Dole Asia Holdings, a unit of international agricultural giant Dole, has announced the launch of “Sunshine for All” fund.

With a corpus of US$2 million, the fund will seek to support global strategic partnerships and innovation in areas of sustainability, food access and waste.

e27 has reached out to Dole Asia for more information regarding the fund. This story will be updated as and when the company share the details.

The fund is part of the firm’s larger “Dole Promise” initiative launched in 2020. Through the initiative, it aims to accomplish goals including providing access to sustainable nutrition for one billion people by 2025, having zero fossil-based plastic packaging by 2025, and net-zero carbon emissions in operations by 2030, among others.

The company is seeking partners — from entrepreneurs, startups, strategic thinking to social impact enterprises and NGOs — to bring their expertise in food production, nutritional science, compostable packaging, supply chain, logistics, sustainable agriculture and fast-moving consumer goods, to bear.

By partnering with them, the fund will address these gaps of affordability and waste, as well as accessibility and acceptability.

Also Read: Sustainability: the new business reality

Dole’s drive to promote good nutrition could not come sooner. Nearly 25 per cent of the world’s population is experiencing moderate or severe food insecurity as one-third of the food produced globally for human consumption is lost or wasted.

“We have given ourselves five years to deliver on our ambitious goals and innovations that can move us quickly forward. Our ambition is to partner with innovators and to open up opportunities for immense evolution and tangible solutions. This will be a key enabler to continue to make our business a force for good.” said Christian Wiegele, President, Dole Asia Fresh.

“Our work to bring Sunshine for All during the pandemic reinforced our belief that people will join us when they believe in what we do. The fund is our signal to the world that we are open for business and that business is finding, fuelling and fostering innovation, actions and change,” said Barbara Guerpillon, Global Head of Ventures, Dole Packaged Foods and Asia Fresh.

The fund was launched in tandem with The Growing Distance, a short film that addresses the critical gaps the company sees as barriers to good nutrition for all.

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Image Credit: Unsplash

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A few Sundays ago, I had time to enjoy and reflect on the interview Sumiko Tan had with Pritam Singh — the Leader of the Opposition (LO) in Singapore.

A good read, but what caught my eye was how Singh regarded the good and the less good experiences life throws his way: “While today [life] may be an up — or you perceive it to be an up — don’t be too excited or too happy because there will be a down. But when that happens, don’t be too sad either. Think of the recovery.”

“I think a lot of life is like that. So when things are going good, keep your feet grounded, don’t get too exuberant, because these things come in cycles.”

Relevance to the Lunar New Year Celebration

With 2020 behind us, and yet the end of the COVID-19 tunnel remaining elusive, I sense some of us in Singapore are getting somewhat careless in how we handle COVID-19.

This resulted in our government imposing rules on gatherings — which is somewhat of an annoyance given Lunar New Year catch-ups is what we do during the festive period.

Thankful as I am that the COVID-19 community spread cases are kind of under control, we should not be “..too excited nor too happy”, and throw caution to the wind because there could be super-spreaders and we could be miserable when more tightening measures are introduced as a result.

At the same time, when there are restrictions on gatherings. I am reminded that I should not be too dismayed nor should I grumble. Instead, I ought to be thankful for having the opportunity to have some form of visitation … and instead of finishing all visits in one day, we now have the excuse to do multi-day celebrations and visitations. Not too bad …

Also Read: 9 fundraising mistakes entrepreneurs and founders must avoid

How does this apply to the life of an entrepreneur?

None of the entrepreneurs I have dialogued with is spared from having roller coaster experiences. The high points in the entrepreneurs’ lives are when they raised a new financing round, secured a large contract, displaced a competitor, and more.

And these high points are repeated … at higher altitudes as the companies mature to raising Series B, C, D … and the alphabets go on. But before the exit celebrations roll along, entrepreneurs will have more dark days.

These dark days are the flip side, and they include when the funds run low when teams are unable to deliver on sales targets and more.

At a recent board call, one founder was sharing his 2021 plans, along with exciting news of a new financing round. As board members, we celebrate with him and his team for having come this far. However, as I rewound the journey just a few years back, it was a very different founder I observed then.

At that time the company had people challenges, less than ideal hires who slipped targets. Board updates reflected missed targets, and the founder was tired — overall. We were concerned about his health — physical and mental.

