RPG Commerce, a direct-to-consumer (D2C) social e-commerce company in Malaysia, has secured US$29 million in a Series B funding round led by East Ventures, with participation from UOB Venture Management, Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India, and RHL Ventures.

The startup will use the funds to future-proof its technology and development processes. The capital will also be used to develop and expand RPG’s brand portfolio.

“With this round of funding, we aim to rapidly expand our talent pool across the entire organisation and enhance our technological capabilities. In addition, we will expand our suite of brands to disrupt the consumer landscape further,” said Melvin Chee, Co-Founder and CEO of RPG Commerce.

Also Read: RPG Commerce nets Series A to build D2C e-commerce brands globally, names ex-Uber GM as new COO

Incorporated in Singapore, RPG Commerce is a multi-brand D2C company that launches and operates a suite of e-commerce brands via a ‘shared backend infrastructure’ approach.

Unlike the recent wave of startups seeking to roll up small e-commerce brands purely via brand acquisitions and selling on other e-commerce platforms, RPG primarily launches and incubates its native brands in tandem with acquiring brands.

The firm says it can develop, test and launch a brand with a lot less capital and, at the same time, scale each brand quickly.

RPG owns over ten in-house international brands, including apparel and homeware brands Thousand Miles, Bottoms Lab, Montigo, and Cosmic Cookware.

Its ‘shared backend infrastructure’ enables other businesses and brands to leverage its technology framework through partnerships.

In June 2021, RPG Commerce secured an undisclosed amount in a Series A round of investment from Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and Joseph Phua, Co-Founder and Chairman of 17 Live.

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Biodiversity is intricately interconnected with functioning natural ecosystems, which are vital for society; we all depend on nature and the ecosystem services, including water, air, resources, and climate regulation.

The rise of “Nature-based Solutions”, biodiversity offset credits, and Nature Markets have provided avenues to monetise and channel funding towards conservation and restoration and promote the sustainable stewardship of natural capital.

However, to assess the effectiveness of current conservation and restoration efforts and fund quality projects, we need to measure biodiversity through more affordable, scalable, efficient, and accurate methods.

In the past few decades, researchers and practitioners have leveraged conservation technology and tools that enhance the monitoring and protection of wildlife, including established technologies like camera traps, acoustic sensors, tracking tags, and satellite imagery.

At the same time, newer technologies have been increasingly explored for their potential in advancing the field; a recent study led by WildLabs identified the top three emerging innovations with promising trajectories to be Artificial intelligence (machine learning and computer vision), Environmental DNA, and networked sensors.

The case for conservation technology solutions

We at Mana Impact and Silverstrand Capital perceive that there is room for technology, implemented through holistically-designed interventions, further to enable conservation and restoration in the following aspects:

Also Read: How the ‘Paris agreement’ for plastic is accelerating climate justice in SEA

• Measurement, reporting and verification
• Enforcement of protected areas through better monitoring
• Unlocking additional capital for biodiversity conservation

Enhancing measurement and evaluation

Conservation technology, such as solutions that measure and monitor biodiversity and ecosystems, has received relatively little funding than the environmental monitoring market (which focuses on health and pollution issues).

However, a key component of any biodiversity or nature conservation project is monitoring and evaluating the intervention to improve the effectiveness of the project.

A well-designed project involves a thorough baseline assessment of the ecosystem and biodiversity conditions in the area, measurable targets to track an improvement (or retention) in ecological integrity, and periodic evaluations to measure progress about the baseline conditions and project goals.

Monitoring positive impacts such as the return of a keystone or native species or unintended adverse consequences help inform how a project needs to adapt its approach.

Prevalent methods for biodiversity surveys involve on-the-ground data collection, such as line transects and point count surveys. Such manual methods can be labour- and time-intensive and are often more expensive in remote areas such as marine environments.

Technologies such as acoustic monitoring, camera traps, and drones allow for more data on wildlife to be captured and analysed and hence provide an avenue to scale up monitoring for larger areas through:

• Accessing remote and previously inaccessible areas via drones and sensors
• Improving the efficiency of analytical processes, e.g. sorting images via AI for species identification
• Enabling community-based monitoring and citizen science via mobiles apps where users can input data that are uploaded to cloud dashboards or open-source databases
• Alerting enforcement units to any illegal forest activities occurring through acoustic monitoring of forests or measuring and monitoring biodiversity
• Environmental DNA has emerged as a powerful tool to pick up on the presence of species in an area, both historical and present, based on trace amounts of samples

Enforcement and monitoring of protected areas

Tracking devices, camera traps, and other sensors can help enforce protected areas and track illegal wildlife activities through real-time monitoring and alerting rangers of any anomalies in the area.

The Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART) exemplifies using a technology platform coupled with conservation capacity-building activities to empower communities to manage conservation areas.

Unlocking additional finance for biodiversity conservation

Web3 generally refers to the next phase of the web characterised by decentralisation and distributed networks, particularly blockchain-based technology.

Blockchain has been promoted as a solution to enable transparency and traceability of restoration projects. In contrast, the sale of carbon or ecosystem tokens and NFTs (non-fungible tokens) have been adopted as business models to raise funds for wildlife conservation.

Conservation technology is not a panacea: Challenges and limitations

A key challenge lies in the accessibility of MRV technologies due to costs and affordability, especially for newer technologies that have yet to scale commercially. Technologies such as eDNA are still prohibitively expensive for most projects; they are mostly used in academic research and are less accessible to lower-income communities.

Also Read: As the demand for energy soars, climate tech is here to save the day

These tools can also be inaccessible due to technical expertise and capacity gaps. For example, GIS software often requires specialist knowledge to generate analytical information.

Biodiversity measurement techniques and methodologies are just as important as the tools used. Compared to well-established protocols for manual data collection for forests or coral reef surveys, there is currently no standard for analysing some of the data from emerging technologies, such as eDNA.

Moreover, we are just beginning to explore and understand some of the unintended impacts of conservation technologies on wildlife and nature. For instance, there are (inconclusive) studies on how drones can result in behavioural and physiological changes in animals and debates regarding the invasive nature of biologging devices.

On the crypto front, there have been criticisms regarding the environmental impact of blockchain-based tokens, given that blockchain technology is energy-intensive and contributes to carbon emissions that need to be accounted for.

Additionally, given the distributed network of data input and verification, there is currently no standard ensuring that robust measurement methodologies are used. Quality data about the conservation or restoration project is recorded onto each “block” when creating tokens or NFTs.

Thus, third-party verifiers, standard-setting organisations, and regulators still play a role in standardising the quality of credits in the market.

Holistic frameworks and project designs are vital

Conservation technology presents an exciting opportunity for revolutionising how we measure and evaluate projects by providing new data, expanding the spatial extent of existing data, or providing real-time information for prompt intervention.

However, biodiversity conservation will require more than tech fixes; ultimately, the agency lies with the people who design and deliver the intervention. Community engagement and capacity building are core to project design and implementation and, eventually, a project’s sustainability.

Rather than seeking to replace manual data collection, technologies can be used to enhance community-based monitoring in project areas that are also home to local communities and indigenous groups.

Nonetheless, the race against the ongoing sixth extinction event demands that we act fast and catalyse scalable solutions for conservation and regeneration. Silverstrand Capital’s Biodiversity Accelerator+ is anchored on the belief that solving the biodiversity crisis will require both the adoption of nature-based solutions and technological innovation.

The three-month accelerator programme will support founders through coaching on topics from biodiversity impact measurement to fundraising and marketing strategies. Learn more and apply by 24^th June 2022 here.

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Openspace, VIG co-lead digital investment platform Finhay’s US$25M Series B round

Finhay, a digital investment platform in Vietnam, has secured a US$25 million Series B round co-led by Openspace Ventures and VIG. Insignia Ventures Partners, TVS, Headline, TNBAura and IVC also participated.

The new capital will be used to invest in strategic business expansion, talent acquisition and technology development.

Finhay was founded in 2017 to provide Vietnamese consumers with convenient digital access to financial services. As of 2021, there were only four million securities-trading accounts in Vietnam having a population of around 98 million.

The firm claims it has amassed more than 2.7 million registered users so far. In 2021 alone, it gained 150 per cent more users, buoyed by the release of four new products: cash-wrapped accounts with CIMB, gold trading, a 12-month saving product and stock trading.

Also Read: Vietnam’s Finhay raises funding to help millennials make better financial decisions

“Many people are now looking for ways to start investing, often for the first time, and we are exploring different ways to enable them. It’s such an important inflexion point,” said Nghiem.

