The impact that digital technology has on quality of life is distinct and far-reaching. Tech is especially pervasive in areas such as fintech, edtech, and medtech but its transformative power can be applied to more — such as building community resilience against disasters. 

According to the World Disasters Report 2020, more than 100 disasters happened just in the first 6 months of the COVID-19 pandemic, and almost 52 million people have been hit by both the pandemic and climate-related disasters. The latest sixth assessment report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has also revealed one particularly concerning finding: that many changes due to past and future greenhouse gas emissions are irreversible for centuries to millennia.

There is a pressing need for innovative and effective solutions to tackle these critical environmental challenges. The SAFE Steps D-Tech Awards is an initiative that recognises the role of technology in building community resilience. Closely aligned to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal of Sustainable Cities and Communities, the awards are established to find, fund, and support technology solutions that protect and save lives before, during, or after natural disasters.

Recently, the 2021 SAFE Steps D-Tech Awards brought to the forefront 4 winners with tech solutions that are creating waves of change by building the resilience of communities to the onset of disasters. Singaporean startup, EcoWorth Tech, won the for-profit category while United States-based organisation, The Stimson Center, topped in the non-profit category. Meanwhile, runner-ups in the for-profit and nonprofit categories respectively were Australian startup, FloodMapp, and Fields Data from Norway.

EcoWorth Tech

Oil and chemical spills in oceans destroy marine life and can have long-term ecological impacts. Singaporean cleantech startup EcoWorth Tech is nipping this pain point in the bud with its Carbon Fibre Aerogel (CFA) sponge made from low-cost natural materials such as waste biomass, renewable cotton, or waste paper. 

EcoWorth’s reusable CFA sponge is modest, but it is proving its might in solving serious issues like oil and gas decontamination, and industrial wastewater treatment. It can absorb up to 190 times its own weight and remove up to 99% of organic liquid contaminants such as grease, solvents, dyes, fats, and oils from wastewater. Once the CFA absorbs oils or other organics, it can be squeezed out mechanically to recover and reuse the oils. The treated water is then safe to be released back into the environment.

Also read: Meet these 4 founders who are raising millions and redefining the way businesses are done

The company converts “waste to worth” to address big environmental issues of water scarcity, waste management and pollution. The strong problem-solution fit, potential to address the market at large and solid business model propelled EcoWorth Tech to the winning position in the for-profit category.

Good disaster technologies can be used again and again. EcoWorth Tech’s solution solves pain points across multiple industries including waste upcycling, oil spill response, oil refineries and wastewater treatment. For this startup, the scalability of CFA and the potential of converting other waste materials for its production signals a promising growth trajectory.

Stimson Center

The Stimson Center won the award for its Mekong Dam Monitor, an open-source online platform that uses remote sensing, satellite imagery, and social media to provide near-real time reporting of dams. The project is especially crucial to avoid the occurrence of upstream flooding that can cause millions of dollars in damage.

The Mekong River traverses 4 countries — originating in China, passes through Laos and Thailand, before meeting the South China Sea in Vietnam. Numerous upstream hydroelectric dams in China and Laos have caused water levels to plunge low causing water shortages, while tropical climate causes it to overflow dangerously at times leading to seasonal flash floods. 

The unpredictability places great strain on the vulnerable communities in the region. By forewarning and providing 48 hours preparation time to adapt to any changes, the Mekong Dam Monitor helps mitigate potentially devastating loss of lives and livelihood in the instance of flooding. It works using publicly-available data inputs from the US’s Defense Meteorological Satellite Array and European Space Agency’s Sentinel Satellite Array. By feeding surface wetness information into an algorithm that models how the river would run without any dams, the Mekong Dam Monitor can forecast short-term droughts and floods. 

But this project is also making great strides beyond its warning system. With its comprehensive data processing, the Mekong Dam Monitor is compelling upstream agencies to improve the transparency and accountability of its activities. In turn, this also gives downstream stakeholders or governments access to better data for negotiation of a fairer water share. 

More importantly, the great success of the Mekong Dam Monitor lies in its scalability to other river basins around the world. As climate change leads to more severe weather events, wider use of this monitoring technology will help communities cope with floods and water scarcity. Overall, the Stimson Center looks to create greater impact by providing more citizen science opportunities and localising its products.

FloodMapp

Foresight is key to prevent emergencies and people from being stranded in flooding disasters. This Australia-based startup specialises in rapid real-time flood forecasting and flood inundation mapping. The technology confidently lets people know when and where floods will occur at each stage of a flood emergency — before, during, and after. 

By providing warnings ahead of time, FloodMapp protects lives and reduces financial loss from damages. Globally, the annual flood damage amounts to $16.8 billion which FloodMapp claims can be prevented by buying time. Damage from floods such as power utilities and prolonged outages significantly affect livelihoods. Communities also face the risk of a devastating loss of lives, homes, buildings and other valuables.

Also read: How Australian scaleups are contributing to Singapore’s tech ecosystem

FloodMapp gives a 200X more granular view that looks at community and asset-level impact compared to other traditional flood models. Through visual mapping, users get an easy view of assets and locations at risk of flooding hours up to 10 days ahead of time. The data used come from trusted leaders like the Australian Government’s Bureau of Meteorology. Based on these data inputs, FloodMapp derives insights from its high-tech trained catchment hydraulic models, machine learning models and processed river systems.

With flooding predicted to displace 50 million people by year 2100, FloodMapp is solving a critical need to build a safer future and more resilient communities. The impact of FloodMapp’s forecasting technology has enhanced preparedness and risk mitigation; improved public safety by cutting supply of power to at-risk assets, protect communities from being stranded and prevent huge financial losses. 

Fields Data

One big setback that humanitarian organisations experience is the lack of data-driven insights for effective decision-making. Despite the noblest intentions, not having enough data simply impedes good work. Some reasons for this data scarcity are tasks taking precedence over providing data, low connectivity in many areas of work and inconsistent updates.

