When it comes to finding the right people and ideas to invest in, visibility is everything. Remember that you are not alone in trying to land the hottest new emerging startups in your portfolio. If you want to become a true partner for innovation and earn the opportunity to catalyse the growth of some of the most brilliant young companies in the world, you really have to stand out.

As such, we bring good news to the most active investors in our e27 ecosystem! Lucky for you, we have just launched our latest Investor Side Widget on our e27 homepage!

These investors are listed on our Investor Side Widget because of their high level of engagement on our e27 platform and their responsiveness to Connect requests from startups. We are working to improve the discovery of more active investors in the Investor Directory as well as a follow-up next step.

For all the verified investors out there at e27, here is a chance for you to gain some extra visibility on our platform as the hottest startups in the region can now easily get connected with you via our side widget on the right side of our homepage with just one click. In order to become an active investor, a combination of factors is taken into account. This includes the 2 main factors as follows:

1. How responsive an investor is in responding to “Requests to Connects” from startups — QUICK TIP: if you have any pending requests sitting in your email, now is the time for you to clear them up.
2. Level of engagement on our e27 platform
   • Level of Profile Completeness
   • Up-to-date Investment Updates
   • General activity on the platform

For all startups out there, here is the chance for you to get connected with the most lively investors in the region! And what’s better, you know for sure now that they are the more active investors out there and will probably be responding to you in a more timely manner.

For general investors interested in the program, please read here on how it works and here on how to join.

The post Active investors get a special feature in brand new Investor Side Widget appeared first on e27.

The Fintech landscape in Southeast Asia has grown tremendously over the last 10 years. For one, Open Banking, which was initially perceived as a good-to-have, has now become essential due to many industry factors, such as a booming e-commerce industry and a large growth in cross-border business activities.

Open Banking, in layman terms, is the “opening up” of banks to external vendors and developers. This creates a controlled, and in most cases, regulated access for Third-Party Providers to make use of banking services and customer-permissioned data — services and data which would previously have been siloed behind secured servers and legacy systems.

You might then wonder why Open Banking is useful, and why banks should adopt Open Banking, which may come with the risk of subjecting their confidential and critical information to online attacks and piracy.

Similar to the past trends of open-source software and open API applications, there can be many new ideas and innovations that will be able to benefit as a result of the power of the collective mind.

How Open Banking can Accelerate Innovation

Over the years, banks have created many financial services and products to serve consumers and businesses. They have done well addressing the core financial needs of their customers. However, when it comes to innovating beyond their core strengths and expertise, it is sometimes beyond the bank’s resources and capabilities to do so.

Also read: The 5G era is here, and you can be part of the revolution

Banks could counter this issue by opening up access to some of their financial services and data to developers, financiers, and potential users. This financial ecosystem could then leverage everyone’s various strengths and expertise to develop useful solutions and use cases to provide a greater variety of improved financial products and experiences, that are able to cater to different customer needs.

Resistance to Open Banking

Although the benefits of Open Banking are easy to understand, the main reasons for the slow uptake in some regions is due to resistance and inertia. Those unfamiliar with Open Banking may be concerned about unnecessarily exposing themselves to potential risks such as fraud, security breaches, and regulatory non-compliance.

Furthermore, many large financial institutions have multi-layered organisations with many legacy systems which are deeply entrenched. This means that an extensive amount of time and resources would be needed to overhaul systems, educate stakeholders about the benefits of Open Banking, and ensure that the proper procedures are implemented.

Open Banking in Southeast Asia

While the US and European markets are global leaders in Open Banking, there has been significant progress in the Asia Pacific region. For instance, in China, Open Banking has been fairly widely adopted, and this is predominantly market-driven, as large Chinese banking groups face fierce competition from Internet-based companies such as Ant Financial.

On the other hand, in some Southeast Asian markets, such as Singapore and Indonesia, the local regulators have been promoting and encouraging the adoption of Open Banking. These regulators have published guidelines on APIs and appropriate frameworks for third-party access to the banks’ data. In other Southeast Asian markets where guidelines have yet to be published, most central banks have initiated their own payments-related APIs in order to facilitate improved e-commerce transactions .

Generally, the largest banks in each market have taken proactive steps to open up their APIs and work with Open Banking platforms such as Finantier, Brankas, and Brick to develop their own frameworks and guidelines.

