Day: July 8, 2021

AND Global, a Singapore-based micro-lending startup providing AI-based instant collateral-free loans to customers in Mongolia, has secured an undisclosed sum in funding from SBI VEN Holdings, the local subsidiary of Japanese investor SBI Holdings.

Under this agreement, SBI Holdings will consider the adoption of AND’s fintech-as-a-service (FaaS) software into its global subsidiaries, such as SBI LY HOUR BANK in Cambodia, in which SBI Holdings have a 70 per cent stake, as a precursor to its collaboration with AND.

At the same time, SBI Holdings will collaborate with AND and its shareholder Marubeni Corporation to promote the introduction and proliferation of AND Global’s FaaS in the Asia Pacific, as per an official statement.

Additionally, SBI and AND will jointly create strategic new businesses and develop sustainable and advanced technology solutions and promote the creation of a digital ecosystem by utilising the existing network (clients, group companies, investees through funds, etc.).

Established in 2017 by Mongolian founder Anar Chinbaatar, AND Global operates under the brand name LendMN. It is a micro-lending mobile app powered by its Artificial Intelligence-based credit scoring system.

LendMN uses non-traditional data sources, along with traditional data, to identify the customers’ credit risk instantaneously and issues loans within less than five minutes of signing up. According to Chinbaatar, LendMN offers 10x faster, more convenient and cheaper micro-loans, compared to other competitors, which follow mostly traditional business models.

Also Read: How fintech startup LendMN saves 30K salaried employees from loan sharks in Mongolia

“Our mission is to make financing accessible and inclusive to the under-banked, not just in Mongolia but also across Asia,” Chinbaatar said in an interview with e27 in 2018. “Our mission is to save people from loan sharks, who mostly charge seven to 10 per cent interests rates per week. Obviously, this doesn’t help the economy, nor does it help the country. If anything, it has made the matters worse.”

LendMN lends from its own cash reserve. According to Chinbaatar, not only has the service proved to be useful for underbanked customers, its business model is profitable with the revenues that led the firm to a cash positive state in less than 11 months of launching the service.

As of June 2021, LendMN claims to have over 930,000 registered users, which accounts for more than one-fourth of the total population in Mongolia.

In addition, with its mobile commerce business, AND Global has created a digital ecosystem through SuperUp. It connects other companies’ services with APIs and integrates with 23 member stores to provide various services, such as public service goods & food delivery, asset management, travel & hotel bookings.

In March 2018, LendMN was listed on the Mongolian Stock Exchange. In the same year, AND acquired a non-bank financial institution license in the Philippines, where it provides LendPinoy, the local version of LendMN.

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Image Credit: LendMN

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Indonesian new retail startup Warung Pintar has raised an IDR87 billion (US$6 million) in Series B funding round, according to sources. The funding round is led by existing investors East Ventures with the participation of Vertex Ventures.

DailySocial has reached out to relevant parties but has not received any response until this story is published.

This funding round is expected to bring Warung Pintar’s valuation to US$169 million. It followed up a Series A funding round that the company has secured in 2019.

Apart from the two venture capital firms, Warung Pintar also counted EV Growth, Agaeti Venture (now AC Ventures), LINE Ventures, SMDV, Pavilion Capital, Triputra Group, Digital Garage, OVO Fund, and a number of angel investors as their backers.

In an interview with DailySocial in May, Warung Pintar Co-Founder & CEO Agung Bezharie said that the company’s mission is to provide a holistic, end-to-end solution for the warung (mom-and-pop stores) ecosystem. This includes solutions for warung owners, bulk sellers, small- to medium-sized distributors as well as brand owners.

Also Read: Warung Pintar buys Bizzy Digital for US$45M to create full-stack supply chain platform for Indonesia’s mom-and-pop stores

“We digitalise and integrate every stakeholder with our supply chain system to create greater transparency and efficacy,” he said.

Earlier this year, Warung Pintar also announced an acquisition of Bizzy for US$45 million. Despite continuing operations as two separate business entities, the acquisition enabled Warung Pintar to get access to new channels in Bizzy’s network which includes bulk sellers, distributors, and brands/manufacturers.

Bizzy is already well-known as a B2B e-commerce platform that provides tech-based procurement services.

Improving the supply chain is part of the evolution of Warung Pintar’s business model. Through Grosir Pintar app, they provide an inventory and logistics management solution for the bulk sellers, making it easier to connect with the warung in its network.

