Southeast Asia’s buzzing tech startup ecosystem is going through a period of spectacular growth, emerging as one of the global hotspots for foreign investment., Despite the impact of the pandemic, startups from the region attracted investments totalling US$8.2 billion in 2020. The region’s digital economy is on track to be worth more than USD 200 billion by 2025, backed by an estimated USD 50 billion in expected funding.

The region’s internet economy is fostering a strong startup sector in several of its fastest-growing markets like Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, and in the region’s financial hub, Singapore. Startups within the region are attracting FDI from all over the world as they pursue higher growth, while foreign tech unicorns and venture capitalists are looking to benefit from business opportunities presented by a significant market.

The ten Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries collectively represent a market equivalent to the fifth largest economy in the world. SEA’s overall economy is expected to grow by over 5 per cent every year, and is also home to a large pool of young talent with more than 30 per cent of the population aged between 15 and 34. By 2030, around 500 million people in Southeast Asia will be of working age.

Given the favourable demographics of a large connected young customer base, it is obvious that a host of high growth startups and tech unicorns from the rest of Asia, the US, and Europe are eyeing the ASEAN market.

SEA: a rapidly maturing digital economy

Southeast Asia’s digital maturity makes it a lucrative proposition for global startups looking for their next big growth market. Both the supply of talent and demand for digital products and services are growing at an incredible rate.

The ASEAN market is also maturing at a rapid rate, with homegrown startups expanding throughout the region and some even venturing beyond. COVID-19 has spurred much higher digital adoption among the population, with 70 per cent of Southeast Asia — 400 million people — now online thanks to the pandemic, according to a report by Google, Temasek, and Bain & Company.

The number of digital consumers is surging in Southeast Asia, driven by the combination of rising disposable incomes, access to affordable devices, and a large untapped market. Google estimates around 3.8 million new users across Southeast Asia will continue to come online each month.

For startups looking to expand in Southeast Asia, Malaysia is the perfect entry point

Malaysia is currently ranked as the 11th best-emerging startup destination in the world. Startup hotspots include the capital Kuala Lumpur, Penang, and Selangor. These tech hubs boast an abundant supply of skilled talent, as well as attractive costs of business operations. Strong government support has helped shape an ecosystem of accelerators and incubators that make Malaysia a highly suitable destination for high growth startups wanting to establish a presence in Southeast Asia.

With a population of 33 million, Malaysia has a well-educated and highly diverse workforce who speak multiple languages. Malaysia has experienced a steady improvement in its business climate for domestic small and medium-sized enterprises, moving up three places to a global rank of 12th out of 190 economies in the latest ease of doing business ranking by the World Bank.

Also read: Fintechs ushering in a new era for a more digital India

Decades of industrial growth and political stability has seen Malaysia become a major tourist destination and a manufacturing powerhouse. Thanks to reliable digital infrastructure, Malaysia is an attractive base for companies in the financial, IT, and logistic sectors. Geographically, Malaysia is located in the heart of the ASEAN region. Its immediate neighbours are three burgeoning growth markets – Thailand, Indonesia, and Singapore – making Malaysia a great HQ location for companies involved in cross-country operations.

With its balanced mix of languages, people, and industries, Malaysia is a true microcosm of Southeast Asia. Malaysia’s business-friendly regulatory environment can help startups to leverage the Malaysian market as the perfect entry point to quickly establish a presence in Southeast Asia and to better understand the culture, consumer behaviour, and market dynamics. Startups entering Malaysia will find the ideal launch market where they can refine the business model that will work best for them to achieve success in the wider region.

ServisHero: transforming home services in Southeast Asia

ServisHero is a technology-enabled marketplace for blue-collar workers headquartered in Malaysia with operations in Singapore and Thailand. Karl Loo, Founder and CEO of ServisHero, pursued Southeast Asia as a growth market because he felt with the high adoption of mobile technology, the timing for a services marketplace was right. Launched in 2015 as one of the first regional mobile apps to hire home service providers such as Cleaners, AC Technicians, Plumbers, Electricians etc., the app quickly became popular with Malaysians.

The startup operates under two business models — a consumer-focussed app; and under the sub-brand WorkMagic, it provides large enterprises with flexible teams of blue-collar technicians that can perform tasks such as building maintenance or installation services.

Large enterprises like Samsung and Kimberly Clark work with them to eliminate the operational complexity of managing their own service teams. The software developed by ServisHero allows them to effectively manage worker operations and allow clients to receive real-time updates on task fulfilment.

Loo says that people use our blue-collar service solutions because – “consumers can find and book a reliable home service conveniently from their smartphone; enterprises can offer services to their end-users without having to invest in their own labour infrastructure, and blue-collar workers and partners on our platform (we call them “Heroes”) get a consistent stream of high-value work that offers them enhanced earning potential.“

ServisHero is backed by leading Southeast Asian VC funds including Golden Gate Ventures and Cradle Seed Ventures.

In 2017, ServisHero participated in the Malaysian Global Innovation and Creativity Centre’s (MaGIC) programme, Distro Camp, to help them expand to other countries in Southeast Asia, and to form partnerships with many of the region’s leading companies. ”MaGIC has been incredibly supportive with our goals to grow and scale our business. In particular, MaGIC has provided us access to digital marketing training for staff, as well as support to recruit local talent through their career fairs,” shared Karl Loo, Founder and CEO of ServisHero.

Also read: Going Global: Malaysia’s homegrown fintechs take on the world

Loo feels that apart from Malaysia’s strategic geographical location, “the key factors that make Malaysia a great place as a launchpad for start businesses, include: a) focused government support for startups; b) talented and young workforce that is keen to work in startup environments; c) relatively low costs to run a business.”

During the pandemic, ServisHero mobilised its network of workers to provide disinfection and sanitisation services to businesses and consumers under the brand Disinfection2U.com – this unit quickly became one of the largest COVID-19 disinfection companies in the region. “ServisHero is committed to creating work opportunities for the underserved, and we work closely with various government agencies to provide earning opportunities for Malaysia’s B40,” adds Loo.

Helping Samsung service customers during COVID-19

In 2020 during the pandemic, Samsung was looking for a better customer experience for people ordering appliances online.  Samsung wanted a trusted partner with nationwide installation capability and selected ServisHero as their installation service provider for appliances purchased directly from Samsung’s online channels across Malaysia.

ServisHero leverages its platform to provide a flexible team of installers for Samsung reducing operational complexity for Samsung and increasing online sales conversions.

Loo says having spent several years operating in the region, they understand Southeast Asian users and can deliver extremely relevant services for them. He hopes to offer their “blue-collar workforce in the cloud” to more enterprises, as well as continue to serve their loyal B2C user-base.

