Get to meet 30 of India’s most promising startups at the 9Unicorns and Venture Catalysts D Day, happening on Aug 11-13. Click here to reserve your slot.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the new buzzword in everyone’s mind. The impact of AI in our lives has surpassed common understanding, due partly to the grave misrepresentation in many sci-fi movies depicting the innovation as something inherently opposed to mankind. The horrific ‘Man vs Machine’ trope used in most of them has cluttered our minds. In order to fully appreciate such innovation and maximise its potential, we must first understand exactly what is AI.

AI is a branch of computer science that involves the simulation of human intelligence in machines. These cognitive traits can be thinking, perceiving, learning, problem-solving, and decision making that enables the machines to work as efficiently as humans. It works on the principle of machine learning and deep learning where computer programs can automatically learn from new data and perform like humans.

Understanding the boom

The latest release of the International Data Corporation of Worldwide Semi-annual Artificial Intelligence estimates that the revenue for the artificial intelligence market, is expected to grow 16.4% year over year in 2021 to $327.5 billion.

Also read: How Thailand’s Ricult uses deep tech to improve the lives of smallholder farmers

By 2024, the AI market might grow beyond the $500 billion mark with a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17.5% and total revenues reaching an impressive $554.3 billion.

The NITI Aayog estimates that adopting AI means a 15% boost for the gross value added (GVA) for the Indian economy by 2035.

The age of AI

AI can increase access and affordability of quality healthcare. In the field of agriculture, AI can contribute towards enhancing farmers’ income, increasing farm productivity, and reducing wastage. It can also improve access and quality of education. It can be leveraged to build efficient infrastructure for the increasing urban population like developing smarter and safer modes of transportation to address traffic and congestion problems.

Promising young startups offering unique AI solutions

Let us look at some new-age AI-based solutions to have a better understanding:

Janani.life: Founded by Nilay Mehrotra, Janani.life is a sexual dysfunction and infertility treatment provider based in Bangalore. It seeks to marry medical care with the latest technology so that it becomes easy to conceive. By leveraging AI a tool is being built so that embryologists can work with objectivity while choosing the right embryo. This will in turn improve the success rate of IVF thereby decreasing costs.

Alpha AI: Not everyone is an expert in the machine learning tools and algorithms which form the bedrock of AI. As businesses are making the smart choice to shift to AI-driven technologies, they need to develop the right strategy tailored to market conditions.

Alpha AI which has the required expertise and experience in the design, deployment, and application in this field steps in to help businesses design as well as redesign the AI system based on the prevalent business needs. It also provides corporate training and mentoring for the same.

AI for all

AI is going to be a gigantic disruptor in this globalised world. Contrary to the public sentiment which jumps to false conclusions that Artificial Learning will lead to large scale loss of jobs one needs to look deep and understand the new talent that would be created in the field of new-age technology and the new jobs that would be added to the market that would, in turn, lead to value creation.

As the 4th Industrial Revolution is around the corner India should embrace AI with an open mind and transform itself to a knowledge-based economy. The aim should be to support more start-ups and creative ideas to ensure that we do not miss the bus and everyone can reap the benefits of this new technology.

Leveraging AI for a better future

As we move forward towards an increasingly digital world, AI’s place in improving human life will only take on a progressively prominent role in society. As we are ushered into this era, startups with promising AI solutions will be key in defining our collective success as a people.

Also read: CloudMile raises US$20M to expand: accelerating the digital transformation agenda in Asia

Janani.life and Alpha AI are only some of today’s most promising startups that help us leverage AI to improve the conditions of many people across different sectors. Through these unique solutions, we are able to intelligently approach different issues concerning various important aspects of human life including healthcare, business, and media.

These startups will be pitching at the 9Unicorns Venture Catalysts demo day with 12 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 Tara Winstead 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.

The post These Artificial Intelligence startups are proving to be industry game-changers appeared first on e27.

MadEats, a cloud kitchen startup based in the Philippines, has secured US$125,000 in funding from the Silicon Valley-based startup accelerator Y Combinator.

Manila-headquartered MadEats is the first cloud kitchen startup to be selected for the prestigious programme.

The foodtech venture also disclosed that it is currently in talks to raise a 7-figure USD in seed funding. “We have already raised one-fourth of this amount from some angel investors and former YC alumni. We target to close this round by September this year,” co-founder and CEO Mikee Villareal told e27.

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

In November 2020, MadEats bagged an undisclosed sum in pre-seed investment, led by Tinder co-founder Justin Mateen, with the participation of Paymongo co-founder Luis Sia.

MadEats was launched in November 2020 by an all-female founding team of Villareal, Andie Cruz (CMO), and Keisha Lao (CPO) — who have been working in the F&B industry throughout their career.

An on-demand delivery-only restaurant group, it builds its food concepts, takes orders from its virtual storefront, and fulfills deliveries with its fleet of riders.

Since its launch in November, MadEats has launched three brands — Yang Gang, a Korean fried chicken shop; Chow Time, a Chinese takeout; and Fried Nice.

The company will soon launch its fourth concept focused on coffee. “We will launch high-quality coffee at affordable prices (Dot Coffee) and smash burgers, which are big competitive food categories in the Philippines,” Villareal said. The objective is to open five delivery-only brands by year-end.

