Airalo, a US-based e-SIM startup with hubs in Singapore, Toronto, and Istanbul, has secured US$5.4M in a Series A investment round led by Japanese corporate VC firm Rakuten Ventures.

Sequoia Capital India’s Surge, Antler, Singtel Innov8, Wayra (Telefonica), LG Technology Ventures, GO Ventures, Ground Control, Plug and Play, and I2BF Global Ventures also participated.

With this new capital, Airalo will continue to expand by increasing its global eSIM coverage, in-app services and refining its user experience. The travel-tech firm will also scale its team and partner with new telcos and travel companies.

Airalo was established in early 2019 by Abraham Burak and Bahadir Ozdemir. Airalo — a combination of ‘Air’ and ‘Alo’ (which means ‘hello’ in many parts of the world) — aims to bring instant connectivity worldwide by allowing travellers to purchase virtual eSIM packages.

Also Read: Use this eSIM wherever you go in the world, thanks to these 2 Turkish entrepreneurs

The firm allows users to download an affordable plan directly to their phone without the hassle of needing to exchange a SIM card. It essentially means that if you are on a foreign trip, you no longer need to go through the hassles of buying local physical SIM cards at the airport and installing it or carry multiple cards — no matter where you are in the world.

How it works

Getting and installing an eSIM is simple:

• Go to the Airalo.com site.
• Download its mobile app (Android and iOS ).
• Choose your travel destination and purchase a local eSIM QR code for that country.

Then you scan that QR code using your eSIM-compatible device, and the eSIM gets directly installed on the device.

In October of 2019, Airalo secured US$1.9 million in seed funding from Antler and Surge. Since then, it has expanded its service to cover more than 190 countries and regions.

“We want to create the gateway to instant travel connectivity worldwide. eSIMs enable a smooth and seamless solution where people no longer need legacy roaming systems or physical SIM cards,” the founder-duo said in a press release.

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Image Credit: Airalo

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When one brings up digitalisation, many retailers have the impression that it is merely about offline businesses going online, because that is just how things are currently.

Tap on a link, add to cart, check out, and wait for purchases to arrive at your doorstep — easy. E-commerce simply seems like the way to go, especially when even schools are actively promoting e-commerce skills to upskill students.

However, having a one-dimensional definition of retail digitalisation might not be as effective as everyone imagines it to be. For one, many have the misconception that e-commerce is meant to be a replacement of the brick-and-mortar retail channel, rather than as an additional channel for the business to generate sales and engagement.

Some businesses also have the impression that the process of digitalisation ends once they set up their e-commerce sites.

Many businesses who have set up their e-commerce presence have, however, learnt that getting web traffic and visitors is challenging, especially at the start. Brands have to invest heavily to drive traffic, and competition is often at the global level.

Even when building on a third-party platform or marketplace with established consumer traffic, competition against other brands on the same platform remains intense.

For SMEs and startups without a strong customer base, investing adequately to drive online impression and traffic is often an overlooked necessity and some default to accepting that their newly set up e-commerce site is just not working out.

According to Singstats, while e-commerce has grown to 15.4 per cent of Singapore’s total retail sales during the COVID-19 pandemic, it became clear that offline retail retains the lion share at 85 per cent.

Also Read: How Warung Pintar builds tech solutions to help warung owners embrace the future

Evidently, both channels — online and offline— have a role to play, and retailers big and small can benefit from integrating both of these channels to create a frictionless sales experience.

If anything, one of the clearest lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic is to avoid being overly dependent on a single sales channel amidst regulatory uncertainty. Globally, we already see major e-commerce players acknowledge the importance of going omnichannel to capture the full breadth of retail opportunities.

As COVID-19 restrictions begin to relax, consumers are starting to head back out for retail. We have since observed many businesses re-prioritising towards offline in-store sales or omnichannel sales. After all, statistics from Rakuten Insight revealed that 72 per cent of respondents preferred shopping in-store, so they can inspect products before purchase.

A recent forecast of 2025 Singapore retail sales even predicted that e-commerce will only account for 6.7 per cent despite the growth in online retail. This underscores how offline retail still forms the majority of the retail sector in Singapore, especially given our high population density and good transport infrastructure.

What really works for local retail businesses now

The short answer: going omnichannel instead of focusing on just the online channel. In recent years, many global and local pure-play e-commerce players have begun to take their business offline as they embrace the importance of an omnichannel world.