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The article Warung Pintar Dikabarkan Raih Pendanaan Seri B 87 Miliar Rupiah was written in Bahasa Indonesia by Randi Eka Yonida for DailySocial. English translation and editing by e27.

Image Credit: Warung Pintar

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Sqreem launches Data Natinto

The story: Sqreem Technologies (Sqreem) has announced the launch of a new tool called Data Natinto to track COVID-19 related information including hospital beds, ventilators, and more in the Philippines.

This was first reported by TechInAsia.

More about the story: According to co-founder Ian Chapman-Banks, the way that the Philippines government is handling COVID-19 data is unstructured. Sqreem said it had redesigned, recoded, and further developed its technology to augment government contact-tracing efforts worldwide last year and is investing US$500,000 to create the tracker.

About Sqreem: An AI company that provides data analysis and programmatic targeting services to companies and government agencies.

Indonesian biotech startups receive approval for saliva-based COVID-19 tests amid infections rise

The story: Two of Indonesia’s biotech startups have gained approval to launch saliva-based COVID-19 tests, according to KrAsia.

Who the startups are: Nusantics, Nalagenetics.

Also Read: How Singapore’s tech community is helping India in its battle against COVID-19

More about the story: Indonesia is currently battling a COVID-19 surge which has led to an increasing shortage of medical supplies, including oxygen cylinders.

Both Nalagenetics and Nusantics are hopeful that the newly developed test kits can improve Indonesia’s COVID-19 tracing capabilities.

Accuracy rates: Nalagenetics (Quickspit) has an accuracy of up to 97, while Nusantics has an accuracy of 95 per cent.

India’s cannabis startup Hempstreet receives government grant

The story: Hempstreet announced today that it has received a grant from The Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) of India.

What the funding will be used for: To patent and commercialise a recent research breakthrough around transdermal delivery technology, a technique that provides drug absorption via the skin.

More about the story: In around six months, HempStreet claims that it has marked the fastest rollout witnessed by the industry across over 2,000 clinics in 24 states in India that are now prescribing HempStreet medicines.

Also Read: Cannabis tech startup Hempstreet blazes hot in India’s ancient medicine market

About Hempstreet: A startup that creates natural relief products from cannabis for chronic pain and uses blockchain to prevent drug misuse.

Volopay, WeWork partner to help businesses with expense management in Singapore, Australia

The story: Volopay, a Singaporean fintech startup, has partnered with WeWork to offer an integrated business spend management solution in Singapore and Australia.

More about the story: This partnership will offer WeWork’s members, from startups to larger tech enterprises, to streamline their expense and payable management processes that align with their business needs.

According to Rohit Bhageria, founding member of Volopay, this will allow members can close their books 5x faster.

About Volopay: An all-in-one platform for managing business spendings that combines expense approvals, corporate cards, bill payments, expense reimbursements, credit, cashback, and accounting automation.
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Image Credit: Mufid Majnun

The post In brief: Sqreem’s tool makes COVID-19 info access easy for Filipinos appeared first on e27.

Dagangan, an FMCG-focused B2B supply chain and social commerce startup in Indonesia, has bagged an undisclosed amount in pre-Series A financing from a host of investors, including Spiral Ventures, CyberAgent Capital, 500 Startups, and local transportation company Bluebird Group.

The fresh capital will be used for business expansion. By the end of this year, the company looks to expand into 7,000 villages, open 30 hubs, and reach 40,000 active consumers.

The startup is currently operating in more than 4,000 villages spread across Yogyakarta, Central Java, and West Java. In the future, Dagangan also wants to expand to other village locations around Java.

Also Read: RateS snags Series A to expand social commerce platform to tier 2, 3 cities in Indonesia

Founded in 2019, Dagangan is a demand aggregation platform for small towns and villages in Indonesia.

The firm leverages the power of community and social networks of influencers to solve production and accessibility issues, enabling rural households to get their daily needs delivered to them at cheaper prices and with much less effort.

Dagangan targets two types of consumers:

1) Small-time shop owners: They are usually underserved by principal brands as most of them are located far away from urban areas. Now, with the Dagangan app in place, they can order online and get the stuff delivered at their doorsteps. They no longer need to close their shops to travel for 20-30 km for purchasing items.

2) Retail buyers: Individual buyers can purchase household items such as snacks, kitchen spices, and processed ready-to-eat foods.

According to the company, the products are delivered within a day by Dagangan’s own fleet of vehicles.

Dagangan operates warehouses as a hub and distribution channel in every village across Java island, involving local communities.