The foodtech startup will also roll out a mobile app to enable consumers to order products and have them home-delivered.

“We hope to build the underlying infrastructure of ghost kitchens in Southeast Asia by creating products that are engineered specifically for delivery that can scale much faster with the help of technology,” Villareal shared.

MadEats will also be scaling its cloud kitchens across the Philippines in the recent future.

Also Read: All female-led MadEats ropes in Tinder co-founder as investor to scale its internet food brands in Philippines

“So far, well over half of our revenue comes from our madeats.co platform. We hope to expand our operations to different areas in the Philippines by the end of the year and expand to other regions in Southeast Asia in the next few years. By integrating tech into all facets of our business, the focus of MadEats is to add value to the customer’s experience,” the CEO remarked.

The Philippine food delivery market is growing exponentially (~48 per cent y-o-y growth), the fastest in Southeast Asia, and is projected to hit US$8 billion by 2025. This growth is attributed mainly to the pandemic. With many of the country’s major cities still under lockdown and the resumption of dine-in services is uncertain, customers prefer ordering food online and have it home-delivered.

The cloud kitchen industry is still in its infancy in the Philippines when compared with fast-growing markets such as the US, the Middle East, and India, and even neighbouring Singapore and Indonesia. Grab was the first to introduce the cloud kitchen concept when it opened GrabKitchens in 2019. Grab has since been building more kitchens, some of which are built together with smaller startups as a co-branded kitchen, where these startups build the kitchen and Grab operates the digital front.

Other startups operating in the virtual kitchen space are Kraver’s Canteen (which aims to help brands navigate the different ways cloud kitchens can be used to grow their brands), and CloudEats (which is more geared towards the development of private label brands).

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Image Credit: MadEats

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We are thrilled to announce that we are working with X-PITCH 2021 to provide startups with access to e27 Pro.

X-PITCH 2021 is the XGames for startups wherein participants will be going through three levels of pitching (15 seconds, 60 seconds, and 3minutes) for a chance to win up to US$1 million investment prizes.

Organised by Taiwan Accelerator, X-PITCH highlights the New Normal in the post-pandemic world; participating teams should focus on applications and services that enable digital transformation around five major categories of the New Normal. Nine awards will be presented on the Grand Finale Day on November 11, 2021.

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

This partnership with Taiwan Accelerator for X-PITCH 2021 is just the first in our initiative to work with accelerators and startup ecosystem enablers to further assist startups’ engagements and conversations with regional investors.

Opportunities to build your investor network

Over the past couple of months, we have served over 3,000 connections between startups and investors through e27 Pro’s Connect feature.

In this new normal, there is a distinctive lack of ability for different parts of the Southeast Asia tech ecosystem to reach out to each other.

We used to have thousands of offline activities happening monthly, connecting various local and regional ecosystems, connecting startups, corporates, governments, and investors. Even our very own Echelon used to bring in more than 10,000 people over two days to achieve these meaningful, often serendipitous, connections.

This is a real pain, especially if you are new to the ecosystem and do not have existing networks that can introduce you to new ones. Online webinars and conferences seem to alleviate this issue temporarily, but we find that the startup ecosystem requires more.

Also read: CloudMile raises US$20M to expand: accelerating the digital transformation agenda in Asia

e27’s mission has always been to empower entrepreneurs with the tools to build and grow their companies. With e27 Pro, we’re going back to our roots and helping startups with their fundraising by providing a platform that allows not only discovery but a tool to begin conversations with investors and update them on their progress.

With over 300 verified active investors on the platform, e27 Pro members have in their reach the ability to find, connect, and engage with investors that are right for them (not a Pro member yet? Start here).

Get the chance to connect with Taiwan Accelerator

Taiwan Accelerator is formerly known as Taiwan Elevator Pitch, where contestants made their pitch in a high-speed elevator ride at TAIPEI 101.

They are the first seed accelerator in Taiwan and an active early-stage investment firm. Taiwan Accelerator is onboard e27 Pro, and members can reach out to them via Connect.

Any e27 Pro member can simply visit Taiwan Accelerator’s profile and click the Connect button to get the ball rolling.

For startups interested to join X-PITCH 2021, you can send in your application until August 31 by clicking here.

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Image credit: Michael Burrows from Pexels

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PropertyGuru to go public in merger with SPAC backed by Richard Li, Peter Thiel
This will give the combined company an equity value of about US$1.78B; This deal with Bridgetown 2 Holdings is expected to fetch proceeds of US$431M, including a private investment of US$100M from Baillie Gifford, Naya, REA Group, Akaris Global Partners, and a Malaysian asset manager.

Singapore public transport booking startup Easybook banks nearly US$5M from Malaysia’s Emissary Capital
Lee said that Easybook will use the new funds to invest in online marketing, hire new IT and operation staff, and help the company march through the pandemic; Easybook plans to keep its business anchored mainly in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore.

Vietnam tech unicorn VNG expects loss to reach US$27M in 2021 due to COVID-19
The company, however, is targeting revenues of about US$330M this year, an increase of about 26% compared to its 2020 total revenue; Formerly known as VinaGame, Vietnam’s first tech unicorn now has an estimated valuation of about US$2.2B.

