Despite being in the thick of a pandemic, Singapore-based financial aggregator MoneySmart Group still managed to record strong business growth in 2020. The company generated US$16.7 million in annual revenue, a 25 per cent increase compared to the previous year. Launched in 2009, MoneySmart is one of Southeast Asia’s largest personal finance portals. Apart from providing financial insights, it also helps consumers find relevant personal finance products such as loans, credit cards, and insurance. MoneySmart does not sell any of these products, but it does earn a commission from banks and insurers via a built-in referral business model. The company claims to have served more than 100 million people across four countries: Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the Philippines.

“One of the most effective ways to reach our customers is by making sure that we’re visible with super contextually relevant content based on what they’re looking for at that time,” explains David Harling, CMO of MoneySmart Group. Joining the company in January 2018, David has overseen an in-depth business transformation at MoneySmart, which has helped the company almost quadruple its revenue within three years.

Speaking with ContentGrip, David provides a glimpse into how MoneySmart’s marketing engine operates to drive growth, capitalising specifically on first-party data and original content.

Managing first-party data is important

Harling believes in the importance of building first-party data for marketing purposes. When he joined the team three years ago, they started using the data management platform (DMP) Oracle BlueKai to integrate MoneySmart’s marketplace comparison side with its content assets.

As a result, the team now has an advanced understanding of customer data.

With a DMP in place, MoneySmart can also collect behavioural data of everyone who visits the site (e.g. what content they are reading, which products they are comparing, and whether they have already converted into a customer). The company then uses this data to create highly specific audience segments.

Also Read: MoneySmart founder Vinod Nair on why his company will never lose its relevance

“One of the biggest channels for customer acquisition is taking that first-party data and using it to drive retargeting to re-engage those customers that were on our platform who might not have converted or who might not have finished their research or education process,” he explains.

Armed with first-party data, MoneySmart can also leverage third-party data like Facebook’s lookalike audiences, for the purpose of retargeting campaigns.

Looking to take it one step further, Harling is now planning to transition the company’s DMP system into a customer data platform (CDP). Unlike a DMP, which gives an overall look at the audience, a CDP would provide the MoneySmart team with a clearer view of individual customers and their activities. Thus, the marketing department could make informed decisions about each and every case.

For example, the team could personalise their messaging and offer better solutions to users.

“And then, suddenly acquisition becomes less important. It’s more about retention and customer lifetime value in a digital marketing play,” he adds.

Because of this dynamic, Harling is not overly concerned with the imminent arrival of a ‘cookieless’ world. He says, “Our retargeting efforts aren’t reliant on third-party data.”

As an alternative, however, he does think it’s a good idea for marketers to explore second-party data (leveraging first-party data from other businesses). That said, it can be tricky to overlay both data assets (first-party and second-party) while avoiding a potential conflict of interests.

MoneySmart’s user acquisition play

Another crucial aspect of MoneySmart’s marketing success, according to the CMO, is its content. SimilarWeb estimates that more than 80 per cent of the company’s traffic comes from organic search.

The company’s most mature product, MoneySmart Singapore, is estimated to serve around 1.3 million visitors each month. Harling says that the team has historically invested a lot of time into content and has become a well-known independent voice around personal finance in Singapore.

Currently, 4,000 out of MoneySmart.sg’s 7,600 pages are blog posts, while the rest are part of the marketplace’s product pages. David says that these articles are optimised around the ‘discovery’ and ‘consideration’ parts of the marketing funnel (as opposed to pushing for the final transaction).

Also Read: Singapore finance portal MoneySmart raises US$10M to boost presence in APAC

In this way, the editorial team can focus on crafting what they know is meaningful content for consumers at various life stages.

Beginning his marketing career in the search department, the now-CMO notes that Google’s SEO algorithm is different in each geographic market.

This is one of the reasons the team uses different languages for each site: English (Singapore, Hong Kong, and the Philippines), Cantonese (Hong Kong), and Traditional Mandarin (Taiwan).

According to Moz, MoneySmart Singapore has garnered an impressive 717,000 inbound links from 4,800 domains. Harling says that inbound links are more of a quality game than a quantity game. He notes that the team regularly receives strong SEO juice from Yahoo Finance Singapore and MSN thanks to a news syndication strategy.

According to him, Google may become even smarter soon, going beyond links when scoring websites. “I think they look at brand mentions. And so any sort of organic PR or editorial strategy can carry some weight,” he explains.

He reminds marketers that they still need to provide the very best platform experience to users. In this respect, things like site speed and UX truly matter.

Harling is also considering how strategic distribution partnerships for MoneySmart’s content may look in the near future. According to him, this could mean letting other businesses carry and publish MoneySmart’s assets.

These partnerships could potentially help David’s marketing team extend the site’s reach, while also controlling the rising costs of essential tools like Google and Facebook.

In early 2018, for example, MoneySmart partnered with Singapore’s online marketplace Carousell. Carousell users were able to discover recommended financial listings (MoneySmart’s product pages) quickly inside of the app.

