Better HR, a cloud-based HR tech startup, has raised a six-digit USD funding in a bridge round from new and existing investors, such as Seed Myanmar Ventures, Blibros, and nexlabs.

The funds will be used to further fuel the expansion in other target markets across ASEAN and South Asia.

Better HR was conceived out of nexlabs, a digital agency in Myanmar. It later set up a separate entity, called Better Technologies, with Seed Myanmar Ventures as an angel investor in 2019 to push the product into the market.

Founded in September 2019, Better HR provides cloud-based enterprise web and mobile apps enabling organisations to streamline HR processes for SMEs, such as attendance, leave, overtime, and payroll.

Also Read: How your HR team can help with crisis management

The firm claims that more than 200 companies across Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam use its products to manage over 35,000 employees and process over US$2m salaries per month.

“Our clients are using Better HR to keep up with employee communications and HR processes going despite having to work remotely. That gave us the confidence to move forward and raise another round to accelerate the growth,” said Ye Myat Min, chairman of Better HR.

In 2019, Better HR raised a six-digit seed round funded by Seed Myanmar Ventures.

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Construction accounts for 11% of the world’s carbon emissions — meaning it contributes almost as much to climate change as the world’s cars and trucks.

Meanwhile, inefficient legacy practices and human error lead to construction project delays and increased emissions, and with construction activity only set to pick up from here, this spells continued trouble for our environment.

Fortunately, companies are fielding new digital “smart” construction technologies that leverage artificial intelligence and data analytics — and these technologies promise to change the way the construction industry works, making it cleaner, greener, and more climate-friendly.

Smart construction solutions are taking the media spotlight

These smart construction innovators include the US-based Skycatch, a company that developed enterprise-grade technology that captures, processes, and analyses high accuracy 3D drone data. This data gives construction companies a “cheat code” to accurately plan and track their projects in ways they couldn’t before. 

Skycatch founder and CEO Christian Sanz appeared last month on  “Climatic,” a YouTube series from the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) venture arm ADB Ventures that focuses on the entrepreneurs working to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and make the Asia Pacific region more resilient to climate change.

Sanz introduced Skycatch’s core technologies, including the “vision engine” that collects raw 2D images and photos from drones and turns them into highly precise and automated 3D digital terrain models of construction sites, as well as Skycatch’s analytics engine that compiles and processes data for clients.

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

These 3D models and data insights allow clients to complete construction and mining operations more quickly, resulting in decreased emissions.

“I was completely shocked when I first started getting involved in construction in the early days of Skycatch, in 2013, and realised how much of a construction project is doing a redesign of something that was done poorly or done the wrong way,” Sanz said, referencing projects derailed by costly human errors.

“If we can reduce [even] one day of construction,” Sanz added, “not only does it make an impact in the environment and reduce CO2, but it also makes the whole process more efficient.”

Daniel Hersson, Senior Fund Manager of ADB Ventures, which made an equity investment in Skycatch in March 2021, was also a guest on Climatic. Hersson said ADB Ventures was especially interested in the transition towards digitalising infrastructure, as well as the ability to capture the real world in a very detailed digital model. “That in itself can significantly improve how we develop construction sites and reduce inefficiencies in group activities.”

The game-changing efficiencies drone technologies bring  to construction projects

Thomas Abell, Chief of Digital Technology for Development at the Asian Development Bank, described the ADB’s use of Skycatch tech last year to construct a new port for the Pacific island of Nauru.

“Skycatch basically brings the data right into our hands on our computer so any ADB staff can go into the database on any day of the construction and look at what’s happening,” Abell said. “They can compare stockpiles of materials, they can look at where construction components are being laid down compared to the design, and they can look at the progress compared to the timeline.”

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

Ricky Togashi is Head of Innovation at Japanese construction giant Komatsu, which has gone all-in on smart construction technologies. Togashi said his company has created project visualisation and optimisation tools to alleviate worker on-site safety issues and make up for labour shortages, which he said are two “huge problems” now facing the construction industry.

Komatsu partnered with Skycatch in 2018 and deployed its drone solutions on construction sites around the world. Skycatch’s aerial survey capabilities, as Togashi told it, had unlocked seemingly exponential efficiencies for construction projects.

One “just has to push a button,” Togashi explained, to send up a drone to complete a highly accurate 3D survey of construction in “ten to fifteen minutes.” By contrast, Togashi said that it could take human survey teams “three days or one week” to perform a tedious manual survey of the same area, and their survey would likely include errors.

But there’s more to smart construction than AI-powered drones

Still other construction startups are offering technologies that reimagine all phases of the construction process.

The Finnish company Caidio appeared on an episode of Climatic called “Startup Showdown” and pitched its AI-powered “concrete intelligence” solution to a panel of judges. . the

Two other startups pitched on the show: viAct, a startup from Hong Kong, demonstrated a computer vision solution that increases safety and reduces delays on construction sites, and WaveScan, a Singapore-based deep-tech company that built a see-through scanner technology used for high-resolution structural inspections on construction sites.