Self-doubt set in, stakes were high as he was also responsible for the livelihood of the many peoples who were under the company’s payroll. Frightening and weary times.

As shareholders and board members, we rallied around him. We shared with him our resources including our time, ears, networks and thoughts. Just like what Singh says, recovery comes around … and now, a few years later, the company is in a very different place.

Through grit and perseverance, and peppered with some luck, the founder was able to hire strong team members who helped reshape the company culture, instituted repeatable processes and shared the load with him. The spirit among team members are high, sales folks are geared up and ready to charge into the new year.

Also Read: What should be the vision of an entrepreneur?

This time around, having grown older and wiser, the founder is now grounded on the fundamentals of ensuring corporate culture and values permeate through the organisation. While they will continue to chart growth and performance metrics, the founder will be keeping a close eye on the bottom line and cash position of the company — which is a wise thing to do.

With a lack of clarity of how 2021 will unfold, founders need to demonstrate wisdom and courage to do the right thing to take their companies through another fluid year. Right could mean different things for different companies, hence the consultation and dialogue with shareholders, board members and staff will remain important.

Regardless of the outcome, founders must know that this is life, and this life journey will have its highs and lows.

Founders will need to remain grounded and not be swept away when things look good, and not be overly dismayed at low moments … for these too, will pass.

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How gojek and Bukalapak found the initial spark that turned them into giants; Product validation is an important step in knowing whether a startup idea can succeed; Bukalapak founder Achmad Zaky believes that no business can grow by targeting the entire market at once from the get-go; Instead, the ideal segment to start with is the one that’s most profitable. More here

Traveloka prepares to list via SPAC in the US this year; The Indonesian travel giant has engaged JPMorgan Chase as plans to go public accelerate amid the capital influx into the stock market; Traveloka is said to be valued at close to US$6bn; The company joins a growing list of Indonesian startups seeking to list in the US through SPACs. More here

Clubhouse: Hype-fuelled gimmick or the future of events and podcasting?; People describe it over the last few days as ‘TikTok for grown-ups’, ‘a never-ending Zoom webinar of blah’, ‘what Substack should be’, ‘a one-feature app’ and ‘the first social network in more than a decade that feels different’; In truth, Clubhouse is probably a mix of all those things. More here

Business group touts ‘single market’ plan for South-east Asian e-commerce industry; Simplified customs procedures for low-value goods, a regional locker network open to logistics players, and even a pilot for land-based cross-border trucking were among the proposals for a potential integrated ecosystem. More here

India, SEA-focused VC Avatar Ventures raises US$100mn in final close of new fund; Avataar focuses on B2B and SaaS growth-stage startups; It invests between US$10mn and US$30mn in startups that have a annual recurring revenue of at least US$15mn. More here

How Loship gives Grab, gojek a run for its money in Vietnam with a unique combination of food delivery and podcasting; It enables customers to listen to multiple podcasts while waiting for their food delivery; In 2019, it closed its Series B round from Smilegate Investment; Skype co-founder Jaan Tallinn’s MetaPlanet recently invested in Loship. More here

Singapore budget 2021: Increased support for deeptech, enhanced venture debt programme announced for startups; 500 fellowships will be launched under the National Research Foundation to improve deeptech expertise in areas including cybersecurity, AI and healthtech. More here

Vietnamese nanotech firm Wakamono looks to raise US$20mn for expansion; The potential investment is expected to support its plans to spin off its medical wear, food and agriculture, and cosmetic production businesses into separate entities; The firm is currently focussed on producing antimicrobial masks and medical protective gear. More here

Indonesian early-stage VC firm SALT Ventures begins raising US$20mn fund II; The firm focuses on companies in the creative industry (asset-light, tech, or tech-enabled); The primary focus will be B2C; SALT’s Fund I was closed last year and backed 14 pre-seed, seed-stage firms. More here

TRIVE Ventures launches US$2mn venture philanthropy fund to support cash-strapped founders in Singapore; The fund will issue financial support of up to US$75K to each successful applicant in the form of a redeemable SAFE Note; It seeks to support up to 10 founders in the next 12 months, with plans to support more should demand increase. More here