Andalin in talks for US$3M as it looks to grab a slice of SEA’s US$2.8T international trade market
The money will be used to grow its trading business, scale trade financing offerings, and introduce its SaaS-based freight management system; The startup is backed by BRI Ventures’s VC arm, Beenext, ATM Capital, and Access Ventures.

Ant-backed Philippine fintech Mynt targets ‘double unicorn’ status in future fundraising
Mynt, the group behind the popular GCash app, closed US$175M in January at US$1B valuation; The ambitions target is just the latest sign of how the fight is heating up between traditional lenders and startups like Mynt, KKR-backed Paymaya, and Grab, with each camp increasingly moving into the others’ territory.

‘Education is not a content business but a human one’: Nas Academy’s Nuseir Yassin
Unlike other platforms that give teachers control over just the monetary aspects of teaching, Nas gives its teachers full authority over their audience and distribution and helps them build their own curriculum from scratch.

Singapore sports content platform 1 Play Sports raises US$2.5M in funding
Investors are ThinKuvate, H Capital Investment, and high-profile angels; 1 Play Sports live streams sports events and publishes related stories on its social media platforms; It has broadcast 3K+ hours of sports content such as the Southeast Asia Games 2019, ASEAN School Games 2019, and AIA Singapore Premier League 2021.

Philippine payment platform DragonPay receives strategic funding from Xendit
Last year, Y Combinator-backed Xendit partnered with DragonPay to launch the installment payment scheme in the Philippines; Xendit claims it processes more than 65M transactions, amounting to US$6.5B in payment value annually.

Lippo Group’s Siloam Hospitals incubator backs 3 healthtech startups
They are Bithealth, Aido Health, and Prixa.ai; The incubator seeks to keep the hospital group’s interest aligned to growing digital innovation trends in healthcare; It invests less than US$1M in early-stage healthtech startups.

Philippine central bank orders halt on social media platform Lyka’s payment system ops
The central bank’s monetary board categorised Lyka features that let users earn and exchange in-app gems as operation of payment system (OPS) activities since this digital currency can also be used to pay for off-app products and services.

Jirnexu partners with over 5 digital banking license contenders in Malaysia
The company is confident that it can help traditional banking players optimise their operations with the newly formed partnership; The race for digital banking licenses has intensified ever since the Malaysian central bank BNM received 29 applications for only five licenses.

BNPL firm Atome records 100X order volume growth in Malaysia
The company also added that its online and offline merchant network has grown to serve more than 500 retailers now, a 500% increase from when it first launched in Malaysia at the end of 2020; The growth comes against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic and the extension of the movement control order.

myTukar appoints former BMW exec Jeffrey Ong as CEO
He succeeds Fong Hon Sum, who assumed the role of myTukar’s Chairman in June 2021; Prior to joining myTukar, he spent six years at BMW, designing the blueprints for its financial services products across the APAC and launching several programmes such as the BMW Group Corporate Mobility Solutions, BMW Group Private Circle Programme.

Gojek teams up with Indonesia’s Bank Jago for cashless payment
The integration will give Jago customers increased convenience when transacting on the Gojek app; The feature enables them to connect their bank account and Jago pockets to the Gojek app and make cashless payments for Gojek services including transport, food, and bill payments.

Entrepreneurship is at an all-time high, but are you doing it right?
Entrepreneurs are hyper-focused on building their business and bringing their ideas to fruition—and they should be—leaving the non-mission critical, tedious, time-consuming administrative tasks to professional and experienced advisers, secretaries, and accountants; Business success depends on many people, including customers, investors, and team members; Businesses need people who truly believe in their mission and vision, and are willing to hustle to achieve it.

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The post Ecosystem Roundup: PropertyGuru to go public at US$1.78B valuation, Easybook raises US$5M appeared first on e27.

Words of wisdom from founders

3 lessons from a founder who scaled his startup to 13 markets in five years by Kosuke Sogo, CEO and co-founder of AnyMind Group

As a company, we started in the advertising industry, but shortly after, expanded into influencer marketing and publisher ad monetisation.

In the past year, we expanded into the direct-to-consumer (D2C) space with products for cloud manufacturing, e-commerce enablement, and logistics management. We started with one product, but have expanded that to seven.

All this happened within a period of five years whilst scaling our operations from one market then to 13 markets today.

Throughout this time, there were various learnings for us, let me share three of them.

Entrepreneurship is at an all time high, but are you doing it right? by Julien Labruyere, co-founder and CEO, Sleek

Earlier, the government allocated S$8.3 billion to support Singapore’s Transformation and Growth Strategy, which included S$300 million for the Startup SG Equity co-investment scheme.

A strong appetite for entrepreneurship is encouraging and essential as it drives innovation and creates new opportunities for Singapore’s economic recovery.

But with so many startups unable to survive past the first year, building lasting success is easier said than done. Here are three best practices to bear in mind.

The key digital marketing tips to help small businesses thrive by David Fairfull, CEO, Metigy

Understanding online Asian markets is an important part of many digital marketing campaigns for an important reason. By the end of 2020, an estimated 989 million people had access to the internet in China, followed by 696 million people in India.

Those two countries alone make up 36 per cent of the total number of internet users in the world. When the rest of the Asian market is added, it becomes even clearer why understanding trends in these regions is so beneficial.

