As a chief player in the global semiconductor sector, Taiwan is well known for its innovations and advancements. Taiwan claimed the twelfth place out of 141 economies within the 2019 Global Competitiveness Report released by the World Economic Forum. In recent years, the country has seen an increase in venture capital investment, government initiatives, and sectoral reforms fostering innovation and leading to more global entrepreneurs setting up their base in the country.

Compared to other markets in the region, Taiwan’s demographic of 23.5 million is modest, but consumer habits and market openness make it a relatively easy market to navigate. Taiwan provides an appealing consumer base for software companies to test consumer acceptance of new services. Taiwan also recognises the essential role that startups play in bolstering economic growth, thus, yielding numerous changes in its startup ecosystem designed to increase competitiveness.

Problem-solving through entrepreneurship

Aiming to unleash the power of entrepreneurship to solve big problems with the world’s leading companies, Rainmaking Innovation recently inaugurated its Center of Excellence and Expertise in Southern Taiwan Science Park (STSP). Rainmaking innovation has been in Taiwan for two years and joined the STSP to implement projects with the Ministry of Science and Technology in March last year. The Secretary-General of STSP stated that with the southern Taiwan innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem that started in 2016, the ecosystem will be more globalised via a partnership with Rainmaking Innovation.

Also read: Indonesia and Singapore are teaming up to build Southeast Asia’s digital hub of the future

Rainmaking aims to help startups go internationally and create Taiwan-based unicorns through cooperation with large enterprises in Taiwan, with one of the partnerships being their first venture development in Taiwan with MMXtion Technology – PETZZO.

With PETZZO, MMXtion Technology is developing novel, future-proof business models outside their traditional business. PETZZO developed a pet insurance application that based its core technology on blockchain, a secure and traceable system of recording information. This technology helps them in fraud prevention and framing up a pet health ecosystem by connecting over 200 hospitals in Taiwan in 3 months.

Being active in the market for more than 30 years, MMXtion Technology recognised the need to address concerns in order to evolve. Through their innovative technologies and their collaboration with MSIG Mingtai Insurance, the PETZZO app brings convenience by integrating medical records, pet identity recognition, and insurance applications and claims. With over 1800 veterinary clinics on board, clinics could upload individual pet diagnosis reports encrypted by blockchain technology. On the cloud, this medical database also serves as a reference for the insurance company in underwriting and claim settlements. The service increase claims processing efficiency by 75%, from 15 days to 3days.

Using the power of blockchain

The director of Mingtai Insurance said that the application of blockchain technology removed possible forgery of pet insurance claims. As more veterinary clinics join PETZZO’s platform, various clinics will have a basis for comparison, solving the lack of uniform fee standards for pets, and reducing unreasonable claim amounts. If the insurance business is to be sustainable, it requires a comprehensive platform to reduce moral hazards and improve transparency. Pet owners will know which pet clinics are better in value and quality, encouraging improvements among veterinary clinics as well. The application of blockchain technology can create a win-win situation for insurance companies, pet owners, and clinics.

Also read: Get to know these 10 verified investors who are ready to connect today

MMXtion Technology also focusses on dog and cat facial recognition, replacing chip recognition technology. PETZZO has set up the first pet health database system combined with pet facial recognition technology, allowing every pet to have their own pet ID. With this ecosystem, PETZZO will be able to analyse data to support pet owners and help them take good care of their pets.

Building teams to support innovation

MMXtion Technology is wholly-owned by Tung-I Information Service company. Since its establishment, Tung-I Information Service is committed to becoming the best IT partner for customers. It has accumulated years of professional information service experience in finance, telecommunications, government, and other security sectors. MMXtion Technology was born under the demand for efficient, stable, and automated transformation, to become a leading hyper-automation service provider, combining artificial intelligence, machine learning technology, and humanities to realise innovative services.

In 2020, Rainmaking Innovation in STSP raised funds of up to 50 million NTD, and the amount of orders exceeded 10 million NTD with 3 new ventures cooperated with STSP enterprises and 4 new ventures entered international markets such as Singapore, Australia, and Japan.

The estimated order amount for new businesses in the coming year is 40 million NTD. In addition to accelerating new businesses, it will continue to promote the digital transformation of large-scale enterprises in Taiwan and establish a venture capital fund to target Fortune 500 companies in smart manufacturing, digital healthcare, financial technology, and smart city technology sectors.

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This article is produced by the e27 team, sponsored by 
Rainmaking Innovation

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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People often ask me what the right age to start one’s journey as an entrepreneur is, or if it is important to first get a lot of working experience. My answer would always be, learn from others first and strike out on your own once you are ready.

Of course, this raises the question of how to know you are ready. Unfortunately, that is a decision that nobody else but you can make. Ultimately, it is the leap of faith.

However, I have learned some things that have been pivotal to my success, through my own experiences and from the experiences of others before me. To help others who are on their entrepreneurial journeys, here’s what I’ve learned about being a successful entrepreneur.

Resolute, resourceful, and resilient

Becoming a successful entrepreneur requires building a strong personal foundation so that you can lead your company effectively, adapt to challenging circumstances, and navigate crises. In my experience, the following three personal qualities were crucial in helping me do the above.

To be resolute is to have a singular, coherent focus and belief in what you are trying to accomplish. This requires you to develop a strong narrative of your purpose as an entrepreneur and startup.

If you can clearly and convincingly answer why you want to be an entrepreneur and start a company, the right people will find you and want to work with you.

Also Read: 3 lessons from my journey as an entrepreneur

Regardless of your best-laid plans, you will encounter situations that will challenge you. In those circumstances, being resourceful and making creative use of what is available to accomplish your goals despite limitations will be essential.

There is a proverb that says, “The wind does not break the tree that bends”. I think of resilience in a similar way. Enduring harsh winds and storms will strain you but if you are able to be reactive to difficulties while remaining rooted then you will be the one left standing among the competition.

