date: July 13, 2021

Flash Group

After recently raising US$150 million from a slew of investors, Flash Group is the only Thai company to make it into the billion-dollar club. Already placed in a competitive market, Flash Group is confident to dominate and intends to increase its domestic market share to over US$16 billion.

FlashGroup provides e-commerce logistics services and delivery services to Southeast Asian e-commerce platforms.

Founding year: 2017

Headquarters: Thailand

Total funding raised: Undisclosed

Unicorn date: Jan 2, 2021

Gojek

The only company to have the status of a decacorn in Indonesia, Gojek has reached a position which many startups can only dream of.

Started as a ride-hailing service with only 20 motorcycle riders, called “ojek”, Gojek has now grown to a fleet of over one million drivers today. The company has also widened its products and services, from courier delivery, food, and shopping services, to fintech. Its app is also deemed by many to be the most popular and most used in the region.

Also Read:  Ecosystem Roundup: Will the likes of Grab, GoTo crush competition in SEA?

Founding year: 2010

Headquarters: Indonesia

Total funding raised: US$5.3 billion

Unicorn date: August 5, 2016

Grab

Grab is one of Singapore’s most-valued super apps that offers not just ride-hailing services but also food delivery and logistics services through its app.

As of now, Grab has a footprint across Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, and Cambodia, and is valued at US$40 billion in 2020 following its SPAC deal.

Founding year: 2012

Headquarters: Singapore

Total funding raised: US$10 billion

Unicorn date: May, 2015

J&T Express

Valued at US$7.8 billion, J&T Express has grown massively and is predicted by some to have the potential to compete with Chinese logistics companies.

A logistics delivery company, it is also the shipping partner for many notable brands, including OPPO, Tokopedia, Lazada, Shopee, and Bukalapak.

Founding year: 2015

Headquarters: Indonesia

Total funding raised: US$2.2 billion

Unicorn date: April 16, 2021

Lazada

Lazada is a company that reached its unicorn status only after it was bought by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba for US$1 billion.

As of today, it is a major player in online shopping and selling. Lazada has a presence in six countries in the Southeast Asia region including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Headquarters: Singapore

Total funding raised: US$4.2 billion

Unicorn date: April 12, 2016

Founding year: 2012

Nium

It is the latest to enter the unicorn club. Nium achieved US$1 billion+ valuation following a recent US$200 million Series D investment round led by US-based Riverwood Capital.

Also Read: Nium adds US$200M more to its war chest to become Southeast Asia’s latest unicorn

Nium is a global payments platform that enables businesses to send, spend, and receive money from anywhere in the world, in addition to empowering them to develop their own products that simplify cross-border payments. The firm issues approximately 30 million physical and virtual cards today and is licensed in 11 jurisdictions, including direct card issuing capabilities in 24 countries and in 40 currencies.

Founding year: 2015

Headquarters: Singapore

Total funding raised: US$280 million

Unicorn date: May 12, 2020

Online Pajak

With a valuation of  US$1.7 billion, the Jakarta-based startup has several notable investors backing the company including Sequoia Capital India, Warburg Pincus, and Altos Ventures.

The company was founded to combat the tiresome tax system in Indonesia. To make it easier, its platform integrates web-based data that can be used by taxpayers to calculate, deposit, and report taxes in one platform. Users can also manage taxes for free with additional premium features such as invoicing and payroll.

Its services are now used by companies such as Tokopedia, Gojek, Garuda Indonesia, PT Astra Otoparts Tbk, Huawei Tech Investment, Jasa Marga and more.

Founding year: 2015

Headquarters: Indonesia

Total funding raised: US$41 million

Unicorn date: July 15, 2021

OVO

OVO is Indonesia’s fifth unicorn and is currently valued at over US$2.9 billion. It serves over 110 million people spread across 300 Indonesian cities and claims to serve 98 per cent of the adult population in the region.

Through OVO users can get access to payments, transfers, cash-in/out, rewards, asset management, and investments.

Founding year: 2017

Headquarters: Indonesia

Total funding raised: Undisclosed

Unicorn date: October 8, 2019

Patsnap

PatSnap began in 2007 as a patents analytics startup in Singapore and grew rapidly after it set up base in China through the NUS Suzhou Research Institute (NUSRI) and BLOCK71 by NUS Enterprise (the entrepreneurial arm of NUS). It currently provides R&D intelligence and IP intelligence platforms for brands and enterprises

The company raised Series E financing from the likes of Tencent and Softbank placing it into the unicorn club, with a valuation of US$1.35 billion.

Founding year: 2007

Headquarters: Singapore

Total funding raised: US$351.6 million

Unicorn date: March 17, 2021

Razer

Founded 16 years ago, Razer is one of the oldest unicorns in SEA. Dually headquartered in Singapore and the US, it is also one of the first to sponsor professional e-sports players in the world. Razer is the only Southeast Asian company to be publically listed in Hong Kong.

Its early business was the production of gaming devices (such as mice and keyboards) but since then has expanded into mobile phones as well as payments.

