Philippine-based Voyager Innovations, the company behind end-to-end money platform PayMaya and neobank Maya Bank, today announced that it has raised US$210 million in funding.

Led by SIG Venture Capital, this funding round included new investors such as EDBI and First Pacific Company Ltd. It also included the participation of existing shareholders telco company PLDT, global investment firm KKR, Tencent, IFC, and two funds managed by IFC divisions IFC Emerging Asia Fund and IFC Financial Institutions Growth Fund.

This funding round helped the company secure a unicorn status at nearly US$1.4 billion valuations.

Voyager Innovations plans to use the new funding to launch its neobank services through Maya Bank. The company was one of the six to secure digital banking licenses from the BSP in September 2021 and commencing pilot testing in March.

It will also continue to expand PayMaya’s offering with new products such as cryptocurrency, micro-investments, and insurance.

Also Read: Meet the 22 notable startups that have brightened up the Filipino tech ecosystem

PayMaya caters to various segments of customers and enterprises through its e-wallet app, payment processing business, and on-ground agent network Smart Padala. Voyager Innovations plans to leverage this existing infrastructure in launching its Maya Bank services suchas consumer and merchant credit and savings.

Voyager Innovations said that as of end-March, PayMaya had over 47 million registered users across its consumer platforms. It has also recently introduced cryptocurrency through its e-wallet app after securing a Virtual Asset Services Provider (VASP) license from the BSP.

The company claimed to have enabled over 630,000 online and face-to-face touchpoints to accept digital payments from e-wallets and QR to any credit, debit, and prepaid card.

Orlando B. Vea, Voyager and PayMaya CEO-Founder, said in a press statement, “Our strong record of execution and innovation is a testament to our world-class team’s hard work and talent. With this milestone, we are excited to leap forward and bring the best of PayMaya and Maya Bank to help unlock the digital economy for the underserved and unbanked Filipinos.”

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Image Credit: Voyager Innovations

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NFTs were all the craze this past year, not just from a hype and attention perspective. Not a day goes by without a rare mutant ape or a plot of virtual land going on sale for hundreds of thousands of dollars on platforms such as OpenSea or Mintable.

If you’re from a generation that’s reading this on their computer and not on their phone, paying half a million dollars for a pixelated JPEG may seem insane. But let’s all be reminded about something that we’ve all done before or have relatives that have done it.

We’re talking physical collectibles like numismatic coins (with little R2D2s where George Washington should be), vinyl, rare toys you can’t take out of the packaging without losing their value, and Pokémon cards (some of which are selling for close to US$400,000).

The hunt for the rare

We as a civilisation always have coveted things that are scarce or otherwise limited in supply. From gold to seashells, we’ve even used them as payment methods.

The jump from finding value in rare things because they require a lot of craftsmanship. Only so many can be produced in one year, like luxury watches, to things intentionally limited in supply to convey an exclusive value was easy.

Go to any auction these days, and you’ll find value in items with at least one of these attributes:

• They’re old (antiques, fossils, old books, etc.).
• They’re made of something of value (jewellery, precious stones, precious metals).
• They’re rare (a Banksy painting, a classic car, a luxury watch).

But NFTs and digital art can be more than just pixelated JPEGs. You can think of them as a member’s card or a certificate of ownership for things in the real world or the digital metaverse.

Are NFTs just hyped?

Admittedly the hype may seem crazy to most, but with the advent of any new technology, we can expect a relatively standard hype cycle. According to the latest “Gartner’s Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies” in August 2021, NFTs could still be five years from mainstream adoption. They’re currently riding the “Peak of Inflated Expectations” phase.

While NFTs are popular in the art and collectibles scenes, you may have heard of the 2021 Bored Ape Yacht Club? The potential of NFTs goes far beyond eccentric and expensive digital artworks.

Big brands like Nike are already working on expanding the application of NFTs by acquiring RTFKT (creators of virtual sneakers and collectibles), and the US$85 billion video game industry is already experimenting with NFTs as building blocks for a next-gen digital world, something that’s being proposed by Meta (formerly Facebook) for their metaverse.

You may be wondering where this leaves you, what action you should take, and whether or not you should YOLO your life savings into a pixelated bunny.

• The crypto market is valued at around US$1.6 trillion
• The NFT market is valued at around US$31.4 billion
• Gold’s market cap is around US$11.7 trillion
• Apple’s market cap is around US$2.6 trillion
• The traditional Art market cap is around US$39.5 billion

With this in mind, and the past growth rate in view, ignoring this market as a whole from a pure diversification perspective would seem unsound. The earth is shifting below our feet, and pretending it isn’t, won’t make the shaking stop.

