Kopi Kenangan, a fast-growing new retail F&B chain in Indonesia, has become a unicorn after closing a US$96 million Series C financing round, led by US-based Tybourne Capital Management.

Existing investors, including Horizons Ventures, Kunlun, and B Capital, besides new investor Falcon Edge Capital, also participated.

Also Read: Kopi Kenangan snags US$109M in Series B funding led by Sequoia Capital

As per a press note, Kopi Kenangan will use the money to accelerate the expansion of its new brands, Cerita Roti, Chigo and Kenangan Manis, across Indonesia. The foodtech firm will also continue building its network and broadening its footprint internationally.

Kopi Kenangan was founded in 2017 by Edward Tirtanata, James Prananto, and Cynthia Chaerunnisa. The firm aims to address the gap in the market between the high-priced coffee served at international coffee chains and the instant coffee sold in Indonesia’s street stalls.

It allows customers to order coffee through an app. They can either get delivered to their doorsteps or pick it up at one of Kopi Kenangan’s outlets.

In 2020, the company expanded into the food industry by launching a bread brand called Cerita Roti. Later in 2021, it launched a “chicken on the go” brand named Chigo and soft-cookies brand Kenangan Manis.

Also Read: Flash Coffee raises US$15M to take on the likes of Kopi Kenangan in SEA

Since its launch, the company has grown to employ more than 3,000 staff in over 600 stores across 45 cities. It claims to have served 40 million cups of coffee in the last 12 months and is expected to do 5.5 million cups per month in Q1 2022.

To date, Kopi Kenangan has raised over US$240 million. Its other backers are Sequoia Capital India, Verlinvest, and Sofina.

In March this year, Kopi Kenangan’s founders launched an angel investment fund targeting early-stage Indonesian companies. Coined ‘Kenangan Fund’, its average ticket size ranges from US$10,000 to US$150,000 per investment and is sector-agnostic.

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The year 2021 has been challenging for the startup world. With the spectre of the COVID-19 pandemic still lurking, many businesses had to cease operations that affected millions of jobs worldwide.

However, amidst all this, the startup world also witnessed some positive developments — the birth of many unicorns, public listing of many tech behemoths, accelerative growth of technologies such as NFTs and metaverse, and so on. Southeast Asia has been no different.

e27 brings you a list of all the major non-funding stories that have changed the startup ecosystem in 2021.

1. Grab IPO

On December 3, Grab scripted history by launching the largest IPO by a Southeast Asian company in the US. This development was a follow-up of the agreement in April that combined the company with Altimeter Growth in a SPAC merger.

The deal was valued at nearly US$40 billion.

2. Gojek-Tokopedia marriage

On May 17, Indonesian tech giants Gojek and Tokopedia announced a merger to form GoTo Group. Although the financial details were not disclosed, the companies said in a joint statement that it marked the largest ever business combination in Indonesia and the largest between two Asia-based internet media and services companies to date.

GoTo Group will continue to focus on markets where Gojek already operates. Beyond Indonesia, this includes Singapore and Vietnam.

3. AirAsia snaps up Gojek Thailand

On July 7, airasia Digital (previously known as RedBeat Ventures), the digital arm of the Malaysia-based airline operator,  acquired the Thailand operations of Gojek. The budget airline firm expects the deal to rev up the expansion of the airasia Super App in ASEAN while enabling Gojek to increase investments in its Vietnam and Singapore operations.

In return, Gojek will receive shareholding in the airasia Super App, whose market value is said to be around US$1 billion.

4. GoTo gets US$400M from Abu Dhabi fund

On October 20, GoTo Group said it was set to receive US$400 million from a wholly-owned subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) in its pre-IPO round. ADIA would be the lead investor in the round and would join a global list of prominent GoTo investors, including Alibaba Group, Astra International, Facebook, Global Digital Niaga, Google, KKR, Sequoia India, and PayPal, SoftBank Vision Fund, Telkomsel, Temasek, Tencent and Warburg Pincus.

5. Carousell to take SPAC route to list in US

On June 28, Bloomberg reported that Singapore’s leading online classifieds company Carousell was mulling public listing in the US via a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). The transaction could value the tech company at about US$1.5 billion.

The firm is already working with an adviser on the potential deal.

6. PropertyGuru to go public

On July 23, digital property marketplace group PropertyGuru announced it would merge with Bridgetown 2 Holdings, a blank-cheque company formed by Pacific Century Group and Peter Thiel’s Thiel Capital, to go public on the NYSE. The combined entity will have an enterprise valuation of approximately US$1.35 billion and an equity value of approximately US$1.78 billion at closing.

