The Philippines has a booming internet and mobile economy and a thriving startup ecosystem. In fact, there is no dearth of online resources making a case for the Philippines as your startup base; even we have touched on why the Philippines is an ideal destination for business growth and scalability in the past. 

However, in the past two years, the market has changed dramatically. When it comes to major business decisions such as choosing the right next destination for expansion, staying up to date and digging deep is always important. 

As such, in the second episode of the Market Access Series in partnership with Globalization Partners, we explore why and how you should expand your business to the Philippines. Featuring Joan Yao, Vice President of Investments at Kickstart Ventures; Fita Aldaba, Undersecretary for Competitiveness and Innovation at the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI); and Charles Ferguson, General Manager – Asia Pacific of Globalization Partners; the panel was moderated by Dennis Poh, Founder and CEO of Legatcy.

The Philippines is on the right track

Fita from DTI opened the session by reminding everyone that in the pre-pandemic context, the Philippines was considered Asia’s economic star. “Amidst the pandemic, the country, like most parts of the world, experienced economic setbacks in 2020 but very quickly in the next year itself, we were back on track with a 5.6 per cent average growth, and the forecast for this year is that we will be able to reach 6 to 7 per cent, which is equal to or more than the pre-pandemic levels,” she shared.

Fita added that the country’s inflation has slowed down to 3 per cent, unemployment has dipped to 6.6 per cent as of December 2021, the production index has surged, and the export of goods and services has also increased by 8.3 per cent as of last year. “Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) has also increased by a whopping 52.5 per cent in 2021” Fati added.

Also read: Challenges and opportunities for startups expanding to Thailand

The Philippines is also striding ahead in the field of digital transformation with the pandemic accelerating technology adoption and innovation. Reports suggest that there were over 76.01 million internet users in the Philippines in January 2022. The Philippines’s internet penetration rate stood at 68.0 per cent of the total population at the start of 2022. Internet users in the Philippines increased by 2.1 million (+2.8 per cent) between 2021 and 2022.

Furthermore, Fati quoted a Microsoft survey that found that 8 out of ten companies in the country are ramping up industrialisation efforts while 88 per cent of the surveyed companies said that they consider innovation a must.

Ideal from a VC standpoint, business opportunities galore

Joan from Kickstart Ventures shared that when considering a certain investment opportunity from a VC standpoint, the three Ts are crucial: team, TAM (total addressable market), and timing. 

She explained, “if you think about the Philippines in this framework, the TAM is large and growing. In 2020, the digital economy of the country was valued at USD 9 billion by the end of 2021, it was valued at USD 17 billion showing almost a 100 per cent year-on-year growth.”

“For a long time, the digital consumers were just not there but this is a silver lining to the pandemic and this is what tech startups can leverage,” she added. Highlighting the third T, team, Joan pointed out that the Philippines’ large English-speaking population is an advantage in terms of global startups looking for local talent to build their local hubs.

Emerging trends: Challenges and opportunities

With almost every section of business and life being disrupted by digitalisation today, it can be difficult to focus on a specific area or niche. While almost all sectors, including fintech, healthtech, edtech, ride-hailing, and now WEB3, are burgeoning in the country, Joan said that businesses must identify gaps and inefficiencies — sectors that can genuinely benefit from technology and new business models. 

“Ranging from fields like mobility, agriculture, education, healthcare, housing, and tourism — these fields require both online and offline investments,” she added.

Fita shared that despite fintech booming in the country, even today, there are around 51.2 million unbanked Filipinos. This is around 70 per cent of the total population. “As such, the Philippines Central Bank is implementing its digital payments transformation roadmap to convert over half of the country’s total transactions to digital by 2023. The goal is also to enhance interconnectivity, interoperability, and financial integration between domestic and cross-border digital payments, and to promote financial inclusion,” she shared.

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

Speaking on some of the challenges businesses should consider before moving or expanding to the Philippines, Ferguson said, “no matter where you bring your business, there are certain challenges that are a given: From trying to understand the new regulations and policies to settling in the new infrastructure and figuring out the product-market fit. So businesses need to be ready for that.” However, the Philippines is known for its liberalised and business-friendly open economy. So, it should be relatively easier to establish your company here. 

Fita reassured that irrespective of political changes that might happen in the future, which is a normal progression, the country’s strive for innovation and digital disruption and the creation of new products and services will continue. Joan added that there has been an irreversible sea change and a dramatic shift from offline to online and there is a huge opportunity for tech startups in the Philippines. Lastly, Ferguson encourages businesses looking to expand across the region to leverage the Filipino talent pool which consists of highly skilled professionals. Study the ropes around hiring remote talent from the Philippines by scheduling a demo here.

To learn more, view the webinar here.

