It is a well-known fact that owning a car in Singapore can be costly for the average customer. Luckily, there are startups in the market that aim to make it more accessible. Car-sharing platform Tribecar is one.

Tribecar was started as a platform to help private-hire vehicle (PHV) drivers obtain cars for their trade. “Later on, the general public began to discover the convenience and affordability of Tribecar’s service through word of mouth. The competitive pricing of renting at S$2 an hour combined with the accessibility of the vehicles made Tribecar’s service very attractive to the general public,” says CEO and co-founder Adrian Lee, in an email interview with e27.

But then the COVID-19 pandemic struck, forcing customers to change their behaviour, eventually opening up new opportunities for the company.

“This is when we noticed more people are shifting to private cars for their daily commute, either to run errands or to send their children to school. Private cars have become a safe travel bubble for people who are concerned about their health and safety due to COVID-19 and as such,” Lee says.

To respond to the demand, especially in September, Tribecar introduced a subscription service that allows customers to rent a vehicle for only S$88 a month –instead of the usual price of S$128. It also introduces an initiative where new drivers (e.g. P-Plate drivers) can sign up for this subscription service without paying for an additional New Drivers’ Surcharge during the included free hours.

This subscription model will complement the existing ad-hoc car-sharing model.

How does this subscription model help the business forward, especially in a challenging time like this? How does Tribecar differentiate itself from other services using this model? What is next for the company?

Also Read: How Malaysia’s first unicorn Carsome practiced compassion to grow in the face of adversity

Find the answer in this interview with Lee.

Sustainability for both the business and customers

Before explaining the subscription model and its role in growing the business, Lee talks about the two types of Tribecar users — commercial drivers and the so-called “leisure drivers.”

“The commercial drivers are PHV drivers and courier and food delivery drivers who use our vans, lorries and motorcycles for their jobs. Leisure drivers include new drivers who have yet to purchase their first car, as well as young families that are looking for a vehicle to run errands or ferry the kids to school,” he elaborates further.

The subscription model is meant to make it easier for these two groups of users to get the right kind of service for their needs.

“Tribecar believes in striking a balance, which is why we have launched a new subscription service to complement our usual ad-hoc car-sharing services. We believe that meeting our customers’ demands requires flexibility, and we want to give our customers the best of both worlds,” Lee explains it from the users’ point of view.

“Additionally, our new subscription service also provides a more predictable cash flow as opposed to ad-hoc usage, since members who sign up with us have their subscription renewed monthly for their convenience,” he shares.

In addition to making car ownership more accessible for the Average Joes and Janes, in the long run, Tribecar also hopes to create a more sustainable future.

“When we started Tribecar, we did it intending to make driving affordable, which is why we feel budget shouldn’t be a roadblock to being able to have the convenience and flexibility of ‘owning’ a car. With this increased convenience, we believe that we will be able to convince our customers to let go of their privately-owned cars and work towards a green, sustainable future,” Lee says.

Nowadays, with the acceptance of ride-hailing services that Uber has popularised, one might think of companies such as Grab and Gojek when they are thinking of the modern way to commute. As a car-sharing platform, Tribecar doesn’t see ride-hailing services as competition. In fact, some private hire drivers even use Tribecar cars.

“Additionally, our members are also using our service to run errands and are often making multiple stops. Unlike taxi or ride-hailing services that charge more for multiple stops or are typically used to get from point A to point B, our platform allows users to have the freedom and flexibility to plan their time and destinations without having to pay more. Typically, for an errand run with four to five locations. At around S$10 per taxi trip, the trip would cost around S$50 in total,” Lee stresses.

Also Read: Adatos nets Series A for its AI-driven remote sensing solution for agri, carbon markets

“But, with our hourly rental, they may pay as little as S$6 for three hours of use for the same errand run.”

The next destination

Based in Singapore, Tribecar is run by a team of more than 50 members. Before founding the company, Lee and co-founder Paul Tan have worked together to build Drive.SG in 2011. Remaining consistent in the transportation sector, the co-founders then started Tribecar to use the concept of car-sharing rental on an hourly basis to cater to the rise of ride-hailing in Singapore.