The transaction is expected to deliver up to US$431 million of gross proceeds through the contribution of up to US$299 million of cash held in Bridgetown 2’s trust account, a concurrent US$100 million private placement (PIPE) of common stock anchored by Baillie Gifford, Naya, REA Group, Akaris Global Partners, and one of Malaysia’s largest asset managers, priced at US$10.00 per share.

7. VNG mulling public listing

On August 12, Bloomberg reported that Vietnamese internet giant VNG Corporation was considering going public in the US via a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) at a US$2 to US$3 billion valuation. The technology giant is working with financial advisers and is holding talks with several SPACs for a potential merger, the report said quoting sources.

VNG is Vietnam’s first tech unicorn with a valuation of about US$2.2 billion. The firm has been considering a potential listing for several years. Back in 2017, Bloomberg reported that VNG had signed an MoU to list its shares on the Nasdaq, the second-largest stock exchange in the world.

8. Catcha SPAC files for a US$250M IPO

Catcha Investment, a blank cheque company formed by Malaysia’s Catcha Group, filed to raise up to US$250 million in an initial public offering on January 27. The Kuala Lumpur-based SPAC plans to raise the proposed capital by offering 25 million units at US$10. Each unit will consist of one share of common stock and one-half of a warrant, exercisable at US$11.50.

At the proposed deal size, Catcha Investment would command a market value of US$313 million.

9. Traveloka prepares to list via SPAC in the US

On February 15, a Bloomberg report said Indonesian travel giant Traveloka was planning to publicly list in the US this year through a SPAC. The Jakarta-based startup engaged JPMorgan Chase as plans to go public accelerate amid the capital influx into the stock market. Traveloka is said to be valued at close to US$6 billion.

10. AirAsia to launch ride-hailing services in Malaysia

Budget airline operator AirAsia Group founder and CEO Tony Fernandes announced in end-March that it would soon be launching ride-hailing services. Understanding the potential comparison with existing ride-hailing giants such as Grab, Fernandes affirmed that AirAsia can become successful in this sector even with the heavy competition, citing history where the company managed to raise funding quicker than any other airline company.

11. Gorilla Mobile launches blockchain-powered telecom offerings

On June 23, two-year-old Singaporean startup Gorilla Mobile rolled out a Switchback feature that enables customers to convert their unused data into redeemable non-expiring ‘Gorilla Go Tokens’. The tokens can be used to offset their bills and redeem other services like international direct dialling calls and travel roaming data. Founded in 2019, Gorilla Mobile originally started as a travel SIM card company that focused on business travellers who had plenty of unused travel roaming data.

12. Ascend Money becomes unicorn

On September 27, Ascend Money, a Bangkok-headquartered fintech firm providing payment and financial services in Southeast Asia, announced a US$150 million funding at US$1.5 billion to become Thailand’s first fintech unicorn. US-based Bow Wave Capital Management and existing shareholders — Thai conglomerate Charoen Pokphand Group and Ant Group — invested in the round.

So far, Ascend Money has made inroads into six Southeast Asian countries, including Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

13. Carousell joins unicorn club

On September 15, Singapore’s leading classifieds company Carosell Group entered the unicorn club by bagging a US$100 million financing, led by Korean PE firm STIC Investments. Carousell plans to use the money to “redefine commerce for second-hand goods and automobiles in an increasingly digitally-savvy, affluent and sustainability-conscious region”. Quek Siu Rui, co-founder and CEO, said Carousell will deepen its investments in re-commerce across more categories and markets and will continue to seek opportunistic acquisitions in scaling up.”

14. Carro first automotive marketplace to turn unicorn

In mid-June, Singapore-based Carro raised US$360 million in a Series C funding round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, making it the first automotive marketplace unicorn in Southeast Asia. This news followed Carro’s US$110-million raise in debt financing last year. Carro plans to use the fresh capital to strengthen its market position and expand the retail offering across Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore.

Carro is a subscription-based service that allows customers to drive a car without the hassle of owning it. It provides a range of services that offer car owners everything they need. These include an in-house financing solution, after-sales services like Singapore’s first on-demand roadside recovery platform, and a flexible car ownership experience with Singapore’s car subscription service.

