In this episode, we are excited to welcome Kathryn Hymes, former Head of International Product Expansion for Slack. Prior, Hymes held product leadership roles at Nextdoor and Facebook and currently runs Thorny Games, a company that builds games at the intersection of language and cryptography.

In our conversation, Hymes offers some awesome insights into a vast number of topics: from how to be successful entering new markets (a hint being not to launch and leave, but to build for sustainability and scalability), the importance of curiosity, energy, passion and understanding a functional cross-section of the business in being an effective product leader; and the need for leaders to meet both customers and employees where they are at and to ask the right questions in order to be successful localizing your business for new markets.

Also Read: Caffeinated expansion: How Kopi Kenangan achieves its goal of opening one new store per day

This episode is sponsored by our partner, ZEDRA. Learn more about how the ZEDRA team can support you in expanding to new markets.

Find our entire podcast episode library here and learn more about our forthcoming book on global business growth here.

—

This article was first published by Global Class.

Image Credit: Global Class

The post Former head of int’l expansion at Slack on how to avoid being a “launch-and-leave” appeared first on e27.

Singapore-based data analytics firm Solscan, dubbed “Solana block explorer”, has received US$4 million in a seed funding round co-led by US-headquartered blockchain-focused Multicoin Capital and Electric Capital.

Jump Capital, Sequoia India, Alameda Research, Solana Ventures, Signum Capital, and CoinGecko also participated, Solscan said in a statement.

The capital will be used to launch its subscription-based analytics platform Solscan Analytics and accelerate integrations for its flagship block explorer, an online tool for searching and inspecting blockchain transactions. 

Also read: Demystifying NFTs and DeFi

Solscan will also use the funding to expand its talent pool to support the mounting user base and partnership requests.

The startup plans to release new network monitoring and analytics tools, enhanced developer tooling, and dedicated info pages for projects in early 2022.

Launched six months ago by Vietnamese founders, Solscan is powered by Solana, a decentralised blockchain to assist the data analytics needs of users, developers, and projects within the Solana ecosystem. Solana is a public blockchain platform.

With Solscan Analytics, users can utilise both on-chain and off-chain data for high-quality market intelligence — such as hidden patterns and correlations, emerging market trends, profitable trading behaviour characteristics, price anomalies, whale interactions, and fraud detection.

“We anticipate Solscan to be the primary gateway to track your on-chain activities,” said Saurabh Sharna, partner and crypto lead at Jump Capital. 

“We were impressed by their thoughtful roadmap of API first on-chain visibility, analytics and Web3 integrations.”

The startup claims that its block explorer has served over 2.3 million monthly users and more than 180 million monthly data requests since its inception.

Exclusive: Ex-CTO drags Society Pass into court for “breaching employment contract”, seeks over US$1.3M in damages

“Solscan sees a massive opportunity and an unmet demand for Solana’s data validations and analytics,” said Solscan director Le Ho. “This investment will help us further deliver world-class products such as DeFi dashboard, NFT scan, and network’s monitoring, amongst others.”

 

—

Ready to meet new startups to invest in? We have more than hundreds of startups ready to connect with potential investors on our platform. Create or claim your Investor profile today and turn on e27 Connect to receive requests and fundraising information from them.

Image Credit: Solscan

 

 

 

The post Solana block explorer Solscan bags US$4M to roll out subscription-based analytics platform appeared first on e27.

Since you know what thought leadership is and why it is crucial for brand positioning, let us explore the how. How to use writing to build thought leadership. This resource will teach you how to craft an article that conveys the message, reads well and encourages readers to respond to your call to action. 

A well-written op-ed or thought leadership content can help your brand get more exposure, attract new business opportunities, and convert leads. As per LinkedIn research, 58 per cent of decision-makers read at least one hour of thought leadership content every week.

In the same study, 60 per cent said that this type of content had directly convinced them to buy a product or service they hadn’t previously considered.

Writing great content used to be privy to grammar nazis and literature lovers, but in the digital era, almost anyone with an idea, opinion, comment or observation can write a good thought leadership piece with some guidance and knowing the right tools to leverage.

This article is for you if you are an expert in a given field and keen on leveraging your thought leadership for better brand positioning but are hesitant about your writing skills.

Without any further ado, let us look at the fundamentals of writing a great article:

It all starts with an idea and how it is relevant

It all starts with the idea that eventually becomes the basis of your argument. So, the first step would be to identify the comment, observation, opinion, statement or idea you want to talk about. 

The idea does not necessarily have to be “unique”, but it must be relevant. The relevance should be in the context of 

• the target audience- the people you want to speak to 
• your brand- how will it help your brand and your story
• industry trends- how relevant is it for the theme/topic widely

Another important thing to keep in mind when identifying the article’s main idea is to focus on your strengths. What is it that you have the most experience in? What are your strong suits? What do you know that the world can benefit from knowing?

Sharing an idea that stems from your pool of strengths or subject matter you know most naturally makes the entire process easier. Plus, you can share insights that add real value to your readers while cementing your position as a thought leader in that field. 

Research and planning are crucial

The next stage will involve research. The article will discuss a topic that you are familiar with and have enough knowledge in, but adding proof like external references, statistics, and data will validate what you are saying. This is where research comes into play.