MaGIC: empowering entrepreneurs since 2014

Malaysian Global Innovation and Creativity Centre’s (MaGIC) is the agency under the Malaysian Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) on a mission to develop a vibrant entrepreneurship ecosystem in Malaysia. They empower technology startups and innovators through a series of mentorship, training, and development programmes, aimed at Early Stage, Mid Stage and Late Stage startups.

For late-stage global startups who want to expand into the region, MaGIC offers a Virtual Global Market-Fit Programme (GMP), a platform for high growth innovative startups to explore cultures, understand ways of business and gain international market access in countries beyond ASEAN. MaGIC also periodically opens applications to MyStartupHub (MSH), a soft-landing program for innovative global startups from all over the world to establish a business hub in Malaysia. Collaborating with Malaysian ministries and agencies, MyStartup Hub provides assistance in company incorporation, local talent acquisition, and Malaysia’s market access.

Also read: How these four India-based startups are impacting the earth

Through this programme, MaGIC will assist startups in business set-up, talent recruitment, and vertical-specific market access via their network of partners including government agencies, corporates, and universities. In exchange, startups are required to hire at least 3-5 local talents to help run operations in Malaysia.

MSH seeks to instil the exchange of knowledge between local and international startups to be more forward-thinking and relevant to industrial revolution 4.0. It also aims to provide global startups entry into Malaysia as the testbed and gateway to the larger ASEAN market. Moreover, the programme is designed to leverage Malaysia’s strong positioning in the regional ecosystem for local and international startups.

For more information, visit MaGIC’s official website at https://www.mymagic.my.

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

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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On this National Day, despite everything that Singapore has to go through during the pandemic, there are still reasons to celebrate. One of them being the local tech startups that have made notable achievements and milestones this year.

These achievements and milestones range from securing unicorn status, confirming plans to go public, and raising more than US$15 million in a single funding round.

For your reading convenience, we have gone through our news coverage of the Singapore startup ecosystem this year and compiled the top 27 for you.

Nium

Nium, which offers cross-border payment services in multiple countries around the world, has become Southeast Asia’s latest tech company to get the unicorn status, following a US$200 million Series D investment round led by US-based Riverwood Capital.

Temasek, Visa, Vertex Ventures, Atinum Group of Funds, Beacon Venture Capital, and Rocket Capital Investment also joined the round. Notable angels such as DoorDash executive Gokul Rajaram, FIS’s CPO Vicky Bindra, and Tribe Capital co-founder Arjun Sethi also participated.

PropertyGuru

PropertyGuru has
announced that it will merge with Bridgetown 2 Holdings, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) formed by Pacific Century Group and Peter Thiel’s Thiel Capital, to go public in New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

The combined entity will have an enterprise valuation of approximately US$1.35 billion and an equity value of approximately US$1.78 billion at closing, according to a statement.

Syfe

Syfe, a Singapore-headquartered digital wealth management company, announced that it has closed its Series B funding round of SG$40 million (US$30 million) led by Valar Ventures, the US-based VC firm co-founded by Peter Thiel. Existing investors Presight Capital (US) and Unbound also participated.

This capital injection comes just nine months after Syfe’s US$18.6 million Series A round led by Valar Ventures in September 2020.

NextGen

Plant-based foodtech startup Next Gen Foods has extended its seed financing round by raising US$20 million afresh.

This comes less than five months after it raised US$10 million from a host of investors, including Temasek and K3 Ventures — bringing the total funds raised from this round to US$30 million.

SCI Ecommerce

Cross-border e-commerce enabler SCI Ecommerce announced the final close of its ongoing fundraising, bringing the total capital raised from this round to approximately S$88 million (US$65.4 million).

The first tranche of this round worth US$38 million, announced on May 3, 2021, was led by Asia Partners.

Also Read: Lucy, a Singaporean neobank focused on women entrepreneurs, bags seed funding

Cialfo

Cialfo, a startup in the international student mobility space, raised US$15 million in an extension of its Series A round co-led by new investors SIG and Vulcan Capital. Backers also include January Capital, Bisk Ventures, Patrick Walujo and Teik Ngan Loy.

Cialfo will use the new capital for product innovation as well as expansion to India, China and Southeast Asia.

Endowus

Endowus.com, a MAS-licensed digital wealth platform, announced that it has received investments from strategic investors, including UBS, Samsung Ventures, and Singtel Innov8. Lightspeed Venture Partners and SoftBank Ventures Asia also joined the round.

The strategic investors will play a critical role in Endowus’s growth and ambition to become a leading robo-advisor and digital wealth manager in Singapore and Asia.

Zenyum

Zenyum, a direct-to-consumer dental products startup, raised a US$40 million Series B funding round led by L Catterton, a global consumer-focused private equity firm. L Catterton invested US$25 million into the startup in this funding round.

Existing Zenyum investors including Sequoia Capital India, RTP Global, Partech, TNB Aura, Seeds Capital, and FEBE Ventures also participated in this funding round.

MatchMove

US-based tech company Nityo Infotech invested US$100 million in embedded finance company MatchMove Pay in return for a significant equity stake. With this investment, Nityo will become the largest shareholder in MatchMove.

Together, the two companies aim to empower clients to embed own-brand digital financial services in their own platforms and apps.

Osome

Osome, a startup that has developed an accounting and corporate compliance app for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), secured US$16 million in Series A funding. Investors are Target Global (Berlin), AltaIR Capital, Phystech Ventures, and S16VC, besides Peng T. Ong, Managing Partner of Monk’s Hill Ventures.

The fresh capital will be used for international expansion and to fuel product integrations.

Pace

Pace Enterprise, a ‘buy now, pay later’ (BNPL) startup owned by Spacemob founder Turochas “T” Fuad, secured an ‘eight-figure USD’ debt financing round led by Genesis Alternative Ventures.

The fintech startup will use the cash to grow its business in Southeast Asia.

Also Read: Singapore’s INKR bags US$3.1M led by Monk’s Hill to make digital comics universally accessible

Carousell

Leading online classifieds company Carousell is mulling public listing in the US via merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), says a Bloomberg report, citing undisclosed sources.

The transaction could value the tech company at about US$1.5 billion. It is already working with an adviser on the potential deal.

Engine Biosciences

Engine Biosciences, a Singapore- and US-based drug discovery company, raised close to US$42 million (S$57 million) in Series A financing from a slew of investors. Led by Polaris Partner, the round was also joined by Invus, 6 Dimensions Capital, WuXi AppTec, DHVC, EDBI, Baidu Ventures, Vectr Ventures, Goodman Capital, WI Harper, and Nest.Bio.