Daniel Hersson of ADB Ventures was also a panellist on the Showdown and remarked that “these are three really exciting companies… trying to transform a very conservative industry and one that has a very significant climatic impact.”

The startups’ solutions yielded praise from other panellists, including Hara Wang Head of Investments and Fund Partnerships at Third Derivative who highlighted Caidio’s efforts to reduce emissions on construction operations in its initial market of China.   Meanwhile, Juan Nieto of CEMEX Ventures said he would work with “no other” company than viAct to optimise CEMEX’s Philippines operations.

APAC VCs are betting big on a “smart” future for construction

Smart construction companies like Skycatch are getting more than publicity — they’re also attracting abundant financing on their mission to clean up their industry’s dirty impact.

According to a McKinsey report, investments in construction tech have continued to grow briskly, with VC activity rising to several billion dollars at the end of 2019 from lower levels a decade ago. And the pandemic has sped the proliferation of these solutions, which can provide workarounds to lockdown-induced labour shortages.

Daniel Hersson spoke to e27 about his fund’s investments in smart construction solutions: “We realised that these modern tech solutions backed by powerful entrepreneurs if applied at scale in a region like Asia could not only help expedite growth in the construction industry but would also help the environment.”

Also read: AppWorks partners with e27 to help startups build investor network

And Hara Wang said she believes now is the time to invest in technology that can decarbonise the Asia Pacific.

“The construction sector, just like any traditional sector is going through, really, a period of digital transformation right now, Wang said, “I think there’s a really big opportunity here for startups to innovate and help the building and construction sector to better understand and monitor the performance of the construction and infrastructure projects, particularly under the increasing heat, humidity, and flood risk that comes with climate change.”

Wang added that she was also “excited to explore the potentials of achieving net-zero through a combination of prefabricated components, 3D printing and recycled building materials.”

Continued VC support of the industry is a crucial step toward reducing construction’s carbon footprint – and it could very well completely change the way our buildings and infrastructure are built.

Watch the Climatic “Smart Construction” Talk Show here.

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Photo by Mikael Blomkvist from Pexels

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This article is produced by the e27 team, sponsored by ADB Ventures

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Earlier this year, a report released by early-stage VC firm Do Ventures and the Vietnam National Innovation Center (NIC) revealed the state of startup investment in the country during the pandemic.

The report showed that the number of early-stage deals of less than US$500,000 rose 11 per cent in 2020 amidst the crisis. The deal size and number rose in H2 2020.

As we entered 2021, it became clear that the pandemic could do nothing to prevent the local startup ecosystem from thriving as companies continue to grow and investors keep on investing in the market despite challenges.

Just as we have done with the startup ecosystem in Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines, this time, we are listing down 27 Vietnam-based startups that have made headlines in 2021.

Below are the 27 startups that are making waves in Vietnam:

1. Bizzi

Bizzi, an AI-powered invoice processing automation solution, announced in October that it raised US$3 million in a pre-Series A round led by Money Forward, a fintech company headquartered in Japan. Other investors include Do Ventures and existing investor Qualgro.

With this new investment, the company plans to improve product features and functionality and expand to other Southeast Asian markets.

Also Read: A women-centric dating app developed by an ex-diplomat seeks to end Tinder’s dominance in Vietnam

2. Sky Mavis

Sky Mavis, the firm behind the popular NFT-based game Axie Infinity, announced a US$152 million Series B financing round led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). Accel Partners and Paradigm also joined this round.

The Vietnamese startup will use the money to build a global team, scale infrastructure, and build its distribution platform to support game developers in creating blockchain-enabled games.

3. Dutycast

Dutycast, the company behind the browser extension that helps consumers buy online globally with ease, scored undisclosed funding from Vietnam-based VinaCapital Ventures in January.

Founded in 2020, Dutycast aims to improve the cross-border e-commerce experience for shoppers by providing transparency and security around final prices, duties, taxes, and related logistics expenses.

4. Mobicast

Masan Group subsidiary The Sherpa Company acquired a 70 per cent stake in local mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) Mobicast for VN295.5 billion (US$12.96 million) in September.

Under the new transaction, Mobicast, operating under the brand Reddi, will gain exclusive access to the group’s consumer base and physical and online contact points across the country.

5. Clevai

After-school tutoring platform for K-12 students Clevai secured US$2.1 million in a pre-Series A financing round led by Singapore-based Altara Ventures in September. Existing backers, including Vietnam- and SEA-focused VC FEBE Ventures and New York-based marketplace investment firm FJ Labs also joined.

Clevai will use the funds to strengthen Clevai’s live-streaming infrastructure and improve personalised learning capabilities.

Also Read: How gamification is supercharging Vietnam tech startups’ growth potential

6. CoderSchool

Online coding courses CoderSchool secured US$2.6 million in pre-Series A funding led by Monk’s Hill Ventures in September.