15. Society Pass launches US$26M IPO on Nasdaq

On November 10, Vietnamese company Society Pass, which provides a data-driven loyalty platform, launched a US$26 million IPO on the Nasdaq stock exchange in the US. The company, which offers about 2.8 million shares of common stock for US$9 per share, trades under the ticker symbol “SOPA” on November 9. With this, Society Pass has become the first Vietnamese company to complete a traditional listing on a stock market outside of its home country.

16. Mynt makes it to the unicorn club

On November 2, Mynt, a leading digital financial solutions company in the Philippines and the owner of the mobile payments GCash, scored over US$300 million in a funding round. Global growth investor Warburg Pincus led the new round, bringing its valuation to over US$2 billion to turn it into the first fintech unicorn of the Philippines. This deal follows the announcement of over US$175 million funding from ASP Philippines early this year.

17. Kopi Kenangan joins unicorn club

Kopi Kenangan, a fast-growing new retail F&B chain in Indonesia, became the latest Indonesian company to enter the unicorn list after closing a US$96 million Series C financing round, led by Tybourne Capital, on December 27.

Founded in 2017 by Edward Tirtanata, James Prananto, and Cynthia Chaerunnisa, the firm aims to address the gap in the market between the high-priced coffee served at international coffee chains and the instant coffee sold in Indonesia’s street stalls. It allows customers to order coffee through an app. They can either get delivered to their doorsteps or pick it up at one of Kopi Kenangan’s outlets.

18. Trax bags US$640M Series E

On April 8, Trax, a Singapore-based company harnessing computer vision to provide vision and analytics tools for retailers, secured US$640 million in a Series E financing round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and BlackRock. Founded in 2010, Trax’s cloud platform is accelerating the digital transformation of consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies and grocery retailers by providing granular visibility of rapidly changing store conditions.

Trax claims its proprietary computer vision solutions enable users to make timely, data-driven decisions and implement immediate corrective actions. This helps retailers accelerate growth, reduce costs, and drive awareness and purchasing intent.

19. Flash Express becomes first Thai unicorn

On June 1, Flash Group, the company behind the leading express delivery service Flash Express in Thailand, closed a combined US$150 million in its Series D+ and Series E rounds.

SCB10X, the corporate VC arm of Siam Commercial Bank, led the Series D+ round, with additional investment from Thailand’s Chanwanich Security Printing Company. Buer Capital, a Singapore-based Founder’s Fund, led the Series E round. Existing investors SCB10X, Alibaba’s eWTP Capital, PTTOR, TCP Group’s Durbell, Krungsri Finnovate also joined this round.

The latest rounds bring Flash Group’s total funding raised to more than US$400 million, taking its enterprise valuation to more than US$1 billion and becoming the first unicorn startup in Thailand.

20. Ninja Van raises US$578M Series E

On September 26, Singapore-based logistics tech firm Ninja Van announced a US$578 million Series E fundraise from existing investors Geopost/DPDgroup, B Capital Group, Monk’s Hill Ventures, and Zamrud, an entity linked to a Southeast Asian sovereign wealth fund. It followed a US$274 million in Series D funding round that the company announced in May 2020.

Founded in 2014, Ninja Van has a presence in major SEA markets such as Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines.

The company said that it currently employs more than 61,000 staff and delivery personnel that support the delivery of around two million parcels a day throughout the region.

21. Xendit turns unicorn

On September 15, Xendit, a payments infrastructure company based in Indonesia, secured a US$150 million Series C funding led by Tiger Global. This deal followed a US$64.6 million Series B round led by Accel and brings its total funding raised to US$238 million since its inception in 2015.

Xendit aims to simplify the payment process for businesses — from SMEs and e-commerce startups to large enterprises — in Indonesia, the Philippines and Southeast Asia. It enables them to accept payments, disburse payroll, run marketplaces on an easy integration platform supported by 24×7 customer service.

With the Xendit tools in place, businesses can accept payments from direct debit, virtual accounts, credit and debit cards, e-wallets, retail outlets, and online instalments.

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According to Dinar Standard’s Global Islamic FinTech Report 2021, the Islamic fintech market is projected to grow to US$128 billion by 2025.

In 2020, the Islamic fintech transaction volume within Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries is estimated at US$49 billion. The halal economy is currently worth US$3.1 trillion and is projected to be worth US$5 trillion by 2030.

At the heart of this explosive growth is Malaysia, a country with 89 per cent of internet users penetration among its population. It ranks first in terms of market maturity and is among the top five Islamic fintech markets based on transaction volume. As the country seeks to be the world leader in the vertical, it needs to look at bringing its solutions to a global audience.

Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), the country’s lead digital economy agency, has included fintech and Islamic digital economy as one of the five focus areas for its digital investment future strategy. It has run various programmes to support the sector, including Fintech Booster, FIKRA Accelerator, i-Connect Fintech in Islamic Finance and the Royal Award for Islamic Finance (RAIF) Impact Challenge.

From January 9-15, 2022, MDEC will be leading a delegation of 20 Malaysian companies to Expo 2020 Dubai as part of the Malaysia Digital Economy week. These include companies from its thriving Islamic fintech industry.

“Islamic Finance and fintech are seen as a crucial pillar within the Twelfth Malaysia Plan (12MP) not just in driving a progressive, inclusive, and sustainable society, but towards expanding the country’s export market. Expo 2020 Dubai will serve as an important platform for these Malaysia-based Islamic fintech innovators to reach a global market in line with MDEC’s vision for Malaysia to be an Islamic fintech hub,” said Mahadhir Aziz, CEO at MDEC.

Here are the Malaysian Islamic fintech players set to break into the global stage:

microLEAP

microLEAP is an Islamic and conventional peer-to-peer (P2P) microfinancing platform regulated by the Securities Commission of Malaysia (SC).

The platform serves as an alternative financing tool that allows issuers to obtain financing from investors without having to go through a financial institution. They are the first Malaysian P2P operator that offers both Islamic and conventional financing on the same platform.

microLEAP experienced tremendous growth in a short period of time. After going live with their Islamic P2P investments in April 2020, their funded notes grew by over 1,000 per cent in a span of four to five months. As of April 2021, the platform has successfully helped fund over MYR2 million across 71 funding notes – 97 per cent of which are Islamic.

Also read: Here’s how you can earn passive income with cryptocurrency easily and safely

The platform in 2021 raised US$3.26 million in equity and other modes of financing from Malaysian investment holding company MAA Group. It has since begun several key partnerships, including with Malaysian Technology Development Corporation (MTDC) and MoneyMatch.

microLEAP has also partnered with MDEC under the agency’s eBerkat campaign. More recently, it is collaborating with Bank Pembangunan Malaysia Berhad (BPMB) to finance MDEC’s Digital AgTech programme.

TheNoor

Created and launched by actress and successful entrepreneur Noor Neelofa Mohd Noor, TheNoor (meaning ‘light’ in Arabic) is described as the ‘Ultimate Muslim Lifestyle App’. The app allows users to keep track of prayer times and listen to verses from the Quran. On top of features such as a Qiblah finder with real-time detection, the app also functions as an e-wallet.

Since its release in 2020, TheNoor has already garnered five million users. More features are en route, including more languages for its voice-over translations of the Quran. More recently, it partnered with Tabung Haji Travel & Services Sdn Bhd to offer shariah-compliant travel and holiday services.

The collaboration connects businesses to the global halal tourism industry, offering umrah and haj packages through the app. It will enable users to conduct everything from the early stage of registration right up to the completion of the Islamic pilgrimage.

In July 2021, TheNoor partnered with insurance provider Zurich to offer free personal accident coverage for the app’s users.

HelloGold

HelloGold was established in 2015 as the world’s first shariah-compliant mobile application that changes the way you buy, save, sell, and redeem physical gold.

Currently, with over 200,000 users, HelloGold allows users to diversify their investments into gold through a user-friendly app. The gold can be bought on the app for as low as MYR1 (US$0.24), with the transactions kept transparent through a public ledger powered by blockchain.

In 2018, HelloGold raised Series A funding from Silicon Valley’s 500 Startups for an undisclosed amount. The startup saw further growth during the COVID-19 pandemic, where they onboarded between 20,000 to 30,000 new customers between May 2020 to 2021.

HelloGold has won multiple awards including Best Islamic Wealth Management FinTech Company in the 2018 World Islamic FinTech Award.

Global Sadaqah

Global Sadaqah is an award-winning zakat and waqf management platform working together with stakeholders from religious bodies and foundations to banks, corporates, and the public to increase the “efficiency, sustainability, and impact of social finance.”

The Islamic crowdfunding platform is open to the public and corporate clients to contribute to zakat or waqf campaigns —verified and approved by their in-house Shariah team. One hundred per cent of the campaigns are from trusted and verified partners, with enhanced due diligence and KYC in place.