Identify keywords relevant to your topic. You can leverage free online tools like SEMRush and UberSuggest for keywords. Then, look up these keywords to find relevant data and studies on reliable external websites, such as Statista, McKinsey, Bain and Harvard Business Review, to name a few.

Always remember to keep the region of your target audience in mind. For example, if you are talking about how digital banking is vital in Asia, then stats about America’s banked/unbanked population would not be relevant here. You need to lookup data in Asia.

If your company or community has conducted internal surveys, feel free to quote results from those studies as well. If you are arguing about using a particular tool or solution, case studies or examples are great ways to back your views. 

Once you are done with your research, plan a rough outline of the article. This simplifies the final writing process further. Now, get started on that first draft.

The writing process

Once you have a clear idea of what your article will be about and have gathered all the necessary notes, stats, etc., the next step would be to write it.

• A basic article has three main parts- an introduction, a body and a conclusion. 
• Keep the intro short and dive straight into the argument. Just about two paragraphs at best.
• Articulating what the article covers and explaining why the article is important are the two most essential elements of an introduction. You can do that by mentioning the problem or question you are addressing with the article and explaining why that issue is relevant to your readers. Rely on facts and state engaging proof points.
• Remember, the point of an introduction is to engage readers and ensure they keep scrolling. Many thought leaders make one mistake while writing the introduction is repeating the title or simply reiterating it. In other words, do not repeat the title. Instead, use the opening to create a solid pathway into the body of your article.
• In the body of the article, you make your argument and validate it with proof points. Identify two to three main points you want to discuss and validate those points with data, stats and examples.
• A concise summary of the key highlights and a call to action, such as a link to your website or an email for queries, generally entail the conclusion. Remember, the decision is your chance to relate with your audience. This becomes even more important when the article is a technical post. Leverage the conclusion and use it as a breather by making a few personal comments. This will help people respond better to your CTA.

Do not skip the editing

After your first draft is ready, reviewing and editing the article is extremely important. Spending at least thirty minutes reviewing your first draft is a must.

It helps you identify silly mistakes, typos and gives you a chance to enhance the flow and readability.

Editing before submitting helps you present a polished and final piece to a media and makes your content more likely to be published. 

Here’s a quick checklist to help you edit your draft:

• Leverage free online tools like Grammarly for spelling errors and grammar
• Check for accidental plagiarism on free online plagiarism checkers
• Check for clarity of thoughts in each section
• Is the article coherent and readable? To ensure, check for the following:
  • Do you have a clear heading?
  • Is the article divided into subheadings?
  • Does the article need images, charts and graphs to support the text?
• Check direct quotations and paraphrasing for accuracy
• Check to make sure you appropriately credit all sources through hyperlinks
• Check the consistency of your opinion throughout your article
• A standard op-ed or thought leadership article is between 800-1000 words
• Avoid flowery language. Write small, clear sentences. Remember, you are not writing this article to score an A in an essay but to inform your readers of your views
• Keep the paragraphs short and always start them with topic sentences. These are typically the first sentence of each paragraph that gives an overall idea to the readers of what’s to follow

Let’s look at this example

To get a better idea, check out this amazing thought leadership content on e27.

This article explores how edutech is solving the global teacher’s crisis. Thought leader Neelesh Bhatia, co-founder and CEO of Akadasia, explores the importance of education technology with a clear focus on educators. 

He discusses the lack of support and proper training for educators, thus addressing the global teacher crisis and presenting technology as the solution. One important thing to note here is that Bhatia backs his statements with relevant statistics and data. 

Further in the article, he explains how technology can be leveraged to empower educators with the right tools. Hence, they can create better courses and impart education at par, backing his statements with relevant research. 

The following section introduces Akadasia’s Freejoo – its digital ecosystem that supports educators globally and gives them the knowledge, resources, and connections they need. The mention of Akadasia at this point in the article feels very natural and not sudden like a forced plug.

He validates his argument by sharing real numbers of how Akadasia’s Freejoo has helped over 130,000 teachers from 36 countries. Finally, he presents some more data and research to summarise the need for education technology for future-proofing the industry.

Bhatia’s article does not contain flowery language or rich lexical. It focuses on one problem, discusses solutions and shares research and data to back what he says. Plus, he runs a company relevant to the industry he is talking about adds more credibility to what he is saying.

In a nutshell

So, select a topic relevant to what you do, are studying or have experience in. Pin the main idea and get started. Do relevant research, add some data and get your first draft ready.

Finally, review, edit and make sure the article is easy to read and has a clear message. Voila! You are a thought leader!

Want to become a regular op-ed contributor and establish yourself as a thought leader? Take that leap of faith and join our Contributor Program to start your journey today.

–

Image credit: nsdefender

The post How to create a great thought leadership article even though you suck at writing appeared first on e27.

Cosmic Guild, a play-to-earn (P2E) community of gamers, has secured US$1.5 million in seed funding led by Binance Labs, the VC and incubation arm of Binance.

Co-investors include DeFiance Capital, Alameda Research, and Play Ventures.

The funding will enable Cosmic Guild to loan more gaming non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to guild scholars when playing games.

Also read: Demystifying NFTs and DeFi

The startup will also expand its gaming portfolios with games launching on Binance Smart Chain or in the Binance ecosystem.