The funding will be used to create more educational content and tech infrastructure for the school’s technical education programmes. It also plans to hire an additional 35 instructional staffers by Q4 2022 to support online operations.

7. GlobalCare

Insurtech provider GlobalCare received an undisclosed amount of funding from VinaCapital Ventures in September.

Launched in 2017 by Niem Thi Ngoc Dinh and Loi Minh Hang, the platform allows insurance companies and agents to sell policies via a cloud-based and on-premises app. It aims to enable end-to-end service management.

8. KiotViet

KiotViet secured US$45 million in a Series B funding round led by global investment firm KKR in September. Jungle Ventures, Kasikorn Bank, and Vietnamese family investment holding company Cao Viet My also co-invested.

KiotViet intends to recruit international talent to support new businesses and expand to global markets.

9. Vietcetera

Digital media network Vietcetera secured US$2.7 million over two successive rounds led by media-focused VC firm North Base Media in August. Gojek’s corporate VC firm Go-Ventures, East Ventures, Summit Media, Genesia Ventures, Hustle Fund, and Z Venture Capital, besides several Singaporean and Vietnamese family offices also participated.

The firm also plans to launch new shows and podcasts with underserved topics targeting the country’s emerging middle class.

10. Medici

Healthtech company Medici secured an undisclosed amount in seed funding led by early-stage investor Insignia Ventures in August.

The startup aims to foray into the insurance industry. It allows Medici to act as a middleman between insurance firms and the general public, which will receive suggestions and guidance from the broker to make the right financial decisions.

Also Read: Challenges of AI development in Vietnam: Funding, talent and ethics

11. Vuihoc

In August, Do Ventures announced an investment in the education platform VUIHOC. The startup plans to utilise the funds to strengthen its technical capacity, upgrade product features, and improve the quality of learning materials.

VUIHOC currently offers more than 150 courses, nearly 9,000 video lectures, and a repository of 240,000 quiz questions.

12. Rever

Rever is a tech-enabled real estate brokerage platform. In August, it announced a US$10.2 million funding round from Mekong Enterprise Fund IV (MEF IV), bringing its total funding to US$16.5 million.

The company will use the fresh investment to grow its management team, strengthen corporate culture, and accelerate the development of technology features.

13. VNG

Vietnamese internet giant VNG Corporation is considering going public in the US via a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) at a US$2 to US$3 billion valuation, Bloomberg reported in August.

The technology giant is working with financial advisers and is holding talks with several SPACs for a potential merger.

14. Loship

One-hour e-commerce delivery startup Loship secured US$12 million in a pre-Series C round of equity financing co-led by BAce Capital and the direct investment unit of Sun Hung Kai & Co., a Hong Kong-listed leading alternative investment company in August.

The round comes close on the heels of Loship’s undisclosed bridge funding round led by MetaPlanet in February 2021.

15. VNLIFE

VNLIFE Corporation, which owns fintech unicorn VNPay, has bagged over US$250 million in its latest Series B round led by General Atlantic and Dragoneer.

For the investors involved in this funding round, this investment marks their maiden investment in Vietnam.

Also Read: Thai e-commerce fulfilment firm MyCloudFulfillment raises US$7.4M Series B to expand to Vietnam, Philippines

16. Kamereo

Kamereo offers an online platform for F&B companies to optimise their sourcing and purchasing processes. The company received US$4.6 million in a Series A round of funding, co-led by conglomerate CPF Group, Quest Ventures, and Genesia Ventures.

The startup will use the funds to expand its team and operations into Hanoi next year and build a new warehouse management system to optimise daily operations.

17. MoMo

Payments app MoMo acquired local startup Pique for undisclosed details in June. With this deal, MoMo plans to capitalise on Pique’s 25 million user database to improve its product offerings.

18. Infina

Investment app Infina, which aims to become the Robinhood of Vietnam, announced a US$2 million oversubscribed seed funding round from several investors. With the new funding, Infina aims to fuel its growth and expand its product offerings.

19. HANET

HANET, a startup offering AI-powered surveillance cameras in Vietnam, received an undisclosed amount of investment from G-Group Technology Corporation at a US$5 million valuation in June.

The startup will use the funds to take its business into global markets, said a press statement.

20. SAMO Holding

SAMO Holding, the company behind the financial comparison platform thebank.vn, secured US$5 million in a Series A round led by UOB Venture Management, the investment arm of Singapore’s United Overseas Bank (UOB), in October.

With this new funding, the firm aims to broaden its agent network and offer more extensive financial products covering loans, wealth management, and insurance.

Also Read: eJOY snags seed round led by ThinkZone to enable English learning via Youtube, Netflix in Vietnam

21. Nano Technologies

Nano Technologies (Nano), a fintech startup that allows workers to access their wages immediately, raised US$3 million in seed capital in May. Existing investors Golden Gate Ventures and Venturra Discovery led the round with participation from new investors FEBE Ventures, Openspace Ventures, and Goodwater Capital.