This comes after over three years after it raised US$10 million in seed funding from leading US, Singapore and China-based VCs and multi-stage investors.

Hummingbird Bioscience

Clinical-stage biotech company Hummingbird Bioscience announced the close of its US$125 million Series C financing round, led by Novo Holdings.

The round also saw participation from new investors including Frazier Healthcare Partners, Octagon Capital, EDBI, AMGEN Ventures, DROIA Ventures, Morningside Ventures, Pureos Bioventures, Polaris Partners, Affinity Asset Advisors, Ally Bridge Group and Altrium Capital Management.

MVLLabs

MVLLabs, a mobility blockchain company, raised US$15 million in a Series B funding round led by Korean automotive parts manufacturer CENTRAL. Singapore-headquartered TRIVE Ventures also participated in the round.

MVL will channel these funds towards expanding its mobility offerings – beginning with the launch of its first electric vehicle (EV), the ONiON T1.

Rainforest

Rainforest, an e-commerce brand aggregator, announced its launch with a seed financing round of US$36 million. The funding round consisted of US$6.5 million in equity financing, led by Nordstar, with participation from Insignia Venture Partners, and a US$30 million debt facility from an undisclosed US-based debt fund.

Rainforest will use the funds to acquire promising Amazon FBA (Fulfilment by Amazon) brands, invest in technology, and hire top talent to join their Singapore-headquartered and globally distributed team.

Glints

Glints, a Southeast Asia-focused online platform for career development and recruitment, raised US$22.5 million in a Series C funding round led by Tokyo-listed PERSOL Holdings.

Returning investors, including Monk’s Hill Ventures, Fresco Capital, Mindworks Ventures and Wavemaker Partners, besides angels such as Binny Bansal (co-founder of Flipkart) and Xiaoyin Zhang (former Head and Partner at Goldman Sachs TMT China) also participated in the round.

Also Read: Monk’s Hill Ventures head of talent’s guide to startup jobs search in Singapore

Trax

Trax secured US$640 million in a Series E financing round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and technology-focused funds managed by existing investor BlackRock. This round of primary and secondary capital financing also saw participation from new investors including Canadian pension fund OMERS and Sony Innovation Fund.

The blockbuster Series E round is more than double what the company raised in the past decade. To date, the firm has raised US$1.03 billion in investments and is understood to be valued at over US$2 billion

Grab

Grab confirmed its plans to go public in the US in partnership with Altimeter Growth, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). The company expects it to be the largest-ever US equity offering by a Southeast Asian company.

The combined entity expects its securities will be traded on NASDAQ under the symbol GRAB in the “coming months.”

The proposed transactions value Grab at an initial pro-forma equity value of approximately US$39.6 billion at a PIPE size of more than US$4 billion.

Austrianova

Biotech company Austrianova signed an agreement with Luxembourg-based private alternative investment group GEM Global Yield to provide it with a share subscription facility of up to US$100 million for a 36-month term, following a public listing.

The deal will allow Austrianova to draw down funds by issuing shares of common stock to GEM.

StashAway

StashAway, a robo-advisor for both retail and accredited investors, raised US$25 million in its Series D funding round led by Sequoia Capital India.

Existing investors, including Eight Roads Ventures (the global investment firm backed by Fidelity International and early investor in Alibaba), and Australian VC firm Square Peg also participated in the round.

Patsnap

PatSnap, a provider of R&D intelligence and IP intelligence platforms for brands and enterprises, secured US$300 million in Series E financing round, led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Tencent Investment.

This round puts PatSnap into the unicorn club.

Ryde

Ryde, a mobility app company, announced that it is preparing for an IPO launch on the Catalist board of the Singapore Exchange (SGX), according to a press statement.

The IPO is slated for 2022 at a S$200 million (US$148 million) valuation.

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

Grab Financial Group

Grab Financial Group (GFG), the fintech arm of the Southeast Asian ride-hailing giant, announced an over US$300 million Series A funding. The round was led by Korean asset management company Hanwha Asset Management, with other investors such as K3 Ventures, GGV Capital, Arbor Ventures and Flourish Ventures, joining.

The fresh funds will go towards expanding its team and increasing “more affordable, convenient and transparent” financial solutions in the region, the company said in a statement.

iSTOX

iSTOX, a Singapore Exchange (SGX)-backed digital securities platform, announced a US$50 million Series A funding round, as two Japanese government-backed investors joined the round. The VC arm of Japan Investment Corporation, JIC Venture Growth Investments (JIC-VGI) and government-owned Development Bank of Japan (DBJ) joined other new investors including Japan’s Juroku Bank and Mobile Internet Capital (MIC) in the latest round of financing.

Existing investors SGX, Japan’s Tokai Tokyo Financial Holdings and Korea’s Hanwha Asset Management also made fresh investments.

BlueSG

Goldbell, a Singapore-based transport and engineering group, confirmed the acquisition of local electric car-sharing startup BlueSG in February.

The group expects the acquisition to be completed before August 2021 and claims it will help accelerate BlueSG’s development and expand its operations to other smart cities across the Asia Pacific region.

RWDC Industries

RWDC Industries secured nearly US$168 million over its six years of existence from renowned VCs such as Vickers Venture Partners as well as the ‘Iron Man’ star Robert Downey Jr.

RWDC Industries is one such startup that has long been working on developing a biodegradable alternative. It produces medium-chain-length polyhydroxyalkanoate (mcl-PHA) biopolymers that are designed for use across a broad range of applications.

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Remote working is nothing new. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, companies have been doing some variation of remote working depending on circumstances. For example, companies who have just expanded to another country or market where setting up a full office is not feasible yet, or companies hiring freelancers, companies with sales teams covering a vast geographical territory, or even companies who simply offer remote working several days a month as an added benefit.

It was during 2020’s global lockdowns, though, that really brought the conversation about remote working forward as big and small companies start adapting to this shift — a shift that is looking to be a norm as more and more employers. and employees realise the benefits of remote teams, such as no geographical constraints in finding talent, no hefty office space rentals, easy accessibility to teams across international borders, and flexible working hours.

The big question is: how does one go about hiring remote employees?

Helping founders build just the right remote team for business growth and scalability

To empower startup founders and entrepreneurs with the right knowledge to hire the right team members for their remote teams, Deel recently conducted a one-hour webinar featuring AI and cloud service company CloudMile and chat & messaging company Sendbird to delve deeper into the topic of building remote teams for startup scalability and growth in Southeast Asia.

