Praktis, a data-powered supply chain solution for direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands in Indonesia, has secured an undisclosed amount in pre-series A funding led by East Ventures.

Local conglomerate Triputra Group also participated in the round.

Praktis will use the money to accelerate technology enhancements, team building, and launch new products.

Praktis — erstwhile PTS.sc — provides an end-to-end solution to manage D2C brands’ backend operations, covering sourcing and production activities, logistic and fulfilment, and order management systems. Brands get complete visibility of all their supply chain processes. This way, they can optimise the production planning and inventory control process to make it more cost-efficient.

Also Read: East Ventures appoints Roderick Purwana as Managing Partner as it takes charge of EV Growth

Additionally, Praktis also captures procurement orders from B2B and business-to-government brands.

“Juggling between managing procurement, logistics, and store management on top of designing and marketing great products can be such a major headache for SME D2C brands. This is where we come in, offering seamless operations management,” said Dipta Imanto, co-founder of Praktis.

“We are seeing a promising D2C market in Indonesia. It is reflected in our monthly revenue, which is experiencing over 12x growth (YoY) in 2021 with an estimated 24x CAGR and 31 per cent CMGR based on eight months from January to September 2021. As a single point of contact, We enable D2C brands to be more focused on their core competencies, leading the brand to far higher growth in revenue with efficient working capital utilisation. Shortly, we are anticipating a 6x revenue growth,” said co-founder Adrian Gilrandy.

By 2025, the Indonesian D2C markets in fashion, food and personal care, as well as furniture and appliances, which currently become Praktis’ primary focus, are expected to grow a total of US$36 billion annually.

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The cryptocurrency boom has led to users seeking new ways to keep the private keys to their digital assets safe. But with advancing technology making it easier for hackers to break into digital systems, coupled with the growing lack of password discipline among crypto users, cold storage has become more important than ever before, and UKISS Hugware strives to be the solution to this — except cooler.

With this gap in the market and all existing challenges faced by crypto users, UKISS Technology is proud to present a revolutionary hardware wallet that doubles as the key to a suite of digital security applications, complete with a smooth and worry-free recovery process.

Designed and developed in Singapore, UKISS Hugware is built on the latest patented technology that utilises cryptography for its security. It comes in pairs, with one being the Authentication Key, or A-Key, which generates and provides safe offline storage of private keys, while the other is the Rescue Key, or R-Key, which functions just as the name describes it.

Advantages of the UKISS Hugware

The R-Key can be used to reset passwords or provide recovery in its simplest and most secure form in the event that the A-Key becomes lost or damaged. This feature is a great alternative to the more common function of complicated 24-word-long recovery phrases that are required among all the hardware wallets in the market.

The purpose of R-Key will eliminate the existence of phishing attacks and human errors. Set to launch in Q1 2022, UKISS Hugware bridges the gap between vulnerable hot wallets and inconvenient cold wallets, the ‘plug and play’ design is suitable for even the least tech-savvy crypto users out there.

Each UKISS Hugware device is also tamper-proof and will be issued with a Certificate of Authenticity that will be signed and recorded on a blockchain. A five-year warranty is guaranteed for each device so crypto users can sleep soundly at night.

Also read: Is your team growing like never before? You might want to start fixing your business spending now

Moreover, UKISS Hugware is more than just a hardware wallet, it acts as the key to safeguard private and confidential data, and can be easily paired with an ever-expanding suite of digital security applications that will be available on a subscription basis, such as U-Hide, which provides encryption of sensitive files, and U-Archive, which provides safe and encrypted backup of documents on Cloud. The subscription model can be paid through their very own digital currency, KISS Token.

The UKISS Hugware technology has been patented in more than 20 countries, including Singapore, and most major markets across the United States, Europe, China, Japan, India, and Southeast Asia.

Changing the game of digital security for crypto users worldwide

UKISS Technology has officially formed a strategic business partnership with IBM®, joining the IBM PartnerWorld ecosystem in developing and distributing new, innovative solutions that address fast growing and emerging technology paradigms including Digital Assets Infrastructure, Artificial Intelligence, “X” As-A-Service, Internet of Things, Cyber Security, and Blockchain.

“Our partnerships with some of the world’s leading technology firms such as IBM are empowering us to realise our company’s vision to make top notch digital security accessible for everyone. We embark on high potential markets together with the intention of developing game-changing solutions that redefine the blockchain industry and to enhance security for the new era of Metaverse,” explained UKISS Technology CEO, James Gan.