Founding year: 2005

Headquarters: Singapore/US

Total funding raised: US$200 million

Unicorn date: October 2014

Revolution Precrafted

Revolution Precrafted made headlines when it became the first unicorn company to emerge from the Philippines. However, the startup recently faced allegations of hooking several businessmen into schemes and running away with PHP150 million (US$3.1 million) in suspicious deals.

Founded six years ago, the company is a developer of prefabricated designer homes.

Founding year: 2015

Headquarters: Philippines

Total funding raised: Undisclosed

Unicorn date: October 23, 2017

Sea

Formerly known as Garena, Sea is a leading Singaporean gaming and e-commerce company known for launching one of the most successful IPOs in the US. The company also owns Shopee, one of the region’s largest and most popular e-commerce platforms, and AirPay, a digital payment service with a presence in three countries

Also Read: Ecosystem Roundup: Grab’s delayed listing and SEA’s SPAC euphoria

Founding year: 2009

Headquarters: Singapore

Total funding raised: US$2.6 billion

Unicorn date: Unidentified date, 2014

Tokopedia

One of the earliest unicorns from Indonesia, the company is now merging with Gojek to create a multi-billion dollar tech company called GoTo.

Tokopedia is an e-commerce giant that aims to build a super ecosystem where anyone can start and discover anything. Today it works with various marketplaces, logistics, payments, and financial technology businesses, while also providing more than 500,000 payment points across Indonesia.

Founding year: 2009

Headquarters: Indonesia

Total funding raised: US$2.8 billion

Unicorn date: November 22, 2018

Traveloka

Founded by ex-Silicon Valley engineers, Traveloka provides access for users to discover and purchase a wide range of transportation, accommodation, lifestyle, and financial services products. The company claims that its app has been downloaded more than 60 million times.

As of July last year, Traveloka has a total of US$1.2 billion in its pocket.

Founding year: 2012

Headquarters: Indonesia

Total funding raised: US$12 billion

Unicorn date: March 16, 2018

Trax

With customers in over 90 countries, Trax provides customers with data science solutions that transform how in-store retail data is being collected, viewed, and analysed. With Trax, manufacturers and retailers can improve product availability, reduce distribution gaps, identify category opportunities and increase their sales.

Founding year: 2010

Headquarters: Singapore

Total funding raised: US$1 billion

Unicorn date: July 22, 2019

VNG

VNG is Vietnam’s first unicorn with a valuation that has surged more than 50 percent since it gained its unicorn status.

Its products and services are categorised into four business units — online games, payment, Zalo (video call), and VNG Cloud.

Founding year: 2004

Headquarters: Vietnam

Total funding raised: Undisclosed

Unicorn date: Unidentified date, 2014

VNPay

VNPay has recently joined the ranks of VN Corp to become the second unicorn to be valued at US$1 billion. The company was given the title under a report known as e-Conomy SEA 2020 by tech giant Google and its partners. The report further stated that VNPay was one of the startups that attracted the highest investments in the Southeast Asian fintech industry last year.

The payment company has over 15 million monthly users who access its app to transfer money, pay utility bills and buy bus tickets.

Founding year: 2007

Headquarters: Vietnam

Total funding raised: US$300 million

Unicorn date: December 7, 2020

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Across the world, companies are continuing to grapple with ongoing back and forth, yo-yo restrictions and changes in the office. As some countries come out of lockdowns, others go back in, forcing businesses and employees to quickly adapt and reintroduce legal capacity counts in the workplace. Hybrid work is one of the more popular ones. 

These changes often take their toll on staff, who are required to regularly relocate their office set-ups, coordinate home-schooling for children or readjust to a constantly changing environment.

We know now that hybrid working, involving both remote working and office working, is here to stay. But not all employees are interested in returning to the office– many workplaces have witnessed increasing pushback from staff as they confirm they would prefer to not incorporate daily commutes and white-box dividers in their day-to-day roles.

Apple, for example, recently declared staff at their Cupertino office will be required to return to the office for at least three days a week.

Despite not being a full five-day return to the workplace, the company received an uproar from staff in the form of a collaborative letter from employees that highlighted increasing concern about Apple’s return-to-work policy, which forced some colleagues to quit.

Opinions about returning to work differ across the globe, with staff in both the US and UK pushing back on office returns, while counterparts in Germany, France, Italy, Mexico, Singapore and Spain have noted a greater willingness to return.

So how can businesses appropriately manage ongoing restrictions while ensuring the majority of the workforce are happy, or that they won’t quit? It is crucial that we can take learnings from a newly introduced approach to working.

We need to give staff the agency to be able to make their own decisions about where the best place is to work– for them.

Also Read: Hybrid work is the way to go for Malaysia, and this is how leaders can get the most of it

Reframing of the office: converting it into a co-working space

A powerful and successful way of doing this is to reframe the way we view the office by converting it into a coworking space. Coworking spaces are highly collaborative workplaces where people come to because they want to be there.

There is a significant element of joy when staff can go to a home away from home, surrounded by an environment that inspires them and not feel confined by the traditional nine-to-five space that is too often un-stimulating and uninspiring.

We have an opportunity to provide spaces for staffers that directly influence them to feel more motivated to be there. The creative atmosphere of coworking office spaces has been proven to directly raise productivity.