Here, we delve into the three digital and social media marketing trends for small-to-medium-sized businesses in Asia looking to get ahead of the curve.

The power of the fintech world

Fintech companies targeting the next billion users are living a pipe dream. Here’s why by Saurya Simha Velagapudi, Startup Consultant

When you’re addressing an incredibly diverse market such as the next billion, you have to find the common denominator that you can turn into a product– not culture, language or market size. It’s money.

However, fintech, in its most common form, digital payments, is a solution looking for a problem for the next billion. People like cash! There are significant societal problems that result from cash, but it is beneficial to many folks.

So, why are all these companies and governments still trying to push for it?

They see the population from the top-down. They see a world full of potential Chinas – a country where nearly 40 per cent of GDP flows with no visibility to the government at all. That terrifies many governments and they want a handle on it.

How NFT is bringing ownership of digital assets back to content creators by Kenneth Hu, CTO at Formosart.io

Moreover, today Instagram blocked your account, or the App Store removed your app, or even Facebook reduced its reach. You can report it to the platform but it does not mean your problem can be resolved, so the final decision is not in your hands.

A game player bought a virtual treasure in a certain game. This object appears to belong to the game player, but he cannot let the game player decide whether it can be used on other platforms. The reason is that the ownership of these digital assets does not belong to the individual creator or purchaser, but is dominated by various platforms.

However, NFT is a solution that allows the ownership to really return to the creator’s hands when creators can really decide whether to put their creativity on the platform or not.

Life in a pandemic

How COVID-19 was a blessing in disguise for these Vietnamese startups by Duyen Tran, PR at Loship

Consumer spending has plummeted, and even F&B and food delivery services have been suspended. The government is having a hard time dealing with a dilemma: how to keep the economy going while at the same time shutting it down to protect people from infection.

In face of adversity, that’s when the DNA of entrepreneurs comes into play. And the resurgence of COVID-19 is another opportunity for entrepreneurs to display their grit, tenacity, and flexibility to adapt to an evolving situation.

For some high-potential Vietnamese startups, this is not the time to stand still and just plan for survival.

How to ensure your digital transformation will serve your ROI by Jacob Davis, Revuze

Digital transformation, which focuses on staying relevant in the eyes of customers, gaining an edge on the competition, streamlining internal processes, reducing overhead costs, and improving ROI, is the new approach of utilising a novel or existing technology that can help to improve or create a process, product, or experience which yields potential business desirability.

Your main objective must be how to improve customer experience by using technologies such as AI, machine learning, analytics, and self-service. While doing this, you must be able to measure your ROI.

The post From the contributor community: On scaling your startup, serving the next billion in SEA, and more … appeared first on e27.

Although we’re not quite yet at a cashless society, over the past few decades, banknotes and coins have become ever less important to the citizens of countries with advanced economies. Across large swathes of the globe, the ubiquity of credit cards and innovations like Apple Pay and GrabPay has made it easy to go weeks or even months without handling a physical currency bill.

Central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs, may move the world even further away from cash. Simply put, CBDCs are digital-only legal tender issued by one of the world’s central banks.

They’re secure, they have individual identifiers for tracking, and they stand to make the backend processing of money settlement more quick and more efficient.

Widespread interest

By January 2020, the Bank of International Settlements discovered, over 80 per cent of central banks had begun looking into CBDCs. In the Asia Pacific region, progress has been especially swift.

South Korea’s central bank has initiated a pilot programme that will run through the end of 2021, while this month the Monetary Authority of Singapore tested the international settlement capabilities of its digital currency.

Four major Chinese cities are participating in a CBDC pilot programme. As the breadth of interest in this new technology shows, CBDCs are a very big deal.

While CBDCs do not necessarily need to exist on a blockchain, there are countless advantages in doing so. For example, the decentralised nature of blockchain increases the security of the network, making CBDCs less susceptible to cyber attacks.

Climate-conscious innovation

However, blockchains (specifically “Proof-of-Work” blockchains like Bitcoin and Ethereum) have come under heavy scrutiny for their impact on the planet, largely as a result of the energy requirements necessary to run.

Bitcoin and most other cryptocurrencies are “mined” by computer rigs seeking to meet the requirements of this “Proof-of-Work” algorithm.

Although bitcoin mining takes place in long lines of server racks, rather than in pits sunk deep into the earth, mining a bitcoin can be just as environmentally destructive as mining gold or coal. In 2019, bitcoin mining used up as much energy as the Netherlands.

That’s why it’s vital that any CDBC implementation avoid the catastrophic environmental damage that many cryptocurrencies inflict.

Assessing the energy-efficiency of a blockchain’s design is absolutely critical when it comes to deploying CBDCs as it would have a long term impact on the planet. Central banks must be cognizant of the fact that not all blockchains are built the same, and operate on different levels of efficiency.

Proof-of-stake blockchains like Tezos for example, require significantly less energy to run and are therefore the more environmentally-friendly choice.

Seamless and painless

Proponents of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin allege that they’ve discovered the future of money, but anyone trying to operate in crypto quickly runs into problems, including slow transaction processing, extreme volatility, and illiquidity.