Also read: MRANTI to drive higher “return on ideas”

Founded and incorporated in Singapore, the UKISS Technology team is made up of veterans with over 30 years of experience in the security, blockchain, and IT industries. Redefining enterprise-trusted technology for the consumer market, UKISS Technology aims to establish a decentralised security framework for the Metaverse, making it a safer space for users by offering a ‘survival kit’ that protects decentralised digital identity, crypto assets, and also one’s documents and contracts. It is complexity made simple – the UKISS Digital Security Ecosystem offers users a one-stop; secure yet simple gateway into the world of DEFI, Metaverse, NFTs and more.

For more information, visit UKISS Technology’s website.

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This article is produced by the e27 team, sponsored by UKISS Technology

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Amidst a bold new future of digital leadership, cloud systems are the driving force powering digital transformation today, but they can also be an overwhelming proposition.

According to Alibaba Cloud’s ‘Cloud in Asia’ survey conducted in November 2020, while Singapore tops cloud adoption in ASEAN with nearly nine in 10 organisations in Singapore using cloud services, the issue of cost and security concerns remain.

However, through investing in and harnessing the right technology, startups can worry less about compliance and focus more on strategic growth plans. If you’re a small business owner that’s unsure of how to start, here are five tips to building cloud resiliency through cloud agreements and scale your business.

Prioritise a digital culture

Today’s leaders must live, breathe, and drive the right digital mindset, skillset and cultural changes to reimagine how the business is being operated in the new market reality. A digital culture will empower your talent to collaborate and grow in their roles and help nurture innovation and unlock business growth. 

Ensuring employees possess both the relevant skill sets and have an open mind to upskilling is the key to success. That’s why it’s essential to offer appropriate training and development as part of the roll-out.

It’s also beneficial to identify tech evangelists that can set a ‘digital culture example’ and help inspire other employees to embrace digital processes.

Also Read: Cloud kitchens: What are they, how do they work, and why are they so popular? 

Establish a connected ecosystem

A “system of agreement” refers to the functions associated with preparing, signing, acting on and managing agreements, so building connectivity between all these functions is critical.

Especially for startups, it’s crucial for business leaders to ensure that cloud agreements are integrated into existing CRM, ERP, HCM, office productivity and other applications that are already in use.

Through system integrations, agreement workflows can be embedded into employees’ applications. This will create a more holistic business model aimed at improving productivity and a better employee experience. 

We recommend that organisations take the time to assess their current business processes and identify the specific steps that can be optimised.

This way, leaders can use a targeted approach to weed out costly and timely inefficiencies and replace them with a more productive workflow that’s seamless, risk-free and compliant.     

Efficient data management

Legacy agreement processes are often manual and fragmented. As a result, data is stored in multiple systems (both analogue and digital), creating exposure to risk and infringement of data integrity. 

To unlock business growth through data, businesses must first understand the purpose of data collection and the know-how that data is being utilised within the organisation. This will weed out inefficiency in the customer service journey and provide a seamless experience for your employees and customers. 

Also Read: How cloud computing is helping startups navigate the new normal

The data should be captured and stored in a secured manner that doesn’t compromise the trust and privacy of the information.

With cloud-based agreements, data is not only easily stored and retrieved but typically also tracked through a complete audit trail of change history. More importantly, your customers can now fully trust your business model as they are reassured that you put customers first in a compliant manner. 

Capacity at scale

With the rise of e-signature accelerated by the pandemic, customers expect speed and convenience at their fingertips. Primed to deliver this experience, cloud agreements act as a hub to coordinate and connect with related systems and processes.

This helps create capacity, which frees up your team to focus on high-impact wins for the business rather than administration.

Your employees can be empowered to work efficiently on the go, on any device, at any time, at their convenience. This constant connectivity also helps to close business deals at a quicker pace. 

Improved reliability and security

Companies run on agreements, and continuous availability of agreement cloud software is necessary for mission-critical business applications globally. It’s not an option to be down for maintenance or unanticipated problems.

DocuSign, for example, delivers 99.99 per cent platform availability, regardless of the time of year, day of the week, time zone or country. 

Today’s business challenge is designing a hybrid workflow that keeps all the benefits of traditional office life without sacrificing the productive, employee-centric aspects of remote work.

Also Read: How cloud technology makes trading a hassle-free experience

As a business leader, you must constantly stay ahead of critical decision-making to keep the business moving forward with minimal disruption and maximum efficiency.