Impact of Open Banking on Fintech Startups

In the past, in order for Fintech startups to successfully launch their own products, they will typically have to go through the process of building their own core banking systems, such as risk management and payment systems. They would then need to undergo robust and rigorous security checks, and acquire the necessary licenses and compliance approvals. Alternatively, they would have to integrate with legacy banking institutions, or form strategic business partnerships with them. These processes would typically take at least one to two years, and require a lot of resources as well.

Also read: Want to fast-track your growth? Fast-track your way to improved customer experience

However, with Open Banking, startups can now focus on what they do best, while leveraging existing banking systems to develop innovative and personalised solutions for consumers. Consequently, the duration required for a Fintech startup to bring their product to market has been significantly reduced. For instance, Gromo, a social media platform dedicated to financial products, was able to reduce their go-to-market timeline by up to 80%, by resolving banking integration challenges using Decentro’s Account Validation API.

On the digital payments front, startups are able to roll out their own e-wallet capabilities, while depending on banks to provide ledger systems, account opening services, and cash management services in the background. They may also offer white-labelled credit cards and Buy Now Pay Later services to new or underserved market segments, while utilising banks’ credit facilities. Additionally, startups can easily launch products quickly across various markets by making use of the local banks’ licenses, instead of applying for their own license.

What’s Next?

In both of his articles published on e27 last month, Diego Rojas, the Co-Founder and CEO of Finantier, has discussed how Open Banking has brought about Open Finance, as an extension of Open Banking data-sharing principles — to provide access to financial data, in order to enable third-party providers to have a better idea of a consumer’s financial position.

Although it might take a while for more banks to adopt Open Banking, we are starting to see that the possibilities with Open Banking are limitless. It is now up to us to decide how to best utilise the extensive financial data and information available.

To all founders and startups who are interested in learning more about Open Banking, we would like to invite you to join Diego Rojas and David Engel, Fintech Specialist at AWS, for a webinar on 24th May to learn more about the Open Banking landscape in Southeast Asia and how to tap on this burgeoning opportunity to accelerate the launch of your Fintech innovation. Eligible startups which attend the webinar will also stand to receive complimentary AWS Founder Activate credits after the event.

Interested to join? Register here.

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This article is produced by the e27 team, sponsored by 
Plug and Play

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.

The post Open Banking: why this risky pursuit is the key to accelerating Fintech innovation appeared first on e27.

The story: Neuron Mobility, a Singapore headquartered rental electric scooter operator, has launched into Canada, after winning a contract to operate in Ottawa, in the coming month.

More about the story: Neuron will be launching its safety-leading N3 e-scooters which electronically secures a safety helmet to every e-scooter.

The e-scooter will also be fitted with bilingual voice guidance, in English and French, to educate users and help them ride
and park safely.

As of now, the company operates in cities across Australia, New Zealand, the UK, and South Korea.

Zachary Wang, CEO of Neuron Mobility said: “We’re delighted to launch in Ottawa. This year, more than ever before, Canadian cities are realising the benefits of e-scooters, and we think we are well-placed to meet their needs.”

Ata Plus appoints Elain Lockman as new CEO, plans to go IPO

The story: Ata Plus, an online equity crowdfunding (ECF) platform, announced today that it has appointed Elain Lockman as its new CEO in addition to her role as co-founder and director.

More about the story: In line with this appointment, Ata Plus has also revealed its plans to go public.

“Our vision requires us to make considerable investments in both technology and regulatory infrastructure so as to readily
facilitate the new products and services we plan to launch in the short to medium term,” said Aimi Aizal Nasharuddin, Executive Director of Ata Plus.

Also Read: Ecosystem Roundup: Is Singaporean startup Team Labs legitimate?

“We feel that going public serves our needs best as it is in line with our philosophy to democratise investments by allowing public participation at this relatively early stage of our growth,” he added.

Hong-Kong’s blockchain gaming firm Animoca Brands raises US$88M

The story: Hong Kong-based blockchain gaming firm Animoca Brands has raised US$88.8 million in its latest funding round
Investors: Kingsway Capital, RIT Capital Partners, HashKey Fintech Investment Fund, AppWorks Fund, LCV Fund, Huobi, Octava, Ellerston Capital, Perennial, Axia Infinity Ventures, SNZ, Liberty City Ventures, and Metapurse.