Some local SMEs that come to mind include local women’s fashion brands Fayth, Love, Bonito, and HerVelvetVase, who all began online but have now added physical stores to complete the omnichannel loop.

The Business Times had also previously reported that omnichannel presence would be the most crucial for businesses in the future. Still, challenges are ahead for many SMEs as they face the need to reconfigure retail operations and service delivery for personalized and curated omnichannel experiences.

From my perspective, one other key challenge might be a lack of understanding about what omnichannel really entails. Going multichannel and omnichannel is different. A key difference is the depth of integration and how unified the channels are. For example, is customer data unified?

Is there a consistent experience for all customers across the board? If the answers are yes, then chances are there is a successful omnichannel structure in place. Some examples of true omnichannel experiences we might be familiar with are: try in-store and buy online, buy online and pick-up in-store, buy in-store and deliver to home and geo-fenced promotions of personalized offers.

In essence, an omnichannel retail approach is far more immersive and cohesive, whereas multichannel retail often involves little or no integration between the online and offline experience. Sephora for example has made use of digital tools to create a personalized customer experience that encourages both online and offline sales.

Also Read: Multichannel vs DTC marketing: What works better for e-commerce players?

Each time a sale occurs offline, loyalty program participation allows for identifying purchases at the individual level and profiling of users for online promotion and advertising. At the same time, operational targets are focused on overall sales as opposed to siloed views on sales for individual channels.

Tackling the challenges of going omnichannel

Through my journey with GrowthDesk and Skale, I had the opportunity to speak with many SME brick-and-mortar retailers who were reliant on a single sales channel. When COVID-19 broke out, many did not have an e-commerce game plan to fall back on, and many didn’t have a customer database of who their existing offline shoppers were.

Those who had also found it difficult to translate offline data into something tangible. Today, few retailers have an established game plan for effectively driving integrated sales across channels.

With Skale, we want to help solve this recurring challenge for the many brick-and-mortar SMEs in Singapore. We are focused on offering a seamless, and easy-to-use all-in-one marketing tool that integrates online and offline sales.

This includes geofencing digital ads to reach and acquire shoppers nearby, since they are the most likely and actionable customers, capturing every prospective shopper’s details through gamified digital vouchers and being able to let our SME partners form a single view of their customers and use the data to effectively drive shoppers to return, be it online or offline channel.

With such data, retailers have a deeper understanding of their customers and are further equipped with a myriad of ways to re-engage them. Some of these strategies might include Whatsapp conversations with salespersons, in-store sales, and e-commerce sales.

Ultimately, this facilitates better resource allocation and promotional efforts for brand building or driving sales uplift.

Going omnichannel might sound complex, but it is the way forward for many retailers, not just in Singapore. The past 1.5 years have been challenging for many retailers, and for that, Skale is currently collaborating with hundreds of Singaporean SMEs ranging from restaurants, to local fashion brands to drive omnichannel sales in its ongoing nationwide Digital Voucher festival, named Voucher Fest 2021.

Also Read: Beyond e-commerce: How omnichannel experiences can shake up SEA retail

Since 2019, the tools we have offered via Skale have worked for many retail brands. Within 1.5 years, we’re also very happy to share that our user base has also grown to 6,500 SMEs not just in Singapore, but across Asia, including Malaysia, Australia, Indonesia, Philippines, and more – a testament that retailers across the board are also beginning to recognise the importance of omnichannel sales.

E-commerce adoption has grown over the past 30 years and is fast approaching maturity. The next wave of offline digitalisation and omnichannel is similarly not just a fairy tale, but a reality that many businesses will begin to face, and we aim to facilitate that journey.

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Last Monday, Singapore-based Her Capital’s co-founder Gail Wong sent an email to inform us that the seed fund targetting female founders in Southeast Asia was shutting down. As per a Deal Street Asia report of August, there were differences between Wong and her co-founder Tanya Rolfe.

“I am entering the last quarter of 2021 with the optimism and possibility of new beginnings, having filed the paperwork to close Her Capital’s doors last month formally. I wholeheartedly believe in the hard decisions taken and give thanks for the many lessons learned,” she said in the email.

“I am excited to continue building my original vision of inclusive finance — investing for a better world, bringing women/ feminine energy into the economy’s centre, and the conversations needed to facilitate that,” she added.

Also Read: Her Capital invests into AI video interviewing platform Neufast

e27 spoke to Wong to know what exactly led to the shutdown of Her Capital and about her new projects.