According to co-founder Wilson Yanaprasetya, the entire procurement process is carried out in two ways — 1) taken directly from the principal brands and then stored in hubs, 2) taken directly from MSME owners in the surrounding villages.

Also Read: YC-backed Super raises US$28M to grow its social commerce platform in Indonesia

“The unseen opportunity in the rural areas of Indonesia is huge. We believe that in the next three to five years, a good number of quality startups will take birth in the archipelago, and many investors will try to inject capital to help startups outside of Jakarta,” Gio Novfran, Head of Indonesia at Spiral Ventures, said.

Dagangan’s co-founder Ryan Manafe said that with the current business model, his team is able to attract the local community to grow together. “Dagangan is here to provide convenience to local communities in getting on with their daily economic activities. With the spirit of building the local economy, Dagangan offers a one-stop digital service solution to provide various household needs.”

The Indonesian social commerce industry is crowded with multiple players. In April, Super, a social commerce platform serving second- and third-tier cities and rural areas in Indonesia, announced the completion of a US$28 million oversubscribed Series B round led by SoftBank Ventures Asia.

A few months earlier, RateS, another player, bagged an undisclosed amount in Series A, co-led by Vertex Ventures and Genesis Alternative Ventures.

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Image Credit: Dagangan’s

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Southeast Asia’s super app battle continues, as airasia Digital (previously known as RedBeat Ventures), the digital arm of the Malaysia-based airline operator, has acquired the Thailand operations of Gojek.

The deal is expected to rev up the expansion of the airasia Super App in ASEAN, while enabling Gojek to increase investments in its Vietnam and Singapore operations.

In return, Gojek will receive shareholding in the airasia Super App, whose market value is said to be around US$1 billion.

Also Read: AirAsia aims to fulfill super app ambition with upcoming launch of ride-hailing services in Malaysia

In Thailand, airasia Super App aims to continue to leverage the existing ecosystem services for riders, merchants and customers, while adding new offerings such as groceries and beauty items.

It will also seek regional expansion into new markets like Chiang Mai and Phuket in the near future.

The Gojek app will continue to operate for existing users in Bangkok through to 31 July 2021. Its driver and merchant partners will be invited to join the airasia Super App in the coming weeks.

The airline company will work with the existing Gojek team in Thailand, who will operate the Gojek business during the transition period before moving over to its super app.

At the same time, in a realignment of its international strategy, Gojek is increasing investment in its Vietnam and Singapore operations. It has identified these markets have strong sources of growth for the business going forward. This includes increased driver and merchant acquisition initiatives, enhancements to user experience as well as launching new products and services.

airasia Group CEO Tony Fernandes said today’s announcement is the start of a tremendous long-term strategic partnership with Gojek. “By taking on Gojek’s well-established Thai business, we’ll be able to turbo-charge our ambitions in this space to become a leading ASEAN challenger super app.”

“We already have a complete digital economy ecosystem. We have successfully established over 15 different non- airline products and lifestyle services on our digital e-commerce platform in Malaysia. Now it’s time to take it to the next level. In response to overwhelming regional demand, we are setting our sights on bringing our Super App offerings to all of our key markets, following the successful rollout in Thailand,” he added.

Gojek CEO Kevin Aluwi said: “airasia Digital and the airasia Super App will become a highly valued partner for us as we share the same goal to provide users with better services while enhancing the livelihoods of drivers and merchants. At the same time, the deal will enable us to pivot our focus in international markets towards Vietnam and Singapore — markets providing us with the best return on investment and strategic growth opportunities.”

Also Read: AirAsia, MaGIC partner to introduce drone-based e-commerce delivery in Malaysia

airasia Digital leverages the group’s physical and digital assets to create an ecosystem of businesses that connect with its customers in their everyday life. It consists of three key digital companies: 1) airasia Super App, which provides a lifestyle platform for travel, e-commerce, financial services, farm to table, health and edutech products and services; 2) Teleport, an e-commerce logistics company offering instant door-to-door deliveries; and 3) the fintech arm BigPay.

On Tuesday, the group announced the launch of its fresh groceries delivery service, airasia fresh, in Singapore as part of its continued expansion in the island state. It follows the introduction of its food delivery platform, airasia food, in March.

The airasia-Gojek deal is expected to further intensify the battle for the number one super app position, as tech giant Grab, which positions itself as a super app, is far ahead of others with its deep pocket and backing from top-notch investors. The Singapore-based tech giant recently announced that it is going public in the US through the largest-ever merger with a blank-cheque company at a market valuation of US$40 billion.

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Image Credit: airasia

 

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