What the funding will be used for: To develop new products, make strategic investments, and secure additional intellectual property licenses.

More about the story: With this new funding, Animoca Brands has also gained unicorn status.

According to Tech In Asia, the company went public on the Australian Securities Exchange in 2015 but was taken off the exchange last year due to governance, personnel, and non-compliance issues.

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Image Credit: Neuron Mobility

The post In Brief: Singapore’s e-scooter rental startup Neuron Mobility launches in Canada appeared first on e27.

 

In today’s edition of “Active Investors of the week”, we have Golden Equator Ventures , ExtraVallis, KDDI as our top three most active investors in our e27 Connect Program. The following are some details on who these investors are and what are their investment criterias:

Golden Equator Ventures
Based in: Singapore
Investment range: Not specified, Series A, Series B, Series C & Above

Straight from Golden Equator Ventures: Golden Equator Ventures (GEV) is a venture capital firm that invests in high-growth technology companies in Southeast Asia. GEV is a subsidiary of Golden Equator Group. Through its ecosystem of businesses and networks, Golden Equator invests in the future generation through its key pillars of Capital, Technology, and Community to build financially rewarding businesses while driving positive social impact.

Latest Investments:

1. Whitecoat (Singapore), Series A, $8M, Apr 2021
2. dahmakan (Malaysia), Series B, $18M, Feb 2020
3. Rever (Vietnam), Venture Round, $2.3M, Sep 2019

Verticals: Fintech, Human Resources, Media and Entertainment

ExtraVallis
Based in: United States of America
Investment range: Not specified, Angel / Pre Seed, Seed

Straight from ExtraVallis: ExtraVallis enables you to focus on your business rather than fund-raising. Ensures exposure to investors, control over how you raise capital, and easier management and presentation of your metrics to demonstrate success.

Verticals: All/Any

KDDI
Based in: Singapore
Investment range: Not Specified, Seed, Pre-Series A / Bridge, Series A, Series B, Series C & Above

Straight from KDDI: KDDI supports startups that shape the new future, through offering investments, facilities, and marketing channels. KDDI is committed to creating a new world with you challengers.

Latest Investments:

1. Repro (Japan), Series C, $27M, Feb 2020
2. Cluster (Japan), Series C, $7.47M, Jan 2020
3. GTRIIP (Singapore), Venture Round, Undisclosed, Dec 2019

Verticals: Fintech, Consumer, IoT/ AI

We wish you all the best in your fundraising journey and hope our e27 Connect Program will assist you to secure quality conversations with the top investors in Southeast Asia in the quest to attain your fundraising goals. If you are a startup looking to fundraise, sign up here now for a free trial to get connected with the abovementioned investors.

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Photo by RODNAE Productions from Pexels

The post Here are 3 investors active on e27 Connect that you may start connecting with today appeared first on e27.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has opened up unique opportunities across many different sectors, from e-commerce to health tech. Among these categories, one that is not discussed as often is the maritime industry.

But before we dig deeper into the available opportunities for maritime tech players, we need to understand the challenges that COVID-19 has brought.

“When COVID-19 hit, the maritime industry faced major challenges in facilitating crew changes due to border restrictions. This meant that seafarers had to stay on board for far longer than the length of their contract which in turn cast a greater spotlight on their conditions at sea,” Dr Mark Lim, Programme Director at PIER71, explains to e27 in an email.

“This accelerated the development of new products and services that enhance seafarer welfare and training. Some of these include remote monitoring of physical and mental health and well-being, digital documentation and virtual reality-based training,” he continues.

Dr Lim further stresses that the maritime industry’s high dependency on manual processes has made “quicker adoption” of tech solutions a necessity during the pandemic, as part of the effort to minimise physical contact.

“Before the pandemic, PIER71 already saw startups using blockchain for applications that verify qualifications of seafarers and transaction records. We anticipate that there will be more opportunities for such maritime tech to digitise and authenticate documents,” he says.

Also Read: How Signal Ventures aims to sail towards new opportunities in global maritime tech scene

In general, the maritime industry is responsible for more than 80 per cent of global trade, with Singapore being home to over 140 international shipping groups and over 5,000 maritime establishments.

