Cryptocurrency might be the talk of the town this decade, with the rising adoption and acceptance of these digital currencies globally, and even regionally in Southeast Asia. With the option to invest in a plethora of digital projects and objects, all it takes is a quick sign up and users are on their way to handling their assets and investments online.

Despite this, there are a few key details individuals should take note of before starting their journey on a new exchange or investing in cryptocurrencies.

From security to ease of usage, and even the variety of currencies, here are some ways experienced and amateur traders can invest successfully, without having to jump through hoops with each strategic move made.

The accessibility of Fiat

Crypto trading has not always been the easiest trading option when it first began.

No longer does a user need to scour through forums to understand how they should go about purchasing a single token, with the constant launches of platforms and exchanges, buying, selling, and trading via cryptocurrency has been easier than ever.

However, certain platforms still require the need for fiat currency to be exchanged into bitcoins before users can begin trading.

For the greatest ease of usage, exchanges that include fiat accessibility allow for trades to not only retain their value against USDT/USDC, it also provides individuals with the ability to make on-ramp and off-ramp conversions through wire transfers and credit cards.

With most traders using several exchanges simultaneously, a platform that includes fiat services not only lowers the barriers of entry for new users but also allows well-versed traders with an effortless and quick experience.

Also Read: PDAX raises US$12.5M to take advantage of the popularity of cryptocurrencies in Philippines

Better secure than sorry

Despite the attractiveness of crypto trading, most platforms aren’t entirely impervious to the perils of cyber hacking. Simply due to the nature of cryptocurrencies, such uncertainties can be easily avoidable and contained through proper licensing and certifications that exchange can implement.

Besides following each country’s rules and regulations, or even saving funds offline with a private key, discerning users can look out for KYC & AML to avoid situations linking to potential frauds.

One such platform that champions user experience and security is ABCC Exchange, a crypto trading tool with strict practices that filter out fraudulent activities. Through their AI technology, the exchange scans global databases to identify each trader’s identity.

As an added layer of protection, all deposit and withdrawal addresses are examined before the transfer of funds, providing every user with ease of mind trading on its secure platform.

Digital variety is wealth

One of the most common ways users tend to pick an exchange is typically based on the platform’s product offering. Whether it’s the sudden popularity of a cryptocurrency due to social media or the rising price of a certain token, each exchange has its own listing procedures or committee that conducts thorough analysis and reviews to not only benefit its users but newly listed projects as well.

Besides looking out for the typical BTC, ERC20, or TRC20, platforms like ABCC Exchange also support projects from BSC, Solana, Polygon, and Polkadot ecosystems to ease its user’s experience.

Individuals are able to trade project tokens within different ecosystems effortlessly and instantly while being able to read published information and watch tutorials as part of their research before taking the trading plunge.

In addition to this, the focus on having different product offerings provides a quick look into an exchange’s usability and activities.

From understanding whether trading can be possible with tighter spreads, lesser bid or ask price difference, to looking at the volume being traded and how it responds to price volatility, users can gauge whether a platform has the ability to fill their orders promptly.

Whether you’re an experienced or newly-minted trader, with the constant evolution of the cryptocurrency industry keeping everyone on their toes, there is better no way to secure each trade and transaction than with a trusted platform.

Also Read: How Binance acquired 35 per cent market share in a year with its new crypto derivatives line

As crypto exchanges keep launching, ensuring that security, product variety, and usability are the pillars to finding a reliable platform, anyone will be able to trade the next new token within a matter of minutes.

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Neuroglee Therapeutics, a Singapore-based digital health and wellness platform, has secured US$10 million in a Series A round led by Openspace Ventures.

The round also saw participation from EDBI and existing investors, including Raman Singh, ex-CEO of Mundipharma and Biofourmis co-founders Kuldeep Singh Rajput and Wendou Niu. Leading pharmaceutical company Eisai Co., a strategic shareholder in the company since the previous US$2.3 million pre-seed round, also joined.

Neuroglee will use the funding to launch virtual neurology clinics for patients diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) related to difficult-to-treat conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease. 

The fund will also advance the company’s personalised evidence-based digital therapeutics (DTx) pipeline.

In particular, Neuroglee will collaborate with Mayo Clinic’s HABIT programme to develop Neuroglee Connect, a remote care management platform and virtual speciality care clinic. This clinic will provide personalised, near real-time, and 24/7 responsiveness and interventions in managing patients with MCI in the comfort of their homes.

“With care expanding outside of the hospital and into the home, Neuroglee is assuring the management of neurodegenerative diseases is a simple, empowering, everyday event for patients,” Neuroglee CEO stated. “Actionable data and virtual clinical support will give more patients access to world-class care, no matter where they are.”

Also read: Hummingbird Bioscience nets US$125M Series C to further develop next-gen precision therapeutics

Founded in 2020 by Aniket Singh Rajput, Neuroglee discovers, develops and commercialises personalised evidence-based digital therapeutics (DTx) and virtual care-at-home solutions to treat and manage patients with neurodegenerative diseases. This approach serves as non-pharmacologic therapies to complement the current symptomatic therapies and investigational drugs.