The topic of the session was “Scaling your startup across borders: A closer look at building your local entity and remote team” and was held virtually on 6th July. The main focus of the webinar was building a remote team and practical things founders need to know in choosing the new members of their team. It features a panel that includes Abhinav Krishna, Head of Expansion APAC of Deel; Dara Lee, HR Manager at CloudMile; and Sanghee Lee, Country Manager for Korea, Sendbird; in a session moderated by Meltem Kuran, Head of Growth at Deel.

Leveraging relevant industry experiences to understand the nuances of remote teams

The panellists and the moderator of the webinar brought in decades of relevant industry experience and leveraged their knowledge to explain the nuances of hiring the best team member for a remote team.

An NUS graduate, Deel’s Abhinav comes with elaborate experience in entrepreneurship and handling business across international borders. Prior to working at Deel, Abhinav founded an Enterprise Healthcare platform OurHealthMate where he went on to work with clients like Airbus, Colgate and Sony among others for eight years. His time at OurHealthMate gave him insights into the struggles of working with remote teams.

Also read: Scaling your startup: A closer look at building your local entity and remote teams

Dara from CloudMile is a cross-field HR with a financial background. With more than five years of experience in the HR industry, she once served as a recruiter for a large foreign bank and also has experience in recruiting for a startup company. With a keen focus on the execution of HR strategy for startups to assist in business growth rapidly, she sees value in remote teams and has hands-on experience in hiring remote teams.

The third panellist, Sanghee from SendBird- the world’s leading chat & messaging platform as a service in addition to voice and video, comes with a lot of industry knowledge and expertise, too. This former McKinsey and Ticket Monster business strategist has helped Sendbird grow from a revenue of $59 into millions with $120 million of funding from the top Silicon Valley VCs (up to Series B).

Moderator Meltem Kuran has been a part of Deel for over a year now. She specializes in digital marketing and business development and brings over nine years of industry experience to the table.

Where to start: Setting up a manpower plan for remote teams

Unlike many global companies with regional operations, SendBird first started its business in Korea and later opened its US headquarters. So, their regional offices don’t just have sales offices but a suite of functionalities, such as designs, HR, finance and engineering among others. This helps foster a robust team on the ground in all regions. Sanghee believes that it is important to have constant feedback between global headquarters and local executives.

CloudMile’s Dara believes that HR planning is mainly about finding the right people at the right time and for the right position. These people should be able to meet the specific business needs of each market. So, when creating a manpower plan, the company needs to look at the local market, and come up with unique hiring plans for each market.

Deel’s Abhinav shares that another key element to look at is the size of the company and knowing how many people the business is looking to hire. He added that companies, especially, startups need to ask the following questions:

1. Do we meet all compliance needs?
2. How do we hire and where do we hire from?
3. Which team are we looking to hire and what is our priority list: for example, a tech startup can be a tech team followed by DevOps, then customer success and eventually content teams.

Successful hires: What to look for in a remote team member?

Sanghee shares that some of SendBird’s first few successful remote hires were from Singapore, Bengaluru (India), and the UK. “Our rationale behind this decision was approximated around customers. Sendbird has customers all over the world in over 150 different countries and customer support is one of our main focus areas. So, we first decided to create customer success, account management and sales teams in remote locations.” He added, “Self-motivated and self-fulfilling people make up the best remote employees because they have to be driven.”

Also read: Fintechs ushering in a new era for a more digital India

Speaking on remote teams’ significance in the post-pandemic world, Dara shared that over 48 per cent of the global workforce will continue to work from home or remotely even after things open up. CloudMile looks at traits like professional competence, agility, team spirit and self-motivation when hiring remote team members. “Work is nor more a place, it is the team”, said Dara

To this point, Abhinav added that he goes for people who have ambitions and zero ego can contribute to healthy and constructive company culture and that’s what Deel goes for when creating a roadmap for new hires.

Leveraging technology for solving conflicts in remote teams

Given people are not physically together, office politics has been eliminated in the remote working scene. Plus, there is the advantage of digital trails. Abhinav feels that acknowledgement and appreciation go a long way. Leveraging tech solutions like Slack to foster better communication is vital when handling remote teams.

Dara believes that conflict can have a big impact on the work culture. And this is where technology solutions like Google workspace, more collaboration at work is a possibility even with remote teams. Meltem also emphasises the importance of clear communication.

With remote teams increasingly becoming the norm, startups, SMEs and big enterprises must have the tools and solutions to be ready to hire the workforce of tomorrow. This is where Deel is stepping up – a newly-crowned unicorn startup helping companies with international payroll, benefits, taxes, and compliance in some 150 countries. With their Series C of $156 million raised, Deel’s valuation has reached $1.25 billion in just under 24 months.

Also read: How Malaysia’s ServisHero transforms Southeast Asia’s home service market

Interested to take the jump and scale beyond borders? Learn more about Deel their official page. If you are an e27 member, get special discounts with Deel. Visit https://e27.co.

This session followed the first webinar in this series where the main focus was on knowing when to grow your remote team, whether to hire a local team or a contractor, and factors to consider when building your team. Watch out for the upcoming third and final episode, which you can sign up for here.

The post From the experts: How to hire the right members for your startup appeared first on e27.

Demand for tech talents and digital skills in Singapore has grown rapidly in recent years due to greater consumer use of technology in our day-to-day activities and an increasingly digitalised economy. Moreover, the pandemic accelerated digital transformation across industries, which drove the immediate need for talent by tech companies.

Landing a job in a tech company does not necessitate knowing how to code or proficiency in computer science, as companies also want to tap on the experience and knowledge of specific industries and sectors. There are roles in these companies that span different departments, each playing an integral part for the organisation to thrive. In fact, by 2025, Singapore will need 1.2 million workers trained in digital skills across all functions.

At Twitter’s Asia Pacific headquarters in Singapore, we are looking for technical talents covering product and software engineering, data science, data engineering and machine learning; and non-technical talents such as professionals in the fields of sales and marketing, public policy and operations.

Whether you want to work with a fintech, e-commerce or tech hardware company, the first step is standing out from a sea of applicants so recruiters can invite you to interview for the job.

Before you worry about updating your CV or creating a new one from scratch, determine if you are suitable for the role. If there is no clear indication of what the role entails, request a job description from the recruiter.

