Komachine is aiming to change the way B2B commerce and procurement is done in the Asian industrial machinery sector by creating an online platform to connect buyers and suppliers. After gaining traction in the Korean market the startup has ambitions to become the leading industrial machinery internet platform in Asia.

The global machine industry size is estimated to be worth 649 billion USD in market size and is expected to grow to reach $835B by 2027. However, this extremely vital sector is still surprisingly mostly offline based. While industrial machines might be a topic unknown to most of us because learning about them sounds complicated and best left to executives in heavy industry manufacturers. Most people are content to live a happy life without knowing much about it. 

But when you consider that industrial machines are involved in some way or another for almost all of the products and services we consume, you realise that we can’t survive a single second on the earth without machines in our life. Nearly every product and service we are buying and using now are made by machines. Despite that, not many people are interested to explore this 649 billion USD industry which affects nearly every aspect of life.

Industrial Machinery: ripe for digitisation

Surprisingly, the machine industry has always been operating completely offline. For over 50 years industry data has been locked up in offline databases leading to opaque supply chains and limited access channels for suppliers and buyer discovery due to various reasons. To understand why the industrial machines sector has still not moved towards online platforms one has to understand the nature of the industry in Asia.

More than 90% of suppliers in Asia are small to medium enterprises SMEs (Small Medium Enterprise) which are mainly operated by the executives from the older generation aged roughly 40~60 who are not native users of online platforms and used to conducting business offline. While there is a fairly decent knowledge of technology within the industry, most businesses have typically not invested the manpower and resources required to excel at digital marketing.

Also read: How the construction industry got “smart” and cleaned up its impact

The Industrial Machinery industry consists of companies engaged in the manufacturing of basic power and hand tools, hardware, small-scale machinery and other industrial components. A study of the nature of transactions in the industrial machinery segment reveals that it is characterised by:

• Custom Orders: Unlike consumable products, machines and machine parts are usually ordered in customised deals which require business to business communications and negotiations.
• Complicated transaction processes result in a long drawn contracting and fulfilment period with higher demands of cost and time.
• Within the overall Asian market communication in English has traditionally been a barrier between buyers and suppliers based in Korea and Japan.

Korea: an industrial manufacturing powerhouse

The Korean economy has traditionally been based on the manufacturing industry. A wide range of manufacturing sectors such as Electronics & Semiconductors, Automotive, Ship Building, Construction & Engineering, Petrochemical, Medical, Steel and Machining segments together make up a significantly large share of the economy.

Approximately 20,000~30,000 companies in the machine industry sector in Korea generate more than 40~50 billion USD for the economy every year. However, the lack of English language online marketing channels has held back the industry from expanding business to more countries in Asia.

Also read: AWS Activate power boosts startups through agile and efficient cloud infrastructure — and free credits

Komachine is transforming the offline Korean machine industry by building a comprehensive industry database, streamlining communications and transactions and providing custom marketing tools to help maximise online marketing results for more than 3,000 Korean machine suppliers. 

As a result, in only 3 years since its launch, Komachine has completed 1,700 transactions worth 30 million USD, thereby connecting 500 machine suppliers with 700 global buyers from 110 countries since 2019. Due to the effect of the pandemic leading to a spike in demand for digital business processes, transaction volume has grown exponentially since the outbreak of COVID 19.

Komachine: connecting industrial machinery buyers and suppliers

Komachine is the number one internet machine Industry platform in Asia currently, connecting more than 3,000 machine suppliers with 100,000 global buyers from 150 countries every month. The chief benefits of the platform are providing online marketing channels to global and domestic machine suppliers and transaction services for global buyers.

With 20 years of experience in machine and parts trading, Komachine founder Charlie Park has built a unique online trading process and system for machine and machine parts, making buying and selling much faster, safer and easier. The platform has helped many companies overcome their initial doubts on how industrial products priced between 1,000~5,000,000 USD can be traded online without physical meetings or offline verification. 

The platform has also instilled confidence in users to execute industrial trading online by simplifying complicated processes in terms of quotation, invoice, purchase order, payment, production, inspection and shipping and reducing the dependence on extensive documentation.

Also read: ASEAN’s first smart shopping cart technology is transforming the offline shopping experience

With over 1.2 million visitors as of June 2021, more than 70 multinational companies are major customers. Companies like ABB, LS Mtron, SK Telecom, Sony, Boeing, Shell, Kia, GM trust Komachine as their source to procure industrial machinery. Komachine has the largest number of multinational customers listed among Korean startups, winning multiple industry awards as validation of its contribution to the growth of the Korean industry.

Komachine was awarded the presidential award and ministry awards in Korea and won several international startup competitions like Echelon Singapore and TECHBBQ in Denmark.

In addition, 15 patents have been awarded to Komachine for industrial platform business in database and transactions. 

Komachine is today the fastest-growing industrial platform ready to rapidly expand in Asia. Unlike other B2B platforms, Komachine is focused on being a result-oriented platform, providing optimised marketing services and easy trading services for both suppliers and global buyers. For any machine suppliers needing to market their services in Asia, Komachine is the right destination and buyers get great value as they can purchase any machines and parts across Asia.

