Day: July 23, 2021

Pandemic winner Partipost, Asia-based crowd influencer marketing and commerce platform, announced today it has secured extended funding of US$5 million in their Series A round led by Quest Ventures.

Other participants in this round are existing investor SPH Ventures, and new investors iGlobe Partners and XA Network.

Partipost raised US$3.5 million last year in a round led by SPH Ventures and Quest Ventures and other investors.

The extended fundraising round this year of US$5 million will enable Partipost to continue to improve its technology, execute market expansion into Vietnam, and double down on its current operations in existing markets, including Singapore, Indonesia, Taiwan, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

When the legal procedure completes, Jeffrey Seah, Partner at Quest Ventures will be the Director of Partipost’s Board, following his current position as Board Observer since the previous funding.

“Since our initial investment, Jon, Ben and Tony [Partipost’s founders] have demonstrated their business acumen and operating verve across the three markets they originally operate in,” said Seah.

Also Read: In brief: Percipient raises US$5M, Partipost raises US$3.5M

Founded in 2016, the Singaporean startup automates the process of influencer sourcing and campaign management for brands, helping them drive authentic word-of-mouth marketing.

As the COVID-19 pandemic urges businesses to realise the potential of influencer marketing –-an industry that is expected to be worth US$13.8 billion in 2021, according to a report by Influencer Marketing Hub– Partipost said it has received significant growth in its commercial clientele and a threefold increase year-on-year in the total number of influencers during the pandemic.

Through the two new initiatives – the Nano Ambassador and Mass Campaign Programs, Partipost expects to execute over 10,000 campaigns with over three million influencers within the next 18-24 months.

The platform is currently serving clients including Pepsi, Dettol, The Body Shop, and brands under Unilever such as St. Ives and Simple Skincare.

“They have balanced the need to recruit brand-safe nano influencers that resonate with commercial partners,“ added Seah.

With data insights collected through its in-app polls and user behaviours, Partipost crowdsources influencers with follower sizes ranging from a few hundred to millions of followers.

The platform then rewards them for both their media reach and message impact in their curated social media content message, determined by their followers’ responses.

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Image credit: Partipost

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Aruna, an Indonesia-based fisheries and marine platform, announced that it has raised US$35 million in a Series A funding round led by Prosus Ventures and East Ventures (Growth Fund).

Oher investors who joined the round include SIG, AC Ventures, MDI, Vertex Ventures, and other undisclosed investors.

This news comes after the company raised US$5.5 million last year.

With the newly raised capital, Aruna aims to expand its presence nationwide and strengthen its supply chain infrastructure. It further seeks to cater to customers in new markets, diversify its product range, and enhance its product.

Indonesia consists of more than 17,500 islands and is currently the world’s second-largest fisheries producer, with market size of more than US$30 billion.

Currently, the overexploitation of seas and oceans has been negatively affecting marine biodiversity, making it even more vital to create a system that adheres to trade practices, that it believes are imperative for the long-term sustainability of the industry.

Founded in 2016, Aruna serves as a one-stop shop for Indonesia’s fishermen to connect with restaurants and exporters. Its goal is to help create fair fish trading, improve the livelihood of local fishermen, and bring affordable and high-quality seafood to communities.

Also Read: Indonesia’s fishery products marketplace Aruna raises US$5.5M, claims 86x growth amidst pandemic

Through Aruna, local fishermen can export their products to countries in Southeast Asia, East Asia, North America, and the Middle East. Aruna has worked with thousands of fishermen in 31 coastal areas across Indonesia, covering multiple regions between Sumatra and Papua.

As of now, the company has a base of 21,300 registered fishermen across 13 provinces in Indonesia and plans to expand the number significantly in the future.

In addition to the funding news, Aruna has also appointed  Budiman Goh, as President of the Company, and Utari Octavianty, as Chief Sustainability Officer, to lead and strengthen the sustainability initiatives of Aruna.

“We support a sustainable and fair fisheries industry for all. Aruna continues to combine its technological capabilities with local insights and global best practices, while preserving the ecosystem, empowering local communities, and meeting the needs of our global customer base. Our vision is to make Indonesia the centre of the world’s maritime economy in the future,” said Octavianty.

“This sector will grow rapidly. Aruna’s vision is aligned with ours to build a sustainable fishery and marine economy that will have a positive impact for a long time,” added Roderick Purwana, Managing Partner of East Ventures.