22. POPS Worldwide

Digital entertainment company POPS Worldwide is planning to raise US$50 million in Series D by the end of 2021. The funds to be raised will be used for expansion across Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, and deepening its footprint in Indonesia.

Since its inception, POPS has established a foothold in key markets such as Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia, thus becoming one of the region’s largest digital entertainment industry players.

23. Base.vn

FPT acquired a majority stake in local SaaS company Base.vn for an undisclosed sum in May. As per a press note, this cooperation will enable the two sides to promote the comprehensive digital transformation ecosystem for 800,000 enterprises.

Founded in 2016 by Stanford University alumnus Hung, Base.vn has developed over 20 apps covering two verticals: HR and productivity.

24. POC Pharma

Pharmacy Online Concierge (POC) secured US$4.5 million in an equity financing round in April.

Established in 2020 by Thomas Miklavec and Charles Defrance, POC helps the stakeholders in the pharmacy field (pharmacies, drug manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, payers) to digitally manage their interactions and collaborative workflows.

Also Read: Vietnam’s stock trading app Anfin nets US$510K from early investor of Facebook, LinkedIn, Slack

25. Homebase

In March, Homebase became the first Vietnamese startup to get accepted into Y Combinator. This came off the company’s funding announcement from Troy Steckenrider III (COO of Zerodown), Darius Cheung (founder of 99.co), VinaCapital Ventures, Class 5 Global (Silicon Valley-based venture fund), Pegasus Technology Ventures, 1982 Ventures, and Antler.

26. ELSA

ELSA, a mobile app that uses AI and speech recognition technology to help language learners improve their English speaking skills and pronunciation, secured US$15 million in Series B funding in January, co-led by Vietnam Investments Group and SIG.

This new funding will go towards R&D to further develop its voice recognition AI, build a scalable B2B platform and hire new talent.

27. Sipher

In October, blockchain-powered gaming studio Sipher completed its US$6.8 million seed round of financing, co-led by Arrington Capital, Hashed and Konvoy Ventures.

Founded by prominent entrepreneur Nguyen Trung Tin, Sipher aims to unify blockchain tech, artwork, storytelling, multiplayer gaming with decentralised financial technologies.

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Vietnam’s leading e-commerce company Tiki has completed a US$258 million fifth funding round (Series E) led by global insurance giant AIA.

Investors, including Mirae Asset-Naver Asia Growth Fund, Taiwan Mobile, Yuanta Fund and STIC Investments, participated in the round.

In October, DealStreetAsia reported that Tiki had raised US$146 million in the second tranche of its Series E round. Before that, Tiki had received US$130 million led by Singapore-headquartered private equity firm Northstar Group.

Also Read: How Vietnam’s e-commerce firm Tiki manages to keep employee churn rate healthy

Tiki will use the fresh money to strengthen its logistics business and invest in ‘make in Vietnam’ technologies.

It will also collaborate with AIA to develop an insurtech platform offering insurance products and financial services for the customers. The project will be officially kicked off upon the launch of AIA’s health insurance products on Tiki, tentatively by the end of this December. With this solution in place, customers will be able to consult insurance offers and make insurance claims directly right on the platform.

Tiki is an e-commerce marketplace and supply chain company that operates several business units. Its products include TikiNOW Smart Logistics, an integrated supply chain platform, and Tiki Trading, a retail subsidiary.

The firm claims its fresh grocery delivery service TikiNGON saw y-o-y growth of 2,000 per cent, while its super fast delivery subscription service TikiNOW 2H tripled its active user base. TikiPRO, the scheduled delivery and installation service, also saw a 150 per cent increase in gross merchandise volume y-o-y.

“The US$258 million investment dedicated only to Vietnam proves Tiki’s long-term commitment to building world-class infrastructure — whether they are technologies, supply chain capabilities, talent development, and jobs creation,” said founder and CEO Tran Ngoc Thai Son.

“Together, we will focus on three distinct areas: lifestyle benefits and innovative distribution; distinctive digital health & wellness offerings, and other financial & e-commerce propositions. With Tiki’s existing assets and market leadership, we can bring an accessible and enhanced customer service proposition to make a positive difference in the lives of the people of Việt Nam. We are very excited to extend AIA’s Vietnam’s market leadership and work together with our partner, Tiki,” said Wayne Besant, CEO of AIA Vietnam.

Also Read: How AI is helping Tiki address price hike, fraud, product quality issues during the outbreak

“We have a very positive outlook for Vietnam’s economy, digital transformation, and e-commerce growth. In particular, as a leading local e-commerce company in Vietnam, Tiki is providing differentiated and valuable services to Vietnamese consumers. Tiki has been improving the credibility and convenience of Vietnam’s e-commerce market through its high-quality products offering and fast and accurate delivery,” said Jikwang Chung, MD, Mirae Asset Capital.

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Technology companies are more likely to be acquired than go public, but too little attention is paid to making these acquisitions successful for either the target or the buyer.

In the first half of 2021, Asian merger and acquisition activity surged to its second-highest level ever, totalling US$707.7 billion. That is up 75 per cent from the same period a year earlier.

