‘Gojek wants to move from the idea of a super app to an on-demand company for everything’: Group CTO
According to Severan Rault, the role of CTOs has changed over the past decade; His responsibility is now to bring technology into every function of the organisation.

Kredivo to go public via merger with Victory Park Capital’s SPAC at US$2.5B valuation
The transaction is expected to deliver over US$430M of gross proceeds; The public listing will enable Kredivo’s continued growth in Indonesia, expand into regional markets, and help it enter new business lines.

Huawei earmarks US$100M for investments in APAC startups over 3 years
It’ll focus on developing startup hubs in four new markets: Indonesia, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines; This investment will be made as part of Huawei’s The Spark programme; The Spark programme is already being run in Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Thailand.

Traveloka exploring US listing via SAPC deal, looks to raise US$400M
As per a Bloomberg report, the SPAC is backed by Peter Thiel; The deal will value the combined entity at about US$5B; DealStreetAsia earlier reported that Traveloka was in advanced talks with Bridgetown Holdings.

Customer engagement platform MoEngage raises US$32.5M Series C+
Investors include Multiples Alternate Asset Management, Eight Roads Ventures, F-Prime Capital, and Matrix Partners; MoEngage provides marketers and product managers with consumer behaviour data and the ability to act on those insights to engage customers across web, mobile, email, social, and messaging channels.

Vietnam’s e-commerce delivery startup Loship raises US$12M
Lead investors are BAce Capital and the direct investment unit of Sun Hung Kai & Co; Skype co-founder’s MetaPlanet and Wealth Well (Saudi Arabia), and Prism Ventures (Singapore), also joined; Loship will use the money to expand into new regions, and grow its B2B delivery offering for small F&B businesses and mom-and-pop shops.

Asian tech startups drawing looks from hungry investors
Crackdowns on Chinese startups are likely to make global investors look elsewhere and bolster the share prices of other companies in the region. But this coming-of-age moment is still missing a crucial ingredient: monetisation.

Equity, fund management platform Quotabook raises US$5M
Investors include Carta Ventures, Elefund, Draper Associates, and Goodwater Capital; It helps founders organise and simplify equity including cap tables, equity rewards and valuation on its platform, where such data is automatically laid out for their investors in a view to tracking portfolio’s growth and performance.

Singapore B2B sales platform Nektar.ai raises US$6M
Investors are B Capital Group, 3One4 Capital, and Nexus Venture Partners; The latest round of funding takes the total seed amount raised by the startup to US$8.1M; Nektar.ai compares its AI-powered guided selling solution to customer relationship management systems like Salesforce.

Singapore’s Ohmyhome bags US$5M from Swettenham Blue
The proptech platform will use the money to develop a data-matching tech that fast-tracks closing of property deals; It operates on a hybrid model — DIY platform and fully-fledged agency services; Ohmyhome is planning to launch its Series B funding round next year.

Indonesian fintech Ayoconnect raises US$5M pre-Series B led by VC firm AAVCF4 PF1 LP
Other backers are Black’s Link Investment, The Next Unicorn Fund, Patamar Fund, and Mandiri Capital; The fintech startup connects bill providers with online and offline channel partners and financial institutions, so end consumers can pay their bills more seamlessly within its network.

Astronaut acquires Indonesia’s POPSkul
Astronaut enables companies to identify the right candidates from larger candidate pools whereas POPSkul enables people the opportunity to “get certified fast”, especially during the pandemic; With this acquisition, Astronaut will be integrating skills certificates into the candidate profiles on the Astronaut platform.

Sequoia India leads Thai SaaS firm FlowAccount’s US$4m series A round
The online invoicing firm offers cloud-based bilingual business solutions to help freelancers, small-business owners, and accountants in Thailand manage their accounting, payroll, and expense tasks on a single platform; FlowAccount said there are currently 50K customers.