Also Read: Vietnam’s JobHopin nabs US$2.45M Series A to make recruitment easier in Southeast Asia

These are my five tips on creating a CV that could guarantee an interview:

1. Keep it short and concise. Summarise your qualifications succinctly in two or three pages, with the most impressive or relevant experience right on top. If you wish to include testimonials or a portfolio, use a hyperlink instead.
2. Add a personal profile. In no more than five sentences, tell us about yourself and why you will be a great fit for the company and the role you are applying for. This is your elevator pitch to catch recruiters’ attention.
3. Show genuine interest. First, tailor your application to the company and role you are applying for. Use keywords and phrases listed in the job description – this also optimizes your CV in applicant tracking systems. Next, demonstrate strong interest in the company or understanding of its product(s). For example, our purpose at Twitter is to serve the public conversation. Applicants who are passionate about this mission tend to be shortlisted for an interview.
4. Keep it real. Never lie about your qualifications. If you do not have any relevant experiences to share, show your willingness to learn and highlight functional skills such as leadership, teamwork and public speaking.
5. Don’t do too much. There is no need for fancy templates unless you are applying for a designer role. Avoid using pictures, including too many links, or adding irrelevant details.

At Twitter, our available roles can be viewed at careers.twitter.com. The job description and qualifications are listed clearly so applicants know what they are signing up for. As many teams at Twitter work cross-functionally, we place high importance on transferable skills like communication, project management and problem-solving.

For fresh graduates or applicants looking for a career change, compensate for the lack of relevant work experience with knowledge gained from courses, projects and training, as well as highlight achievements. We had an applicant who was interested in a public policy role and although he had no relevant experience, he grabbed our attention with his accomplished volunteer work and commentary on what freedom of speech meant to him and his community.

We also look for candidates who are excited about creating a culture that is supportive, respectful and honest. Twitter (the service) is home to a world of diverse people, perspectives, ideas and information so as an employer, we are committed to building an inclusive and diverse place where anyone, anywhere can belong.

Tech companies are critical in a digital economy and will pave the way for new opportunities – and with it, more competition – in the job market. Hence, Singapore is encouraging its local workforce to upskill and reskill, through government initiatives such as SkillsFuture and collaborations with companies such as Twitter, so that they are equipped with sought-after digital capabilities.

Interested in learning more about making the switch to a career in tech? Sign-up for the Twitter Career Roadshow, hosted in collaboration with SkillsFuture, happening August 11, 2.30 PM –5.30 PM!

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The post Want to work at a leading tech company? Here’s how appeared first on e27.

While most of us are still experiencing fatigue from the pandemic, the effects of COVID-19 pandemic is still an inevitable, and critical topic to discuss. It is just something that we need to debate and talk about right now, and for years to come, whether we want to or not. This is because the scale of the pandemic’s effects is so grand, and there is a lot that we can learn from this time in history.

The pandemic is accelerating change across all industries. Apart from the rapid shift to a digital-first approach, severe supply chain disruption and border lockdowns have meant businesses now need to respond to a volatile global market rapidly.

As a result, businesses that once planned their digital strategy in long-term phases must now condense their initiatives to a matter of months, weeks or even days. The reduced timeline for these investments also increases the pressure for businesses to get it right the first time.

The pandemic has provided a glimpse into a future where digital has become the first layer for every interaction, rather than just a cog in the wheel. This shift has led organisations and individuals to speed up the adoption curve almost overnight.

Digital and mobile channels have become the primary customer-engagement model, and automated processes have become a major drive for productivity. An agile way of working has become the prerequisite for seemingly daily changes to customer behaviour.

If there is one positive takeaway, it’s the increased experimentation among customers and organisations. We’re in a unique moment in time where companies can learn and progress quicker than ever before.

The silver lining from today’s crisis will profoundly influence ways that build closer ties with customers, employees and stakeholders.

Also read: How cloud computing is helping startups navigate the new normal

The new normal – it’s everywhere, but what does it mean?

As we all collectively strive to get back to pre-pandemic life, we have to accept that many aspects will never be the same, and that’s not a bad thing.

For one, COVID-19 has improved the way some businesses manage their operations. For instance, the text message service you receive on your mobile during your visit to the doctors, instead of queuing up in an overcrowded lobby and spreading germs.

This is an excellent time to reflect on the pandemic’s effects on our key industries and what they need to do to prepare for the new normal. It is necessary to determine what has changed as the world shifted to digital solutions that met its changing needs, audiences, customer service, and online experiences such as work and school.

This change provides an opportunity to leverage relevant information to improve operations and ensure the safety of customers and employees upon reopening.

How to foster a culture of experimentation

As the world opens up again, we will need to focus on how businesses will adapt and continue to invest as they foster a meaningful culture of experimentation. Implementing a culture of experimentation may come across as daunting at first, but opportunities to present ideas and ask questions should be created.

Companies must encourage employees to apply a “test and learn” approach to their daily activities in order to drive innovation, prevent stagnation and mitigate risks.

This approach ensures that employees are engaged and encouraged to stay curious while remaining relevant in a data-driven manner and delivering a quality experience for customers in a post-COVID-19 world.

Rapid experimentation can also drive new ideas and innovation across industries impacted by the pandemic, such as e-commerce. The Country Road Group, one of Australia’s largest fashion retailers, found that its online sites have become an increasingly integral part of its business, which COVID-19 accelerated.

It wanted to embrace a more agile way of working and run much faster, more powerful experiments, which Optimizely, together with accredited partner New Republique made possible.

Also Read: How COVID-19 was a blessing in disguise for these Vietnamese startups

One experiment involved a shopper’s experience of moving the “Add to Bag” button above the product copy, which resulted in a 19 per cent increase in clicks to “Add to Wishlist” and a 6 per cent rise in “Add to Bag”. This led to an overall purchase conversion hike of 2 per cent, representing a revenue increase of more than five per cent.

Experimentation does not have to be complicated, and there are ways to simplify and focus on avoiding being overwhelmed by the complexities. Streamlining is required to understand what is working and what isn’t.

Companies have triumphantly emerged from the pandemic, despite the struggles that the economy has experienced.

Embracing a culture of experimentation opens up possibilities for businesses, making them stronger and more resilient for the challenges this pandemic is likely to cause for years to come.

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More often than not, goals have typically been viewed as a list penned down at the start of the year, followed persistently for a couple of days, and revisited remorsefully at the end of the year. With no tangible end in sight for most, these goals don’t necessarily pan out as habits that last longer than a few weeks at a time.

The rise of self-improvement mobile apps has made the process easier in recent years, allowing users to keep track of their progress and habits through tech-enabled platforms that provide them with rewards in return for sticking to their plan.

While most understand the importance of goal setting, not many see them through. As an entrepreneur and a strong advocate of self-improvement, goals have grown to become a guiding vision that keeps me focused and motivated.

Whether an individual is looking to work on themselves or an entrepreneur on a mission to grow their business, here are some benefits to logging goals digitally to ensure these intangible plans turn into reality through the help of technology.