“The funds will be used to invest in yield-generating digital game assets that exist in NFTs and expand the scholarship programme run by Cosmic Guild. We will continue to expand our Axie Infinity scholarship programme and have launched our Pegaxy scholarship programme,” it stated in an article on Medium.

Cosmic Guild has run scholarships in Axie Infinity owned by Vietnamese P2E unicorn Sky Mavis to incentivise players. To date, the community-first guide is providing NFT assets for more than 600 scholars and is said to reinvest the earnings into breeding more Axies and growing its pool of scholars.

“Cosmic will continue to grow in the GameFi and Play-to-earn space and are actively looking for more games to partner with and expand our scholarship programme,” it added.

The one-month-old startup operates as a decentralised autonomous organisation (DAO) that is focused on maximising yield and building communities. 

The team believes that P2E games will increase in complexity and skill requirements. The meta changes from time to time in all games, challenging both the managers and players to rethink strategies and deploy capital constantly.

Also read: BBS Network, ‘decentralised Reddit forum’, raises US$1.5M seed round led by Binance Labs

As a result, Cosmic Guild holds a portfolio of NFT game assets of crypto games loaned to guild members who can play using the NFTs and earn yields on games.

“Our mission is to empower individual gamers across different societies and come together as gamers, to not just play-to-earn, but to also play for fun, form meaningful friendships and have fun together in the metaverse,” said co-founder Kenneth Lee.

—

Ready to meet new startups to invest in? We have more than hundreds of startups ready to connect with potential investors on our platform. Create or claim your Investor profile today and turn on e27 Connect to receive requests and fundraising information from them.

Image Credit: Binance Labs

The post Binance leads US$1.5M seed round of P2E gaming guild community Cosmic Guild appeared first on e27.

When it comes to achieving success, a single startup would need more than just funding. It would also require different forms of support –from market access to ecosystem enablement– that is ideally built within an ecosystem.

This is what eatcosys, a Malaysia-based multi-disciplinary company offering retail and fintech solutions to support businesses in their transformation journey, is trying to achieve through Fidelity Funding.

Fidelity Funding is a fund that aims to serve as the capital funding arm for clients or portfolio companies that leverage the services of eatcosys. Targetting early stage startups, the venture capital fund has made investments into companies such as food marketplace SmartBite and edutech platform Askbee.

When it comes to investing in startups, Fidelity Funding is fully aware of the high failure rate among them and intends to minimise it to its best. This is why they come up with an approach that allows its portfolio companies to be part of an ecosystem of companies that work seamlessly with each other.

e27 speaks to Tham Lih Chung, Co-Founder and Chairman of eatcosys, and Managing Director of Fidelity Funding, and Bryan Chung, Executive Advisor of Fidelity Funding, to understand more about how they aim to support the startups in their growth journey.

Also Read: How COVID-19 accelerated digitalisation in the F&B industry in Malaysia

Working hand in hand

As a serial entrepreneur, Tham is no stranger to failure –and the lessons that it provides to help entrepreneurs move up in life. Starting off his career in the corporate finance, investment banking, and accounting sector, he had built businesses in various sectors from construction to F&B.

When he founded eatcosys and (eventually) Fidelity Funding, he saw how tech was able to connect different segments of an industry and create convergence.

“We wanted to look into new ideas, to look into innovation … [by] having an arm that could breed and mature ideas and innovation into tech startups. Because the retail sector is more than just having the mom-and-pop stores doing the usual business transactions. Now we see a lot of convergence with tech,” he explains.

This convergence enables Tham to see how these emerging startups could potentially complement the eatcosys group of companies.

“We invest in startups that are enablers and accelerators of digital transformation. I know it is very generic and broad, but that is how we want it to be. Because if you ask us how the future is going to be like in the next two to three years, I think people are going to be struggling to describe it. So we want to able to capture different types of startups … that will be part of the ecosystem,” he elaborates.

Despite the approach, Fidelity Funding would like to tap more into the fintech space. This year, eatcosys raised MYR10 million (US$2.3 million) through a crowdfunding campaign on Fundnel. Part of this capital is to be used to invest in the fintech space.

Also Read: 25 notable startups in Malaysia that have taken off in 2021

Defying the odds

Apart from the convergence of tech into different kinds of industries, the ecosystem approach was also implemented to minimise the risk of failure amongst tech startups.

Chung points out that in a typical VC model, only one to two per cent of its portfolio companies will actually achieve success.

“I think that’s the generally accepted figure. So, why do investors continue to invest in VC funds, knowing that only one or two per cent will make it? So we are trying to go against this one per cent statistic. We are trying to not go play the numbers game: the one with ‘the more companies you invest, the higher your chance of success.’ We are saying no, let’s not do that,” he explains.

When investors are playing the ‘numbers game’, Chung says that they are basically investing in something that may or may not work out.

“We want to be able to invest in startups that will work out. No one can guarantee that you will be 100 per cent successful, but we are trying to minimise the failure rates. So, Fidelity Funding comes up with this model: when we look at companies, we want to be able to understand the market, the industry that they are in, and we want to be able to contribute actively to the growth of the company,” he continues.

This is why Fidelity Funding invests in companies that can be a part of their ecosystem. In addition to curbing the failure rate, this approach can also help founders in getting the kind of support that they need.