It’s time to tap into the Agreement Cloud and build the most robust flexible work systems to kick-start your transformation.

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The electric vehicle (EV) market is hot right now — more than 10 million electric vehicles are running globally and if current growth rates continue globally we can expect to reach the stated policy scenario target outlined in IEA’s flagship World Energy Outlook report of 145 million electric vehicles by 2030 across all segments. However, a concerted effort will be needed to hit the sustainable development scenario target of 270 million EV by 2030 — in order to align climate goals with the Paris Agreement of net-zero emissions by 2070. 

Clear evidence that electric mobility is set for rapid growth is seen from the fact that electric car registrations rose 41% during a pandemic year when car sales overall dropped. Increasing adoption of electric mobility in emerging APAC economies and improved EV and battery manufacturing capabilities in Southeast Asia represents significant opportunities for entrepreneurs who can deliver the products and services that make the market more attractive and efficient.

Electric motorbikes, three-wheelers, and delivery vehicles are becoming a common sight across Asia but we know in order to make a real leap in the path to net-zero carbon emissions, we need to see a lot more electric cars and trucks which impact a much larger carbon footprint. Moreover, the lack of charging infrastructure in countries such as India, Malaysia, and Indonesia continues to hamper the growth of the Asian market. For the EV sector to continue to scale faster in Asia, future growth is impacted by a number of key factors — government policies, investments by major automotive OEMs, lower battery prices, and better charging infrastructure.

Also read: How Grove HR is powering the next generation of Tech unicorns

These challenges, potential solutions, and innovations that will support electric mobility growth in Asia were discussed in episode two of Asian Development Bank’s Climatic series. The two-part episode included a talk show where host Linh Thai discussed solutions to remove potential roadblocks with industry experts, and a solution showcase where startups pitched their innovations to the panel of VC investors.

Linh analysed the current state of the industry with Sohail Hasnie, Principal Energy Specialist at the Asian Development Bank and a peer reviewer for the annual electric vehicles outlook of the International Energy Agency. Hasnie began by stating that the rising number of electric vehicles is already having an impact on mitigating the effects of climate change. From the launch of the first Nissan Leaf in 2010 it took five years to hit 1 million EV’s, but the next five years have seen exponential growth to 10 million he pointed out. 

An electric vehicle produces 9 Kgs of CO2 over a 100 km running distance as opposed to 18 ks of carbon dioxide emitted by a regular car, Hasnie explained. He added that since electric motors are 98% per cent efficient, they also deliver huge energy savings — a crucial factor for countries in Asia still largely dependent on fossil fuels. 

So while it is clear that electric vehicles can make a significant impact on mitigating climate change, the need of the hour is for entrepreneurs who can commercialise and apply new EV technologies to ensure the exponential growth projections of the market does not run into obstacles.

Asian Development Bank also has a venture arm called ADB Ventures which supports such initiatives. One recipient of the organisation’s investments is India-based company, Euler Motors, which is focused on the light electric commercial vehicles segment. Bridging gaps in the underserved EV market in one of the world’s most densely populated economies, ADB’s support could help the company develop its services and ultimately scale regionally.

Investing in double bottom-line impact

Linh Thai asked panellist Doug Parker, an automotive founder turned investor with VC firm Wavemaker Partners about some of the electric mobility startups they have invested in. Parker explained that lithium extraction is a really interesting area for innovation today because faster and environmentally friendly lithium extraction methods will deliver the kind of double bottom-line impact we need to tackle climate change, while still ensuring the EV market continues to flourish. 

Parker said his firm has invested in Summit Nanotech which developed an environmentally friendly, faster and more affordable way to extract lithium. “We’re going to need a lot more lithium as we scale up electric vehicles and this company can help us get it out of Argentinian, Chilean and Bolivian deserts where water is scarce,” said Parker. 

Another double bottom line impact company they have invested in is called Vflow which builds flow batteries that can be used with existing service stations and alleviate problems that electric vehicles might cause to existing electricity grids. Better battery technology is at the core of electric vehicle innovation but is highly problematic due to the environmental impact of current battery manufacturing methods.

Also read: UKISS Hugware: Singapore-designed hardware wallet securing digital assets with hassle-free recovery

Parker elaborated further on the areas where he believes there are significant opportunities: “We are interested in opportunities around electric service stations — how you can get these service stations connected to the grid again. We’re really excited about commercial fleets — how you’re going to charge those fleets but also how you are going to route those fleets, maintain the batteries over time and how are you going to resell those cars.”