A step closer to reality

Acting as a guiding light towards the right direction, keeping and sticking to goals comes with the right mindset. From listing down ideas to eventually reaping the fruits from an evolved perception and lifestyle, planning for tangible benefits takes consistent effort and commitment.

One such example is everyone’s yearly New Year’s resolutions to either lose some weight, to be financially prudent, or even to lead a mindful lifestyle. These positive thoughts are typically followed by wishful planning that, most often than not, rarely result in consistent actions that can effectively mesh into an individual’s lifestyle organically.

Also Read: Zilliqa Capital debuts with the goal to invest in decentralised and fintech solutions in SEA, India

Through tech-enabled platforms, such as GoalKeepin, goals get broken down into smaller, measurable targets for individuals to keep track of their progress. Bigger generic goals no longer seem daunting and hard to achieve, allowing individuals to make constant tangible changes that align with their goals.

Community-driven success mentality

In this age of social media, goal setting and progress tracking is fuelled by what individuals observe on their social platforms. People often pander to make changes to their lifestyle based on how they are influenced by those around them.

Through tech platforms like GoalKeepin, users can join a community of those who choose to make a difference in their lives with each goal they set, defined by their values.

As an entrepreneur myself, I understand the importance of how influence-based self-reflection is crucial in ensuring consistency of hitting each defined target and milestone.

Undeniably, having a community that strives towards a common goal can aid in boosting commitment and discipline to achieve each target that is set. Whether it is a group of friends on a shared mission or an online community striving for a similar outcome, a sense of camaraderie is a good motivator to get started and persevere.

Self-care applications with networking capabilities to connect and interact with mutuals bring about a sense of togetherness, especially when users are able to keep track of one another’s progress, acknowledge and celebrate key milestones together.

The power of tangible benefits

Tangible rewards are found to be an effective motivator in establishing a healthy, long-term pattern. Allocating a reward for each goal met allows for individuals to be positively reinforced in their journey towards change.

On the other hand, rather than simply remaining stagnant, negatively reinforcing individuals becomes an added motivator to stick to their intended game plan.

This key aspect differentiates GoalKeepin from other lifestyle mobile apps in the market through its inbuilt reward system. Each goal is attached to a monetary reward that is given to those who successfully finish their challenge, while users who fail to do so wind up losing their participation fee.

Also read: 5 productivity hacks for successful people

Not only does this keep them on their toes but it allows users to be accountable for tracking and completing each challenge that they sign up for.

As attention spans and the constant usage of digital platforms shape the way everyone makes and keeps to their intended goals, such tech-enabled tools can aid in them forming lifelong habits that are here to stay. GoalKeepin has been proven to be an effective solution that aims to break down complex goals into action plans while connecting users to a community of people who are on a similar journey and with an added monetary benefit.

Despite 2021 being disruptive and with half the year has flown past us, there’s no time like the present to start on a goalkeeping journey to move towards a positive lifestyle.

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

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It used to be that edutech was considered futuristic, but now with its real-world impact becoming more apparent, the industry has reached a pivotal point. One study published by America’s National Bureau of Economic Research found that edutech initiatives offer “evidence of positive effects in developing countries”.

Other studies have similarly found that edutech solutions resolve many other issues, including reducing the burden on teachers and helping career counsellors guide students to informed university and career decisions.

Of all the milestones achieved at Cialfo—the most meaningful ones relate to our role in improving access to quality education.

Whether it is the work we’ve done with the Windle Trust or the launch of a free plan during the pandemic to help schools get started with distance counselling, the results are all very real and impactful for anyone to overlook. 

Put simply, technology can make big improvements to education– as it has for many countries in Asia Pacific where edutech is promoting educational inclusion for those in need.

As national lockdowns and stay-at-home orders emerged, the region saw a threefold increase in downloads of virtual learning apps from six million to 20 million.

But equitable distribution remains a challenge, with one study from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) finding that learning losses in the region range from eight per cent in the Pacific to 55 per cent in South Asia. 

We cannot talk about equitable distribution of education without discussing the elephant in the room: internet access or the lack thereof. The same ADB study found that in lower-middle income economies, only 18 per cent of households on average have a computer and 41 per cent have internet access at home.

Also Read: How edutech startups can accelerate active learning

Because of this, online learning is predominantly conducted using mobile phones, which are more readily available in lower-income countries. In support of this, governments have begun implementing programs to make remote learning accessible through mobile phones and via the subsidised distribution of connectivity and devices. 

Beyond government and public sector intervention in bridging the digital divide—for edutech to be truly transformational—the industry needs to urgently address a couple of things, including:

Problems to solve

We at Cialfo recognise that in many parts of the world, people don’t have a choice over their circumstances. We do what we do because we want to enable a direct transition from school to university and allow students to decide what their future looks like.

I can tell you first-hand that even if one kid from a disadvantaged background decides to go to a college—it creates a multi-generational impact.

To other edutech players that want to contribute to improving access to information and student outcomes, I’d recommend focusing on one or two issues to solve.

An emerging area that’s seeing some success is teacher and parent support and training on the use of remote learning technologies.

Nearly two years into the pandemic, we know that simply making content available is no longer enough. Parents and teachers must be equally engaged in the learning process to ensure students’ learning and outcomes significantly increase. 

Keep it simple

Businesses are often tempted to go big, or go home. When it comes to using edutech solutions, we’ve found the simpler the offering—the better.

Do you remember when the interactive whiteboards launched, and flopped? This was essentially an internet-connected computer screen that was meant to replace classroom boards, but it simply failed to work and was often ignored by teachers. 

The need of the hour is easy-to-use and engaging solutions, such as the radio station approach used by the NGO Pratham to enable learning in poorly connected tribal villages in India’s Thane District Council.

These lessons are also recorded on mobile applications and can be accessed by students when a smartphone becomes available. The program also fields two calls per session, during which students and parents are guided through activities by the host.

Some other countries are finding success trialing Whatsapp and WeChat to assign students with specific chapters to read and questions to respond to, while students are required to send their answers back to the teachers to assess. Even as other approaches emerge, more needs to be done. 

Barclays estimates our industry will grow between 14.5 and 16.4 per cent, to a total value of US$368bn-406bn by 2025. It’s a big opportunity for edutech, but for it to be truly significant, the benefits must reach underserved communities.

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A unicorn is a privately owned tech startup that surpasses the valuation of US$1 billion. India has been churning out unicorns at a crazy rate lately. Let’s find out why.

The Indian tech industry has reached a new peak. For years, Indian has been the world’s outsourcing capital, but finally, the time for Indian startups has come. 2021 has been remarkable for some of India’s tech startups so far, despite the pandemic.

In fact, when most businesses were shutting down because of the virus, lockdowns accelerated economic digitisation worldwide and more so in India, which had already been on the path towards digitisation prior to the pandemic. 

