Ula, a B2B e-commerce marketplace in Indonesia, has secured an additional US$23.1 million in funding from Tiger Global and Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal to close its ongoing Series B investment round at US$110 million.

This fresh funds infusion follows its US$87 million announced in October in a round co-led by Prosus Ventures, Tencent and B-Capital. Jeff Bezos’s Bezos Expeditions, Northstar group, AC Ventures and Citius also participated.

This round brings the overall funding raised by Ula since its inception to US$140.6 million.

With the Series B capital, Ula will continue to invest in geographic, product and team expansion, with a particular focus on supporting underserved retailer communities through technology in tier 2-4 cities.

This includes expanding a buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) offering, empowering small business owners to sell within their communities, and incorporating advanced technology such as artificial intelligence to support retailers in improving business management.

Also Read: Ula’s CTO on tech for good, Coinhako’s founder story, talent shortage in SEA and more….

Ula was founded in January 2020 by Nipun Mehra, Alan Wong, Derry Sakti, and Riky Tenggara — a team of experienced e-commerce and FMCG professionals from Indonesia, India and the US with decades of experience spanning Amazon, Flipkart, Lazada, P&G and Booking.com.

It is a horizontal multi-category wholesale e-commerce marketplace that combines modern retail’s technology, tools and skills with the lean cost structure of traditional micro-retail. According to Ula, this brings the best in selection, prices and working capital to small store owners to increase their overall income.

The company claims it has grown 230x since its launch, currently offering over 6,000 products and serving more than 70,000 traditional retail stores on its platform.

Ula previously raised a US$10.5 million seed round in June 2020 and an additional US$20 million Series A in January 2021.

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Image Credit: Ula

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According to IDC, Information and Communications Technology (ICT) spending in APAC is projected to “grow by over 4.9 per cent to reach US$924 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach US$1 trillion by 2024”.

As examined by Daniel Kum, Director, Data Center Infrastructure (DCI) and Product Management (PM), Lenovo, Asia Pacific, “Increased spending in ICT is a sign of Asia Pacific’s growing reliance and confidence in technology to be the decisive ingredient in an organisation’s success now and in the future.”

Aptly explained by Kum, “as companies become data-centred in their approach to business, smarter devices and infrastructure solutions that can meet tomorrow’s needs have to take centre stage.”

With all this in mind, staying ahead of the game involves constructing an infrastructure with a core competency in technology. This means three fundamental things: (1) leveraging and staying abreast of technology trends (e.g. 5G), (2) considering energy-efficient solutions and (3) investing in security.

Before delving into the specifics of the aforementioned points, it would be pertinent to establish an understanding of two front-of-mind challenges CIOs and IT leaders today.

Challenges Faced by CIOs and IT Leaders:

Enabling an agile, effective and protected remote workplace

While remote working is relatively commonplace across various enterprises today, this was not the case at the beginning of 2020. Early last year, CIOs faced a mammoth challenge as they had to lead an unprecedented organisation-wide shift to remote working.

This placed enormous pressure on CIOs and IT leaders around the region to initiate digital transformation in an accelerated time frame to enable a remote, agile workplace, effective and secure.

Also Read: Why steward leadership matters when startups dress to impress

According to Deloitte, “up to 47.8 million people in the ASEAN-6 nations (Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam) could shift to working remotely over a multi-year time horizon,” therefore building a successful and sustainable hybrid workplace is an ongoing challenge that CIOs and IT leaders across the region will face.

The increasingly tech-driven business landscape

The shift to remote working is only one of the many challenges CIOs and IT leaders were faced since the outbreak. The global pandemic completely transformed today’s business landscape into one that is highly tech-driven.

As analogised by Kum, “Data is the new currency, and IT decision-makers are the new bankers.”

He continues to explain that “as contactless operations, and remote work grows, every organisation regardless of the industry today is a tech-first company.

Creating smarter device and infrastructure solutions is the key to unlocking smarter technology for all.”

Peter Chambers, Managing Director, Sales, AMD Asia Pacific and Japan (APJ), supports the above, as “customers today are becoming increasingly reliant on digital platforms to carry out day-to-day activities, which is especially relevant in the APJ region which is developing exponentially.”

Chambers further points out that “creating a smarter infrastructure involves optimising current capabilities; investing in the right technology which would allow organisations to do more with what is available. For instance, with the high core-density of AMD’s 3rd Gen CPU based servers, e-commerce infrastructure can service more customers with the same number of servers.”