Nowadays, Tribecar even has a partnership with Drive.SG, aiming to support environmental sustainability by including Tesla cars in its long-term car leasing initiative. According to a statement, although Tesla cars are not part of Tribecar’s fleet, Tribecar members will be able to lease them at an affordable price and experience “owning” a car with zero down payment.

Tribecar is currently a self-funded company. However, Lee states that it is open to the possibility of raising external funding.

As for its goals for the future, the company aims to put customer satisfaction first by continuously looking for ways to add value for customers.

“As such, Tribecar is constantly looking at how we can make commuting safer, more affordable, and more convenient for our customers. We will continue to invest in new technologies and will be expanding our team to provide better services to our customers,” he says.

“To do so, we are expanding locations beyond the recently added customer-requested locations at petrol stations, shopping centres, and HDBs. It will bring greater value as we did by introducing the subscription plan and providing long-term leases at wallet-friendly rates,” the CEO continues.

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Image Credit: Tribecar

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Launching a startup in good times is hard enough. Now, imagine launching one amid a global crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic. However, don’t let the current challenging times deter you from chasing your entrepreneurial dream. History shows us that several iconic corporations and entrepreneurs were born during major economic upheavals.

For example, Hewlett-Packard was founded in 1939, at the tail-end of the Great Depression and just before the Second World War broke out. Proctor & Gamble and General Electric were established during the Panic of 1837, a major financial crisis in the US that triggered a six-year depression in the country.

And there are several more examples that could inspire and motivate entrepreneurs to launch their dream startup— now.

Opportunity for entreprenurs in a time of crisis

Despite the altered landscape we are operating in, optimism reigns in the Indian startup ecosystem. According to a recent report, India produced eleven unicorns in 2020, and the number is expected to touch 100 by 2025.

Startups in the areas of edutech, fintech, insurtech and the payment industry sped up innovations, responding to the changing consumer behaviour triggered by the pandemic.

Further, the unprecedented adoption of AI by large corporations and MSMEs over the last year is likely to be a trend that will continue unabated in the post-COVID-19 world.

Numerous startups have caught onto the AI trend and are exploring the untapped opportunities in this space. AI will remain a critical tool that will fuel innovation and product-market fit to enhance the customer experience.

It was also a stellar year for the cloud-based SaaS industry, which promises to be the next big export from India, bigger than the software and IT services sectors. There is exuberance among investors for SaaS.

Also Read: Alibaba-backed eWTP fund enters Indonesia by joining insurtech startup Fuse’s Series B round

A host of Indian SaaS startups, such as Zoho, Druva, Icertis, Postman and Freshworks, among others, capitalised on the growth of the SaaS industry and focused on how to become a competitive differentiator in the long run.

In other words, the pandemic has thrown open the floodgates to a plethora of opportunities for startups. Based on my observations, the best time to launch a startup is during opportunities like the current one, when multiple sectors are struggling to stay afloat.

Now is the opportune moment for new businesses to be established, offering customers better products at more competitive rates. As per recent reports, the gloom and doom of the pandemic have resulted in a surge in entrepreneurship across the globe.

For instance, in the US alone, business startups shot up from 3.5 million in 2019 to 4.4 million in 2020, witnessing a 24 per cent jump. However, a word of caution here.

While entrepreneurs need to seize new opportunities, they should act swiftly. These opportunities may not stay open for very long. Soon, the lucrative business prospects may dwindle.

The new reality of the funding ecosystem

The path to fueling a startup’s inorganic growth is through a robust funding mechanism. I urge startups to find the key pockets of opportunities; quickly test their product and get it to market; find the early customers and iteratively arrive at the right product-market fit. This is the mantra they should follow before turning their attention to raising funds.

It is pertinent to mention here that startup ecosystems have evolved to the point where they are no longer just incubators and accelerators. They are also a funding ecosystem that attracts multiple avenues of funding—venture capital, angel investments and crowdfunding.

One of the key trends that dominate today’s funding ecosystem is agility.  VCs are more amenable to coming in early as they are scouting for diamonds in the rough. For example, Sequoia Capital offers an early-stage rapid scale-up program for startups in India and Southeast Asia called ‘Surge’ that seeks disruptive new ideas to create new categories and industries.