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This article is produced by the e27 team, sponsored by Globalization Partners

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Turn Capital, the family office of Singaporean entrepreneur Joseph Phua, has agreed to acquire the assets of the popular Taiwanese news site Apple Daily. While the transaction details remain confidential, media reports have pegged the deal size between US$30 million and US$60 million.

According to Phua, who has successfully built Southeast Asia’s leading dating platform Paktor and Asian live-streaming entertainment unicorn 17LIVE, the aim is to transform the business digitally and venture into new markets in Southeast Asia and beyond. He has raised over US$200 million funds from more than 50 investors, including Vertex Ventures, Pavilion Capital, Infinity Ventures, KTB in Korea, Appworks, and several Indonesian MNCs.

In this interview, Phua discusses the deal, its objective, the opportunities and its expansion plans.

Edited excerpts:

Can you share the details of the acquisition?

Sure. So, we are acquiring the Taiwanese digital assets of Apple Daily from the Taiwanese arm of media company Next Digital Limited. These are primarily the technology assets, including the mobile app and website.

These are precious assets because they generate hundreds of millions of page views monthly. It’s one of the top three media sites in the country in terms of page views and subscriptions. It also has the largest Twitter fan base there.

We want to help transform the business model of this traffic. I have been in the media and internet space for the last ten years. Building sustainable business models around traffic is what I do day in and day out. When I see this type of stickiness and retention, it means the audience is very loyal. The asset with the demographic of middle to the high-end type of income status becomes precious traffic in a market with high ARPU (average revenue per user) from gaming.

When I was first approached for this potential deal, the page traffic was the first thing I looked into. Not just about the deal value, or current value, but about the inherent untapped potential.

Over the last ten years, we dealt with millions of users. In terms of building sustainable business models, we’ve processed billions of dollars globally.

In terms of the value, these are essential — solid traffic, loyal audience, and high disposable income audience. It’s a very fertile market when it comes to building digital media businesses.

How long has the deal been in the works?

I’ve been looking into media assets to acquire for five years. Since 2016, when I first merged my company Paktor with 17 LIVE, I’ve been looking at media assets.

In terms of negotiation and discussions, it has been a few months. But how long has this interest been? It has been at least six to seven years already. I’ve always been looking for assets to acquire.

There are some other popular news sites in Taiwan, such as China Times and Liberty Times. Then why Apple Daily?

No, I’ve always been looking for traffic and different video assets. We are actively acquiring and talking with at least two other high-traffic generation sources in Taiwan and three in Asia for investments or acquisitions by my family office. We are always on the lookout for media assets as long as the price is right and the asset is valuable.

How does the Apple Daily acquisition align with Turn Capital’s goals?

If you look at our past acquisitions, their operations were not only within our wholly-owned assets but they also collaborated with our shareholders and partners. 

For example, after Turn Capital acquired SoundOn, Taiwan Mobile invested in it and became its second-largest shareholder. SoundOn now works with the telco’s music platform MyMusic to cross-seed our podcast content. SoundOn processes three billion+ listens of podcasts every year.

Also Read: Kollective Ventures and Joseph Phua’s family office acquire SoundOn, a Taiwanese startup with 35M monthly podcast downloads

Likewise, with the traffic that Apple Daily generates, we can work with the other assets we currently control to cross-pollinate and potentially collaborate. 

For example, I have traffic that comes over to you, and I help you acquire traffic and then in the process, you make money, and we can have a revenue-sharing model which allows me to diversify the business model further. Then it doesn’t become a pure advertising model for Apple news media. 

Are you going to rebrand Apple Daily? What will happen to its employees once the deal gets through?

We are transitioning the business and do not have immediate rebranding plans at the moment. The key is to ensure we build a sustainable business through adapting the traffic across models.

We are working with the seller to engage with the employees, and we will work towards rehiring as many of the employees as possible.

How is Apple Daily’s loyal readers reacting to the acquisition?

The reaction has relatively been neutral.

My wife is Taiwanese and our two sons were born in Taiwan. Almost all the businesses I have built or acquired in the last ten years have ties with Taiwan, and I have reinvested heavily into my teams in Taiwan; I merged Paktor with 17LIVE, a Taiwanese live-streaming company. In just 2021, I acquired SoundOn and Dapp Pocket crypto solutions both Taiwanese companies. I very much consider Taiwan my second home. 

The important thing to note here is that we plan to retain most of the editorial team, so content generation which is the key product that the readers consume will stay the same. So are the people who generate the content. From that perspective, that integrity is kept. 

At the same time, Turn Capital is solely focused on digital transformation, and building a healthy company with strong financials. We are very interested in cultivating sustainable value in the traffic. 

Our interest lies in creating a very news media outlet that embraces technology in its true form. We can create a very sustainable business that continues to grow its business in its markets and develop a very healthy lifecycle for its employees. 

Do you have plans to infuse capital into Apple Daily?