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

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With COP26 ongoing, there is an urgent need to resolve the complexities of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement related to carbon markets and the net zero goals.

We held an informal session last week, seeking to highlight and advance the voluntary carbon markets as a mechanism to reduce emissions, the issues surrounding scaling the voluntary carbon markets globally, and how we can ensure climate impact remains at the heart of our activities.

From Paris Accords to Net Zero, what bold moves do we hope to see from leaders at COP26? What is the importance of carbon pricing and the role of international carbon markets in achieving net zero? What opportunities are in carbon credits as an asset class?

Also read: Singapore’s climate change: Moving towards net-zero through greener buildings and emerging technology

From additionally to double-counting, how can we resolve the challenges facing the voluntary carbon markets? With multiple standards and a lack of regulation, what should companies look out for when offsetting as part of a decarbonization strategy? What do we expect from the year ahead?

We were very honoured to have Michael Sheren, Senior Advisor to Bank of England and UNDP, as our moderator as well as the panel of distinguished speakers – Dr Ma Jun, Chairman of the China Green Finance Committee; Dr Christine Chow, Head of Stewardship of HSBC Global Asset Management; Dr Lorenzo Bernasconi, Head of Climate and Environmental Solutions at Lombard Odier; as well as our Chairman and Co-founder, Dr Bo Bai.

Watch the full webinar here

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Charles Lin successfully ran a marketplace for bike, car, private jet and yacht rentals Automo out of Indonesia until COVID-19 struck early last year. The business got hit when the pandemic severely affected the transportation industry and kept people confined to their homes.

As the situation went from bad to worse, Lin’s team started looking for new opportunities rather than waiting for the pandemic to subside. After days of brainstorming and deliberations, they zeroed in on an idea: an online platform to connect users with local service providers for everything they need.

“The initial idea of Adain was conceived internally, and later, my wife and brother-in-law chipped in to help brainstorm and streamline our vision and plans,” Lin said. “We started building the mobile app at the beginning of 2021 and released it for the public in September 2021.”

Adain, roughly translated as “everything available”, is designed to bring value to anyone and everyone in Indonesia — from small business owners, big organisations and freelancers to homeowners.

While buying products online is easy, finding service providers online is still hard. The sector is fragmented, with many providers relying on product e-commerce platforms to advertise their businesses.

Also Read: Recommend Group to expand on-demand home, local services across SEA with US$4M Series A

This is the problem that Adain aims to tackle.

“We are a Carousell-like platform. However, unlike Carousell, we focus on hyperlocal needs, apart from focusing on services, to connect providers and users much more efficiently. Smaller providers can also gain exposure to users who need their services in areas where big providers are not able to provide the service,” he elaborated.

How it works

A user can open up the app and select a potential category that he/she may need help with—for example, cleaning services. Based on his/her locations, the platform will automatically list all the details of the vendors. One can scroll through the list and find the nearest one. This allows the user to see which providers are located where. He/she can then message the service provider directly to check for availability, price and book a time slot.

“Our target audience is anyone and everyone in Indonesia, where freelancers, small business owners and large corporations offer their services to people. Users can sort through providers in a transparent and easy-to-navigate app or quickly post their needs for providers that have the right expertise,” Lin explained.

Adain is designed as a bi-directional platform where businesses can actively find new potential customers through the platform instead of waiting for enquiries. This way, it is easier for users to get quotations or offers for their needs that saves time and effort.

At the moment, Adain focuses on solving problems that people face daily, such as cleaning, technical works, home renovation, automotive and tutoring services. The company charges no commission. Lin claims that currently, Adain has more than 400 service providers focused on home needs on its app.

Also Read: Recommend Group to expand on-demand home, local services across SEA with US$4M Series A

The company plans to add on-demand services to generate revenues when it has a bigger pool of quality providers in different categories. “We will start monetising when we roll out our on-demand services. Users won’t have to scroll through the options manually but get an assigned provider based on their criteria.”

The firm started off with the three key cities in Java, namely Jakarta, Bandung and Surabaya. “We are slowly acquiring vendors outside of Java, as our hyperlocal model will provide value and opportunities for users and providers across the whole of Indonesia,” Lin shared. “We already have plans to expand to Singapore, as we believe the high-density population similar to Jakarta is ripe for a hyperlocal model of connecting users to providers.”

Adain has already onboarded an angel investor to support its expansion and growth. “This investor came on board after a meeting of just 30 minutes. He wants to change the way services are acquired, similar to how Carousell altered the way used products are sold, or Tokopedia changed the way Indonesians shop today.”

The startup is currently in talks with a handful of VCs to raise a seed financing round. “We want to realise our vision of helping millions of Indonesians to get easier access to services for any headaches they may have at home or office,” he went on.

In this segment, the company could face competition from the likes of Recommend, which provides on-demand home and local services. Recommend recently bagged US$4M in a Series A funding.

What are your plans with your existing venture Automo?

“Automo has been placed on a hiatus due to the restrictions in movements within Indonesia. We facilitated enquiries for more niche demands for yachts and private jets during the pandemic instead of daily rides for cars,” he disclosed.