Technology, innovation and trends to leverage

CEOs and business leaders believe that technology and innovation are essential to compete in an increasingly tech-driven business landscape effectively. This mindset is relevant on a global scale.

According to a Deloitte Insights article published in April 2020, CEOs are looking for CIOs to step up as strategic business partners who will shepherd the organisation through ongoing cycles of accelerating transformation and disruption, indicating evidence of awareness amongst CEOs that technology and innovation is the way forward.

Also Read: 6 leadership lessons I learned after we raised our seed round

As discussed, CIOs and IT leaders are in a uniquely challenging position today in the face of a highly volatile business environment. However, the imperative remains: adapt and respond to evolving needs and trends through innovation.

To do this, it is vital to stay abreast of relevant technology trends to leverage these strategically. On that note, 5G, although relatively nascent, is another resource CIOs can consider leveraging.

5G’s significant revenue opportunities

In a report by STL Partners, supported by Huawei, the unique benefits of 5G could unlock benefits worth US$1.4 trillion in value across key industries in 2030, not just in the consumer market but in various other verticals as well.

With 5G, telcos would be able to provide and manage custom networks in a cloud-like way. With the ability to scale up and down, define parameters (e.g. latency), and add additional functionality (e.g. security features), 5G is expected to have a high penetration rate across multiple industries by 2030.

With the 5G capabilities stated above, leveraging 5G can potentially unlock significant new revenue opportunities in the enterprise space, enabling innovative use cases that are currently impossible to scale commercially with existing technologies.

For instance, in the retail space, 5G can include AR/VR experiences for customers and massive IoT for asset tracking and management.

Energy efficiency considerations

Energy efficiency is not a destination; it is a journey.

As data is being committed to the cloud exponentially, demand for power efficiency across devices and servers in data centres is expected to increase.

Data centres in leading enterprises are already beginning to see the need to reduce their footprint by seeking innovative solutions that would allow them to enjoy the greater performance while consuming less power for two key reasons.

From a processor standpoint, an energy-efficient processor can help reduce energy and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across a broad range of workloads and may require fewer servers.

Proactivity in this area will have significant long-term benefits. In addition to environmental benefits, when incorporated effectively, organisations would see a marked improvement on the organisation’s bottom line with a lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).

Protection is key

Data centres hold a large amount of sensitive, personal, and proprietary data and information. Infrastructure insecurity can leave businesses vulnerable to malicious cyber activity– this not only affects the company’s productivity levels in the short term but could also have significant long-term implications as customers may lose trust in the business.

Also Read: Emotional leadership in a post-COVID-19 business world

For these reasons, protection in data centres is critical and should be treated with due significance.

Unfortunately, most businesses fall victim to legacy systems. Defined as an IT infrastructure/system based on outdated technologies, this is one of the most significant challenges faced by IT leaders in today’s digital age.

Businesses should understand that protecting applications and data hosted in a data centre or the cloud depends on the server, storage, and networking infrastructure. Whilst I have stressed repeatedly that protection is crucial, there are differing levels of protection needs, which depends on the business’s activities.

To make suitable infrastructure investments, leaders should conduct a holistic assessment of their business activities and how much data is being stored, processed, and analysed within a given period.

While innovation, pioneering energy-efficient solutions and security feature upgrades are some of the key considerations for CIOs aiming to lead their businesses to success, all of these require significant investment.

Larger enterprises often have the funds to pivot their business model and activities in a timely manner, more so than smaller businesses with a tighter cash flow.

Businesses are allocating a considerable amount of funds towards “keeping the lights on” as they attempt to manoeuvre today’s extremely volatile and unpredictable business environment, leaving little resources left for innovation.

While this is understandable and may even be considered necessary in several cases, CIOs and IT leaders should continue to study and stay on top of technology trends to incorporate the relevant ones when feasible.

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KaryaKarsa raises US$500K in seed funding

The story: KaryaKarsa, an Indonesia-based company that enables creators to distribute and monetise their work, today announced that it has raised a US$500,000 in seed funding round.

The investors: Accelerating Asia (lead), Sketchnote Partners and a number of other institutional and angel investors.

The plan: The funding will be used to support the company’s growth in Southeast Asia (SEA) market and advance the platform.

