As emerging fintech firms continue to thrive in the world of finance, it’s clear that traditional banking has been caught flat-footed by the pace of digital acceleration within finance.

This trend has exploded in the wake of the pandemic, which has forced countless customers to embrace digital banking.

Now, as fintech continues to make its presence felt across the industry, is there anything banks can do to keep up? 

As customers continue to embrace fintech solutions, they’ll grow to expect similar levels of agility and innovation from their traditional bank as the latest fintech startup they’ve used. 

As the data above shows, the pandemic caused a significant shift in the banking habits of customers. While as much as 34 per cent of customers embraced mobile financial apps, both ATM and banking branch usage fell 5 per cent and 12 per cent, respectively.

The decline of ATM services illustrates the sheer pace at which COVID-19 has accelerated a global push towards a cashless society. 

So what does this all mean for banks? The digitalisation of the industry points to further growth within financial technology, but can traditional banks ever outpace their fintech counterparts when it comes to innovation?

Let’s take a look at five important challenges that traditional banks must overcome as a means of staying competitive amidst high volumes of emerging competitors. 

Better understand fintech disruption

The first and most significant challenge facing traditional banking institutions involves gaining a more comprehensive understanding of how fintech disruption occurs across the industry.

When discussing banks’ struggles in the face of emerging fintech, Kamal Munir, Associate Professor of Strategy and Policy at Cambridge Judge Business School, and Hamza Mudassir, Visiting Fellow in Strategy at Cambridge Judge Business School, indicated that complacency may be a stumbling block for banks. 

Munir and Mudassir point to Cathy Bessant, Bank of America’s CTO, and her comments on Apple’s announcement of a new credit card. “My reaction when I saw the announcement was, first competitively, all of the features that are in that card are offerings we have today,” Bessant said of the new service. 

However, in releasing competitor products, fintech firms are changing what banking means to people and are expanding their options in which customers can engage in finance. 

Rather than the product itself, the shift towards fintech is enabling a transition from product-focused to a more platform-based competition.

It’s imperative that institutions quickly realise that goalposts are being moved in the industry – and to ensure the best chance of survival, banks must understand where these new battlefields are and how best to develop services and products that place the customer at the heart of their operations. 

Tackle the challenge of digital acceleration head-on

Another critical challenge comes in implementing new technology whilst safely transitioning away from old legacy systems that have existed for many decades.

Typically, as companies grow, so too does the number of systems they use– creating issues with scaling.

Also read: Neobanks: the future of banking?

Much like moving a house without hurting its foundations, banks need to take the essential but painful step of replacing their legacy systems. 

However, there are plenty of options available for banks to look at when implementing new technology. Firstly, it’s possible to launch front-end applications for customers.

This can help to deliver a simple, user-friendly interface that can help to keep banks relevant in a market that’s come to demand convenience.

Although it’s also important to note that this change can only be considered quick-fix whilst heavy-duty back-end changes rumble on in the background. 

Another choice is for banks to create a dedicated team designed to maintain legacy systems while another creates a whole new system entirely. Both teams would work together in carefully crafting tailor-made solutions to overhaul the operations of the business.

Building omnipresence

The end goal of traditional banks aiming to adapt their products to keep up with the growth of fintech is to become an omnipresent service.

Leading banks must turn to technology and big data to learn to insert the right financial services at their customer’s moment of need. 

Distribution models have been developed to use better marketplaces and technologies like open APIs and 5G to connect finance better with homes, machinery, vehicles and other devices.

Although this can be a challenge for banks due to a lack of visibility accompanying these services, they represent a necessary step towards delivering the scale of convenience that wins the long-term custom of users.

Embracing collaborative equity investing in fintech startups

Many traditional banks have looked to modernisation in the form of investing in fintech. 63 per cent of financial service providers have set up accelerators or startup venture funds.

In the US, banks have invested as much as US$3.6 billion in 56 different fintech startups.

Whilst just 7 per cent of banks have taken on the challenge of setting up their fintech R&D to create in-house solutions. 

While this at least demonstrates an awareness of the potential of fintech, finance expert and Toptal author Alex Graham believes that taking equity stakes in fintech startups should be a more collaborative exercise for banks.

Also read: Why neobanks are better than digital banks

Instead of investing in acquiring the startup later down the line, banks should instead open up their client roster for the fintech they buy into– helping the bank to offer a value differentiator to their clients whilst internally exploring what innovation looks like in practice. 