Recognising this gap, Norway-based startup Fields Data collects and shares ground-level information about humanitarian and international development organisations in the form of 4W maps: Who does What, Where, and When. Its purpose is to empower organisations by providing tailored data-driven solutions to facilitate informed decision-making.

Fields Data collects data, processes, analyses and puts it together in dashboard form. Especially where public data can be scattered and unreliable, Fields Data facilitates partnerships, gives visibility to organisations working hard in the field, and helps organisations improve efficiencies. Currently, it covers over 450 organisations in Burundi and Ghana, with plans to expand to India.

The role of the tech community in disaster relief

The impact of COVID-19 reverberates across the world and only further highlights the growing vulnerability of people to disasters. Investments in D-Tech, especially in the Southeast Asian region, are picking up since building community resilience is now critical more than ever before.

Also read: Startup x Innovation Thailand Expo 2021: A virtual world of innovation

In a world of commercially oriented tech solutions, the climate crisis and global pandemic have showcased the use of technology to protect lives. D-tech startups in the emergency technology space have raised significant equity recently: US-based company, RapidSOS (US$85M) and Israeli startup, Carbyne (US$25M).

The vibrancy of D-tech is key to spur more innovators and entrepreneurs in the space for the greater good. As disasters and crises remain prevalent, concerted effort by the best minds in tech is vital to build resilience and safeguard communities.

Keen to know more about SAFE STEPS D-Tech Awards?

The 2021 SAFE STEPS D-Tech Awards was created by Prudence Foundation and supported by humanitarian partner, the International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC) and technology partner, Lenovo. The partners recognised potential in many solutions in different locations.

Winners and runners up will receive grants from a pool of US$200,000, of which US$150,000 came from Prudence Foundation and US$50,000 from Lenovo. Lenovo will also provide in-kind support for the winners and runners-up in both categories.

Find out more about the SAFE STEPS D-Tech Awards 2021 here.

The IFRC and Prudence Foundation are also hosting a webinar on 21 September at the upcoming World Economic Forum Sustainable Development Impact Summit 2021 titled “Advancing Technology for Community Resilience”. The webinar will highlight how technology can support communities to be more resilient, and discuss the barriers to scaling up innovation in this area. Sign up here.

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This article is produced by the e27 team, sponsored by Prudence.

We can share your story at e27, too. Engage the Southeast Asian tech ecosystem by bringing your story to the world. Visit us at e27.co/advertise to get started.

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GlobalCare, a Vietnam-based B2B insurtech provider, has received an undisclosed amount of funding from VinaCapital Ventures.

It is not clear how GlobalCare is going to utilise the capital. We are contacting the startup for more details and will update this news story accordingly.

Launched in 2017 by Niem Thi Ngoc Dinh and Loi Minh Hang, GlobalCare allows insurance companies and agents to sell policies via a cloud-based and on-premises app. The solution enables end-to-end service management, including monitoring transaction history and processing claims.

The firm also provides insurtech solutions to ride-sharing companies, which offer insurance coverage to its drivers and users. In addition, it develops a technological solution for more than ten major insurance distribution channels and 200,000 agents.

GlobalCare said in a press statement that its network of more than 3,000 O2O stores provides consumers with various insurance products. 

“It offers a product that solves a pain point, an obvious and realistic business plan that has the potential to scale, and a committed and experienced founder and team,” said Trung Duc Hoang, Partner of VinaCapital Ventures.

Also read: Medici, a health-tech firm founded by ex-Grab exec, gets seed funding to foray into insurance in Vietnam

The Vietnamese insurance market is still nascent. As per a Statista report, the non-life insurance penetration rate was at a meagre 0.91 per cent in Vietnam in 2020.

“As Vietnamese learn more about the importance of having insurance to protect them, their families, and their businesses, we aim to provide a platform that removes the inconveniences that can occur when buying insurance products,” said Dinh.

GlobalCare’s latest funding round rides on the tailwind of the pandemic-induced surge in demand for insurance products. 

Last year, as incumbent insurers rapidly increased their technology requirements and capabilities, global investors took bets on insurtech firms to an all-time high of US$7.5 billion and are expected to accelerate in the Southeast Asia market in 2021. 

Vietnam’s Medici, Indonesia’s Fuse and Lifepal, Thailand’s Fairdee and Singapore’s Bolttech are some prominent insurtech startups that have received funding in 2021.

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Image credit: VinaCapital

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WE Rise, the flagship accelerator programme of early-stage impact enterprise incubator Villgro Philippines, announced the 20 women-owned companies that have participated in their programme, including four tech companies.

The tech companies are:

Rumarocket
Founder: Kathleen Yu

Rumarocket is an artificial intelligence (AI) tool that helps users identify, optimise, and retain the right talent for the right positions. The company said that its AI can even predict if a team member is about to leave or is going to perform and recommend the right course of action for these employees.

CAWIL.AI
Founder: Cherry Murillon

CAWIL.AI utilises a flexible AI platform that applies itself to recognise objects for its machine learning capabilities. It also highlights customised computer vision tools for machine learning models. The company provides AI solutions to challenges in the environment, provides on-demand data analytics and helps humanity understand the benefits of AI. Currently, they are focused on the ASEA region through fostering partners and clients for environmental management and smart city applications.

Husay Co.
Founder: Leah Rasay

Husay Co. has developed an e-learning platform where artists can both learn and search for job opportunities. It envisions Filipino artists and creative workers thriving in their chosen field and industry. They have worked with over 780 artists and counting, some of which are visual artists, writers, digital artists, and performers to name a few.

Also Read: PDAX raises US$12.5M to take advantage of the popularity of cryptocurrencies in Philippines

For the artists, Husay Co. focuses on getting access to jobs and providing learning courses for those who are in need of upskilling in areas of business, marketing, and worker benefits in order to equip them with better management.

Global CreditPros
Founder: Ronica Jones

Global Credit Pros is a fintech company that aims to halt the cycle of debt for Filipinos as well as take them onto a path of trouble-free retirement. As of the moment, their main target market is the BPO space as this is one of the most resilient industries in the Philippines, growing at 10 per cent a year.