Applying cognitive rehabilitation strategies and machine learning approaches, Neuroglee’s flagship software product NG-001 can capture digital biomarkers and learn from user behaviour to provide a more personalised experience tailored to patients’ needs.

“Neuroglee’s solution has tremendous potential to meaningfully benefit global patients as they and their families bravely combat the progression of the neurodegenerative disease,” said Openspace co-founder Shane Chesson.

According to a press statement, the company plans to move its headquarters from Singapore to Boston in Q4 2021. Leveraging Boston’s digital health innovation and investment hub, Neuroglee will focus on building and scaling engineering, clinical operations and commercial teams.

“This will expand our global footprint, adding to our growing regional management and technology development teams in Singapore and India,” added Rajput. 

According to WHO, more than 55 million people live with dementia and nearly 10 million yearly new cases, of which Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form.

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Image credit: Neuroglee Therapeutics

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Traveloka reportedly stops talks with Richard Li-backed SPAC for US listing
It has decided to drop merger talks with Bridgetown Holdings as interest in the SPAC market has declined; Instead, the travel company will look at doing things the traditional way for its US listing — an IPO.

‘League of Legends’ owner Virtuos nets US$150M
Investors are Baring Private Equity Asia and 3D Capital Partners; The company will use the funds to accelerate growth and finance its buy-and-build strategy across global markets with strategic partnerships and acquisitions.

Indonesia-only Intudo Ventures hits final close of Fund III at US$115M, to back 12-14 firms
Its notable LPs include Koh Boon Hwee’s family office Black Kite Capital, Gregory Wasson’s Wasson Enterprises; Intudo Ventures III seeks to invest US$1-10M each in companies across agriculture, B2B, education, finance & insurance, healthcare, logistics, new retail, and entertainment.

Agritech ecosystem in Thailand: 60%+ startups haven’t raised external funding, says a white paper
In terms of the amount of investment, Thailand is categorised at the same level as its neighbours Malaysia, Vietnam and Myanmar but much lower than those of Indonesia and Singapore; This is a reflection of the local agritech ecosystem still being in its initial phase, calling for the need for promotions and cooperation.

Digital assets platform Zipmex rakes in US$41M Series B, plans to launch in Thailand
Investors include Krungsri Finnovate, Plan B Media, Master Ad, MindWorks Capital and Jump Capital; Zipmex’s crypto exchange serves both new investors and high-net-worth individuals through two earning accounts, underpinned by its native ZMT token.

E-commerce brand aggregator Rainforest raises US$20M pre-Series A
Investors include Monk’s Hill Ventures (lead), January Capital, Crossbeam Venture Partners, Amasia, and Lo & Behold Group; Rainforest leverages tech to improve inventory management, cost optimisations, and expansions to new marketplaces and channels for these brands – mainly in home goods, mother & kids, personal care, and pet categories.

Ovo leads in Indonesia’s digital payments war, report says
The reports puts Ovo – which still counts Grab and Tokopedia as its stakeholders – ahead of several rival payment platforms such as Gojek’s GoPay, Sea Group’s ShopeePay, Ant Financial’s Dana, and LinkAja.

Go-Ventures leads US$16M Series A in grocery social commerce startup Segari
SIG, Alfamart, Gunung Sewu Group and Intrinity Capital also participated in the round; Segari streamlines Indonesia’s complex agri supply chain through tech and empowers local community leaders to offer grocery services to their social networks.

Ex-Uber, Facebook exec’s data security firm Borneo secures US$15.5M in Vulcan-led round
Investors are Vulcan Capital, Prosus Ventures, Lytical Ventures, and Wavemaker Partners; Borneo is already working at cloud scale with some technology companies and has seen higher demand for its solutions amid the current wave of public listings among such firms.

Indonesian agritech startup Crowde to close US$7M Series A led by Monk’s Hill
The funding follows a recent streamlining of Crowde’s lending business amid the impact of COVID-19 and the prolonged drought in 2019 that resulted in repayment difficulties for its customers.

Indonesian multi-brand e-grocer Pasarnow to expand to new cities with a US$3.3M funding
Investors include East Ventures (lead), SMDV, Skystar Capital, Amand Ventures, and Prasetia Dwidharma; This funding will be used to expand Pasarnow’s regional coverage and strengthen its capability in the groceries supply chain and last-mile solutions.

AI-powered logistics startup Portcast raises US$3.2M
Investors include Imperial Venture Fund, Wavemaker Partners, TMV, and Innoport; Portcast offers global freight forwarders and manufacturers an intuitive SaaS platform and APIs to accurately predict air and ocean cargo flows and forecast daily demand.

Singapore pre-employment screening firm Veremark nets US$2.8M in seed money
Investors include ACF Investors, Triple Point Ventures, and SOV Ventures; Veremark provides an automated solution that helps companies verify employee credentials such as employment history as well as academic, criminal, and credit records.