“A lot of these [startup founders] are young entrepreneurs, so they do not have the operational experience. They are full of energy and great ideas, but when it comes to execution, to operating the business, that is where they tend to falter,” Chung says.

Also Read: A horse of another: Here’s the complete list of Southeast Asia’s 26 unicorns

According to him, this indicates that in order for startups to achieve success, having money is not always the solution for their problem.

“A lot of VCs would say, ‘We will introduce you to this person or company.’ But that is just referrals, and that is not enough. You also need to guide them to close a particular deal or transaction. So we have this group, these multiple partners, where we can lead them to. In a short time, they can immediately see that when they are plugged into the ecosystem, they can see their revenue growth,” Chung elaborates.

Fidelity Funding invests in companies in the pre-seed and seed stage with a ticket size that ranges from US$250,000 to US$1 million. “Because this is the stage where entrepreneurs will require a lot more guidance,” Chung explains.

While the fund is open to the idea of investing in the Southeast Asian market, at the moment, it will continue on focussing in Malaysia.

—

Ready to meet new startups to invest in? We have more than hundreds of startups ready to connect with potential investors on our platform. Create or claim your Investor profile today and turn on e27 Connect to receive requests and fundraising information from them.

Image Credit: Fidelity Funding

The post Why Fidelity Funding believes startups need more than just funding to succeed appeared first on e27.

Two thousand and twenty-one has been a terrifying year for the COVID-19-affected — both businesses and individuals. However, we must admit that the year also served as one of the most extraordinary periods for Southeast Asia. The year witnessed the birth of several unicorns and a flurry of exits. While patience and perseverance played a crucial role in helping tech companies scale heights, various government policies and initiatives also made things easy for them. These policies in turn are giving a fillip to an already burgeoning startup ecosystem.

If you want to catch up with what is happening on the ground, these policies and initiatives should be on your radar as they would immensely impact the local and regional ecosystems in future.

Singapore

• Listing framework for Special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs)

On September 2, 2021, the Singapore Exchange (SGX) released new listing rules for SPACs on its Mainboard, marking it the first Asian bourse to approve that since the SPAC craze began last year.

As SPAC is a publicly listed “blank cheque” corporation founded to merge with or acquire private firms, SGX aims to produce strong target firms listed on the bourse. 

The SPAC framework will provide companies, including startups looking for an IPO, with an alternative funding option while securing greater certainty on price and execution. This also assists investors with more choices and opportunities for investments and exits. 

Under the SPAC framework, some significant criteria included in an SGX listing are:

• The minimum market capitalisation of S$150 million (~US$109.5 million).
• De-SPAC must occur within 24 months of IPO with an extension of up to 12 months subject to fulfilment of prescribed conditions.
• Sponsors must subscribe to at least 2.5 per cent to 3.5 per cent of the IPO shares/units/warrants depending on the market capitalisation of the SPAC.
• Sponsor’s promote a limit of up to 20 per cent of issued shares at IPO.

• Funding to boost IPOs

The Singapore government has unveiled a US$1.1 billion (S$1.5 billion) fund as part of a package to attract listings to the city-state’s market. The goal is to boost its exposure to the region’s burgeoning IT industry. 

In this plan, the state-owned Temasek has co-invested to provide late-stage private financing and investment for IPOs on the Singapore Exchange. The financial regulator, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), will also increase its grants to help companies defray the cost of listing.

Also read: Startup IPOs in 2021 are encouraging founders& investors’ interests in Asia

• First crypto service license

In August, the MAS preliminarily granted a Singapore license to the Australian cryptocurrency exchange Independent Reserve, which has been operating in Singapore since 2019. Once the license is fully approved, it will be one of the first regulated digital payment token services providers under Singapore’s Payment Services Act, which came into force in January 2020.

Later in September, local fintech Fomo Pay obtained licenses from the MAS to operate three new regulated activities, including facilitating transactions with digital payment tokens such as cryptocurrencies and the central bank digital currency (CBDC).

According to the MAS, while a significant number of applicants failed to meet its standards in terms of money laundering, terrorism financing and technology risk controls, it had received over 480 crypto-related license applications by the end of July.

This heralds a new era of regulated cryptocurrency adoption in the region as companies can “move out of the grey area” to operate. However, Singapore’s regulations have long been perceived as crypto-friendly for investors and entrepreneurs.

 

Indonesia

• New Investment List

The New Investment List, a key implementing regulation for Indonesia’s Law No. 11 of 2020 regarding Job Creation (the Omnibus Law), was issued in March 2021, easing foreign investment restrictions for firms across the country. 

The previous foreign ownership restriction of 67 per cent was eliminated for wholesale distribution and telecommunications, media, and technology (TMT) firms.

Under the rule, foreign investments in local digital startups in special economic zones (SEZ) are exempted from the minimum investment threshold of IDR10 billion (US$693,550).

All business lines not included in the law or the New Investment List are also open for any investment.

However, the new rules require careful application according to sector-specific legislation, especially in the broader law reforms introduced by the Omnibus Law.

• Merah Putih Fund

In December, Indonesian President Joko Widodo, popularly known as Jokowi, announced the launch of the Merah Putih Fund, targeting soon-to-be unicorns (or soonicorns) with predetermined criteria.