Singapore edutech startup Flying Cape nets US$1.5M
Investors are Start-up O, EduSpaze, and undisclosed angels; The startup will use the money to scale its operations across China and SEA; Flying Cape helps parents understand their children’s learning styles, hobbies, and passions; It also helps them identify appropriate classes for their children through tailored suggestions made by its proprietary SMART diagnostic assessment tools.

IoT-enabled coffee machine startup Morning raises US$1.27M
Investors include zVentures (lead), The Lo & Behold Group, and Zopim founders; The money will go towards strengthening Morning’s international expansion; The machine uses precision brewing features, combined with a recipe-driven ecosystem, to deliver every cup of coffee precisely as the roaster intended it to taste.

Ghost kitchen startup MadEats makes it into Y Combinator;
The foodtech venture also disclosed that it is currently in talks to raise a 7-figure USD in seed funding. The firm has already raised one-fourth of this amount from some angel investors and former YC alumni, and it target to close this round by September.

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Blibli is the latest Indonesian tech company to secure a unicorn status this year. This information was confirmed by CEO Kusumo Martanto in an exclusive interview with DailySocial for its Mastermind column.

Martanto said, “While we have not made any public announcement about our status yet, the size of our business has grown beyond billions of dollars. Can we say that we have secured a unicorn status? Yes. However, as a digital company, what we really want is to create a sustainable business with a positive value and impact for the society.”

Previously, Tiket –an Indonesian OTA startup that Blibli acquired in 2017– has also confirmed its unicorn status. The company has been reported to mull the possibility to go public through a SPAC merger with COVA Acquisition Corp (COVA) with an estimation of a US$2 billion valuation.

The following is a complete list of Indonesian unicorns. Some of these companies have directly confirmed their status exclusively to DailySocial and have not made a public announcement about it:

Traveloka
Valuation: US$3 billion ~

Bukalapak
Valuation: US$3 billion ~

OVO
Valuation: US$2.9 billion

Also Read: Finch Capital exits stake in Indonesian fintech startup Cermati to Djarum Group

JD.id
Valuation: Undisclosed
Confirmed by the company to DailySocial

Blibli
Valuation: Undisclosed
Confirmed by the company to DailySocial

Blibli
Valuation: US$1 billion
Confirmed by the company to DailySocial

Kredivo
Valuation: US$2.5 billion

Business map of Blibli

Under the umbrella of GDP Venture, a venture capital arm of Djarum Group, Blibli has done several strategic acquisitions. Apart from Tiket, they have also acquired and invested in other startups. These initiatives have led Blibli CEO Martanto to become a board member or commissioner in a number of companies.

In its main business line, in the past few years, Blibli has been pursuing several initiatives to further grow its business. First, by strengthening the company’s O2O aspect through the launch of BlibliMart. By early 2020, the service is said to have secured the second strongest category on Blibli based on GMV and the number of orders, just behind electronic goods.

Also Read: Ecosystem Roundup: SEA gets 2 new e-commerce brand aggregators + it’s raining startup funding in Indonesia

At the end of 2020, together with Cermati Fintech Group’s subsidiary Indodana, Blibli introduced a pay-later feature into its list of payment methods. The company also pushed for the growth of Blibli Mitra to work with more SMEs –it claimed to have secured 16,000 partners with more than one million customers.

This year, there are several initiatives that the company intends to focus on. First, to ride on the wave of used car marketplace trends, Blibli will continue collaborating with its business unit Garasi.id.

They will also be working with BCA Digital as an exclusive partner. In the early stage of this partnership, Blibli users can use the service as an in-app payment.

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The article Blibli Konfirmasi Status “Startup Unicorn” was written in Bahasa Indonesia by Randi Eka Yonida for DailySocial. English translation and editing by e27.

Image Credit: DailySocial

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The startup hype has attracted a lot of would-be entrepreneurs to start their own business. In Thailand, startups with world-changing innovation and technology have mushroomed exponentially over the past few years. Unfortunately, many emerging startups had to put their growth plans on the backseat because of the global health crisis that has plagued virtually every aspect of human life, including business and commerce.