Don’t just think about user acquisition

Harling advises fellow marketers not to focus solely on customer acquisition, but pay attention to the overall customer experience.

Also Read: Branding lessons from a first-time startup CMO caught up in a pandemic

He explains, “You can have the most efficient customer acquisition machine. But if you fail to deliver on the experience, essentially, you’ll find yourself re-recruiting that same person […] as opposed to retaining that person and actually giving them an experience that matters.”

Marketers will end up spending more on user acquisition if they don’t care about customer experience. CMOs, in particular, should start caring about customer experience to retain and lengthen customer lifetime value.

“For any business, your attitudes toward marketing should strongly connect to the needs of customers right now,” explains Harling, adding that such needs can be dynamic and change quickly in a three-to-six-month window.

In MoneySmart’s case, the marketing team has identified that customers in Singapore are already financially disciplined, and they’re now looking to protect themselves, even as the pandemic winds down.

This has driven tangible demand for insurance, and the company is now doubling down on related content marketing efforts.

When it comes to producing meaningful, original content, he adds, “I would encourage you to really understand your target consumers, and what’s important for them, as opposed to what you think they want.”

This article appeared first on ContentGrip.

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Malaysian integrated digital media group, iMedia, has signed an agreement to acquire 100 per cent stake in Lovelife Technologies, owner of community online beauty store Favful.

The financial details remain undisclosed.

This acquisition marks iMedia’s entry into the commerce business and is in line with its mission of becoming an integrated digital media group.

According to a press statement, iMedia will be responsible for the acceleration of Favful’s revenue for its influencer advertising unit as well as branded content. It is also tasked to generate lifestyle content and engagement around its website and social media platforms.

Also Read: Malaysian digital media group REV Asia to acquire iMEDIA for US$9.6M

As part of the deal, all social media assets from Favful will be fully merged into iMedia’s ecosystem.

“The current technology behind Favful’s platform allows it to analyse the sentiments of our users and community’s voices, giving us the opportunity to understand their interest and demand better and will now be extended to the online websites of iMedia to deliver more targeted content that is relevant to our users,” said Voon Tze Khay, CEO and co-founder of iMedia.

Founded by CEO Sasha Tan, Favful’s social commerce platform curates recommendations from its community members based on the customers’ skin type, skin concerns, and lifestyle choices. This is done by combining crowd intelligence from its community preference intelligence generated through machine learning.

“Since our launch in 2016, Favful has grown into a trusted community marketplace. We house over 3,000 beauty and lifestyle influencer members reaching out to potentially 146 million social media audiences. By integrating this reach with ITTIFY (iMedia’s existing influencer agency), our combined social media audience reach is well over 172 million,” said Tan.

iMedia owns and provides digital advertising and marketing, customised content production, and solutions for popular local language sites, premium video streaming networks, and social influencer platforms. Over the past year, the company invested in/acquired half a dozen companies, including OhMedia, Ittify, Goody25, BeautifulNara, and Moretify.

As per a press statement, the iMedia network of owned and managed websites currently reaches over 15 million Malaysians every month.

Also Read: iMedia acquires BeautifulNara to expand its digital media footprint within Malaysia

“Together with the wide-reach audience network and distribution strength of iMedia, we are confident to expand Favful’s community to become a fully integrated digital platform in the media, commerce, and influencer marketing business that will provide our customers and consumers the solutions and experience that matters. One of the key areas of focus is to accelerate Favful’s and all of iMedia’s brands social and live commerce initiatives and expanding beyond the beauty lifestyle segment,” said iMedia’s Tze Khay.

iMedia claims it is looking to complete its IPO on Bursa Malaysia via its own acquisition by Rev Asia, currently listed on Bursa Malaysia for approximately MYR40 million (US$9.81 million). Upon approval by regulators and shareholders, the Favful acquisition will be part of iMedia’s move to Bursa Malaysia.

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Image Credit: iMedia

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Singapore-based logistics and supply chain management integrator, Locad, has raised US$4.9 million in a seed round led by Sequoia Capital India’s Surge.

Other backers include Antler, Febe Ventures, Foxmont, Global Founders Capital, the Gokongwei Family, Hustle Fund, and unnamed angels.

Locad was launched in 2020 by ex-Zalora and ex-Grab executives Constantin Robertz, Jannis Dargel, and Shrey Jain. They decided to create the startup when they realised that not everyone with online business has knowledge about running logistics.

Also Read: Locad founder on building SEAs first cloud logistics network in the midst of COVID-19

“I figured that not every brand, retailer and business that want to sell online should have to go through figuring out how to build warehouses, the tech that supports it and runs their logistics. Because of that, we built Locad as the on-demand supply chain and fulfillment network for e-commerce brands so they can focus on selling more and developing great products and not figuring out how to run warehouses and logistics,” said Robertz.

Through its platform, brands can manage their orders and stocks from a single virtual pool across multiple sales channels, with visibility of sales, orders, inventory, and service levels.

Locad’s customers also have the opportunity to integrate with e-commerce platforms such as Shopify, WooCommerce, Amazon, Shopee, Lazada and Zalora.