This could offer more excellent value to clients in the shorter term. Particularly with the emergence of startups that provide blockchain-based features like smart contracts or those that have the power to leverage frictionless cross-border payments.

In the case of emerging fintechs like Connectum, banks can embrace the startup’s multi-currency processing, borderless one-click payments and AI-based security system, all of which can instantly offer clients a more comprehensive level of service. 

Take fintech seriously

Most importantly, it’s time for traditional banks to take fintech seriously. The fintech gold rush is well and truly taking off in 2021, and institutions that fail to move will lose their place in the market. 

As the data above shows, the volume of fintech IPOs has grown exponentially since the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now, as 18-months of social distancing and lockdown measures accelerate our transition towards a cashless, more digitalised financial ecosystem, the emphasis is on banks to modernise their services or risk becoming overwhelmed by the sheer growth of an industry that appears to be unstoppable at present. 

In choosing to embrace the growth of fintech rather than ignore it, traditional banks can work quicker to modernise their services and continue to win customs as the industry faces sweeping changes.

By embracing the change, the market leaders of yesteryear can thrive long into the future.

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Hypefast, an e-commerce brand aggregator in Indonesia, has secured US$19.5 million in a Series A round of investment led by Monk’s Hill Ventures.

Jungle Ventures and Strive also joined the round.

So far, the startup has raised to date more than US$22 million in equity funding, in addition to an undisclosed amount of debt capital from undisclosed regional and global investors.

The startup was founded by Achmad Alkatiri (CEO). He has in the past worked at Lazada (as its Indonesia CMO) and Shopee.

Also Read: Ex-CEO of Rocket Internet Asia launches new e-commerce venture Una Brands with a US$40M seed round

Launched in January 2020, Hypefast partners with top e-commerce native brands in Southeast Asia and hyper scales the brands by bringing capital support, team, and a centralised retail ecosystem and infrastructure.

Hypefast claims it puts in significant effort post-acquisition on delivering growth through its end-to-end retail team, technology, efficient processes, market insights, economies of scale and centralised back-end operations optimisation.

Hypefast, which has just emerged from stealth mode, has acquired more than 25 brands so far. Its recent acquisition is an Indonesia-based baby and kids brand that grew from US$3 million to almost US$8 million revenue in the past six months.

“There are very few reasons preventing SEA brands from growing into multi-million USD EBITDA. These brands already have access to cost-efficient manufacturers and a substantial market with strong e-commerce penetration,” said Alkatiri. “Most importantly, these local founders understand the needs and want of the local consumer community much better than international competitors in terms of style, size, fit, aesthetics, and price point.”

“Hypefast is at the vanguard of e-commerce 2.0 in Southeast Asia — a shift towards the brand- and seller-centric buying. The increasingly sophisticated digital consumer in Southeast Asia cares about who she buys from and who else is buying. Hypefast is building the foremost digital platform that will empower emerging brand owners and entrepreneurs in Southeast Asia to hypercharge their businesses.” Kuo-Yi Lim, co-founder and managing partner at Monk’s Hill.

Currently, the firm has more than 200 team members across Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand.

Also Read: Why brands fail on e-commerce and what they can do about it

The e-commerce brand aggregation industry has been gaining momentum in the recent past. In Singapore, there are already the likes of Una Brands and Rainforest.

Days ago, Una Brands raised US$15 million in Series A financing co-led by White Star Capital and Alpha JWC. This round came just a few weeks after it launched with a US$40 million seed round.

Rainforest launched a few weeks ago with a seed financing round of US$36 million from backers such a Nordstar and Insignia Venture Partners.

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When thinking about plastic waste, consumers focus on what they see. There’s the five ‘R’s of waste management: refuse wasteful products, reduce those you must buy, reuse what you already have, repurpose goods that are no longer reusable, and recycle whatever is leftover. 

Unseen by citizens, there’s an entire economy built on plastic waste. Or, there could be, if there was the infrastructure for it.

Currently, 86 per cent of recyclable plastics are not being recycled, a waste that could be worth up to US$120 billion worldwide.

One factor blocking access to these lost billions– there isn’t enough data.

With over 8 billion tons of plastic entering the ocean every year, there is a global plastic waste crisis. Yet, due to inconsistencies across the global plastic value chain, there is patchy data on how plastic gets there and where it passes on the way.