But not all things are lost. After technological disruption emerged faster than initially expected, partly because of COVID-19, a lot of potential entrepreneurs have started to find new business opportunities to develop creative and one-of-a-kind products and services that are capable of addressing pain points felt by different industries at lower costs.

Despite their brimming potentials, these startups still need access to the right kind of support. It is important for them to receive support at the right place, the right time, and in the right way in order to better navigate the business world, outside of the sandbox, all the way to the actual process of producing and delivering products and services to the market.

Angel Investors as key variables to startup success

The one stakeholder who plays a pivotal role in helping startups go from zero to one is the Angel Investor who invests in startups with faith, trust, determination, and passion. Angel Investors help guide and uplift business founders even before their startups are able to bring products and services into the market, and certainly even when these startups have not yet made a name for themselves.

No one can tell with certainty that the capital you funnel to startups will eventually yield profits or losses. But Angel Investors are courageous enough to take risks and are generous enough to help startups turn their dreams into reality — the dream to develop world-changing innovative products. Of course, when Angel Investors choose to invest in the right startups, they will definitely benefit from their investment when the startups generate profit from business operations, dividends, company acquisitions, and IPOs, among others.

Support from Angel Investors is crucial particularly at the early stages of a startup business and can greatly influence its success. Moreover, the belief and trust that Angel Investors put on startups can also greatly impact the decision of other investors to onboard in the next funding series. Furthermore, the larger the number of Angel investors in the ecosystem, the more it saturates and stimulates that urgency for other investors to explore investment opportunities within the startup realm. As a result, the startup ecosystem will only become stronger and more prosperous.

Integrating key learnings in the investment spectrum

The Thailand National Innovation Agency (Public Organisation) (NIA) and the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA) are two organisations proactively supporting startups in the country. The NIA and NSTDA recognise the role that Angel investors have on the success and survival of startups. In a nutshell, this role is essentially to offer them support while helping to remove barriers that might prevent them from flourishing into world-changing innovations.

During COVID-19, the sluggish economy made it harder for seed-stage startups who have just started out to raise funds for their business. Economic uncertainty forced investors to be more cautious in investing in startups. As such, the NIA and NSTDA have collaborated to launch the “Angel Investor Network in Action” project for investors who are interested to invest in Thai startups to help strengthen the country’s thriving startup ecosystem. The project aims to educate investors and build a network of Thai and international investors operating congruently to help spark investment opportunities.

In the year 2021, the project started out by providing a training event designed to offer learnings for those interested in participating in the project in March. The training was organised in five provinces encompassing Bangkok, Khon Kaen, Songkhla, Chiang Mai, and Chon Buri. Speakers of the event who are experts in the startup ecosystem shared their knowledge and experience regarding various topics including and especially startup investment.

After the event, the NIA and NSTDA selected 25 out of 150 new investors from across the regions to participate in another training for Angel Investors. Taking place in May, the training used the world-class Qualified Angel Investor Course (QBAC+) of the World Business Angels Investment Forum (WBAF). The 25 new investors who have completed the WBAF’s QBAC+ course have a combined capital totalling 110.55 million baht for them to invest in startups. Of course, this figure is a huge amount of money especially during the COVID-19 crisis and can certainly go a very long way.

Improving people’s lives

The project marked another milestone of success in the development of a strong Thai startup ecosystem through kind Angel Investors whose support can help Thai startups get off to a good start. Funding from Angel Investors means the world to Thai startups who aspire to innovate not only for entrepreneurial growth but also to achieve a better quality of life for all.

For more information on this project as well as other collaborations with NIA, you may visit their official website here.

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This article is produced by the e27 team, sponsored by NIA

We can share your story at e27, too. Engage the Southeast Asian tech ecosystem by bringing your story to the world. Visit us at e27.co/advertise to get started.

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Yummy Corp., the startup behind the Indonesian cloud kitchen brand Yummykitchen, has extended its Series B round with an investment from Sembrani Nusantara, a fund managed by BRI Ventures.