It is rare to pay for a good or service with cryptocurrency; in almost all cases, you must first convert your digital holdings into a traditional currency. And that’s getting harder every day.

Also Read: What does the future of CBDCs actually look like and why does it matter?

By contrast, the experience of using a CBDC will be seamless for the end-user, hardly different from using one of today’s card- or phone-based payment services. That’s because we’re already transacting in central bank currencies; a digital central bank currency introduces new efficiencies to transactions, but the money is backed by the same institution that issued the physical bills that once filled your wallet.

Safer societies

Central banks serve an essential role in safeguarding their countries’ economies, but their decision-makers need more and better data for a twenty-first-century world that is ever more connected and ever more complicated. Because CBDCs can be tracked, bank analysts will have better sense of economic trends.

They’ll find themselves better-placed to stimulate growth with new policies, and they’ll receive early alerts about which segments of a market may be overheating. Major decisions such as interest rate adjustments will be more obviously justified; the monetary system will grow more trustworthy.

Central bank digital currencies also make the anti-money-laundering and know-your-customer (AML/KYC) process easier, potentially leading to a global reduction in fraud and financial malfeasance.

Because CBDCs would operate more quickly than traditional fiat exchanges, countries would have a powerful tool for quickly stopping the spread of financial contagion.

Finally, CBDCs deepen countries’ liquidity pools, thereby allowing higher economic activity for the growth and benefit of participating societies.

Privacy drawbacks?

Tracking currency has obvious benefits, but it would appear to have privacy downsides as well. When the European Central Bank surveyed potential users about a digital euro, privacy was the most common concern raised.  Is it really the case that a CBDC will erode privacy?

The first point to consider is that older forms of physical currency are surprisingly traceable. While it’s common to say that cash payments are “untraceable,” a physical note invariably has a serial number on it.

Second, as Bank of England fintech director Tom Mutton testified and Finextra reported, “the bank has no commercial incentive to gather user data; choices can be made within a system to protect data; and technologies, such as zero-knowledge proofs and digital identity frameworks, could enhance transparency while still increasing security and privacy.”

In short, CBDCs are transparent enough to deter financial crime while being sufficiently opaque to preserve user privacy.

Central bank digital currencies’ day may not have come quite yet, but it’s clear that the 2020s will be their decade. As I write this, several APAC countries, including Singapore, South Korea, Vietnam, and China, are among the world’s leaders in developing, testing, and implementing digital currencies.

That willingness to innovate, experiment, and think big will pay substantial dividends down the line. If the implementation of CBDCs continues, the people of the Asia-Pacific region will have a brighter financial future.

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Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing views from the community. Share your opinion by submitting an article, video, podcast or infographic

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

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As businesses navigate their way through the COVID-19 pandemic, many of them have had to make difficult decisions, including deferring international expansion plans.

A study from Enterprise Singapore (ESG) in February found that local businesses going overseas fell by as much as 38 per cent to 1,600 due to pandemic related travel restrictions.

This has some very real and serious implications. Because, for some startups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Singapore, the case for expanding overseas could not be stronger.

From attracting new customers to opening up entirely new revenue streams, cross-border expansion presents immense benefits and backtracking could compromise growth in an economic recovery.

Technology as an enabler of international expansion

We already know that SMEs that digitalised in 2020 earned more and have a better outlook for the future. According to the UOB SME Outlook 2021 Study, two in five SMEs that implemented digitalisation initiatives in 2020 had stronger revenue growth than non-adopters, with those that digitalised their entire business or multiple areas outperforming those who digitalised only one.

Tapping on digital technologies and tools is important for businesses seeking to expand into new markets during this time. The borderless nature of technology enables these SMEs to grow their brand and reach new customers without the need for a physical presence.

With consumer behaviour shifting online, SMEs can leverage this increased digital footprint by moving online without the hassle of having to register a local company, hiring a local team and other tasks that are capital-heavy and time-consuming.

Also Read: Why customer education plays an important role in Wise’s international expansion plan

Complementary partnerships with startups

Pushing forward with expansion plans at this time should be a serious consideration for long-term growth. Fortunately, SMEs don’t have to go at it alone —exploring collaborations with startups in the markets they’re seeking to enter is one great way to kickstart their expansion plans.

There are many programmes and government initiatives such as the IMDA Grow Digital programme that help SMEs connect with potential clients, suppliers and logistical support. All these are important connections to establish.

However, in addition to these collaborations, partnering with startups offer the added advantage of greater affordability, negotiation of terms and win-win situations, flexibility and adaptability, newer technologies, and efficient access to market and implementation.

It is worth noting that SMEs and startups are different, from the way they are funded to their business goals.

At The FinLab, an innovation accelerator by UOB, we believe that building a strong understanding of local markets through networking with such startups is crucial for cross-border collaborative opportunities within the Southeast Asia region.

By tapping on a solid regional network of businesses, The FinLab has played matchmaker since 2018 and facilitated over 550 matches between tech startups and SMEs through digitalisation efforts across Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, to date.

Finding the right and suitable partner is a vital and delicate process. Start by looking at how each business can fill gaps and bring value to one another.

Startups, by nature, are more agile and efficient and can bring a fresh viewpoint that spurs innovation for SMEs. In turn, startups can tap on the established network and market expertise that SMEs bring to the partnership.