Define a long-term strategy

Besides personal qualities that you need to be successful as an entrepreneur, surviving and thriving in the competitive startup space requires your company has a long-term strategy to turn your vision into reality.

The world is noisy and chaotic and the startup scene is especially so. Reorienting your company at every disruption or crisis is unsustainable and rarely works out well.

Instead, define goals for what you want your company to achieve in five, ten, and twenty years time and then come up with a broad strategy for how they can be accomplished.

A long-term strategy gives your company a clear direction in which to head so that everyone knows where their efforts will be most effective.

It also affords flexibility in dealing with problems in the short-term because you will have better clarity on actions that will bring you closer to your long-term goals rather than further away from them.

Building the right team

Hiring is one of the most crucial factors in the success of a startup. Every company wants to hire motivated self-starters but the difficulty is in identifying these individuals and convincing them to work for you.

Also Read: Note to entrepreneurs: This too shall pass

When Apple was a young company, they had a rigorous hiring process that involved getting to know the candidate intimately and having them talk to each member of the team at least once. After internal discussions, if the team decides that they liked the candidate enough, they would then show them the latest prototype that they were working on.

If the candidate only politely complimented the computer, they would not hire them but if their eyes light up and they are really excited about the prototype, then they would know that this was a person that they wanted to work with.

Your company’s hiring process does not have to be as rigorous as Apple’s but you need to figure out a way to discover these motivated, knowledgeable, and skilled individuals to join your company.

As an entrepreneur and leader of your company, your role in building and keeping the right team together is to demonstrate leadership. Steve Jobs defined leadership as providing a compelling vision for what the company is and will become in the future, being able to articulate that vision, and getting a consensus from your team for a common vision.

This is an ongoing process but If you are able to maintain a great hiring process and demonstrate leadership, then the right people will want to work with you.

Focus on the customer

I like to say that the customer is where the bread comes from so it is essential to listen to them. Your customer support team is crucial to this. Your customers are the best beta testers of your product because they are the people that use it.

Having responsive customer support will give you a pipeline of information on how to improve your products or services.

Good customer support also adds value to your products and serves as a great marketing tool. Just think about how people choose to sign up with a particular Telco or bank because their customer support is able to provide helpful and timely advice.

Learn to relax

Failure is a fact of life and this is especially so in business, partners can let you down or business deals might fall through. It is important to stay positive and have an emotional outlet for the stresses of leading a startup. Your team will look to you as a leader and their behaviour will be a reflection of yours.

Stress and anxiety are not conducive to rational decision making so make sure that you have a healthy outlet for negative emotions or else you might find that success in entrepreneurship was not worth it after all.

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Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing contributions from the community. Become a thought leader in the community and share your opinions or ideas and earn a byline by submitting a post.

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The post What it takes to succeed as an entrepreneur in a competitive startup landscape appeared first on e27.

Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve been working on verifying the investors on the e27 platform.

Being a verified investor means that there are people managing the investor profile in an official capacity. More than just reassurance that these are legitimate investor profiles, it also means that e27 Pro members can directly engage with these investors via the Connect feature.

Check out these ten verified investors that you can connect with for advice, mentorship, and fundraising opportunities”

Coffee Ventures
Stages: Seed, Series A
Verticals: Finance, Healthtech, Software as a Service
Investment Range: Not Specified
Straight from Coffee Ventures: Coffee Ventures invests in early stage technological startups in Southeast Asia. We partner up with founders by fostering discipline in product management and culture of entrepreneurship. At the same time, we seek entrepreneurs who demonstrate discipline in developing hypothesis to a problem, depth of understanding through meaningful experimentation, and resourcefulness in taking products to market. Current focus is on startups that address Southeast Asia markets, and can achieve breakout growth through our network and support. Investment areas include health & wellness, education, finance, enterprise, artificial intelligence and marketplace.
Connect with them

VIC Partners
Stages: Angel / Pre Seed, Seed, Pre-Series A / Bridge
Verticals: Consumer, Education, Human Resources, Information & Communications Technology, Platform
Investment Range: USD 30K – USD 200K
Straight from VIC Partners: Our club members have been involved in creating, scaling, and exiting companies in Vietnam. Founders can rely on our experience, and our commitment, to help them to build a winning startup.
Connect with them

Thai Reinsurance PCL
Stages: Seed, Series A, Series B, Series C & Above
Verticals: Finance, Insurtech
Investment Range: Not specified
Straight from Thai Reinsurance PCL: A professional reinsurer with 5,413 million baht in shareholders’ equity, Thai Re has the financial strength and market knowledge to provide high-quality reinsurance services.

Our customer focus however is what differentiates us from other reinsurers operating in the Thai market and is at the heart of our organization. Our recent integration of four departments into business units has made our organization even more adept at actively responding to our customers’ changing needs. It is through our dedicated business units that we will build long-lasting business relationship.
Connect with them

CP Ventures
Stages: Angel / Pre Seed, Seed
Verticals: All / Any
Investment Range: Not specified
Straight from CP Ventures: CP Ventures is a boutique VC fund that’s run by Emlyn Scott and Chris Sang, that invests internationally in early-stage, highly scalable, breakthrough technology companies. We invest at the pre-Seed & Seed stage, where extremely high IRRs can be achieved. CP Ventures is active smart money. We’re as active as our portfolio companies need, from leading the investment, introducing co-investors, complete HR functions, tech and scaling help, active Limited Partners, US angel and VC networks, Angelist syndication, client introductions and cross-pollination of client lists and products.
Connect with them

STIC Investments
Stages: Series A, Series B, Private Equity
Verticals: All / Any
Investment Range: USD 200K – USD 5M
Straight from STIC Investments: STIC Investments, Inc. (“STIC”) is one of the largest and most experienced private equity firms in Korea. STIC seeks to create growth and prosperity in economies across Asia through investing in companies that engage in promising businesses.
Connect with them