With just five Asian countries contributing the majority of ocean plastic waste, the problem is washing up on Southeast Asian shores.

But one person’s waste can be another person’s opportunity. From data to discarded goods, the plastic waste crisis provides plenty of fuel for an entrepreneur looking to innovate. 

Also Read: COVID-19, the environment, and the tech ecosystem: what opportunity is available out there for us?

The plastic waste economy

From the extraction of resources to create virgin (or new) plastics to the manufacturing process that forms them into products, each plastic item embarks on a long journey before it is recycled or discarded.

At each stage of this plastic journey, there are multiple stakeholders involved. Formally, there are municipal waste management services.

But for many countries across South and Southeast Asia, waste is collected by a community of informal waste collectors. These people capture waste before it enters the ocean and assumes responsibility for its next step. 

Like much informal labour, it is unstable. The pay is poor, trapping workers in a cycle of reliance on products sold in cheap and unrecyclable sachets, which make up a significant portion of plastic waste.

Changes in demand can render an entire day’s work worthless. It’s hard labour, in unsanitary conditions, often without the structural support of sick pay or healthcare. 

In India, startups like Nepra are beginning to create technological solutions to empower informal waste workers by automating and centralising plastic sorting, sales, and payments.

It is an excellent initial step, but we need to aspire to more comprehensive solutions. Think, an entire overhaul of the plastic waste management system led by those manufacturing the waste, supported by the governments that are (or are not) collecting and managing it. 

Also Read: In brief: New incubation programme for SEA’s plastic waste startups

Closing the plastics data gap

Effective solutions are rarely a result of a random collision; they need planning and expertise underpinned by data. Plastic waste data, or the current lack thereof, could be critical in closing the gap that plastic waste leaks through.

There are three key stages in the plastic lifecycle where better data could generate solutions.

Firstly, data on plastic waste sources could reveal what elements of plastic waste management work well and what needs improving.

The issue can be quantified into a solvable problem statement by identifying the products that become waste, how they are discarded, and how they evade waste management. Data helps to identify patterns and strengthen the waste management system to prevent them from repeating.

The next opportunity that good plastics data presents is identifying when or where plastic leaks out of the waste system.

Technological advances enable preventative measures, like remote monitoring of leakage hotspots, or AI could predict potential issues for targeted waste management system upgrades. 

Once plastics are captured in systems, they can be managed better. By applying analytics to plastics recycling, supply chain actors can be more visible, transparent and efficient.

This enables better repurposing of waste, uncovering opportunities to invest in and invent new alternatives. Analysing waste could generate meaningful evidence on the habits of consumers, too.

Topolytics is one such rising data-driven player. By collecting, aggregating and analysing data on waste, they empower actors across the plastic waste value chain to better collect, manage and recycle plastic waste more strategically.

Also Read: Southeast Asia is in plastic waste crisis, and these 16 sustainable startups strive to turn things around

What is plastic waste worth?

It may seem overkill to invest so much time and resources into collecting materials that have already been discarded. But plastic waste is only garbage when it is treated as such. 

Our oceans are littered with plastic that is destroying ecosystems and filling the food chain with harmful microplastics – but this plastic waste could be generating profits.

The World Bank estimates that S$8 billion of value is lost each year by not recycling plastics in Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand alone. 

91 per cent of Southeast Asian consumers are concerned about plastic waste, but less than half are currently willing to adjust their purchasing patterns. Manufacturers have an opportunity to meet consumer needs while reducing their waste footprint.

The field is still open for leaders in recycled plastic to emerge. Some innovators are experimenting with new ways to repurpose non-recyclable plastics to create new products from building materials to furniture and accessories.  

Plastic waste is the perfect case study to demonstrate the power of a circular economy– while the plastic value chain is currently a disconnected series of islands, looping them together would meet the material needs of consumers, workers and producers alike. 

To that end, Closing The Data Gap Challenge, an initiative run by The Circulate Initiative, in partnership with The Alliance to End Plastic Waste, aims to support decision-makers and other stakeholders to create a better quality of data and advance a more inclusive and effective circular economy.

Data intervention, today

When it comes to plastic waste, the opportunities for innovation loom large – but so does the threat of failing to intervene. The plastic waste crisis, left as is, harms the environment and the health of all organisms living in it, from humans in cities to rural farm animals and even underwater coral reefs. 