“Now that Indonesia is slowly returning to normalcy, we are planning to reopen our app for booking daily rides in January 2022 when the festive periods are over and people start going back to the office. In the meantime, we are focusing on the more niche demands for non-work related transports, as people start venturing to local attractions such as island hopping and travel in private jets for smaller groups,” he concluded.

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Image Credit: Adain

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Over a thousand people were tuned in to X-PITCH 2021, the X Games for Startups. TOP 150 semi-finalists — who are selected from 3,680 startups in 42 countries — were present at the Grand Finale on November 11 to pitch their business online (for international teams) and in a 60-second autonomous car ride at Hutoushan Innovation Hub, Taoyuan City, Taiwan (for local teams), followed by a three-minute online presentation to the judging panel and a global audience.

Eight startups emerged as winners at the Finals, and the TOP 3 teams will receive US$1 million investment in total. The list of the winners is as follows:

Startup of the Year – Gold Award: IronYun (United States)
Startup of the Year – Silver Award: Dayta AI (Hong Kong)
Startup of the Year – Bronze Award: Biomdcare (Taiwan)
Best Public Service / Healthcare Startup: Asilla (Japan)
Best Industrial / Supply Chain Startup: Steer (Philippines)
Best Consumer Lifestyle Startup: Business Canvas (Korea)
Best Mobility / Transportation Startup: WeWALK (United Kingdom)
Best Banking / Commerce Startup: MHUB (Malaysia)

The remaining startups who also pitched at the Finals include Arcare Innova (Taiwan), InfinitiesSoft (Taiwan), KERB (Australia), RE (Taiwan), Riipay (Malaysia), WeavAir (Singapore), Wordcab (Vietnam).

Also Read: e27 collaborates with Taiwan Accelerator (TA) to advance deeptech initiatives at TOP100 Taiwan Qualifier Roadshow

Winners of the 15-second Number Pitch were also announced at the Grand Finale:

Number Pitch – Champion: Pulxion (Taiwan)
Number Pitch – People’s Choice: Ai Aerial Dynamics (India)

See the full winner list here.

“With the number of participating countries and startups, X-PITCH has become one of the world’s largest startup competitions in its first year and is probably the most challenging one in the contest format. X-PITCH is also a platform for global startups, investors, corporates, and ecosystem builders to connect with each other. A lot of value-added activities and resources are provided to the participants,” said Kevin Yu, Founding Partner of Taiwan Accelerator (TA), the Organizer of X-PITCH 2021.

This event was held in collaboration with e27 as the Official Media Partner and Investor Matchmaking Platform of X-PITCH 2021.

“​​A continuation of our earlier partnership, e27 is honoured to be appointed as the platform to power all the investor relations for the participating startups. This will be achieved through the e27 Pro Membership’s Connect feature, which allows the startups to connect and interact with the VCs from X-PITCH global contest yesterday. Beyond that, e27 has a pool of verified 400 VCs available for the startups to browse and connect, to start building up their investor networks,” says Thaddeus Koh, co-founder of e27.

The startups will also get to try the new scheduling feature available in the platform to ensure smoother coordination of calls with potential investors.

e27 will continue to monitor the progress of the X-PITCH startups and work with X-PITCH to further assist startups in the process.

Video replay of the event can be found on e27’s Facebook page.

Join e27 Pro to Connect with these startups and investors on e27 Platform.

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Image Credit: X-PITCH

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Google, Fidelity, Tencent join GoTo’s US$1.3B first close of pre-IPO round
GoTo will invest the funds in customer growth and engagement, to expand its payments and financial services offering, and enhance hyperlocal experiences; Various reports suggested GoTo plans to list in Indonesia by the end of 2021 before proceeding with a US listing with a potential valuation of US$40B.

Tiki scores US$258M Series E led by AIA
Other investors are Mirae Asset-Naver Asia Growth Fund, Taiwan Mobile, Yuanta Fund and STIC Investments; Tiki will collaborate with AIA to develop an insurtech platform offering insurance products and financial services for the customers.

SEA fintech funding hits record high of US$3.5B in first nine months of 2021
A strong interest in late-stage fintech firms, which secured 10 out of 13 mega rounds this year, drove the surge in investments; Grab Financial, VNPay, Nium, GCash, Voyager Innovations, Ascend Money, Xendit, FinAccel, and Matrixport are also among the most funded fintech firms in the region.

SEA’s internet economy to reach US$1T in GMV by 2030, say Google, Temasek, and Bain & Company report
In addition to e-commerce and food delivery, digital lending services are also expected to grow due to an appetite for consumer financing options and supply chain financing; One of the highlights of SEA’s internet economy in 2021 was the resurgence of startup funding and the race to IPO.

Grab’s revenue slips by 9% in Q3 2021 as mobility takes back seat
In Q3, revenue from Grab’s mobility business was down 26% y-o-y to US$88M; The segment’s GMV also fell 30% from a year ago to US$529M in the quarter, while its adjusted EBITDA dipped about 26% to US$64M.

Society Pass launches US$26M IPO on Nasdaq
Society Pass was supposed to hit the bourses in early October but it shelved the plans for some unknown reasons; The firm looks to expand beyond Vietnam into other parts of SEA with particular focuses on the Philippines and Indonesia.