Despite the vast amount spent on acquisitions, not all M&A is successful. A recent study in Australia found that 60 per cent of public company M&A deals fail.

I have completed more than 30 corporate acquisitions on both sides of the transaction. Here, I have distilled my most important, hard-won lessons to ensure acquisitions are successful.

Be crystal clear

The acquirer needs to be crystal clear about how they expect to create value via the acquisition. In many cases, the strategic logic is not clearly articulated, or various stakeholders in the acquiring company have competing visions. Deals without a clear strategy for value creation are more likely to be less successful.

Seek revenue, not savings

Acquirers often put too much emphasis on cost reductions and too little on revenue synergies. Depending on the case, there may be massive upside in revenue synergies, but attaining them can require focused effort.

Also Read: Bitkub becomes unicorn after SCB’s acquisition of its majority stake for US$536M

Tap on the boosting effect

The impact of the merger between Juwai Limited and IQI Global to create Juwai IQI was transformative. Most revenue drivers doubled or tripled after the merger. Don’t underestimate the brand and morale-boosting effect a merger can have on staff, customers, and other stakeholders. 

One bad business cannot save another.

Some executives seek to combine two outdated or poorly performing businesses hoping that they will do better together than apart. They won’t. When two poor companies are combined into one, you proportionally worsen the outcome.

For example, combining two print businesses has not succeeded anywhere in arresting this sector’s continued implosion of profitability. 

The acquisition is just the start.

It can take months to complete an acquisition or merger, but doing so is just the campaign’s starting point to successfully combining the two businesses. Consider what happens when you buy a software system. You negotiate and pay the license fee, but the hardest work is only beginning.

The license fee is often overshadowed by the costs of integration, which can be five to 10 times the license fee itself and can require the sustained attention of a large team.

After a merger or acquisition, you will also need to invest additional time and effort. Consider sending dedicated post-merger integration teams to critical sites to shepherd the teams towards successful integration.

The roadmap is more important than the advisors

You may spend hundreds of thousands of dollars or even millions on your M&A advisers and lawyers. But your acquisition can quickly still fail. The advisors are essential, but your roadmap is crucial. All the key players must fully understand and agree to it. Your strategy is more critical than your advisers.

Decide what the real assets are

Your acquisition strategy, due diligence, and post-acquisition implementation will all be structured to make the most of the benefits you hope to obtain. But you must clearly understand what you are acquiring and how to protect the value of these assets. This understanding must inform your roadmap.

Also Read: SCB Abacus raises US$12M in Series A to accelerate product development, talent acquisition

Not delegating

You cannot delegate the hard work of M&A. This is a task for the Executive Chair, Managing Director, or CEO. You cannot leave it to external advisers or lower-level managers. The senior team’s level of involvement can determine the success or failure of extensive integrations.

Don’t over-optimise the purchase price

If you negotiate too hard on the purchase price, you risk alienating the target’s founders or other key individuals. You then risk undoing the M&A’s benefits by quickly losing senior team members or seeing a significant sell-off in shares after completion. That could undermine the logic of the acquisition, investor confidence, and potentially the share price.

Have a clear DD plan 

As the first step in your due diligence effort, set precise levels of materiality. Decide how significant particular factors or assumptions are to the purchase. Having this clear ranking of priorities at the start allows you to more easily sort through the masses of information likely to be made available to you in the data room.

Keep the lawyers focused 

While your advisers probably genuinely want to help you make the best possible decisions, they also have a financial interest in attributing as many hours as possible to your account on their timesheets. Keep your lawyers focused on avoiding a cost blowout.

It’s not just about numbers

The numbers may add up, and the acquisition might still be a bad idea. Look out for irreconcilable differences in culture, staff norms, etc. Many buyers assume they can easily rectify such challenges once the acquisition is complete, only to see their efforts fail.

Be on the spot

Remote acquisitions are very tricky. It would be best if you went to the target. To ensure better integration after the M&A, locate some functions of the newly combined business in the target. When bringing teams together into a single workspace, make an effort to restructure the entire space to communicate that the target alone won’t have to bear the burden of integration.

Also Read: User acquisition strategies to grow your app from Adjust and ironSource

It starts at the top

Avoid an adversarial approach to the M&A. After completion, do everything possible to ensure the entire business shares a culture and point of view. “Us versus them” starts at the top, and mid-level executives will take their cues from the senior team on how to act towards their new colleagues. Set a good example by going out of your way to bring the combined leadership team together.

Make or buy?

If you buy technology, always do a solid “make or buy” analysis. Too many leaders overestimate the difficulty of building their technology and underestimate the difficulty of successfully acquiring it.

Given what you now know about how difficult M&A can be, you may want to adjust your assumptions. I hope these tips help ensure any M&A you are involved in is completed successfully.

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Kasual, a direct to consumer (D2C) daywear brand in Indonesia currently focusing on men’s pants, has raised an undisclosed amount of seed funding from investors, including East Ventures.