Also Read: One man’s trash is another’s gold: How Tridi Oasis plans to transform plastic waste management

The big picture is clear: plastic waste is poisoning the planet. But with better data, policy action, corporate change and consumer support, we can create new solutions that go beyond solving the issue and create new opportunities.

By understanding the nature and scale of the data gap, we can take concrete steps to solve it.

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The world has no lack of stories about the spectacular rise and fall of technology startups. At its height, Adam Neumann’s WeWork was valued at US$47 billion as the then CEO was able to convince investors that they were buying into a “physical, social network.” Its recent listing via a SPAC (special-purpose acquisition company) values it at US$9 billion.

Elizabeth Holmes’ Theranos was also once a darling of venture capitalists. She is now on trial for allegedly making false claims and providing misleading information to investors and patients about Theranos’ technology’s capabilities to detect disease through one drop of blood.

Locally, there was Honestbee, a grocery delivery startup founded in 2015 and had raised US$46 million in funding, including a US$31 million Series A round and a further US$49 million since that Series A.

In 2019, it had to file for creditor protection. One major factor in the company’s woes was the misuse of funds by co-founder Joel Sng.

Founders do not deliberately set out to fail and certainly did not intend to become criminals. Yet, headlines such as these are common. Why?

When founders pitch their business proposition, they typically sell projections, and some may stretch the truths to gain investor confidence.

After all, venture capitalists seek founders who are visionary and can sell the vision and bring about a plan to make the vision come true.

As the funds flow, founders are tempted to steer away from business fundamentals and focus on personal glory.

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

The downfall of the abovementioned companies was the result of fraudulent behaviours or abuse from the top. How then do founders and entrepreneurs keep themselves in check to avoid falling into the temptation of choosing deceit over failure or the “fake-it-till-you-make-it” syndrome?

This is where Stewardship comes in. Stewardship is the mindset and practice of creating value by integrating the needs of stakeholders, society, future generations and the environment.

Steward Leaders bring the stewardship approach to life, who have the genuine desire and persistence to create a collective better future.

From employees to managers, everyone in the organisation must act as steward leaders to create win-win-win prosperity wherein employees, shareholders, and society thrive together. The first step towards Steward Leadership is activating the Stewardship Compass.

I explained the Stewardship Compass in my previous article, Mind the trust gap: How does a company develop consumer trust through data stewardship? As a recap, the compass requires companies to pursue a higher purpose based on four core stewardship values of interdependence, long-term view, ownership mentality and creative resilience.

At its simplest, the principles entail safeguarding an organisation’s future by taking care of the needs of various stakeholders, not just shareholders.

Not only does this approach ensure sustainable long-term growth for the company, but it also prevents failings of corporate behaviour.

Start corporate governance with steward leadership

 Institutionalising the organisational purpose based on Stewardship values will help to kickstart good corporate governance and ethical behaviours.

A corporate culture that ensures that everyone in the company steps up as a steward leader is especially critical for startups. Investors demand for go-to-market speed sometimes causes employees to bend the rules.

Intense work pressure could also lead to behavioural lapses. Staff in a startup often face demanding work challenges because they need to develop processes and products from the ground up.

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

To ensure that this Steward Leadership culture is entrenched in the company’s operations and business strategies, the Stewardship Compass should be adopted in recruitment and performance management systems and practices.

A high-performing company depends on finding and hiring the right people, then nurturing, developing and rewarding those who exceed their Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

Thus, KPIs, midpoint reviews, annual appraisals, rewards and compensation should be drafted based on the compass.

For instance, an employee who understands interdependence will be a team player. Those who take a long-term view will strategise and act responsibly because they understand that their actions will sow the seeds of tomorrow.

As everyone in the organisation, from employees to managers, become steward leaders, the company’s human capital will become invaluable, contributing to the company’s success.

However, while every effort should be made to hire employees with Steward Leadership qualities, it is impossible to hit the nail on the head each time.

Should employees demonstrate that they do not commit to the purpose and values of the compass, tough decisions need to be made on time.

Steward leaders need to put in place a long-term plan from the beginning and work to continuously strengthen organisational systems, operations and teams to create sustainable value creation and ensure that they build value in every sense of the word.

While they must have a long-term plan, they must remain nimble enough to course-correct as things change and evolve.

