Malaysia’s TNG Digital raises US$168.3M led by Lazada
The funding round also included a follow-on investment by Touch ‘n Go, which is a TNG Digital shareholder and the firm’s parent company; This brings the total funding raised by the firm over the last 18 months to US$220M+.

1982 Ventures eyes over US$30M for Fund II
It looks to ramp up investments in early-stage fintech startups across SEA, Pakistan, and Bangladesh; The VC firm has so far garnered US$5M commitment from LPs; The fund is expected to be launched in Q4 this year or early next year.

Seedstars secures US$20M for second seed-stage fund
Investors are IFC, Visa Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, and Symbiotics; The fund aims to invest in 100 pre-seed and seed-stage companies across Asia, Africa, LatAm, and the MENA region over the next three years.

Cryptocurrency regulations should evolve: Mistletoe Singapore MD Atsushi Taira
If smaller countries like Singapore and Estonia can change the crypto regulatory framework, it can be a good starting point; Regulators need to be savvy enough to understand the technology and then accept new types of KYC.

Thai authorities investigating possible losses for Zipmex users
The Thai SEC is calling for affected users of the crypto exchange to submit information on how they were affected by the withdrawal suspension via a public forum; Zipmex announced the temporary withdrawal suspension on July 20th.

Binance names 27 projects in latest blockchain incubator cohort
The Most Valuable Builder programme aims to empower projects and founders building DApps on BNB Chain; The incubation phase will last for six to eight weeks, where selected projects will join coaching sessions and workshops.

Philippines not eyeing crypto ban, says central bank exec
Felipe Medalla’s liberal yet cautious outlook comes as Asian countries seek better ways to manage cryptocurrencies; Cryptocurrencies are fairly popular in the Philippines.

Singapore rubber trading platform HeveaConnect bags US$7.1M
Lead investors are Provident Capital Partners and DeClout Ventures; HeveaConnect provides a digital trading platform that connects producers, traders, and buyers. It has facilitated transactions of 600K+ MT of rubber since 2019.

Indonesia-focused fintech firm raises US$4.8M in Vertex-led round
Other investors are ADB, Accion Venture Lab, and Lippo Group; Fairbanc’s platform enables SMEs to take out short-term credit to buy fast-moving consumer goods from large consumer brands.

Alibaba shutters online retail platform Tmall in HK
The Chinese ecommerce giant gave no clear reason for the shutdown, except for “business strategy adjustments”; However, Alibaba said it will continue to provide payment and delivery services in HK via its C2C arm Taobao Marketplace.

SG maritime platform Smart Ship Hub nets US$2.5M in pre-Series A money
Lead investors are Ideaspring Capital and StartupXseed Ventures; Smart Ship Hub offers fleet management SaaS for ship owners and operators, charter parties, maritime insurers, and port authorities.

Alpha JWC, Picus Capital lead US$2.4M round of SG SaaS firm Omni HR
Omni HR’s main offering is an employee management system that helps companies execute human resource processes such as employee onboarding and leaves and document management.

Indonesian e-grocery firm KedaiSayur bags Series A
Investors include Kejora-SBI Orbit and Triputra Group; KedaiSayur has three business lines: an e-groceries app, B2B groceries ordering platform, and farmers management service; The firm claims to have served 100K+ customers and businesses.

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Travel was the worst-hit sector by the COVID-19 pandemic. Unable to survive, many travel-related startups, including online travel agencies (OTA), bring the curtain down on their businesses.

KKday, an e-commerce platform for tours, experiences and activities, was among the travel startups that came successfully out of the crisis. At the pandemic’s peak, KKday raised US$75 million (in September 2020), which provided it with the war chest to tide over the uncertain period. The Taiwanese firm has just secured an undisclosed sum led by TGVest Capital to bring its total Series C round to US$95 million. The firm posted good performance amid the crisis prompting investors to inject capital.

In this interview, Founder and CEO Ming Chen shares how the company survived the pandemic to post good results.

Edited excerpts:

Travel was one of the worst-affected sectors globally due to the pandemic. How did KKday survive the onslaught when many of your peers and travel companies either shut down or scaled down their operations? What was the secret sauce?

At the pandemic’s start, we actively controlled costs and suspended most marketing campaigns. We reduced our marketing spend while acquiring new customers by developing new products, significantly lowering acquisition costs and more efficient customer engagement.