Also read: How electric mobility startups are tackling climate change in Asia

Global Sadaqah also provides fund matching by corporate partners for eligible campaigns and promises zero compromise safety and security standards. Donations are facilitated through 11 channels including e-wallet providers in Malaysia, Bitcoin, and digital gold.

The platform is fast gaining popularity, having grown more than double every year for the past two years. In February, Global Sadaqah raised MYR450,000 (US$106,000) on crowdfunding platform Ethis Malaysia, attracting investors from 10 countries including strategic angel investors.

WAHED Technologies

WAHED Technologies is an Islamic digital investment management company that provides Malaysians access to a shariah-compliant robo-advisory portfolio that is transparent and impartial. They are backed by leading investors and advisors bringing ethical and halal financial management to communities globally.

The platform currently serves more than 200,000 clients across more than 100 customer countries. WAHED now has 11 offices and nine regulatory licenses. The platform’s portfolios are a group of securities mainly across stocks and sukuks (Islamic bonds), which they will automatically invest in according to the client’s specific risk profile.

WAHED has won multiple awards including Best Islamic Robo-Advisory Platform at the World Islamic FinTech Awards 2020.

Global Psytech

Global Psytech Sdn Bhd is a data tech company that provides data analytic solutions in various industries. Incorporated in 2017, Global Psytech’s goal is to develop cutting-edge analytic solutions by integrating multiple scientific disciplines, including artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, behavioural science, cognitive science, statistics, and psychometrics.

Their flagship product General Financial Insights (GFI) is an alternative credit risk assessment system that applies psychometrics, behavioural sciences, AI, and machine learning to estimate the risk of an individual in loan defaults.

GFI has been tested and validated at various lending institutions including Islamic banks, development financial institutions, and P2P lenders involving more than 20,000 borrowers in Malaysia and the APAC region since 2018. In short, GFI will prove crucial towards the development of further Islamic FinTech innovations and services.

Global Psytech has received multiple awards, including the International Business Review ASEAN 2020 Awards for Innovative Technology in the ICT Sector. It was also awarded as one of the Top 50 Tech Companies 2019 by the Top Internet Conference (InterCon) Dubai.

Createwills

Createwills is a fintech company in the business of Digital Wills that provides a fully legal solution that is the most comprehensive in the industry.

Createwills’ Islamic Will, known as Al Yusra, is their first Islamic Will integrated with a Faraid algorithm that can calculate the permutations within seconds.

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

This will allow Muslims to understand what happens to their assets after passing away and to plan their asset distributions accordingly.

Createwills’ Conventional Will, known as Sterling, can be customised to manage complicated gifts such as shares and trusts and allows for percentages in asset distributions.

They are currently building an ecosystem that includes, but not limited to Will storage, insurance, microloans, funeral services, trustee services, florists, automated obituaries and certifications for Will agents.

For more information on Expo 2020 Dubai and Malaysia Digital Economy Week, visit their website at: heartofdigitalasean.my

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

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Borzo, a global same-day intracity delivery service for businesses, has acquired NOW, an Indian company providing 90-minutes delivery service. 

Following the acquisition, The Netherlands-based Borzo intends to improve its presence in Asia and give more customised delivery choices to its clients. 

Meanwhile, as an independent brand, NOW will benefit from Borzo’s knowledge and activities in ten countries, including Brazil, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, the Philippines, Russia, Turkey and Vietnam. 

“Joining forces will allow us to rapidly scale up in a market where demand for hyperlocal deliveries is in millions per day,” said Vivek Pandey, Co-Founder and CEO of NOW.

The current management will continue to run NOW, aiming to surpass 5 million deliveries by 2022.

Also read: How same-day and on-demand delivery can add value to e-commerce and retail businesses

Founded in 2012, Borzo is a global delivery service that allows intracity delivery for businesses. Its algorithms optimise multiple concurrent deliveries while considering geographical routes, package contents, couriers, and other factors to ensure same-day delivery.

Borzo recently secured US$60 million in venture financing from Mubadala Investment Company, Flashpoint, AddVenture, and VNV Global, among others.

Launched in 2015, NOW is a B2B commerce platform for micro retailers for product discovery, express delivery and credit. NOW, operating in eight cities, serves restaurant and drugstore chains, aggregators, e-commerce, and direct-to-consumer companies with upfront pricing at the time of placing and real-time delivery tracking for clients and recipients. 