WE Rise takes in 20 female entrepreneurs from sectors such as agriculture, retail, technology, personal care, services, and affordable housing.

According to a press statement, the accelerator began in the midst of the pandemic in 2020 with a focus on access to financing to help close the gender finance gap. Over the course of the programme, the cohort had the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of Villgro’s customised mentorship program, focused learning sessions, and technical assistance.

In hosting WE Rise, Villgro Philippines partners with Value for Women and was supported by Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs’ (ANDE) Advancing Women’s Empowerment Fund (AWEF).

It has hosted a showcase of the companies in late August.

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Image Credit: clin0000

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Since the beginning of the pandemic, misinformation has become prevalent in Asia as people recirculated information to their loved ones, oftentimes without verifying the authenticity and credibility of their sources.

While misinformation has always existed, the rise of new tools such as social media and messaging apps have made the spread of these falsehoods much easier. 

The effects of misinformation

In Singapore, a study by the National Centre of Infectious Diseases (NCID) found that six in 10 Singaporeans have received fake news about COVID-19 on social media.

Misinformation about the pandemic has since shifted from vaccine side-effects, fake cures and conspiracy theories to government policies adopted to combat COVID-19 in Singapore. As countries move in and out of lockdowns in Asia, such misinformation can cause greater damage as people succumb to behaviours such as panic buying and hoarding.

Now, Asia needs to eradicate fake news more than ever, and blockchain could offer a potential solution to combat the growing threat of digital misinformation. 

While the internet has brought much convenience to our lives, it also has deep-rooted issues with trust as trust was not part of the internet’s design. People suffer from fraud, manipulation, and theft on the internet as the solutions we have to solve them in society are non-existent.

Misinformation can impact decision-making, trust, and anxiety levels. Our recent State of Misinformation report has found that 67 per cent of respondents believe that misinformation has impacted elections across the regions.

While people may unknowingly spread misinformation, some, despite not trusting the news and information found online, may spread misinformation mainly because this misinformation confirms their beliefs.

As awareness of misinformation spreads amongst the population, more people turn to multiple sources to verify their information, with trust in traditional media and search engines higher than social media.

However, given that social media has already become the main source of news in Asia, Wordproof’s role is to help fix the internet, such that trust becomes part of the internet’s DNA. 

Also Read: Why Malaysia is quickly becoming a cybersecurity hub for the rest of the world

Creating a safer internet using blockchain

Blockchain was originally invented in 1991 to verify and protect content through a concept called timestamping.

Timestamping touches on a decentralised nature in which each publication obtains a unique hash that would be timestamped into the blockchain, thus avoiding centralised ownership.

Through timestamping, content creators can claim ownership and display transparency regarding alterations of their content.

Website visitors would then be able to conduct their own due diligence to determine the owner of the content, if the owner could be held accountable and whether the content has been tampered with. 

Timestamping can protect internet users from misinformation by allowing access to the history of changes made since the content’s publication. It would also increase transparency and accountability, making it easier for internet users to identify and avoid fake news, creating more trust and protecting them from tampered information. 

Internet safety beyond blockchain

The creation of a safer internet cannot only rely on blockchain. Increasing awareness of fake news across the age groups is crucial, particularly amongst the older generation who have a more challenging time verifying news online, likely due to their generally trusting nature.

Countries in Southeast Asia are also trying to combat fake news through new regulations, which hold people who share fake news accountable for their actions, and campaigns to improve media literacy among their citizens. 

The fight against fake news and misinformation has seen companies such as WhatsApp and Facebook stepping up their game through the roll-out of fact-checking features and services on their platforms.

By adopting the right technology, governments and companies can create more trust for the internet. New technologies are being developed, such as plugins that can support non-WordPress websites.

With the current GDPR data and privacy protection policies, timestamping into the blockchain is a logical follow-up. 

Integrating timestamps into search engines algorithm, social media platforms, and e-commerce would add an additional layer of trust over the internet.

Also Read: Fake news law is good, but it shouldn’t be used to stifle dissent: Singapore’s startup community speaks out

Tier levels are an undividable part of timestamps. They add to the reputation of the content’s originator, enabling highly trusted information to be at the forefront of what is presented to the public and influence the viral impact of information. 

We are optimistic that misinformation will drastically improve in the coming years, so long as we shift towards providing transparency and accountability for the internet and its users. Policymakers, however, would have a major role to play in increasing the speed of this development.

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Much has been said about how the pandemic has thrown a massive curveball to startups in the last two years. The recent global health crisis has undoubtedly made it difficult for many, even those that have raised hundreds of millions, to emerge unscathed.

Amidst all of this, our local startup ecosystem is brimming with tenacious founders who are agile enough to tackle whatever is thrown their way. This is why it’s particularly heartening to see these four startup founders from SMU Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (IIE)’s Business Innovations Generator (BIG) incubation programme who not only turned the tide to close significant funding rounds over the last 12 months but also disrupted the way businesses are done.

Lin Fengru and Max Rye of TurtleTree Labs

Max and Fengru are well known locally for leading the way in cell-based technology for sustainable milk and for being the first in the world to produce cell-based human breast milk. What started out as a search for good quality clean milk became a startup now poised to disrupt the multibillion-dollar dairy industry and redefine dairy production.

TurtleTree Labs literally grew from an idea to laboratory and to market in just about three years. In December 2020, the duo announced that they had raised US$6.2 million in pre-series A funding. Subsequently, TurtleTree Scientific was launched in partnership with JSBiosciences to develop and produce food-grade growth factors earlier in January 2021. This will help expand TurtleTree Labs production capabilities to a scale that is commercially viable.

SMU School of Computing and Information Systems alumna Fengru enthused on her entrepreneurial journey with praises for the mentorship and support from the local food industry, government agencies, and the investors she met through the 4-month incubation programme at BIG.