Maslin Capital Ltd.
Stages: Series A, Series B, Series C & Above
Verticals: Agritech, Biotech, Cleantech, Food & Beverage, Healthtech, Medtech
Investment Range: USD 500K – USD 5M
Straight from Maslin Capital Ltd.: Maslin plans to provide both late-stage venture capital and early expansion capital for companies in Bangladesh. We help to support their growth. Maslin shall focus on industries, including robotics, e-commerce, health, real estate, tire pyrolysis, and tank farming. We invest in businesses with a sustainable competitive advantage. Therefore It gives the potential to become nationally or globally competitive in its sector and has high growth prospects. We look for businesses that provide a meaningful equity stake with board representations, appropriate shareholder protections and an investment horizon of less than five years.
Connect with them

EMAMI BIOTECH PTE LTD
Stages: Seed, Series A, Series B, Series C & Above
Verticals: Advertising, Agency & Consulting, Big Data, Consumer, Energy, Enterprise Solution, Healthtech, Logistics/Supply Chain, Media, PR & Communications, Real Estate, Retail
Investment Range: Not specified
Straight from EMAMI BIOTECH PTE LTD: Contribute whole-heartedly towards the environment and society integrating all our stakeholders into the Emami family. Make the brand synonymous with Quality and Innovation in the consumer’s mind. Drive growth through quality and innovation Strengthen and foster strong emotive feelings of oneness within our employees. Uphold the principles of corporate governance. Encourage decision-making abilities at all levels of the organization.
Connect with them

ANZ
Stages: Seed, Series A, Series B, Series C & Above
Verticals: Finance
Investment Range: Not specified
Straight from ANZ: ANZi is comprised of ANZi Ventures – which invests in emerging growth companies that can create strategic value to ANZ customers, bankers and partners and ANZi New Business Lab – a business incubation group lab, designing, building and launching new digital platform businesses which support customers in the homeownership, small business and trade and capital flow sectors.
Connect with them

New Silkroutes Asset Management
Stages: Seed, Series A, Series B, Series C & Above
Verticals: Blockchain, Energy, Healthtech
Investment Range: Not specified
Straight from New Silkroutes Asset Management: New Silkroutes Group Limited is a Singapore-incorporated investment holding company listed on the Mainboard of Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Ltd (SGX). The Group, through its subsidiaries and associate companies, has businesses in the Healthcare, Energy/Resources and Real Estate sectors.
Connect with them

Anthill Ventures
Stages: Seed, Pre-Series A / Bridge, Series A
Verticals: Cleantech, Consumer, Energy, Enterprise Solution, Food & Beverage, Gaming, Healthtech, Internet of Things, Media, Medtech, Smart Cities, Software as a Service, Sports, Transportation, Travel
Investment Range: USD 50K – USD 3M
Straight from Anthill Ventures: Anthill Ventures, founded in 2015 by Prasad Vanga, is a speed scaling ecosystem that invests in, and scales early-stage startups from the domain of MediaTech, Urban Tech and Health Tech. Headquartered in Hyderabad, India with offices in Singapore and Israel, Anthill is an ecosystem that enables disruptive start-ups to #ScalewithSpeed. Within five years, Anthill has built a global portfolio of 45 companies across India, US, Europe, Israel and SE Asia that has grown by 4X in portfolio value.
Connect with them

Watch out for more announcements of new verified investors (yes, there is more!). If you’re an investor and looking to get verified, find out how here.

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Photo by Thirdman from Pexels

The post Get to know these 10 verified investors who are ready to connect today appeared first on e27.

It wasn’t uncommon to hear passing news of a small business shutting down in 2018, or 2019. Yet as of March 2020, news like this became uncomfortably frequent.

The COVID-19 pandemic became a catalyst that forced SMEs globally to do one of two things; adapt to new business landscapes or become another unfortunate statistic. It was yet another dismal situation for SMEs, who were already burdened with pre-existing obstacles such as funding, awareness, and limited workforces that come with the territory of being a small to medium business.

Led by the International Trade Center, survey shows that two-thirds of micro and small companies show that the crisis strongly affected their business operations along with one-fifth of those businesses on the brink of shutting down for good in three months.

But even faced with challenging circumstances, there has been no shortage of SMEs that continue to be resilient amidst the turbulence.

Enterpryze has had the opportunity to support these SMEs working to rebuild, scale and manage their business better through our accounting solutions. As an organisation that works closely with founders, micro-business owners, and entrepreneurs — we continually pay close attention to the challenges that these very same business owners face.

In this article, we’ll break down five of the most common challenges that SMEs have faced along the road to recovery and how to overcome them effectively in a most crucial time.

Digital adoption

For some, the phrase ‘going digital’ brings about excitement and anticipation for the future of their business. For others, it only evokes fear of the unknown. Many SMEs continue to find the thought of digital marketing and solutions a daunting one to invest in because they mainly lack two things: someone with digital expertise and budget constraints.

Also Read: The WFH era: How SMEs should select the right digital collaboration tools

In a survey taken by 400 Singaporean SMEs, 56 per cent of them face barriers with the high costs of digitalisation, followed by another 40 per cent that lack a properly skilled workforce.

But if you’re an SME in that predicament, understand that even if your business lacks those two elements above — you’re far from an impossible situation. Enterpryze’s most successful customers to date understand that it’s the execution and timing that really matters.

For instance, a family-owned business used to depending on traditional print advertising or billboards shouldn’t be rushed into burning through US$10,000 in social media marketing overnight. In the same way, a social media agency shouldn’t be pressured to thoughtlessly spend thousands in random Google Ads in the race to be everywhere digitally.

Successful digital marketing campaigns are developed through time, strategy and a very keen understanding of where your target audiences are ‘living’ online. Only when you have those three factors can you build and launch a strategy that works in your favour.

In Singapore, companies even stand to receive up to 80 per cent of subsidies from the Productivity Solutions Grant for the adoption of approved digital solutions under the Go Digital programme. This was announced by the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and Enterprise (ESG) to provide support for SMEs in the healthcare and education sectors.