Considering this fact alone, it is clear that there are many spaces for startups to innovate in the maritime sector, even beyond the pandemic.

For example, Dr Lim explains that the industry is committed to a 50 per cent reduction in total annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050, as compared with 2008 levels.

“This makes the development of new technology and infrastructure for energy sources such as biofuels, hydrogen and ammonia, as well as more immediate technical and operational measures for decarbonisation, of equal importance,” he says.

Even the recent Suez Canal blockage has highlighted the importance of maritime transport and its impact on the global supply chain.

“In order to minimise disruptions caused by unforeseen circumstances, we need to have better supply chain visibility, efficiency and resilience. Being one of the busiest ports, optimisation of sea space is another critical priority for Singapore.”

Entering the space

Now that the opportunities for startups are clear, Dr Lim centres the discussion on what founders need to know about entering the maritime tech space.

First and foremost, by nature, the maritime industry is a B2B market. This means that founders are likely to uncover opportunities by focusing on working with the corporates rather than inventing their own business models.

“Having said that, the maritime industry is undergoing a major digital transformation and there is a huge opportunity for startups to bring in fresh insights and solutions even if they do not have a maritime background. At PIER71, we encourage start-ups to reimagine their technologies for maritime and have seen many startups adapt their solutions from a different industry successfully,” he elaborates.

With the goal to grow the maritime innovation ecosystem into one that is vibrant and globally recognised, PIER71 has been working closely with Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and NUS Enterprise, the entrepreneurial arm of the National University of Singapore (NUS).

The institution says that over the last three years, they have received more than 500 applications in their Smart Port Challenge from tech startups around the world, with close to 60 startups have benefitted from Smart Port Challenge and PIER71 Accelerate. Twenty-five companies have received MPA grants towards prototype development and pilot projects with PIER71’s maritime corporate partners.

In addition to providing grant support, MPA is working with the Enterprise Singapore to launch the Sea Transport Industry Digitalisation Plan (IDP). This initiative will enable startups to get their solutions accredited and can potentially receive grant support of up to S$30,000.

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Filipino neobank Tonik has raised US$17 million in a pre-Series B funding round, led by Singaporean VC firm iGlobe Partners.

Existing investors Sequoia India, Altara Ventures and Insignia Venture Partners also participated. They were joined by new investors, namely Citius and Baring Vostok Capital Partners, beside several unnamed Philippine family offices.

This round comes fresh off Tonik’s public launch in March 2021. The firm has since claimed to have secured US$20 million in retail deposits within just a month.

With the new money, Tonik plans to accelerate its growth, as well as invest aggressively in product development.

Greg Krasnov, founder and CEO of Tonik, said: “In the course of the next 12 months, we plan to significantly broaden our stack of first-in-the-market digital financial products for our clients, especially strengthening our offer on payments and rolling out consumer loans.”

Also Read: Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam have a huge potential in APAC for neobank growth: Study

Founded in 2018, Tonik provides flexible and inclusive financial services (loans, current accounts, payments and deposits) with interest rates of up to 6 per cent per annum for its users.

It has secured a full rural bank license from the Central Bank of the Philippines. Tonik’s deposits are also insured by the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation.

“We were impressed with Tonik’s launch results and ready adoption by consumers. Clearly, their proposition resonates well with the needs of this huge and underserved market,” said Soo Boon Koh, founder and Managing Partner of iGlobe Partners

Southeast Asia has long been hailed as one of the largest markets for digitisation with high internet penetration rates, coupled with a rising middle-class population. Half of the over 630 million inhabitants in the region doesn’t hold a traditional bank account, which presents massive opportunities for neobanks like Tonik.

According to a study by UnaFinancial, in Asia Pacific, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam have the highest prospects in Asia for online banking (neobank) right after Australia.

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The full story: Despite Singapore’s global reputation in digital competitiveness and how the COVID-19 pandemic increased its dependence on digital technology and social media, Singaporeans are highly sceptical towards how social media giants use their data, reporting a tolerance lowest across the Southeast Asia region, according to latest research.