Doctor Anywhere acquires Thai startup Doctor Raksa to add 1M customers to the platform
Doctor Anywhere looks to expand to 38 provinces in Thailand by Q1 2022 and expects its revenues to grow by 5x+ in the next two years; The deal comes on the heels of Doctor Anywhere’s US$65.7M Series C round led by Asia Partners in August.

Former Shopee, Lazada exec’s startup Hypefast raises US$19.5M Series A
Investors are Monk’s Hill Ventures, Jungle Ventures, and Strive; The startup is in the business of acquiring digital and e-commerce-native brands in Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand; The firm, which recently emerged out of stealth mode, said it has now acquired 25 brands.

TreeDots lands US$11M Series A to tackle food wastage problem in SEA
Investors include East Ventures, Amasia, ACTIVE Fund, and Seeds Capital; TreeDots redistributes unsold stocks from suppliers to businesses such as restaurants and cafés, allowing them to source affordable food supplies.

Carousell scoops up US$10M from Temasek-backed Heliconia
The new capital follows Carousell’s US$100M fundraise in September, a round that brought its valuation to over US$1B; Carousell is eyeing a debut on the US stock market through a merger with a SPAC, a deal that could push its valuation to about US$1.5B.

GuildFi raises US$6M to develop Web3 infra to connect games, NFTs, communities
Investors include DeFiance Capital, Hashed, Pantera Capital, Coinbase Ventures, Alameda Research, Animoca Brands, Dapper Labs, and Play Ventures; GuildFi serves as an infrastructure to onboard, connect, and add value to players, guilds, games, and investors alike.

Co-Living startup The Assembly Place raises US$4M seed funding
Investors include Eric Low See Ching of Oxley Holdings, Kemmy Tan (CEO of M+S) Ismail Garfoor (PropNex Singapore); The startup curates spaces in convenient locations with flexible leases, catering to younger outliers who prefer the short-term nature of leasing; From having just 6 rooms in 2019, TAP has since expanded to 350 rooms across Singapore.

Consumer data, analytics startup Milieu Insight raises US$5M funding
Investors include MassMutual Ventures Southeast Asia, OSK Ventures, and Genesis Alternative Ventures; Milieu Insight connects businesses directly with their target audience for market research; It collects consumer opinion data across a multitude of lifestyle topics and sectors through a proprietary mobile app known as Milieu Surveys.

Myanmar startup Better HR secures 6-digit bridge funding for Asia expansion
Investors are Seed Myanmar Ventures, Blibros, and nexlabs; Better HR provides web and mobile apps to enable organisations to streamline HR processes for SMEs, such as attendance, leave, overtime, and payroll

Ex-Grab exec’s book-keeping app Lista lands funding to reach out to new MSMEs
Investors include 1982 Ventures, East Ventures, Saison Capital, Alternate Ventures, Willy Arifin, and former Grab Philippines President Brian Cu; Lista helps MSMEs manage their finances, such as debt tracking, transactions recording, and invoice issuing.

Ex-Xendit employee’s D2C daywear brand Kasual nets funding from East Ventures
Kasual offers in-app manufacturing solutions for customers to order personalised men’s pants: build your own product; To date, Kasual has over 80K users and delivers over 3K pieces of personalised products to their customers monthly.

Digital bookkeeping startup Peddlr raises US$500K funding
Investors include Foxmont Capital, Paulo Campos (Zalora), Constantin Robertz (Locad) and Kaya Founders Investment SPV; The company’s technology accelerates the bookkeeping process through digital ledgers, allows merchants to track inventory, and increases cash flow visibility with auto-generated financial reports.

Wavemaker Impact, Enterprise SG to groom 12+ climate-tech firms over the next 3 years
The partnership aims to support Wavemaker Impact’s ambition to launch new climate-tech startups that will reduce global emissions by 10% by 2035; ESG will support Wavemaker Impact as a Startup SG Accelerator partner to run programmes.

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As emerging fintech firms continue to thrive in the world of finance, it’s clear that traditional banking has been caught flat-footed by the pace of digital acceleration within finance.

This trend has exploded in the wake of the pandemic, which has forced countless customers to embrace digital banking.

Now, as fintech continues to make its presence felt across the industry, is there anything banks can do to keep up? 

As customers continue to embrace fintech solutions, they’ll grow to expect similar levels of agility and innovation from their traditional bank as the latest fintech startup they’ve used. 

As the data above shows, the pandemic caused a significant shift in the banking habits of customers. While as much as 34 per cent of customers embraced mobile financial apps, both ATM and banking branch usage fell 5 per cent and 12 per cent, respectively.

The decline of ATM services illustrates the sheer pace at which COVID-19 has accelerated a global push towards a cashless society. 

So what does this all mean for banks? The digitalisation of the industry points to further growth within financial technology, but can traditional banks ever outpace their fintech counterparts when it comes to innovation?

Let’s take a look at five important challenges that traditional banks must overcome as a means of staying competitive amidst high volumes of emerging competitors. 

Better understand fintech disruption

The first and most significant challenge facing traditional banking institutions involves gaining a more comprehensive understanding of how fintech disruption occurs across the industry.