The startup is currently a part of Surge’s fifth cohort of 23 companies.

“We are now serving more than 30 brands across the Philippines, Singapore, and Australia, helping small businesses to some of the largest retailers deliver tens of thousands of items each month. We’re excited to be providing logistics infrastructures to e-commerce businesses of any size in these countries and we will continue to grow our presence across the region,” shared Dargel.

The logistics market in Southeast Asia is expected to total US$55.7 billion by 2025 – demonstrating the growing demand and necessity for flexible, technology-enabled solutions.

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Image Credit:  Locad

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Pickupp, a Hong kong-based on-demand delivery startup with operations in Singapore, Malaysia, and Taiwan, announced today that it has closed its ~US$15 million in Series A and Series A+ financing round from a group of regional strategic investors.

The Series A+ round was led by Taiwan e-commerce giant PChome and Cornerstone Ventures. They were joined by existing investor Swire Properties, and new investors including Cathay Venture, DRIVE Catalyst (the corporate venture arm of Far Eastern Group) from Taiwan, and the Jardine Matheson Group and Zipx from Hong Kong.

The Series A funding process commenced in November 2020 and came from Vision+ Capital, Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund, Cyberport Macro Fund, Swire Properties New Ventures and SparkLabs Taipei.

Also Read: Pickupp snags Series A funding to expand last-mile logistics platform in Southeast Asia

Pickupp will use the fresh injection of funds to accelerate its expansion in Taiwan and deepen its presence in existing markets. It also plans to add at least 10 more dispatch points in Singapore within the next 12 months. Besides enabling to cope with growing demand in Singapore, the additional points would also help the startup utilise its walker network more.

A part of the funds raised will also go into building new strategic partnerships to enhance its digital offerings across Shop On Pickupp, a one-stop e-commerce platform offering all-rounded payment and tech-enabled delivery solutions for businesses in 2020.

“The pandemic has triggered a seismic shift in consumer behaviour, it has led to droves of retailers moving their business online and scaling up their digital presence to meet the surging demand. Over the past year, we’ve seen more retailers looking for reliable, flexible, and faster delivery solutions,” said Crystal Pang, Co-founder and CEO of Pickupp. “This round of funding will help us to fuel our expansion in Taiwan and other markets, as well as diversify our product portfolio and offerings based on the needs of each market.”

“Through our tech-driven solutions and services, we will be able to significantly enhance the support we provide to SMEs and help them to meet the growing demand of the digital economy,” Crystal added.

Founded in 2016, Pickupp provides flexible, tech-driven logistics solutions. Through its “highly optimised” batching and chaining technology, customers can book a delivery anytime, while real-time GPS tracking provides end-to-end transparency.

Pickupp claims it provides logistics support to 20,000-plus businesses — spanning MNCs, logistics giants as well as retail and e-commerce — across Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, and Taiwan. It also has a team of over 100,000 delivery agents across all these cities.

Lee Chee Meng, Co-COO at Pickupp Singapore, said: “We have seen a 20 per cent increase in the demand for Pickupp’s express deliveries in Singapore just over the last month. The support we receive from our investors is timely and beneficial as it enables us to grow our satellite dispatch network across the country, minimising the travelling distance for our agents to support faster and more efficient last-mile deliveries for our customers.”

Also Read: ​​Hong Kong startup Pickupp raises funding from Alibaba, Spark Ventures, Axis Capital

To date, Pickupp claims its user base has grown by 250 per cent since the outbreak of the pandemic in March 2020, with over 100,000 delivery agents onboard across all regions. The startup has become a platform of choice, as the last mile for MNCs and the first step for startups and SMEs.

In December 2018, ​​​​​​​Pickupp had bagged an undisclosed sum in pre-Series A, led by Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund.

In a new forecast by Forrester, online retail sales in the Asia Pacific region will grow from US$1.5 trillion in 2019 to US$2.5 trillion in 2024, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.3 per cent.

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Image Credit: Pickupp

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There is no doubt that economy has never been more volatile. Since the pandemic, the business world as we know it has never been the same. Everything from our business operations to our working environments has been shaken up and the choice was to either toughen up or give up.

While the Singapore economy seems to be getting an optimistic forecast, it is not time for us to slacken our efforts. With the unpredictable nature of the economy, businesses continue to face a daunting question:

How do I ensure my company survives through this uphill battle and continues towards success? That’s an area that we can look to startups and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) for. 

A UOB SME Outlook 2021 Study showed that three in five SMEs who embraced going digital are expecting a growth in revenue and seven in 10 SMEs feel more confident in their business recoveries after adopting digital initiatives.

The startups and SMEs in Singapore have managed to stay afloat regardless of the economic situation and a large portion of this achievement can be attributed to their entrepreneurial mindset and methodologies. 

Here is the lowdown at three practices that encompass the startup mindset.

Taking risks in pursuit of achievement

Often, we hear that success is a journey and not a destination. This couldn’t be more true. By now, it is common knowledge that challenge is not an avoidable part of the journey.