Indonesian podcast network NOICE nets ‘7-figure USD’ funding co-led by Alpha JWC, Go-Ventures
NOICE provides hyperlocal audio streaming content, including radio, music, audiobooks and podcasts, for Indonesian listeners; NOICE will use the new capital to add a new live audio feature, develop original content and hire talents across the region.

Vietnam-focused fintech startup Jeff bags US$1.5M for SEA expansion
Investors include J12 Ventures, EstBAN, Startup Wise Guys, iSeed Ventures and Toy Ventures; The company plans to enter the Indonesian market by the end of 2021 and expects to start its operations in the Philippines in the third quarter of the year.

Vietnam’s audiobook app Fonos raises US$1.1M seed round to become ‘super app’
Investors are AngelCentral Syndicate, HustleFund and iSeed, and angels; Fonos produces short 10-15-minute book summaries, guided meditation, stories, news, and offline reading options; Its audiobooks are multi-genre, ranging from fiction, classics, economics to startups. Of these, non-fiction books are the most popular.

Startup IPOs in 2021 are encouraging interests of Asia’s founders, investors
According to VC firms in the region, the startup IPOs that have happened this year has created a positive impact on an otherwise challenging year; Spiral Ventures’s Partner Ryu Hirota says the recent groundbreaking IPO by Bukalapak has triggered greater interest from Japanese investors in the SEA market.

Underrated, untapped, and unknown: Malaysia’s startup ecosystem is coming of age
Malaysian startups have shown the highest investment to return ratio in the region – more than double that of Singapore, and nearly 10x more than its neighbours down south in Indonesia.

Why BNPL will change the payment landscape in Vietnam?
Traditional banks are believed to utilise BNPL channels to catch up on the race of acquiring young and new potential credit users and leverage their large customer base via card-linked instalments; Customers who own credit cards still claim to prefer BNPL.

Thai logistics unicorn Flash Express enters Laos via partnership with AIF Group
They will jointly launch Flash Laos, a land and air delivery service, in the country; Flash Laos will allow customers to courier parcels between Thailand and Vientiane, the capital of Laos, through an app on which they can pre-book a delivery service, track parcels, and check service fees on their own.

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Image Credit: Traveloka

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Indonesia-based cloud kitchen company Legit Group today announced that it has raised an IDR43 billion (US$3 million) seed funding led by East Ventures, with the participation of AC Ventures.

In a press statement, the company said that it will use the fresh capital to aggressively expand locations to reach a wider customer base and to create and market new delivery-centric brands.

Legit Group currently operates three F&B brands –Pastaria, Sei’Tan and Juju Chikin– and operates from 45 distribution points. It plans to launch two more brands and expand to 135 distribution points by the end of the year

“With my experience as Founder of Eatwell Group and strategic partnerships with Ismaya Group and Yummy Corp, we are in the position to be able to use our current infrastructure to quickly expand our operations without heavy up-front investment expenditure. This allows us to widen our coverage quickly and thus lowering the delivery charges and provide a better overall experience to the customers who wish to order our products,” said Sumarno Ngadiman, CEO and Co-Founder Legit Group.

Also Read: Ecosystem Roundup: GIC invested US$94M into Bukalapak before its IPO; All about the cloud kitchen industry in Indonesia

“We have been in the F&B business for more than twenty years and we will be able to draw on our experiences and create the products that customers want with the utmost standard of food safety and handling practice,” he stressed.

Founded in February through a strategic partnership with Indonesian F&B and lifestyle giant Ismaya Group, online catering and cloud kitchen company Yummy Corp, and SME incubator GK Hebat, Legit Group said that it has grown 9.5 times since its inception. It also claimed to have experienced a 61 per cent increase in revenue from June to July alone.

As food delivery services become more popular during the pandemic, Indonesia sees rapid growth of cloud kitchen companies operating in the country. As uncovered by e27 in a special coverage, tech-savvy Millennials in the country also play a key role in driving the growth of this segment.

According to data, Indonesia has the largest food delivery service market in Southeast Asia at a market size of US$3.7 billion, accounting for 31 per cent of the total food delivery value in the region and continues to grow at 35.2 per cent annually.

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Image Credit: Legit Group

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My name is Gabriel Sze, and I am currently a Year 4 student in NTU enrolled in the Renaissance Engineering Programme. I am also the founder of Dive Deals, a modern web-based deal discovery platform that strives to bridge the online-to-offline consumer journey.

Being a student entrepreneur is tough. The challenges of navigating the entrepreneurship space are already difficult. With limited experience in developing software products, industry experience, and networks, it can be a daunting task to start a company and build a software solution for tens of thousands of users.

However, being an entrepreneur has been the hallmark of my student life. It has been the most challenging but exciting, meaningful, and fulfilling journey as a student.

In this article, I want to share some insights about why I chose to run a startup as a student and how I exactly did it in the past two years of my time.

Why did I choose to run a startup as a student?