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Image Credit: Aruna

 

 

 

 

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Singaporean mobility startup Drive lah, which dubbed itself the “Airbnb for cars”, has announced a US$3.2 million pre-series A funding round led by KFC Ventures. Other participants include HH Investments VC and Accelerating Asia.

Industry expert and entrepreneur Robin Chase, who is the co-founder and former CEO of Zipcar, and other angel investors from various countries also participated in the round.

After acquiring more than 150,000 registered users on the platform since its inception, Drive lah aims to develop a shared mobility ecosystem in the Asia Pacific market. The company has recently launched in Australia and expects to expand further in the next 12 months.

“I strongly believe in the founders’ vision and their ability to make it happen. We see this as a strategic investment given our strengths in technology and data,” said KFC Ventures Managing Director Naveen Kumar.

Founded in 2019, Drive lah is a car application for those who want to rent a car from owners who want to earn from their car when it is idle. Owning a car in cities is considered to make less sense due to rising ownership costs and parking shortages, demand for flexible mobility is on the rise.

Also Read: How to use Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to drive resilient leadership in 2021

Drive lah co-founder Dirk-Jan ter Horst said, “Cars are idle 95 per cent of the time, so for owners, it makes sense to put this asset to use. Renters get unlimited access to nearby cars without the cost of owning one. Our proprietary in-car technology enables keyless access through your phone, and this makes it extremely convenient and safe for users. Moreover, it is 30-40 per cent cheaper than anywhere else.”

According to Drive lah‘s analysis, Singapore has a total of 11,520,548 underused car hours every day. Its P2P car-sharing concept can assist to improve the environment by more efficiently utilising assets and, as a result, reducing the number of unused car hours.

Drive lah has recently completed a 100-day acceleration program of Accelerating Asia. In 2020, it acquired Smove, a fleet-based car-sharing company in Singapore.

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Image Credit: Drive lah

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GudangAda, the Indonesia-based e-commerce startup that works with SMEs, today announced that it has raised US$100 million in a Series B funding round led by Asia Partners and Falcon Edge.

The funding round also included the participation of existing investors Sequoia Capital India, Alpha JWC, and Wavemaker.

GudangAda stated that the funding round was oversubscribed as it initially targeted to raise US$75 million. It brought the company’s total funding to date to approximately US$135 million.

The funding will be used to support team expansion across key divisions and executional capabilities, as well as building and strengthening GudangAda’s ecosystem of service offerings, including logistics, POS SaaS, marketing services, data services, and financial services.

GudangAda also plans to further strengthen its focus on Artificial Intelligence to provide high quality, personalised products and services to merchant customers.

Also Read: GudangAda names former Grab Engineering Head Huan Yang as CTO

“We are now well-positioned to empower the supply chain from producers, distributors, wholesalers to retailers throughout Indonesia, with almost half a million users from over 500 tier-1 to tier-3 cities and develop a comprehensive monetisation model with a complete ecosystem,” said Stevensang, CEO of GudangAda.

GudangAda said that it has grown to US$6 billion of the net merchandise value (NMV) in less than three years and with less than US$35 million of cumulative historical investment, a ratio of over 170 times.

In an interview with e27 in November 2020, Stevensang detailed the company’s plan to raise the funding round that it announced today. He also shared GudangAda’s secret sauce in winning investors’ attention.

“Our core philosophy is not to disrupt the industry but to empower every player in the market,” he stressed. “We assure them that we are not disrupting their supply chain but instead focus on digitalising the process for maximum growth and efficiency. With this approach, we aim to digitalise 100 per cent of the industry in the next three to five years.”

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Image Credit: GudangAda

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Bukalapak prices Indonesian IPO at top range, raises US$1.5B
A source told DealStreetAsia that the IPO received more than US$6B of demand; The issue by Indonesia’s fourth-biggest e-commerce company comes as its US$40B e-commerce market is benefiting from strong pandemic-driven demand; Bukalapak is backed by GIC, Microsoft, and others.

E-commerce marketplace GudangAda raises US$100M+ led by Asia Partners, Falcon Edge
Sequoia India, Alpha JWC, and Wavemaker also contributed; The money will be used to expand and complete its supply chain ecosystem, including logistics and warehouse services, new category offerings beyond FMCG, POS/SAAS, marketing services, data services and financial services.