Also Read: How telehealth startup Doctor Anywhere stepped up to the COVID-19 challenge

As more youth are showing interest in entrepreneurship, it is important that we equip these young entrepreneurs with the tools they need to embark on their journeys. A study showed that the success of these young entrepreneurs are being held back by their low appetite to take chances. 

If there’s anything that the past year has taught us, it’s that being risk-averse can be more beneficial than harmful. Hence, it’s important, now more than ever, that we de-stigmatise failure and highlight it’s silver lining.

This is something that we can learn from startups, which are essentially the product of risks-taking decisions. Behind all of their successes are tons of failed attempts and lots of improvements but lots of perseverance.

The products and services that you see them offering are the result of pivoting, which is a very common practice among startups.

It’s about working with a core idea and learning to make the right adjustments to improve your product. As expected, making these adjustments does not come without a risk of a failed product yet again.

Just as challenge is an unavoidable part of the entrepreneurial journey, risks are essential to help improve your ideas and could potentially lead to even bigger successes. Remember, no one ever became successful without taking any chances.

Staying nimble in a volatile environment

The ever-changing nature of the corporate world creates a pressing need to balance traditional mindsets and out-of-the-box thinking in order for our society to move forward. In the past year alone, digital acceleration can be seen everywhere.

In fact, 73 per cent of the organisations in Singapore have initiated digital acceleration in response to the pandemic. This creates a pressing need for us to be adaptable with new advancements in order to facilitate progression.

In a world where stability is largely valued, change can be scary but unfortunately, unavoidable. Thus staying nimble would allow us to be flexible and adaptable in any situation. This quality is important not just in entrepreneurs but also in players in the corporate world.

According to NTUC LearningHub‘s Employer Skills Survey, it was noted that the top three adaptive skills that workers lacked were innovation, analytical reasoning, complex problem-solving, and creativity. 

Additionally, 84 per cent of leaders believe that employee training during this period will help their businesses to develop stronger resilience during this downturn.

Some of their training priorities include improving soft/adaptive skills (65 per cent), improving relevant technical skills in their roles (64 per cent) or beyond their roles (53 per cent). These are just some areas that we can work on in order to promote adaptability.

Also Read: Why every entrepreneur should have a design-centered mindset

It is high time that we learn to be on our toes in such an economy where change can happen at any given time.

Relearn and re skill

With all the advancements in technology and optimisation of operational procedures, concerns regarding the need to upgrade ourselves have been raised. As the economy continues to prove its unpredictability, it is understandable why business players everywhere are pushing for versatile players.

Since the pandemic, 71 per cent of the business leaders and employees surveyed felt the urgency to upskill and reskill in order to remain competitive in the job market.

84 per cent said that it was necessary for employees to pick up new skills due to changes in the businesses.

Additionally, the 2021 LinkedIn Future of Talent report reveals that businesses also need to be ready to support their team members for personal development courses.

Improving and adding new tools to our skill set are an essential part of business growth. Due to this, while the pressure to upgrade on individuals is high, businesses also face the responsibility to encourage and facilitate it.

As being more proficient in multiple areas can result in an overall improved efficiency, self-improvement can almost directly impact the overall business performance.

Be it through government schemes or internal employee training, there’s no reason not to constantly improve ourselves.

Nurturing the entrepreneurial ecosystem

In summary, we have grown too comfortable and accustomed to the structured and conventional nature of our society. Since the volatile economy leaves no room for settling, there is a need for a mindset shift within our community. 

Based on my experiences as a startup leader, I believe that there is a need to provide proper mentorship to aspiring entrepreneurs especially the youths. As a founder just starting to play the field, it is common to find yourself lost and have almost no idea of what to expect of the startup journey.

That’s why at Phay & Partners, I have made it my mission to give back to the startup community through my own boutique agility consultancy where we are driven to create an open-minded community and that starts from the young.

Along with humility and courage, our entrepreneurs – young or old – have the power to make waves in the ecosystem. 

As the economy’s volatile nature continues, it has become increasingly important for us to adapt and advance with it. Afterall, the startup ecosystem is growing rapidly and we trust that we need to shape our mindsets in tandem with these changes.

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Fairbanc, an Indonesia-based mobile loan and payments platform, announced today that it has secured a “seven figures USD” in a pre-Series A round of investment.

Investors include ADB Ventures, Accion Venture Lab, East Ventures, and Sampoerna Strategic Group.

This new financial backing comes on the heels of its recent investments from 500 Startups and Indonesian billionaire Michael Sampoerna.

With the fresh money, Fairbanc intends to scale up its credit access for Indonesia’s small retailers and expanding its distributor partners. It is also developing a product recommendation system that can help merchants plan inventory in advance of climate events.

Fairbanc was founded in 2019 with the goal of helping retail shop owners get easy access to credit. It does this by providing them with working capital credit without any loan applications or smartphones and allowing merchants to “pay later” for inventory.

The company’s AI-powered platform can read digital footprints, such as transaction history with large suppliers, and data to grant instant digital credit.