The Southeast Asia startup scene is indeed heating up, with more companies attaining unicorn status. Suppose these startup leaders apply the Stewardship Compass and become genuine Steward Leaders from the get-go. In that case, they will ensure sound corporate governance that will go a long way in supporting their ventures’ resilience and long-term viability.

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The Milieu Insight raises US$5M

Crux: Singapore-based consumer research and analytics company has secured US$5 million in the latest financing round.

Investors: MassMutual Ventures (MMV) Southeast Asia, OSK Ventures International Berhad, and Genesis Alternative Ventures.

Plans: The firm intends to use the fresh funding to boost product development and speed up the creation of new SaaS-based consumer intelligence services. Besides, the company plans to broaden Milieu’s customer reach beyond Southeast Asia.

Also read: The struggle to maintain accurate consumer insights with the new consumer

About Milieu Insight: Founded in 2016, Milieu Insight connects businesses directly with their target audience for market research. The company offers clients four main products, including Milieu Surveys, Milieu Canvas, Milieu Portraits, Milieu Studies.

Milieu Surveys collects consumer opinion data on a variety of lifestyle subjects and sectors. Canvas provides enterprises with a variety of tools for gaining access to, evaluating, and displaying high-value and timely customer opinion data to aid in decision-making and planning. Consumer segmentation tool Milieu Portraits allows clients access consumer-centric behavioural insights through a subscription-based offering. Milieu Studies provides an on-demand survey platform allowing clients to launch research surveys and acquire study results.

Moduit receives US$4.5 million

The crux: Moduit Digital Indonesia, an integrated fintech wealth management company, has received US$4.5 million in a pre-Series A round. 

Investors: Singapore’s Reciprocus Moduit Holding (lead), PT Alto Network (Indonesia), a subsidiary of the Djarum Group, also participated in this round.  

Plans: Moduit will expand its platform to offer added curated wealth management products in addition to mutual funds and bonds

About Moduit: It is a digital private wealth management platform that provides a wide selection of curated investment products, including Indonesian mutual funds and bonds, registered under the Financial Services Authority (OJK). Founded in 2018 by Jeffry Lomanto and Charles Jap, Moduit has already obtained three licenses from the OJK and one license from the Ministry of Communication and Information to meet all regulatory requirements. 

The Assembly Place raises US$4 million

The crux: The Assembly Place (TAP), a co-living tech startup headquartered in Singapore, has raised US$4 million

Investors: Low See Ching, deputy CEO of local property group Oxley Holdings; Kemmy Tan (CEO of M+S); Ismail Garfoor (CEO of PropNex Singapore); Wendy Tang (group MD of Knight Frank Singapore); Bruce Lye and Ken Low (managing partners of SRI); Shaun Poh (executive director of Capital Markets at Cushman and Wakefield); and Dennis Goh (executive chairman of Lyte Ventures) also participated.

Plans: With the new investment, The Assembly Place will develop and improve its mobile app. 

Also read: Why Singapore becoming a tech hub is a great boost for the proptech sector

About TAP: Founded in 2019 by CEO Eugene Lim, The Assembly Place curates spaces in convenient locations for co-living with flexible leases, catering to younger outliers who prefer the short-term nature of leasing. It takes an asset-light approach, with 95 per cent of its properties (worth US$184 million) operating on a 5+5 year management contract. Last, four new buildings signed agreements with The Assembly Place.

The startup has expanded to 550 rooms across Singapore and aims to achieve the 1000-room mark by Q2 2022. Its accommodation supply is currently spreading across 16 purpose-built co-living assets.

Peddlr raised US$500K pre-seed funding

The crux: Filipino bookkeeping startup Peddlr has raised US$500,000 in an oversubscribed pre-seed round.

Investors: Foxmont Capital Partners, Paulo Campos (Zalora), Constantin Robertz (Locad), Lisa Gokongwei-backed Kaya Founders Investment SPV, Luis Sia (PayMongo), Aaron Kemmer (Magic), Richard Juan, and unnamed angels.

About Peddlr: Launched in July of 2021, it offers digital accounting/bookkeeping, inventory management, and digital storefront for Filipino micro and small enterprises. Its online storefront feature enables MSMEs to directly participate in the digital economy in just a few simple steps. 

Plans: The funds will be utilised to accelerate user growth and further develop infrastructure ensuring stability and scalability to support user growth. 