When staff is confined to restrictive cubicles, they often forget they work within a large group of like-minded individuals. In an open office like a co-working space, employees can move around the workplace to find the best areas to work and bump into colleagues. 

By experimenting with different spaces in the office, staff are also encouraged to recognise when they may be naturally losing focus and can choose to move to a spot that works for them.

They can find a preferred desk, choose to opt-in for a permanent desk, find space to have “huddles” on certain topics, or simply come in for a coffee with a colleague.

These spaces also remove the element of feeling the pressure to impress managers and staff can instead concentrate on doing their job without either feeling the distraction of working from home or hitting walls when they are forced to work in the same space for a full day.

It allows staff to feel that they are a part of something much bigger, within a community, working towards a greater purpose.

Also Read: From our community: About being a startup mentor, hybrid work models, emerging tech hub in SEA and more

Let your employees decide when they want to come to the office

In what may seem contradictory to productivity, we’ve witnessed a dramatic increase in motivation and quality of work execution when staff are given the option to decide when they want to come in. 

If they only have important meetings in the morning, they can choose to come in for in-person meetings with colleagues or managers and decide if they’d like to complete the rest of their work from home.

We’ve created space for more social environments, where staff can find a location to create a divide between work and life. Staff can come in for a casual coffee catch-up, to brainstorm at a café, or socialise through fun, end-of-day rapport-building activities. 

From karaoke to painting, or music jamming, employees can come together in environments that stimulate them in a way that sits outside of the work environment. This helps build a workplace culture of community, rather than just work.

We have an opportunity to rethink the office, to create a better workplace experience for our staff. We know people who like their workplace are more engaged, more productive, and they stick around longer. Why wouldn’t we take this opportunity and do something with it? 

Consider the core purpose of the office

Is the office just a place for managers to see if their staff are doing work? Can work only be done if staff are being watched and observed? We know that micromanagement is toxic to engagement and productivity.

Good workplaces avoid micromanagement from the get-go – but we can also design office experiences that help individuals and teams have greater agency, motivation and ownership over their own work. 

Throughout the lifetime that was pre-COVID-19, the office was undeniably the place for all work. But forced isolation and remote working has taught us that staff do not need to execute long commutes just to do their work. It is no longer a necessity to sit within a box just so that we can pop our head over a cubicle to have a conversation with an employee.

It’s important for us to ask ourselves what problems the office is solving, and what opportunities it presents.

To come to the conclusion and prove that a co-working space conversion boosts productivity, we asked our team members directly what they wanted from their office experience.

Some responded that they wanted to work at home some of the time, while others wanted to spend more time at the office. The most important factor was that they wanted to make that decision on their own terms.

Also Read: The hybrid work model will outlast the pandemic. But will one model fit all?

Employees want three main things from their office:

• To be a part of something bigger, experiencing a community feeling that working for a company with a strong vision gives.
• The decision about whether to work face-to-face or via online platforms depends on what the goal of the task or project is. For some meetings, like a project kick-off or a problem-solving workshop, a face-to-face meeting can help the meeting flow better. But collaborating online is often sufficient for weekly collaborative sessions.
• The ability to to informally collaborate and run into colleagues within a face-to-face environment: some of the strongest ideas come out of serendipitous idea-sharing and collaboration. 

It is our role as leaders to respond to what employees need. People want team spaces and meeting spaces. They also want somewhere they can have a remote meeting or work quietly for themselves for a while. They want open spaces where they can bump into people.

Most importantly, they want places that foster connection and community, and it is important to listen to staff to identify what they need and facilitate these spaces with intent. This is how staff can remain motivated and stay within a team that helps them work to their best potential.

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As a startup founder, you should not only focus on new fundraising but also taking care of your existing investors, keeping them engaged and updated on your company, amongst the hundreds of others in their portfolio. Yet building connections and relationships, which are key elements of investor engagement, are tough when physical meetings are restricted.

It was especially challenging for me when we pivoted from the travel space to working on remote productivity during the pandemic. There were many fast, moving parts that everyone got lost while reading the monthly updates while we build RewardNation from scratch.

Emails and calls alone don’t cut it anymore

For investor engagement, we’ve always sent monthly email updates to our shareholders, who are spread across three continents. But when you’ve not met for almost two years, an email with some bullet points feels impersonal and cold.

We also do video calls to catch up and have discussions with our shareholders and are fortunate to have so many smart and kind people to learn from. But these conversations are infrequent, happen only when we reach out for help, and mainly one-to-one.

Which got me thinking: How can we make the best out of this group of brilliant individuals, and keep all of them connected and engaged even remotely?

Creating instant engagement loops

Turns out, the solution was in our hands all along. Although it’s mainly used by larger remote teams, we created an account on RewardNation and invited our group of shareholders to it. Instantly engage even the busiest investor.

Anyone can send a recognition message instantly with just a quick text. Low effort, instant results.

Also Read: Active investors get a special feature in brand new Investor Side Widget

When we added everyone into the account, I was shocked (and elated) that our shareholders started engaging on it without any prompts!