When discussing banks’ struggles in the face of emerging fintech, Kamal Munir, Associate Professor of Strategy and Policy at Cambridge Judge Business School, and Hamza Mudassir, Visiting Fellow in Strategy at Cambridge Judge Business School, indicated that complacency may be a stumbling block for banks. 

Munir and Mudassir point to Cathy Bessant, Bank of America’s CTO, and her comments on Apple’s announcement of a new credit card. “My reaction when I saw the announcement was, first competitively, all of the features that are in that card are offerings we have today,” Bessant said of the new service. 

However, in releasing competitor products, fintech firms are changing what banking means to people and are expanding their options in which customers can engage in finance. 

Rather than the product itself, the shift towards fintech is enabling a transition from product-focused to a more platform-based competition.

It’s imperative that institutions quickly realise that goalposts are being moved in the industry – and to ensure the best chance of survival, banks must understand where these new battlefields are and how best to develop services and products that place the customer at the heart of their operations. 

Tackle the challenge of digital acceleration head-on

Another critical challenge comes in implementing new technology whilst safely transitioning away from old legacy systems that have existed for many decades.

Typically, as companies grow, so too does the number of systems they use– creating issues with scaling.

Also read: Neobanks: the future of banking?

Much like moving a house without hurting its foundations, banks need to take the essential but painful step of replacing their legacy systems. 

However, there are plenty of options available for banks to look at when implementing new technology. Firstly, it’s possible to launch front-end applications for customers.

This can help to deliver a simple, user-friendly interface that can help to keep banks relevant in a market that’s come to demand convenience.

Although it’s also important to note that this change can only be considered quick-fix whilst heavy-duty back-end changes rumble on in the background. 

Another choice is for banks to create a dedicated team designed to maintain legacy systems while another creates a whole new system entirely. Both teams would work together in carefully crafting tailor-made solutions to overhaul the operations of the business.

Building omnipresence

The end goal of traditional banks aiming to adapt their products to keep up with the growth of fintech is to become an omnipresent service.

Leading banks must turn to technology and big data to learn to insert the right financial services at their customer’s moment of need. 

Distribution models have been developed to use better marketplaces and technologies like open APIs and 5G to connect finance better with homes, machinery, vehicles and other devices.

Although this can be a challenge for banks due to a lack of visibility accompanying these services, they represent a necessary step towards delivering the scale of convenience that wins the long-term custom of users.

Embracing collaborative equity investing in fintech startups

Many traditional banks have looked to modernisation in the form of investing in fintech. 63 per cent of financial service providers have set up accelerators or startup venture funds.

In the US, banks have invested as much as US$3.6 billion in 56 different fintech startups.

Whilst just 7 per cent of banks have taken on the challenge of setting up their fintech R&D to create in-house solutions. 

While this at least demonstrates an awareness of the potential of fintech, finance expert and Toptal author Alex Graham believes that taking equity stakes in fintech startups should be a more collaborative exercise for banks.

Also read: Why neobanks are better than digital banks

Instead of investing in acquiring the startup later down the line, banks should instead open up their client roster for the fintech they buy into– helping the bank to offer a value differentiator to their clients whilst internally exploring what innovation looks like in practice. 

This could offer more excellent value to clients in the shorter term. Particularly with the emergence of startups that provide blockchain-based features like smart contracts or those that have the power to leverage frictionless cross-border payments.

In the case of emerging fintechs like Connectum, banks can embrace the startup’s multi-currency processing, borderless one-click payments and AI-based security system, all of which can instantly offer clients a more comprehensive level of service. 

Take fintech seriously

Most importantly, it’s time for traditional banks to take fintech seriously. The fintech gold rush is well and truly taking off in 2021, and institutions that fail to move will lose their place in the market. 

As the data above shows, the volume of fintech IPOs has grown exponentially since the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now, as 18-months of social distancing and lockdown measures accelerate our transition towards a cashless, more digitalised financial ecosystem, the emphasis is on banks to modernise their services or risk becoming overwhelmed by the sheer growth of an industry that appears to be unstoppable at present. 

In choosing to embrace the growth of fintech rather than ignore it, traditional banks can work quicker to modernise their services and continue to win customs as the industry faces sweeping changes.

By embracing the change, the market leaders of yesteryear can thrive long into the future.

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Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing views from the community. Share your opinion by submitting an article, video, podcast, or infographic

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

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Hypefast, an e-commerce brand aggregator in Indonesia, has secured US$19.5 million in a Series A round of investment led by Monk’s Hill Ventures.

Jungle Ventures and Strive also joined the round.

So far, the startup has raised to date more than US$22 million in equity funding, in addition to an undisclosed amount of debt capital from undisclosed regional and global investors.

The startup was founded by Achmad Alkatiri (CEO). He has in the past worked at Lazada (as its Indonesia CMO) and Shopee.

Also Read: Ex-CEO of Rocket Internet Asia launches new e-commerce venture Una Brands with a US$40M seed round

Launched in January 2020, Hypefast partners with top e-commerce native brands in Southeast Asia and hyper scales the brands by bringing capital support, team, and a centralised retail ecosystem and infrastructure.