We are open to raising capital in the future from various financial investors, as raising additional capital for the company will enable us to invest in the workforce, invest in training, invest in building new products and expand beyond the local market. All fundraising activities will be subject to Taiwan government regulations.

With any newly raised capital in the future, we’d be able to hire more people, invest in new markets, train their employees, and build new products, so this will be very good for the company. 

Also Read: ‘Companies shut down not because of crises but only when founders give up’: Joseph Phua of M17

Taiwan welcomes foreign capital and investment into their workforce and everything, so this is highly possible, but this is subject to future discussion.  

Can you share some of the business models you have in mind for Apple Daily? Do you have plans to launch it in other Southeast Asian markets?

Cross-ecosystem pollination of assets and traffic and building partnerships through other partners’ business sources are being explored. 

In terms of expansion, we want to take Apple Daily to other markets. I do not believe there should be borders when it comes to tech businesses. The borders are artificial because you have a geographical constraints — from logistics to employee base to all these different things. 

If you look at our other businesses, for instance, Paktor. It was started in Singapore and then expanded into 11 markets, including Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, and the US. 

I believe that the restructured reinvented and redefined product of Apple news media will transcend geographical barriers into new markets. 

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Kejora founder sets up new VC firm Rigel Capital
Sebastian Togelang’s new fund is headquartered in Singapore and Jakarta; Two of Rigel’s LPs are Prajogo Pangestu family and GIC; The early-stage VC firm is understood to have raised US$200M for the fund.

Joseph Phua speaks about Apple Daily Taiwan’s assets acquisition
‘We want to create a news media outlet that embraces tech in its true form’, he says; Turn Capital is actively talking with at least two other high-traffic generation sources in Taiwan and three in Asia for investments/acquisitions.

Singapore mulls tighter crypto rules for consumer protection
MAS’s considerations may include placing limits on retail participation and rules on the use of leverage when transacting in cryptocurrencies, says chairperson Tharman Shanmugaratnam.

Animoca Brands leads US$32M round of Web3 gaming firm Planetarium Labs
The South Korean firm builds a gaming ecosystem based on the Libplanet blockchain, which allows players to participate in the game network and enables the community to develop open-source content.

YGG co-founder’s gaming blockchain firm nets US$20M
Investors are Republic Capital, Crypto.com and Huobi; Oasys is also looking to expand its team and reinforce strategic partnerships with firms in the gaming and crypto industries.

London-based Nexo may buy troubled Singapore crypto firm Vauld
Earlier this week, Singapore-based Vauld said it was suspending withdrawals, trades, and deposits due to financial difficulties; It plans to buy up to 100% of Vauld and aims to accelerate its deeper presence in Asia.

Cybersecurity startup watchTowr bags US$8M pre-series A.
Lead investors are Prosus Ventures and Vulcan Capital; watchTowr will use the new funds to improve its platform and seize growth opportunities arising from markets outside of Southeast Asia.

Indonesian logistics SaaS firm McEasy raises US$6.5M
The round was led by East Ventures; McEasy’s products include real-time vehicle tracking software, a transportation management system, and a fleet management app.

Indonesia’s Kitabisa to receive US$5M from IFC
The online crowdfunding platform plans to expand its business to include Shariah insurance offerings at affordable costs; The insurance product will target the middle to lower-income segments.

Metaverse launchpad Enjinstarter raises US$5M from True Global Ventures
Singapore-based Enjinstarter launched in October 2021 as a blockchain gaming, metaverse, and entertainment-focused launchpad for initial DEX offerings and initial NFT offerings.

Crypto broker Voyager files for bankruptcy after 3AC hit
Based in the US, Voyager estimated that it had over 100K creditors; It also said both its assets and liabilities were in the range of US$1B to US$10B; Voyager is “actively” pursuing all available remedies to recover the funds from 3AC.

Kini raises US$4.3M in seed funding round led by East Ventures
Other backers are Ten13, OurCrowd, K50 Ventures, and Goodwater Capital; Kini is an early wage access platform; Kini plans to use the new funding to build a new range of HR tech products and expand partnerships.

Why Gobi Partners believes it is the right time to invest in Pakistan
The cryptocurrency, social commerce and agritech spaces offer tremendous opportunities in Pakistan, says its VP Taraec Hussein; Malaysia-based Gobi Partners is one of the most active VCs in Pakistan.

Ruangguru acquires edutech startups Schoters, Kalananti
Schoters claimed to have helped thousands of Indonesian students to study in 400 universities in 43 countries; Kalanantifocuses on providing coding courses and innovations for children aged 5-12 years old.

Indonesia’s Octopus nets US$5M funding led by Openspace, SOSV
The waste treatment company connects users to local waste collectors that will buy and pick up their post-consumer products; Octopus operates five sorting facilities and 1,700 checkpoints and claims it handles 380 tonnes of waste a month.