Thai insurtech startup AppMan raises US$4.6mn; Investors include Siam Alpha Equity, Krungsri Finnovate, Casmatt, KTBST Group, POEMS Ventures; AppMan aims to enable insurers to mobilise their sales agents digitally and shift from paper-based work to an automated process; It also has offices in Vietnam and Indonesia. More here

Thai govt. warns to punish citizens who criticise the monarchy using Clubhouse; A large number of Thais joined Clubhouse in recent days after prominent Japan-based critic of the Thai palace joined on Friday and started discussing the monarchy; The government regularly uses a cyber crime law to prosecute critics of the monarchy on national security grounds. More here

Temasek, Vickers join Canadian geothermal tech firm Eavor’s US$40mn funding round; It offer Eavor-Loop, a tech that extracts the natural heat of the earth similar to a rechargeable battery in order to provide a consistent energy source for homes. More here

Shopee expands logistics services in Malaysia to offer next-day delivery; The e-commerce giant introducing 10 new Shopee Xpress drop-off points in the country; It also partnered with Parcelhub and MBE Malaysia to bring the total number of drop-off points nationwide to over 300. More here

Grab partners with UniPin, Yummy Corp to expand payments and F&B services in Indonesia; UniPin is a payment solutions platform for online games which allows gamers to top up their digital wallets through the ride-hailing giant’s platform; Grab seeks to allow F&B merchants to access Yummy Corp’s network of 80 cloud kitchens across Indonesia to launch virtual restaurants. More here

Meet the 2 SEA startups joining Allens’s legaltech accelerator; They are inPact.ai, an enterprise software platform that turns contracts into structured and analysable data to uncover new business insights; and Avvoka, a startup implementing document automation, negotiation and analytics tools for in-house legal, law firms and business teams. More here

This startup by an Indonesian farmer produces ‘leather’ used in shoes and wallets without killing a single animal; MYCL cultivates mycelia (a type of fungus) along with sawdust to make a substitute for animal-based leather; The whole process consumes far less water than traditional animal-based leather making process. More here

The world of proptech and its fate in a post-pandemic world; Many real estate professionals use tech like virtual viewings and live walk-through videos to make tenants feel like they are visiting the property without setting the foot inside the space. More here

US-based Pinoy lending startup Plentina taps 7-Eleven for BNPL online grocery; Customers can avail CLiQQ Wallet Credits from the Plentina app on a loan and pay back 14 days later; CLiQQ Wallet Credits can be spent in 7-Eleven stores and at CLiQQgrocery.com, the convenience store’s newly launched online grocery. More here

APAC improves in digital civility during pandemic: Microsoft; Singapore and Taiwan sit among the top five globally with the most favourable Digital Civility Index (DCI) scores, taking the fourth and fifth spots respectively; Indonesia and Malaysia reported least favourable DCI scores. More here

A bright future ahead: How SEA’s tech startups are faring; Though global events predicted otherwise, 2020 has been a good year for tech startups in Southeast Asia; The region has seen continued economic growth and VC investment due to its fast recovery time; The region is a burgeoning market that has seen increased interest from investors during 2020. More here

The Philippines announces 3rd digital entrepreneur assistance programme; ‘Kapatid Mentor Me’ aims to assist MSMEs to scale up and sustain their businesses through weekly coaching and mentoring by business owners and practitioners on different functional areas of entrepreneurship; It’s already been launched in 15 regions and has assisted over 2K farmers and almost 500 associations and cooperatives since 2017. More here

Cloud tech vital in meeting local firms’ needs amidst pandemic; As per NTT’s 2021 Hybrid Cloud Report, the pandemic has forced 93.8% of Singapore businesses to rely on tech more than they did before, but the crisis has also highlighted what firms lack in terms of cloud infra, security and network architecture capabilities, therefore driving digital innovation on these businesses’ end. More here

The GoBear shutdown and other fintech trends in SEA; In general, fintech startups have escaped the wrath of the pandemic’s rage against the economy with many flourishing thanks to consumers wishing to conduct their financial affairs from home; Many governments in the region are encouraging this digital growth through support and incentives for those wishing to develop fintech products. More here

Thailand’s Digital Economy Promotion Agency (DEPA) focuses on game service providers; As part of its support of the game industry, the agency and Thai Game Software Industry Association will formally roll out the Depa Game Accelerator Programme on 2 March 2021 at Thailand E-Sports Arena in Street Ratchada. More here

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Bukalapak

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India-based VC firm Avataar Ventures has announced the final close of US$100 million for its Opportunities Fund. Undisclosed institutional investors from the US and Europe were among the investors.