Also Read: Digital payments firm TranServ bags US$15M Series C to launch micro-credit products

Fairbanc also utilises advanced data science and Machine Learning technology to underwrite credit and grow merchant sales while keeping loan defaults and operating costs very low.

According to its founder Mir Haque, “What makes Fairbanc so unique compared to other fintech platforms is that it plugs into large consumer brands like Unilever’s vast merchant networks to offer ‘Buy Now Pay Later’ credit to tens of thousands of retailers without requiring any loan applications or smartphones.”

Since its inception, the startup has partnered with major FMCG firms, including Unilever, L’Oréal, and Danone, and claims to have a network of 60,000 merchants.

“The pandemic is far from over in Indonesia, and micro-merchants are uniquely vulnerable to its economic impact. Fairbanc is filling a critical gap in access to credit for these entrepreneurs, helping them keep their shops open and sustain their livelihoods,” said Michael Schlein, President of Accion.

“The company’s inventory financing and experienced leadership sets it apart in a crowded fintech market and makes Fairbanc an important ally on our mission to accelerate financial inclusion and support climate resilience in the Asia Pacific region,” added Daniel Hersson, Senior Fund Manager at ADB Ventures.

According to the World Bank Indonesia’s micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) have a US$166 billion unmet need for credit, making getting easy access to finance a key issue in the region.

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KLAR, an aesthetic dentistry technology startup in Indonesia, has closed a seed round of investment led by early-stage local investor AC Ventures.

Kenangan Fund, an early-stage VC firm formed by Kopi Kenangan founders, also participated.

The startup plans to use the funding for R&D development, expand its team, and to venture into complementary product offerings to offer a holistic aesthetic and functional dental treatment for patients.

The 20-strong team aims to grow its talent pool to at least 80 people this year.

“This funding is the first step to grow KLAR further and achieve all of our goals when we decided to establish this startup. We see more and more patients who want to have a healthy teeth and an attractive smile to increase their confidence. However, they prefer a comfortable process without compromising on the aesthetics factor,” said Ellen Pranata, CEO and co-founder of KLAR.

Launched in September 2020, KLAR combines cutting-edge technology with orthodontic expertise to create a modern ultra-clear aligner. The company claims these aligners are comfortable to wear and can improve teeth aesthetics and alignment without the use of braces.

Currently, KLAR has partnered with 600+ dentists and orthodontists throughout the archipelago. The firm is now present in more than 100 dental clinics across 32 cities. Jakarta, Bali, and Surabaya are its key cities.

Also Read: Zenyum raises US$40M Series B to accelerate expansion in Asia, deepen product offerings

The startup follows a B2B2C business model: it provides high-tech aligner technology to partnering dentists, which they can use to complement their dental services to patients. Both dentists and patients can also interact and monitor treatment progress remotely with KLAR’s mobile app, KLAR Smile. This reduces the number of visits and time spent on periodic check-ups.

KLAR manages everything in-house, including owning the manufacturing facility for KLAR aligner production. With this approach, KLAR says it can maintain control over quality and push down production costs.

The aligners were developed by experienced orthodontists, and each set is tailor-made to suit each patient’s needs.

“KLAR is trying to solve the existing problems with better, more affordable, and more convenient solutions. Backed by a solid founding team and strong industry network, we believe KLAR has the ingredients required to come out as a winner in a large and growing market of dental aesthetics in Indonesia. Moreover, the good market for aligners is north of US$3 billion. With growing GDP per capita and increasing interest in self-care and aesthetics, we are confident that the demand for aligners will continue to grow,” said Michael Soerijadji, founding and general partner of AC Ventures.

KLAR’s founders are heavyweights in the dental space. Ellen Pranata (COO) is a former director of Cobra Dental, one of Indonesia’s largest importers and retailers of dental equipment and materials. Adelia Susanto (chief orthodontist) is a practising orthodontist with years of experience in clear aligners treatment technology. David Sugihartana (COO) is highly skilled in prosthetics, aesthetics, and full mouth rehabilitations.

Dental aesthetics is a fast-growing industry in Southeast Asia. Recently, Singapore-based direct-to-consumer dental products startup Zenyum secured a US$40 million Series B funding round led by L Catterton.

Structo is another startup, which offers dental 3D printing solutions startup. In 2019, the startup closed a round of funding from EDBI, GGV Capital, Wavemaker Partners, and Pavilion Capital.

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Image Credit: KLAR

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Agriculture is an industry that has been at the mercy of the elements since time immemorial. Before the Industrial Revolution, agrarian societies could be wiped out by bad harvests and livestock disease. Advances in science and technology since have given farmers more control over their crops and herds.

Farmers can now harness new technologies to monitor what is happening on their farms in real time, optimise production through remote sensing and automate operations with precision farming practices and even robots.

Moreover, this greater visibility of production, together with online marketplaces, can reduce waste and make pricing more aligned with supply and demand dynamics. At the seed level, agricultural biotechnology gives scientists the tools to alter food at the DNA level to become resistant to pests and environmental factors.

COVID-19 has stressed global food systems and poses a threat, particularly to vulnerable populations. Technology will be the key enabler to help us meet this common challenge. By embracing innovative technologies to meet the growing global demand for food, we can and will make a difference.