Iterative Capital, Eduspaze fund Indonesian language learning platform LingoTalk
LingoTalk will use the money to enhance its LingoJunior product and acquire more primary school clients across Indonesia; LingoTalk has partnered with more than 150 schools in Indonesia.

GGV Capital leads Vietnamese edutech startup Azota’s US$2.4M round
Nextrans and Do Ventures also participated; Azota is an online platform that lets teachers create and grade tests automatically; It also offers real-time exam proctoring and student performance tracking tools.

ScaleUp Malaysia to pour US$1M into 10 startups in 2022 cohort
The program, which starts in the fourth quarter of this year, will include a one-month investor readiness bootcamp, along with access to venture capital networks; The program will also offer two-year support from an external management team.

Edukasyon.ph raises bridge funding to bolster K-12 English, Maths tutoring service
Since the close of Series A in 2019- 2020, Edukasyon.ph claims to have tripled revenues and achieved profitability for its B2B division; It said it is close to reaching its first million registered users and has built a community of 8M students.

ORZON Ventures joins Thai startup Hungry Hub’s Series A round
Hungry Hub is a restaurant and hotel reservation platform for special occasions which also provides fixed-price offers and gourmet delivery services; The firm claims to have served 2M+ diners and generated over US$30M GMV.

Indonesian insurtech firm Rey secures US$4.2M funding
Investors are Trans-Pacific Technology Fund, Genesia Ventures, and RDS; Rey offers health, life, and critical illness insurance to individuals and groups; It also allows users to personalise services with the level of cover appropriate to their needs.

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70 million is the number of micro, small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) that operate in Southeast Asia today. These businesses play a crucial role in contributing to Southeast Asia’s economic growth by also employing over 140 million people in the region.

In Singapore, SMBs account for approximately 70 per cent of employment and contribute to nearly half of the country’s overall GDP.

Yet, many of them struggled with substantial losses in sales and revenue due to the economic conditions that have taken place over the past few years. They were challenged in keeping up with engaging the consumer, including facing lower customer volumes at physical stores to forced closures due to high rent and low revenues.

However, not all has been lost. The region has become increasingly dynamic over the last three years. With more than half of Southeast Asia’s population under the age of 30, the rapid adoption of technology and people going online has not only contributed to a rising middle class but also the evolution of a mobile-first consumer, something SMBs can consider as they re-evaluate how they engage with customers for recovery and growth.

Engaging and entertaining the consumer through online platforms

Recent technological advances have reshaped the way consumers make choices. Technology is no longer viewed for business continuity, innovation of processes, or remote work; it also allows businesses to connect with consumers throughout the decision-making process.

SMBs looking to re-engage with audiences can consider utilising their existing tech resources to redesign how they conduct outreach on their products.

One way to kickstart this process is to explore marketing and advertising beyond the confines of magazines and billboards using social and content platforms. SMBs can take a page out of shoppable live stream experiences.

This format has taken the stage across the marketing world globally, allowing brands to interact with consumers from anywhere in real-time.

Also Read: 5 video marketing trends that marketers can leverage in 2022

It has also inspired new initiatives, including collaborations with popular creators, live runway shows – straight out of fashion week, luxury brands like Off-White, and even global virtual tours of museums.

SMBs can also look at using technology to creatively engage with consumers through a combination of shopping and entertainment. This is what we at TikTok like to call Shoppertainment, a marketing strategy that is redefining the consumer path to purchase.

Brands such as Sleepee have successfully engaged consumers with story-led ads that parody period dramas to highlight the benefits of their mattresses.

Sleepee’s entertainment-first strategy successfully grabbed the attention of local consumers, even amidst the hectic lead-up to the 11.11 Mega Sales Season, with their videos garnering over 2.6 million video views, fuelling record-high sales.

These instances are just some of many that highlight technology’s growing impact on engaging with the consumer and consumers’ optimism and enthusiasm for marketing innovation by businesses they resonate with.

Authenticity is key to bridging the gap between a business and consumer

Another consideration that SMBs need to pay attention to is building credibility with their customers. Over 72 per cent of consumers globally believe that reviews and testimonials submitted by previous customers are more credible than the brand sharing about their products in their content.

In other words, beyond getting online, SMBs need to humanise their brand experience with personable social content, such as sneak previews of manufactured products, experiences, and testimonials submitted by customers and creators about the brand or product or employee behind-the-scenes footage to boost consumer intimacy.

Many of us may have experienced this with brands or seen this take shape via witty responses to comments, regular re-posts of fun user-generated content (UGCs), and honest conversations with followers during live streams.

In fact, TikTok has increasingly become the go-to place for brands to engage with consumers authentically, and we have seen that 43 per cent of users try something or go somewhere new after seeing it on the platform.

Local Jagua body art class provider Henndrawn has forged genuine connections with their followers by kickstarting honest conversations about and shedding light on topics like self-love in their videos.