This is the Avataar’s second fund. It had earlier launched a US$300-million inaugural fund in September 2019.

Avataar was co-founded by Nishant Rao, former global COO of Indian unicorn Freshworks, and Mohan Kumar, who led India-headquartered Norwest Venture Partners. The firm focuses on B2B and SaaS growth-stage startups in India and Southeast Asia.

It invests between US$10 million and US$30 million in startups that have an annual recurring revenue (ARR) of at least US$15 million.

Also Read: What metrics to monitor as a B2B SaaS company?

Avaatar said the Opportunities fund will be used to make follow-on investments into existing portfolio companies as well as new firms.

So far, it has made three investments from the new fund, and has hired two senior executives as part of plans to expand its operations in the US.

“Partnering closely with our entrepreneurs, our interventions on unit economics have helped three new portfolio businesses hit profitability. Yet for others, we have focused more on helping fine-tune their growth engines,” said Managing Partner Kumar.

The firm’s portfolio companies include HR solutions startup CRMNext, logistics startup Elastic Run, and cloud-based software platform Zenoti.

Avataar recently led a Series C round for automated communication platform SenseHQ and a Series B round for RateGain, a travel and hotel software company.

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Image Credit: Avataar Ventures

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The Business Innovations Generator (BIG) Incubation Programme offered by the Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (IIE) at the Singapore Management University (SMU) has unveiled the 23 new startups accepted into its first cohort for 2021.

The 4-month-old founder-centric programme will provide startups with financial support, mentorship, access to community events, masterclasses, the Greenhouse workspace, and credits from corporate partners.

An equity-free and industry-agnostic programme, it leans slightly towards digital and sustainable urban technologies. This is in line with IIE’s objective of nurturing future leaders to create a meaningful impact on society.

In a press statement, Shirley Wong, Entrepreneur-in-Residence at SMU IIE, said, “I hope with all the resources given to support the startups, we can help bring their ideas to life, kickstart their business and equip our BIG startup founders with the quintessential tools to realise their dream.”

Also Read: SMU’s Protégé Ventures as a catalyst for entrepreneurial education

The incubator will run its next call for applications for pre-seed and seed-stage startups in July — for both SMU- and non-SMU affiliated companies.

The selected startups are:

Adonis Pacific

A platform incorporated to house Singapore-born brands that champion health and wellness.

AllQuant

A private investment company set up to provide hedge fund access to retail investors through online education, copy trading and robo-advisory services.

Altra Capital

Provides investors with a centralised platform for the trading of alternative investments.

Defi Lab

Empowers decentralised gateway protocol for crypto and financial assets.

DRIVERIDEBUDDY

An autotech startup that aims to digitise the relationships between merchants and the end-user.

Entsecure

Simplifies corporate IT management for organisations.

FAMILI

Provides seamless patient experiences during medical encounters  for traditional care centres.

FlockSupport

Builds a centralised customer support suite for better customer relationships.

haohaoguo realty

A one-stop virtual property agency platform.

Jaztip

A social commerce app.

KASEE Batik Activewear

Designs and produces batik activewear, aimed at preserving Indonesian culture and tradition.

Kind Citizen

Provides individuals and organisations an easy way to make a difference in the community by paying forward meals or essential products and services.

Localtopia

A one-stop business solution to help foreign beauty brands penetrate the China market.

Lovenn

A dating app that saves time by only showing profiles of people who fit into the user’s criteria.

Maiden

A one-stop platform that matches agencies and employers with domestic helpers

Matchin

A personalised digital mentorship platform that seeks to guide, teach and recommend students at the beginning of their career search journeys.

Quest

A request-based P2P platform where users can seek help from others to do different gigs, and simultaneously offer their services.

Rice Inc

A global impact rice brand focused on fighting hunger.

Skilio

A social learning platform that tracks and measures soft skill development through reflective practice and crowdsourced feedback.

Smplrspace

Powers visual and virtual home buying interactions by letting realtors market properties in 3D in under a few minutes.