We’ve also been using it to thank individuals for their help. It’s the least we can do, and makes everyone feel good too.

See what other shareholders’ been up to

With all recognition messages being published publicly, everyone is now connected on the platform with frequent and full visibility on company happenings, while not being spammed unnecessarily.

 

You will only receive an email notification when someone gives you a recognition.

Keeping it fun with custom rewards

With RewardNation ultimately being built for remote team productivity and motivation, there’s also a Rewards component on the platform. Users can turn their recognition points into either unique Company Rewards, or choose from 1,000 gift cards worldwide.

For our shareholders, we customised some just-for-fun Company Rewards (as seen above), simply to give everyone a laugh.

They been loving it so far, and this has been a great way to keep our support network connected in a more informal way, instead of just a few bullet points in monthly emails as per the usual investor engagement approach.

(Screenshot from a message sent by a shareholder, photo changed)

This is no substitute for the human connections formed during coffee meetings, dinner drinks, and office parties.

But it helped me learn how to build community in a different way during the COVID-19-era, and I’m happy to be able to keep even the busiest of our shareholders engaged.

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Fundraising startups especially in their early stages often struggle to get connected with investors. Some of them are not even given the chance to pitch their products and services to investors for various reasons. One of the biggest challenges is the warm introductions — general platforms just don’t support an easy and more targeted way of connecting with investors. This is why we keep improving what we do. 

We just launched a new look for the Investor Directory page! With this new look, Pro members (don’t worry about getting a Pro membership, you may try it for 14 days – free!) are now able to send the Connect requests to as many investors in a much easier way! No need to click through each profile since the Connect button is already visible in the main page. 

Here’s a snapshot of the new look:

 

Also, we’ve added the Recommended Investors below. This is to ensure more targeted Connections. The page recommends investors relevant to your company whether it be the vertical, or funding stage. 

We made these changes with the aim to make your fundraising journey more efficient, and hopefully make more meaningful connections. 

Are you currently fundraising and looking to Connect to investors? When the investor views your fundraising information and agrees to Connect, we’ll handle the warm introductions! Pro membership allows you to Connect to as many investors and get the chance to pitch your product.

Are you an investor looking for your next portfolio company? e27 Connect is for you! Create or Claim your investor profile on e27 and start receiving Connect requests from the most innovative tech companies in Asia. We’ve got the fundraising information, pitch deck and introductions covered!

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Culture Amp raises US$100M from TDM Growth and Sequoia

The story: Employee experience platform Culture Amp has received fresh funding of US$100 million in a Series F round co-led by TDM Growth Partners (TDM) and Sequoia Capital China, setting its valuation at over US$1.5 billion.

Lead investors: TDM Growth Partners (TDM) and Sequoia Capital China. Besides, this round also sees the participation of a new investor, Salesforce Ventures, and existing investors Felicis Ventures, Blackbird Ventures, Index Ventures, Sapphire Ventures, Skip Capital, Grok Ventures, and Global Founders Capital.

Plan: The firm noted in its statement that it would use the funds to broaden its clientele. We are contacting the firm for further details. 

What is Culture Amp?

Founded in 2011, Culture Amp has been drawing on its 10 years of innovation to utilise behavioural science and data analytics to help businesses personalise the employee performance management process. With offices in the US, UK, and Australia, the firm is now supporting over 4,000 organisations with 25 million employees across the world. Salesforce, Unilever, PwC, KIND, SoulCycle, and BigCommerce are named as some of their clients. 

The business achieved over US$100 million in recurring income last year. Besides, its revenue is reported at US$45.8 million, according to the document filed with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.  

Last year, Forbes listed Culture Amp as one of the world’s top 100 private cloud companies in the world.

Also Read: Sequoia Surge’s new cohort comprises a vegan makeup startup, an innovative email marketing platform and more

India’ Vauld secures US$25M funding led by Valar Ventures

The story: Vauld, the worldwide platform for generating wealth with cryptocurrency, announced today that it has received a $25 million Series A investment.

Lead investor: Valar Ventures. Pantera Capital, Coinbase Ventures, CMT Digital, Gumi Cryptos, Robert Leshner, Cadenza Capital, and others also took part in the round.

Plan: A part of the capital will be used to drive international growth and licensing as long as its retail crypto banking and investing platform expansion. The company also plans to strengthen the team by getting at least a hundred new roles onboard. 

What is Vauld?

Headquartered in Singapore, Vauld partners with Binance and Bitgo to build an asset-backed borrowing and lending platform for crypto wealth which currently supports over 30 cryptocurrencies. 

The company claims to provide the best rates for earning interest by lending cryptocurrency, up to 12.68 per cent annual percentage yield with weekly payments. There will be no deposit or withdrawal fees and no fixed cap on users’ daily withdrawals. 

From 1Q21 to 2Q21, the firm’s assets under management increased by 124.4 per cent quarter-over-quarter. Last year, its worldwide user base was said to have grown by more than 200 times, reaching people in more than 160 countries. 

The company has raised $27 million USD total capital since inception.