This round comes less than a year after Yummykitchen bagged US$12 million in Series B, led by Softbank Ventures Asia, in September 2020.

The startup will use the fresh capital for expansion into 50 new locations across Indonesia.

Also Read: How Philippine cloud kitchen industry is piggybacking on the country’s unique food culture, shifting customer behaviour

Launched in June 2019, Yummykitchen is an online catering brand that develops innovative solutions for corporates and F&B brands. The startup rents out shared kitchen space and carries out operational procedures on behalf of partner brands.

Today, Yummykitchen operates more than 70 cloud kitchens spread across Jabodetabek, Medan, and Bandung and collaborates with more than 50 F&B brands such as Dailybox, Ponut Donut Kentang, Gaaram, Kyochon, Sei Sapi Lamalera, Wanfan, and North Pole Gelato.

In addition to Yummykitchen, the firm is also building a foodcourt management business and will integrate it with online sales. 

Mario Suntanu, CEO of Yummy Corp., said: “During the pandemic, the number of Yummykitchen transactions grew 7x compared to March 2020. This growth validates our belief in the vast potential of online food delivery, which seems to be booming early due to the pandemic. 

Also Read: Yummy Corp bags US$12M Series B to grow its cloud kitchen brand in Indonesia

Nicko Widjaja, CEO of BRI Ventures, said: “Now is the right time for us to encourage platform growth for MSMEs through funding to the new retail sector. Yummy Corp has helped MSMEs to survive the pandemic crises and continue to expand their business opportunities.”

Indonesia houses multiple cloud kitchen startups. Hangry is the other prominent player in this sector. In May this year, Hangry received US$13 million in an Alpha JWC Ventures-led Series A round.

Since launching Sembrani Nusantara in early 2021, BRI Venture has invested in five companies, namely Sayurbox, Haus!, Brodo, Andalin, and Yummy Corp.

 

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India is home to 1.3 billion people on the earth and is currently the 6th largest economy. Being a developing economy with huge potential to be one of the most promising markets for businesses around the world, India is slated to rise to the zenith. However, India needs to make sure its development story does not lead to the rise of the country’s collective carbon footprint in the world and ultimate contribute to climate change which has already wreaked havoc on this planet on unimaginable scales.

India presently emits 7.1 per cent of our global emissions and has 60 per cent lower per capita emissions than the global average. India has set ambitious targets for itself in the Nationally Determined Contributions according to the UNFCCC Paris Climate Agreement.  India intends to reduce the emissions intensity of the GDP by about a third and has promised that a total of 40% of the installed capacity for electricity will be from non-fossil fuel sources.

With increased digital connectivity across the vast swathes of rural India and more Indians becoming job creators by reaping the benefits of the digital economy, the growth trajectory of India is experiencing a shift. While the government has launched many initiatives like the Bharat Net program, Digital India mission, or the recently launched e-RUPI app, the Indian entrepreneurial spirits are also not left behind.

Let us look at some examples:

Hesa

The heart of India resides in the villages. The rural economy which is largely dependent on agriculture or agro-based industries contributes 45 per cent of the National Income. Despite government interventions, rural India faces problems like lack of access to credit and lack of formal employment opportunities. In such conditions Hesa, a B2B platform intends to bridge the gap between the benefits enjoyed by the urban population and the underserved rural population by connecting the brands to the rural marketplace.

Founded by Vamsi Udayagiri and Hema Nandiraju in 2020, Hesa is a one-stop solution for corporates, banks, governments, and NGOs to explore and invest in rural India. Hesa aims to connect 650k villages over India ‘phygitally’, that is, by marrying the benefits of physical relationships which are generally valued in rural India, and the efficiency of digitisation.

Also read: Angel Investors: leading the charge for startup growth in Thailand

A team of over 8000 Hesaathis are spread across villages in three states. They help in managing the supply chain at the village level, handles banking transactions, facilitates village level mapping and surveys, and creates rural visibility for brands.    