Hypefast claims it puts in significant effort post-acquisition on delivering growth through its end-to-end retail team, technology, efficient processes, market insights, economies of scale and centralised back-end operations optimisation.

Hypefast, which has just emerged from stealth mode, has acquired more than 25 brands so far. Its recent acquisition is an Indonesia-based baby and kids brand that grew from US$3 million to almost US$8 million revenue in the past six months.

“There are very few reasons preventing SEA brands from growing into multi-million USD EBITDA. These brands already have access to cost-efficient manufacturers and a substantial market with strong e-commerce penetration,” said Alkatiri. “Most importantly, these local founders understand the needs and want of the local consumer community much better than international competitors in terms of style, size, fit, aesthetics, and price point.”

“Hypefast is at the vanguard of e-commerce 2.0 in Southeast Asia — a shift towards the brand- and seller-centric buying. The increasingly sophisticated digital consumer in Southeast Asia cares about who she buys from and who else is buying. Hypefast is building the foremost digital platform that will empower emerging brand owners and entrepreneurs in Southeast Asia to hypercharge their businesses.” Kuo-Yi Lim, co-founder and managing partner at Monk’s Hill.

Currently, the firm has more than 200 team members across Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand.

Also Read: Why brands fail on e-commerce and what they can do about it

The e-commerce brand aggregation industry has been gaining momentum in the recent past. In Singapore, there are already the likes of Una Brands and Rainforest.

Days ago, Una Brands raised US$15 million in Series A financing co-led by White Star Capital and Alpha JWC. This round came just a few weeks after it launched with a US$40 million seed round.

Rainforest launched a few weeks ago with a seed financing round of US$36 million from backers such a Nordstar and Insignia Venture Partners.

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When thinking about plastic waste, consumers focus on what they see. There’s the five ‘R’s of waste management: refuse wasteful products, reduce those you must buy, reuse what you already have, repurpose goods that are no longer reusable, and recycle whatever is leftover. 

Unseen by citizens, there’s an entire economy built on plastic waste. Or, there could be, if there was the infrastructure for it.

Currently, 86 per cent of recyclable plastics are not being recycled, a waste that could be worth up to US$120 billion worldwide.

One factor blocking access to these lost billions– there isn’t enough data.

With over 8 billion tons of plastic entering the ocean every year, there is a global plastic waste crisis. Yet, due to inconsistencies across the global plastic value chain, there is patchy data on how plastic gets there and where it passes on the way.

With just five Asian countries contributing the majority of ocean plastic waste, the problem is washing up on Southeast Asian shores.

But one person’s waste can be another person’s opportunity. From data to discarded goods, the plastic waste crisis provides plenty of fuel for an entrepreneur looking to innovate. 

Also Read: COVID-19, the environment, and the tech ecosystem: what opportunity is available out there for us?

The plastic waste economy

From the extraction of resources to create virgin (or new) plastics to the manufacturing process that forms them into products, each plastic item embarks on a long journey before it is recycled or discarded.

At each stage of this plastic journey, there are multiple stakeholders involved. Formally, there are municipal waste management services.

But for many countries across South and Southeast Asia, waste is collected by a community of informal waste collectors. These people capture waste before it enters the ocean and assumes responsibility for its next step. 

Like much informal labour, it is unstable. The pay is poor, trapping workers in a cycle of reliance on products sold in cheap and unrecyclable sachets, which make up a significant portion of plastic waste.

Changes in demand can render an entire day’s work worthless. It’s hard labour, in unsanitary conditions, often without the structural support of sick pay or healthcare. 

In India, startups like Nepra are beginning to create technological solutions to empower informal waste workers by automating and centralising plastic sorting, sales, and payments.

It is an excellent initial step, but we need to aspire to more comprehensive solutions. Think, an entire overhaul of the plastic waste management system led by those manufacturing the waste, supported by the governments that are (or are not) collecting and managing it. 

Also Read: In brief: New incubation programme for SEA’s plastic waste startups

Closing the plastics data gap

Effective solutions are rarely a result of a random collision; they need planning and expertise underpinned by data. Plastic waste data, or the current lack thereof, could be critical in closing the gap that plastic waste leaks through.

There are three key stages in the plastic lifecycle where better data could generate solutions.

Firstly, data on plastic waste sources could reveal what elements of plastic waste management work well and what needs improving.

The issue can be quantified into a solvable problem statement by identifying the products that become waste, how they are discarded, and how they evade waste management. Data helps to identify patterns and strengthen the waste management system to prevent them from repeating.

The next opportunity that good plastics data presents is identifying when or where plastic leaks out of the waste system.

Technological advances enable preventative measures, like remote monitoring of leakage hotspots, or AI could predict potential issues for targeted waste management system upgrades. 

Once plastics are captured in systems, they can be managed better. By applying analytics to plastics recycling, supply chain actors can be more visible, transparent and efficient.

This enables better repurposing of waste, uncovering opportunities to invest in and invent new alternatives. Analysing waste could generate meaningful evidence on the habits of consumers, too.

Topolytics is one such rising data-driven player. By collecting, aggregating and analysing data on waste, they empower actors across the plastic waste value chain to better collect, manage and recycle plastic waste more strategically.