Beyond these, Henndrawn continues to create videos that respond to their followers’ comments and requests for tutorials, in addition to behind-the-scenes TikToks of the team preparing for workshops and online courses.

This only shows that taking a more open, authentic and playful approach to producing content on products and services via social media or online content platforms will succeed for SMBs in engaging the consumer today.

Tapping into the power of entertainment commerce

A good place to start creating these joyful, entertaining, and authentic experiences would be to keep the latest consumer trends in view.

Also Read: How small businesses can boost brand visibility via videos and messaging

In fact, a recent study by Flamingo highlighted how 61 per cent of TikTok users liked brands better when they participated in trends such as hashtags, trending challenges, and songs.

By reviewing the latest trends, businesses could identify opportunities to insert themselves into ongoing discussions to open up avenues for themselves to engage with new audiences while allowing them to discover their products.

Sustainable fashion brand Vintagewknd, showcases its latest offerings with videos inspired by popular films and iconic characters and accompanying their “fit checks” with trending sound bites on TikTok.

Beyond trends, brands can also jump on board some of the fastest-growing segments on TikTok, including gaming (+193 per cent YoY), travel (+545 per cent YoY), and education (+148 per cent YoY) through collaborations with other local stores or themed videos.

Furthermore, hashtags like #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt have also since been viewed 12.8 billion times worldwide as of May 2022. Businesses can leverage these opportunities to creatively reach out to the online shopping community whilst spurring consumers to discover their brand, engage and purchase, and eventually create organic product reviews about their recent purchases.

It is remarkable to see how technology has equalised businesses’ marketing and advertising opportunity to date. With all the diverse and creative formats, any brand can involve, connect, and engage the massive audience base currently available in today’s digital ecosystem.

One just needs to be aware of and empowered to leverage said formats to fuel the growth they can be proud of. In other words, the possibilities for more are endless, and there’s simply no business too small to dream bigger, better, and bolder.

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The entertainment industry has always been the entry point for the Web3 space, as we can see in the case of the popular game Axie Infinity and how it is able to popularise the concept of play-to-earn in Southeast Asia –to the point where some players are even using the game as the primary income.

But there continue to be untapped opportunities that overlap between the entertainment industries and the Web3 space. This is where companies such as Chronicle step in.

In a statement, the company listed down the problems in the NFT space that it aims to solve with its solutions, and these problems range from the “chaotic, jumbled, standardless” NFT space and the copyright and license issues that come with it; environmental concerns; and particularly the unfamiliarity of major entertainment companies with the technology.

As an NFT marketplace, it sets itself apart by working together with major studios such as Universal, NBC Universal, and Amblin Entertainment to produce licensed digital collectibles of their top film franchises. An example of their works included one that they have done for the popular magic show Penn & Teller Fool Us which allows fans to purchase digital collectibles and gain access to exclusive content such as behind-the-scenes.

“Basically providing a service for brands to be able to get their IP into a platform where they know that it is basically controlled,” explains co-founder Tim Glover in a call with e27.

It also aims to bring an NFT experience that is easier to use, enabling the wider audience to tap into the technology. Its app included features such as email sign-up and USD onboarding via payment integration partners such as Stripe and PayPal.

“One of the points of differentiation for us and some of the other marketplaces … is that we are a marketplace that is user-friendly, makes it easy for somebody to buy an NFT and to sell in US dollars. It is credit card-based; you don’t have to have a crypto wallet. And that was something that brands really responded to,” explains Chronicle CMO Doug Neil in the same interview.

Also Read: NFTs: The future musicians were promised is finally here

Chronicling the journey

The story of Chronicle began just last year, exactly as the concept of NFTs began to peak in society. Prior to founding the company, co-founders Glover and Jim Jin have had experience in both the entertainment and blockchain industries. Glover used to handle marketing and franchise consultant for Universal and Amblin’s Jurassic World franchise, creating immersive digital content, while Jin has invested in blockchain projects since 2016.

As CMO, Neil is a senior entertainment executive with over 10 years of experience in digital marketing at Universal Pictures.

“We came up with the idea of Chronicle about late Q1 of last year and got the team together in Q2. At that time, the NFT boom had just happened,” Glover says.

“We saw an opportunity to do two things: we wanted to make the purchasing of NFTs as easy as possible for both the fans and the beloved entertainment brands. For anyone that is not really familiar with an NFT, we wanted to make that journey as easy as possible for them … if you do not have to have a crypto wallet, you could use a credit card, and you log into your account and your collectibles are there in your account. The same thing goes for brands who are also navigating the NFT space, like the established entertainment brands, who do not know much about this technology.”

Chronicle is divided into three different business units. In addition to the blockchain unit that provides NFT-as-a-service to entertainment companies, it also runs a 3D animation studio that works on digital marketing campaigns for clients, including campaigns for the recently released Jurassic World.