Conducted by leading decision science research agency Blackbox, the white paper Taming the Tech Tigers: Can Global Big Tech Be Trusted With Our Future? analyses the perceptions and expectations of over 25,000 social media users across 20 countries, including Singapore.

Although they are one of the highest digital penetration rates in the region, Singaporeans emerge as least tolerant when it comes to data use. Less than one in five (22 per cent) are actually comfortable sharing different types of data, compared to the global average of 29 per cent.

Also Read: Using social media to grow your startup: What companies can do to avoid disappointment

This places Singaporeans as least open to data sharing in the region, falling behind countries like Malaysia (28 per cent), Vietnam (32 per cent), the Philippines (39 per cent), Thailand (45 per cent), and Indonesia (50 per cent).

Least open with data use in the region: Specifically, Singaporeans are the least comfortable with sharing their personal and attitudinal data, but are more open to sharing their behavioural data.

Social media falls off Singaporeans’ news diets: This scepticism also cuts across news consumption, with Singaporeans more likely to get their news from traditional media rather than looking to social media platforms – a stark contrast from the rest of the world. Only 13 per cent of Singaporeans get all or most of their news from social media, less than half of the global average of 28 per cent. 38 per cent of Singaporeans do not look to social media for news at all.

The study attributes a number of factors, including the digital divide stemming from Singapore’s aging population, as well as the country’s strong stance against “fake news” or misinformation, and how social media has been recognised as part of the problem, especially during the pandemic.

Social media’s role in politics: More watchdog than influencer

When it comes to social media’s role in local politics, Singaporeans are more likely to view it as a tool to hold leaders accountable, as opposed to impacting the landscape through expressing diverse opinions. 3 in 4 Singaporeans (75 per cent) believe social media is important for holding people in power like politicians accountable for their actions, and can be seen in the pivotal role it has played in recent General Elections.

Singapore’s Alice Labs raises US$500K led by Anchorless Bangladesh

The full story: Alice Labs, the company behind MyAlice — an AI-driven multi-channel customer service platform for e-commerce and online businesses—today announced the completion of a US$500,000 seed round of financing.

Investors: Led by Anchorless Bangladesh, the round also saw participation from HOF Capital.

Plans with the money: To invest in its core product offerings and fuel expansion into Southeast Asia and MENA markets.

What is Alice Labs: Founded in November 2018, Alice Labs develops smart tools and conversational AI solutions that manage and automate customer service for e-commerce and online businesses.

Also Read: Why Bangladesh is the next frontier for tech investment

Incorporated in Singapore with operations in Bangladesh, Alice Labs is currently active across markets in Southeast Asia and South Asia.

Through its subscription-based customer service plans, Alice Labs works with over 50 e-commerce stores and enterprises throughout the region, including major brands and retailers like Unilever, Coca-Cola, Giordano, and Maybelline, among others.

Through machine learning, MyAlice strives to decode the complex behavior of shoppers across different regions and help businesses better communicate with them in their native languages, allowing clients to offer highly targeted localized support and better cater to diverse consumer habits.

Singapore’s SESTO Robotics expands to Europe

The full story: Singapore’s autonomous mobile robot company SESTO Robotics has expanded to Europe. It has partnered with the Germany-based automation specialist Baumüller, to bring its flagship AMR SESTO Magnus (Magnus) to Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

SESTO claims it is the first Singapore-based robotics company to offer autonomous mobile robot solutions focused on smart manufacturing in Europe.

What is Magnus: Designed and made in Singapore, Magnus is specially built for navigation in space-scarce facilities and can travel autonomously through spaces as narrow as 0.9 metres wide while avoiding obstacles in its path. Its bi-directional, same-speed capability allows the AMR to reverse out of dead ends without the need to perform a spot turn.

Also Read: Otsaw Digital launches home delivery robots in Singapore

Magnus is powered by SESTO’s proprietary user-friendly interface and can be easily deployed for material transportation using a tablet or laptop. The robot provides high uptime of up to ten hours on a single charge and fast battery charging in three hours.

OmniFoods brings its plant-based Luncheon Meat to Thailand

The full story: OmniFoods, the creator of all-purpose plant-based meat analogue under Hong Kong-based social venture Green Monday, today announced the arrival of OmniMeat Luncheon in leading supermarkets and restaurants across Thailand.