Thunes acquires European payment methods platform Limonetik
This move will complement existing Thunes cross-border payments solutions by enabling businesses to get paid in 70 countries, using over 285 local payment methods such as mobile wallets, BNPL, and QR code payments; The solution will be known as Thunes Collections.

Indonesia ‘sea-to-table’ platform Aruna hooks US$35M led by Prosus, EV Growth
Other investors are SIG, AC Ventures, MDI and Vertex Ventures; Aruna works primarily with small fisheries and focuses on sustainability, preventing overfishing, protecting coastal ecosystems and giving small-scale fisheries access to more resources and markets.

Alt protein VC Good Startup surpasses US$25M target, invests in 4 new startups
The investees are Motif FoodWorks, Nowadays, Lypid, and Clara Foods; So far, most of the firms it has invested are located in the US but could enter Asia in the near future.

Indonesia’s direct-to-consumer startup Hypefast raises US$14M
Investors are Monk’s Hill (lead), Jungle Ventures, and Strive Ventures; Hypefast backs and acquires local digital native firms in fashion, beauty, health and lifestyle; It invests in brands that primarily sell online and generate at least US$35K in annual profit.

Employment Hero to speed up SEA expansion after raising US$102M led by Insight Partners
Employment Hero empowers SMEs by providing automated solutions to help launch them on the path to success by powering more productivity every day; The startup said it services over 6K businesses, collectively managing over 250K employees.

Shiok Meats raises bridge funding
AFN estimates that the firm raised in the region of US$10M for the bridge round; Investors are Woowa Brothers, CJ CheilJedang, and Vinh Hoan; The Singapore-based startup has also secured a grant under Enterprise Singapore’s Startup SG Tech Proof-of-Value scheme to accelerate development and commercialisation of its technology.

Safe-speed autonomous mobility firm Venti raises US$8M seed funding
Co-lead investors are LDV Partners and Alpha JWC; Venti will utilise the capital for producing AI-enabled autonomous logistics transport and scaling its operations in Asia, Europe, and the US.

Crowd influencer marketing & commerce platform Partipost secures US$5M
Investors are Quest Ventures (lead), SPH Ventures, iGlobe Partners, and XA Network; Partipost drives authentic word-of-mouth marketing by matching brands to influencers with the highest brand affinity.

Kamereo rakes in US$4.6M Series A to become a one-stop procurement platform for F&B businesses in Vietnam
Co-led by CPF Group, Quest Ventures, and Genesia Ventures, this round of investment will be used for hiring and expanding into Hanoi; Kamereo is a one-stop platform where farmers, producers, importers and buyers connect to trade a range of fruit and vegetable products at the best prices.

Shared mobility startup Drive Lah raises US$3.2M;
Investors are KFC Ventures (lead), HH Investments, Accelerating Asia, and Zipcar CEO Robin Chase; Drive lah is like an Airbnb for cars as it brings together people who want to rent a car with owners that want to earn from their car when it is idle.

SaaS company Majoo raises pre-Series A
Investors are AC Ventures (lead) and BRI Ventures; The firm offers several business solutions on one app, with 15K merchants using its platform as of May this year; Its integrated business application offerings include point-of-sale devices and supply management software.

Paragaon Capital launches early-stage capital fund
Paragon Ventures I will look at pre-seed to Series A opportunities; While the fund is sector-agnostic, it will have an inclination for deeptech, B2B SaaS, and robotics startups.

Vietnam sees new batch of VC funds seeking to tap maturing startup ecosystem
According to Ascend Ventures Ventures’s founding partner Eddie Thai, the country has seen seed rounds more than double in size and seen dozens of early-stage investors join in finding the region’s next leaders.

Philippine media conglomerate creates GMA Ventures to invest in tech startups, sunrise sectors
In May, GMA’s investors had approved to put in ~ US$500K into GMA Ventures, Inc. (GVI), which will serve as its vehicle in investing in non-core or non-broadcasting business activities; GVI will lead the GMA Group in identifying, investing in, and/or building strong and sustainable businesses.

Grab deepens partnership with payments firm Adyen to expand its BNPL offering
Available through the GrabPay wallet, merchants will now be able to offer PayLater payment methods at checkout; Customers will be able to choose between interest-free payments over four instalments (PayLater instalments), or the following month (PayLater Postpaid).

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Image Credit: GudangAda

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