According to his announcement, to be eligible for the funding, startups must be founded by Indonesian nationals, operate in the homeland, have plans to go public domestically, pay taxes, and have a proven track record of fundraising with a valuation of above US$200 million.

Merah Putih Fund is backed by state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and slated to raise around US$300 (IDR 4.26 trillion) in H1 2022. Some of its initial investors are Mandiri Capital, BRI Ventures, MDI Ventures, and Telkom Mitra Inovasi. 

Also read: The 27 Indonesian startups that have taken the ecosystem to next level this year 

Vietnam

The Vietnamese government introduced several initiatives to support the local startup community in recent years. These included the legal framework for VC funds under Decree No.38/2018/ND-CP, which opens up capital channels into early-stage startups.

Vietnam National Innovation Center (NIC) was also established in 2019 to promote technological transfer, R&D, and commercialisation for SMEs and startups in a favourable regulatory environment. 

For the last five years, the National Program 844, or the Initiative for Startup Ecosystem in Vietnam (ISEV), has constantly supported the startup ecosystem by establishing and improving the legal framework and providing grants for activities spanning startup incubation, acceleration, market development, networking and/or communication. 

• National Strategy on the Fourth Industrial Revolution towards 2030

The Prime Minister’s “National Strategy on the Fourth Industrial Revolution towards 2030” was adopted in January 2021 with a variety of objectives, including making the digital economy accounted for about 30 per cent of the country’s GDP, universalising the 5G mobile network services, and completing the construction of the digital government.

For startups, the strategy maps out the needed undertakings of ministries and ministry-level agencies, including:

• Apply a regulatory sandbox for new business lines to create a legal framework for innovative products and services;
• Review and improve regulations towards encouraging domestic digital technology enterprises to invest in development and research to master the core technologies to participate in the Fourth Industrial Revolution actively;
• Review and amend regulations for innovative startup investment towards facilitating capital contribution, share purchase, merger and acquisition of technology enterprises;
• Renovate and strengthen universal education to increase practical activities, particularly in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Internship programmes in innovation support centres and startups are encouraged;
• Invest, research, and develop several prioritised technologies to actively participate in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, such as robot technology, advanced materials, renewable energy, artificial intelligence, healthcare technology, IoT, big data, and blockchain.

This follows the previous Prime Minister’s decision dated June 3, 2020, approving “The national digital transformation programme to 2025, with a vision towards the year 2030“. To set the foundation for the digital transformation, the government will give strong incentives and support for startup development and encourage large and traditional enterprises to apply these technologies in manufacturing and commercial activities. 

In addition, the country will focus on developing four types of digital technology enterprise models, including startups applying digital technology in the development of new socio-economic products and services and startups innovative in terms of digital technology.

• Decree 31/2021/ND-CP on the elaboration of some articles of the Law on Investment 

Approved in March 2021, the Decree provides details on which objects are eligible for investment incentives such as lower rate of corporate income tax, exemption or reduction of land rents, land levy, etc.

The beneficiaries include startup projects (with predetermined criteria specified in the Decree), the National Innovation Centre (NIC) established under the Prime Minister’s decision, and innovation centres established by agencies, organisations and individuals to assist startup ecosystem and R&D activities in the centres.

Also read: The 27 Vietnam startups that have grabbed our attention this year 

Malaysia

• Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint (MyDIGITAL)

Launched in February, The Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint (MyDIGITAL) aims to transform Malaysia into a digitally-driven, high-income nation and a regional leader in the digital economy until 2030.

As stated in the Blueprint, the government set out several targets, including driving 875,000 MSMEs to migrate to e-commerce, onboard two unicorns, and catalysing the growth of 5,000 startups in the following five years.

These initiatives will serve as a springboard for attracting RM70 billion (~US$16.5 billion) in digital investments from inside and outside of Malaysia. 

• Malaysia Startup Ecosystem Roadmap

Launched by Malaysia’s Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (Mosti), the Malaysia Startup Ecosystem Roadmap (SUPER) 2021-2030 aims to create 5,000 startups and achieve five unicorn-status companies by 2025, as well as nurture the country into one of the world’s top 20 startup ecosystems by 2030.

Considering feedback from more than 300 ecosystem stakeholders, SUPER identifies 16 interventions under five Ecosystem Drivers. It aims to increase Malaysia’s gross domestic product (GDP) and is expected to contribute to high-value job creation and expand deeptech investments by 2030.

As a part of the plan, a digital information resource portal, dubbed MYStartup, will be created to provide comprehensive facilitation services for startup ecosystem networks, helping ecosystem players navigate the startup ecosystem and drive local innovation. In its first year, the platform is expected to benefit more than 1,000 startup ecosystem stakeholders through the listed initiatives and programmes such as funding, bootcamp programmes, accelerator programmes, hackathons, coaching, and training courses.

• MaGICARE

MaGICARE is a compilation of initiatives in collaborating with Malaysian ministries and agencies to support startups impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. It was launched by the government-funded Malaysian Global Innovation and Creativity Centre (MaGIC) in July.

The initiative aims to provide entrepreneurs with resources, rejuvenation, and recovery aid, which can apply until December 2021. It offers a 50 per cent subsidy for one-on-one counselling sessions for ten persons per month. 

On the MaGICARE website, there is a list of financial aid, grant, financing programmes, and humanitarian help providers for startups. 