The Jakarta-based instant commerce startup will use the money to strengthen the team, advance its technology and manufacturing capability for a better user experience, and expand its operations to Solo, Central Java.

“With this fund, we are going to release more product categories and marketing initiatives, and leverage new technology such as AR size measurement to create Indonesia’s first 3D body measurement,” said co-founder and CEO Alam Akbar.

Kasual will introduce the 3D body measurement at the Custom Week 2021, which will be held from 17-19 December in Jakarta. Using an electronic body scanner, visitors can experience an accurate instant custom-fit experience for customer menswear.

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

Akbar, a former business development team member at Xendit, founded Kasual in 2017 when he found some problems in the Indonesian fashion landscape. The sector was less accommodating and less customisable to the customer’s preferences, especially when it comes to sizing.

The COVID-19 pandemic made things worse for the customer as going to tailor shops became inconvenient, risky and expensive. In addition, fast fashion retailers are limited to certain styles and only available offline at selected malls.

“We also realised that the e-commerce trend has been mushrooming rapidly and has been helping customers shop comfortably at home, thus making the demand for faster and more reliable commerce for day-to-day needs, specifically for pants. Yet, local brands’ approach still overlooks technology, which can be a vital aspect of fashion production. That means customers still do not have a reliable platform to get personalised fashion products instantly,” said Alam, CEO and co-founder of Kasual.

Kasual offers in-app manufacturing solutions for customers to order personalised men’s pants: build your own product (BYOP). Customers can pick their preferred fittings, type of cuttings and tailored sizings.

The platform also enables ‘virtual fitting’ where customers can consult directly with the Kasual expert team via video call regarding size measurement, personalised fitting, and product recommendation.

Also Read: Asia has the highest share of frustrated consumers. Here’s how brands can enhance customer communication

Kasual has in-house garment manufacturing and can deliver the products to the customers’ doorstep in less than five days.

To date, Kasual has over 80,000 users and delivers over 3,000 pieces of personalised products to their customers monthly. “We aim to scale and process their daily orders in 10x growth and process more than 5,000 items per day in the near future,” added Akbar.

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UN Women Care Accelerator, a programme focusing on developing solutions for the care economy, has completed its 4-month intensive training schedule with 13 startups from the Asia Pacific region. 

Malaysia’s on-demand babysitting platform Kiddocare and Indonesia’s homecare service application LoveCare emerged as the grant winners of the programme.

The two startups will receive US$5,000 each from WeEmpowerAsia (a UN Women programme funded by and in partnership with the European Union) and Seedstars (a technology and entrepreneurial ecosystem builder based out of Geneve, Switzerland). 

Below is a snapshot of the 13 startups:

• LoveCare (Indonesia) saves clients time by matching them with the perfect carer that fits their needs and preferences in less than 5 minutes.
• Kiddocare (Malaysia) gives the tools to millions of freelance caregivers and nurses throughout Asia to better care for their clients while helping them grow their businesses through technology.
• Pillar Health (Malaysia) develops highly scalable tools that help independent care providers work more efficiently and operate their care services more effectively.
• Nannyz matches nannies and babysitters with families in the area.
• Kiidu (Thailand) is a care platform to find the most suitable nannies and caregivers in Thailand.  
• Aseana Caregivers (Malaysia) connects parents with trained, vetted and certified Malaysian babysitters for personalised on-demand childcare.
• Carer (Singapore) provides caregivers with the most comprehensive in-home nursing help and guidance. 
• Ayat Care (Bangladesh) facilitates empowerment without boundaries by providing care and coaching where it is needed and beneficial.
• Bihani Social Venture (Nepal) provides age-inclusive services focusing on mental and physical well-being for older people in Nepal.
• Mobiva empowers older people to live independently longer, healthier and safer while providing peace of mind to their families.
• JobNukkad (India) is an online portal that helps families connect with caregivers in their locality without paying commission to an agency.
• TiTLi (India) unlocks livelihood opportunities for millions of women by helping them become skilled early childhood educators and caregivers.
• Angels & I (Indonesia) provides a proprietary educational curriculum and certification for nannies to take care of and educate children at home.

Also read: A woman among women: 27 female-led startups in SEA that are going places

Launched in 2021, the UN Women Care Accelerator identifies and promotes women-led or women-impacting enterprises to turn the unequal care burden put on women into employment and business opportunities that benefit women, families, and communities.

The startups picked by the programme provide products, services, or tech solutions that can make care more accessible and affordable and improve the overall quality of care services online and offline.

Throughout the 4-month intensive training programme to fine-tune participants’ business strategies, the accelerator claims that it sees clear business growth and progress of the 13 startups in becoming more sustainable and gender-inclusive.

“However, it will require strong collaboration with policymakers and corporates alike to create an inclusive care economy,” said Katja Freiwald, regional programme manager at WeEmpowerAsia UN Women.