Edited excerpts:

You announced the launch of Her Capital with a target size of US$10 million in July 2020. However, you couldn’t raise funds for this. Why was it hard to raise money and was there a reluctance among Limited Partners to support a female VC fund in general?

Launching a fund as a first-time manager amidst the COVID-19 pandemic was never a slam dunk. Much has been written about the challenges — lack of track record and entrenched investment requirements like ticket size/fund size, etc. Some of these do not favour female general partners who are a minority in the industry.

I was prepared to move forward on the basis that first-time funds raise and invest simultaneously in the early years.

Her Capital had seen investor interest and was working towards a first close earlier this year. The decision to stop was driven more by concerns around the partnership’s ability to deliver on our commitment to LPs and founders. Fiduciary obligations and integrity are paramount to me, and sometimes that involves hard choices.

As per the Deal Street Asia article, there were differences in working styles and views on the fund management and investment process between the co-founders/general partners. What is your comment on this?

Over time, it became clear that the partnership was not aligned around Her Capital’s thesis and other fundamental operating principles. With every yin/yang partnership, there is a fine line between being complementary and untenable. There were stark differences in abilities, working styles and opinions about making the fund a success.

Aside from the fund thesis and vision, there were also investment process and team culture issues.

What will happen to your existing portfolio companies?

“The fund was never established, and no capital was called. Her Capital was a fund manager that ceased operations before the fund (usually a separate entity from the fund manager) was formally established to take in external capital. The two investments (e.g. Neufast) announced under the Her Capital brand were initially privately funded, with the intention to transfer those investments to the fund entity at a future date. The investments remain and will be supported like other angel investments in my portfolio.

What is your next project? Do you plan to set up a new fund with a new team?

I remain committed to direct and mobilise capital inclusively. Starting a fund is not the only way to drive that — setting up a fund requires the right partner(s) and strategy. This is an opportunity to refine that and identify other capacities within the ecosystem to tackle that mission. I will keep you posted on this.

Do you think there is a conducive environment for female-led startups to survive and thrive in Asia?

In my opinion, there is a healthy supply of education, raw talent, and startup support (incubators and accelerators) in developed economies in Southeast Asia.

Also Read: These four women are changing the venture capital landscape across Southeast Asia

There are countries where network, connectivity and access are more challenged, especially for female founders. But the pipeline is there. The data has been there, too, for some time.

Along with the supply of capital, a conducive environment comes about through a willingness to shift mindsets. You cannot do what you cannot see — I believe the onus lies on the investors to awaken to the opportunity in examining their investment frameworks/lens. It’s not an easy fix, but those who do the work will reap the spoils.

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The global initial public offering (IPO) momentum has shown no signs of slowing, fueled by liquidity in the system and a robust global equity market performance. Asia Pacific (APAC) has remained a growth hotspot, with the region accounting for 44 per cent of international IPO activities in 2021.

Companies in Southeast Asia raised a record US$4.9 billion through IPO activity in the first half of the year. This number is poised to climb even further with the realisation of several ambitious deals in the pipeline, including the US$1.5 billion IPO by Indonesia e-commerce giant Bukalapak in July and other planned blockbuster IPOs by Grab and the GoTo group.

While many in the region may be raring to follow in the footsteps of these giants, the road ahead as a public company will not come easy.

Going public entails a company’s financial statements being subjected to rigorous scrutiny from various entities, with little room for error. Startups who have conventionally prioritised innovation, business development and go-to-market activities may find themselves inadequately prepared to handle the new requirements as a public company.

Without a finance and accounting (F&A) function that is in order, transparent, and ready to scale, companies could face delays in the IPO timeline. Moreover, financial figures that do not stand up to the test may negatively affect brand reputation and investors’ confidence in the company’s economic performance.

Gearing up before taking the leap

Before plunging head-first into the public spotlight and scrutiny, startups should strive to manage their internal processes as if they are already a public company.

From an F&A perspective, this means meeting reporting deadlines and keeping up with the internal controls testing to deliver an accurate, reliable and timely close consistently.

Also Read: As IDX commissioner, this is how Pandu Sjahrir aims to help more Indonesian startups go public

Startups can use these four steps to maximise their IPO readiness:

Take stock before selling your stock

Going public means that past and present financial records will be made available in the public domain. Any historical accounting issues will need to be addressed and aligned with the Singapore Financial Reporting Standards (SFRS) or the regulations in the country you intend to list early on to avoid roadblocks in the IPO process ahead.