Also read: 25 notable startups in Malaysia that have taken off in 2021

Thailand 

• SME-PO scheme 

Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced a prospective new scheme in September that would allow SMEs and startups in Thailand to raise financing through public offerings. The SEC is scheduled to issue regulations to implement this new scheme in the first quarter of 2022. 

According to SEC’s rules, SMEs and startups in Thailand can raise funds via private investments or crowdfunding. The new scheme can raise capital on a larger scale through a new sort of IPO — called SME-PO.

Risk-tolerant and well-capitalised investors such as institutional investors, private equity or venture capital firms, angel investors, or SMEs’ directors, employees, or affiliates, can join the round.

SMEs and startups that want to pursue an SME-PO under the new SEC scheme must be structured as public companies with investor protection mechanisms in compliance with the Public Company Act, B.E. 2535. (1992). However, the SEC may also relax certain requirements of filing for approval, the appointment of an independent financial advisor, and fees for SME-POs. 

For example, an information-based approach will be applied instead of the normal approval process for public offerings, though further details have yet been revealed.

SEC also intends to create the “SME Board,” a secondary market for trading SMEs’ equities.

Also read: Exit Strategies: Ways to get your money back besides IPOs and M&A

• BOI’s Investment Acceleration Measures 2021

In a bid to accelerate investments in large-scale high-tech projects, Thailand’s Board of Investment (BOI) has introduced the Investment Acceleration Measures 2021. Accordingly, investments in specific target sectors with a realised investment of at least THB 1 Billion (~US$ 30 million) within 12 months from the date on which the BOI promotion certificate is issued would be entitled to an additional 50 per cent corporate income tax (CIT) deduction for five years. This is in addition to the standard CIT exemption period of five to eight years which is generally granted by the BOI.

Furthermore, BOI has offered to grant a CIT exemption for 50 per cent of the investment value for three years for existing businesses in select industries, such as software integration, AI, machine learning, and big data analytics. Qualified companies may apply for this investment promotion scheme until the last working day of 2022. 

 

Cambodia

• Cambodia Digital Economy and Society Policy Framework 2021-2035

The Cambodia Digital Economy and Society Policy Framework 2021-2035 promotes the digital adoption and transformation in all social actors, including states, citizens, and businesses, to foster economic growth and improve social welfare in the “new normal”. It sets out a long-term vision for building Cambodia into a digital economy.

In this framework, the Royal Government promotes digital business in three areas — promoting the digital transformation of enterprises, creating the entrepreneurial and startup ecosystems, and enhancing linkage to regional and global value chains in the digital sector.

The framework also establishes an institutional framework and coordination mechanism for monitoring and evaluating the policy framework implementation.

• Startup Cambodia National Programme

In December, the Ministry of Economy and Finance launched the “Startup Cambodia National Programme”, aiming to enhance the entrepreneurial environment through digital platforms.

As a part of the programme, the platform (startupcambodia.gov.kh.), co-managed by Techo Startup Centre and Khmer Enterprise, will engage stakeholders in incubating startups by providing mutual support through co-creation mechanisms.

The platform is also set to be used for cultural exchange initiatives and startup ecosystem assessments and support the government in making critical intervention policies to navigate the sector through digital transformation and modernisation processes.

 

The Philippines

The Philippine government has constantly provided initiatives to support its startup community, including the Philippine roadmap for digital startups in 2015, the Kapatid Mentor Me Programme and QBO Innovation Hub in 2016, and the Startup Research Grant Programme in 2017.

• Innovative Startup Act

In March this year, the Philippines’ Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), Department of Science and Technology (DOST), and Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) officially signed a joint administrative order (JAO) to establish a steering committee to implement the Innovative Startup Act and its Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR).

The Innovative Startup Act (RA 11337), which was signed into law in 2019, provides the startup ecosystem with benefits and initiatives including the provision of startup visas, expedited processes, establishment of the Startup Venture Fund, Grants-In-Aid, the crafting of the Startup Ecosystem Development Program, and the establishment of Startup Ecozones, among others.

Also read: Why the Philippines is set to become the crypto capital in Southeast Asia

 

—

Ready to meet new startups to invest in? We have more than hundreds of startups ready to connect with potential investors on our platform. Create or claim your Investor profile today and turn on e27 Connect to receive requests and fundraising information from them.

Image Credit: 123rf

The post 2021 policy and initiative highlights: A foundation for SEA startup funding appeared first on e27.

OnMic, a voice-chatting and streaming platform targeting the young population in Vietnam, has secured an undisclosed amount of seed funding from Vietnam-focused VC firm Touchstone Partners.

OnMic was established in June 2021 by Lam Kim (CTO), Khanh Nguyen (CEO), and Trung Nguyen (CGO). It is an audio content platform that provides voice-streaming chat rooms featuring no visuals and only minimal text.

The app also allows live interaction between speakers and audiences to discuss topics spanning spirituality, travel, job counselling, financial advice, and dating. 

A Clubhouse-like app, OnMic builds a unique community bonding experience that does not rely on celebrities. “Rather, it is through the very arts of sharing authentically the ups and downs of life, love, careers and struggles, especially throughout the pandemic among Gen-Z in Vietnam,” the firm said in a statement.