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Image Credit: The Assembly Place

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Telio, a Vietnamese B2B e-commerce platform, has secured US$22.5 million in a pre-Series B round led by local unicorn VNG Corporation.

Global VC firm GGV Capital and existing shareholder Tiger Global also participated in the round.

This round comes about two years after it raised US$25 million in Series A led by Tiger Global in 2019.

As per a news report (in Vietnamese), Telio will utilise the funds to expand across 30 provinces in the country, targeting to serve more than 60,000 retailers in 2021. It also aims to expand its presence to 45 provinces and cities, with 150,000 shop owners joining the platform by the end of 2022.

Under the strategic cooperation agreement, VNG will support the digital booth setup for Telio’s retailers on Zalo, an instant messaging app with 62 million users in Vietnam. The platform also develops e-commerce supporting services, such as Zalo Official Account (OA) and Zalo Mini App, enabling shop owners to digitise orders and track delivery easier.

Also read: 3 factors affecting e-commerce trends in Vietnam

Founded in 2018 by CEO Phong Sy Bui, Telio connects small retailers with brands and wholesalers on a centralised platform that provides a broader selection of goods, affordable pricing, and efficient logistics. It leverages big data to elevate manufacturers and retailers’ value chains.

Initially focusing on the FMCG domain, Telio has expanded to other industries such as home appliances, medical, and others and evolved from a B2B to B2B2C platform.

Shop owners and buyers can access Telio on multiple platforms, including web, mobile app, and online stores on Zalo. The firm also develops a Teliobooks app to help store owners manage debt and revenue with automatic reports and reminders via SMS or Zalo messages.

In October 2020, Telio became the first B2B platform to launch its online stores on Zalo to promote contactless sales. The collaboration with VNG allows Telio’s retailers to employ the e-wallet payment solution ZaloPay in their buying and selling processes. 

In addition, small and medium business households will have the opportunity to access a wide range of financial and credit products to support business growth.

The e-commerce space is ripe for an explosion in the region, with Vietnam’s Tiki and Indonesia’s GoTo eyeing IPOs while snagging sizable deals earlier this month. 

Notably, Society Pass, a startup managing various e-commerce and lifestyle platforms, has become the first Vietnamese company to complete a traditional listing on the US stock market.

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Image Credit: Telio

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TreeDots, a Singapore-based food surplus marketplace, has secured US$11 million in a Series A funding round co-led by East Ventures and California-based Amasia.

ACTIVE Fund, Seeds Capital, and angels, including bestselling writer Nir Eyal (the author of Hooked) and Singaporean actress Fiona Xie, also co-invested. 

Founded in 2018 by Tylor Jong, Lau Jia Cai, and Nicholas Lim, TreeDots targets to tackle the “trillion-dollar” global problem of food waste and loss and reduce the carbon footprint associated with food wastage. 

Also Read: Fixing food waste problem means less hungry people and a great economy

TreeDots redistributes unsold stocks from suppliers to businesses, such as restaurants and cafés, allowing them to source affordable food supplies. On the sell-side of the platform, suppliers would often pay money to send their surplus goods to the landfill, but now, they can earn incremental revenue for these goods when selling on Treedots. 

The startup also provides logistical services, including cold-chain logistics service TreeLogs, and an online management app to assist suppliers as parts of its vertically integrated food supply chain ecosystem. This allows upstream suppliers to focus their efforts on food processing and manufacturing. 

TreeDots has also set up a social commerce network that allows customers to buy these same products at discounted prices. In a group-buying approach, TreeDots delivers many orders to a single location, and neighbours pick up their items from this household.

The firm claims that this method helps save logistics costs for buyers and decreases emissions compared to a traditional e-commerce model.

Also Read: Singapore startup TreeDots clinches Judges’ Choice award at Echelon Asia 2018

With the mission to be a catalyst for a modern-day food supply chain in the region, TreeDots hopes to save two million tonnes of food that would have been wasted. By 2025, the company targets to cut carbon emissions by 18 million tonnes.

Last year, it expanded into Malaysia, with plans for more regional development in the future. To meet the new demand, the company recently expanded to logistics optimisation services to help enterprise customers build more efficient supply chains.

“Food loss is already a trillion-dollar problem, but what got us really excited was the fact that suppliers started to use the system for all of their revenue, not just food loss products,” said Roderick Purwana, managing partner at East Ventures.