Also read: Startup x Innovation Thailand Expo 2021: A virtual world of innovation

“The BIG team was a super connector. We are linked up regularly to potential investors, partners, and researchers. One of the most significant was an introduction made to A*STAR which assisted us in our R&D and helped pave our path to success,” Fengru complimented in an interview with Singapore’s Ministry of Trade & Industry in August 2020.

“The Startup SG Founder scheme and HSBC-SMU Sustainability Enterprise Initiative offered under the BIG programme have been instrumental in helping us not just from the monetary point of view but also in terms of access to support and resources that gave us the advantage over other competitors,” she added.

Chris Teo of Mednefits

The astronomical cost of healthcare in Singapore accompanied by the loss of his grandmother was the turning point for Chris Teo. Reluctant to be a victim and succumb to the ways of the world, Chris started Mednefits in 2014.

Mednefits simplifies corporate employee benefits by connecting companies and their employees to healthcare providers. What started out as an idea to reduce healthcare costs evolved to become an all-in-one employee medical benefits platform that makes it easier for companies to provide strong benefits programmes. Mednefits not only tracks and processes employees’ claims in real-time, it also allows companies to offer a better and wider range of healthcare benefits to their employees without having to manage these providers.

In November 2020, Mednefits closed a successful Series A round with S$8 million raised, bringing their total funding raised to S$12 million. Today, Mednefits has connected over 50,000 employees in Singapore and Malaysia to over 2,000 healthcare providers.

Teo explained, “Mednefits is not an overnight success. In fact, we spent a six-figure sum developing a product when we first started, only to find out that no one wanted to use it when we finally tested it. It was devastating. But we learnt from these precious lessons and adapted to make it work for people who are actually using it.”

To find out that your idea is not working can take a mental and emotional toll on many startup founders. Teo’s learnings as a founder became insights for market validation and lessons to rebound from failure at one of the many BIG Founders’ Sharing Sessions held regularly for those who have just set out on their entrepreneurship path.

Teo added, “The community at SMU was a strong sounding board for our new business model and offered us a space to share our ideas freely. As entrepreneurs themselves, they helped us define our customers’ pain points which still stand true to us today.”

Rahul Banerjee of BondEvalue

Established in 2016 by Dr Rahul Banerjee, BondEvalue is a FinTech start-up that changes the world of fixed income markets. BondEvalue creates transparency in the bond markets, provides market news and data, and makes bond investments more accessible to investors. BondEvalue was enrolled in the BIG incubation programme in that same year.

Unlike equities, the bonds market has been operating in a traditional environment and remained unchanged for decades. In Asia and Europe, bond trading functions almost exclusively for affluent individuals largely because of the high minimum denomination of US$200,000 in the secondary market. Even private banking clients are unable to access live prices easily, and trading is carried out over the counter or over the phone, making for an opaque process and pricing.

Also read: Harnessing sustainable technology to build a resilient future with IPI

Having identified the pain points in the industry, BondbloX Bond Exchange was added as part of BondEvalue’s offering in October 2020. BondbloX became the world’s first fractional bond exchange using proprietary technology and enterprise-grade blockchain that enables investors to buy and sell bonds in denominations of US$1,000 instead of the usual US$200,000.

BondbloX is regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore with Citibank and Northern Trust as its designated custodians. The exchange combines the power of distributed ledger technology that allows for enhanced transparency and liquidity and faster settlement, while making institutional-grade investment opportunities available to new classes of investors.

As recently as June 2021, the company raised US$6M Series A bringing the total funding raised to US$10 million. The company was named under the “Forbes Asia 100 to Watch” list. They also announced a joint venture in Mexico to form a Peso bond exchange as part of its expansion plans.

Disrupting a traditional industry requires grit and a deep commitment to move things forward. Despite his busy schedule and the demanding nature of being the CEO and founder, Dr Banerjee believes in giving back and sharing his knowledge with the community. He is currently a mentor at SMU IIE’s Global Innovation Immersion internship programme, eager to provide guidance to young talents who are keen on a career in innovation. He is also a trainer on Bond Investing at SMU Academy.

“SMU BIG has been integral in BondEvalue’s growth. I was a traditional banker and learned a lot about startups during the time of incubation. All our initial teammates joined us there. We may have grown up, but we can never grow out of SMU”, said Dr Banerjee.

James Chan of ION Mobility

“Electric motorbikes can cut smog and reduce PM2.5 and greenhouse gas emissions in the air. Imagine that being adopted across all the cities in Southeast Asia like Jakarta, Ho Chi Minh City, and Bangkok!” said James Chan, Founder and CEO of ION Mobility.

Inspired by Tesla and its vision to be Southeast Asia’s top technology company leading our region’s transition towards a low-carbon economy with electric and electric mobility products for consumers and businesses, Chan founded ION Mobility in late 2019. Southeast Asia is the world’s third-largest market for motorbikes after India and China, yet little progress has been made to introduce cleaner alternatives for these little dirty machines.

Headquartered in Singapore and an all-Singaporean management leading a team of 10 nationalities across its three offices in Singapore, Shenzhen, and Jakarta, ION Mobility is committed to creating great products and seamless user experiences by combining human-centred design with advanced software and hardware. Their goal is to entice the 200+ million motorbike users in Southeast Asia to switch from petrol to electric for a more sustainable future.

In October 2020, ION Mobility raised US$3.3 million in seed funding and more recently secured over S$800,000 in grants from Enterprise Singapore in March 2021, proving that the bleak economic situation from the pandemic had not dampened its ambitions, execution, and growth.

“It was an interesting time to start a company in the typically capital-intensive automotive sector (that does not exist in Singapore), and an even more interesting period to try and raise capital (where risk capital is typically in lesser supply for early-stage hardware startups),” Chan shared through his blog.

Also read: MaGIC graduate PABLO AIR — Leveraging drone technology for social impact

He likens their strategy to countries’ responses in flattening the curve to avoid overloading their healthcare capacity. With great risk comes great opportunities.

“We scaled back on the magnitude and velocity of our forecasts on travel, hiring roadmaps, rental, and renovations in order to stretch our Plan C further into next year and give ourselves options ahead of our Series A raise,” stated James.