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Palm oil is the world’s largest edible oil commodity. However, this industry still relies on manual practices and is not digital-ready, despite advancements in technology.

Besides this, palm oil industry stakeholders are often accused of ‘greenwashing’, a way of marketing a company/organisation to make it appear environmentally friendly.

Unnikrishnan R Unnithan and Srinivasan Malarampath, who together have 45-plus years of domain expertise, saw an opportunity to bring digitalisation to palm oil trading and prevent greenwashing.

Last month, they launched an online B2B marketplace for trading sustainable commodities in the supply chain, guaranteed through blockchain technology. The aim is to help last-mile farmers and small-time producers to embrace sustainability at a low cost.

DIBIZ, headquartered in Singapore, is starting with palm oil trading.

Also Read: 13 years on since the birth of Bitcoin, it’s now blockchain’s time to shine

“Many enterprises from developed countries demand proof from buyers and sellers (producers/traders) of CSPO (certified sustainable palm oil) to authenticate sustainability till the last mile (plantations and smallholders). This is where DIBIZ plays a role. Our marketplace lists products only from verified producers/traders of CSPO,” said COO Malarampath.

DIBIZ is not another blockchain network for users to upload delivery info for traceability, he claimed. It provides a whole suite of tools for improving productivity and reducing costs through supply chain collaboration. “Our marketplace covers not only producers, traders and manufacturers. But it also covers last-mile farmers and service providers like logistics companies, fintech/banks, inspection agencies and clearing and forwarding agents.”

The platform also offers a way to search and identify partners and conduct transactions with ideal trading partners through a single window. “For the first time, smallholders can participate at no cost and be visible to end buyers to get incentivised for producing sustainably,” Malarampath shared. “A multi-sided marketplace, we make visible approximately 3 million smallholders who produce 40 per cent of palm oil globally, yet only 2 per cent are certified sustainable”.

In addition to the marketplace, DIBIZ also provides many value-added technical features. They include digitalised workflow automation to improve productivity and efficiency of operations and real-time traceability and inventory tracking with IoT and geospatial analytics covering farmers.

The firm also ensures compliance with regulations for ethical sourcing and provides direct access to low-cost trade financing from banks/investors who support ESG-compliant supply chains.

The role of blockchain

According to Malarampath, blockchain provides data immutability for authenticating sustainability across the supply chain. The data from end-to-end of a supply chain is collated from different stakeholders and processors at different times and locations. Private and sensitive data is not shared on the distributed ledger.

“Every quantity of product on DIBIZ has immutable data to authenticate sustainability, conforming to many global standards, specifically NDPE (No Deforestation, Peat, and Exploitation),” he claimed.

The DIBIZ marketplace captures all aspects of the trade from RFQ (request for quotation) till the final GDN (goods delivery notice), digitises them and stores the cryptographic data on a secured blockchain. The proof of validating a trade is thus available on a blockchain.

Its algorithms connect the dots to produce traceability to the source of these cryptographic data on the blockchain. “Any enterprise at the last mile of the supply chain demanding ethically produced palm oil can thus purchase with confidence from our marketplace, which comes with satellite-based geospatial analytics for conformance to NDPE.”

Starting with Indonesia, Malaysia

DIBIZ primarily targets Indonesian and Malaysian markets, which account for nearly 85 per cent of the world’s palm oil production. The one-month-old startup, however, nurses an ambition to go global, as the GMV of sustainable palm oil alone is more than US$200 billion globally.

Also Read: How to create a new normal for trade finance with blockchain

“We’ve been undergoing successful pilots in Malaysia and Colombia. Commercial contracts are expected to be signed soon. Meanwhile, we are actively discussing with many industry associations for industry-wide adoption of our platform,” he said.

A bootstrapped company, DIBIZ recently raised funding from a few angel investors. The firm plans to rake in pre-series A funding for growth shortly.

Revenue model

Users pay a transaction fee for the value transacted through the platform. It also receives subscription charges for premium SaaS modules, which help stakeholders improve their productivity and efficiency of operations, providing faster ROI.

“Many ESG-focussed investment funds and reputed banks have mandated to finance only sustainable supply chains. Immutable data on sustainability provided by us can be a great asset for the customers to avail of such attractive green financing and save millions on interest rates. We believe this revenue stream from the trade financing commission will be the biggest potential in future,” he said.

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The growth of any economy largely depends on its logistics and supply chain infrastructure. India has been on a high growth trajectory for the past few years, and much of it can be attributed to the innovations of tech-driven logistics players.

Even as the pandemic hit the segment harder than others, it makes a strong comeback with startups trying to solve some sector-specific problems with innovative solutions. The one-size-fits-all concept is not applicable in the logistics space as the solutions differ from sector to sector. In this piece, we talk about three startups developing unparalleled products and services for the sectors they are catering to.