Cash flow

The effects of COVID-19 could be felt across markets. Of course, those affected badly remained the SMEs who rely on physical sales such as restaurants, clothing stores, salons, etc. These are the ones who would have witnessed a steady sales decline in the early stages of lockdowns across the globe.

On the other hand, there will also be businesses that experience growth if they supply products and services that meet new demands. This could be any business from telemedicine, online education to an e-commerce store that sells disinfection cabinets.

Which category your business falls in depends entirely on your agility to adapt to a post-COVID-19 market. This goes above and beyond tweaking your marketing campaigns or conducting company-wide budget cuts. Even if that stems the bleeding for a while, any innovative SME owner digs deeper to thrive, and not just survive in their new business landscape.

Also Read: What can food-agritech startups and SMEs do for business continuity amidst the pandemic?

Ask yourself. Do you understand the new demands of your existing target audiences? How does your business leverage that? And if all else fails, is it finally time for you to pivot towards a more profitable direction?

On another note, it would be beneficial to also apply for government stimulus packages aimed at helping overwhelmed SMEs. Governments across Southeast Asia such as Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore continue to provide bank moratoriums, wage subsidy schemes and more forms of assistance to struggling SMEs.

Remote working

Love it or hate it, remote working has become a way of life that we adhere to. Still, it’s not difficult to understand how this becomes a challenging adjustment for those who have spent years in a controlled office setting.

Colleagues lose the chance to see each other in real-time, work-life balance becomes blurred, and the list of potential work-from-home cons go on. ‘Zoom fatigue’ — a very real and stressful side effect of improperly managed remote working practices is another prevalent one.

Adapting to this lifestyle is a universal situation, one that plagues multinational corporations with 200+ employees too. Enterpryze’s very first course of action was to not see remote working as ‘less than’.

Rather than view it as a temporary solution that’s less than ideal, Enterpryze continues to invest in comprehensive onboarding activities, interdepartmental meet cues, virtual coffee chats and each of our employee’s wellbeing just as we would in the office.

If you’re someone responsible for managing a team or overseeing projects, you’d also want to remove the burden of exchanging too many emails or scheduling unnecessary meetings that bleed into your employee’s time. In this situation, it would be wise to consider user collaboration platforms that allow for a more efficient workflow on a day-to-day basis.

Supply chain interruptions

A disruption to the global supply chain was clearly unavoidable after COVID-19 hit, which makes this another significant problem for SMEs.

A supply chain is defined as the system of how goods and services are distributed. Which means that if you were an SME who gets their products internationally, there’s a slight chance you could have experienced some delays with your shipment in 2020 that carried on to this year by newly imposed lockdowns or government regulations.

Also Read: MDEC seeks to encourage SMEs’ digitalisation with US$1.5M grant

SMEs in countries such as Malaysia have reported that their supply disruptions take the form of fulfilment delays and deliveries. Disruptions like these affect your overall revenue and customer satisfaction, which would ultimately hurt your business in the long run.

You can still minimise its negative effect by communicating with your vendors or manufacturers to understand how badly these disruptions go. Do you have knowledge of the inventory on hand? How long will production for more take? All of these are questions that you need answers to in order to plan things out on your own team.

At the end of the day, it would always work in your favour to source for back up vendors and manufacturers. Understand that if production and distribution are being stalled because of newly imposed lockdowns or the like — there is always the option to look for vendors and manufacturers from countries that would be able to provide a more effective supply chain experience.

Privacy concerns

With work from home orders in place, there’s a heavy dependence on an at-home Internet connection and remote access — which would result in a growing concern around data privacy risks amongst SMEs. Even after a year of the lockdown, SMEs still face the challenge of navigating amidst a new IT infrastructure to ensure that the company is still protected against cybersecurity threats.

Traditional office networks employ the use of virtual private networks (VPN), secure IP addresses and other methods to ensure the security of their data on a day-to-day basis.

Nonetheless, this is difficult to implement with tens (or even hundreds) of employees working from home via their own personal networks — which may not be as ideally secure. If not carefully monitored, this could open a Pandora’s box of phishing scams, competition-sponsored hackers, insider data leakage and more.

Those in management should be responsible for ensuring secure access for all employees working remotely. Evidently, the best way to do this would be to provide employees with a managed device they can work from while handling sensitive material. This course of action allows SMEs to install solid firewalls, ad-blockers, anti-virus software and encrypt their data.

Also Read: BukuWarung raises strategic financing from Rocketship to help Indonesian MSMEs improve bookkeeping process

Yet, if this is not possible with a limited budget, it still falls upon the shoulders of SMEs to educate their employees on the safest possible passage to work from home on their personal computer. This can be done by providing a comprehensive onboarding process to new and existing employees on the dangers of email attacks, requests for banking information (if an employee has access to company credit cards) and other potential threats.

SMEs who are searching for a consolidated way to manage their bookkeeping securely will find that Enterpryze offers sophisticated digital security that protects users from such risks — including data encryption, securely hosted backups, restricted access according to user levels, and password protection.

Truly successful SMEs do more than just survive in this time of turbulence. They have an unprecedented opportunity to scale at a phenomenal pace with the adoption of digital strategies, good management and supporting solutions.

Granted that founders, owners and managers alike will become close friends with impossible situations and difficult decisions on behalf of the company — one can only see the fruits of their labour when true proactive measures are taken.

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Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing contributions from the community. Become a thought leader in the community and share your opinions or ideas and earn a byline by submitting a post.

Join our e27 Telegram group, FB community or like the e27 Facebook page

Image credit: Daniel Thiele on Unsplash

The post 5 ways that will help SMEs scale even amidst a pandemic appeared first on e27.

Saltmine, a San Francisco-based digital workplace platform, announced today it has raised US$20 million in Series A funding from JLL Spark, the strategic investment arm of commercial real estate services firm JLL, and existing investors Jungle Ventures and Xplorer Capital .