The amount of innovation going on in the EV space really sets a high bar for any company that wants to compete in this space. Parker said his focus was on trying to find companies that can have a “tenth of a gigaton impact — reduce 100 million tons of carbon annually from emissions as well as have a 100 million dollar run rate. Now that’s a pretty tall order but it also helps us really make sure we’re focused on the biggest opportunities. So we are definitely focused on not just dollars but large scale carbon reduction.”

Changing ambitions are leading to higher investment

Sophia Nadur runs the corporate venture capital arm BP Ventures at energy giant BP and investing in electric mobility might seem to be in conflict with their core business but Nadur says BP has a new vision to reimagine energy for the planet. Nadur said BP has “adopted an ambition to become a net-zero company and also help the world get to net zero. So we don’t see electrification as a threat.”

Startups are crucial to this ambition, thinks Nadur, because the energy transition is happening so quickly. Even though BP has deep technology expertise and capabilities, startups can help them find new solutions to old problems, integrate and take new technologies to market faster. Given BP’s resources, this is a potentially excellent synergy of deep pockets and nimble innovators who can together help tackle the energy transition head-on.

Therefore BP Ventures plays an important role for BP to achieve its vision and invest in technology companies that can help BP reinvent itself. It can also help them reduce their emissions and open new opportunities in adjacent emerging digital technology areas. “Because electric vehicles enable much more digital tech stack integration, it’s important for smaller companies to think about it,” added Nadur. BP Ventures has invested in a Chinese company called Publisher which has a tech stack that delivers charging to private cars and fleets, as well as offering battery management capabilities.

Also read: Is your team growing like never before? You might want to start fixing your business spending now

ADB Ventures’ recent investment in Euler Motors crystalises the institution’s commitment to meeting net-zero emissions. Because commercial vehicles run extensively — about 30000 km a year — there is a huge opportunity to reduce India’s carbon footprint. Euler CEO Saurav Kumar said that they are focused on India for now since the country buys around 600,000 commercial vehicles a year — representing a 10 billion dollar market. He believes their vehicles will have strong appeal in regions like Southeast Asia and Europe, so he is confident that Euler can scale globally if they succeed in India.

Kumar thinks there has been a big shift in how the EV sector is perceived in India. He is upbeat about the future since government support is strong with forward-looking policies and with India a signatory to the Paris climate goals. With pollution reaching severe levels in India the government along with the entire ecosystem of OEM’s, charging networks and battery suppliers are together making a big push to develop the market in India, explained the Euler CEO. 

“Every month India is seeing new OEM vehicles getting deployed in the market — lithium was a major inhibitor but lithium cell prices have come down from around 800$-1000$ per kilowatt-hour to 200$ which is a huge cost reduction so the total cost of ownership has started making sense for people,” he added.

Shaping government policy in a critical decade for electric mobility

Talking of government policy, a perspective on what areas governments around the world need to work on to support the sector was given by Kartik Gopal, Senior Industry Specialist at World Bank’s International Finance Corporation. Gopal explained the challenges: “In the short to medium term, you do need some financial incentives to bridge the cost gap between electric vehicles and ICE vehicles, Additionally subsidies to support charging infrastructure development for passenger cars are needed as well.”

Supply chain issues include dependence on minerals like lithium, nickel, cobalt, and manganese for batteries, and rare earth minerals used in high powered electric motors. These minerals are not easily available across the world which could put some countries in a dominant position in controlling the supply of such minerals. “There is a possibility of an oligopoly emerging,” said Gopal, “so we need to make sure it does not lead to another set of challenges for accelerating the adoption of EVs. There has to be sufficient investment in the supply and also in making these resources available for any country that wants to develop its EV market.”

Overall he is optimistic that government policies will adapt quickly enough because he is seeing very keen interest in almost every country where IFC operates. “People are motivated to find solutions.” believes Gopal. This gives him hope that countries will be able to come together and find solutions to the pragmatic and political difficulties of meeting the world’s electric mobility goals. 

Electrification in the automotive industry is happening fast and is a major contributor to meeting Earth’s net-zero carbon goals. The entrepreneurs who can help reduce Asia’s carbon footprint will play a major role in making Asia more resilient to climate change. The second part of the episode was a showcase of electric mobility innovators in Asia. Three chosen startups Green Li-ion, Lithion Power and ETRAN showcased their products to the panel of electric mobility investors.

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This article is produced by the e27 team, sponsored by ADBV

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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