Well, I am convinced that being a student is one of the best times to start anything. Apart from the limitations aforementioned above, being a student is absolutely great. We have more time, flexibility, and energy to invest in an exciting idea. We have more opportunities to create solutions, innovate existing ones, and explore the needs around us. We have maximum room to try, iterate and fail.

There’s so much more to being a student thinker. Still, I realised that I enjoyed spending some leisure time reclining on my chair, thinking about crazy ideas that solve various needs in the world and society.

However, running a startup wasn’t my first intention. Solving a problem was.

Also Read: Tecent, SCB 10X, Vertex back insurtech startup Sunday’s US$45M Series B

Although I silently wished I could, I didn’t start out wanting to build a successful startup. That’s too far ahead for me. Several years back, I identified a personal problem statement and wanted to build a better product to serve my needs and people around me, mainly family and friends who shared the same pain points.

And so the exciting journey began, a rapidly fast process but a game of patience.

How did I build a startup?

I hope to share some structure to how I approached it and developed what I have today, although I humbly acknowledge that every path is different. Well, here’s how I went about it with the startup I built today while being a full-time university student.

Identifying a pain point

First, do not start with building the product.

One of the best starting points is usually to identify a pain point that you currently face today. There should be many, but it often takes some awareness and reflection before stumbling across the more important ones.

One of the pain points I had in my daily life as a Singaporean was saving money through finding deals and promotions.

I didn’t particularly appreciate installing many applications on my phone, and there were too many aggregator websites and social media channels to follow to hunt down the most relevant deals.

As I enjoyed googling for promotions, most of the websites I found had a poor user interface and experience, with long wordy posts that often occlude essential information.

This problem was further amplified to me because I was a student trying to find cost savings via student deals and promotions.

As I am enrolled in a computer science major, it seems reasonable for me to develop a better website. As students, I feel we should find a reasonable problem statement to tackle or possibly get some friends involved that can help us build towards it.

Validating a pain point

It’s usually not sufficient to build a product that only helps yourself or several people. Ideally, you want to be able to build something that benefits a sizeable amount of people.

I approached family, relatives, and friends with this problem statement and wanted to hear their thoughts regarding this. Ask honest and objective questions. 

After asking about their experiences with hunting down deals in Singapore, I heard similar frustrations in scrolling through many sites, poor user experience, and disinterest in downloading more applications. Data representation and lack of reliable data were also key points raised. 

Also Read: Lessons from a student entrepreneur on building a successful startup

Hidden criteria, terms and conditions, and finding applicable outlets were some issues raised.

Be humble to accept and acknowledge that your pain point may not be shared across others, and be comfortable with iterating back to the problem statement once again.

Building and iterating the product

Taking into consideration the feedback, I started designing, then developing the product.

Be prepared to spend many hours learning and iterating. I had almost no prior knowledge of web development, so I had to start from ground zero.

I spent about three to six months learning the fundamentals of building a scalable and custom website, investing almost 10-12 hours a day learning new languages, frameworks and finding resources online. 

I did this during my summer break in my second year, so sacrifices have to be made. I took a break from internships after having done two in the past year.

The building then became easier along the way. Many months later, I developed a mobile-optimised deal discovery website that solved the pain points of my own and those validated around me. 

I focused on user experience, created simple data pages to surface essential data, and highlighted important locations in a customized map view on the web.

Be prepared for many iterations.

As I launched the product and iterated along the way, our user base slowly but surely grew, and we received great feedback about the product.

It is also important to have passion and meaning in what you build. In this pandemic, we had the opportunity to link up with many businesses to help them increase their awareness and reach. We frequently liaised with local and neighbourhood brands to offer attractive promotions on our site.

I still hope to grow this platform, but it’s fun and exciting to develop a product that people use to help people during these challenging times. 

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Motorist, a Singapore-based automotive platform, has raised SGD1.2 million (US$900,000) in seed funding from an AngelCentral syndicate led by Lim Der Shing, co-founder of JobsCentral.

Existing investors, including Royston Tay, co-founder of Zopim, and Huang Shao-Ning, co-founder of JobsCentral, also participated. 

The fresh funding will allow Motorist to “supercharge its growth” in Singapore and Malaysia and venture into Thailand by the end-2021. 

The company also plans to add 100 more employees to its operations in various markets, including a tech team in Vietnam.

Established in 2015 as a contemporary car-dealing platform, Motorist has shifted its focus to support the entire vehicle ownership cycle. It aims to create an ecosystem of smart tools and services such as vehicle purchases, vehicle loans and motor insurance for car owners. 

“As we prepare for the opening of the economy, our team will accelerate our execution across markets to support more motorists in their ownership cycle,” said founder and CEO Damian Sia. 

Also read: Is Singapore ready for the EV revolution?

The startup claims to have served close to 500,000 motorists and facilitated over US$600 million worth of vehicle transactions. Leveraging a team of data scientists with Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI) capabilities, Motorist can personalise user experience over time, primarily through its newly launched features such as incident reporting, workshop recommendation, and online payment. 

Motorist boasts its app assists approximately 10 per cent of the vehicle population with vehicle management matters in Singapore. It aspires to take up as much as 40 per cent of the market share by 2023.