Venture Capital advisory firm Chiratae Ventures has launched a seed fund initiative called Chiratae Sonic that guarantees a 48-hour turnaround time on pitches for investment. Shortlisted early-stage founders will get investments less than or equal to US$500,000.

Also Read: Coping with consumer behaviour during the COVID-19 crisis

Likewise, the Telangana government is in the process of creating a ‘T-Fund,’ with the assurance of making the funding mechanism simpler for early-stage startups.

Another unique phenomenon witnessed in the current funding ecosystem is the strong VC interest in funding high-potential startups at the bottom of the pyramid. The rising number of entrepreneurs mushrooming in Tier-2 cities and beyond has diverted VC funding from larger metros to smaller towns.

In my view, this is a healthy trend that demonstrates India’s focus on nurturing a robust local entrepreneurial ecosystem that is a thriving subset of the larger ecosystem.

Undoubtedly, it is a great time to leverage the maturation of the funding ecosystem across India and build big enterprises for the global market. The US$10.14 billion funding that Indian startups attracted in 2020, despite the pandemic, is a testament to the faith foreign investors have in our entrepreneurs’ capabilities.

However, one of the drawbacks of the shifting funding landscape is the sharp divide that exists between the blue-eyed startups that raise millions of dollars of funding and those whose coffers have almost dried up.

Amid the pandemic, risk-averse VCs preferred betting on those startups in their portfolio that held the promise of coming out stronger on the other side.

The true heft of a startup ecosystem is not measured only by the number of unicorns that exist or the mammoth funding that top-of-the-line startups receive.

The more critical parameters would be the number of startups that are founded every year and the distinction between metro and non-metro business entities.

This approach will pave the way for a more egalitarian funding ecosystem that will aid in finding local solutions to longstanding societal problems.

Engage in the process of discovery

The keywords in a period of crisis are ‘opportunity’ and ‘agility’. Clearly, the established corporates lack the agility to move forward quickly and take advantage of the new opportunities that have emerged amid the pandemic.

Several opportunities left unaddressed by large corporates are seized by nimble entrepreneurs that move fast in challenging times.

I believe an innovation ecosystem can realise its true potential only if large corporates collaborate with startups to leverage the advantages offered by emerging opportunities.

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Global investing firm Capria Ventures has invested an undisclosed amount in Indonesian VC firm AC Ventures.

As per a press release, the partnership aligns with Capria’s plans to invest and impact in Southeast Asia, India, Latin America and Africa.

Capria will look to co-invest directly in the portfolio companies, alongside AC Ventures, in breakthrough solutions with global potential.

AC Ventures is Capria’s fifth fund manager of Capria in Asia, which has 14 partnerships globally.

“AC Ventures and Capria share a similar approach as hands-on, value-adding investors bringing hi-octane capital that supports founders with collective experience, network and resources,” said Dave Richards, co-founder and managing partner of Capria. 

“Capria’s global experience in startups from the 14 partnerships bring an edge to identifying and understanding emerging market ventures. AC Ventures’ proven leadership in sourcing local startups at an early stage along with their track record of supporting founders reinforced our investment decision,” he added. 

Formed in 2019 as a merger between Convergence Ventures and Agaeti Capital Ventures, AC Ventures has a total asset under management of US$300 million. 

The VC firm is currently raising a new fund of about US$120 million, which is expected to be closed this year. It aims to invest between US$1 million and US$10 million in early-stage companies in Indonesia and Southeast Asia across sectors such as e-commerce, logistics, fintech, MSMEs, and digital media-enabled businesses.

Since its first close at US$80 million in 2020, AC Ventures Fund III claims to have achieved over 2.5x gross return on invested capital in unrealised gains and witnessed over 25 follow-on funding rounds into its portfolio startups. 

Capria is a global VC firm with expertise investing in fintech, edutech, jobtech, logistics/mobility, agtech/food, and healthcare in the Global South. It invests in regional soonicorns and also backs local and regional fund managers with capital and strategic support. 

Capria has offices in Seattle, Bangalore, Nairobi, Santiago and Washington D.C.

Indonesia’s internet economy has been growing with an average annual growth rate of 49 per cent since 2015. This growth pace has exceeded all expectations and is on track to cross US$130 billion by 2025. With this acceleration, Indonesia has welcomed six regional unicorns so far, including Gojek and Tokopedia (which have merged into GoTo Group),  Traveloka, OVO, Bukalapak, and J&T Express.