“It has been great for Chronicle because it provides us a revenue stream for doing animation services. It is also allowing us to show off the quality of our work,” explains Glover.

The company is run by a fully remote team of nine who are based in various countries from the US to Australia.

Also Read: A beginner’s guide into the world of NFTs

On the future of NFT and the entertainment industry

Since its launch in September, Chronicle said that it has gathered more than 15,000 registered users, providing access to officially licensed NFTs to global fans.

For the company, this is certainly not the end of its journey as they intend to continue on expanding its offerings.

“We are continuing to expand our offerings and brands are very receptive to that … as we are executing our plan, we are finding out what is working and wanting to lean into that as we are developing and broadening our relationships,” says Neil.

When asked about the future of NFTs, and how the company plans to seize the existing opportunities, Glover believes we are going to see more exciting use cases built around utility and community.

“It’s probably fair to say that it’s just about scalability and whether a game with already a million users introduce NFTs into it … I think a lot more NFT projects are coming and they have the backing of the NFT and crypto blockchain community. [But the big question here is] what does that represent in the real world? It is probably only one to five per cent [of all the fans],” he says, stressing the importance of NFT projects to reach out to the wider public.

“We need to get past all of these issues of copyright infringement or stolen wallets, all of these problems that the NFT and crypto industry are experiencing, which is the reason why Chronicle exists in the first place. If we are able to get through that, you will start to see adoption as some of these legacy companies will start to look at entities a bit closer.”

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Image Credit: Chronicle

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Nearly everyone in the tech ecosystem is familiar with the idea of fundraising for a startup. Some of us also know the ins and outs of raising for a particular fund, where investors pool capital from other investors who believe in their particular thesis.

Comparatively less known is the concept of investor relations for an entire country. I like to call this startup diplomacy.

These ambassadors, if you will, bridge markets, nations, or regions with a much broader, macro-level goal: To connect the investors in one part of the world with the entrepreneurs in need of capital in another.

These cross-border investments ultimately come through particular startups or funds, but the larger mission is to promote the particular market as a whole. It’s waving the flag for an ecosystem.

Fundraising for the Philippines

One such startup ambassador is Emil Banno. As the founder and CEO of consultancy JCash, which has offices in Tokyo and Manila, he attracts Japanese investors into the Philippines.

Also Read: Understanding the traction metrics that investors are looking for in an early-stage startup

While fundraising at the startup level is often digitally enabled, including everything from deal flow origination to term sheet signing, country-level investor relations are surprisingly more hands-on.

Banno frequently travels back and forth between Japan and the Philippines, sometimes alternating between the two every other month, making good use of his fluency in both Filipino and Japanese. Banno said such is necessary for relationship-building. 

“These investors are usually very seasoned regarding local investments, but they may have less knowledge of other markets. A cold email won’t do in this case. You need to meet with them in person to build trust. In this way, you can make the opportunity profile of your home market fully real and attractive,” he said. 

This kind of work is done across both formal and casual settings. In some instances, Banno visits Japan as part of an official delegation, such as for the Japan Cryptocurrency Forum in 2018, where other fintech leaders joined him in the Philippines, such as Ron Hose, the founder of Coins.ph and Justo Ortiz, the chairman of the board for Unionbank, among many others.

Banno is more commonly pursuing Japanese investors on his own, at their offices, coffee shops, or other informal venues. He emphasised his goal is not just to raise capital; even as one of the more nascent markets in Southeast Asia, the Philippines already has enough of that available within its borders. Instead, Banno argued that information exchange is the most important.

“The capital is secondary. Cross-border investment is important because the investors often have domain expertise that can help the companies they fund scale. In my case, for example, our Filipino companies have benefited from the expertise of our Japanese investors in technology, design, and operations,” said Banno.

Banno has helped attract investment into Filipino businesses across various industries, from agriculture and retail to fintech and e-commerce. He makes most of his living at these exchanges.

In some cases, he co-invests, and in others, he provides consulting to the Japanese companies about the best way to structure the deal, or even technology partners, such as in his recent selection of BLX for any Japanese business needs blockchain or web3 tech in the Philippines. 

Though it may sound counter-productive, he often has no vested interest in the deal, venture, or fund in many cases. Such is the nature of faith in this type of ambassadorship.

The core belief of Banno and others like him is that a rising tide lifts all ships, and helping the ecosystem in some small way now will eventually pay dividends in the form of future business or investment opportunities, or even more abstractly, the availability of better products and services at home in the Philippines. This faith is rooted in a kind of techno-patriotism.

Also Read: A shoutout to the unsung heroes in tech, the connectors

“What I love about my work is that it is indeed a kind of ambassadorship. Only instead of connecting nations, I’m negotiating resources between two business ecosystems. This collaboration results in a better Philippines and even a better brand: We communicate to investors and entrepreneurs alike that you can build anything here,” said Banno.