“They have demonstrated their ability to be capital efficient and have built a profitable multimillion-dollar business by mostly bootstrapping,” said Der Shing.

Der Shing added that with the GMV (gross merchandise value) of S$650 million (US$483.34 million), Motorist has become one of the leading car transaction platforms in Singapore, alongside other well-funded competitors.

The two most prominent players in this sector include Carro, which turned unicorn this June with its US$360 million Series C funding, and Carsome, a Malaysia-based used car platform that is eyeing a US IPO in 2022. 

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Image credit: Motorists

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Ficus Asia raises US$10M from Alibaba’s eWTP Technology and Innovation Fund

The story: Dealstreet Asia reported that Vietnam-based retail firm Ficus Asia has raised US$10 million from Alibaba’s eWTP Technology and Innovation Fund after it has invested US$50 million into the company last year. Both investments were made via ReDefine Capital Fund; it has made Alibaba the second-largest shareholder in the firm.

The company: Founded by Mobile World veteran Dinh Anh Huan, Ficus Asia has businesses in the retail, logistics, and tech sectors. It is the parent company of Seedcom, which is, in turn, the parent company of various lifestyle and F&B companies in the country.

Singapore-based ProfilePrint shortlisted into FoodBytes! Pitch 2021

The story: FoodBytes! Pitch 2021, an annual agritech and foodtech startup programme held annually by Rabobank, has named the 45 finalists of their programme. The list included 12 startups based in Asia Pacific with ProfilePrint being the only Southeast Asian startup in it.

The company: Based in Singapore, ProfilePrint is an Artificial Intelligence-powered food ingredient analysis software.

The programme: According to a press statement, the top 45 startups globally will now participate in a two weeks virtual mentoring programme and one-on-one meetings with corporate leaders and investors. They will also be pitching their solutions to Rabobank and other corporate and investor members who will choose 15 finalists to participate in a live-streamed public pitch competition on November 8-10, where the ultimate winner in each of the three sectors –Consumer Food Beverage (CPG), foodtech, and agritech– will be decided.

Also Read: Legit Group raises US$3M seed funding to further expand cloud kitchen business

Report: Singapore tops the list of countries with great interest in NFTs

The story: Blockchain Centre announced that based on Google Trends platform data analysis, global interest in NFTs jumped by 426 per cent in August. The interest in Google queries for the phrase “how to buy NFT” on August 1 was 19 but jumped to 100 by the end of the month.

The research also revealed that Singapore is the country most interested in digital assets, with a score of 100 in August 2021. It is followed by Australia (score of 86) and Nigeria (score of 70).

The implication: According to Blockchain Centre CEO Tadas Maurukas in a press statement, “Even though we see huge growth in popularity, NFTs are still unknown to the majority of the population. Investors see this as a massive opportunity for early adopters, as profits could be exceedingly high when these digital assets go mainstream.”

The non-fungible tokens (NFTs) market is exploding in popularity. Prior to 2021, only a small group of investors saw the potential for significant earnings in NFTs. Yet, the course of the market took a massive turn at the start of the year, and it does not seem to be slowing down anytime soon.

Flash Express, AIF Group Laos team up to launch Flash Laos

The story: Thai unicorn Flash Express and AIF Group Laos announced a partnership to launch the full-service logistics platform Flash Laos. According to a press statement, customers will be able to deliver parcels between Thailand and Vientiane Capital to support the growth of e-commerce industry and the economy of the two countries.

The details: The cooperation between will have two main parts: the first part is the launch of Flash Laos which will provide logistic service from Thailand to Vientiane, and the second part is a key cooperation of both companies, expanding the service to cover all areas of Laos. The second part of the partnership will be launched in November.

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Image Credit: krailathyothayath

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So much has been said and written about the vast potential of Malaysia’s startup ecosystem –and for all the right reasons.

Within ASEAN, Malaysia was one of the first countries to invest in the digital economy with the establishment of multiple government agencies, seeding policies, industry blueprints and development acceleration programs.

Coupled with its multicultural society, ease of adoption in digital economy services and a well-exposed middle class, the nation has always been a prime destination for Asian and MNC organisations to expand their business footprints.

Microsoft, Intel, NTT, Dell and Sony for example have all established Line-Of-Business hubs in Malaysia.

And yet, it seems that Malaysia has been lagging behind in technology investments in recent years. In 2019-2020 a mere US$362 million was invested in Malaysian startups –-a number dwarfed by Indonesia’s US$5.63 billion and Singapore’s US$1.47 billion.

Neighbouring countries, Thailand and Vietnam, with lesser ICT investments in the past, attracted significantly more venture and growth capital in the same period.

More troubling is how many venture investors seem to view Malaysia as an opportunistic investment market rather than a key focus of their investment mandate.

It is also the case that until very recently, Malaysia has found laying claim to having its own “unicorn”, a privately owned startup whose investment valuation is in excess of US$1 billion, to be elusive in comparison to ASEAN neighbours Indonesia, Singapore and Vietnam.

