According to a Harvard study, due to digital disruption, since the year 2000 around 52 per cent of Fortune 500 companies have “gone bankrupt, been acquired, or ceased to exist”, and over 75 per cent of S&P companies are set to be replaced by 2027. In the 4.0 era, where tech startups and SMEs are causing industrial revolution across sectors through innovation, corporates are struggling to keep up and this is where corporate innovation can help bring these once-established companies into the 21st century and beyond. An innovative, out-of-the-box strategy with innovation at its core is the need of the hour for any business to survive today and corporations are no exception to this.

Corporate innovation comprises different aspects — product, division and business model innovation to name a few. The likes of Uber and Netflix are excellent examples of companies that have disrupted their respective industries by leveraging technology and implementing business model innovation.

Need for corporate innovation in Thailand: Challenges and opportunities

Southeast Asia is a digital haven and arguably the next Silicon Valley, and at the centre of this region is Thailand. In 2017, there were 600 startups in Thailand. This year, there are 2000. A bustling ecosystem with leading entrepreneurs, robust infrastructure, strong consumer trust, and most importantly, smooth capital flow from corporations and investors, Thailand’s startup scene is a promising one. However, there are still a few challenges when it comes to corporate innovation and how the lack of it affects startups. As the startup scene matures, there is a need for a better, closer relationship between corporates and startups; This is where corporate innovation can help.

Also read: Wealthech startup Kristal AI looks to democratise private banking

Industry leaders are starting to realise this gap with many corporates venturing into startup funding, establishing accelerators and incubators, and some even going the extra mile to launch corporate venture capital with the aim of strengthening relationships with startups and harnessing innovation. Unfortunately, not all stakeholders have the know-how of working with startups and engaging business units with technologies, which leads to a limited or confined interaction between the two parties. Hence, despite the growing demand for innovation and disruptive technology, many corporate innovation strategies eventually fail. According to Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen, there are over 30,000 new products introduced every year, and 95 per cent fail due to lack of innovation. Big names like Kodak, Nokia and Motorola have succumbed due to sheer lack of innovation.

As such, Krungsri Finnovate’s Finnoventure Fund I is helping the Thailand startup ecosystem thrive by enabling corporates to innovate and participate in digital disruptions by leveraging technology.  Krungsri Finnovate — a leading corporate venture capital supporting and investing in domestic and regional startups — has launched the country’s first startup private equity trust fund called “Finnoventure Fund I”. This fund is not only an excellent investment opportunity but also a great way to get access to business information and build partnerships with promising startups in the region.

Bolstering growth in Thailand by bringing startups and corporates together through innovation

With Finnoventure Fund I, Krungsri Finnovate aims to enable corporate innovation while creating a healthy future for both startups and corporates in Thailand. They spent the first phase or the 1.0 era between the years 2017 and 2019 setting up startup incubators to understand how startups work on the ground.  In 2020, as they entered the 2.0 era, the core emphasis was placed on investments in and partnering with startups for the developments of innovations for business expansion. Currently Krungsri Finnovate has worked with more than 60 startups in over 100 working projects. Starting this year, in the 3.0 era, Krungsri Finnovate is ready to leverage investment in private equity trust funds so as to create growth opportunities for rising startups while generating investment returns and business growth for investors at the same time.

Finnoventure Fund I is set at 3 billion baht with a three-year investment term and ten-year fund life targeting both corporate and individual investors with ultra-high net worth income. This fund is the first of its kind in Thailand. “To be the first hereby means that we are the first CVC that enables external investors to invest into our fund via PE-trust structure in Thailand (following key role models like, Softbank, SBI and Credit Suisse). We aim to be a sustainable business unit selling our experience, know-how, and secret sauces of investment execution to external parties, shared Sam Tanskul, Krungsri Finnovate’s Managing Director.

Also read: These startup champions are ready to build a new Hong Kong

Krungsri Finnovate believes that the scope of social commerce and eCommerce in Thailand is great owing to factors like a fast adapting population, a growing online marketplace, and increasing social media penetration. These trends have expedited further amidst the pandemic. Today, Thailand has 46 million registered Facebook users. Studies reveal that social commerce revenue in Thailand grew from $3 billion three years ago to about $11 billion in 2020, half of the total e-commerce market. Another notable trend is that in Thailand, almost half of all e-commerce takes place through social media or chat rooms on Facebook, WhatsApp or Line’s app. These are the trends that Finnoventure Fund I is tapping into to foster a robust startup ecosystem in the country.