We also successfully focused on domestic travel — staycations, outdoor, and watersport activities. Our product offerings more than doubled during 2020 as we expanded into staycation opportunities and souvenirs. The revenue growth from both these areas grew more than 10x.

Also Read: Travel experiences, activities platform KKday extends Series C round to US$95M for domestic expansion

For example, in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia, where many countries were on stricter lockdowns then, we promoted souvenirs, online experiences, and food delivery vouchers to encourage consumption.

Today domestic travel has resumed, and we’re firing on all cylinders with customers purchasing through KKday ticketing products, activities-related products, especially with the summer seasonality, water sports activities, and outdoor activities products. We are seeing growth in many different product categories.

Lastly, we accelerated our development of rezio, KKday’s SaaS solution that works with local merchants to manage bookings and inventory on multiple channels). We wanted to move swiftly to support our local merchants and help them digitise while expanding their customer base, in addition to managing overall inventory at a time when there were several changes to border restrictions. We also offered rezio complimentary to merchants during this period.

Did you go austere during the pandemic and cut the headcounts?

We planned for the worst, so we remained highly disciplined in managing our cash flow and balance sheet. The largest cut was in lowering our marketing spending, where the team has worked hard to acquire users through different channels and unique products.

We reduced some of our headcounts during the pandemic. However, the headcount is now at the pre-COVID-19 levels, and we’re planning to increase this by more than 40 per cent. We were fortunate to raise additional capital during this uncertain period, and as a result, we could largely maintain our headcount across the region.

You said in a statement that you have plans to deepen your footprints in Taiwan, Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea, and Southeast Asia. Did all these markets recover from the clutches of the pandemic? How do you compare each of these markets pre- and post-COVID-19?

Pre-COVID-19, most of the revenues from our markets were derived mainly from international travellers. At the start of the pandemic, we quickly pivoted to domestic business. With the borders reopening, we expect domestic and international travellers to accelerate. Both domestic and international businesses (our dual engines) will drive our growth.

COVID-19, in some ways, was a blessing in disguise; it forced us to pivot to domestic travel as borders shut down. As a result, we acquired many users at significantly lower costs for domestic travel. They exhibited much higher engagement levels and more bookings than international travellers.

Now that borders are opening up and international travel is resuming, we’re leveraging our domestic travel base to cross-sell global travel products.

Hong Kong, Korea, Japan, and Singapore exceeded pre-COVID-19 levels primarily driven by the domestic business during the crisis.

Do you see any drastic changes in how people view travelling post-COVID-19? Are there any behavioural changes and changes to the consumption pattern?

As travel restrictions are lifted, we will see (and are seeing) a surge in overall travel domestically and internationally. We see a couple of trends: 1) an increase of digital travellers: they are becoming savvier and using tools like KKday to plan their trip itineraries and save costs, and 2) travellers are also looking for more curated experiences when they travel (and travelling for longer). With this in mind, we plan to relaunch our signature tours to give travellers memorable experiences.

Over the last 12 months, more markets have opened up, and domestic travel has been a strong driver of our growth. While staycations remained popular, there was also a surging appetite for local domestic tours, activities, and attractions. We added 200,000 more experiences and activities across Asia Pacific during COVID-19.

In Japan alone, we added 35,000 new activities (some of the activities are part of our Activity Japan acquisition which focuses on outdoor activities).

We also expect domestic travel to be an important growth driver for us. Our domestic business has acquired many more users at significantly lower costs. They also show higher engagement levels, booking more on our platform than international travellers.

This is partly due to domestic travellers travelling at least 2-3x more than international travellers. As borders open up, we plan to cross-sell experiences and activities for domestic and international travellers. We see this as complementary.

You also mentioned in a press release that “hyper localisation and digitisation will be our north star for scaling and building our user and merchant base”. Can you elaborate on this quote? What exactly do you mean by hyper-localisation?

KKday has always been focused on going deep into local Asia markets to provide travellers with the best, most authentic, curated experiences. Today’s travellers, whether local or visiting from overseas, are more digitally savvy and are very interested in finding activities and experiences beyond the usual go-to spots for tourists, “off the beaten track” experiences.