The story: KaryaKarsa said that it has collaborated with more than 40,000 creators and served 300,000 users and is on track to capitalise on the growth in the creative economy in Indonesia (ranked the third largest in the world in terms of contribution to GDP). With this funding round, the company and board have appointed fintech entrepreneur J. P. Ellis as an official advisor.

Bits x Bites closes US$100M in an oversubscribed final fund close

The story: Bits x Bites, a Shanghai-based agrifood tech VC that claimed to be the first in China to focus on the verticals, today announced that it has completed the final close of its second fund at US$100 million, exceeding its previously announced target.

The investors: New investors include industry leaders from Syngenta Group Ventures to Adisseo, an animal nutrition company, and Cavallo Ventures, the venture capital arm of Wilbur-Ellis, to Esco Lifesciences. They also include government-supported investment arms such as DisruptAD, the venture platform of Abu Dhabi-based ADQ; and other reputable financial institutions and family offices. The fund also included continued support from Temasek.

About the fund: Since its first close, Bits x Bites has invested in seven new portfolio companies. Four of the new portfolios are Chinese companies: EAVision, Mojia Bio, and two companies that are currently in stealth mode.

Also Read: Accelerating Asia announces 8 startups selected for its third cohort

TiffinLabs names Soon Sze Meng as CEO

The story: TiffinLabs, a Singapore-headquartered foodtech company with presence across SEA and the US, announced today that Soon Sze Meng has been appointed as its CEO. He will assume the role from January 1, 2022.

The new CEO: Soon Sze Meng is an experienced business leader who has held senior executive and board roles across several industries, including e-commerce and fintech.

Chope names new CTO

The story: Singapore-based F&B tech platform Chope today announced the appointment of Rufus Jiang as its CTO.

The new CTO: Jiang brings with him extensive experience and leadership directing software, technology, and application development for global technology powerhouses Huawei, Amazon, and Microsoft.

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Image Credit: KaryaKarsa

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NextTech Group, a tech corporation managing 20 platforms to support digital transformation in Vietnam and Southeast Asia, has launched a US$50-million blockchain fund.

Next100 Blockchain will invest in exchange for equity and digital assets (tokens) in early-stage blockchain startups. Before the capital injection, projects need to go through a due diligence process implemented by AntLaunch, a decentralised platform that allows crypto-based projects to fundraise. AntLaunch is a launchpad of AntEx, a fintech blockchain startup that raised US$2.5 million from NextTech in October.

The appraisal process covers eight aspects, including team, feasibility, tokenomics model, technology, legality, digital asset management process, finance and accounting, and marketing and sales capabilities, assisting the crypto investment community to avoid the risk of fraud.

“The uniqueness of Next100 Blockchain is the evaluation process and confirmation of the capability and authenticity of the startup,” said Binh Hoa Nguyen, CEO and founder of NextTech Group. “In addition, the fund accompanies and consults development strategies and supports the publicity of blockchain projects to connect with the crypto investment community and other reputable funds in the world.”

Next100 Blockchain will also serve as a venture builder to incubate entrepreneurs and engineers in the blockchain domain to start businesses under NextTech Group. 

Also read: VCs, IEOs, and crowdfunding: How the likes of Sky Mavis manage good relationship with each investor

Co-founded in 2021 by CEO Henry Tran, AntEx is a fintech blockchain ecosystem that offers blockchain wallet AntEx, liquidity and token locking function AntLock, and open-source stable coin VNDT apart from AntLaunch.

VNDT is a stable coin that is pegged to VND (rate of 1:1). The liquidity is supplied by Ngan Luong payment gateway. VNDT has price stability to be used in e-commerce transactions, loans, investments, within the AntEx ecosystem.

AntLaunch offers two products with different features: Initial Liquidity Offering (ILO) and Initial DEX Offering and Vesting (IDOV). These features are said to address current launchpads’ issues, be it centralised or decentralised.

After the investment from NextTech, AntEx, through Antex.org and VNDT.com, launched a token sale, boasting of raising “millions US dollars” in only 30 seconds.

The partnership enables AntEx’s financial technology products to capitalise on NextTech’s large number of users on a multi-platform ecosystem spanning payment gateway Ngan Luong, payment platform mobile wallet Vimo, and e-marketplace Chodientu.vn.

AntEx’s roadmap also shows it plans to launch an NFT marketplace, VN Smart Chain, and AntEx Academy & Research until 2022. 

According to a report by CB Insights, in the first nine months of 2021, global blockchain financing soared to reach US$15 billion, an increase of 384 per cent compared to US$3.1 billion in 2020.