Sam said, “We are an underserved bank country where a number of businesses and retailers are not able to leverage financial services, such as investment and lending properly, proven by a number of Ponzi schemes and loan shark cases. Thus, there is huge potential for any fintech company that can bridge these gaps and help Thais to improve on financial literacy. Besides, Thais hold the largest ratio of automobiles per head. And, we have considerable experience and industry knowledge in these emerging tech trends. Plus our core investors who join the Fund with substantial amounts will be able to work together to endorse the startup ecosystem through our Strategic Partnership Expertise.”

Bringing Thai startups to the region and beyond through meaningful partnerships and collaborations

The core objective of Finnoventure Fund I is to create a collaborative ecosystem with innovation at its core and help Thai corporates innovate while enabling startups to get the right kind of support they need to further their business goals.

“We aim to encourage corporates to understand more about the potential of tech startups, and understand how nontraditional innovative, disruptive business works in the 4.0 era while encouraging startups to thrive by getting the right support from corporates without deviating from their core focus areas, said Sam.

Also read: QBO partners with e27 for Startup Venture Fund Pitch

Also, Krungsri Finovate is a corporate venture capital arm under the Bank of Ayudhya (BAY) and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), is one of the bank’s major shareholders. MUFG brings extensive global startup investment experience to the table. With names like Grab and Coinbase in their portfolio, they will bring invaluable insights and industry expertise. “With MUFG, Finnoventure will have access to industry insights, expertise, network and experience. We also plan on leveraging MUFG’s presence in other Southeast Asian countries, such as Vietnam and Indonesia, to help us establish ourselves as a leading regional VC” added Sam.

To know more about Krungsri Finnvoate’s Finnoventure Fund I, visit https://www.krungsrifinnovate.com/en/Home

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Photo by Alexandr Podvalny from Pexels

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This article is produced by the e27 team, sponsored by Krungsri Finnovate.

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

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Pace Enterprise, a buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) startup founded by Spacemob founder Turochas “T” Fuad, has bagged US$40 million in its Series A investment round.

The Series A investors include UOB Venture Management (Singapore), Marubeni Ventures (Japan), Atinum Partners (South Korea), AppWorks (Taiwan), and a series of family offices from Japan and Indonesia.

Existing investors Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia, Alpha JWC, and Genesis Alternative Ventures also joined.

Pace will use the funds to expand its technology, operations, and business development to hit a gross merchandise value run rate of US$1 billion in 2022 and grow its user base by 25x over the next 12 months.

Also Read: Debunking BNPL myths: Is it going to be the primary mode of payment?

CEO Fuad said: “…the region [Southeast Asia] is expected to become the world’s fastest-growing BNPL market. This funding supports Pace in achieving its mission of democratising financial services for all by helping us pave our expansion into Japan, Korea, and Taiwan.”

Joon Oh, executive Director, Atinum Partners, commented: “The financial services industry in Asia is shifting dynamically, but Pace has managed to establish primacy in markets by tapping into local consumer curves to establish itself as a dominant player with its clear vision. Through this funding, we hope for Pace to continue empowering more people across Asia with innovative fintech services.”

Launched in 2021, Pace offers BNPL solution for offline and online merchants to match customers with appropriate spend limits. It currently allows consumers to split their purchase bills into three equal interest-free payments over 60 days.

The startup currently operates in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Thailand.

As per a press statement, Pace has more than 3,000 points of sale across the region. It has grown its overseas operations by working closely with regulators and adapting ultra-local approaches, such as integrating frequently-used in-market payment methods to build resonance with merchants and shoppers. It will continue to replicate a hyperlocal framework as it goes live in new countries.

In June, Pace received an ‘eight-figure USD’ debt financing round led by Genesis Alternative Ventures. In addition, it also announced an exclusive regional partnership with luxury goods and retail specialist Valiram.

This debt round was preceded by a “seven-figure seed funding” round co-led by Vertex Ventures and Alpha JWC at the time of its official launch in January.

A well-known face in Southeast Asia’s startup ecosystem, Fuad has previously launched and sold three startups. His first startup was WUF Networks, an Internet of things software company based out of Silicon Valley. The company was acquired by Yahoo! in 2005.

Fuad was also CEO and founder of travelmob, an online marketplace for vacation rentals. Headquartered in Singapore, travelmob was acquired by HomeAway (now part of Expedia) in mid-2013.