It’s pivotal for us to curate these experiences via our local merchants and our KKday signature tours that we are relaunching. It is also vital for us to support the overall Asia ecosystem of local merchants in its digital transformation to empower them to be more operational and cost-efficient and expand their customer base.

Can you share more details about rezio? How does it work?

rezio is our SaaS all-in-one platform that provides a suite of services, including a simple setup for a powerful online store, real-time inventory management across different booking channels, customised vouchers for various booking scenarios, and integration with local payment gateways.

All features can also be accessed on any mobile device, allowing travel and experience providers to manage bookings on the go. rezio also provides real-time inventory across a merchant’s multiple channels. The platform reduces operational costs and increases efficiencies for merchants.

We have over 1,600 merchants, reaching 2.7 million travellers globally.

With an influx of domestic and international travellers expecting to return, many local activity providers have adopted rezio to help digitise and scale their businesses and get access to manage their bookings on multiple OTAs.

With the new funding, we plan to scale and build new rezio features to automate and streamline solutions for merchants. For example, KKday has partnered with Nami Island, a popular attraction in South Korea with millions of annual visitors, to integrate its software rezio with the attraction’s hardware (e.g. e-gate, kiosk, POS system).

Also Read: 3 learnings from KKday CEO and Founder on how his travel startup overcame the pandemic

Similarly, Asahiyama Zoo, one of the major zoo attractions in Japan, has just signed a multi-year contract with us to implement rezio’s solutions. These theme parks have millions of visitors, and we’re partners with these theme parks to help them sell and manage these visitors online.

rezio also has partnered with major OTAs, such as Viator, to deepen our global merchants’ channels and footprint. The partnership with Viator allows rezio to integrate its API to enable merchants to manage their products on Viator and Tripadvisor on top of its existing sales channels. We see overall increased appetite from larger OTAs.

KKday also plans to relaunch its in-demand owned and operated signature tours that provide travellers with curated quality local experiences as borders reopen.

Another crisis is on our doorstep as late-stage funding has drained globally due to several macroeconomic factors. How do you look at this crisis? Will it affect the travel industry in general and KKday in particular?

It has been difficult, and valuation comps (comparable company analysis) are significantly lower than four months ago. However, we do see that the travel industry is on an uptrend. We remain optimistic that travel is bucking the macro trends and is on an upswing, especially with borders opening up and international travel resuming. So there will be a lot of growth opportunities from my perspective. We’re exceeding comparable periods of pre-COVID-19 levels while international travel is just at the cusp of resuming in Asia.

In the last two and a half years since COVID-19 struck, we’ve also managed our business more disciplined way. As mentioned earlier, we’ve significantly lowered user acquisition cost by more than half of what it was versus pre-pandemic levels. We see increased engagement levels and more experiences and activities being booked by users.

Companies that demonstrate good growth, sustainable growth and a path to profitability can stand out more in these uncertain macroeconomic times.

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The third revolution of the internet is heralded to create a more intelligent and connected world. And with its acceleration in the banking and finance sector, Web3 is becoming a buzzword among financial services providers.

While it is too early to predict the shape Web3 will eventually take. If the past iterations of the web were any indicator, it takes time to bring about a paradigm shift, although when it does, everything will move forward at an exponential pace. Can financial services providers afford to wait for that eventuality?

What is Web3?

The first generation of the world wide web came online in the mid-1990s. It was essentially a static content delivery network that allowed people to share information, almost like an online shop front or brochure.

As the technology evolved and broadband speeds increased,  Web2 arrived a decade later, providing a much more interactive, social internet where businesses and individuals were able to generate and share their own content.

The tech behind Web1 and Web2 relied on centralised databases to deliver and enable functionality.

Conversely, Web3 makes use of a decentralised blockchain where there is no arbitrary central authority, but instead a form of distributed consensus. Conceptually, Web3 will be a unified universe where communication and data sharing occurs in a decentralised space. Depending on what technology it integrates with, Web3 can evolve how the web can be used for that technology.

With Web3, the focus is now on the backend, specifically to manage and understand data. Using AI, machine learning and the semantic web will deliver more relevant information, faster. Anyone and any machine in this Internet of Things (IoT) age can contribute and gain access to this global data, but no one will own the database. 