As stated by Satis Group, approximately 80 per cent of initial coin offers (ICOs) are frauds, with just 8 per cent making it to the trading stage on cryptocurrency exchanges.

Vietnam was recorded at the second-highest bitcoin adoption rate out of the 74 nations in the Statista Global Consumer Survey. In addition, more than half of Vietnamese (59 per cent) said they would consider investing in cryptocurrencies in the future. About 31 per cent said they would use cryptocurrency for online payments, according to Cryptoassets in Asia report.

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Ready to meet new startups to invest in? We have more than hundreds of startups ready to connect with potential investors on our platform. Create or claim your Investor profile today and turn on e27 Connect to receive requests and fundraising information from them.

Image Credit: AntEx

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Quincus, a Singaporean startup that provides an enterprise SaaS platform for the supply chain industry, today announced the second close of its ongoing Series B funding round.

AEI HorizonX, the corporate VC arm of aeroplane honcho Boeing, led the round. It was joined by existing investors UP.Partners and GGV Capital.

Also Read: Teleoperation: It’s here to revolutionise the logistics and supply chain industry

Quincus will use the proceeds from this round to expand its global footprint, especially in the US.

This round comes just over a month after it announced the initial close of the Series B round in September-end.

Established in 2014 by Jonathan E. Savoir and Katherina-Olivia Lacey, Quincus provides the logistics industry with a machine-learning-enabled platform that optimises and automates shipping operations. Companies can automate manual tasks and maximise resources across supply chains using its technology.

The startup has worked closely with several household e-commerce, logistics, airline, and freight brands in Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam.

Headquartered in Singapore, Quincus has a presence in Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Taiwan, Vietnam, the UAE, the UK, and the US.

AEI HorizonX was formed in 2017 and provides early-stage companies with access to resources and opportunities. Quincus marks its first investment in a new company under its management by AE Industrial Partners, a PE firm specialising in aerospace, defense and government services, space, power & utility services, and speciality industrial markets.

Also Read: How tech startups can transform the supply chain in Southeast Asia

Beckett Jackson, a director at AEI HorizonX, said: “With our deep experience in current and future air platforms, AEI HorizonX and Boeing will create a unique partnership with Quincus to explore the future of cargo delivery. We look forward to working closely with Jonathan and his entire team.”

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Ready to meet new startups to invest in? We have more than hundreds of startups ready to connect with potential investors on our platform. Create or claim your Investor profile today and turn on e27 Connect to receive requests and fundraising information from them.

Image Credit: Quincus

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In celebration of the upcoming Philippines Startup Week, we are thrilled to announce that we are working with QBO to provide startups access to investors in the region through e27 Pro. 

Philippine Startup Week 2021

Philippine Startup Week 2021 (PHSW21) is the country’s large-scale collaborative initiative to showcase the Filipino startup community in a week-long event. Made possible through the partnership between the Department of Science and Technology, Department of Trade & Industry, Department of Information and Communications Technology, and QBO Innovation Hub. 

Philippine Startup Week 2021 (PHSW21), with this year’s theme “Beyond Recovery: Filipino Startups Redefining Opportunity”, is happening on November 15-19, 2021. The  5-day virtual conference will be held via an online platform that will enable attendees to learn, interact, network, and collaborate remotely. The conference sets out to highlight the various sectors and entities contributing to the growing Philippine startup ecosystem.

Also read: B2B platform Komachine on a mission to transform the industrial machine industry

The conference features five specialised tracks designed to target relevant topics and audiences from the different startup ecosystem stakeholders: Discover, Develop, Collaborate, Invest, and Showcase. 

Through pitching competitions, learning sessions, expo booths, main summits, investor programmes, and various community events under the five unique tracks, the Philippine Startup Week provides a platform for innovators to celebrate the Filipino startup community and the key players contributing to the growing Philippine startup ecosystem, educate more people about the potential of the startup ecosystem, and explore synergies and connect with relevant stakeholders from across the country and beyond. For more information and to get PHSW21 tickets, visit www.phstartupweek.com.

Venture Pilipinas: The Startup Venture Fund Pitch

The Startup Venture Fund, which will be launched during Philippine Startup Week 2021 by the Department of Trade and Industry and the National Development Company, is one of the programmes created under the Philippine Innovative Startup Act. This particular fund is meant to provide rising startups with the resources they need to grow further, scale-up, and potentially expand into the international market. The way it works is that the National Development Company will match the investments of selected investors in homegrown startups based here in the Philippines, ultimately giving the startups a greater chance at success.