Here are some best practices businesses can follow to ensure successful partnership outcomes:

Set up for success with open lines of communication

Collaboration with overseas partners can take many forms and while there is no perfect formula for a successful alliance, the best success stories are always rooted in both parties having a mutual understanding of one another’s roles, concerns and expectations.

Lack of trust, mutual interest, and an imbalance of power are only some of the key barriers to collaboration. According to innovation leader Nesta, a mismatch in speed, coordination and cultural issues are less apparent struggles but contribute no less to failed organisational partnerships which subsequently leads to a failed expansion.

Also Read: Is it the right time to expand your business?

To overcome these challenges, start by establishing clear and open lines of communication which can streamline overly complex decision-making processes, facilitate the free exchange of ideas and foster an environment open to diverse thinking.

Ultimately, setting clear goals, understanding and meeting differing needs, and defining roles are steps organisational partners need to take to leverage their strengths and compensate for each other’s weaknesses.

Pilot smaller projects

Before getting into a more serious commitment, it is a good idea for partners to “test the waters” by piloting small projects to manage potential risks and to determine compatibility for a longer-term partnership.

Instead of launching several small pilots which would produce limited success, apply the “Goldilocks Principle” to find the sweet spot – a project small enough to mitigate risks, but substantial enough to deliver real results to make a case for full-scale rollouts.

Success stories aren’t a coincidence, but rather the result of strong collaborations done right. Building opportunities together can be hugely rewarding for both businesses financially as well because it provides opportunities to learn new ways of working.

Regional or even international expansions will become increasingly crucial to an SME success.

However, while the internationalisation process is essential for company survival and growth, business leaders cannot expect quick rewards. Patience is key and thankfully, there are many resources that SMEs can turn to for success.

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Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing views from the community. Share your opinion by submitting an article, video, podcast or infographic

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

Image credit: fffranz

The post The ultimate cheatsheet to successful international expansion amidst the pandemic  appeared first on e27.

(This article has been updated with the full list of investors, HappyFresh’s fund deployment plans, and quotes from the CEO)

HappyFresh, an Indonesian grocery delivery startup backed by Grab Ventures, has secured US$65 million in a Series D funding round, co-led by Naver Financial Corporation and Dutch investor Gafina.

STIC, LB, and Mirae Asset Indonesia and Singapore, besides existing investors such as Mirae Asset-Naver Asia Growth Fund and Z Venture Capital also participated, the company said in a statement.

CEO Guillem Segarra said HappyFresh will use the funds to enhance its existing operating model together with the partnerships it already has with supermarket retailers across the region.

“This will unlock additional operational efficiency, higher service levels, and quality controls to improve customer experience further. We want our customers to get all the groceries they need at the freshest condition and at an even faster speed, ensuring an effortless online grocery shopping experience,” Segarra added.

HappyFresh will also use a part of the capital injection to put in place plans to improve service offerings, such as more payment methods, better user experience, and assortment, bringing HappyFresh’s service to more families in each country across the region.

Early this month, The Korea Economic Daily reported that HappyFresh was raising US$33 million from existing investors, including Naver, its subsidiary LINE Ventures, and Mirae Asset, as part of its US$65-million target. These investors had earlier injected US$20 million into HappyFresh as part of the Series C round in 2019.

Also Read: Naver, Sea, Vertex invest in Vietnamese VC firm Do Ventures US$50M fund I

Launched in 2015, Jakarta-headquartered HappyFresh delivers fresh, high-quality groceries to thousands of customers in Southeast Asia’s major cities. The firm claims it has been experiencing “unprecedented growth” over the past 18 months.

“We have been on a mission for the past six years to provide freshly handpicked groceries of the highest quality to our customers. Especially over the past years, all our efforts have been put into being there for all the families that have trusted us to bring your groceries to your doorstep safely,”

HappyFresh has moved further towards achieving long-term profitability in a time when it’s proven challenging to sustain a business. In 2020, traffic claims to have grown by 10-20x across the three countries it operates in. “We see a big shift in customers’ behaviour; retention and frequency rates have significantly increased while the overall basket size has been consistently growing. We attribute this to a major shift in the share of wallets from offline to online, which is here to stay,” Segarra added.

Prior to the latest round, HappyFresh has raised three rounds of investments — from Grab Ventures in September 2018, a Series B round led by Dubai-based PE firm Samena Capital in January 2017, and US$12 million in Series A before that.

In January last year, HappyFresh partnered with messaging platform LINE to launch LINEMAN, which provides users with a grocery delivery service on its messaging platform in Thailand.

Southeast Asia’s online economy has hit an inflection point, powered by rapid adoption and fundamental shifts in consumer behaviour. With a corresponding retail market size of US$350 billion, the grocery retail segment in Southeast Asia presents a sizeable and growing market opportunity for HappyFresh.

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Image Credit: HappyFresh

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In a nutshell, software as a service (SaaS) can be described as a centrally hosted software licensing and delivery model typically offered on a subscription basis. SaaS products can come in many forms: from business tools to cloud services and everything in between. SaaS offers a valuable alternative to on-premises hardware and software deployment with all the available solutions, providing its own slew of unique advantages, especially as the workplace norm is becoming increasingly segregated and global.