Web3’s integration with blockchain technology, for example, can create a database that is impossible to hack. This is a smart contract that transmits information under the mutual consensus of involved parties. And it is one of the premises behind decentralised finance (DeFi), which aims to cut transaction times and gain access to more financial services. 

According to Investopedia, DeFi is an emerging financial technology based on secure distributed ledgers like those used by cryptocurrencies. Consumers and businesses can lend, trade, and borrow by using technology rather than intermediaries to record and verify financial actions in distributed financial databases.

Also Read: Why the Web3-enabled gaming world still has hope

However, just like Web3, DeFi’s evolution is still in its infancy, so regulators and traditional payment players are still trying to figure out how DeFi would eventually shape up.

The need for regulation

With DeFi and cryptocurrencies being Web3’s early use cases, there are concerns that the new web could lead to a financial Wild West. Rationally though, the situation is not likely to get that out of hand.

Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or Ethereum are presently not used for much more than being an asset to invest in, which makes them very volatile and inappropriate for use as payment. South America, Mexico and other regions are trying to get Bitcoin recognised as legal tender. This move, however, is unsupported by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) due to its volatility.

That is why institutional intermediaries like banks must navigate the host of digital identity issues and overcome contractual and regulatory obstacles, including agreements for cross-border money movement. 

Some regulatory bodies are independently preparing for an acceptable DeFi future.  Project Dunbar is a technical experiment by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Hub and central bank partners. The objective is to study how international settlements can be made using multiple Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) over a common platform, considering the catalytic effect of the emergent Web3. 

The Monetary Authority of Singapore’s new guidelines on tokenisation and Dubai’s recent regulation are cases in point. In addition, Australia is exploring a Digital Services Act (DSA) legislative package that seeks reforms in crypto market licencing, custody, decentralised autonomous organisations (DAOs), debanking and taxes.

Web3 opportunities in the finance industry

As the capabilities of Web3 become more understood and ubiquitous, sentiments about its use will undoubtedly change and evolve. 

Some early moving banks are already leveraging the early capabilities of Web 3.0 in legitimate use cases. An S&P Global Market Intelligence report revealed that HSBC Holdings in Hong Kong had enabled hyper-personalised insights into its wealth management, courtesy of Web3. The bank estimated this could lead to 10 times more conversations between their relationship managers and clients. 

Such positive business models of Web3 will continue to emerge to disrupt markets in positive ways, keeping market interest buoyant and allowing stakeholders time to iron out teething problems with progressively feasible and accessible solutions. 

Undoubtedly, the vision of Web3 in the future of finance is still hazy. There is still much to be done to secure and build the properties of Web3 for financial services. But as early adopters and techies foray to bridge these two worlds, new asset classes and technologies will be created.

So, no matter how the integration eventually shapes up, witnessing the possibilities thrown up in the process is exciting indeed.

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With the global recession expected to impact Malaysia sooner than anticipated, we already see many of the region’s leading businesses make organisational changes to brace for the storm ahead.

Southeast Asia’s technology sector has been hit particularly hard with a series of tech giants announcing mass layoffs as they aim to build leaner teams. These economic developments were a 180 from the beginning of the year when the ball was firmly in the talent’s court, and businesses were doing whatever they could to retain people. Now, the Great Resignation could become the Great Retrenchment.  

However, one thing remains true: the ever-present need for the region’s brightest talent, in tech or otherwise. The global workforce’s heightened desire for greater work-life balance and autonomy is here to stay, ultimately pushing talent to search for new and best ways to work. And this is where freelancing comes in.

While freelancing can traditionally be associated with short-term, one-off gig work, at Workana, we have seen an increasing number of long-term engagements, with freelancers now having the opportunity to create a sustainable cash flow comparable to any full-time salaried remote worker. This is great news for workers who enjoy a little more autonomy and more frequent opportunities to review their engagements while still having access to financial security. 

Currently, a whopping 31.4 per cent of the global workforce freelances, and while the pandemic did not kickstart this, it has accelerated this trend. The number of talent looking to join the freelance pool is expected to grow dramatically in 2022, and with good reason.

From a worker’s perspective, freelancing is an appealing option as it represents the best of both worlds, leveraging one’s fine-tuned skills and professional talents while simultaneously having more freedom and control over jobs and personal time.

On the other hand, the employer gains access to the world’s top-tier talent pool and is no longer limited to talents within the vicinity of the office.