In line with the launch of the Startup Venture Fund, the inaugural Venture Pilipinas: The Startup Venture Fund Pitch is happening on November 19, 2021, from 4 – 7 PM at the PHSW21 virtual stage. The event is set to showcase ten (10) high-growth startups from various industry verticals, and the pitch will be conducted similarly to Shark Tank—with the founders encouraged to bring their A-game to their presentation as they battle for the chance at highly coveted mentorship hours led by esteemed potential SVF Partners. The ten (10) participating startups include:

• Agro-DigitalPH, a digital solution focused on raising farmers’ incomes through end-to-end sustainable value chain solutions.
• CEREBRO, a ready-to-use eLearning solution aimed at reducing faculty workload and improving the quality of online teaching. 
• Dirt Bag, an on-demand laundry service that is easy on the lifestyle, easy on the budget.
• Farm Box, a social enterprise that provides support and assistance to the local farmers by helping them have access to quality farming essentials and agricultural solutions.
• JazzyPay, a ​​FinTech startup that provides affordable and accessible digital payment solutions for traditional businesses.
• Mosaic, a cloud-based restaurant management solutions provider that supports the F&B industry by helping businesses maximise profits, improve top-line sales, and streamline operations. 
• OMG!, a technology-based startup that provides customers everything they need from their favourite brands in as fast as 30 minutes.
• Shoppertainment Live, a startup focused on bridging brands with customers and helping shoppers understand products more through real-time engagement, reviews, and entertaining live demos. 
• Tangere, a tech-based startup that provides a more efficient and current way of market data gathering, making market research more accessible with real-time actionable insights.
• Wela, an end-to-end system that automates school processes while providing real-time data access to parents and students. 

Opportunities to build your investor network

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

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

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

Also read: How the construction industry got “smart” and cleaned up its impact

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

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

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

Get the chance to connect with QBO

QBO is onboard e27 Pro, and members can reach out directly to them via Connect.

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

About the organisers

QBO Innovation Hub: QBO (‘ku-bo’) is an innovation hub or a platform for the start-up community to collaborate, develop talents, and grow. We believe in the vision of Filipino start-ups changing the world. We provide startups with support and resources through events and capacity building programmes and focused interventions designed to improve access to markets, knowledge, capital, and talent. Created in 2016 through a partnership between IdeaSpace, J.P. Morgan, DOST, and DTI, QBO has been an active player in creating a competitive start-up ecosystem in the Philippines. For more information, visit www.qbo.com.ph. 

Department of Trade and Industry (DTI): The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is the agency of the Philippine government responsible for realising the country’s goal of developing globally competitive and innovative industry and services sectors that contribute to inclusive growth and employment generation in the Philippines. For more information, visit https://www.dti.gov.ph.

National Development Company (NDC): The National Development Company is the Philippine’s leading state-owned enterprise investing in diverse industries, serving as an effective catalyst for inclusive growth. For more information, visit https://www.ndc.gov.ph.

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Homebase, a proptech company in Vietnam, has attracted US$30 million in equity and debt funding from a host of investors, including Y Combinator and its CEO Michael Seibel, Partech Partners, Goodwater Capital, Ace and Company, Emles Advisors and Foundamental.

Existing investors VinaCapital Ventures, Brian Ma (co-founder of Divvy Homes), Troy Steckenrider III (ex-COO of Zerodown), and Darius Cheung (founder of 99.co) also co-invested and were joined by operators and executives from SoFi, Opendoor, Republic, Microsoft, Instacart, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, and Binance also joined.

Southeast Asia is the world’s fastest-growing real estate market. However, it has become one of the least affordable as it takes longer than two decades for the average millennial to save up for their first home in Vietnam. Even during COVID-19 lockdowns in Q3 2021, average landed property prices grew about 3-17 per cent YoY, according to global real estate consultancy CBRE.

Also Read: Owning a house in Vietnam is no longer a distant dream, thanks to Homebase

Traditional bank mortgage options now require a loan-to-value ratio of up to 50 per cent with 13 per cent yearly interest rates. This, coupled with growing property prices, has increasingly placed homeownership out of reach for anyone other than high net-worth individuals with stable incomes.

Started by JunYuan Tan and Phillip An, Homebase aims to make homeownership accessible across Southeast Asia by providing an alternative to traditional mortgage financing.