As a result, some of the big tech startups in India have seen massive growth in their user bases as well as in interest from investors. Just in the first seven months of 2021, India has produced 16 unicorns: namely, Digit Insurance, InnovAccer, Meesho, Five Star Business Finance, Infra.

Market, Pharmeasy, CRED, Groww, Gupshup, Chargebee, Urban Company, Mohalla Tech, Moglix, Zeta, BrowserStack, and the most recent one being BlackBuck.

That’s beyond what was expected from the country this year, even more than 2020’s count, which was already the best year for India unicorns so far. Interestingly, these Unicorns span across various industries from fintech to healthcare and from social platforms to B2B e-commerce. That’s a good indicator that this isn’t just an industry-specific bubble but rather a sign of true economic digitisation. 

But with billions of dollars being poured in as investments, it might be worth asking what makes Indian tech startups so investable? What is the reason behind India’s unicorn boom, and is it even sustainable? Here are some reasons why India has grown to be the world’s unicorn hub.

Untapped audience

India is an enormous market with a population of around 1.3 Billion. But despite an evergreen and growing tech sector, ridiculously affordable mobile devices and internet plans, and various government programs aimed at encouraging digitisation, only around half of India’s population has access to the internet.

Also Read: How these four India-based startups are impacting the earth

Don’t get me wrong that is still a lot of users; in fact, India ranks second in terms of internet users worldwide. But what’s interesting here is that India isn’t just one of the biggest markets out there; it is also, for the most part, untapped.

Unlike other countries that represent far more mature and saturated markets, India presents itself as an opportunity for companies to expand and grow big. 

This is one of the biggest reasons behind India’s tech boom; it is the world’s largest market which is bound to almost double in size in the coming decades.

With young markets like these, companies have the opportunity to establish themselves early on as strong players for the long run. Open markets incentivise rapid expansion, which requires startups to look for large capitals right off the gates.

Native startups have an inherent advantage

Part of the reason tech startups are turning into giants almost overnight in India is that many of them have managed to solve some of India’s traditional problems with technology. Take India’s growing fintech unicorns, for example.

Groww and Zerodha are India’s most popular investment platforms that let the average consumer invest in various assets. Traditionally Indian has never had an investment culture; thus, these companies are using technology to overcome a cultural barrier, and needless to say, it’s working. 

Beyond just solving problems, these companies have mastered the art of selling to the Indian consumer. Consider CRED, another fintech unicorn that rewards its users for paying their credit card bills on time.

By offering the right mix of lucrative reward programs and celebrity-focused marketing campaigns, two things that India loves the most, Cred has managed to acquire around 5.2 million users that account for almost 20 per cent of India’s credit card bill payments. 

The point here is that the coming generation of Indian startups has cracked the code for customer acquisition. By addressing deep-rooted, previously unresolved problems with cutting-edge technology and banking on India’s rapid digitisation for marketing and publicity, young startups are growing faster than anyone could expect.

It’s also worth noting that most of these unicorns are mobile apps, which means that if this billion-dollar app bonanza continues, then app developers and mobile app development in India are likely to get significantly more expensive. 

Foreign investment

When talking about India’s growing unicorns, it’s impossible not to talk about the growing number of international investors they attract. India being the second-largest and fastest-growing tech market in the world is attracting a ton of foreign investment.

So far in 2021 alone, around US$11 billion have been invested in Indian startups, and a big chunk of this is from foreign investors. Tiger Global, a US-based investment firm, led the recent investing round in India, overtaking Sequoia Capital as the top investor. 

Also Read: How Singapore’s tech community is helping India in its battle against COVID-19

Another primary reason why investors are drawn to India could be their losing interest in China. China being the largest tech market globally, has always been a big attraction for international investors; however, being a relatively mature market, its investment opportunities are somewhat limited.

Contrast that with India, where users are simply dipping their toes in the world of tech and the markets are relatively unregulated, and it should be obvious where most investors will be willing to bet.

India is a young nation with a raging entrepreneurial spirit. The right combination of a hungry and growing market, generous investors, bold entrepreneurs, and the technology to tie it all together has led to a time where it’s raining unicorns in India. 

Some experts believe that the trend is likely to continue, that India will continue to churn out more unicorns over the coming months and years. Others criticise some of these unicorns as a ‘cash-burning disaster’ that will eventually end up bursting the unicorn bubble in India.

Either way, it’s hard to disagree that the time for Indian tech startups is here; and India’s journey towards becoming a global technology leader has only just begun.

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India ranks 63 in the World Bank Ease of Doing Business 2020 rankings. While the government has made rapid strides in improving access to credit for businesses, to scale up operations or for young entrepreneurs willing to start, many innovative minds have thought through this problem and have offered some financial and technological solutions.

India has the third-largest fintech ecosystem in the world. With the rapid increase in internet penetration along with favourable demography, India has the highest fintech adoption rate globally. Of the 2,100 FinTech companies present in India, over 67 per cent have been set up in the last 5 years. The fintech industry is expected to grow to $84 billion at a CAGR of 22 per cent.  

Let us look at some tech companies which have revolutionised the fintech space:

Klub

As many businesses cannot get access to funding due to traditional investment structures that have set high growth and various obligations as their parameters, Klub came out with a patron model that enables brands to get ready finance. It functions with the help of a community-focused revenue-based model.

Founded by Anurakt Jain and Ishita Verma in 2019, Klub makes use of financial innovation, community engagement and data-driven analytics to provide capital to many brands across sectors. In the last year, Klub has been able to fulfil the capital needs of more than 80 brands across India with a patron base of 2500.

Inai

In the modern digital space where data protection forms the bedrock of every company. When businesses expand to new markets they are constrained by the lack of developer resources and payment skills. This constrains growth and offers a setback to small businesses willing to expand.

Also read: Going Global: Malaysia’s homegrown fintechs take on the world

Founded by Anta Pattabiraman and Karthik Narayanan, Inai enables merchants to set up their payment stack with a single integration. This would enable merchants to add new methods, optimise their methods and future proof their stack. It allows merchants to connect with multiple payment service providers, wallets, BNPL platforms, open banking providers, fraud, BI and accounting in a single integration.

Numadic

The logistic sector of India is deeply fragmented leading to an increase in logistical costs and delays in transportation. Logistics contributes to about 5% of Indian GDP but costs more than 14%. Despite most of the transportation done on the road, most truck owners have shunned from adopting technological solutions to make their work easy, systematic, and transparent. 

Founded by Luke Sequeira in 2016, Numadic is aimed to revolutionise India’s fleet management system. 