According to a 2021 report by MarketWatch, the SaaS market is poised to grow by up to US$99.99 billion by 2025, progressing at a compound annual growth rate of over 11% during the forecast period. With the advent of digitalisation accelerated further by the pandemic, SaaS has taken on an increasingly important role in the business landscape.

Even before the pandemic, businesses that have shifted to SaaS solutions from capital-heavy on-premises infrastructure have enjoyed IT spending reduction of more than 15%, according to data collected by Computer world. With customisable offerings that companies of virtually any size can choose from, SaaS solutions help minimise costs and maximise productivity for all sorts of businesses.

Also read: How TikTok co-creation strategy is supercharging Southeast Asian SMBs

With SaaS, in-house IT staff are able to focus on other vital tasks instead of being preoccupied with maintenance work typically required by on-premises hardware and software infrastructure. Moreover, because SaaS solutions are centrally hosted, disruptions and outages are dealt with more swiftly, allowing your team to continue running despite potential downtimes. These are only some of the practical benefits that many enterprises today enjoy because of the power of SaaS.

Promising young startups offering SaaS solutions for businesses

Given all these benefits and the increasingly saturated SaaS market, here are some of the new startups that are helping enterprises maximise their output with different technological tools that your business might be interested in:

1. ExtraaEdge
   
   This startup helps create an edge in the education market with its one of a kind SaaS model through a US$25B global admissions software space. With its tools, ExtraaEdge helps enable 500 thousand Education Institutes to acquire the next 30 million students using the power of predictive analytics and marketing automation software. With this, it has established market category leadership in the education marketing industry. It helps the education industry increase, manage, and predict their admissions while automating their entire sales and leads processes. The startup is empowering admission teams across the globe to make smart, data-driven decisions to maximise admission outcomes, optimise market expenditure, and boost conversion rates as the cost to acquire admissions is extremely high while conversions are often poor.
2. Eunimart
   
   An AI-powered SAAS platform that helps businesses grow online by leveraging intelligence, reducing cost, and improving efficiency. As the number of channels of sales increases, complexity increases exponentially as well. With that complexity, scaling proves to be difficult even for large multibillion-dollar companies. Eunimart helps different brands and businesses scale up and sell across all channels of sales from Shopify to Amazon, and many more. Euimart’s AI tools make this a single click endeavour by automating everything such as keywords optimisation, image optimisation, pricing, attributes generation, and many more. The tools they offer help merchants save 7-12% in costs, enabling them to increase their revenues. Using their AI platform does not require any upfront investment, charging only a meager 3% commission on the sales generated through the platform.
3. Prescinto
   
   It is an AI-powered SaaS platform that is helping energy businesses collect clean energy plant data and apply data science models to identify causes for underperformance. It does not only help in identifying a problem but also suggests work orders for crew to increase generation for Solar and Wind Projects. The only way to get ahead for a Clean Energy Project owner is to get higher generation from operational projects which can be achieved through data, technology, and AI. Here is where Prescinto steps in to fill this market gap: the model in which Prescinto operates is a SaaS subscription fee based on MW per annum. Its successful model has seen clients sign multi-year auto-renewal master agreements, allowing them to automatically onboard future projects on Prescinto.
4. GeoIQ
   
   It assists some of India’s leading brands with live data insights for some of the most important business decisions involving consumers on a day-to-day basis. These key data points include users’ purchasing power, habits, trends, preferences — everything that can be reviewed to make high-impact business decisions with more precision. The experienced Indian tech talent at GeoIQ leverages machine learning, geo-spatial capabilities, real-time government data, satellite imagery, along with some of the most state-of-the-art tech to deliver cutting edge competitive advantages that help optimise sales, promotion, and logistics expenditures to the most efficient levels for companies.

Building better business with SaaS

Given the plethora of benefits that come with SaaS solutions and the unique models and platforms being offered by some of today’s most advanced and cutting-edge startups, the era of digitalisation looks bright.

ExtraaEdge, Eunimart, Prescinto, and GeoIQ are only some of today’s most promising startups that prove how today’s businesses can better navigate the ever-evolving complexity of the market with the help of SaaS. Through these unique solutions, businesses will better leverage intelligent data to create impactful decisions, cultivate opportunities for growth, and address gaps in the market.

Also read: How Thai food supply chain startup Freshket weathered through the pandemic

These four startups will be pitching at the 9Unicorns Venture Catalysts demo day with 12 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 Vijit Bagh from Pexels

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

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This article  is a collaboration with Makan For Hope, a non-profit initiative by Asia Startup Network. The Makan For Hope Festival brings notable mentors and aspiring entrepreneurs in 30 meaningful virtual conversations over food to raise S$125,000 for Fei-Yue to support the children and seniors from low-income families.

I want to share some of my thoughts after multiple discussions with executives who have led different market launches and of course, after the virtual session at the Makan for Hope festival with Henry Chan, Co-Founder and CEO at Shopback and other participants of the roundtable discussion. 

Chan led his team, expanding throughout most of Asia Pacific and is definitely one of the most impressive entrepreneurs in the region, having led the company to expand to nine countries in years. In our conversation and sharing during the roundtable, I have learnt a lot about how Shopback thinks about market expansion. I hope in sharing some of the learnings, you will as well. 