Also Read: How ASEAN is shaping up to be a blockchain frontrunner

Facebook Veteran Andy Hwang serves as JobHopin’s Board Advisor

The story: Andy Hwang, former Director of Business Integrity at Facebook, is announced to be an angel investor and officially set his foot on the advisory board of JobHopin, a Vietnam’s career management and recruitment platform 

Plan: Andy Hwang will mentor and advise JobHopin alongside other active Board Advisors including Johan Nyvene, the founding CEO of HSC- 2nd, and Thomas Hornbeck, a serial tech entrepreneur and co-founder of Silicon Valley venture-backed Got It!.

What is JobHopin?

Founded in 2016 in Vietnam, JobHopin offers consumers real-time market intelligence by analyzing data from both online and offline sources. It claims to provide recruiters with more than 2.1 million digital profiles together with solutions for 4,000 companies and 10,000 recruiters hiring across the country. 

The firm is said to have grown its sales by more than 300 per cent year over year since the beginning of 2018. Earlier this year, JobHopin raised US$2.45 million in a Series A round co-led by South Korea’s SEMA Translink and KK Fund, increasing the total capital injection to more than $3 million since its inception.

Andy Hwang, the new angel investor and member of JobHopin’s advisory board, is a Singapore-based angel investor and business counsellor with 10 years of working experience at Facebook. He helped Facebook launch in Singapore and across Asia and supports businesses to secure and build trusted connections with people. 

Also Read: Monk’s Hill Ventures head of talent’s guide to startup jobs search in Singapore

East Ventures’s initiative IDPB Safeguards Oxygen raises US$1M to support COVID-19 fight in Indonesia

The story: Indonesia PASTI BISA (IDPB) Safeguards Oxygen, an initiative by East Ventures, just finished a two-week fundraising campaign that received US$1,202,709 from 788 individual and corporate donors.

Plan: The money generated will be utilised to provide 1,450 oxygen concentrators to hospitals in Indonesia that are in need. IDPB Safeguards Oxygen is seeking to raise another US$10 million as part of the larger ongoing initiative Oxygen for Indonesia. 

Corporate donors: Individual and corporate donors, including Indonesia’s e-commerce unicron Bukalapak, media conglomerate EMTEK, among others.

 What is IDPB Safeguards Oxygen?

Collaborating with three companies backed by East Ventures – Bonza, Waresix, and Advotics, IDPB Safeguards Oxygen is a contribution platform that provides end-to-end solutions to assist the country’s efforts to eradicate COVID-19. 

It employs Bonza’s data platform to map and forecast oxygen demand throughout Indonesia, and Waresix’s distribution network to get the oxygen concentrators to the people who need them. Following then, Advotics assists in tracking the progress of each oxygen concentrator ordered till it arrives at the target hospitals.

Indonesia’s Ministry of Health is currently using the platform’s contribution monitoring system to disburse relief funding, and IDPB Safeguards Oxygen has delivered 1,600 oxygen concentrators on behalf of the Ministry of Health as of July 28, 2021.

Temasek Foundation, the Ministry of Health of Indonesia, the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Singapore, IndoTech SG, the Indonesian Professionals Association Singapore (IPA SG), and KawalCOVID19 are notable partners of the initiative.

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Image Credit: Culture Amp

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NextPay, a digital financial solutions platform in the Philippines, has raised US$1.6 million in seed funding co-led by Golden Gate Ventures, and Gentree Fund, a private investment vehicle of the Sy Family, which owns Filipino conglomerate SM Group.

Other investors, who participated in the round, are Tribe Capital, Broadhaven Ventures, 1982 Ventures, Saison Capital, and Razorpay, besides Rohit Mulani of GoTrade and Abhinay Peddisetty and Chinmay Chauhan of BukuWarung.

Goodwater Capital, which has invested in Facebook, Spotify, and Twitter, also co-invested, along with local VCs such as Kickstart Ventures (Ayala Group), Foxmont Capital, and First Asia Ventures, as well as angel investor Lisa Gokongwei of JG Summit also joined.

The funding will be used to grow NextPay’s suite of services, expand its customer base, and introduce new digital banking solutions to micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

Also Read: Fintech companies targeting the next billion users are living a pipe dream. Here’s why

“We believe that business banking will continue to digitally evolve, as the Philippines accelerates its digital transformation initiatives. This investment supports our goal of putting the power of big banks in the hands of small businesses,” said NextPay CEO and co-founder Don Pansacola.

“The success of our seed funding exercise will help us accelerate our plans of introducing more meaningful digital banking solutions, including, but not limited to, corporate cards, loans, and integrations with other platforms focused on MSMEs. We will also be hiring more talent to make the NextPay platform more comprehensive, simple, and easier to use and avail of,” NextPay Chief Experience Officer and co-founder Aldrich Tan said.

Launched amid the pandemic in 2020, NextPay is an online platform that provides underserved customers democratised access to easy and affordable financial services” such as digital invoicing, cash management, and batch payments to any bank or e-wallet in the Philippines.

The startup positions itself as an alternative to bank accounts for small businesses and entrepreneurs in the Philippines. Through the platform, companies can collect customer payments via digital invoices, manage their cash, and pay their employees, suppliers, or bills in batches to any bank or e-wallet.