Let’s take a look at some of the up-and-coming technologies:

Drone technology and precision farming

Aerial imagery can help farmers manage their farms more efficiently based on weather patterns in their area. Once dependent on satellite imagery, this field has been transformed with the entry of drones, which provide a lower-cost way for farmers to survey their crops remotely and adjust accordingly. With hardware and engineering breakthroughs, drone technology is now something that the average farmer can consider.

Also Read: TaniHub lands US$65.5M Series B to empower Indonesia’s 40M small farmers through tech, financing

Drones can also be used to create high-quality maps of the landscape, which can serve conservation purposes. Farmers can look at aerial imagery over time and better plan crop rotations and determine which parts of a given field should not be tilled for future plantings due to soil nutrient depletion.

Precision farming encompasses drone technology as well as other types of sensing technology to make more tailored decisions about input application, helping to greatly reduce the environmental hazards stemming from fertiliser or pesticide over-use.

“Until recently, growers have had to wait on time-consuming manual scouting to assess threats, formulate an action plan and react,” said Ofir Schlam, president and co-founder of Taranis, an Israeli agritech startup that uses aerial surveillance and machine learning to help prevent crop-yield loss.

Their technology will also leverage a database of more than a million threat species to create accurate prescription plans to customise treatments and application rates, according to the company.

Agricultural biotechnology

Agricultural biotechnology is the science of improving crops and other living organisms by using a range of technologies including traditional breeding techniques as well as genetic engineering.

In recent years, agricultural biotechnology has completely transformed farming globally and has become a major industry. By applying the same principles of genetics and molecular biology that have been applied in the field of medicine, scientists have sought to increase the quality, quantity, or variety of crops grown.

CRISPR, the gene-editing technology for which Dr Emannuelle Charpentier and Dr Jennifer Doudna won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry last year, is an important technology in this field.

It enables more precise gene editing to be done in a much shorter time, speeding up breeding cycles, improving crop yields and reducing land-use intensity.

Inari’s SEEDesign platform, for instance, claims to increase soybean and corn yield by 20 per cent while lowering water usage by 40 per cent and reducing corn’s nitrogen needs by 40 per cent.

Online agricultural marketplaces

Apart from transforming what to grow and how to grow, we also need online agricultural marketplaces to help sell produce more efficiently. By matching buyers with sellers at scale, these marketplace platforms help to streamline the process of buying and selling agricultural goods.

As China’s largest e-commerce platform, Pinduoduo allows farmers to diversify their income source as they can reach customers outside their usual wholesale channels. Over 16 million farmers are now able to reach Pinduoduo’s userbase of 824 million customers.

Also Read: How Crowde aims to empower smallholder farmers in Indonesia

By tapping into new markets and interacting more directly with consumers, farmers can now potentially sell more of their crops at higher prices, with the greater income generated facilitating more investment back into their farms.

Through its team purchase model, Pinduoduo aggregates information about pricing and demand, which can then be used by players across the value chain, including growers, retailers, distributors and suppliers.

Such information is powerful and paves the way for other services that can benefit farmers. Other marketplaces in Asia such as DeHaat in India, and TaniHub in Indonesia have expanded their marketplace offerings to include farm advisory as well as fintech services for farmers.

We are now ushering in an era of more diverse tech solutions for farmers. The global agtech sector saw over US$26 billion of investments last year, per Agfunder, an increase of more than 15 per cent year on year. At the same time however, in most parts of the world, the average farmer age is increasing, so awareness or ability to access and understand these innovations may be limited.

What we have seen however in a few of our pilot farms is that this is not an insurmountable problem, and I am optimistic that as long as we can also strengthen farmer outreach and education in tandem with the development of new solutions, we can help drive greater tech adoption and accelerate the digital transformation of the agricultural sector.

Find out more about how farming technologies can transform our food system at Pinduoduo’s Food Systems Forum taking place on July 14-15.

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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.

Join our e27 Telegram group, FB community or like the e27 Facebook page

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It’s January 2022. Countries around the world are teeming with life again. Roads and trains are packed with employees commuting to work. High street retailers are seeing foot traffic, and restaurants are gearing up for flocks of hungry patrons.

After a continued global effort to flatten the curve and months of social distancing, COVID-19 is finally in the rear-view. People around the world are relieved to be back to life as it was, but will things ever truly be the same?

COVID-19 shook the global economy as the largest pandemic since the Spanish flu in the early 20th century. Social distancing drastically shifted consumer behaviour and introduced a new set of challenges to stores and shoppers alike. But, as humanity has always done, we came together, adapted, and innovated.

We’ve entered a more stable 2021, adjusted to a new normal, and now we’re pausing to reflect on what we’ve just overcome. Let’s take a closer look at how payments and global commerce have changed in the last 18 months.

Monumental (and permanent) changes in shopping habits

COVID-19 was a major accelerator in the shift to digital for most of us; how we take classes, do our jobs, connect with friends, and definitely how we shop. Online shopping had already been the norm with Gen Z and Millennials, but COVID-19 served as the inflexion point for older demographics and slow adopters.