Besides its capital investment, JLL has entered into an agreement to sell Saltmine’s software directly to its customers.

With the new financing, Saltmine will continue to invest in talent acquisition, with a focus on growing its sales, customer success, product and engineering team in Singapore.

It will also seek to expand its portfolio of clients and accelerate growth in Asia Pacific, particularly in markets such as Australia, Hong Kong, India and Singapore.

Founded in 2017, Saltmine helps companies enhance workplace collaboration, improve employee experience and reduce costs. Its platform combines data aggregated from utilisation sensors and employee sentiment information to help companies optimise and make their workplace “more agile”.

Also Read: What your workplace will look like in a post-COVID-19 world

The startup claims it has grown to more than 125 employees and its clientele base include firms such as Workday, Fidelity and Snowflake.

Commenting on the investment, David Gowdey, Managing Partner of Jungle Ventures said, “Saltmine is an example of this region’s ability to build leading software, which is defining a massive unserved category. Their workplace design software will help large enterprises safely bring employees back into the office, using smart technology.”

Founder & CEO Anurag said, “Real estate is the second-largest cost for companies and has a direct impact on their largest cost –their people. The support of our investors is paramount as we enable our customers to digitally transform and optimise their portfolio and bring employees safely back to work in a space that supports the future of work.”

Saltmine also announced the appointment of Jim Baum to its Board of Directors and Shawn Green as Chief Revenue Officer. Baum currently serves as an Executive-in-Residence at General Catalyst as well as Chairman of the data company Cazena.

Green will be tasked to further establish Saltmine’s presence in North America.

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Image Credit: Saltmine

The post Jungle Ventures joins Saltmine’s US$20M Series A round to bring enterprise digital workplace solutions into Asia appeared first on e27.

Countless articles online tout the role of fintech in promoting financial inclusiveness. Innovative startups have supposedly developed ways to make it easy for just about anyone to use financial solutions and be part of a national or international financial system.

However, until now not many new financial services make it genuinely easy for new users to use fintech products, especially those that involve blockchain or cryptocurrency. The steps to get and use an account are still not that simplified for those who are not accustomed to using mobile apps and web services.

“Being able to have access to a transaction account is a first step toward broader financial inclusion since a transaction account allows people to store money, and send and receive payments,” notes the World Bank in its financial inclusion micro-site.

However, even this first step is not that easy for many who are new to using modern smartphones and do not even have email accounts.

What an ideal fintech experience looks like

Ideally, using blockchain-driven fintech services should approximate the experience of using cash, wherein there is a universal or at least a national medium of exchange that can be used anywhere. A person only needs to get the fund then use it to buy items at stores or pay for services.

Most payment systems require a client or web app (e-wallet) that serves as the wallet through which transactions are made. To get one, a user needs to sign up for an account, which entails the need for an email address, social media account, or a mobile number. The signup process should be completed in a matter of seconds.

Also Read: Grab’s fintech arm GFG raises US$300M Series A with an aim to ‘close the financial inclusion gap’ in SEA

Once a user already has an e-wallet account, it should be easy to top it up (add funds to the account) by receiving fund transfers from others who use the same wallet or other e-wallets or bank accounts. There should also be an option to add funds through traditional channels such as remittance centres or kiosks.

Moreover, the cost of fintech transactions should be considerably lower than those of traditional financial services. Also, there should be no legal or regulatory barriers to worry about.

Overcoming the key challenges

Unfortunately, what’s ideal is virtually impossible to achieve. There are key obstacles that hinder accelerated financial inclusion, particularly usability, consumer distrust, and government regulation or prohibition.

Barrier: Usability
Many blockchain companies have already made the account signup process quick and easy. The newly launched Maiar e-wallet, for example, lets users sign up with just a mobile number. All a user needs is to download the app, sign up for an account with it by submitting a mobile phone number, and wait for the verification code. After entering the code, the account is instantly created.

Signing up for an account is only the first step, though. The actual process of receiving and sending funds can be too complicated for many who are not used to using mobile apps.

For one, there’s the problem of securely keeping wallet IDs. These IDs are long strings of random characters, so memorising them is out of the question. There’s also the issue of un-optimised apps that crash during transactions.

Solution: Simple and familiar systems plus consumer education

How can the use of blockchain-based e-wallet services be made simpler? Again, Maiar can serve as a good example. Aside from the quick signup, it improves usability further by making the process of sending and receiving money similar to using a messenger app.

Instead of dealing with lengthy wallet IDs, users can associate wallet IDs with contacts within the Maiar app. Some may not be comfortable with sharing their mobile numbers when doing transactions with strangers, so there’s the option to create aliases. In the case of Maiar, these aliases are called @herotags, which is powered by the recently-launched high-speed Elrond blockchain.

Also Read: Samsung backs Funding Societies to drive its vision of financial inclusion for SMEs in SEA

When it comes to adding funds, some Southeast Asian companies feature familiar schemes that can serve as a good starting point for enabling more convenient wallet top-ups. Globe Telecom of Philippines, for instance, allows users to convert their prepaid mobile load to Gcash (e-wallet) funds, which can then be used to top up blockchain accounts like Coins.ph.

Not everything can be simplified, though. There are steps in using blockchain-based accounts that require more than the familiarity with the process of buying prepaid load. As such, it helps to conduct education drives similar to what AMBERLab is doing in the Philippines.

Barrier: Regulation
Most e-wallets tend to impose limits on fund transfers and receipt right off the bat. Some limit the amount that can be kept in an account until a verification process is completed.

The typical verification requires the submission of at least one government-issued ID in compliance with Know-Your-Customer regulations for financial service providers. Regulations are usually driven by anti-money laundering laws and legislation related to terrorist financing prevention.