“We joined SMU BIG right from the start before we secured our own office. I’ll always be grateful to them for their support from our very beginning, which made our startup journey feel much less lonely and difficult.”

“It was an especially challenging environment to operate in. But what did not kill us can only make us stronger,” Chan quipped.

The company is revving up to unveil its first smart EV motorbike for Indonesia before the end of 2021 and is set to expand its operations in Singapore and Indonesia. ION Mobility stands poised to continue developing its in-house design, research and development capabilities, build up its supply chain, and add to its in-house production capabilities and partnerships.

SMU IIE’s Business Innovations Generator

Keen to find out how SMU Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (IIE) can help you to build your startup or business ideas further and faster? Learn more about SMU IIE’s Business Innovations Generator (BIG) equity-free and founders-centric incubation programme on its website, and its latest cohort of startups!

IIE is also one of the Accredited Mentor Partners (AMP) for the Startup SG Founder scheme that helps early-stage startups and entrepreneurs kick start their business ideas. Subscribe to its quarterly e-newsletter, The Greenhouse Effect, for more inspiring stories from the founders of today.

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This article is produced by the e27 team, sponsored by SMU IIE

We can share your story at e27, too. Engage the Southeast Asian tech ecosystem by bringing your story to the world. Visit us at e27.co/advertise to get started.

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Dezy, a Singapore-based decentralised finance (DeFi) startup, has bagged an undisclosed amount of funding from a clutch of local investors, including DeFiance Capital, HH VC Investments, Impiro, and angels such as Tranglo founder HY Sia.

With the new investment, Dezy aims to bolster the user and deposit growth, update the educational content, and launch new features, including smoother onboarding options, optimised KYC and underlying insurance on user funds deposited. 

A portion of the capital will also be used to expand its marketing, technical development, and business development teams. 

DeZy was launched in 2021 by four co-founders Eric Dadoun (CEO), Harald Lang (CTO ), Sharmini Ravindran (CMO ), and Simon Landsheer (strategic advisor). It aims to empower people to “achieve meaningful savings, income growth and wealth accumulation” by simplifying decentralised finance. People can borrow, save, trade, or invest without intermediaries like banks or brokerages.  

It automatically converts users’ deposits into Singapore dollar-backed stable coins and disperses them into a range of decentralised protocols. With this, the platform help users generate up to 5.25 per cent annual percentage yield.

Also read: Gwendolyn Regina to lead investments at Binance’s new US$100M DeFi fund

“The opportunity that DeZy aims to solve is certainly one that exists beyond Singapore, but before we look at international expansion, we want to make a meaningful impact domestically first,” CEO Eric Dadoun said.

He added that the company also looks to join the B2B markets and develop longer-term features to give users access to a broader range of savings services. 

As stated on the company’s website, Dezy commits to secure users’ access to decentralised finance with inclusivity, transparency, and no deposit lock-in. 

As per the ‘Singapore fintech landscape 2020 and beyond’ report, Singapore raised US$346 million in fintech investment in 2020, accounting for 6.2 per cent of all funds invested in Asia. 

Last year, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) launched a S$125 million (US$93 million) support package for the financial and fintech industries to help them deal with the immediate challenges caused by COVID-19 while also positioning themselves for future development and recovery.

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Image credit: Dezy

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Indonesia-based wealth tech startup Pluang today announced that it has raised an additional US$35 million, bringing its total funding raised this year to US$55 million.

Led by Square Peg, this funding round included the participation of SIG, UOB Venture Management and existing investors such as Go-Ventures and Openspace Ventures.

This update followed the US$20 million funding round the company announced earlier in March.

“We have been fortunate to double down on Pluang in every funding round making it one of our core portfolio holdings. We continue to be impressed by Pluang’s product innovation, best-in-class unit economics, and growth. We look forward to working with the team closely in the years to come,” said Aditya Kamath, partner of Go-Ventures.

In a press statement, Pluang said that the funding “will allow the company to accelerate proprietary products to market for its growing customer base and hire best-in-class talent to continue on its mission of helping everyone experience the thrill of investing wisely.”

Also Read: Peter Thiel’s Valar Ventures leads Singapore wealthtech startup Syfe’s US$30M Series B round

The company said that of all the existing wealth tech startups in Indonesia, it offers the broadest suite of asset classes for retail investors, enabling them to invest in gold, equity indices, mutual funds and cryptocurrencies.

It allows users to make micro-savings and micro-investing contributions from as low as ~US$0.50 across asset classes within one app.

The diversification that it enables is aimed to help first-time users reduce risk. It also puts emphasis on financial education on investing and long-wealth creation; it is especially relevant for a market with relatively low financial literacy such as Indonesia.

According to a report by The Jakarta Post, lifestyle and lack of tech adoption play a role in this problem.

Pluang’s services are available as mini-apps within larger ecosystems such as Gojek, Dana, and Bukalapak. The company is planning to be available on more platforms in the future.

Founded in 2019 by Claudia Kolonas and Richard Chua, the company said that it has amassed almost three million registered users while remaining incredibly capital efficient, with less than US$3 million of marketing spend to date.

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Image Credit: Pluang

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Singapore-based Jungle Ventures said today it has hit the first close of its fourth fund at US$225 million.

The VC firm targets to raise US$350 million for this fund, which it claims is the largest early-stage fund to be launched in Southeast Asia this year.

As reported by Techcrunch, most of the existing limited partners, including Temasek, IFC, DEG, and some Asian and global family offices, invested. 

Upon the disbursement of Fund IV, Jungle Ventures plans to invest in 12 to 13 startups from seed to Series B. The ticket size will range from US$1million to US$15 million. 

Founding Partner Amit Anand told Techcrunch that Fund IV aligns with Jungle Ventures’s pace of raising a new fund every 2.5 to 3 years since its inception in 2012. He added that Jungle has shown a strong track record, with companies from its 2016 Fund II paying about 7x on the fund today.