Shrinking Asia Pacific through linkages

During his work, Banno has met others like him with backgrounds in entrepreneurship, investing, finance, and consulting. He encouraged more people in the ecosystem to consider this kind of work.

While it occurs at the periphery, often behind the scenes and far away from tech headlines, there is arguably no more important work than connecting entire ecosystems.

For people interested in this line of work, he advised them to go farther, quite literally. 

“We don’t need people who can bridge Malaysia, Singapore, or Australia and New Zealand. We need business leaders who can connect markets geographically far from one another and substantially different in culture, economy, and society. In tapping these extremes, we can find the complementary resources necessary to entrepreneurship,” said Banno.

Banno, of course, is not alone. Individuals, organisations, and even governments all over the Asia Pacific strive to draw linkages, connections, and collaborations between different markets. These efforts are diverse in execution. 

Some individuals, like Banno, set up consultancies to operationalise their cross-cultural work. Some organisations create programmes that help investors become more comfortable with investing in a particular market and sometimes make outright introductions to investable businesses.

Some governments provide financial incentives and, more importantly, market education to better attract investors.

Though these efforts may be diverse, they are united by a common but inspiring conceit: the Asia Pacific is a truly dynamic, interconnected economic region whose full value we can unlock by seeing past our differences and making connections that transcend culture.

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Indonesia-based waste treatment company Octopus has announced it has secured US$5 million in a funding round led by Openspace Ventures and SOSV.

The startup will use the capital to expand its services to new cities and strengthen its ecosystem. The plan is to onboard 100,000 waste collectors by 2024. It will also look to acquire over one million users.

Also Read: How Gringgo leverages AI to help improve existing waste management system in Indonesia

Octopus was established in 2021 by Mohammad Ichsan, Hamish Daud, Niko Adi Nugroho, Rizki Mardian and Dimas Ario. The company connects users to local waste collectors that will buy and pick up their post-consumer products. The wastes range from plastic and electronic appliances.

The waste collectors are provided with smartphones to help make picking up orders and setting prices easier. In addition, Octopus also gives them access to its own digital wallet.

According to the firm, it currently has 150,000 monthly active users and more than 60,000 waste collectors on its platform. It currently operates five sorting facilities and 1,700 checkpoints in Jakarta, Bandung, Bali and Makassar. These facilities together handle 380 tonnes of waste a month.

Also Read: Climate tech is in a chicken-and-egg situation in Southeast Asia

It has also joined hands with 20 firms to help them with Extended Producer Responsibility compliance.

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Indonesia-based early wage access (EWA) platform Kini announced that it has raised a US$4.3 million (IDR64 billion) seed funding round led by East Ventures with the participation of Ten13, OurCrowd, K50 Ventures, dan Goodwater Capital.

Interestingly, this is the second portfolio of East Ventures that is working in the EWA vertical, following its investment in wagely in March.

Kini plans to use the new funding to build a new range of HR tech products, expand partnerships, and add HR technology to strengthen its fintech offering through one API.

“We are excited to partner with East Ventures and all of our investors. Their support is crucial in accelerating our mission to create a better life for 99 per cent of workers in Indonesia, especially those who live from paycheck to paycheck,” said Kini Co-Founder & CEO Jordan Fain in a press statement on Thursday, July 7.

Kini was founded in 2021 by Fain and CTO Sidnei Budiman, a veteran in the local fintech industry. Thanks to his experience during his time at Uber, Fain realised that tightening the payment cycle helps improve retention and acquisition. Because of this, he believes that Kini can help in empowering businesses especially in managing large-scale blue-collar workers.

Also Read: Resolution Ventures makes first close of US$20M fintech fund, targets early stage startups

In Southeast Asia, particularly in Indonesia, there are millions of underbanked blue-collar workers who live paycheck to paycheck. They have limited access to credit, making them vulnerable to predatory loan practices.

“The need for financial inclusion for Indonesians has become more urgent than before. We believe in Kini’s mission to revolute the way millions of workers manage their finance to achieve greater financial freedom. We are certain that the Kini team will be a valuable partner for many companies in Indonesia,” said East ventures Partner Melisa Irene.

Kini claimed to be able to achieve growth in its monthly transaction volume by 70 per cent with more than 50 companies teaming up with them. Some of its notable users included Ismaya Group, Asaba, DOKU, and several publicly listed companies. These companies are also integrated into their HRIS (Human Resources Information System).

Kini is being run by a team of 10 people.

The EWA business model

Like many other players in the EWA fields, Kini provides an on-demand salary service (EWA) to help employees of partner companies manage their finances. This fast liquidation process enables employees to pay bills and purchase micro-insurance.

Kini also adds other features that are meant to support the works of the HR department, including instant incentive liquidation, discount vouchers, telecommunication, salary services, API integration, integrated HR information, and a time-tracking feature.