The Victoria Project

Aims to build communities through online and offline content for local elite athletes.

Trabble

An automated self-check-in and guest engagement SaaS platform that provides guests with a contactless experience starting from inquiries, bookings and services, via chat.

Zero2.5 Biotech

Strives to improve the air quality by making living plant-based and fibre-based ionisers.

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Image Credit: SMU

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Know Your Customer or KYC is crucial for businesses for fraud prevention, and this becomes even more pertinent when it comes to the finance sector and eCommerce. KYC checks help identify money launderers, tax evaders, and other criminal activities.

Companies that do not comply, not only run the risk of exposing their business to fraud, but they also risk being deemed complicit, which may result in hefty fines and possibly further prosecution.

Furthermore, robust due diligence, executed with full data privacy compliance, bolsters a customer’s trust in the company’s operations and helps with their reputation. Moreover, when it comes to fintech or eCommerce, reputation and trust are key to growth and success.

Challenges faced by fintech and eCommerce when it comes to e-KYC

With the surge in fintech and eCommerce, there has been an increase in online frauds as well. According to a recent report released by Fenergo, in 2020, financial institutions in the Asia Pacific and globally racked up more than USD 10.6 billion in penalties related to non-compliance of Know Your Customer (KYC) other important regulations. In APAC alone, organisations accrued more than USD 5.1 billion in penalties as regulators crack down on poor behaviour from financial services firms.

One of the main challenges that fintech companies face when it comes to KYC is that the regulations keep changing constantly and it can be hard to keep up. For regional players, it becomes even more complicated as different countries might have different regulations. In such scenarios, compliance becomes difficult and non-compliance can cost money, reputation and sometimes even the entire business.

Also read: RevComm’s MiiTel, Cloud IP phone powered by artificial intelligence, is changing how businesses engage customers

Another issue is that when using fragmented tools for verification, the process can be complicated as well as expensive. And, last but not the least, with these challenges if the KYC process becomes too complex and bumpy, customer experience is affected and businesses end up losing valuable users.

This is where reliable, easy and efficient identity verification becomes crucial in an increasingly digital world. As such, Japan-based TRUSTDOCK is leading the way in holistic e-KYC solutions for seamlessly facilitating trusted business relationships and transactions for fintech and eCommerce companies.

Helping businesses with innovative and customisable e-KYC solutions

Launched in 2017, TRUSTDOCK makes e-KYC easy and efficient for growing companies and their customers. Their centralised e-KYC API platform offers scalable local compliance; they have the local expertise and operational commitment in each country with local teams on the ground, localised products and KYC as well as data privacy regulation compliance.

Furthermore, their single modern API portal makes integration simple and cost-effective for businesses by eliminating the need to develop their own technology or hire an internal verification team. Plus, TRUSTDOCK has a superior UI/UX that offers an intuitive and stable verification process encouraging more users to complete the process. In a nutshell, TRUSTDOCK’s comprehensive digital identity verification solutions meet the standards required for security, compliance, customer experience, and scaling.

Also read: Connect with 10 more verified investors on e27 today

Available to businesses at a one-time onboarding fee and a flat monthly maintenance fee plus variable verification fee, TRUSTDOCK’s solutions are simple, transparent and cost-effective. From design to development and testing, the entire onboarding cycle is quick and takes just about a month or two.

Another advantage with TRUSTDOCK is that their innovative e-KYC solutions are customisable to address a business’s specific KYC and CDD needs for secure, expedited regulatory or commercial compliance.

● TRUSTDOCK App is ideal for companies serving their customers on both websites and apps and looking to fully outsource eKYC with simple integration.
● TRUSTDOCK Web is suitable for companies serving customers exclusively on a website and looking for browser-based KYC solutions.
● TRUSTDOCK SDK is for businesses focused on mobile apps and looking for KYC solutions within their apps. They plan to release this in quarter 1 of 2021.

TRUSTDOCK is already a trusted name and has received financial backing and support from the likes of Sony Innovation Fund, Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, Mizuho Capital, and SMBC Venture Capital. They have a rich clientele, including Transferwise, Softmap (Bic Camera Group), and Altoa (ORIX Group) among others. Having verified over 2 million identities in the last two and a half years, TRUSTDOCK is among the leading e-KYC providers in Japan.