The startup operates on a pay-per-use model and does not require any set-up fees, maintaining balances, or steep requirements.

Since its launch, NextPay has processed over US$9.1 million in digital transactions for more than 100 businesses with over 3,500 employees.

Earlier, NextPay received $125,000 in pre-seed investment as part of Y Combinator programme in April.

Also Read: How fintech startups can fast forward their growth

“Managing your businesses’ finances efficiently and confidently is mission-critical to success, and NextPay is building industry-leading digital banking solutions for SMEs to better manage their finances: from payroll to collections, to invoicing,” Golden Gate Ventures Partner Justin Hall said.

“NextPay uniquely addresses the local needs of its customers by matching SMEs looking to go digital with mobile and convenient digital financial tools, which scales dynamically with their businesses. As a key infrastructure layer for our budding Philippines startup ecosystem, Gentree believes that NextPay will play a key role in supporting our entrepreneurs and enabling the Philippines digital economy,” Gentree Vice President Mark Sng remarked.

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Image Credit: NextPay

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Neo telcos are the new disruptors in Australia. Just like neo banks, neo telcos operate exclusively online and do not have any physical branches.

Australia has one of the most competitive and mature telecommunications markets in the world, and recent research reveals MVNOs (Mobile Virtual Network Operator), an operator that does not have its own network – have seen significant growth over the last 12 months.

In many ways, this progress is similar to the one banks have gone through.

Telcos in Australia can learn from the digital transformation success stories from other industries, such as digital banking and financial services. In Europe, digital-only banks such as N26, Monzo and Revolut are growing rapidly and taking market share from traditional banks.

Completely digital offerings with no branches, these neo banks provide a range of banking services through their smartphone apps. Customers are made to feel like a part of building the future of banking, with public roadmaps and extensive beta-testing and feedback loops.

While neo banks are still in their infancy in Australia, the success of ME Bank, 86 400, and Up show that these challengers are starting to make their mark.

Like neo banks, neo telcos are built to deliver a mobile-first experience. The term ‘neo’ refers to businesses that leverage technology to offer a customer-centric experience, predominantly targeted at a younger, digitally savvy audience. Neo telcos, by definition, move fast and innovate at a rapid pace.

Without the weight of costly brick-and-mortar operations, these digital players keep an ear to the ground and offer services tailored to what consumers actually want.

Speed, agility and lower operating costs are at the centre of their business models. Targeting young Australians – the digital natives – as they are pushing for innovation in the industry.

Also Read: Threat or opportunity? boosting digital banking in Asia

Now more than ever, the pace of technological change is putting pressure on traditional players to transform the way they structure their business to more effectively deliver what their customers really want.

The progression of digital transformation has raised customers’ expectations for services, where personalisation and transparency, such as visibility of their data usage, are critical factors.

Being the world’s first fully digital telco allows Circles.Life to focus on the customer’s wants and needs. Through our app, we are delivering a frictionless, more digitised experience. For example, as we saw the need for data increase during the pandemic, we improved the app to allow customers to upgrade their plans themselves without having to wait on hold or even log on to a website.

Just by clicking a few buttons on their mobile they could get more data. We believe that great pricing is what our customers want so with Circles.Life more data doesn’t mean a hefty price tag.

To roll out upgrades like this is a slow and cumbersome process for most of our competitors, but we did it in a few days. At the end of the day, our business model is built on customer satisfaction and our tech is designed to support that goal.

For telcos to appeal to digital natives in Australia, embracing and investing in modern, digital architecture is fundamental. The Circles.Life customer experience means an account can be activated in just a few minutes, and mobile plans are flexible and affordable with generous amounts of data.

We are following in the footsteps of successful disruptors. The ones who are defined by the agility of their operations and progression of their business model to truly offer innovative services to their customers.

The global telecommunications industry is changing rapidly, and by always putting our customers first, building features based on their feedback and not locking them into long and expensive contracts, we believe we are different in a good way.

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The pandemic has been unprecedented, bringing economies across the world to an unforeseen and staggering halt.

In the same vein, entertainment has been one of the worst affected industries globally. Across Asia, from Southeast Asia to India, China and Japan, live performances came to a near standstill as venues shuttered in the wake of nationwide lockdowns to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

Despite the challenges, the entertainment industry has remained resilient, rising to the occasion quickly and transforming consumer habits. While the live entertainment and film industry saw a decrease in revenue and a delay in some productions, online streaming boomed.

The total weekly minutes spent online video streaming on mobile devices increased 60 per cent across Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Indonesia, according to an industry report.

News consumption also increased, as people tuned in to news outlets to follow the latest updates on the pandemic.

To cater to changing consumer habits, content creators are increasingly utilising new age multimedia, preferring bite-sized formats for news reporting and relying on video streaming on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and TikTok.

Even traditionally offline entertainment, such as museums and theatres, have turned to organising virtual museum tours, virtual cultural neighbourhood tours, and online plays on Zoom.

As new technologies and trends drive innovation and unravel new opportunities in the media and entertainment industry, the coming times look propitious.