Solution: Public-private collaboration
Fortunately, Southeast Asia is already becoming more open to blockchain tech adoption. Many countries have started loosening regulations in support of the blockchain market. Regulation is not exactly an obstacle but a form of protection for consumers. Governments and blockchain companies would have to work together to make sure that regulation is supportive, not obstructive.

Barrier: Trust issues
It is not unusual for consumers to not trust new systems, especially when it comes to their finances. According to the Edelman, less than a majority of people trust FinTech products and services, with only 47 per cent saying that they trust P2P and digital payment companies, 49 per cent expressing trust in using robo-advisors and digital wealth firm services, and 48 per cent saying that they trust blockchain and crypto companies.

Also Read: Don’t break the bank: Enabling financial inclusion and equity through tech

Solution: Communication
Blockchain technology is already gaining traction in Southeast Asia, but it remains relatively new. It is understandable why many still hesitate to use financial services based on this tech. The main solution is to have campaigns to communicate a FinTech company’s commitment to security, compliance to regulations, and transparency when it comes to the pricing and benefits. It also helps to be aggressive in clarifying issues that associate blockchain tech with scams and failures.

The online wallet Skrill, for example, touts its PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) Level 1 compliance for all its services, which include the conversion of fiat currency to crypto. Additionally, this global digital wallet service provides enhanced fraud management and chargeback protection complemented by a multilingual customer service team to ensure positive customer experiences.

Regulation can also be viewed as a way to address consumer mistrust. “If regulators devise frameworks that strengthen public trust, they can inspire entrepreneurship and unleash the full creative energies of technology innovators,” says IMF Monetary and Capital Markets Department Director Tobias Adrian in his remarks at an IMF FinTech Roundtable. Private firms and governments need to work together to develop rules that strengthen trust without being unnecessarily restrictive.

Making blockchain more accessible to ordinary folks

“Blockchain technology can play a pivotal role when it comes to boosting financial inclusion toward the unbanked and underbanked,” writes a Deloitte report. This point is shared by many other studies. However, more work needs to be done to make this technology more accessible given all the regulatory, usability, cost, and trust barriers facing it.

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When it comes to recruiting good talent, a lot of companies find it challenging to stand out from the crowd. Whether you have one of the greatest job openings with a high paycheck and flexible working hours, if you lack a strong employer brand, you’ll be sending countless emails to uninterested prospects.

Nowadays, businesses are not evaluated based on their efficiency and products. For example, Google is not only a search engine. It’s a company whose employer-first goodwill makes people die to work for them.

You should treat your employees as customers who are the first critic of your brand. The approach includes performing several tasks such as targeting your employee persona, creating a strong value proposition, and engaging in online communication.

Always treat your employees exactly as you want them to treat your best customers!

Brands such as Google, L’Oréal, and IKEA have one thing in common. They focus on their employer brand and always think about improving the well-being and happiness of their employees.

• Thrivemap, a London-based software company surveyed 1000 full-time employees and found that 48 per cent of employees left their job because they didn’t meet their expectations. Among Gen-Z employees (aged 18-24), the percentage shot up to a whopping 73 per cent.
• According to a report by Cigna, 61 per cent of employees in America report that they feel lonely in their workplaces. The same report also says that, on average, lonely workers are more likely to think about quitting their job compared to non-lonely workers.
• It is also observed that the estimated duration of time a millennial plans to work for one employer is ten years.

According to the figures mentioned above, making an attractive employer brand isn’t only about bringing talented people. It requires great effort to position your company as a brand that values relationships and employees.

Also Read: How HappyPlus is helping corporates measure the happiness index of employees

Let us have a look at four actionable ideas to help you build an engaging employer brand that attracts the right talent:

The digital challenge

In today’s era, the majority of potential hires are tech-savvy. Thus, they pay attention to your online presentation and the digital employee experience you’re providing. According to a survey conducted by Spherion Staffing, almost 47 per cent of millennials agreed that a prospective employer’s reputation is as important as the job.

Thus, it is imperative to get enterprise apps and websites developed by a professional and make sure they’re responsive and updated.

A GoodFirms survey of 750+ full time-employees discovered the state of employees. The survey revealed that the majority of employees want at least three employee benefits such as flexible timings, annual raises, and five working days.

It also reports that almost 56.6 per cent of workers across the globe are satisfied with their current jobs, while 30.15 per cent are looking for a change.

Industry events

You need to host industry events if you’re looking to establish yourself as a dominant industry leader. Industry-wide events can help you strike engaging conversations with creative minds that would be willing to work and collaborate with your company.

You can either organise a full-scale conference around HR, sales and marketing goals or conduct recruitment-specific events.

Whatever you proceed with, if you want to be the top consideration for talented candidates, you need to show yourself as the top player of your industry as well.

Reiterate your vision and values

A key step to brand your company’s vision and values lie in not waiting for an interviewee to ask about your company. Try opening the communication lines at the beginning of the application. From there on, make it a habit to prove your company’s values in your day-to-day actions. It requires a lot of consistency and time to build a brand.

That’s why you need to inspire trust and build integrity to show that you’re truly committed to your values. Moreover, you also need to make sure that the values of your company align with the way people talk about your organisation or perceive it.

Accept and harness feedbacks

You need to think like a marketer and note what applicants are sharing about your brand’s hiring process or the image your brand is portraying. There are chances that your recruiters come across several objections and valuable opinions. You need to make sure that you share them with your company’s strategist so that concerns get addressed.

Furthermore, being a potential employer, your opinion matters a lot and is rewarding. If you’re interviewing someone, you need to be caring enough to ask them for their feedback and make a change to represent yourself as the best employer.

Also Read: Sex in the office stairwells: the importance of company culture

Prioritise health

We all know the impact of COVID-19, how it affected our working and living. Social distancing, quarantine, work from home, are some of the terms that became famous with the pandemic. Health was and is still the most important thing to maintain.

Health should not be the focus only in pandemic situations but also on a day-to-day basis. For this, having employee assistance programs, mental health training sessions, or yoga sessions, after or before office hours will help employees to have a peaceful mind and healthy body.