A unique blend of plant-based protein that bears a striking resemblance to traditional meat in both flavour and appearance, OmniMeat Luncheon offers a sustainable and healthier alternative to its processed meat counterpart without compromising on taste and texture.

The OmniMeat Luncheon formula is a blend of non-GMO soy and wheat, containing dietary fibre, high protein content and zero cholesterol.

Compared with traditional canned luncheon meat, OmniMeat Luncheon’s calories and total fat content are 46 per cent and 64 per cent lower respectively. The sodium content is also 64 per cent lower than traditional luncheon meat, and contains no added hormones, antibiotics, preservatives and MSG.

People can enjoy a healthy quick-fix meal during breakfast, snack or tea time simply by pan-frying the OmniMeat Luncheon on both sides for 1-2 minutes.

KoineArth launches enterprise-grade NFT platform marketsN

The full story:KoineArth’s marketsN platform is designed to enable enterprises to digitise and attach immutable metadata to key documents and products in the form of NFTs (non-fungible tokens).

What are it used for: The enterprise-grade NFTs are used to ensure proof-of-ownership, transparency and a full-record of any transaction history, to provide greater traceability, visibility and authentication, ultimately facilitating more seamless and trustless trade between parties.

Also Read: Tokens 101: How they work and where they provide value

Enterprises can also issue publicly verifiable “product passports”, which act as a digital record of any product, from cradle to grave including information such as invoices, current ownership, warranty claims, and service records.

MarketN’s enterprise-grade NFTs can also be used to establish greater compliance across Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) standards, by allowing for greater accountability and traceability across the supply chain and inventory management, and invoicing.

More on KoinEarth: Founded in 2018 by Dr. Praphul Chandra, KoineArth aims to bring the power of blockchain to enterprises. With its marketsN solution, KoineArth offers enterprises a ready-to-use Digital Supply Chain platform. With a few clicks enterprises can create a digital twin of their supply chain.

This enables enterprises to create secure, private B2B groups (blockchains) on-demand to coordinate B2B transactions in their supply chain, share data across enterprises, and secure capital from financiers, as needed. Enterprises can also issue NFTs related to their products, documents & other assets.

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Photo by Daria Nepriakhina on Unsplash

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Remember the good old days when you had to split the bill with friends using cash?

That was a common sight in Singapore just a couple of years ago but so much has changed since then. Today, most of us go about our day without the need for our wallets. From digital banking to stocks investing, everything can be easily done with a few taps on our handheld devices.

Over the years, decentralised finance (DeFi), a blockchain-based technology, has transformed many lives in miraculous ways. Individuals who were unable to apply for loans from traditional financial institutions can now make micro loans through decentralised finance systems.

Businesses with no real capital are now empowered to finance their projects using digital assets. Small-time traders and artists can also easily sell and trade artworks using digital currencies that are becoming increasingly valued in the real world. And the list goes on.

Whether we like it or not, DeFi has been and will continue to disrupt the fintech industry for years to come. Even as blockchain becomes increasingly useful for both individuals and businesses, few of us actually understand it enough to take enough advantage of it.

However, even as someone who has no interest in dabbling with digital assets, taking the effort to understand this new technology may improve the quality of your life and career in unexpected ways.

Lucky for you, I’m here to help you out. Read on to learn more about the untapped potential of DeFi systems outside of the crypto world.

The DeFi space is a notoriously unfriendly place for non-tech people like us to navigate. I often find it a pity that sophisticated systems built by talented software engineers get lost in translation when it reaches the average consumer. While the technology may be impressive, what matters at the end of the day is whether mass adoption by the public is possible. If we don’t even understand it, how can we be a part of this technology renaissance?

Fortunately, this problem has an easy solution. As a start, let’s dissect some of the financial jargon into not-so-intimidating terms together.

Blockchain

Blockchain is a database that records information in a way that makes it impossible for anyone to cheat the system. While traditional financial systems have someone in charge who can make edits to transactions without anyone else knowing, this cannot be done on the blockchain as every change gets tracked and recorded in the system. The unique feature of blockchain is that it is decentralised, meaning that no one is in charge of it, and it is run collectively by the people who use it.