Also read: Foodtech in Singapore through the eyes of startups

“We realised that a grocery chain might not buy a chicken that’s too big or has a broken bone because it looks funny on their shelves. But F&B outlets don’t care because they will cut it, plate it and make it look nice before serving. So if they can purchase essentially the same product at prices up to 90 per cent cheaper than alternatives, they are very happy,” said Tylor Jong, co-founder and CEO of TreeDots. “This original insight drove us to start an oversupplied foods marketplace to match supply and demand for these products.”

According to UN Environment Programme, one-third of all food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted on a global scale, which is caused mainly by inefficient supply chains.

The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe also unveiled that methane emission, a greenhouse gas that is 86 times more detrimental to global warming than carbon dioxide, is attributed to the burning or decomposing of oversupplied foods.

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GoTo Group, one of the largest digital ecosystem in Indonesia, has secured more than US$1.3 billion in the first close of its pre-IPO funding round.

Investors include a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), Avanda Investment Management, Fidelity International, Google, Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB), Primavera Capital Group, SeaTown Master Fund, Temasek, Tencent, and Ward Ferry.

The ADIA subsidiary is the lead investor in the round, and it has injected US$400 million into the firm. GoTo expects more investors to join the pre-IPO round ahead of the final close in the coming weeks.

In August, Reuters reported citing sources that GoTo was set to close an up to US$2 billion pre-IPO funding round in a few weeks. Various reports suggested GoTo plans to list in Indonesia by the end of 2021 before proceeding with a US listing with a potential valuation of US$40 billion.

Also Read: 5 lessons from GoTo and Traveloka on building the future of fintech in SEA

The company will invest the money in customer growth and engagement, to expand its payments and financial services offering, and leverage its integrated transport fleet and logistics network to enhance hyperlocal experiences.

Andre Soelistyo, CEO of GoTo Group, said: “Consumer demand is being unlocked by growth in digital adoption that has brought many new users online. As a result, demand for our services continues to increase, underscored by our commitment to continuously deliver selection, value and convenience to users across the ecosystem.”

Michael Woo, Singapore-based MD of Primavera Capital Group, commented: “We foresee secular growth opportunities for Indonesia and GoTo across e-commerce, on-demand mobility and fintech – all segments in which Primavera has extensive investment experience.”

Indonesia has a GDP of more than US$1 trillion and is the fourth most populous country in the world, with a young, tech-savvy population of 270 million. GoTo’s ecosystem encompasses nearly two-thirds of Indonesian consumer expenditure, and its total addressable market is set to grow to over $600 billion in Indonesia by 2025.

The country also has almost 140 million people with little or no access to the country’s formal financial system, presenting a significant growth opportunity for the company in payments and financial services.

Also Read: Abu Dhabi wealth fund to inject US$400M into GoTo’s pre-IPO round

GoTo was formed through the merger of Gojek and Tokopedia in May. It is the largest digital ecosystem in Indonesia, whose services span on-demand transport, e-commerce, food and grocery delivery, logistics and fulfilment, and financial services.

The Group claims it generated over 1.8 billion transactions in 2020, with a total group gross transaction value of over US$22 billion and contributed to more than 2 per cent of Indonesia’s GDP.

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Image Credit: GoTo

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Vietnam’s stock trading app Anfin gets US$125K from YC 

The crux: Anfin, a Vietnam-based stock trading app development company, announced it raised US$125,000 from YC and will join YC W22 Batch from January to March next year.

Investors: Besides YC, Anfin also took angel investments from unnamed directors at Temasek and Coinbase.

Plans: The proceeds are utilised to further develop Anfin’s product into a full trading app for beginners. The startup will also focus on building and strengthening features, such as education, fractional shares and company storytelling.

About Anfin:

Founded in June 2021 by CEO Phuoc Tran and CPO Michael Do, Anfin is a stock investment app that enables users to buy and sell stocks with small capital starting at only VND50,000 (around US$2). The app also allows the trading of fractional shares, which is counted as one of Anfin’s unique selling points.

Last month, the startup raised US$510,000 from First Check Ventures, R2 Venture Partners, and Global Founders Capital (GFC), which is an early investor of companies such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Lazada, and Slack.

Also read: Pocket power: 27 personal finance startups in SEA to help you manage money

Rosetta.ai raises US$2.4M pre-Series A to scale AI-based fashion e-commerce service globally

The story: Rosetta.ai, a Taiwan-based AI technology company, has closed its US$2.4 million pre-Series A financing round led by Dr. Pehong Chen, the founder of NASDAQ-listed software vendor BroadVision.