Also Read: Southeast Asia is in plastic waste crisis, and these 16 sustainable startups strive to turn things around

What is plastic waste worth?

It may seem overkill to invest so much time and resources into collecting materials that have already been discarded. But plastic waste is only garbage when it is treated as such. 

Our oceans are littered with plastic that is destroying ecosystems and filling the food chain with harmful microplastics – but this plastic waste could be generating profits.

The World Bank estimates that S$8 billion of value is lost each year by not recycling plastics in Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand alone. 

91 per cent of Southeast Asian consumers are concerned about plastic waste, but less than half are currently willing to adjust their purchasing patterns. Manufacturers have an opportunity to meet consumer needs while reducing their waste footprint.

The field is still open for leaders in recycled plastic to emerge. Some innovators are experimenting with new ways to repurpose non-recyclable plastics to create new products from building materials to furniture and accessories.  

Plastic waste is the perfect case study to demonstrate the power of a circular economy– while the plastic value chain is currently a disconnected series of islands, looping them together would meet the material needs of consumers, workers and producers alike. 

To that end, Closing The Data Gap Challenge, an initiative run by The Circulate Initiative, in partnership with The Alliance to End Plastic Waste, aims to support decision-makers and other stakeholders to create a better quality of data and advance a more inclusive and effective circular economy.

Data intervention, today

When it comes to plastic waste, the opportunities for innovation loom large – but so does the threat of failing to intervene. The plastic waste crisis, left as is, harms the environment and the health of all organisms living in it, from humans in cities to rural farm animals and even underwater coral reefs. 

Also Read: One man’s trash is another’s gold: How Tridi Oasis plans to transform plastic waste management

The big picture is clear: plastic waste is poisoning the planet. But with better data, policy action, corporate change and consumer support, we can create new solutions that go beyond solving the issue and create new opportunities.

By understanding the nature and scale of the data gap, we can take concrete steps to solve it.

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The world has no lack of stories about the spectacular rise and fall of technology startups. At its height, Adam Neumann’s WeWork was valued at US$47 billion as the then CEO was able to convince investors that they were buying into a “physical, social network.” Its recent listing via a SPAC (special-purpose acquisition company) values it at US$9 billion.

Elizabeth Holmes’ Theranos was also once a darling of venture capitalists. She is now on trial for allegedly making false claims and providing misleading information to investors and patients about Theranos’ technology’s capabilities to detect disease through one drop of blood.

Locally, there was Honestbee, a grocery delivery startup founded in 2015 and had raised US$46 million in funding, including a US$31 million Series A round and a further US$49 million since that Series A.

In 2019, it had to file for creditor protection. One major factor in the company’s woes was the misuse of funds by co-founder Joel Sng.

Founders do not deliberately set out to fail and certainly did not intend to become criminals. Yet, headlines such as these are common. Why?

When founders pitch their business proposition, they typically sell projections, and some may stretch the truths to gain investor confidence.

After all, venture capitalists seek founders who are visionary and can sell the vision and bring about a plan to make the vision come true.

As the funds flow, founders are tempted to steer away from business fundamentals and focus on personal glory.

Also Read: 6 leadership lessons I learned after we raised our seed round

The downfall of the abovementioned companies was the result of fraudulent behaviours or abuse from the top. How then do founders and entrepreneurs keep themselves in check to avoid falling into the temptation of choosing deceit over failure or the “fake-it-till-you-make-it” syndrome?

This is where Stewardship comes in. Stewardship is the mindset and practice of creating value by integrating the needs of stakeholders, society, future generations and the environment.

Steward Leaders bring the stewardship approach to life, who have the genuine desire and persistence to create a collective better future.

From employees to managers, everyone in the organisation must act as steward leaders to create win-win-win prosperity wherein employees, shareholders, and society thrive together. The first step towards Steward Leadership is activating the Stewardship Compass.

I explained the Stewardship Compass in my previous article, Mind the trust gap: How does a company develop consumer trust through data stewardship? As a recap, the compass requires companies to pursue a higher purpose based on four core stewardship values of interdependence, long-term view, ownership mentality and creative resilience.

At its simplest, the principles entail safeguarding an organisation’s future by taking care of the needs of various stakeholders, not just shareholders.

Not only does this approach ensure sustainable long-term growth for the company, but it also prevents failings of corporate behaviour.

Start corporate governance with steward leadership

 Institutionalising the organisational purpose based on Stewardship values will help to kickstart good corporate governance and ethical behaviours.

A corporate culture that ensures that everyone in the company steps up as a steward leader is especially critical for startups. Investors demand for go-to-market speed sometimes causes employees to bend the rules.

Intense work pressure could also lead to behavioural lapses. Staff in a startup often face demanding work challenges because they need to develop processes and products from the ground up.

Also Read: Emotional leadership in a post-COVID-19 business world

To ensure that this Steward Leadership culture is entrenched in the company’s operations and business strategies, the Stewardship Compass should be adopted in recruitment and performance management systems and practices.

A high-performing company depends on finding and hiring the right people, then nurturing, developing and rewarding those who exceed their Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

Thus, KPIs, midpoint reviews, annual appraisals, rewards and compensation should be drafted based on the compass.