“Unicorn” badging brings all-around confidence (perhaps part hubris) to budding tech ecosystems, and the resultant halo-effect drives further distance in the funding disparities in these markets.

Malaysian tech startup founders also have a tendency to be Malaysia market self-sufficient –reflected as “timid” and “lacking boldness” in their expansion plans to non-Malaysian investors. Often, their initial focus on rooting in Malaysia’s 32.7 million population becomes a permanent preoccupation.

Also Read: Everything from soup to nuts: Meet the 27 ghost kitchen startups in Southeast Asia

The Malaysian market, whilst of decent size by traditional measures, cannot fully realise the potential of the digital economy era in drawing the hub-spoke power of various Cloud, SAAS and Platform services available –as compared to the captive build of US$1 billion businesses for Indonesia startups’ 266.6 million, 16,000-island playground, or the scaling mindset of Singaporean founders who aim to go regional, if not global from Day 1.

All that said, we have witnessed green shoots in the last few months.  Bright spots have dotted the Malaysian startup landscape: Fave’s US$45 million acquisition by Pine Labs, Carsome’s recent entry into unicorn status, Aerodyne’s global leadership in the drone space, AirAsia’s super app plans kicking into high gear and of course, Grab – a Malaysian born and incubated startup listing on a SPAC to a value US$40 billion.

Malaysia’s tech ecosystem is finally coming of age, and this is the moment to unlock Malaysia’s underrated, untapped and unknown unicorns-in-making.

Underrated

For all the concerns about the ability of the Malaysian ecosystem to create winning companies, Malaysian startups have shown the highest investment to return ratio in the region – more than double that of Singapore, and nearly 10x more than its neighbours down south in Indonesia.

Perhaps a byproduct of being handicapped in raising foreign funds and expanding regionally, Malaysian startups seem to have found ways to develop businesses with good business models with a focus on profitability.

Malaysian founders have demonstrated their resourcefulness in leveraging corporate partnerships beyond POC projects, and as well lobbied for government support grants and other benefits to sustainably grow their businesses and exosystem. It would seem that this approach has yielded benefits during liquidity events.

Furthermore, local startups have access to a diverse and skilled talent pool. A result of years of development in the ecosystem thanks to entities such as MaGIC, Cradle and MDEC.

With COVID-19 testing, the best of founders, the years of development work by these entities will now bear fruit as the Malaysian founders demonstrate their mettle in more equitable environments compared to their regional counterparts.

Untapped

In the eyes of many investors, Malaysia’s ecosystem is indeed a diamond in the rough-chock full of ideas and potential and awaiting the right and timely stimulus to be the birthplace of thousands of successful startups.

Also Read: Revolutionising the food industry with Malaysia’s StixFresh

Beyond financial investment, the key to unlocking this potential is matching timely guidance at the various stages of funding to ensure that their startups are investor-mindset ready. Targeted coaching with regional and global mindsets will provide these startups with a good footing when branching out beyond Malaysian shores.

Malaysian startups need a strong go-to-market ethos, with a focus on scaling their models beyond the founding market borders.

Many follow-on investors look to Malaysian startups who have successfully proven that they can build a business in another market as a signal of viability and invest-ability. The need to go regional from the moment of inception is non-negotiable.

Finally, corporate Malaysia needs to play its part in supporting the startup ecosystem. It is one thing for the government to catalyze growth through grants, tax breaks and other benefits but in the long run, corporations must play a role in creating an environment for startups to develop long term collaborations that could lead to investments or acquisitions.

It is encouraging to see companies such as Sunway Group, Petronas, Axiata and AirAsia be active in the startup space but more corporates should follow suit.

Unknown

There are thousands of Malaysian founders who are building profitable technology companies in Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Johor Bahru, Kuching and other cities. Official startup estimates state that there are 3,000 startups in Malaysia however the number can be significantly higher.

Many of these companies are structured as small-medium enterprises that use technology to reach their audience. It is unfortunate that these companies don’t rise to prominence but this is the opportunity for Malaysia – to turn these companies into high growth venture-backed startups that can grow regionally and beyond.

Malaysian founders, too, should do their part. They need to shake off their mild-mannered personalities and communicate their beyond-horizon growth plans when speaking to regional partners and investors.

In many cases when they do, they achieve breakout success such as the likes of Tony Fernandes, Patrick Grove, Anthony Tan, Joel Neoh, Eric Cheng and Kamarul Muhamed. Malaysian founders will be perceived as good as how they perceive themselves.

In fact, the most recent Global Entrepreneurship Index (GEI) produced by the Global Entrepreneurship and Development Institute (GEDI) in 2019, which aims to provide a holistic assessment of the entrepreneurial foundation of countries and allow for normalized comparisons, shows Malaysia in a promising light.

Amongst its regional peers, Malaysia scores the second highest at 40.1, behind Singapore (52.4) and ahead of Thailand with a corresponding score of 33.5.