Key takeaways from the session

• Expand by market size and what’s winnable and not because it’s always easy and convenient 
• Look for synergies in growth as opposed to satisfying ego
• Market Launcher’s role is to replicate culture
• Locals will intuitively know nuances of the land
• Leverage each country’s strength for regional functions 
• Expand as slow as the market and competition allows you to
• Be on the ground, often

Choose big and winnable markets

China and Indonesia are very large markets that get investors and entrepreneurs salivating. They are large and fast-growing.

If one can only take one per cent of the market, they would be minted. Of course, things never work out that way. Target markets where you have a strategic advantage, and where the competitive and market dynamics are in your favour.

Also Read: In brief: ‘Makan For Hope’ to raise US$125K for SG’s vulnerable communities

What you should do

• Analyse what made your product successful 
• Do the market dynamics in the new market allow you to replicate that success?
• How crowded is the space in the new market? Are there dominant competitors? Why will you win?

The Shopback case

The TAM (target markets) has not only been large but the market dynamics and competition dynamics have been conducive for them too. In the Shopback case, it means operating in a landscape with multiple retailers across different categories such as e-commerce, travel, services and more

Look for synergies in expansion

You expand out of your own home market because you need to grow, but at the same time, if you’re able to strengthen your moat because you’re growing, you can defend by attacking.

One example is that a company such as Airbnb increases its supply of homes when it expands and increases its value because short vacation stays inherently have a cross border element where the value increases, the more countries that you’re in

What you should do

Evaluate which portion of your business would benefit from 

• Network effects 
• Economies of scale
• Access to new supply/demand 

The Shopback case

As ShopBack expands, its ability to serve multiple markets across the Asia Pacific gives it more relevance to global brands who seek regional reach. This gives Shopback an advantage over global brands, versus single-market competitors.

Launcher’s role is to replicate culture

This works by choosing the right person to lead the expansion, hiring the first three to five people that will fit the company’s culture and training them to replicate the company’s culture.

Also Read: Online booking startup Chope acquires Indonesian counterpart MakanLuar

Some companies choose to hire a local country manager and let that person build out the team. What tends to happen in this case, is that a separate culture forms and is left to develop on its own. When the local team is not thinking the same way as HQ, the differences will inevitably tear the company apart.

What you should do

• Pick a launcher that is culturally immersed with the company 
• Set the KPI for this launcher to hire and train the new country manager and functional leads on HQ’s practises 
• Ensure the launcher doesn’t get caught up in the nuts and bolts of the operations unless absolutely necessary, point 2 is the priority

The Shopback case

Shopback’s launch team consists of their founding Singapore GM and the two founders who ensure that they have the best team possible to replicate the culture in their new markets 

Locals intuitively know the nuances

Two advantages that startups have over large companies is focus and speed. Focus means that you can customise your product to your customer as much as possible without having to worry about conflicting priorities within a large global organisation and speed meaning that you can move faster than a large company that has to go through multiple layers.

To take advantage of this during market expansion, your local team is going to need full autonomy to operate. Any additional layer, communication and approval process is a reduction in speed. The local team will intuitively understand what is needed to customise in the market without too much discussion or compromise. 

What you should do

• Hire the right people 
• Set the direction and give them autonomy to reach their goals
• Get out of the way 

The Shopback case 

As Henry puts it, they see themselves as ‘more of an operating VC’, where HQ/senior management provides oversight and gives the local team full autonomy and ownership. They even give early employees in the new market co-founder titles 

Leverage each country’s strength for regional functions

The advantage of being regional is that you have access to talent in multiple countries. Given that each country tends to have specialised talent and comparative advantages, in our remote and distributed world, it would make sense to explore placing different functions in different countries.

Also Read: Here are 5 reasons to expand your business to the Philippines

What you should do

• Identify which countries you are expanding into and where you can shift functions to
• Weigh out if it’s core for your company to keep that function in HQ 

The Shopback case

Their regional team is spread out by function in different countries. 

Expand slow

This is probably highly dependent on your industry, but in short, if your competitors are not fast-growing companies that are raising large amounts of capital to capture market share globally, it might be worth considering expanding in a more sustainable manner.

What that means is that you don’t raise a ton of cash and hire so fast and make market entry decisions that you need to make compromises. 

The benefit of expanding at a pace that’s sustainable is that you are able to hire the team right and control your cash burn.

What you should do

• Resist the urge to expand fast for the sake of doing it 
• Ensure the market and competitive dynamics are right before you enter a market 

Be on the ground often

Not for the sake of micromanaging, but for the opportunity to inculcate the company’s culture and values to the local team. The best way to do this is through osmosis and being there to create an environment that is in line with the company culture. 

Strong culture, be it the military, schools or companies aren’t formed in a virtual environment. 

What you should do

• Be on the ground often
• Communicate with the local team and make sure they are the right cultural fit before handing over full reigns 

The Shopback case 

Henry, Joel and Josi each flew more than 100x a year when they were expanding.

Makan for Hope will be on till July 30,  join us for many similar sessions where you can learn from the leaders of the startup and technology industry. Click here for more info and use promo code Partner_MFH2021 for 33 per cent discount.

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