Also Read: Gobi, Warner Music Group back Philippine e-sports entertainment startup Tier One

Technology has been one of the pioneering elements shaping the development of media and entertainment industry trends globally. Its adoption therefore would help pave the way forward for new age media companies in the region to create new revenue models to thrive in this sector.

While over-the-top (OTT) media services such as Netflix and Amazon were already popular before the pandemic, COVID-19 has brought these players to the forefront, with films distributed on these streaming platforms already dominating the Oscars.

High profile A list actors are no longer shying away from filming in TV series and movies designed for Netflix and Disney+.

Netflix is currently the dominant player in the global OTT entertainment industry, with a total of 207.3 million paid subscribers and an Asia Pacific customer base of 23.5 million at the end of 2020.

Although Disney+ has just recently entered the OTT streaming market, within 17 months, it has already surpassed 103 million subscribers at the end of 2020.

Going forward, content creators need to quickly adapt their offerings with respect to the evolving trends in this sector.

On one hand, demand for interesting and insightful video streaming content has increased as we are already witnessing the highest ever level of content consumption since everybody was confined to their homes.

Yet, on the other hand, the supply of content has been hit with the stalling of film and TV productions, web-series, and cancellation of live events over the past year.

In many ways, 2020 was a year of dichotomy. The entertainment industry is still reeling from the effects of the pandemic and will need a recovery plan. While outbreaks have been brought under control in some countries signalling the return of theatre goers and film aficionados, an uncertain future remains as we are not fully out of the woods yet.

Production houses are putting together a drawing board for a way forward. Production has re-started, but as the second and third waves of outbreaks hit, it was stopped again, sometimes indefinitely.

Also Read: Here’s how blockchain tech will contribute to the music and entertainment industries

While production houses want to continue producing relevant and engaging content for end users, they need to remain flexible and prioritise the health of their artists and staff, which often leads to higher budgets and longer lead times for projects.

In addition, due to a decrease in demand for various goods and services, many large corporations which used to spend millions of dollars a year advertising in mainstream media have cut advertising budgets.

This has led to lower ad revenues for media companies, as much as 18 per cent, according to the CRISIL report.

While uncertainty remains, it is not all gloom and doom for Asia’s entertainment industry. Consumers may have more time on their hands to consume content but are also becoming more selective in picking and choosing the content they want to invest their time and money in, especially so amid rising competition in the online streaming entertainment industry.

An unintended effect of COVID-19 on the entertainment industry is that it has also widened consumers’ watching habits and put a spotlight on Asian content and artists.

While many Hollywood blockbusters were delayed due to the worsening outbreak in the US last year, a steady stream of Asian films made in China, Taiwan, Korea, India, and even Singapore, continued to be produced and gained prominence amongst consumers. Asia’s diverse and talented producers, artists and content creators deserve to be recognised and celebrated.

Given a rise in demand for digital content consumption and increasing viewership, as well as halts in production of new content, existing content is likely to become more valuable. In time, this not only increases competition amongst existing film and television content creators and platforms, but also drives the creation of new forms of content.

OTT platforms will need to ramp up their content libraries and replacing the multiplex with home theatres. Movies are unlikely to go out of style completely but will need to provide extraordinary experiences to audiences rather than just being a tentpole film on a bigger canvas.

Digital is already fuelling Asia’s entertainment industry and will only continue to grow in future. Media companies as well as large corporations in other sectors have realised the value of digital content across multiple platforms and creating curated creative content to capture the attention of the audience needs to be the way forward.

With the world embracing Asian content, the time is now for Asian creators to look at the global stage through producing high quality content that showcases the unique and diverse cultural landscape of the region and tells compelling stories of their lived experiences.

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Emtek invests US$375M in Grab, forms alliance to accelerate Indonesian MSMEs’ digitalisation
Both Emtek and Grab will explore potential collaborations across logistics and e-commerce, in financial services, telemedicine, advertising & digital media; Grab has also completed its investment in Emtek; In April, there were reports that Grab acquired a 4% stake in Emtek.

Nium adds US$200M more to its war chest to become SEA’s latest unicorn
Investors include Riverwood Capital (lead), Temasek, Visa, Vertex, Beacon VC, and Rocket Capital; Nium will use the money to improve its payments network infra, drive innovative product development, and accelerate growth in the Americas.

E-grocer HappyFresh bags US$65M co-led by Naver, Gafina
Other investors are STIC, LB, and Mirae Asset Indonesia and Singapore; The Jakarta-HQs HappyFresh delivers fresh, high-quality groceries to thousands of customers in SEA’s major cities; In 2020, traffic claims to have grown by 10-20x across the three countries it operates in.

How Philippine cloud kitchen industry is piggybacking on the country’s unique food culture, shifting customer behaviour
The industry is still in the early stages in the Philippines and is behind neighbouring Singapore and Indonesia, but it is growing fast; Local startups operating in this space are Kraver’s Canteen, MadEats, and CloudEats, and GrabKitchen.

Big Tech vs data protection laws in Asia: Who is compromising?
Big Tech companies such as Apple, Facebook, Alibaba have been in a battle with Asian governments as data localisation heats up in the region over the past few years; Data ownership is becoming a part of the geopolitical competition that will shape the 21st century.