Unlocking Malaysia’s potential

We believe that the recent round of promising news from the ecosystem is not just a random occurrence but rather the beginning of the emergence of Malaysia as a startup heavyweight in ASEAN.

It is the culmination of years of investment by the government, returning entrepreneurs, industry veterans and investors. This is the moment to double down.

To ensure that the Malaysian ecosystem maintains this trajectory, intervention is required to ensure that ascendant startups have the right perspective and focus to achieve meaningful growth. With strategic capital, coaching and effective go to market strategies we believe we can uncover gems in this ascendant ecosystem.

And this provided the impetus for Quest Ventures and ScaleUp Malaysia to come together in 2020 – the first significant investment program by an international VC into Malaysia.  We have made a concerted effort over the last year to focus on grooming and developing startups in Malaysia, leveraging the experience of both teams and their ecosystems.

Also Read: Building Malaysia’s fintech ecosystem

Quest Venture’s involvement in ScaleUp Malaysia’s programme brought not only foreign direct investment into the companies in ScaleUp Malaysia’s sophomore cohort but also served as a catalyst for a shift in the mindset of participating founders.

Companies were coached in the program on multiple and concurrent market access, pricing strategies and best practices when speaking to investors.

Accessing a regional network of businesses, investors and partners in ASEAN, China, India and Central Asia has provided many opportunities for collaboration and has forced our entrepreneurs to benchmark themselves on a global stage instead of simply being local heroes.

As we emerge from the pandemic and the economic morass it has wrought on the global economy, Malaysian startups have an opportunity to lead from the front. ScaleUp Malaysia and Quest Ventures aim to continue to be the port of call for startups in Malaysia who want to become breakout success stories.

As Cohort 3 begins, we aim to build on the strong foundation we started in Cohort 2 – with a laser focus on finding Malaysia’s next big success story. We welcome you to join us on this journey!

This is the moment for Malaysia’s startups to be unleashed.

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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

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When we entered the year 2021, the Southeast Asian (SEA) tech startup ecosystem and surrounding areas were all about facing the aftermath of the pandemic. There was an air of determination as businesses prepared to seize opportunities in a post-pandemic society. There was also excitement over major plans such as IPOs of leading unicorns in the region.

Fast-forward to September. As we are closing into the last quarter of the year, we learn that there are both reasons to be optimistic and cautious. We see some startups continuing to secure funding rounds; we even see new unicorns popping up in the region. The IPOs are finally happening.

But 2021 is still a year like no other. As the pandemic continues to rage on, both founders and investors found themselves finding the same challenges over and over again, leading us to ask the bigger questions: How do investors view the startup ecosystem in this time and age? What are the trends that they are able to note? What kind of opportunities are there to pursue?

e27 reaches out to global investors in our e27 Pro network to understand their views and insights about the matter.

The startups we see

Early in the pandemic, there were several verticals that gained popularity as demands for their services increased with the implementation of lockdown measures in many countries. Healthcare and e-commerce came up on top of this list; this trend also continued throughout the first half of 2021.

“There are still gaps between demand and supply in certain sectors such as health care. If you look at the number of patients per doctor ratio, or if you look at the number of the bed-patient ratio, it is still way behind [when compared to developed markets].  There is a way to solve these problems by reallocating the healthcare resource or increase the productivity by using digital solutions,” says Ryu Hirota, Partner at Spiral Ventures, in a call with e27.

He also stresses that this is a trend that we can expect to remain popular in the latter half of the year.

Also Read: Why BNPL will change the payment landscape in Vietnam?

As investors become warier about the sustainability aspect of a startup’s business, they also begin to see increased popularity in sectors such as enterprise solutions or B2B. This is particularly true in smaller markets such as Taiwan.

“Investors want to invest more in the B2B sectors. Because in Taiwan market, it can be quite hard for B2C companies to gain volume when they are only focussing on the local market,” says Brandon Chiang, Executive Vice President at Cornerstone Ventures.

He also added that from the marketing aspect, B2B services tend to be easier to promote compared to the B2C one.

With the pandemic situation, there have to be some changes in the way founders and investors find each other. Previously, they counted on serendipitous meetings at tech conferences and similar events to build their networks. But this year, they have to rely on online channels such as the Connect feature, available exclusively for e27 Pro members.

For Hirota, while the firm has not followed the connections it makes over Connect with an investment, the feature has become a reliable tool to meet new people.

“For first-time founders, they may not have access to investors so naturally, they go to platforms such as e27 or government initiatives such as Enterprise SG,” he says. “We would be happy to follow up with them for the Series A funding rounds.”

For Samuel Santoso, Analyst at Cornerstone Ventures, it has enabled the firm to make connections in markets that they do not usually pursue.

“We have seen a lot of startups from the Philippines that have shown great potential,” he noted.

How IPOs change the tide

Last year, as the pandemic began to take its stronghold in the region, there were concerns about early stage funding rounds. Startups may struggle to raise seed funding rounds as investors become more careful, looking for certain options.

Hirota acknowledges that the situation with the pandemic can be harder for companies that have never raised any funding. This is because the networking that they manage to secure with their angel or seed funding round will help them get introduced to a network of later stage investors.