Thus, nurturing a healthy work environment will help in maintaining a happy attitude among employees.

But if employees are taken for granted and are not looked upon, then they might find ways to survive a job till they don’t get a better option.

A lot goes into making an employer-first company. You have to invest in enterprise app development services to become digital-friendly while being more responsive to your employees’ feedback. The first step is always to create an engaging employee experience that helps in building a strong team from an employee’s perspective.

Although the steps are a bit difficult to follow, the outcome is rewarding. Businesses will be able to not only find the right talent but also keep their current employees engaged. Thus, you need to make sure that you’re doing this process right. The four tips shared above will definitely help you with it.

Irrespective of whether you are a fresher or a seasoned expert, finding a company that would give you all the opportunities requires extensive research. By following these tips, you will get the correct fit and give yourself the most obvious opportunity with regard to progress.

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Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing contributions from the community. Become a thought leader in the community and share your opinions or ideas and earn a byline by submitting a post.

Join our e27 Telegram group, FB community or like the e27 Facebook page

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Rainmaking, a corporate innovation and venture development firm and the operator of Startupbootcamp, has launched a SGD30 million (US$22 million) which aims to accelerate startups solving maritime value chain hurdles.

Named ‘Motion Ventures’, the consortium-driven investment fund has also announced the first close, with shipping company Wilhelmsen and logistics enterprise HHLA as anchor investors.

Motion Ventures will target early-stage startups tackling challenges in the maritime value chain from first principle with scalable technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence, Continuous Intelligence and HyperAutomation.

The fund will offer its portfolio companies the advantage of growing their startups through its venture studio and open innovation platform, both of which facilitate commercial partnerships between startups and Fortune 500 companies.

Startups will also be able to receive access to key maritime firms via their network of corporate investors.

Also Read: OceanShield raises US$800K to safeguard the maritime industry from cyber attacks

According to Motion Ventures, this represents a unique fund structure in the maritime industry that ensures quality corporate participation and a startup scale path model.

“For the first time, first-mover corporations like Wilhelmsen will bring together centuries of industry legacy, capital, resources and insight to ensure startups have the best possible chance to commercialise and find a strategic market fit,” said Shaun Hon, General Partner at Motion Ventures and Director at Rainmaking.

Furthermore, Motion Ventures will jointly invest in startups with SEEDS Capital, the investment arm of Enterprise Singapore.

This follows SEEDS Capital’s US36 million (SGD50M) commitment in June 2020 to co-invest into maritime technology startups with newly appointed partners, such as Rainmaking.

“Rainmaking is a leading player for innovation with extensive global networks and the Motion Ventures’s consortium approach towards driving innovation within the maritime value chain is an exciting proposition. We are encouraged by the progress of the Motion Ventures fund and look forward to a strong partnership in growing the maritime tech ecosystem in Singapore,” said Geoffrey Yeo, General Manager of SEEDS Capital.

With 12 offices around the world, Rainmaking creates, accelerates, and scales new business, solving problems with the world’s leading corporations. In the last 13 years, it launched 30 ventures worth over US$2 billion in value, including Startupbootcamp.

Singapore, an island nation in Southeast Asia, is a strategic centre for maritime business. The country has been accelerating its efforts towards innovation in the maritime sector since the launch of the Maritime Singapore Green Pledge in 2011, after which a total of 90 companies have pledged their commitment towards promoting clean and green shipping in Singapore.

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Image Credit: Rainmaking

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Amartha, an Indonesian P2P lending platform focused on women micro-entrepreneurs, announced today it has secured a US$50 million debt financing from US-based Lendable.

Founded in 2010, Amartha provides access to women micro-entrepreneurs in rural areas seeking working capital and connects them with lenders. The company claims it has channelled funding of IDR 3.13 trillion (US$222,000) to over 600,000 women micro-entrepreneurs in Java, Sumatra and Sulawesi.

Andi Taufan Garuda Putra, founder and CEO of Amartha, said that women are key drivers of a micro-economy that will play a pivotal role in the economic recovery of Indonesia. By providing access to capital and entrepreneurship education for women, Amartha can help business owners increase their annual income by up to seven times.

“We are grateful for the trust given by Lendable so that women can increase their role in the Indonesian economy, especially in the context of post-pandemic recovery. Indonesian micro-businesses have displayed strong resilience during the pandemic and are promising prospects going forward,” he added.

Also Read: Patamar Capital launches US$50M Beacon Fund for female entrepreneurs in SEA’s emerging markets

More than 22 million women micro-entrepreneurs lack access to banking and financial institutions in Indonesia. By adopting its technology with a nationwide push for digital adoption, Amartha claims it is able to reach the unbanked and underserved segment of women in rural areas

“Gender lens investing is a critical development goal in the emerging and frontier markets. We have been impressed with the energy and dedication that the Amartha team have poured into promoting financial inclusion for female micro-entrepreneurs in rural Indonesia,” said Hani Ibrahim, Chief Investment Officer of Lendable.

“Amartha’s objectives very much align with Lendable’s commitment and our aim of supporting the unbanked and underbanked segments of society by providing debt to fintechs that deliver crucial services,” he shared.

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Image Credit: Amartha

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With the COVID-19 crisis yet to be tackled, VCs are exercising cautious optimism which in turn has slowed down startup funding. Only exceptional startups operating in a handful of sectors, not affected by the crisis, have been able to raise capital.

This is where Singapore-based Next Gen’s financing gains prominence. This 4-month-old plant-based meat startup has achieved what many of its peers could not — a US$10 million in seed funding round from the likes of Temasek, K3 Ventures, the New Ventures arm of the Singapore EDB, NX Food, FEBE Ventures, and Blue Horizon.

Co-founded by Timo Recker (founder and ex-CEO of German plant-based meat company LikeMeat) and Andre Menezes (ex-GM of Country Foods Singapore), Next Gen is currently on track to bring its first product into the market and has already bagged partnerships with a few restaurant brands in the island nation.