 

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Image credit: AC Ventures

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SCB Abacus, a Thailand-based alternative digital lending platform, today announced that it has raised US$12 million in an oversubscribed Series A funding round. Led by Openspace Ventures, this funding round also included the participation of Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and CAI Partners.

In a press statement, the company stated that it will use the funding to accelerate product development and expansion, strengthen its technology infrastructure and underwriting capabilities, and recruit additional talent.

The company also stated that it expects to raise a Series B funding round by the end of 2022 with “a fivefold growth of its current loan portfolio compared to 2021.”

SCB Abacus is a fintech spin-off in the local banking industry which enables the company to combine “the resources of a leading national bank with the expertise and scale-up experience of international venture capitals.”

Also Read: Startup x Innovation Thailand Expo 2021: A virtual world of innovation

The company’s flagship product MoneyThunder is a digital unsecured lending application that serves the underbanked population in Thailand. The platform utilises SCB Abacus’ in-house artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning capabilities to underwrite loans and provide a completely automated approval experience for consumers.

It also enables fast registration and application process in just five to 20 minutes.

“The company’s current mission is to create better access to finance through inclusive digital lending platforms. Today, at least 60 per cent of our borrowers were previously denied bank loans. With the use of our in-house machine learning credit models and AI technology, we can assess borrowers using alternative information and provide a fast and seamless loan process. We envision wider usage of our data infrastructures in other non-financial sectors as well,” said Dr Sutapa Amornvivat, founder and CEO of SCB Abacus.

As of August, MoneyThunder said that it has seen close to five million application downloads with loans disbursed surging, increasing by a multiple of 10 in 2021 versus 2020.

Lead investor Openspace Ventures has closed its third Southeast Asian fund at US$200 million in March. It has recently invested in Kumu, a Philippine-based livestreaming platform.

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Image Credit: SCB Abacus

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Ackcio, a deep tech startup developing wireless data acquisition technology for industrial monitoring, announced that it has bagged S$4 million (~US$3 million) in a Series A funding round led by Singapore-based venture capital firm Atlas Ventures.

Other participants are Enterprise Singapore, Wavemaker Partners, Aletra Capital Partners, AccelerAsia Ventures, Seasight Holdings, and angel investors.

According to the press statement, the Singapore-headquartered firm will use the new investment to fast-track its regional expansion, strengthen its research and development operations, and expand into new industry verticals.

This plan includes new hires in sales, engineering and operation around the world, which have grown beyond Asia, the Americas and Europe. Ackcio will also further expand its client and partner network in the Middle East, Africa, and Oceania regions.

“This new round of funding will enable us to expand our offerings and continue supporting our customers to make industrial operations smarter and safer,” said Nimantha Baranasuriya, co-founder and CEO of Ackcio.

Also read: Go smart or go waste? Smart construction in Asia is up for grabs

Founded in 2016 by Baranasuriya and Mobashir Mohammad, Ackcio provides cutting-edge, long-range, mesh-based wireless monitoring solutions to industries such as construction, infrastructure, rail, and mining.

Its technology helps contractors monitor geotechnical projects remotely in real-time and enables companies to increase operational efficiency, reduce costs, improve worker safety, and comply with local regulatory requirements.

Baranasuriya said that as the COVID-19 pandemic boosted the need for worker safety and remote operations, Ackcio rises to the occasion of the industrial digitisation. The firm claims to have expanded its customer base to 22 regions across six continents over the last 12 months, yielding a significant revenue upsurge. 

“Most existing solutions for industrial monitoring are manual, costly, and unreliable,” says Maxim Shkvaruk, investment director at Atlas Ventures. “Accio is one of the very few companies in the world that addresses the issue by providing a real-time, wireless monitoring solution for sensors in harsh environments.“

The startup also targets to expand into other asset-heavy industries, such as oil and gas, energy, and power infrastructure, where data-driven risk management stands at the forefront of smarter and faster operations.

Last year, Ackcio completed its pre-Series A fundraising with co-lead investors Wavemaker Partners and Michael Gryseels.

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Image Credit: Ackcio

 

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