“Those VCs can help companies by making warm introductions to later stage investors,” he says.

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

But despite this known challenge, there are also factors that encourage early stage companies to continue to form. One of them being the startup IPOs that have happened this year in SEA and other Asian countries. For example, in Taiwan alone, there were three IPOs by far with more expected to come.

“They have encouraged young students, entrepreneurs who are trying to involve themselves in the tech industry,” says Chiang. He also added that these IPOs have even inspired sea turtles –young professionals that have studied and worked abroad– to return and build companies in their home country.

The impact of having a notable IPO is also noted by Hirota. He points out that the recent groundbreaking IPO by Indonesian unicorn Bukalapak has triggered greater interest from Japanese investors in the Southeast Asian market.

“The frequently asked questions by Japanese investors have always been about liquidity or ways to exit in SEA,” he elaborates. “There has been M&As and IPOs of Sea Group in NASDAQ and Razer in Hong Kong … but there have always been questions about liquidity in SEA for SEA. But now we can finally answer this question.”

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Ready to start fundraising? Start building your investor network! Use our Connect feature to directly connect, engage, and speak with the most active investors in the region. Connect is exclusive for e27 Pro members, but you can try it out for free. Head over here to start connecting.

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Telkom Indonesia announces rebrand of its startup incubation programme

The story: Indigo Creative Nation, a long-running startup incubator programme by state-owned telco Telkom Indonesia, announced that it has rebranded into Indigo. The rebrand is also applicable to its other business lines, including:

– Creative centre Digital Valley is being rebranded into IndigoHub
– Creative camp programme Digital Innovation Lounge (DILo) is being rebranded into IndigoSpace

The company also announced the launch of IndigoConnect, a networking platform for startup enthusiast, and Indigo Academy, an online learning platform for Indigo Connect members.

It is also changing its startup batch intake mechanism. Opening application twice a year, Indigo will require selected startups to take part in a bootcamp to improve the quality of its business plan.

The company: Founded in 2009, Indigo startup out as an award event for creative entrepreneurs in Indonesia before transforming into a startup incubation and acceleration programme in 2013.

Indian logistics startup COGOS raises US$2M in Pre-Series A funding round

The funding: Bangalore-based enterprise logistics company COGOS Technologies announced a total of US$2 million in Pre-Series A funding led by Dubai-based global shipping and logistics player Transworld Group and New York-based deep tech fund Worldquant Ventures and more. With this investment, Ritesh S. Ramakrishnan of Transworld Group will be joining the COGOS board.

The plan: COGOS plans to expand its business to the internal market and further strengthen and develop its technology platform. It aims to further upgrade its model and expand the business both in India and overseas. The logistic startup envisions itself as a city logistic leader and sets golden standards for the industry.

The company: COGOS is an AI-led Logistics platform coupled with mobile and control tower capabilities. It is operating in 300 cities in India and claims to expand rapidly. The startup was founded in 2016 by serial entrepreneurs Prasad Sreeram and Dr Rama Mohan Katta with decades of experience in logistics, technology, scaling and global operations.

Also Read: Telkomsel injects US$300M more into Gojek to further grow Indonesia’s digital lifestyle sector

Jeff App raises US$1.5M extension for seed funding to expand to SEA

The funding: Latvian fintech startup Jeff App closed a US$1.5 million seed extension round led by J12 Ventures, bringing its total amount raised to US$2.5 million. iSeed Ventures and Toy Ventures joined the round, alongside existing investors EstBAN, Startup Wise Guys and other angels.

The plan: The funds will be used to scale its team from 15 to more than 40 employees. The larger team will support faster new market expansion, growth in B2B sales and partnerships, and offline services.

The company stated that its license to operate in Indonesia is underway, with a stretch goal to be completed by the end of 2021. Operations in the Philippines are expected to begin in Q3 2021.

The company: Jeff App is a data-enabled loan brokerage platform for the unbanked and underbanked in South and Southeast Asia. It uses alternative data such as smartphone metadata and behavioural patterns, as well as a chatbot to support its mission of promoting financial inclusion for the one billion unbanked in Asia.

Founded at the end of 2019 in Riga, Jeff App started operations in 2020 in its first market of Vietnam, where it has already served more than 300 thousand customers. The startup has raised US$3 million to date.

Green Bitcoin miner CCU commences trading on TSXV

The story: Canada-based green Bitcoin miner Canada Computational Unlimited (CCU) announced that it has been approved for trading on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV) at the opening of the market day as of September 7, 2021 (local time) under the stock symbol SATO.

The company: CCU.ai operates a high-grade, carbon-neutral bitcoin mining centre with a contract of 20 MW of stable, eco-friendly energy. The company’s high-density calculation centres are built for high-grade cryptocurrency mining, AI data processing, and fintech infrastructure.

Created in 2017, it aims to pursued a vision of environmental stewardship throughout the cryptocurrency mining process to increase performance throughout the mining process.

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Image Credit: Indigo

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