In the world of in-time deliveries and changing government regulations because of the pandemic relying on GPS alone is not enough. Numadic uses analytical data to suggest the best routes, fuel consumptions with the help of smart sensors which provides real-time information for the fleet manager.  

Castler

According to TransUnion, a global credit reporting agency reported that the percentage of suspected financial services digital fraud attempts increased 149 per cent in the first four months of 2021 as compared to the last four months of 2020. 

This has raised the demand for a safe digital ecosystem. Castler, which was founded by Vineet Singh, Dinesh Kumar and Ritesh Tiwari seeks to make use of technology and innovation by digitising the escrow accounts making them accessible for businesses. 

Digital transactions are expected to grow to 71.7 per cent of all payment transactions by 2025. This has provided companies like Castler which was launched in January this year sufficient scope to expand their operations.

Homeville

We face many hiccups when we are about to pay our down payment towards buying our house. Homeville, founded by Hari Krishnan Kannappan, Lalit Menghani, Madhusudan Sharma, Shalin Sanjay Shah and Anjli Zutshi is a financial technology company in the housing space that aims to build a technology-driven housing credit enablement network through its multiple platforms and has adopted a hybrid capital approach to drive business growth.

Also read: How these four India-based startups are impacting the earth

It works on three platforms: Home Capital, Bharat Housing Network and HomeNxt. This would give a boost to accelerate the demand for real estate and give a boost to this sector which is presently in the doldrums owing to the pandemic.

Homeville is built on Open banking principles and creates significant operating leverage with an in-house built technology stack.

EnsuredIT

The Indian insurance industry is expected to grow at 14% CAGR from USD 110 Billion in 2020 to USD 400 Billion by 2030. However, the insurance sector is highly unorganised having high fixed costs of operations, small & expensive distribution and low adaption to technology. 

EnsuredIT, founded by Amit Boni emerged as a partner to brokers, corporate agencies and other sales networks to maximise their operations. This would not only help in increasing affordability but also enable better product-market fit and financial inclusion to empower end customers and Insurance Intermediaries with AI-based product platforms for transformational customer experience.

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More than 3.25 million new cars and 20 million new two-wheelers are sold out in India of which more than 60 per cent are financed. With the increasing demand for personal transport in this pandemic, the two-wheeler industry is set to boom, especially among millennials.

Also read: Angel Investors: leading the charge for startup growth in Thailand

Founded by Harsh Saruparia and Sumit Chhazed, OTO offers customers a convenient option to finance their vehicle by introducing the option of two-wheeler leasing in India. Customers can get their vehicles in less than 30 minutes with no paperwork and have to pay 30 per cent less EMI. Customers may also choose to upgrade to a new vehicle or retain it by paying an amount.  

Need for financing options

India has got the potential to emerge as one of the major business destinations for the world. We are making considerable progress in various fields like investing in infrastructure and removing the need for multiple licenses. However, the private sector can also take considerable steps especially in fintech or even in logistics so that it frees up more wealth to be invested for gainful returns and improve the business environment in the country.

These startups will be pitching at the 9Unicorns Venture Catalysts demo day with other up-and-coming startups offering their own unique products and services. Join them on August 11 and 12 to connect with some of the most promising young startups in a virtual networking session. To learn more, visit their official page here.

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Photo by Pixabay from Pexels

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This article is produced by the e27 team, sponsored by 9Unicorns

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Data is the sixth sense of organisations, and it is a phenomenal tool that helps them make the right decisions, according to Gojek’s Group CTO Severan Rault. Companies need to rely on the data generated to determine whether they are doing a good job and providing the value they aspire.

“I would say data is the sixth sense of Gojek. It is crucial to understanding everything — from the behaviour of our staff to measuring the satisfaction of the customer and understanding the gaps and detecting fraudulent activity on our platform. If you consider the company as an organism, data is the sensor. Everything starts with sensory input,” he said in an interview with e27.

Also Read: Gojek taught me the importance of making data-driven decisions’: outgoing CTO Ajey Gore

Rault, who was appointed as the CTO in July 2020 following Ajey Gore’s quitting a month earlier, also concurred with the modern saying that data is the new oil. “At the end of the day, if you think about the global competitive landscape, successful companies are the ones that have managed to do things at a lower cost than their competitors and peers. This cost reduction comes from automation, which, in turn, is fuelled by data.”

According to Rault, who previously held key roles at Amazon and Microsoft, the role of CTOs has changed over the past decade. Previously, this role was to find a technical path for the product while the rest of the company was engaged in their works. In the new era, the CTO’s responsibility is to bring technology into every function of the organisation.

“Now, the role of the CTO is to also look at the areas of the company that can benefit from cutting-edge technologies like Machine Learning and automation or technologies that make processes more efficient. His role is now to evangelise technology, which is critical in every department — be it HR, finance, or marketing,” he added.

Want to become an on-demand company

Gojek is a Southeast Asian super app for ordering food, commuting, digital payments, shopping, hyper-local delivery, getting a massage and two dozen services. In May this year, Gojek and Indonesian e-commerce giant Tokopedia announced a merger to form GoTo Group.

Last month, airasia Digital (previously known as RedBeat Ventures), the digital arm of the Malaysia-based airline operator, acquired the Thailand operations of Gojek.

Rault said that Gojek wants to move from the idea of a super app to an on-demand company, meaning it wants to become a platform that gives its users everything they need very quickly. “Our merger with Tokopedia is part of this grant vision. Our long-term vision is that we want to make our customers’ lives easier by providing them what they exactly need when they need them, shortening the latency everywhere.”

Elaborating further, he said there are many things Gojek can do in areas such as sustainability and transportation. Asked whether Gojek has plans to foray into the passenger drones and delivery drones spaces, he said: “We are successful as a company because we make it easier for people to move inside Jakarta. We have the infrastructure. So when these technologies become viable and safe, we will be at the forefront of providing such services.”

Also Read: airasia acquires Gojek’s Thai operations as SEA’s supper app battle intensifies

In the interview, Rault also spoke about Gojek’s tight competition with Grab: “We respect our competitors but we’re not obsessed with them. We don’t compete with our rivals to draw people’s attention. We believe that we will win this competition by putting people at the centre of our product,” he noted. “What it means is that Gojek wants to understand its customers/users better, give them what they need when they need, and become a better tool to simplify our user’ lives.”

He also maintained that Gojek thinks of its users as a uniform set. But thanks to technology, the unicorn can start to consider each person’s individual needs and make its application better suited to that need.

“The flip side is that we also power the livelihood of many people in Southeast Asia, and we want to continue to be a great source of income,” Rault noted.

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Image Credit: Gojek

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