Jungle counts FinAccel, B2B e-commerce unicorn Moglix, beauty e-commerce platform Sociolla, and Vietnam’s merchant platform for micro firms KiotViet, among its high-profile investees. 

Also read: KKR, Jungle Ventures join Vietnam’s merchant platform KiotViet’s US$45M Series B

Anand also emphasised his close interest in social commerce startups. This is demonstrated through Jungle’s follow-on investment in Indonesia-based social commerce startup Evermos‘s US$19.5 million Series B last month. 

Anand added that Jungle’s LPs have co-invested US$400 million co-investments in its portfolio companies so far. 

“We typically invest in a company when it has a little bit of a product-market fit in its home market, and then we can help regionalise the business,” Anan said. “We’re one of the oldest funds in the region and we haven’t seen as good a time as today to be in the tech ecosystem in Southeast Asia.”

Besides focusing primarily on Southeast Asia, the VC firm also invests in India. As stated by Anand, Southeast Asia and India have a strong cross-pollination of talent, ideas, learning, and capital.

In recent years, growing exit announcements from companies such as Indonesia’s Bukalapak and GoTo, Malaysia’s Carsome, Thailand’s Builk One Group, and Vietnam’s VNG and Loship, have set the tone for the hyper-interest of global investors in the region. 

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Image credit: Jungle Ventures

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Fundiin, a Vietnamese buy-now, pay-later (BNPL) startup, announced today it has closed an oversubscribed seed round at US$1.8 million.

The round saw participation from a slew of new and existing investors, including Japan’s Genesia Ventures and JAFCO Asia, Singapore-based Trihill Capital and 1982 Ventures, and Vietnam-based Zone Startups Ventures.

Some former executives of global BNPL giant Affirm (Xffirmers) also backed Fundiin’s latest funding.

According to a press statement, Fundiin will utilise the capital to expand its operations, strengthen the executive team and press ahead with its upcoming Series A round.

Founded in 2018 by CEO Cuong Anh Nguyen and CTO Nam Hoang Vo, Fundiin started as a digital payment solution provider, targeting Vietnam’s population of 97 million and rising middle-class consumers. Later in mid-2020, the company started to offer a BNPL option to consumers at the point of sale, free of charge. This method helps customers pay in instalments with or without interest while paying providers a total amount upfront.

“Lending products have earned a bad reputation as money-draining traps that leave consumers stuck in a cycle of debt,” Fundiin CEO and co-founder Cuong Anh Nguyen, stated. “Vietnamese consumers are in urgent need of products like Fundiin that work for them and protect their interest.”

Also read: Why BNPL will change the payment landscape in Vietnam?

Fundiin claims to have collaborated with over 100 merchants, including some of the country’s well-known retailers such as Lug, Vua Nem, Mat Viet, Giant International. It boasts of increasing retailers’ sales by 30 per cent without utilising a credit card or an application.

In July, Fundiin also teamed up with Vietnamese B2B e-commerce company Sapo to provide the BNPL payment option at checkout for Sapo’s 100,000 merchant client base.

BNPL is gaining ground among other payment options such as credit cards, instalment loans and mobile wallets’ lending products as it is “faster, easier and free for consumers.” This solution has long been going places in the world but has only picked up pace in Southeast Asia in recent years with some success cases from PayLater in Indonesia, and Atome and Hoolah across Hongkong, Singapore and Malaysia.

Amid the pandemic, the method is ripe for an explosion as it is able to assist consumers in their shift to online shopping. According to JP Morgan, Vietnam’s e-commerce is forecast to increase 19 per cent per year to 2021, urging global players to take bets on the BNPL sector.

Last month, Singapore-based FinAccel, the parent company of Indonesia’s BNPL giant Kredivo, formed a joint venture with local investment firm Phoenix Holdings, signalling its intention to penetrate the Vietnamese market.

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Image credit: Fundiin

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The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the disparity in access to capital for female-led startups. However, there has been a global trend of investors betting on these “wonder women”. 

The funds pumped into women-led businesses reached US$46.3 billion in 2019. That’s more than twice the number a year before and more than 15 times that in 2010.

Several significant initiatives have also ridden on this tailwind. 

The “She Loves Tech” competition has enabled more than US$250 million in funding for roughly 5,000 female-focused startups across 40 countries. Australian Aid and Frontiers Lab Asia has also sponsored a training programme for angel investors to explore gender lens investing opportunities. 

If you are also scouting startups founded or co-founded by women in Southeast Asia, here is the list of 27 prominent startups established in the past three years.

1) Green Rebel 

Co-founded by Helga Angelina Tjahjadi in 2020, Green Rebel is an Indonesian foodtech startup that creates whole-cut plant-based meats with Southeast Asian flavours in mind. 

The startup promotes the use of locally derived foods and is working to establish a worldwide brand from one of the world’s most beautiful destinations. It aims to provide meat to customers without the health & environmental tax that comes with it.

Earlier this year, Green Rebel secured US$2 million in a seed round led by Teja Ventures and Unovis Asset Management, a worldwide alternative protein investor.

2) Ajaib 

Founded in 2019, Indonesia-based online brokerage Ajaib allows consumers to buy and sell stocks, ETFs, and mutual funds. Ajaib Group claims it opens the door to access to safe, trusted and affordable investment instruments. 

The firm was co-founded by Yada Piyajomkwan, who was listed in Forbes’s 30 Under 30 Asia (Finance & Venture Capital) in 2020.

In March 2020, the firm closed its US$90 million Series A round with a US$65 million extension led by Ribbit Capital. 

3) Pluang

In 2020, Marcellina Claudia Kolonas, who has five years of experience as an investment advisor, co-founded the financial technology platform Pluang. It provides easy and affordable access to financial goods to the general population.

The Indonesia-based firm aims to enhance financial inclusion in Indonesia, where approximately two billion people are unbanked. As stated by Kolonas, users may open a savings account for as little as 50 cents. 

Openspace Ventures led its recent US$20 million pre-Series B funding round with participation from Go Ventures and other returning investors. The company will use the money to create customised financial products that will cover a broader range of asset classes, including government bonds.