Agrigator

Founded by IIM Ahmedabad alumni Udit Sangwan and Charu Chaturvedi, Agrigator is India’s first on-spot logistics startup for non-perishable segments of the agricultural supply chain. Buyers and sellers of grains can use Agrigator’s platform to find trucks for transportation across India. 

On-spot logistics is a fragmented business and covers almost 70% of the agri-logistic sector. Unlike contractual logistics, on-spot logistics is the way of business for lakhs of local mills and traders.

Today, as Agrigator’s network grows, the aggregator platform is now running on auto-pilot mode. With more customers joining the network, the startup has started facilitating its customers with trade and financing.

Also read: How these innovators are using data to change the world

The business revenue model is simple: the company charges a percentage for the service provided and runs a membership fee for premium services. The company’s target audiences are buyers and sellers of commodities all over the country, traders, local mills, industries, exporters, B2B, and Fleet owners.

The company opts for Amazon for trade, Uber for transportation, and NBFC for financing. Lately, the company began offering more than its competition, with brokers in the market at ground level intermediaries, Bijak at Marketplace and Agri-Financing, Delhivery and Truck Suvidha at Logistics Intermediary, agribazaar at a marketplace, aggregator at Agri logistics and Agri financing, and IndigoAG for abroad. The company has grown ten times and is enjoying more than 738% of revenue growth and building trade, having crossed 710% of GMV growth in the last year.

Biddano

Founded by Talha Shaikh and Ashok Yadav, Biddano is India’s largest healthcare supply chain platform focusing on delivering last-mile medicines and other medical equipment. The startup recognised that affordability and accessibility of medicines were the most significant challenges in the country’s healthcare ecosystem. Moreover, the challenges were especially more pronounced in the rural areas.

In 2018, the startup switched to a business-to-business model and connected local distributors with pharmacies to fulfil orders within three hours. It solves some significant challenges faced by distributors and pharmacists, such as unreliability and lack of an expiry management system for medicines.

Since the past year, the company has been on a massive expansion drive and is now offering services in over 18 Indian cities impacting the healthcare supply chain through its main products: Bkart and Shortbuk. The company is soon launching an app to integrate all its products and better serve every stakeholder in the healthcare supply chain ecosystem.

Also read: Supercharging B2B startups with SAP’s enterprise collaborations

Bkart is a tech-enabled logistics platform that consolidates and reduces delivery TAT from 24 hours to under 3 hours and helps solve delivery, accuracy, and reliability issues for the super distributors, distributors, and stockists. Shortbuk is its comprehensive daily procurement platform for pharmacies.

With its unique B2B marketplace (for chemists, stockists, distributors, and manufacturers), the company aims to expand into 51 cities with over 100K outlets. The launch operation will ensure 3000 active SKUs across the country and help generate projected revenue of INR 26 crore every month. The company currently has a network of 150K pharmacies.

Assiduous Global

If you believe that the world is your oyster, Assiduus Global, a startup founded by Dr Somdutta Singh, must be on your watchlist. It is the world’s fastest-growing AI-powered cross-border E-commerce accelerator.

Assiduous helps D2C brands launch, scale, and grow across global e-commerce marketplaces by enabling their digital commerce through end-to-end distribution and supply chain management. Assiduous boasts of a patent-pending, technology-backed e-commerce supply chain and distribution solutions helping its clients scale their businesses across five continents.

Also read: Supercharging B2B startups with SAP’s enterprise collaborations

CarterX

CarterX is a first of its kind tech driven DoorToDoor baggage service. It creates a complete digital platform for over 300 Million passengers annually in India alone with an access to supply their luggages to airport right from their doorstep. It combines the passenger’s interaction with the Airport and Airlines through its digital platform and the only company cleared by the Bureau of Civil Aviation to check-in right at your doorstep for Indigo, Vistara, Spicejet and AirAsia.

Currently operational at 4 major airports, New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad that cater to 83% of the air traveler market. It has a mandate to add four more into their portfolio and expand their coverage.

The market for airport luggage services is $ 6 Billion and CarterX aims to scale to a revenue of $73 Million over the next 5 years. The service aims to skip the queues at the airport or simply send your luggage from one city to another with a secure transparent service backbone. CarterX has identified a new service vertical of luggage transfer to the airport terminals and supply the airport ecosystem to the passenger’s doorstep on the onset domestically and then scale internationally.

The company has raised $ 1 Million and are looking to raise our Series A with $3 Million dollars to achieve 33% market share.