Solely concentrating on community-specific audio content, the startup claims to have accumulated over 11 million live minutes and over 20,000 programmes since its inception.

Also read: The news wars: Will tech giants soon be coughing up big bucks for media content?

It boasts a 100 per cent organic growth driven by micro-KOLs and their networks.

“OnMic has seen a new generation of audio-based content creators since its launch. So it initiated creator-first programmes to help them flourish simply on the merit and quality of their ideas, without any need for visuals or content editing skills,” said CEO Nguyen.

With a population of more than 90 million, coupled with the smartphone penetration rate being in the top 10 globally, Vietnam is one of the fastest-growing markets for digital mobile-first content. Other local players, such as Vietcetera and Fonos, are also developing audio content for the young generation.

Based on eMarketer 2019 data on digital audio listenership and voice assistant usage, the digital audio listener base exceeds 300 million across countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. As a result, the audio content market in the region has significantly picked up pace in recent years. Not only prominent players such as Spotify and Apple Podcasts, but even startups like Clubhouse, are giving local businesses a run for their money.  

—

Ready to meet new startups to invest in? We have more than hundreds of startups ready to connect with potential investors on our platform. Create or claim your Investor profile today and turn on e27 Connect to receive requests and fundraising information from them.

Image Credit: OnMic

The post OnMic, Vietnam’s answer to Clubhouse, scores seed funding from Touchstone Partners appeared first on e27.

The coronavirus pandemic has changed the entire global economy. As a result, many businesses closed down and several industries faced downturns, affecting populations around the world. In the Philippines, the unemployment rate rose to 8.9 per cent in September 2021 –the highest recorded data for 2021. Similar trends have been faced by countless nations across the globe.

According to the International Labor Organization, there are over 220 million unemployed people in the world, a whopping 18 per cent increase before the pandemic. Because of this unexpected crisis, millions of people are left to explore alternative ways to replace their lost source of income. Many people find comfort in online jobs, particularly those based on digital platforms. Businesses that shifted to the digital space have found themselves thriving.

Besides work from home, another sector that flourished during the pandemic is the cryptocurrency space. Many businesses and individuals view cryptocurrencies, or digital assets, as a new source of revenue. This is opening up various opportunities to help them overcome tough economic challenges. However, many beginners, especially those without technical knowledge, find it challenging to start. How can individuals and enterprises earn passive income or safely invest in digital assets?

Making money work for you with passive earnings

When it comes to cryptocurrency, trading is a ubiquitous way of earning money. However, it requires users to thoroughly understand the market, which beginners simply lack. Moreover, while digital assets can offer high returns, numerous technical barriers limit new investors from easing in. Fortunately, simplified crypto apps make it easy for beginners to start earning crypto, similar to starting with popular savings apps.

For example, digital wealth management platforms such as YIELD App allows beginners, especially those with limited cryptocurrency knowledge, to earn passive income. YIELD App enables users worldwide to start earning returns from cryptocurrency and DeFi products without going through a lengthy, tedious, and often expensive learning curve. Users can generate passive returns with stablecoins, which means there is no risk of volatility.

Also Read: You’re not really diversifying your investments by buying altcoins

“Dealing with complicated fee structures in crypto and learning about the hundreds of assets to choose from are typically overwhelming for mainstream users. Naturally, there is growing demand for apps that can reduce these complexities, while at the same time allowing end-users to gain maximum exposure to the benefits of crypto,” explains Lucas Kiely, Chief Investment Officer of YIELD App.

Like individuals, businesses and enterprises need various sources of revenue to stay afloat in today’s economic situation. “Digital assets are now a popular alternative investment, allowing all types of businesses to diversify their assets, protecting their wealth and generating returns on their treasuries, especially during economic downturns,” says Kiely.

Security is vital for strategic investments in digital assets

Economic cycles are normal phenomena that have occurred time and time again. Companies use various strategies to hedge against inflation and market cycles. However, the pandemic has caused steep hikes in the annual inflation rate of national currencies.

In the US for example, the inflation rate accelerated to 6.8 per cent in November 2021, the highest since June 1982. This means that companies with significant treasury assets in USD, in simplistic terms, will lose their purchasing power if they don’t hedge into other assets. Generating 10 per cent APY on stablecoins for instance can already offset this inflation and generate net profit.

For businesses dealing with large sums of money seeking to invest in stablecoins, qualified custodians help serve the needs of professional digital asset security. The concept of physical stacks of cash and banks do not apply to digital assets. Instead, highly advanced digital vaults are required to adequately protect them. Many companies understand the importance of diversifying their corporate assets. However, businesses that are new to the crypto space do not have sufficient know-how for keeping their digital assets safe.

Also Read: Bitcoin and Ethereum simplified for a five-year-old

Institutional grade custodians such as Onchain Custodian helps businesses to safely segway into cryptocurrency management. The company offers a global, standardised, resilient, insured, and compliant custody service for the safekeeping of institutional digital asset investments with incomparable user experience.

As the digital asset industry continues with rapid technological development, further interest from global institutions can be expected. A key challenge to overcome will be keeping up with this swiftly adapting industry to better serve enterprise needs, without sacrificing on security.

Opening up a digital world of opportunities

No one can predict the future, but everyone can prepare and find new ways to thrive in today’s digitally-oriented world. Professional companies including the likes of YIELD App and Onchain Custodian are providing direct gateways into digital asset wealth management and custody solutions. Now millions of individuals, as well as businesses, are better empowered to safely and easily participate in these opportunities.