Also read: AI Communis: The first B2B ASR-based solution provider in SEA with local language adaptation

With fintech and eCommerce on the rise in Southeast Asia post-pandemic, TRUSTDOCK is looking to expand into the region with a keen focus on Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. TRUSTDOCK believes in the ethos of collaborations and invites key stakeholders in the industry keen on working on this technology with them. They are also actively looking for investment partners to help with their expansion plans and to build further on the technology.

To learn more about TRUSTDOCK’s products and services and to connect with them, visit https://e27.co/startups/trustdock-inc/

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

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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Australia-based law firm Allens today announced the seven startups that have joined its legal tech accelerator, Auctus, of which two hail from Southeast Asia.

Allens — which has offices in Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia — said it received more than 120 applications for its 8-week virtual accelerator.

The final seven were chosen from a shortlist of 15 who pitched their startups to a panel of judges.

The two startups from Southeast Asia are inPact.ai, a Singapore-based AI-powered enterprise software platform that turns contracts into structured and analysable data to uncover new business insights; and Avvoka, a startup with offices in London and Singapore implementing document automation, negotiation and analytics tools for in-house legal, law firms and business teams.

The chosen startups will work with mentors and experts from Allens on their legal, growth and innovation strategies as well as attend masterclasses, test and receive feedback on their products from the firm. They will also have the opportunity to participate in facilitated strategic introductions to Allens’s networks.

Also Read: Legaltech on blockchain is set to be the next hot investment sector. Here’s why

Selected startups may have opportunities to discuss further strategic engagement with the firm or potential investors at the conclusion of the accelerator.

“Our first cohort of startups impressed us with the potentially transformative solutions they’re building to some of the most pressing issues faced by our firm and our clients,” said Penelope Barr, Allens’s Head of Legal Product Lab.

“We are excited by the potential of our first group of startups to not only add to our own legal tech offering but to meaningfully contribute to the Australian legal landscape more broadly,” she added.

“When startups stand on the shoulders of a giant like Allens, they both see further and get to their destinations faster, and I’m looking forward to watching the journey unfold with the crop of startups that were selected,” said Steve Glaveski, CEO of innovation consulting firm Collective Campus, which partnered with the law firm to help attract and source for potential accelerator candidates.

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Image Credit: Unsplash

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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”

Peng Ventures
Stages: Seed, Pre-Series A / Bridge, Series A
Verticals: Transportation, Travel
Investment Range: Not Specified
Straight from Peng Ventures:
Peng Ventures is a venture builder that creates, invests, or acquires, and thereafter operates businesses in the tourism and hospitality industry in Bangkok. We focus on business models that have the potential to turn profitable quickly and return the invested capital quickly.
Connect with them

Fosun Capital
Stages: Stages Seed, Series A, Series B, Series C & Above
Verticals: Advertising, Biotech, Entertainment, Healthtech, Internet of Things
Investment Range: Not specified
Straight from Forsun Capital: Fosun RZ Capital has over 10 billion RMB AUM. As one of the most globalized venture capital platforms in China, RZ Capital is committed to investing in high-growth, high-tech companies in major economic growth regions and has fostered innovation ecosystems around the world, with offices in China, United States, India, Indonesia, Singapore, and Nigeria.
Connect with them

PwC Singapore’s Venture Hub
Stages: Series A, Series B
Verticals: All / Any
Investment Range: Not specified
Straight from PwC Singapore’s Venture Hub: Working closely together with motivated entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, incubators and accelerators, PwC Singapore’s Venture Hub adopts a one-stop shop approach to providing solutions and services to help businesses build resilience, achieve sustainable growth and expand into key markets.

Complex regulations, stiff competition as well as expectations from investors, industry partners and other stakeholders are common challenges in this rapidly developing ecosystem.