Also Read: Buy now, pay later: The changing face of finance for a mobile generation

In 2016, the serial entrepreneur established and ran Spacemob. He was appointed as Managing Director of WeWork Southeast Asia and Korea after the Spacemob acquisition.

In between his startups, Fuad was Managing Director for Skype Asia Pacific, responsible for its business expansion across Japan, China, Australia, Taiwan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia.

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Pomelo Pay raises US$10M Series A for global expansion

Singapore- and UK-based digital payments company Pomelo Pay has raised US$10 million in a Series A round led by UK-based independent investment firm Inference Partners.

Pomelo Pay last raised a US$2.9 million seed investment led by Force Over Mass, which also invested in this round.

The investment will allow Pomelo Pay to expand its presence across global markets, including Europe and Asia, starting with plans to double its workforce in London, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines.

Also Read: Telling the fortune of digital payments in 2021, CNY style

Launched in 2018, Pomelo Pay allows merchants to digitise their payment infrastructure and take payments from anyone in any location (physical or digital) at near-zero costs. The company provides integration with over 30 payment networks globally.

Its payments platform is also used by banks and non-banking financial institutions (NBFIs), enabling them to offer a broad suite of payment acceptance solutions to their end customers.

The company claims it crossed US$500 million in total payments processed for 2021 and projects a growth of 5x by 2022.

Pomelo Pay has 50 people across its headquarters in London and offices in Singapore and Vietnam.

Precision agri platform Fasal raises US$4M in pre Series A

India-based precision agriculture platform Fasal has raised US$4 million in pre-Series A round led by 3one4 Capital with participation from Genting Ventures (Malaysia) and existing investors Wavemaker Partners and Omnivore.

Other investors in this round include The Yield Lab Asia-Pacific, Antares Investments, and Sandeep Singhal of Nexus.

Fasal will use the funds raised in this round to expand its business across India and Southeast Asia, strengthen its full-stack services, and ramp up hiring for sales and marketing, agronomy, and technology teams.

Fasal’s eco-friendly and affordable precision farming solution is disrupting the US$42 billion progressive horticulture industry by ensuring maximum yield from small farms.

Also Read: Fasal’s IoT device increases yield, reduces wastage by helping horticulture farmers make smart decisions on crops

Based out of Bangalore, Fasal was founded in 2018 by Shailendra Tiwari and Ananda Verma. It is a full-stack AI-powered IoT SaaS platform for progressive horticulture. Fasal delivers farm and crop-specific actionable insights to farmers in vernacular languages using on-farm sensors and scientific algorithms.

The platform is also working on new services, including F&V market linkages and parametric crop insurance.

To date, the startup claims to have helped save more than nine billion litres of water from irrigation, reduced pesticide expenditure by ~60 per cent, and increased yields across 40,000+ acres of farmland.

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Technology and COVID-19 are forcing healthcare to change at a rapid pace. From the rise of wearables to telehealth and beyond, healthcare tech is shaping up to be a very interesting industry in the next few years.

Our guest today is Blair Hirst, a biomedical engineer by trade, the founder of Digital Health Review, a platform for people to educate themselves about what’s going on in the world of healthcare including products, services, and more. She’s also the Senior Engagement Manager at Acorn AI Labs, a company focused on medical data solutions.

In this conversation, we talked a lot about healthcare, and somehow we ended up mentioning the role of government, politics, lobby groups, insurance companies, and big pharma affecting how it all works.

More specifically, we spoke about:

– What is the current state of the health care tech industry?
– How do you think COVID-19 has impacted technology in healthcare?
– Do you think people will learn anything from COVID-19 and adapt so it doesn’t happen again?
– Should healthcare be for-profit or non-profit?
– What are the pros and cons of getting into the industry right now?
– What are some barriers to entry?
– Speak to the regulatory hurdles?
– What do you think are the major shifts occurring in the digital health industry as it concerns consumer usage?
– What are some examples of interesting companies in the last two years?
– What are some types of products and services coming up soon?
– What is going to define the growth of technology adoption in healthcare?
– What trends do you see emerging in the next five to 10 years?

Also Read: What you can learn from Carsome about championing mental health for employees

Thanks so much to Beck and I hope you enjoy the show!

If you don’t see the player above, click on the link below to listen directly!

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The article was first published on We Live To Build.

Image Credit: adamhoglund

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