The opportunity for freelancing in Malaysia

Taking the plunge into the freelancing world is understandably nerve-wracking, and branching out on your own as a remote worker can be daunting. There are fears of not securing your next job, enough work, or finding it hard to stand out in a competitive landscape.

Also Read: What are employees looking for in a hybrid work world?

That being said, an impending recession could be just the motivation many Malaysians need to take their career path into their own hands and lead a flexible and financially secure life. 

Straight talk: the time to freelance in Malaysia is now. The freelancing community has hugely expanded across the country; at Workana, we have seen our pool of remote talents grow, while the rollout of Government initiatives that support freelancers and community leaders who spearhead discussions for freelancer welfare are ongoing.

Of course, the increased adoption of hybrid working models has also opened the eyes of many businesses and talent similar to managing a more flexible workforce or lifestyle. 

Hybrid models, in which people only go into the office for select days of the week, can be highly conducive to a freelancing schedule. Businesses are also likely to open the doors to fully remote talent, thus greatly expanding their hiring possibilities in Malaysia or across borders.

Ultimately, the available talent pool becomes wider than ever, which is great news when skilled tech talent remains in short supply.  

When it comes to digital gig work, there has always been a lot of potential in the Malaysian market; it’s one of the main reasons we chose to set up our APAC headquarters here in 2019. The talent pool is rich in digital talent, with high English language proficiency and cultural alignment with neighbouring markets such as Singapore and Australia, making the job opportunities ripe.

It’s also heartening to see the Government get on board with this way of working; the 12th Malaysia Plan 2021-2025 (12MP) has assured Malaysians that it will create an ecosystem to support the development of the digital gig economy.

This means talent can prioritise flexibility and self-employment and take full advantage of the opportunities available to grow their skills, portfolios and work experience, even when times are tough(er).

Grow your network for a steady stream of work

In Malaysia’s freelance industry, there is generally enough talent around to satisfy the demand, but connecting with the right clients or finding the right talent to take on a project can be tricky. 

Also Read: Why Malaysian employees are giving up on the traditional office structure

For freelancers to get a leg up as this way of working continues to grow, it’s about having the right portfolio and network. Reputation, success stories, and endorsements are often the key deciding factors for new clients to seal the deal.

New freelancers must start establishing themselves and build a solid body of work to put them in front of their minds as businesses grapple with finding the right people quickly. Partnering with a freelancing platform is a reliable way to ensure regular, quality work, thanks to review systems, client testimonial options, and live job requests to kick-start the process.

For talent, more will follow once the first few jobs are completed and documented well. 

Even if projected growth is slower over the next couple of years, companies constantly need skilled tech talent to jump quickly into projects and keep the ball rolling. So while the hesitations around leaving a steady job to embark on a career as a freelancer are valid, the opportunity to branch out and become an independent talent has never been better.

With the right support system, Malaysians will find freelancing a viable and secure career option. 

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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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Singapore-based F&B tech company Chope has made a US$720,000 strategic investment into F&B digital payments provider Getz Group.

Per a statement, this partnership will enable diners to order and pay at restaurants across Singapore with their Chope app.

Singapore-based Getz is an ordering solution for F&B merchants that powers online food delivery, in-store table ordering solutions, and POS systems. Together, they can provide end-to-end modules covering all aspects of an F&B merchant’s needs.

Getz claims its systems process tens of millions of dollars in mobile payments.

Also Read: Chope secures US$15M as part of a strategic partnership with Ant Group

Both companies are actively working with restaurant partners to cater to new customer behaviours by consolidating touchpoints across the diner journey, such as discovery, restaurant marketing, ordering for on-premise, pick-up and delivery, among others.

Since the easing of COVID-19 restrictions, Chope’s markets have reported sales increases that exceed pre-pandemic times. Singapore takes the lead in this demand surge with double the diners seated in June 2022 than last year.

The Getz deal comes after local hawker SaaS and delivery vendor WhyQ raised US$360,000 from Chope as part of its Series A2 in November last year.

Steve Wah, Founder and CEO of Getz Group, said, “Chope and Getz bring together the best of both worlds for the F&B business to connect diners to restaurants and vice versa. The result of this partnership will empower F&B businesses to take control of its digital transformation while leveraging incremental traffic driven by Chope.”

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