Tapping on our global network and deep industry knowledge, we can provide a suite of tailored advisory services for both startups and investors to help spur innovation and expedite growth, while enabling your business to remain competitive and compliant.
Connect with them

Vertical Health Accelerator
Stages: Seed
Verticals: Food & Beverage, Healthtech, Mobile, Sports
Investment Range: USD 0 – USD 150K
Straight from Vertical Health Accelerator: Our modern digital world is fast-paced, and there’s no prize for standing still. To keep moving forward, companies need adaptable strategies for output and internal development as well as for partnerships, mergers, and acquisitions. You can rely on our team to navigate your business towards growth. Our expertise will help you develop the strategies you need, collaborate with the best partners, and make the right deals.
Connect with them

Raffles Venture Partners Pte Ltd
Stages: Seed, Series A, Series B, Series C & Above
Verticals: Advertising, Consumer, Cybersecurity, Enterprise Solution, Healthtech, Media, Medtech, Robotics, Travel
Investment Range: USD 200K – USD 5M
Straight from Raffles Venture Partners Pte Ltd: Raffle Venture Partners is a Singapore-based venture capital company that specialises in late stage investments.
Connect with them

NTT Docomo Ventures
Stages: Seed, Pre-Series A / Bridge, Series A, Series B, Series C & Above
Verticals: Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality, Big Data, Cybersecurity, Education, Enterprise Solution, Finance, Healthtech, Internet of Things, Media, Platform, Robotics, Software as a Service, Virtual Reality
Investment Range: USD 500K – USD 5M
Straight from NTT Docomo Ventures: NTT DOCOMO Ventures is the gateway for the startup and venture community in NTT Group. We are rapidly enhancing our innovation of various services, technology, and processes. We also bring together people of diverse interests in order to create new infrastructure.

We offer strong business support and collaboration for the passionate and creative people working at startups everywhere. By shoring up our efforts together, we will create new value that changes established thinking around the world.
Connect with them

AgFunder
Stages: Seed, Series A, Series B
Verticals: Agritech, Food & Beverage
Investment Range: USD 200K – USD 800K
Straight from AgFunder: Based in Silicon Valley, AgFunder is a new kind of venture capital firm built on proprietary technology and a global ecosystem of over 85,000 subscribers. We invest in exceptional and bold founders who are committed to building the next generation of agrifood technology companies that will transform our food system. We are one of the most active agrifood tech investors in the world and our mentor network represents some of the most successful executives and founders in the industry.
Connect with them

Rocket Equities
Stages: Private Equity
Verticals: E-commerce, Finance, Information & Communications Technology, Logistics/Supply Chain, Sports
Investment Range: Not specified
Straight from Rocket Equities: Rocket Equities is a mid-market M&A advisory firm based in the Netherlands and the Philippines. We consult with fast-growing companies in Europe and Asia to provide the strategy, capital raising, M&A, and digital transformation services.
Connect with them

Marsh Pte Ltd
Stages: Seed, Series A, Series B, Series C & Above
Verticals: Biotech, Energy, Finance, Food & Beverage, Mobile
Investment Range: Not specified
Straight from Marsh Pte Ltd: Mercer Marsh Benefits is a combination of Mercer and Marsh local offices around the world.
Connect with them

Corwin Asset Management
Stages: Series A, Series B
Verticals: Biotech, Energy, Finance, Food & Beverage, Mobile
Investment Range: USD 25K – USD 1.5M
Straight from Corwin Asset Management: In Corwin Group, we have 3 major businesses pillars to support as our core business, which are Property, Investment and Trade.

For Property, we get involved in whole property chain from acquisition, development, construction, renovation, interior design, property funding, marketing, management, selling, letting and renting for our own assets, stakeholders and investor’s properties.
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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Member.id, an Indonesian-based marketing and tech firm focusing on loyalty services, announced today it has secured US$1.1 million in a Series A round, led by East Ventures with a strategic investment from travel giant Traveloka.

The funds will help it scale its content creation capabilities by bringing in more resources and talent, and create a “more diverse” library of digital content.

The startup also announced Luna Maya, a popular local actress and entrepreneur, has joined it as Managing Partner.

In addition to this, the Jakarta-headquartered startup announced its expansion into the creator economy with the addition of ‘Travel Secrets’, a travel content platform. ‘Travel Secrets’ will be part of a new content production division, called TS Media.

Member.id claims TS Media allow brands and companies to tap into Indonesia’s growing creator economy by equipping them with the necessary technology and expertise.

Also Read: Superfanz: Growing visibility for creators in the wake of COVID-19

Launched in 2014, Member.id provides strategy consulting, data analytics and tech solutions for enterprise clients to drive customer retention. On the other hand, its TS Media division is focussed on creating content to raise awareness, driving up customer acquisition for businesses.