Besides Freiwald, Paul Ark (partner and head of ESG at Gobi Partners), Christina Teo (chief builder at she1K), Konstantin Hapkemeyer (investment manager in Africa & Asia at Seedstars) are on the jury to decide the two grant winners.

In the Asia Pacific region, women are often in charge of the household and take on a disproportionate share of unpaid care and domestic work responsibilities. 

OECD research shows that unpaid care is a critical reason for the poor participation of women in paid work. This is especially prevalent in Southern Asia, where female labour force participation is among the world’s lowest and has shown a downward trend since the early 2000s, as per a 2018 report made by International Labour Organisation.

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Image Credit: Care Accelerator

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Beacon VC invests in Pantera Blockchain Fund

The crux: Beacon VC and Fuchsia VC, the corporate VC arms of Kasikornbank and Muang Thai Group Holding (an affiliate of Kasikornbank), respectively, have invested in US-based Pantera Capital’s new blockchain fund.

Pantera Blockchain Fund is Beacon VC’s fourth investment outside of Thailand, after Southeast Asia-based Integra Partners, Singapore-based Vertex Ventures, and US-based NYCA Partners.

The fund intends to cover the entire spectrum of blockchain assets. It will be exposed to digital asset and blockchain markets through the investment primarily in venture equity and early-stage.

Also Read: Beacon VC joins construction-tech firm Builk’s Series B round to help it with ASEAN expansion

Pantera Blockchain Fund targets to raise US$600 million.

More about Pantera: Founded in 2003 by Dan Morehead, Pantera Capital invests exclusively in equity and tokens related to blockchain and digital assets. It received investments from a global network of more than 950 institutional investors and high-net-worth individuals.

SG startup Yugo secures US$300K to launch mobile app

The crux: Singapore-based Yugo Global Industries has raised US$300,000 in capital.

Investors: Angel investors based in Texas, Seoul, and Paris; and three family offices, namely Bellone Invest (Estonia), Negocia Capital (Singapore) and LCH Investment (Cambodia).

Plans: To launch Yugo’s app on Android and iOS by year-end.

More about Yugo: Yugo enables aviation companies to optimise their fleet inventory of private jets and helicopters by connecting members with the most suitable aircraft for travel needs. Established in early 2020, Yugo regionally operates its on-demand proprietary digital booking system across Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Cambodia, Thailand and Indonesia.

Yugo has organised flights in Asia and Europe and is now looking to raise a Seed fundraising to increase digitalisation.

The company offers all-in exclusive package deals including private flights, stay-ins, special activities and in-flight customisation.

A privatised King Air Beechcraft from Textron Aviation, with eight seats costs US$3,000 per hour. The private aircraft can fly from Phnom Penh to Bangkok for US$10,000+ for eight passengers.

Its current international routes include, for instance, Kuala Lumpur to Dubai. Other popular routes are Jakarta to Dubai, Manila to Melbourne or Phnom Penh to Bangkok, Guangzhou, and Hong Kong.

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Image Credit: Beacon VC

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Growth-stage accelerator ScaleUp Malaysia, which is powered by Singapore’s Quest Ventures and Malaysia’s Indelible Ventures, has picked 20 companies for the third cohort. 

Each of the 20 firms will be on separate tracks and closely work with the VC firms. They will also receive group-based and 1-1 coaching sessions on elements such as building scalable products, financial modelling, crafting narratives, and go to market strategies.

At the end of the programme in January 2022, 10 companies will receive offers for investments of around US$60,000 (RM250,000) to continue their growth journey.

The selected companies hail from a diverse group of industries and verticals such as edutech, fintech, media, manufacturing, cyber security, foodtech and e-commerce, with average revenue of US$288,774 (RM1.2 million) in the last year.

Below are the details of the top 20 companies:

• SpareXHub provides an e-commerce marketplace for genuine auto spare parts.
• Biztech.Asia is a cross-media and marketing B2B platform that enables B2B marketing for clients via scheduled video and podcast content and networking and corporate gaming events.
• GuruInovatif is a platform that provides complete online resources for teachers’ professional development.
• Hav.Life is a platform that rewards steps to fitness.
• Howuku is an online platform that offers an all-in-one web optimisation and analytics solution to help companies visually understand their visitors and improve conversion rates.
• Aoikumo and KumoDent are SaaS providers for the beauty and medical aesthetics industry.
• Nanka produces plant-based meat from jackfruit, aiming to provide a better alternative to the highly processed fast food in the market.
• J8 Austism Athletics provides fitness services catered specifically to the neurodiverse community with the skill sets to socially assimilate, partake in family physical activities, and lead a healthier life.
• Jazro is a robotics education company that aims to develop digital talents in STEM education fields with specially curated content for students aged 5-17 years old.
• MADCash is a digital platform that tracks the impact of funding an interest-free microloan given to unbanked women micro-entrepreneurs.
• Midwest Composites serves as an engineered composites partner by designing and manufacturing advanced composites and biobased composites for customers that want to use futuristic materials in their products.
• Neptrix is a Saas provider for the manutech industry. It provides SMEs with ERP technology to convert them into smart factories that are more productive and cost-efficient.
• Open Academy is an education platform that provides real, non-theory based programmes, training, and content by industry practitioners.
• Pantang Plus is a web-based booking platform for traditional post-natal therapy. It serves pregnant mothers looking for therapists or confinement ladies. It considers itself the “Grab” for confinement services.
• Q3 Payment provides standardised connected payment solutions while working with preferred payment acquirers in the region for easy deployment and providing automated payment reconciliation reports and real-time visibility through their single pane of glass approach.
• Graze market aims to bridge the gap between food waste and hunger by ensuring imperfect fresh produce from farmers and distributors find a market at a discounted price to the public.
• Wego is the online marketplace for a broad range of services, including delivery and blue-collar services focusing on underserved towns in Malaysia.
• Traitily is a digital recruitment platform that leverages behavioural assessment for employers to filter a candidate’s fit to the job function.
• Vireserve is a managed service provider that focuses on cyber security and IT solutions. The platform can be used as a tool for freelancers and/or consultants to perform compliance consulting and act as lead generation to service providers.
• WA Sushi is an F&B e-commerce company building “quality food-made for delivery” focusing on quality Japanese cuisine.