Co-investors: 500 Global, Artesian VC, Angel To Venture Accelerator, Loyal VC, and SOSV MOX.

Plans: The new funding will be channelled to develop Rosetta.ai fashion-optimised personalisation products and broaden its talent pool to foray into the US and Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) markets.

About Rosetta.ai

Launched in 2016, Rosetta.ai employs image-based machine learning to provide online fashion retailers with products including website personalisation, marketing email personalisation, and preference analysis insights.

The startup claims that its insights, including colour, material, and style, cannot be observed in other analytics tools such as Google Analytics, and can generate accurate recommendations for brands. This is thanks to the in-house fashion industry experts that train the AI to recommend visually precise images and well-written fashion-industry attributes.

So far, Rosetta.ai has a client base of over 1000 Asian businesses, including both small and midsize merchants on Shopify and large brands such as L’Oréal, Codibook, and Blue Way.

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Image Credit: Anfin

 

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GuildFi, a Thai startup that aims to create an ecosystem that connects the intricate jigsaws of the metaverse, has completed a US$6 million seed round of financing.

Singapore-based crypto-asset fund DeFiance Capital and South Korean early-stage VC firm Hashed co-led this round.

Pantera Capital, Coinbase Ventures, Alameda Research, Animoca Brands, Dapper Labs, Play Ventures, SkyVision Capital, Coin98 Ventures, and other notable investors also co-invested.

GuildFi is developing a Web3 infrastructure to connect games, NFTs, and communities to maximise players’ benefits and enable interoperability across the metaverse.

With several Web3 games being unveiled, players and enthusiasts cannot easily navigate and dabble in them. Players face high startup costs for joining new play-to-earn games, and scholarship funds are fragmented.

Furthermore, players’ efforts are siloed within a game, hampering their earning potential and defying the maximal possibilities of the metaverse.

Also Read: DeFi is pushing finance towards its e-commerce moment

GuildFi envisions a future where these intricate jigsaws are interlinked into an ecosystem. The firm serves as an infrastructure to onboard, connect, and add value to players, guilds, games, and investors alike.

“We solve discovery and access challenges for players by helping them discover new games, enhance performance with gaming tools, and track their engagement. With GuildFi ID, one ID serves all players’ metaverse journeys, and their achievements are no longer limited to specific guilds or games. Instead, they contribute towards their ranks and elevate their lifetime benefits,” said co-founder Jarindr Thitadilaka.

GuildFi looks to develop new features such as:

• GuildFi ID: a metaverse ID that is embedded with a levelling system that tracks players’ achievement and footprint across the metaverse. Players receive engagement points and ranking, which translate into the rewards they deserve,
• Game discovery: it helps players discover curated games and game creators discover the right player base for their game launch,
• Proof-of-Play Rewards: it enables play-to-earn on any games by analysing your lifetime activities and giving out the right benefits to you whether it’s an allocation to an NFT campaign or a bonus yield from our tokens,
• Metadrop Launchpad: it offers a special NFT and token deal from its partners where an allocation is determined by players’ ranks. 
• GameFi tools: They enhance players’ performance by providing gaming tools, for instance, the Axie Infinity toolkit that features scholarship management, daily SLP shares, PvP simulation, team status, and card explorer.
• Scholarship portal: it offers a built-in scholarship programme provided by GuildFi’s treasury and guild partners, reducing the barrier to entry for play-to-earn games and unlocking the opportunity for players anywhere in the world. 

To achieve this mission, GuildFi will collaborate with game creators globally to identify and attract the right players while supporting them through in-game asset investment and campaign collaboration to ensure successful launches and healthy growth.

Also Read: Metaverse is around the corner and you should play a role in it

“Hashed strongly believes the new paradigm for the gaming industry will be decentralised platforms. The more authority games give to the players, the more successful the game will be. In that respect, GuildFi has a solid potential to solidify its position as a new gaming platform,” said co-founder and partner Ethan Kyuntae Kim.

With a strong base in Thailand, the GuildFi team has launched a prominent gaming guild and the most popular Axie Infinity gaming tools on the market. It claims to have attracted over 100,000 registered users, 20,000 daily active users and 1,500 scholars within three months of inception.

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Image Credit: GuildFi

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