Companies must engage relevant experts to identify any accounting issues and address them swiftly before being subjected to intense scrutiny from the public.

Evaluate your people

Getting the IPO and functioning as a public company is hard work, and companies would most likely require additional capacity and resources to keep up with the new requirements.

Planning to identify and fill any talent gaps, either by hiring new talent, outsourcing work or conducting training internally, would be essential in preparation for the IPO. In particular, revenue recognition, SEC reporting and general technical accounting are some of the most profound skill gaps that need to be addressed.

Invest in scalable processes

Companies will need robust systems to handle growing transaction volumes, and accounting complexities as the business evolves.

Before an IPO, it will be crucial to evaluate systems put in place for billing, expense reporting, stock administration, procurement and close management against the new requirements of the business.

Strengthen internal controls

Internal controls are the policies, procedures and processes established by the Board of Directors and senior management. They are meant to assure the institution’s operations’  safety, effectiveness and efficiency, the reliability of financial and managerial reporting,g and compliance with regulatory requirements.

It would be wise to implement new processes and systems early on as it will take time for everyone within the organisation to get used to the recent changes.

As a public company, stakeholders and customers will have expectations about the company’s growth, financial results and ethical behaviours.

Having comprehensive controls in place sets the stage for good business practices and enables better decision-making, increasing confidence for all parties.

Business owners must spend time understanding the controls in place and evaluating whether they are sufficient to mitigate risks posed to the organisation as it grows.

Also Read: What does Peter Thiel-backed Bridgetown’s IPO mean for SEA’s startup ecosystem?

Building solid foundations early will go a long way

 Going public is an exciting milestone for any company and especially significant for startup founders who have invested massive amounts of time and energy into building a company ready to be listed on the stock exchange.

However, business owners need to recognise that getting an IPO is not the end goal but the beginning of an incredible journey ahead.

To move forward as a successful public company, it would take more than a great product or service offering, but also expert management of a host of undertakings, such as paying attention to reporting and control requirements and handling increased scrutiny from shareholders, the government, regulatory bodies, customers and the media.

It will be of utmost importance for companies to start early and build solid foundations in their people, processes and controls to set themselves up for success as a public company.

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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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UnaBiz, a Singapore-based customised IoT solutions provider, has secured over US$25 million in an oversubscribed Series B round led by Tokyo-based SPARX Group through its US$700 million Mirai Creation Fund II.

Other co-investors who participated in the round include CDIB Capital Growth Partners, a fund managed by Taiwan’s CDIB Capital Group; Singapore-based G K Goh Holdings; and TOP Ventures, the investment arm of Thaioil.

With this latest injection of funding, UnaBiz will scale its foothold in strategic regions, such as Japan, Southeast Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

So far, UnaBiz has set up two offices in Taiwan and Japan, besides its headquarters in Singapore.

The startup also plans to strengthen the growth trajectory of its latest data platform UnaConnect, which aims to bridge the gap between fragmented IoT data collection technologies and enterprise systems.

“The IoT industry has become too fragmented, and it is our mission to simplify it and eradicate frictions to truly enable massive IoT, from 0G to 5G,” said Henri Bong, co-founder and CEO of UnaBiz. “Our vision is to accelerate corporate digital transformation with optimised end-to-end solutions which include hardware, software and connectivity.”

Also read: How to firm up your IoT strategy to combat online risks

Launched in 2016 by Henri Bong, UnaBiz aims to provide scalable, energy-efficient IoT solutions for firms in critical verticals, such as aerospace, facilities management, F&B, healthcare, logistics, supply chain and smart cities.

Its unique selling point lies in its advances in hardware designs and the company’s deep connection to Singapore and Taiwan’s supply chain and innovative ecosystem. UnaBiz counts sizable firms in Japan (Nippon Gas), Taiwan (Shin Kong Communications), Singapore (UEMS), and more among its clientele.

One of its prominent partners is French low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) provider Sigfox, which together rolled out the first IoT network in Singapore at a 95 per cent outdoor coverage island-wide in 2017.

UnaBiz claimed that the firm reached a triple valuation in its Series B compared to the last round, with total funding of US$35 million since inception.

In 2018, UnaBiz raised over US$10 million in its Series A funding round led by corporate VC arms of Global Brain and ENGIE.

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Image Credit: UnaBiz

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