DeFi

DeFi is a blockchain-based form of finance that does not rely on central financial intermediaries such as brokerages, exchanges or banks to offer traditional financial instruments, and instead utilises smart contracts on blockchains. Smart contracts are self-executing contracts that enable users to buy and sell amongst one another without the need for a central authority.

Digital asset-backed loans

These are loans between users in which one user uses digital assets as collateral to borrow money (called borrower), and another user lends their digital assets (called lender). Digital assets could be cryptocurrencies and tokens that are accepted by lending platforms as collaterals.

Now that we are armed with some basic knowledge about DeFi and its current implementations, let’s dive deeper.

The problem with DeFi

For the longest time, DeFi systems have only been used within the crypto community. Businesses that do not possess digital assets were unable to make use of DeFi systems to finance their projects.

As a result, SMEs that do not have the capital or assets frequently lose out to big companies who own real assets which can be posted as collateral for monetary loans from banks and investment funds.

Also read: How the decentralised finance movement is gaining momentum in Asia

One of the biggest issues with DeFi is that the products and technologies that crypto companies develop do not actually have real world implications. Because DeFi systems trade exclusively in digital assets, there currently exists an unbridgeable abyss between the crypto community and the rest of the world.

In the end, just as traditional businesses cannot harness the potential of DeFi, the crypto community is also limited in their ability to make impactful investments on real-world projects.

Thankfully, many global companies are warming up to the idea of accepting cryptocurrency as a legitimate mode of payment in recent years. For example, PayPal just rolled out a new “Checkout with Crypto” function that allows users to convert their Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, or Bitcoin Cash to US dollars, which PayPal then uses to pay merchants.

As a major digital wallet with 377 million active users, PayPal’s move towards digital currencies is an important one that enables the crypto community to easily make real world transactions.

ShuttleOne: DeFi in the Real World

Closer to home, ShuttleOne, a DeFi blockchain company that offers blockchain-based finance services to real businesses, recently financed the first batch of electric vehicles (EVs) to replace SMRT’s entire taxi fleet for commercial use in Singapore. The financing of this first batch of EVs makes ShuttleOne the first decentralised finance company to fund real businesses using blockchain technology.

The ShuttleOne network harnesses the power of AI and blockchain to offer real asset-based loans to businesses using capital from smart contracts innovation. Their proprietary blockchain technology that is licensed by Global eTrade Services (a subsidiary of Crimsonlogic), CALISTA Finance powered by ShuttleOne, is able to tokenise real-world trade assets to store in the chain and can be easily verified by parties within the supply chain logistics platform.

This provides full transparency of the entire supply chain and credit scoring for financing services. Last year, ShuttleOne serviced more than 4,000 merchants and managed over US$3,500,000 of trade financing – a solid proof that DeFi companies are more than capable of bridging the gap between DeFi solutions and real businesses.

Can DeFi do more?

The successful partnership between Singapore government-linked companies and ShuttleOne marks a milestone for both Singapore and the blockchain finance industry as one of the biggest and most progressive use cases of decentralised finance service in real-world projects. As part of the Singapore Green Plan 2030, Singapore has set aside S$30 million for EV-related initiatives over the next five years.

Through 2020, Insurtech investment in Singapore quadrupled from S$35million to S$125 million, signalling tremendous potential for insurance innovation in the space. This presents an excellent opportunity for more DeFi blockchain companies to provide critical support and innovative solutions for government and business initiatives in the near future.

With the continuous adoption of 5G technology and smart city solutions, DeFi is poised to play bigger roles in financing real world solutions in the years to come. Today, as one of the world’s leading FinTech hubs and a global gateway to Asia, Singapore is well positioned to lead the charge towards the next technology revolution through blockchain innovation.

DeFi can definitely do more. At its infancy, DeFi is already making a positive impact on real world businesses and projects. We are now sitting on the crux of a digital revolution with blockchain technology paving the way, and I believe it is only a matter of time before the world realises the untapped potential of DeFi.

ShuttleOne was the first, but it definitely won’t be the last.

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Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing contributions from the community. This season we are seeking op-eds, analysis and articles on food tech and sustainability. Share your opinion and earn a byline by submitting a post.

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Disruption is a taboo word to many businesses and industries. But when used in the context of entrepreneurship, I don’t see it as something to fear, instead I see it as an opportunity.