Gen X and Baby Boomers are often reluctant to change their habits, but 2020 disrupted the status quo for nearly all aspects of life. Throughout 2020, discretionary spending dropped due to a surge in unemployment rates, but e-commerce is now enjoying an all-time high thanks to its inherent convenience.

COVID-19 revealed a structural problem in our reliance on big-box retailers. At first, consumers suffered shortages of goods and frustrating checkout experiences, but big businesses responded with unprecedented agility. They quickly made improvements to overcome the new challenges of the market.

Because of social distancing, many brick-and-mortar retailers were forced to go online for the first time. This was enabled by various e-commerce plug-and-play platforms that allowed small retailers or sole traders to sell online in a matter of days.

Also Read: These e27 Luminaries secure notable fundings, acquire companies at the height of the pandemic

The market became a cornucopia of choice for the consumer. Millions of people who had previously resisted e-commerce – particularly for fast-moving consumer goods such as groceries – signed up with e-commerce sites. Post-pandemic, few of us have gone back to old shopping habits.

A flood of fierce competition

The rapid, sustained increase in online shopping created an interesting challenge for merchants. More consumers meant higher earning potential, but it also meant more competition in the marketplace. To stand out, merchants are applying new rigour and attention to customer and user experience.

Brick-and-mortar stores have largely become showrooms or click-and-collect points. Retailers have invested in connecting digital experiences to the physical using robust augmented or virtual reality and immersive experiences.

As a result of the increased quality in the market, consumers (who were already insisting on intuitive user journeys pre-pandemic) now have zero tolerance for sites that are not at least easy to use.

When it comes to that all-important payment experience – the make or break moment of conversion – it’s critical to have checkout flows that feel invisible for digital natives, yet inspire trust for those late-adopters.

Local payment methods continue to drive ‘glocalisation’

In 2020, COVID-19 drove consumers to look outside their immediate geography for goods and services. Major drivers of this included price point, quality of products, and availability due to global supply chain challenges.

The opportunity for merchants to sell across their borders became even greater, and acted as a solution to bridge revenue gaps and increase reach to an entirely new, global audience. Now, in 2022, most large and medium-sized retailers are selling across borders.

While it’s become easy to navigate logistics around the world, collecting funds in other markets is still an entirely different story. Like all aspects of culture, payment preferences vary from country to country. Surprising to Americans and Brits is that not all e-commerce is paid for with big brand credit cards.

In fact, over 70 per cent of global e-commerce is powered by over 450 local payment methods (which is why the misnomer ‘alternative’ has swapped for ‘local’ in recent years). Indeed, e-wallets like Alipay, WeChat Pay, and GrabPay dominate payments in Asia – now more than ever.

Offering local payment methods (LPMs) has always been a critical part of boosting conversion across borders. During the pandemic, as consumers clung more tightly to their money, the demand for payment methods that were familiar and trusted only increased.

How the local payments landscape changed during COVID-19

The payment needs and preferences of global consumers still vary from country to country. In fact, they are more diverse than ever. Still, a global trend has been the accelerated shift from traditional cash and card payments toward digital payment methods at the point of sale.

Also Read: Telling the fortune of digital payments in 2021, CNY style

Out of social distancing necessity, the pandemic led to increased use of contactless, digital payment methods like mobile e-wallets, bank transfers, and QR codes. Many retailers who have long resisted installing contactless technology due to processing fees have now been compelled to offer it.

When it comes to shopping online, instalment payment methods like Klarna and Afterpay have surged in use, as they enabled shoppers suffering from the economic impacts of COVID-19 to defer payments and still buy what they wanted.

Before the pandemic, apps like these were primarily used by younger demographics to break up payments on big-ticket items, luxury goods, and travel. Many consumers now prefer a ‘buy now, pay later’ option.

During the pandemic, cash obviously circulated less as brick-and-mortar retailers closed or implemented digital payment methods to avoid contact. In 2022, the markets that have remained predominantly digital are markets that had low cash use before the pandemic: the US, UK, Western Europe, and large parts of Asia.

Cash-based payment methods remain popular for some economies around the world (especially places in Latin America, where there are high percentages of unbanked consumers). But make no mistake: We are closer to a completely cashless society in 2022 than we have ever been.

Innovation in a time of crisis

Even before 2020, the proliferation of local payment methods was only set to increase. Now, in a world that faced a pandemic that made e-commerce a necessity, we’ve seen an explosion of new fintech, local payment methods, and product functionalities.

Legacy providers struggle to keep up as new players create integrated, easier-to-use, and more secure options for consumers. But while there’s more competition than ever, there’s also a new spirit of cooperation and collaboration.

Rivals have joined forces to innovate for global consumers. COVID-19 incentivised businesses to provide simple solutions for people stressed by a pandemic. ‘Coopetition’ fuelled complex advancements in payments tech.