Today, with the help of Hesa e-Wallet, 1.1 million women SHG members of Telangana are able to access payback instantly through the Stree Nidhi initiative. Similarly, 2 million farmers have got the benefit of Big Haat, an online agri-market place.

BluSmart

Delhi has earned the epithet of being India’s most polluted city. Every year, after Diwali, we hear stories of smog cast across the skies of the national capital. The Delhi government has launched many initiatives like the Odd Even Scheme and Electric rickshaws to curb vehicular pollution. However, reducing air pollution calls for a congregative effort from all stakeholders and cannot be done by the government alone.

To make a difference and give a boost to electric mobility, BlueSmart started in 2019 as India’s first and largest zero-emission ride service. 

Founded by Anmol Jaggi and Punit Goyal, BlueSmart operates a fleet of 400 cabs in the South Delhi-Gurugram region. It has also opened around 130 fast-charging stations for public use. Each of these has the capacity to charge 25-150 cars each.

BluSmart has completed 510,000 emission-free rides and covered 16 million emission-free kilometres, thereby saving 1000 tons of CO2 emissions. It promises zero ride denials, zero surge pricing, and the highest standards of safety and sanitisation.

Recently, BlueSmart has also increased the number of women driver-partners to 500 in Delhi and plans to increase it further to 50 per cent of the total driver base.

Zypp Electric

The pandemic has forced us to rely more on deliveries rather than stepping out and braving the virus. Even before, urban India has gotten used to getting groceries, food, clothing, and a host of items delivered to their homes. The home delivery market in India is expected to grow at a CAGR of more than 23% during the forecast period 2019-2025.

Akash Gupta and Rashi Agarwal founded Zypp Electric, a last-mile delivery company, in 2017 with a vision to ensure that the growth in the e-commerce industry does not lead to a simultaneous increase in carbon footprint. With expertise in AI and ML-enabled Tech platforms, the right EV technology, battery swapping infrastructure, IOT Zypp is able to carry on with last-mile deliveries in 10 cities.

Also read: How Malaysia’s Glueck Technologies is revolutionising data-driven technology in Southeast Asia

Today, Zypp is growing at a rate of 15 per cent month on month in revenue and has onboarded with major clients like Amazon, Flipkart, and Big Basket.

Charge+ Zone

Many ecologically aware and conscious commuters do think of shifting to electric vehicles. However, the absence of sufficient charging infrastructure, even in metro cities, provide a setback to potential buyers.

Founded by Kartikey Hariyani in 2018, Tesco Charge Zone has set up electric charging stations in various Indian cities like Delhi, Gurugram, Noida, Ahmedabad, Pune, Mumbai, and Hyderabad.

The mobile app, Charge+ Zone, provides a one-stop solution to locate charging points, book slots for charging,and  payment through QR code which will bring in an ecosystem of unmanned charging stations that would be effective in times of pandemic where contactless service is usually preferred.

Charge+ Zone is already providing service for Ahmedabad Municipal Corporations and will be tying up with Patna city transport service in the near future.

The new normal

As we move past this economic downturn and propel our growth engine, it is necessary that our creative minds come together and shape a new normal. As a young country with increasing aspirations, we need to build capacities in a cost-effective way to make the transition to a green economy. This would ensure that we do not jeopardise our economic growth trajectory in the process of reducing our carbon footprint.

Also read: These Artificial Intelligence startups are proving to be industry game-changers

These startups will be pitching at the 9Unicorns Venture Catalysts demo day with other up-and-coming startups offering their own unique products and services. Join them on August 11 and 12 to connect with some of the most promising young startups in a virtual networking session. To learn more, visit their official page here.

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Photo by Pixabay from Pexels

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This article is produced by the e27 team, sponsored by 9Unicorns

We can share your story at e27, too. Engage the Southeast Asian tech ecosystem by bringing your story to the world. Visit us at e27.co/advertise to get started.

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