I would go further to say that if there are no changes in the ecosystem and disruption in business models, the opportunities for entrepreneurs are limited.

The road to success is never completely smooth; obstacles and setbacks are common and expected. Instead of seeing these disruptions as the end of our journey, we can choose to learn the lessons they are trying to teach us.

I’m no stranger to disruption. In fact, I’ve faced it a few times. I’ve gone from being a pioneer and market leader to tethering on the brink of bankruptcy because market conditions didn’t align. I’ve even disrupted myself and killed top-performing products because I felt they didn’t have good long-term prospects. Once you see disruption as an opportunity, everything changes. Developing that mindset takes practice but it can be done.

Be accountable and identify gaps

In 2001, I was running an internet service provider PoP (Point-of-Presence) business and had run into losses as free ISPs entered the business. Following that experience, I saw the potential for data centres to expand our offerings but I hadn’t taken into account how prohibitive the bandwidth costs would be.

This made it impossible to compete with similar offerings from the US and the UK. However, I embraced the setback and set my mind to learning everything I could about the bandwidth market.

The insight I gained was invaluable five years later when the Internet revolution went into full swing in India. I noticed that it was now a much more favourable environment for data centres and falling bandwidth costs was a factor in my observation.

I believed strongly that demand would rise for data centre services and chose to go bigger than I did before to anticipate future needs. Today, CtrlS is Asia’s largest-rated four data centre, and we serve some of the largest customers around the world, including 60 from the  Fortune 100 list.

Be adaptable

The biggest advantage that an entrepreneur can have is the ability to adapt. Market conditions will change all the time. Sometimes an initial idea doesn’t pan out as well as you expected due to internal or external factors.

Entrepreneurs shouldn’t be afraid of pivoting to another business model to adapt to that disruption and may even discover new niches in the process.

However, do your research to ensure that the shift makes sense and has considered all factors, otherwise you risk losing focus.

We launched Cloud4C before public cloud became a widely accepted reality. We had to work hard to convince CIOs in India but we persisted because I firmly believed that the public cloud revolution was due anytime.

Those were difficult few years but our persistence led us to a global expansion of a scale we had not imagined. Today, Cloud4C operates in over 25 countries and is a partner to all the major hyperscalers, especially in the emerging economies.

Focus on problem-solving to improve sustainability

I don’t believe in starting businesses to ride on trends. Building a viable product is all about solving a business need now and in the future. Entrepreneurs absolutely need to consider what the future might look like and how their business will fit in, which will also make it resilient to disruption.

That level of insight is honed through many hours of research, valuable conversations and personal experience. Research reports only tell you what has been, not what will be.

Also read: Entrepreneurship in a pandemic: Seeking success through economic turmoil

I’ve always prioritised solving a business need, then working towards making the business viable. It seems like an obvious stance to take but many entrepreneurs make the mistake of focusing too much on the bottom line at the expense of building a good product.

If your product or service adds value, it will naturally be profitable. For Cloud4C, I only had one or two relationship managers per continent – clients were coming to us because they were interested in how our product could help them.

Build a team that shares your vision

Every entrepreneur knows this – having a good team that is aligned with your vision can make or break your business. But a team of believers is not the same as a team of yes-men. The former may challenge and question you but they will do their best work for you because they believe in what you’re trying to achieve.

On the other hand, the latter will only tell you what you want to hear. Without challenge, there can be no growth but you must also be walking in the same direction.

Before I launched Cloud4C, I wanted disaster recovery (DR) to be one of our offerings. The marketing team at the time objected because they didn’t think anyone would want disaster recovery in the cloud. I ended up hiring new marketing people who debated my stance with me, saw the merits and were willing to back me with a workable plan.

Years later, disaster recovery is one of our most-asked-about services and the global DR-as-a-Service market is anticipated to hit US$21.2 billion by 2025.

We now live in a moment where some of the major disruptions of the era have all happened within a very short time. Attitudes and approaches to our existing way of life are changing drastically. Digitalisation is nearly synonymous with business survival.

It’s a truly exciting time to be an entrepreneur and such an opportunity only arises once a lifetime. I urge all entrepreneurs to arm themselves with insight, have faith in their vision and jump in. If you fall, you can always get up again – and do it better.

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