With a fleet of over 1,500 riders, NOW claims to have close to 2 million orders every year for KFC, Pizza Hut, Apollo Pharmacies, Amazon, and various other businesses.

According to the “B2B Marketplace India” report, Indian B2B startups account for 43 per cent of all unicorns in India. 

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Image Credit: Borzo

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As we slow down for the holidays and wrap this year with a bang, I wanted to leave you with enough food for thought. Kicking off the e27 community wrap up series with the Top 10 community articles for founders.

If you are a founder everything from funding to cap tables to hiring to company culture to market expansion is on your mind. And as you build your goals and plans for 2022, these tips and lessons from the e27 contributor community can come in handy.

Thank you to all our contributors for their valuable insights.

Talenox co-founder reveals the grind behind the glamour of entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship is not easy to figure out. Most entrepreneurs will have their stories of adversity and business struggles to share. A clear goal and a well-thought-out plan to success will help you determine whether you want to build fast, sell fast or develop a long-lasting business. These are some of the few factors that will also help you determine if you need to raise substantial funding or not.

So, what is the grind like behind the glamour of entrepreneurship?

How EngageRocket co-founders built a sustainable partnership

Finding a co-founder that shares your vision is a big challenge, but making the relationship work in the long run is a bigger one. Even if you’re one of the lucky few, who have found a co-founder that shares your vision and ambitions, sustaining this partnership for 1, 5, and 20 years down the road will pose a new set of dynamics to navigate. The founder of EngageRocket shares tips on what it takes to build a sustainable partnership between co-founders.

What I learned about entrepreneurship through my journey as Coinhako co-founder

The first few years were challenging as the crypto market faced very low interest from the general public. We had to rely on tight financing and management of resources to tide us through. The 2017 bull run, on the other hand, ushered in huge changes in crypto trading and proved to be a big break for us. There are things he has learnt from his journey with Coinhako over the past seven years. I have condensed them into three main takeaways

Student by day, founder by night: Running a startup wasn’t my first intention. Solving a problem was

Being an entrepreneur has been the hallmark of his student life. It has been the most challenging but exciting, meaningful, and fulfilling journey as a student. In this article, he shares some insights about why he chose to run a startup as a student and how he exactly did it in the past two years of my time.

4 lessons for first-time founders embarking on their entrepreneurial journey

Having already gone through the journey of being a first-time founder and learned valuable lessons, serial founders are one of the most sought after groups of individuals for investors. After partnering with several fascinating serial founders at Picus Capital, this author shares lessons from founders about starting and building ventures from scratch, what keeps them motivated, what they learned throughout their careers as founders and early employees at different ventures, and what advice they have for future entrepreneurs.

3 learnings from KKday CEO and Founder on how his travel startup overcame the pandemic

On his journey to becoming a better founder, Jack An set out to write this piece, to document his learnings. Amongst the network of founders at AppWorks, he had the chance to closely observe Ming Ming Chen, the founder and CEO of KKday– a travel platform that provides local experiences and tours across Asia.

TWG Tea’s founder on how a luxury food brand can tap third-party digital marketplaces to expand business

In 2020, TWG Tea saw growth in every market we have an online presence in. Furthermore, they noticed that this new online shopping trend is remaining consistent even in instances when social distancing measures are lifted, proving that consumer behaviour has evolved. TWG Tea learns that it can continue to register significant online sales growth— as long as it stays nimble.

How can female founders become the new normal in Asia?

A Makan for Hope roundtable discussed the steps we can take today to empower female founders in the Southeast Asian region. The roundtable took a deep dive into the headwinds women faced and discussed the steps we can take today to empower female founders and encourage more to thrive in the Southeast Asia startup scene.

5 productivity tools for busy startup founders to stay focused in 2022

When founders decide to implement yet another productivity tool, they pass on the SaaS fatigue to their team members. Modern tech workers seem to chase after productivity is like the new-age stage of attaining enlightenment. However, in the midst of this chase, it’s important to remember Ray Dalio’s guidance that “you can have virtually anything you want, but you can’t have everything you want”.

In that case, what exactly is being productive? Is it even important?

What Cambodian women taught me about being a better woman entrepreneur

Despite running on the creative route, the company operated on the traditional model that many businesses were familiar with. Besides, Zhi Ying Chai also quickly observed that most of these businesses were not understanding the changing behaviours of consumers who are always well-connected online, and she wanted to help close this gap. So she took off for Cambodia with a team from Singapore to better understand the market and here’s what her Cambodian colleagues taught her.

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