On the occasion of Next Gen’s fundraise, e27 sat with its COO Menezes to discuss the investment, the firm’s plans, and the overall plant-based meat industry in Southeast Asia.

Edited excerpts below:

Next Gen is just four months old and has already raised US$10 million. How did you convince your investors to back you?

We consider ourselves blessed that the world and investors are becoming more aware of the importance of transforming our food system.

Although Next Gen was only established in 2020, the leadership team is very experienced in the plant-based meat industry and in global brand building.

Also Read: No animals were harmed in the making of this ‘meat’ burger

Our asset-lite business model also allows us to operate remotely and digitally, facilitating scaling our business quickly, first in Singapore, then Asia and international markets.

Our R&D team also developed TiNDLE (a plant-based chicken consumer brand) with chefs and for chefs. It is unique and highly versatile, delivering the taste, texture and experience of chicken. TiNDLE Thy is very delicious and unique, offering authentic chicken taste, texture, and aroma, and is different from anything else out there.

These factors have played a key role in high investor interest.

For a six-month-old company, US$10 million is a massive money. Why does the company need this much capital? How and where does the company plan to deploy the capital?

Our seed round was oversubscribed, and we had to expand the round to accommodate great investors who were interested and are very important for our business. We are building a global brand, which requires resources.

Our ambition is to expand quickly across multiple markets and to keep investing in the development of better technologies and products. As such, the funds are adequate to support our business plan and will be used for the global launch of TiNDLE in Singapore, expansion into additional Asian cities, and continued research and development of new plant-based products.

There are now a handful of companies in Southeast Asia providing plant-based meat. How do you stand out from them?

We do see other companies around the globe emerging recently and we are very happy that the category is being developed as we will all benefit from a more sustainable food system.

Next Gen offers a new and differentiated product. TiNDLE Thy is very delicious and unique, offering authentic chicken taste, texture and aroma. Our business model and our experienced leadership team are also key differentiating factors.

We are confident that TiNDLE and our future brands will win the hearts of consumers in Singapore, Asia and around the world.

As per a statement, Next Gen is planning to expand into Europe and the US. What opportunities do you see in these markets?

From day one, we were very clear that Next Gen’s business is global. Being asset-lite and also tapping on digital allows us to scale and expand quickly to almost any market.

Also Read: Next Gen raises US$10M in one of the largest seed rounds

Today, the US and Europe are the main markets for plant-based foods and – as such – are extremely relevant in our expansion plans. We notice that most of our consumers today are living in and around urban centres, therefore we will have a strategy focused around the most relevant cities in each region or country.

How is the plant-based meat/alternative protein market growing in Singapore as well as the entire SEA region? What trends do you see in the region?

Plant-based meat has seen strong demand in the West and is now also gaining momentum in Asia. According to DuPont N&B, demand for plant-based products in Asia will surge over 200 per cent in the next five years.

As much as 78 per cent of APAC consumers say that plant-based meat alternatives are here to stay, and consumption will continue to grow.

Technavio projects the market will be worth US$12.75 billion by 2030.

How did the COVID-19 pandemic affect the plant-based meat industry?

The pandemic accelerated awareness among consumers and investors of the issues and risks associated with animal farming. That, in turn, has driven additional momentum into the plant-based industry across all metrics — from funding to consumer awareness and demand.

Global investment in foodtech for the first three quarters of 2020 was US$8.37 billion, beating the US$7 billion raised in 2019.

Where do you source the ‘raw materials’ for your ‘meat’ products?

Our raw materials are sourced globally, considered the best-in-class source for each component available. On that, for example, we have opted not to work with GMO ingredients or novel ingredients.

Can you share more details about TiNDLE? How many restaurants have you partnered with to sell this brand? Can you share the names?

Next Gen’s consumer brand TiNDLE will be making its global debut in Singapore in March 2021. Distributed by Classic Fine Foods, Next Gen’s official distribution partner, it will be rolled out in select restaurants including Three Buns Quayside, The Prive Group, 28 Hong Kong Street and The Goodburger among others.

Also Read: Conscious consumption is driving the trend in foodtech: Study

Developed in collaboration with chefs and for chefs, the first TiNDLE product is TiNDLE Thy, delivering the unmistakable taste and versatility of chicken thigh. Chefs can easily use TiNDLE Thy to prepare dishes in multiple culinary applications, and for many kinds of cuisines – Western, Chinese, Indian, Middle Eastern and more.

Do you focus both on B2B and B2C markets with the TiNDLE product line?

TiNDLE Thy launches exclusively with restaurants as it was developed with chefs and for chefs. It will be launched in select restaurants across Singapore.

We want consumers to understand that great experiences do not necessarily need to involve animal farming. In the future, as part of our roadmap, TiNDLE products will be available for sale at supermarkets.

Which other SEA markets are there on your TiNDLE roadmap? In which country do you see prospects for your product after Singapore?

This year, we will be expanding to multiple countries in Asia. Next Gen will be launching in urban, highly developed and regionally well-connected cities in Asia.

In the next two years, we aim to expand to Europe and the US. We are already laying the groundwork for the US, including recruiting a Growth Director, who will build a network of distributors, restaurants, and chefs.

Do you see the global demand for alternative protein products, especially vegan products, to go up globally? What are the factors influencing this growth?

Global demand is rising significantly, driven mostly by Flexitarians. The main factors driving consumers around the globe to reduce their animal-based diet in favour of more plant-based products are sustainability and health.

It is important to note that some myths are now debunked, for example, plant-based foods taste like cardboard or that you cannot have all the nutrients if you reduce the consumption of animal protein.

Our TiNDLE Thy meets the nutritional guidelines for the Healthier Choice Symbol administered by Singapore’s Health Promotion Board due to its lower sodium and lower saturated fat content as compared to regular plant-based meat alternatives.

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Image Credit: Next Gen

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