To get to know these four groundbreaking startups better, catch Demo Day 2 (DDay2) organised by Venture Catalysts and 9Unicorns. You can access the showcase by registering here.

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Photo by Tom Fisk

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

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In the Asia Pacific, the transition to remote work during the COVID pandemic has been more radical and abrupt than in other regions. Whereas the US and EMEA companies were already on the brink of shifting to remote work, 78% of Asian workplaces were in-person only.

Fast-forward to 2022, and we are looking at a new market, with 43% of the workforce facing hybrid work arrangements. Examining the last two years, we can identify the challenges in the sudden transition, lessons learned, and opportunities that emerged.

Achievements of hybrid work: productivity and accessibility

Introducing remote work policies helped APAC companies be more productive. Cutting the time associated with commute was the biggest time-saver, saving employees up to 2 hours a day.

Also read: Get to know these movers and shakers in India’s logistics industry

On top of that, shifting to working from home fueled the decentralisation of incredibly centralised APAC markets.  Before the pandemic, capitals were the beating heart of many regions. After the switch to remote work, more families moved to rural areas where they had access to better air quality, as well as larger and more affordable housing.

Challenges of hybrid work in APAC: distractions and technology gaps

One of the differences between APAC and EMEA or other markets is that not all employees in the Asia Pacific have access to distraction-free work environments.

Shared housing is a trend across the region, thus, remote work made it harder for employees to focus on work due to increased tensions in families caused by forced cohabitation, especially during a pandemic.

On top of that, in some countries in the region, companies struggled to build infrastructures that would support a remote team.

While in Korea or Australia the shift was smooth, in India, the transition brought forth new challenges: local employees were facing connectivity issues and the lack of powerful hardware.

As such, enabling employees with an environment for focused work and supporting them with a reliable tech infrastructure were the key challenges team leaders had to face.

Employee turnover: is the “Great Resignation” coming to APAC?

The “Great Resignation”, a trend of employees changing their jobs many times a year, is changing the face of work in the US and EMEA. In regions like Latin America, up to 70% of employees contemplate a job change within the next 12 months.

In APAC, this trend is often overlooked but the numbers show that Great Resignation is spreading to Asian markets. 57% of respondents in Microsoft’s recent report on hybrid work stated they would change jobs to prioritise mental health. The key reasons why people leave for better workplaces are looking for higher salaries, seeking personal fulfilment, and finding projects with better employee training and engagement.

Also read: How these innovators are using data to change the world

While hybrid work may not be able to stop the trend once and for all, it can help slow down the “reshuffle”.

Giving teams the freedom to choose their workplaces rather than constraining them to come back to offices, team leaders put employees behind the steering wheel and allow them to balance commitments.

Besides, hybrid work can help teams improve work-life balance, as most were struggling to do so during the pandemic. Over the last two years, one-third of the APAC workforce felt burned out due to the stress and isolation of full remote work. Being able to interact in an office environment would help teams set boundaries, interact spontaneously and reduce digital fatigue.

Solving the challenges of hybrid work in APAC with technology

The key difference between APAC and other markets is the importance of office-based interactions. For companies in the region, an office is a place for focused work, spontaneous interactions, and seamless performance monitoring.

At the moment, traditional collaboration and video conferencing tools (Microsoft Teams, Slack, and others) don’t meet all needs of APAC teams.

66% of APAC companies surveyed by Google say that they don’t have enough spontaneous interactions and have a harder time collaborating with the rest of their teams.

To solve the problem, team leaders in the regions are exploring virtual offices — 2D platforms where people can interact and stay in touch throughout the workday.

oVice, a virtual office provider based in Japan, has seen a sharp increase in clients from APAC, with large-scale clients from Korea, Vietnam, and other countries setting up spaces on the platform. The company’s clients use virtual offices for day-to-day work, corporate events, and educational workshops.

Also read: Supercharging B2B startups with SAP’s enterprise collaborations

oVice helps APAC companies solve connectivity challenges by supporting them with:

• Fast and reliable technology: oVice allows teams with poor network connectivity to stay connected.
• Space for natural interactions: the platform’s range-based audio transmission means that people can join conversations easily and exchange ideas without having to schedule a meeting for every discussion.
• Customizable spaces: team leaders can create office layouts that match brand values and identity, creating a sense of unity and togetherness that teams typically develop in offices.
• Work-life balance: getting into the habit of working only after logging into a virtual office platform makes it easier for employees to separate jobs and personal life.

Two years after its foundation, oVice has become an APAC leader in the virtual office market.

Join the crowd of fast-growing Asian teams using a virtual office by setting up a free trial space on oVice. If you want to see how teams use the platform, visit the oVice tour space.

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