—

This content was first published by The Human & Machine.

The post Shifting the global paradigm of wealth management with digital assets appeared first on e27.

Renowned Silicon Valley veteran Tim Draper has invested an undisclosed amount in TNL Media Group, an independent multi-language media and data platform in Taiwan.

Draper invested through his fund Draper Associates VI.

TNL Media is the VC fund’s first direct investment in Taiwan. It comes a year after it closed a financing round with notable international investors, including New York-based VC firm Palm Drive and Guitar Hero and XRM Media co-founder Kai Huang.

The group will use the money to grow its media presence, offer new verticals throughout Asia, and invest in its data analytic capabilities. It also aims to unify the data across all media brands and create synergies across content, adtech and data analytics products.

Additionally, TNL Media announced the launch of its seventh media brand, Ohsowow, which will mainly focus on Korean entertainment, culture, and lifestyle content. Ohsowow aims to be the go-to media platform within the international Chinese-language market for Korean entertainment and lifestyle reporting.

Also Read: YouTube, Twitch co-founders invest in Taiwanese news site The News Lens

TNL Media provides media, digital advertising, and data analytics platforms for the Asian market. It was launched in Mandarin and English to provide inclusive, in-depth, diverse, and highly influential content for digital readers. The group has since expanded and acquired a mobile ad network, big data research company, and launched a data analytics platform.

As a result, the group can effectively grasp user information through zero-party, first-party, third-party databases, AI analysis, Martech, and other cross-domain core products.

The group consists of seven content brands and ten subsidiaries, with over 230 staff members in Taipei, Hong Kong, and Japan. Its other media brands are The News Lens, INSIDE, Sports Vision, Cool3c, Agent Movie,  every little d.

TNL now has a staff of over 230 and plans to continue expanding its readership size, international presence, strategic data partnerships and new technological capabilities.

Other high-profile investors include North Base Media, an original seed investor in The News Lens, YouTube co-founder Steve Chen, and Twitch co-founder Kevin Lin.

TNL Media will also continue to invest in bolstering its holistic data ecosystem — ranging from our zero party data products via (permission-based, PDPA compliant) mobile passive tracking panel – Engagement Lab, research panel – ShareParty, first-party data from TNLs’ media brands, and integration with second and third-party data via MarTech/AI.

Exclusive: Ex-CTO drags Society Pass into court for “breaching employment contract”, seeks over US$1.3M in damages

“With China’s President abandoning the free markets and business, we are seeing an influx of great entrepreneurs to Taiwan and other parts of Southeast Asia,” said Draper, who has earlier invested in Skype, Tesla and SpaceX.

“An honest, fair media site, combined with data analytics and artificial intelligence, could be the next development in media. Additionally, the demographics of the 18 million monthly uniques in TNL Media is the sweet spot for early-stage entrepreneurs. We expect TNL to grow rapidly,” he added.

—

Ready to meet new startups to invest in? We have more than hundreds of startups ready to connect with potential investors on our platform. Create or claim your Investor profile today and turn on e27 Connect to receive requests and fundraising information from them.

The post Taiwan’s TNL Media Group ropes in Tim Draper as investor appeared first on e27.

VinaCapital Ventures, the VC arm of VinaCapital Group, has announced an investment in Hub Global JSC, an accelerator for startups creating blockchain solutions across various verticals.

With this, VinaCapital Ventures will become Hub Global’s largest external shareholder. It will now get a seat on the firm’s board of directors.

Also read: The art of blockchain: What is the NFT craze all about?

Hub Global JSC was founded in 2021 by Linh Han (CEO at local accelerator-cum-VC fund VSV Capital), Bryan Pelz (former co-founder and current board member of local tech unicorn VNG), and Hai Bui (former head of business technology transformation at Vietnam’s leading commercial bank Techcombank and Singapore’s blockchain-based liquidity hub Kyber Network).

Hub Global focuses on three key areas: incubator/accelerator, blockchain community and sandbox, and blockchain investment fund. 

The newly established blockchain fund is backed by ten LPs and several entrepreneurs. It claims to record a 5x profit from the initial investments after three months of operation.

“It’s clear that blockchain has enormous potential far beyond cryptocurrency, and Vietnamese startups are already making inroads in developing blockchain solutions in several applications,” said Trung D. Hoang, partner at VinaCapital Ventures.

The Southeast Asian region has onboarded a significant number of blockchain-focused funds this year, including Singapore’s US$75 million fund, NextTech’s US$50 million fund, True Global Ventures’s US$100 million fund, LuneX Ventures, and Zilliqa’s US$5 million fund, to name a few.

This aligns with the global trend; in the first nine months of 2021, global blockchain financing soared to reach US$15 billion, an increase of 384 per cent from US$3.1 billion in 2020, as per a CB Insights report.

—

Ready to meet new startups to invest in? We have more than hundreds of startups ready to connect with potential investors on our platform. Create or claim your Investor profile today and turn on e27 Connect to receive requests and fundraising information from them.

Image Credit: 123rf

The post Hub Global JSC, an ecosystem for blockchain startups, gets VinaCapital backing appeared first on e27.