Also read: Why Malaysia needs to be on the VC radar 

Launched in 2019, ScaleUp Malaysia has announced investments in 21 companies in the last 18 months, claiming to be one of the most active investors in the region.

According to a press release, the startups participating in ScaleUp Malaysia need to meet the requirement of a minimum previous 12-month revenue at US$72,400 (RM300,000).

The top 20 companies will undergo an intensive 4-month process to help identify and address gaps in their business models and strategies.

“We selected these companies based on their ability to develop solutions for the new normal and the founders’ capabilities to execute their business plans during the pandemic,” said Andre Sequerah, managing partner at ScaleUp Malaysia.

The programme claims its Cohort 3 attracted 200 applications not just from Malaysia but also from the US, Indonesia, Singapore, Japan and Egypt.

Besides the two VCs, ScaleUp Malaysia has also collaborated with the Malaysian Global Creativity and Innovation Centre (MaGIC) and Technology Park Malaysia to develop the nation’s startup ecosystem via a public-private partnership.

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Image Credit:  ScaleUp Malaysia

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Alpha JWC Ventures, a Southeast Asia-focused fund primarily supporting Indonesian startups, has closed an oversubscribed third fund at US$433 million.

Global and regional investors, including World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners, invested in the fund.

Through Fund III, the VC firm is looking at a more extensive roster of investment opportunities in the region. “With this larger fund, we will be able to double down on our efforts in driving our mission to support our founders as they create scalable and sustainable companies in Indonesia and the region,” said co-founder and general partner Jefrey Joe.

Alpha JWC will increase its investment size to up to US$60 million in multi-stage funding with an emphasis on fintech, direct-to-consumer brands, SaaS and B2B services.

Also Read: Alpha JWC Ventures closes second fund at US$123M, claiming oversubscription

The third fund has already invested in seven companies in the fintech, SaaS, and SME solutions sectors in Indonesia, Singapore, and Vietnam.

While its primary focus remains Indonesian startups and founders, it has expanded its regional presence with investments in Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, and the Philippines over the past five years.

Alpha JWC was launched in 2016 with a US$50 million fund, which invested in 23 early-stage companies in Southeast Asia. The second fund, closed at US$143 million in 2019, has backed 30 companies.

Its portfolio companies have collectively raised more than US$1 billion in 2021. This year, three of its companies became unicorns: buy-now-pay-later company Kredivo, automotive marketplace Carro, and online brokerage platform Ajaib.

The fund’s investees also include coffee chain Kopi Kenangan, B2B marketplace GudangAda, healthy consumer goods producer Lemonilo, and P2P platform Funding Societies.

The firm has generated nine exits so far, namely DealStreetAsia (acquired by Nikkei), regional co-working space network Spacemob (acquired by WeWork), and Vietnamese enterprise SaaS Base.vn (bought by FPT Corporation).

Alpha JWC currently has around US$630 million in assets under management (AUM) across its three funds. Of them, Fund III will double down on early and growth investments targeted towards Indonesia’s and Southeast Asia’s booming technology ecosystems.

Kim-See Lim, IFC regional director for East Asia and the Pacific said: “IFC’s partnership with Alpha JWC Ventures underscores our long-term commitment to Indonesia’s economic development and digital transformation. Alpha JWC’s focus on innovative technology-enabled businesses is key, as these investments help enable long-term development and have the power to transform lives.”

Erika Go, partner, Alpha JWC Ventures, said: With our portfolio companies, we have touched the lives of almost one million MSMEs through financial inclusion and market access and created more than 12,000 value-adding jobs. We have also empowered more than 200,000 women by creating opportunities to improve their family welfare, inspired more than one million new retail investors, and many more. And this is not the end but just the beginning of the journey.”

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Image Credit: Alpha JWC Ventures

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