“We are now able to offer clients and brands an end-to-end marketing solution from awareness, aspiration, activation, to retention and referrals. By creating quality content across several digital platforms, we have expanded our ability to create beyond travel-related content but have diversified into other areas including culinary, sports and lifestyle,” said Marianne Rumantir, CEO and Co-founder of Member.id.

“We are expanding and creating new programmes with new talent to cater to different audiences. This opens up more opportunities for new brands across different industries to work with us,” she added.

Meanwhile, Member.id noted the strategic investment from Traveloka brings in the unicorn’s extensive networks of merchants and business opportunities for the company.

Also Read: Innovate and go: How Traveloka revamps its services to comply with changing travel behaviour 

“The pandemic has triggered a behaviour change among consumers, in which they spend significantly more time viewing social media content. By creating content that is geared towards domestic tourism, we can be a significant force in driving additional demand for Traveloka,” said Robert Tedja, Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Member.id.

Fuelled by the country’s high mobile penetration rates, the creator economy is flourishing in Indonesia. According to App Annie, Indonesians spend an average of 5.2 hours per day on mobile in 2020, the highest in the world.

“As we start living in the post-pandemic era, we are witnessing the shift of media consumption. One of the key trends is the rise of the creator economy, which is the extension of Member.id’s customer management solution,” said Willson Cuaca, Cco-founder and Managing Partner of East Ventures.

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Image Credit: Member.id

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India-based Zolve raises US$15M led by Accel, Lightspeed

Investors: Blume Ventures, Dr. Ashish Gupta (ex-Helion MD), Greg Kidd (angel investor in Twitter), Kunal Shah (founder of Cred), Rahul Mehta (Managing Partner at DST Global), and Rahul Kishore (Senior Managing Director, Coatue Capital), and Founder Collective.

What the funding will be used for: Product enhancement, hiring, and marketing.

About Zolve: Zolve provides financial services to people migrating to different regions. The startup works with banks in the US and India to provide consumers with access to financial products seamlessly without paying any premium or security deposit.

The startup was founded by TaxiForSure co-founder Raghunandan G, who sold his startup to Indian ride-hailing giant Ola. He believes that his latest startup Zolve will enable people to access financial products seamlessly without being limited by borders.

MDEC pledges support towards Government’s Digital Economy Blueprint

The story: The Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) has pledged its support and commitment to the Government’s Digital Economy Blueprint – MyDIGITAL, according to digitalnewsAsia.

What is MyDIGITAL?:  A blueprint designed to become the foundation for Malaysia’s transformation into a digital hub by 2030.

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

More about the story: Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin is set to launch MyDIGITAL on Feb 19.

Ohm Mobility acquires CloudNBFC to make EV financing easy for lenders

The story: Ohm Mobility, a one-year-old fintech and clean transportation startup, has acquired loan management software CloudNBFC.

More about the story: While the details of this deal remain undisclosed, this acquisition will help Ohm in its plans to launch a new platform that is going to make electric vehicle (EV) financing easier for lenders.

“While the government aims for EV adoption on a big scale, financing of EV remains to be one of the biggest challenges. Ohm’s tech platform is trying to make financing of EVs easier for lenders,” CEO and founder Nikhil Nair.

About Ohm Mobility: Founded in 2020, Ohm Mobility combines digital payments, internet of things (IoT) data from vehicles, and data science to help banks reduce lending costs and modernise lending.

Ata Plus, IAP announce strategic alliance

The story: Ata Plus, an equity crowdfunding platform in Malaysia has announced a strategic alliance with IAP Integrated to diversify avenues for funding that are available for companies.

More about the story: By leveraging on the strength of Ata Plus, IAP will be able to present alternative funding opportunities for early-stage companies that approach them, therefore reducing the number of companies that are left unattended or turned away.

Also Read: Ecosystem Roundup: Traveloka picks JPMorgan for US listing via SPAC; E-commerce to further thrive in Vietnam

“The hope is that, after a successful equity raise and further growth, these promising companies can return to IAP for their future funding requirements,” said CEO of IAP, Joann Enriquez.

What is IAP?: A wholly-owned subsidiary of Raeed Holdings (Raeed), which is a consortium of six Islamic Banks in Malaysia.

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Image Credit: alexey starki

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