Its flagship co-investment product buys homes upfront for clients, allows them to move in and buy back anytime. Clients can fully buy out when they are ready, or walk away and cash out their savings.

How it works:

• Clients choose any home they like, or Homebase can recommend an agent to help find one,
• Homebase then buys the home in cash; clients need to make a minimum 20 per cent deposit,
• Clients can move in, renovate, or rent out their home as they wish,
• Each month, clients deposit a fixed amount that builds their home savings; there’s no rent, interest, or other monthly fees,
• At any time, clients can choose to fully buy out their home when they’ve deposited 100 per cent of the pre-agreed price; or, they can walk away and cash out their savings.

The first Vietnamese company to be selected for the Y Combinator programme, Homebase is set to develop its proprietary technology further, launch additional partnerships with real estate developers and agents, and increase its talent base in the coming months.

Also Read: Homebase bags 7-figure pre-Series A round to expand property financing platform in SEA

Its mission is to empower homeownership for 100,000 families across Southeast Asia.

Less than a year ago, Homebase announced the closing of a “seven-figure USD” pre-Series A round from investors, including VinaCapital, Class 5 Global, Pegasus Technology Ventures, 1982 Ventures, and Antler.

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Ready to meet new startups to invest in? We have more than hundreds of startups ready to connect with potential investors on our platform. Create or claim your Investor profile today and turn on e27 Connect to receive requests and fundraising information from them.

Image Credit: Homebase

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She Loves Tech, an international non-profit committed to closing the funding gap for women entrepreneurs, has launched a US$10 million early-stage accelerator fund co-managed by Teja Ventures, reports Tech In Asia.

She Loves Tech Global Fund will fund up to US$100,000 in pre-seed and seed round of 100 women-led firms over three years. There are no specific requirements regarding the location or industry of startups.

As stated at Singapore Week of Innovation and Technology (SWITCH) 2021, Microsoft Asia will join hands with She Loves Tech in a multi-year partnership spanning 15 countries in Asia to contribute towards inclusive economic growth.

Also read: A woman among women: 27 female-led startups in SEA that are going places

Following the collaboration, Microsoft will support an Azure-powered digital platform to facilitate connections at scale between women entrepreneurs, VCs and angel investors worldwide.

As per a press statement, She Loves Tech startups will also get access to Microsoft’s cloud environment, technology tools and security solutions to pilot born-in-the-cloud innovations and “scale from idea to unicorn.”

In addition, Microsoft’s global ecosystem of industry experts will bring into the fold deep technical and co-selling expertise to support faster go-to-market and a community for mentoring, skilling and funding for startups.

Learning content on MS Learn and LinkedIn Learning will also be incorporated into She Loves Tech’s curriculum.

Launched in 2015 and based in China and Singapore, She Loves Tech is an acceleration and community platform for women in technology. It aims to unlock over US$1 billion in capital by 2030 for women-led businesses.

She Loves Tech holds an annual global competition catering to early-stage, female-founded startups in 50 countries. To date, its startups have raised more than US$250 million post-competition.

“By helping over 10,000 women entrepreneurs gain access to funding, a global network, and support from other women founders from around the world, we hope their success will indirectly contribute towards creating 100,000 jobs across local economies in Asia,” said Leanne Robers, co-founder of She Loves Tech.

Also read: Investing with gender lens: Proven strategy to achieve 2x+ in returns

The pandemic has further exacerbated the disparity in salaries and access to funding for female founders. Funding to female founders dropped 31 per cent last year, compared to a 16 per cent dip for ventures run solely by males, according to PitchBook. Women-led startups in Southeast Asia even attracted only 0.9 per cent of total capital raised in the region in 2020.

However, there is a global trend of investors who are betting on female founders, who took in US$46.3 billion in funding in 2019, according to data from PitchBook. That’s more than twice the number a year before and more than 15 times that in 2010.

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Ready to meet new startups to invest in? We have more than hundreds of startups ready to connect with potential investors on our platform. Create or claim your Investor profile today and turn on e27 Connect to receive requests and fundraising information from them.

Image Credit: Microsoft

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Rapid innovation in financial services in Singapore has spurred the nation into becoming a regional fintech hub. Known as The Asian Silicon Valley, Singapore is home to many fintech, holding more than 40 per cent of the regional market share.

In H1 2021 alone, the fintech sector clocked in 72 deals worth US$614.2 million (S$833.8 million), a 22 per cent jump from last year.