4) Logisly 

Co-founded by CEO Roolin Njotosetiadi in 2020, Logisly is a B2B logistics digital platform that links shippers and trucks from its network of certified corporate carriers.

Its goal is to reduce Indonesia’s high logistics costs by boosting truck utilisation and giving more certainty in supply chain management, mainly through an extensive network of dependable transportation, order transparency, and automation.

Currently, the firm works with over 800 trucking companies (with over 40,000 fleets) and 300 shippers from various industries, including fast-moving consumer products, chemicals, construction, e-commerce, and more.

Last year, the Jakarta-based startup received a US$6 million Series A investment led by Monk’s Hill Ventures to assist Indonesia in streamlining its logistics.

5) Bonza 

Bonza, co-founded by Elsa Chandra, a former Traveloka execs, is an Indonesian Big Data analytics startup. Within Bonza’s user interface, organisations can integrate disparate data sources into a single source and build and deploy Machine Learning models.

Bonza’s no-code approach for data analytics and AI deployment helps technical and non-technical teams to build and deploy data-driven solutions at scale.

In May 2021, Bonza raised a US$2 million funding round led by returning investor East Venture. 

6) Pinhome

Established by Dayu Dara Permata in 2020, Pinhome leverages cutting-edge technology to make the property sale, buy, and rental transactions on its platform more simple, efficient, and transparent.

Its goal is to eliminate the obstacles of buyers and sellers while making real estate transactions by delivering the “greatest possible” user experience.

Since its inception, Pinhome’s headcount has grown to over 200 employees. In early 2021, it raised US$25 million in a Series A financing round from unknown investors.

7) Mindtera

Digital education platform Mindtera was established in 2021 by former Nielsen manager Tita A. The platform focuses on multiple intelligences and life coaching. It offers personal growth learning curriculums in critical areas of life such as family, love, and work, allowing people to navigate life in an organised manner better.

Serving both individual and corporate clients, the startup aims to address the gap between hard skills and emotional intelligence (EQ) by designing and developing curriculums and tools around its proprietary multiple-intelligence approach, including emotional, social and physical intelligence.

Last month, the firm bagged undisclosed funding led by East Ventures.

8) DishServe

Stefanie Irma co-built DishServe in 2020 as a kitchen network in Indonesia. The firm aids in the renovation of underused kitchens by standardising procedures and updating equipment. 

Besides, it allows food and beverage (F&B) companies to access a network of highly trained ghost kitchens and use them as last-mile distribution locations for serving their consumers.

Insignia Venture Partners invested an unspecified amount into DishServe’s pre-seed round in May.

Also read: Everything from soup to nuts: Meet the 27 ghost kitchen startups in Southeast Asia

9) Klar Smile

Last year, Ellen Pranata co-founded an Indonesian tech-based dental company Klar Smile. 

The company embraces a B2B2C business model. It provides cosmetic dental treatment by leveraging the expertise of orthodontists and advanced technology. Dentists and patients can communicate and monitor treatment progress remotely through its Smile mobile app.

In June 2021, the company raised an undisclosed seed round led by AC Ventures. 

10) Pasarnow

Indonesian e-grocer Pasarnow was co-launched by Cindy Ozzie in 2019. Its multi-channel platform attempts to streamline the country’s complex and layered fresh goods supply chain and offer quality food items to its clients.

The operational backend collects all orders and creates a demand forecasting system to assist the company’s 1,000+ farmers and suppliers in better planning and optimising harvesting and delivery schedules.

This September, East Ventures led a US$3.3 million funding in Pasarnow.

11) Durianpay

Launched in 2020 by three co-founders, including the two female leaders Antara Mathai and Natasha Ardiani, Durianpay is an Indonesia-focused payments solution startup that provides a range of payment methods and a no-code interface for businesses and developers to access. 

Durianpay claims that its solution works with various payment channels and suppliers, removing the need for complicated interfaces, manual reconciliation, and high expenses.

Recently, the startup received a US$2 million funding led by Sequoia India’s Surge with participation from AC Ventures, Kenangan Fund and other angel investors. 

12) VUIHOC

Co-founded by Minh Thu Do in 2019, VUIHOC is a Vietnamese online platform that provides courses for elementary, middle and high school students. Its teaching framework is developed every week and adheres to the textbook curriculum.

VUIHOC’s educators design learning materials based on a deep dive into the psychology of each age group, ensuring that every student will find matching content at their preference. The platform also provides live classes to augment teacher-student interaction.

Last month, Do Ventures, a Vietnam-based early-stage VC firm, revealed its investment in VUIHOC at an undisclosed amount.

13) Ganesh

Founded by Linh Chu in 2021, Ganesh is a runner-up in Fintech Nations Hackathon 2021 held by New York-based hackathon platform Devpost. 

Ganesh provides information about fraud prevention, including how to detect, prevent, and report scams and how to get assistance from local authorities.

Its flagship product includes a scam dictionary with an updated resource about definitions of different scams, prevention methodology, and protection guide. The company also provides news and statistics which leverage access to credible sources, showing the current regional scamming situation and sending early alerts to people.

14) Vinastraw

Grown from the 14-week C-Plastics Incubator 2021 programme organised by Spring Activator and KisStartup, Vinastraw is a Vietnam-based startup that provides low-cost but high-quality straws, meeting the needs of the most demanding coffee chains. 

The company, founded in 2021 by Thao Thi Huong Do, produces biodegradable straws made mainly from rice and other grains. Its product is said to be 100 per cent compostable, gluten-free and long-lasting.

15) EQUO

In 2020, Marina Tran Vu started EQUO in Vietnam, intending to deliver eco-friendly brands and manufacturers to the world. 

Its products, including straws, utensils, dishware, pencils or bags, are made to replace single-use plastics. The firm targets products “100 per cent” natural, non-toxic, chemical-free and biodegradable.

EQUO is one of ten female-led businesses finalists in the She Loves Tech Global Competition 2021.