EDBI, SEEDS Capital inject US$147M into 25 startups through its Special Situation Fund for Firms (SSFS)
The investments are intended to help these businesses expand their market and develop new products over the following three years; The SSFS support will end when the funds are fully committed or by 31 October 2021.

AI-powered digital comics startup INKR bags US$3.1M led by Monk’s Hill
Other investors are Stu Levy, founder and CEO of TokyoPop, and David Do, MD of VI Management; INKR’s personalised content recommendation engine enables readers to access more than 800 localised manga, manhua, webtoon, and graphics novels across different genres on any device.

Hoow Foods raises US$2.2M in pre-Series A
Investors are Farquhar VC (lead), TRIVE Ventures, and private investors; Hoow Foods uses AI and ML to build an in-house platform called RE-GENESYS; The platform features a database of critical information on food ingredients and their physicochemical properties.

Pitch deck for dummies: A compilation of top tips and advice from the community
While there are many factors that contribute to the success of a fundraising process, you want to make sure that you are doing each stage right. And that includes creating a high-quality pitch deck.

Philippine digital financial solutions platform NextPay raised US$1.6M
Investors include Golden Gate Ventures, Gentree Fund, 1982 Ventures, Saison Capital, and Facebook and Twitter backer Goodwater Capital; It will use the money to introduce digital banking solutions to MSMEs; The startup positions itself as an alternative to bank accounts for small businesses and entrepreneurs in the Philippines.

Malaysia
Logistics and supply chain firm iStore iSend bags ‘7-figure USD’ from Japanese investor Kuroneko Innovation Fund
It is an extension of its US$5.5M Series B, co-led by Gobi Partners and EasyParcel; It will use the money to expand into Thailand, Vietnam; Currently, iStore iSend deals with over 30 foreign FMCG brands and 300 local brands across markets like Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia.

Malaysia
E-commerce logistics company Epost attracts US$1.4M from Warisan Quantum Management
The company plans to utilise the newly raised capital to enhance its product and expand the platform across SEA; Currently, its services are available across Malaysia, China, Singapore, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Brunei, with 13 e-commerce fulfilment warehouses located at key locations throughout SEA.

Singapore
No-code AI robotics programming platform Augmentus raises funding from Cocoon Capital
Augmentus’s proprietary technology incorporates an easy-to-use graphical interface that eliminates the need for coding enabling up to 17 times faster programming and integration across various industrial applications.

Wavemaker joins Bangladeshi edutech startup Shikho’s US$1.3M round
Other investors are Anchorless Bangladesh, LearnStart, and Teachable CEO Ankur Nagpal; Shikho offers students academic courses that come with resources and tools to help them with “school-leaving” exams.

Fast-growing Aussie insurtechs choose Singapore as gateway to SEA
Citing the city-state’s strategic location, high digital adoption, vibrant ecosystem of industry stakeholders eager to embrace cutting-edge tech, combined with the support of Accelerator programmes, startups such as ActivePipe, Gruntify, ProofTec and Truuth, view Singapore as the gateway to the region.

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Image Credit: Grab

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Yield Guild Games (YGG), a blockchain gaming startup in the Philippines, said in a blog post that it sold 25 million of its native YGG cryptocurrency tokens in just 31 seconds and raised about US$12.5 million in USD Coin.

With the token sale concluded, YGG will start to establish its decentralised autonomous organisation (DAO).

DAO, also known as decentralized autonomous corporation, is an organization represented by rules encoded as a computer programme that is transparent, controlled by the organisation members, and not influenced by a central government.

One of the first tasks of the DAO will be distributing tokens to the YGG community as a way of rewarding their early participation in the guild. It will also serve to properly onboard them as DAO members.

The gaming startup has reserved 45 per cent of one billion tokens in total for the YGG community. The tokens will be dispersed over four years. Another 40 per cent of the tokens will go to investors and founders, while the remaining 15 per cent will go to the company’s treasury and its advisers.

“We want to send a huge thanks to everyone who has supported our journey so far as well as everyone who participated in the YGG token sale,” said YGG co-founder Gabby Dizon. “Now, we are looking forward to kicking off our community airdrop where YGG tokens will be given to the most active and engaged members of our guild, especially those who have been with us from the beginning.”

The firm will also continue growing its scholarship programme, which aims to encourage more newbies to play NFT games.

Founded last year, YGG is a community of individuals who can play to earn non-fungible tokens (NFTs) that can be used in virtual worlds and blockchain-based games.

Also Read: Blockchain-powered mobile games distribution platform ALAX raises US$3.8M via token sale

The gaming firm has also partnered with and invested in a few such games, including Axie Infinity, The Sandbox, F1 DeltaTime, Guild of Guardians, and Zed Run.

“We are looking forward to kicking off our community airdrop where YGG tokens will be given to the most active and engaged members of our guild, especially those who have been with us from the beginning,” said Dizon added.

Its tokens are now also open to trading for the public on decentralized exchanges like SushiSwap.

In June this year, YGG raised US$4 million in a Series A funding round featuring participation from Mechanism Capital, ParaFi Capital, and lead investor Bitkraft Ventures.

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