This number is expected to continue upward as more fintech, including crypto companies, pour in investments.

Singapore is becoming a hotspot for global crypto companies with its crypto-friendly regulations, investor-oriented climate, and evolving licensing regime.

They have quadrupled in number since 2017, resulting in a vibrant yet highly competitive environment that fuels growth and innovation.

As such, for crypto companies planning to launch and expand their business in Singapore, being aware of the current landscape is crucial to helping them thrive.

Understanding Singapore’s cryptocurrency market

As of January 2020, the Payment Services Act (PSA) requires all-digital payment token providers (DPT), including cryptocurrency trading platforms, to be registered and licensed.

Also Read: Why is there no crypto ETF yet in Singapore?

The act streamlines payment services under single legislation and calibrates regulations according to the activities’ risks by adopting a modular regulatory regime.

Recently, Singapore issued its first licenses to a cryptocurrency exchange, a bank and a fintech player to operate as a fully regulated virtual asset service provider (VASP). These “in-principle” approvals being given are reflective of the mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies.

Singapore is undoubtedly beginning to embrace crypto— evidenced by Coinhako’s massive 1000 per cent jump in trading volume in the first eight months of 2021, compared to the whole of 2020. Our trading volume is expected to cross the ten-billion-dollar mark by the end of this year.

Overcoming the cryptocurrency stigma

Even with Singapore’s innovation-friendly climate, helming a cryptocurrency business in Singapore comes with its set of unique challenges.

Most notably, banking remains a hurdle for crypto businesses. They are often subject to extensive due diligence or immediately classified as high-risk businesses because of the nature and risk factors of crypto trading.

Most crypto platforms rely on third-party solutions to facilitate their transactions.

As of April 2021, the combined peak daily trading volume of three prominent cryptocurrencies quoted in SGD (Bitcoin, Ethereum and XRP2) amounted to only two per cent of the average daily trading volume of securities on the Singapore Exchange 2020.

This shows that cryptocurrencies are still seen as highly volatile assets as their value is not tied to economic fundamentals.

The central bank, too, has increased surveillance of crypto businesses to identify suspicious platforms and is constantly raising public awareness on the risks of trading in crypto.

Entering a new market as a crypto player

Entering a new market should be done the right way. The first step in becoming a crypto player is ensuring compliance with the local laws and regulations. Having a sense of security is important to crypto users.

Also Read: You don’t care about crypto but here are some things you need to know about DeFi

One factor driving them to regulate crypto players is the rise in scams while trading on peer-to-peer (P2P) crypto platforms. These platforms allow individuals to exchange cryptocurrencies directly on their terms, hence the high risk involved.

On top of being compliant and ensuring the best security, offering a user-friendly platform is essential.

Ensuring the platform offers users a robust variety of cryptocurrencies is crucial – meeting the demand for tokens in the crypto market and minimising the risk of trading in a single currency.

Apart from that, enabling users to trade in local currency, giving pricing, withdrawal options, security, and the number of coins available for trading is vital in creating the most conducive crypto exchange environment.

Crypto players can widen the appeal of cryptocurrency and expand their user demographics by tapping into different industries, sports, financial institutions or even technology and media.

Coinhako recently unveiled its venture into e-sports, with sponsorship for Mobile Legends team ALMGHTY, an up-and-coming Singapore e-sports squad.

Approximately half of the sponsorship value is paid in Ethereum, marking Singapore’s first cryptocurrency funded e-sports sponsorship.

With supportive regulations growing in Singapore and the country’s innovative approach to cryptocurrency trading, users are increasingly assured of safe trading platforms.

For Coinhako, complying with the PSA to acquire the necessary licenses remains a top priority. It continues to solidify its position as a leading cryptocurrency service provider in Singapore and the Asia Pacific.

By offering multiple locally preferred payment methods, including S$ bank transfers and card payments, Coinhako can provide a seamless and simplified trading experience for its users.

Also Read: 3 key pillars of crypto trading for the modern trader

As the industry evolves, assuring the security of trading platforms while ensuring user-friendliness will be crucial. The success of crypto trading lies in the technology and the country’s regulations and advisory, which allow for its widespread acceptance.

Moving forward, crypto businesses need to innovate their services and roll out new offerings to remain relevant in Singapore’s highly competitive market.

Crypto trading’s demand and appeal will only expand if it is seen as practical and relatable in day-to-day activities.

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