For instance, an employee who understands interdependence will be a team player. Those who take a long-term view will strategise and act responsibly because they understand that their actions will sow the seeds of tomorrow.

As everyone in the organisation, from employees to managers, become steward leaders, the company’s human capital will become invaluable, contributing to the company’s success.

However, while every effort should be made to hire employees with Steward Leadership qualities, it is impossible to hit the nail on the head each time.

Should employees demonstrate that they do not commit to the purpose and values of the compass, tough decisions need to be made on time.

Steward leaders need to put in place a long-term plan from the beginning and work to continuously strengthen organisational systems, operations and teams to create sustainable value creation and ensure that they build value in every sense of the word.

While they must have a long-term plan, they must remain nimble enough to course-correct as things change and evolve.

The Southeast Asia startup scene is indeed heating up, with more companies attaining unicorn status. Suppose these startup leaders apply the Stewardship Compass and become genuine Steward Leaders from the get-go. In that case, they will ensure sound corporate governance that will go a long way in supporting their ventures’ resilience and long-term viability.

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The Milieu Insight raises US$5M

Crux: Singapore-based consumer research and analytics company has secured US$5 million in the latest financing round.

Investors: MassMutual Ventures (MMV) Southeast Asia, OSK Ventures International Berhad, and Genesis Alternative Ventures.

Plans: The firm intends to use the fresh funding to boost product development and speed up the creation of new SaaS-based consumer intelligence services. Besides, the company plans to broaden Milieu’s customer reach beyond Southeast Asia.

Also read: The struggle to maintain accurate consumer insights with the new consumer

About Milieu Insight: Founded in 2016, Milieu Insight connects businesses directly with their target audience for market research. The company offers clients four main products, including Milieu Surveys, Milieu Canvas, Milieu Portraits, Milieu Studies.

Milieu Surveys collects consumer opinion data on a variety of lifestyle subjects and sectors. Canvas provides enterprises with a variety of tools for gaining access to, evaluating, and displaying high-value and timely customer opinion data to aid in decision-making and planning. Consumer segmentation tool Milieu Portraits allows clients access consumer-centric behavioural insights through a subscription-based offering. Milieu Studies provides an on-demand survey platform allowing clients to launch research surveys and acquire study results.

Moduit receives US$4.5 million

The crux: Moduit Digital Indonesia, an integrated fintech wealth management company, has received US$4.5 million in a pre-Series A round. 

Investors: Singapore’s Reciprocus Moduit Holding (lead), PT Alto Network (Indonesia), a subsidiary of the Djarum Group, also participated in this round.  

Plans: Moduit will expand its platform to offer added curated wealth management products in addition to mutual funds and bonds

About Moduit: It is a digital private wealth management platform that provides a wide selection of curated investment products, including Indonesian mutual funds and bonds, registered under the Financial Services Authority (OJK). Founded in 2018 by Jeffry Lomanto and Charles Jap, Moduit has already obtained three licenses from the OJK and one license from the Ministry of Communication and Information to meet all regulatory requirements. 

The Assembly Place raises US$4 million

The crux: The Assembly Place (TAP), a co-living tech startup headquartered in Singapore, has raised US$4 million

Investors: Low See Ching, deputy CEO of local property group Oxley Holdings; Kemmy Tan (CEO of M+S); Ismail Garfoor (CEO of PropNex Singapore); Wendy Tang (group MD of Knight Frank Singapore); Bruce Lye and Ken Low (managing partners of SRI); Shaun Poh (executive director of Capital Markets at Cushman and Wakefield); and Dennis Goh (executive chairman of Lyte Ventures) also participated.

Plans: With the new investment, The Assembly Place will develop and improve its mobile app. 

Also read: Why Singapore becoming a tech hub is a great boost for the proptech sector

About TAP: Founded in 2019 by CEO Eugene Lim, The Assembly Place curates spaces in convenient locations for co-living with flexible leases, catering to younger outliers who prefer the short-term nature of leasing. It takes an asset-light approach, with 95 per cent of its properties (worth US$184 million) operating on a 5+5 year management contract. Last, four new buildings signed agreements with The Assembly Place.

The startup has expanded to 550 rooms across Singapore and aims to achieve the 1000-room mark by Q2 2022. Its accommodation supply is currently spreading across 16 purpose-built co-living assets.

Peddlr raised US$500K pre-seed funding

The crux: Filipino bookkeeping startup Peddlr has raised US$500,000 in an oversubscribed pre-seed round.

Investors: Foxmont Capital Partners, Paulo Campos (Zalora), Constantin Robertz (Locad), Lisa Gokongwei-backed Kaya Founders Investment SPV, Luis Sia (PayMongo), Aaron Kemmer (Magic), Richard Juan, and unnamed angels.

About Peddlr: Launched in July of 2021, it offers digital accounting/bookkeeping, inventory management, and digital storefront for Filipino micro and small enterprises. Its online storefront feature enables MSMEs to directly participate in the digital economy in just a few simple steps. 

Plans: The funds will be utilised to accelerate user growth and further develop infrastructure ensuring stability and scalability to support user growth. 

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Image Credit: The Assembly Place

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