Despite the havoc wreaked on the global economy, it’s come out stronger than before. In 2022, e-commerce continues to be a powerful force for good. Many consumers have new ways to shop, and retailers now have access to larger, global audiences. Small merchants have a bigger share of the local market and are now able to compete on the same level as big-box retailers.

Also Read: Why Indonesia is the hottest payments apps battleground in Southeast Asia

Before COVID-19 upturned life as we knew it, 2020 sounded so futuristic; there were endless thought pieces in January 2020 on how the internet and AI were taking over. But, as it turned out, technology has become one of humanity’s greatest gifts, enabling us to connect, keep working, and get access to the goods and services we need.

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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.

Join our e27 Telegram group, FB community or like the e27 Facebook page

Image Credit:Jack Sparrow from Pexels

The post How a global pandemic changed (and continues to change) the way we pay appeared first on e27.

WeMaintain enters Singapore with a US$36M funding

The story: WeMaintain, a proptech company based in Paris and London, has announced the launch of its Asia-Pacific headquarters in Singapore. It has also won a public tender with the Singapore Housing & Development Board.

Funding: The launch follows a US$36 million Series B fundraise from Red River West, Eurazeo, BPIFrance Digital Venture (part of France’s sovereign wealth fund), and Swiss Immo Lab.

“This raise is a step towards our global expansion, with Singapore being a foundational component of our business development plans in Asia Pacific,” said Benoît Dupont, co-founder and CEO of WeMaintain.

“Through the IoT and our end-to-end approach, we will deliver smart solutions to buildings across the country, shaping the way people live and work. Many critical insights highlighting the market needs and disruptive potential for WeMaintain come from our prior experience managing lift and escalator businesses in APAC,” added Benoît.

Also Read: PropertyGuru acquires REA Group’s Malaysian, Thai proptech units

About WeMaintain: Founded in late 2017, WeMaintain offers building managers and owners a solution that combines the technical skills of engineers with the agility and predictability of its proprietary technology. It takes care of the invisible yet indispensable operations that are essential to a building.

The firm has recently expanded into fire safety following the acquisition of Shokly. WeMaintain supports a wide range of clients in both the residential and office markets and has won major contracts with clients such as Allianz Real Estate, WeWork, in the Paris region, and the DLR in London. Since its launch, the company has raised €38.8M from Eurazeo, Red River West and BPIFrance Digital Venture.

More expansion on paper: After Singapore, WeMaintain will aim to expand into other markets such as Hong Kong, Seoul, Sydney, Tokyo, and North America.

Korean AI-based learning app QANDA secures US$50M Series C

Investors: GGV Capital, Yellowdog, Goodwater Capital, KDB, SoftBank Ventures Asia, Legend Capital, Mirae Asset Venture Investment, and Smilegate Investment.

Plans: With its Series C investment, QANDA plans to strengthen its AI-based techniques of recommendation algorithms and develop localised business models for its regional offices in Indonesia and Thailand.

About QANDA: QANDA, operated by Seoul-based Mathresso, is a K-12 mobile learning app. In 2017, QANDA adopted an AI-based optical character recognition (OCR) scan that searches for answers in five seconds.

QANDA, which stands for ‘Q and A,’ is a mobile app that allows students of all levels to receive instant answers and customised learning content. QANDA recognises text and mathematical formulas in a photo with optical character recognition (OCR) technology.

Also Read: Edutech in SEA is ripe for acceleration. This is why they can help build a more inclusive society

Supported by over 2.4 billion solution data and a self-developed search engine, QANDA provides solutions to a student’s question with high accuracy. QANDA provides quality education for anyone at any time and anywhere, giving access to qualified tutors from the world’s top universities.

QANDA has over 9.8 million monthly active users in over 50 countries. The app currently offers 7 languages – Korean, English, Spanish, Japanese, Vietnamese, Indonesian, and Thai.

Adrian Cheng’s C Ventures invests in CASETiFY

The story: CASETiFY, a global direct-to-consumer technology accessories brand, has raised an eight-figure USD Series A investment from C Ventures, a VC firm founded by cultural entrepreneur Adrian Cheng.

This is the first external investment since CASETiFY was founded in 2011.

Plans: The capital will be used to accelerate sales growth, open more retail stores globally, and for potential acquisitions.

About CASETiFY: It is a global lifestyle brand and online platform for customised tech accessories. CASETiFY’s products turn your personal electronics into stylishly slim accessories. Every case is a rigorously inspected and drop-proof accessory. Known for tapping top artists and creatives for its Co-Lab programme, CASETiFY gives brands and individuals the opportunity to share their unique visions with the world.

CASETiFY opened its first CASETiFY Museum in Adrian Cheng’s K11 MUSEA in 2020, the start of this successful collaboration between the two groups.

About C Ventures: It was founded by Cheng bridging West and East, curating a global ecosystem targeting millennials and Generation Z, with a focus on disruptive businesses in technology and consumer.

Other recent investments by C Ventures include RTFKT Studios, well known for its NFT sneakers; FITURE, a leading household fitness equipment which offers customised fitness programmes based on real-time data; and Lalamove, China’s leading on-demand and same-day delivery platform.

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Image Credit: WeMaintain

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