16) BravoHR

Launched by Han N. in 2019, BravoHR is a Vietnam-based SaaS platform assisting SMEs in better managing, engaging, and rewarding their employees.

It offers employees access to a white-label mobile app connected to a system that allows HR to manage their workforce at scale. Besides, it also helps the companies provide innovative and relevant employee benefits and rewards programs.

BravoHR counts brands such as McDonald’s Vietnam, Philip Morris, 7-Eleven, PNJ Watch, On Point E-Commerce, trading business Idocean, Chubb Insurance, and Talentnet HR among its clients.

In 2020, the firm raised an undisclosed seed funding round from Zone Startups Vietnam and 1005 Ventures.

17) Phenikaa MaaS

In 2021, Bich Nguyen co-founded Phenikaa MaaS to provide “Made in Vietnam” solutions helping enterprises and organisations operate their transportation effectively. With general smart solutions comprising IoT, app, map, AI, and Big Data, the firm aims to accompany governments and companies to digitise the traffic management process.

Phenikaa MaaS is the developer of the previous public transit app BusMap. After raising a US$1.5 million seed funding from Pheenika Group in July this year, Bich Nguyen and her partner Yen Thanh Le renamed the company Phenkaa MaaS.

The startup was also the winner of “SK Startup Fellowship 2021” batch II held by South Korea’s SK Group.

18) Fonos

Co-founded by Xuan Nguyen in 2020, Fonos is a Vietnamese digital audio content startup. The platform creates short 10-15 minute book summaries, guided meditation, stories, news, and offline reading.

Fonos gained prominence in the local audiobook space with standardised in-house audio recordings made by professional narrators. 

Recently, the platform raised US$1.1 million over two rounds of seed funding led by Singapore-based AngelCentral Syndicate.

19) Docosan

Docosan is a healthtech startup based in Ho Chi Minh City. In 2020, co-founder Natalia Moreno Hendrickson built this platform to help patients compare healthcare providers across various specialities, make appointments online, and manage their health records.

Its users can sort providers by area and speciality and check price information with verified client reviews. The platform recently added online payment features and insurance integrations. 

In April this year, Appworks led Docosan’s US$1 million seed round to expand into new markets.

20) Float Foods

In 2020, Vinita Choolani set up Singaporean foodtech startup Float Foods. The platform is known for its innovative plant-based egg substitute OnlyEg, which includes two legume-based egg yolk and egg white alternatives.

The company develops its product with proprietary technology created by Float Foods’ in-house research and development team.

The firm raised US$1.7 million in seed funding co-led by Singapore-headquartered venture capital firms Insignia Ventures Partners and DSG Consumer Partners in June this year. The firm plans to optimise OnlyEg with nutritional improvements and a longer shelf life track for commercialisation in Singapore by 2022.

21) Shoplinks

Former CEO of cashback app Snapcart, Teresa Condicion, started Shoplinks to provide digital platforms to offline Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) stores, allowing brands to deliver and customise discounts to customers.

Shoplinks enables one-to-one, offline marketing through its secure data sharing, data matching, POS integrations, and AI-enabled engagement for CPG and retail. Its platform optimises consumer value while minimising marketing and promotional spending. 

The Singapore-based firm counts Gillette, Gillette Venus, Oral-B, Pantene among its prominent clients.

22) Mohjo 

Founded in January 2021 by Juhi Dang, Mohjo targets to deliver 100 per cent clean foods and drinks made from plants and chemical-free components through its facilities.

The Singapore-based foodtech brand recently launched its first line of products — almond milk and almond milk-based beverages.

Last month, the firm raised an undisclosed seed round led by East Ventures with participation from iSeed Southeast Asia, K3 Ventures, and other angel investors.

23) Dedoco 

Co-launched in 2020 by Daphne Ng and her partner Dr Ernie Teo, Dedoco is a Singapore-based decentralised digital document and signing platform. 

The firm offers document authentication by ensuring real-time verification choices while maintaining transaction integrity with a blockchain audit trail. Its clients include government agencies, banks, professional services (HR, accountancy, and corporate services), and real estate firms.

Last July, the company netted US$2.45 million seed investment led by Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia.

24) MadEats

The all-female led cloud kitchen startup MadEats is a Philippines-based innovative online restaurant group that serves the delivery sector. 

Mikee Villareal, alongside her partners Keisha Lao and Andrea Cruz, built the platform in 2020 with three food brands: Yang Gang offering Korean fried chicken, Chow Time providing Chinese takeout, and Fried Nice serving Southeast Asian rice bowls.

The firm develops its culinary concepts, organises orders using backend technology, and fulfils orders with its fleet of riders.

Early last month, Y Combinator injected US$125,000 funding in MadEats. 

25) Epost

Epost is a Malaysian e-commerce logistics company providing cross-border delivery and e-commerce fulfilment services to brands and retailers. Co-founder Mandy Chan started the platform in 2019 to offer cloud-based integrated order, inventory, and warehouse management systems to ease logistics burdens for companies.

With 13 e-commerce fulfilment facilities strategically positioned around Southeast Asia, its services are now accessible in Malaysia, China, Singapore, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Brunei.

Last July, the firm attracted US$1.4 million from Warisan Quantum Management, a Malaysia-based private equity management firm.

26) Aye Solutions 

Aye Solutions is a Kuala Lumpur-based technology startup offering an autonomous retail solution at an affordable cost, covering software to hardware.

Yee Yun Lim set up the AI platform in 2020, helping retailers collect data to dictate the future product array and business model. This year, the company opened the first unmanned retail store in Malaysia. 

27) Ira Concept

Headquartered in Thailand, Ira Concept is a subscription-based, app-enabled line of organic and biodegradable feminine hygiene products that can be delivered to a customer’s door every month for an affordable price.

Varangtip Satchatippavarn started Ira in 2020 with plastic-free, chemical-free, and guilt-free products. The firm was awarded 3rd place in the “She Loves Tech” competition in 2020.

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Image credit: 123rf, Pinhome, Float Foods

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