Finhay has already doubled its team size in the past year, with 50 new employees. It has also partnered with more than 50 of Vietnam’s most prestigious financial institutions, including domestic and international banks, investment funds and fintech businesses.

Clement Benoit, Y Combinator invest in Anfin’s US$4.8M pre-Series A round

Anfin, an online stock trading platform, has raised US$4.8 million in its pre-Series A funding round led by Clement Benoit (Founder of Stuart & Not so Dark) and Y Combinator.

The round also saw participation from Rebel VC, Kharis Capital, Newman Capital, First Chek Ventures, Micro Ventures, Springcamp, and AngelHub.

Anfin will use the money for product development, especially the social investment product that lets users host and join live audio rooms. Through the use of tech-enabled profiling and risk assessment, Anfin will enable credible investors a platform to share ideas, strategies, and trades.

Furthermore, Anfin will continue its partnership development to offer more financial asset classes from its current offering of over 300 stocks and nine ETFs, allowing users to trade and diversify their portfolios with a few simple clicks.

Also Read: Gojek, Google and Grab CEOs back Vietnam’s stock trading app Anfin’s US$1.2M round

The funds will also be used to bolster Anfin’s relationship with local investor communities. This includes improving the library of free educational content and working directly with universities on products that incentivise financial literacy.

Launched in October 2021, Anfin enables customers to engage in stock investment and provides a fast and convenient trading experience. Through its value-added technology and financial services, Anfin’s fractional share trading feature allows users to start investing from only 10,000 VND (US$0.43) while providing a simple way to build a balanced portfolio and invest in shares regardless of the share price.

Its app has seen a jump in activity during the COVID-19 pandemic due to the growing preference for mobile banking and online investments. Currently, counting more than 100,000 in funded accounts, deposits have reached up to US$5 million and US$10 million in total transaction value.

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Throughout the pandemic, there has been a lot of debate on the effectiveness of remote work. On the one hand, it provided the benefits offices couldn’t rival: thousands of dollars and countless hours saved, broader hiring reach, and higher productivity.

On the other hand, when it came to dealing with emergencies, coming up with creative ideas, or connecting with teammates human-to-human, something wasn’t quite there.

Solving new problems calls for new tools

That’s why 35% of remote workers quote lack of communication and isolation as key challenges in working remotely. The lack of tools is not the problem — the market for collaboration tools is expected to reach $40 billion in value by 2028.

The problem is — most of these platforms see collaboration only through the lens of efficiency — getting tasks done, tracking changes, and seeing the full view of projects.

They miss out on a less obvious but equally important factor — a human one. Without an environment for connecting, brainstorming, and sharing knowledge, sprouts of productivity start dying out and explosive growth gives way to burnout.

Sae Hyung Jung, the CEO of a Japanese tech startup, spotted this problem back in 2020. As a skilled engineer, he saw a solution in technology and created oVice — a platform that made sure productivity didn’t get in the way of fluid communication. The project gave remote teams a shared space to meet and connect naturally.

Also read: Looking back and moving forward: Leave a Nest at 20

Released in October 2020, oVice had an amazing response in Japan, its home country, South Korea, Vietnam, and worldwide.

By 2022, it’s used by over 2,200 companies worldwide connecting over 60,000 employees every day. After a while, VCs jumped on board — since the launch, the team raised over $18 million of venture capital from One Capital and Eight Road Ventures Japan.

Since its launch, the platform gradually matured. Layouts became more complex and stylish, the tech infrastructure evolved to host corporate events with record-breaking attendance.

As teams requested new features, a map view of the office, the ability to book meetings in advance, expanded teammate profiles, a user list, and other tools were added.

Now, it’s getting its biggest update to date — a full interface revamp. It’s about to launch on Product Hunt this weekend — here’s a closer look at the new features of the new design.

Sleek design for more productivity and efficiency

oVice is back with the style of menus, panels, and icons for a smoother, more intuitive experience.

The product team opted for minimalistic outline icons, a stylish white header, and a hamburger menu that gives teams more room for enjoying office layouts.

Also read: JTC bolsters Southeast Asian innovation through LaunchPad

The new design seamlessly blends in with all types of spaces — event venues, study rooms, and offices. Whether your team wants to go for a business layout or design a creative space on an island or a garden, buttons and controls won’t get in the way of a seamless experience.

All the features where you expect them

In the new interface,  all features are intuitively grouped to help leaders connect with teams in one click. A sleek central panel has features all office users need: microphone toggle, settings tab, and the mini-map that shows the full view of the office.

The sidebar in the top right corner has tools that help managers run the space:

• The user list shows space members and guests and gives team leaders a clear view of who’s in the office at the moment.
• “Away” status: employees usually use it to let the rest of the team know when they take breaks to let the rest of the team know.
• The meeting scheduler allows teammates to book a meeting room in advance to ensure availability.
• Chat helps teammates ask and answer quick questions without having to spam in Slack. All chat messages show up as a bubble over a user’s avatar. If a teammate mentions someone in the chat, the other person will get a notification.

The menu bar is stripped down and fully dedicated to office space management. Team leaders use it to access the Settings tab. Here, they can tweak access permissions, optimise rooms, add static objects, and introduce new plugins to the space.

Managing meetings with ease and flexibility

The new oVice UI has a few tweaks to make connecting with teammates in a virtual office smoother and more controlled. For one, users can keep the microphone on or off when entering meeting rooms — this way, they will not get in the way of discussions.

Also, managers can now see what meetings are happening in conference rooms for more situational awareness.

Effortless communication with the team

Getting to know your teammates is now easier than ever, with the expanded user settings. Approaching someone is also faster than it used to be — the minimap feature allows space users to teleport to any point of the space in one click.

If you click on a teammate’s profile, a pop-up with their job title and the “Chat” button will appear. Space administrators can force mute users as well in case they accidentally left their microphone on.

To see the new version of the platform and talk to the product team, visit the oVice tour space.

Change is constant but the fundamentals stay the same

The oVice team made sure that the interface update doesn’t get in the way of resource efficiency, reliability, and ease of use.

Like in the old version, remote and hybrid team leaders can boost workplace engagement and productivity by creating custom office spaces that help teams focus on productive work. Here, managers can create designated scrum areas, networking zones, areas for lunch breaks, and game rooms.

As always, oVice is faithful to its click-to-move navigation, which allows teams to quickly move across the space and reach each other instantly. You can choose a comfortable way to communicate: from one-click audio chatting to a video conference in a meeting room.

Also read: Top 5G Startups in 2022 Announced

oVice helps teams brainstorm more efficiently than they would at the office with simultaneous screen sharing and crispy audio quality which makes sure all voices are heard.

Having firsthand experienced the challenges of remote work, oVice founders turned them into exciting opportunities. They created an innovative platform that adapts and grows together with changing workplace trends.

The new interface on Product Hunt this weekend. To support the product team and be the first one to try out the interface, follow the oVice Upcoming Product page.

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

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Hong Kong-based SleekFlow, a SaaS omnichannel social commerce platform backed by Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund, has announced the completion of a US$8 million Series A funding round led by Tiger Global.

Transcend Capital and AEF Greater Bay Area Fund (managed by Gobi Partners GBA) also joined.

The fresh injection will empower SleekFlow’s strategic market penetration in Southeast Asia, specifically in Singapore and Malaysia. It also plans to expand to the UK, EU and other thriving social commerce markets.

The funds will also be invested in advanced product development, including detailed buyer journey tracking and analytics, which provide invaluable actionable insights for enterprises.

“People nowadays spend more than 80 per cent of their time on social platforms. It’s already a habit for us to discover products and even buy on social channels directly. The huge social commerce market potential is expected to rise to US$3.37 trillion by 2028.

Also Read: How do investors evaluate SaaS companies?

This round comes a year after it secured a 7-figure pre-Series A funding round last year from investors, including Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund.

Chibo Tang, Managing Partner of Gobi Partners GBA, said, “Despite the economic downturn, the social commerce market is going stronger than ever, reaching US$474 billion in 2021. Eight in ten US businesses anticipate selling on social media within the next three years, according to Statista. SleekFlow’s innovative solutions will help these global commerce businesses meet the evolving needs of customers who are turning to social channels to purchase more than ever before.”

SleekFlow began as an omnichannel social messaging platform integrating with Official WhatsApp Business API, Facebook messenger, etc., serving over 5,000 businesses globally. It later invested in more fintech products, including one-click checkout and campaign automation for Instagram shops, TikTok, and live-streaming.

The startup also aims to holistically enhance the social buying journey by upgrading the existing e-commerce integration, inventory management system, and booking system to establish an all-in-one social commerce platform.

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