Unlike lending fintech platforms that uses interest rates as a revenue stream, EWA uses a different approach. For salary liquidation service, they are charging a flat tariff for a certain nominal, i.e IDR30,000 admin fee for every IDR1.2 million that is liquidated.

Apart from that, as a startup that is targeting the B2B segment, EWA platforms also have other revenue streams, including fees from HR tech platforms, API, and payments.

Also Read: Vietnamese fintech startups Finhay nets US$25M Series B, Anfin bags US$4.8M pre-Series A

VC funding for EWA platforms

Apart from Kini, there is already a number of startups in Indonesia that working on a similar concept, including GajiGesa, wagely, Gigacover, GajiKoin by KoinWorks, Vinmo, Mekari Flex, Halogaji from Halofina, GetPaid, and Gajiku. The majority of these players have already been supported by VC funding.

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The article was written by Marsya Nabila in Bahasa Indonesia for DailySocial. English translation and editing by e27.

Image Credit: Kini

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e27 and Market Access present the Market Access Series — designed to help companies expand to markets in Southeast Asia. As each country has its own regulations, culture, challenges, and opportunities, this webinar series shares invaluable insights through industry experts from each country to help you figure out the best way to get started.

Each live episode in the series will focus on a specific country and features panellists from government agencies, VCs, and global employment platform Globalization Partners discussing business and fundraising opportunities, challenges, considerations in expansion, tips, best practices, and available support.

Moderated by Dennis Poh, CEO of Legatcy, the panellists for the Market Access: Thailand episode were Woraphot Kingkawkantong, VC Investment Head at Beacon Venture Capital; Pariwat Wongsamran, Director of Entrepreneur and Enterprise and Director of Startup Thailand at the National Innovation Agency; and Charles Ferguson, General Manager – Asia Pacific at Globalization Partners.

Reasons your startup should expand to Thailand

The webinar started with a discussion on why companies should consider expanding to Thailand. Wongsamran explained that Thailand is most suited as a test market lab for companies looking to expand to Southeast Asia. “We have many people here who like to be early adopters like in the B2B and fintech sectors and we have many corporates who would like to work together with startups. Thailand is a very good test market for startups to make sure that they develop the product-market fit and are ready to expand to the rest of Southeast Asia,” he remarked.

“We have a market of about 70 million people to make sure that we can fulfil industry needs. The government wants to develop infrastructure to help foreign startups operate here and we have set up Global Startup Hubs in Bangkok and Chiang Mai. Thailand is a strategic location and strategic market in Southeast Asia. Many foreign companies would like to land here but they don’t know about the local market well so we try to provide consultancy and help connect them to the local networks free of charge,” he added.

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

Charles Ferguson, General Manager of Globalization Partners, added that it’s important to understand the Thai people’s impressive work ethic. “The people of Thailand have shown they have an innovative spirit and desire to progress their ambition. The incredibly well-educated population is remarkably talented across a whole spectrum of indicators.”

The latest e-Conomy SEA 2021 report valued the Thai technology industry market opportunity at 30 billion US dollars. In 2021, 1.1 billion US dollars was raised across 31 deals versus 500 million across 27 in 2020 which points to a significant amount of growth happening in Thailand.

Under the World Bank’s rating of easiest places in the world for doing business, Thailand is ranked 21st. This illustrates a well-designed infrastructure for global startups to plug themselves in and scale. This is also why if you ask any startup looking to scale, it is very rare for a company to consider expansion plans in Southeast Asia while counting out Thailand as a possible global destination.

The Board of investments in Thailand has also built tax incentives, support services, import duty exemptions, and reductions for investment costs, helping mitigate a lot of risks — all to streamline investments going in. On top of that, the country is also a generally nice place to live in which is an important variable, especially because when you’re dealing with resiliency and mental health, various structures are needed in place to support businesses and the people that run them to achieve a great balance in their lives.

Business and fundraising opportunities for startups in the Thailand market

The fundraising landscape in the Thai market shows that a majority of capital raised by startups in Thailand — 70 to 80 per cent — comes from corporate venture capital firms. “That signifies the willingness that bigger corporates are willing to work with startups unlike other countries,” said Kingkawkantong.

He added, “the more formal channel would be through the NIA or other agencies who are looking to act as a door opener for foreign businesses. So I would say either go through the formal channels or just try to reach out to different corporates or even to startups, because they would have experiences working with the bigger corporates and can refer you to the partners already working with them.”

Wongsamran said that if a startup would like to expand but is not ready to set up the company yet, Thailand has several visa options. “We work together with BOI to give the SMART visa before you execute the company — you can get the smart visa also for talent and spouses/children. We would like to let foreign startups easily penetrate the market and understand the market first before setting up here. We also have incubation programmes in vertical industries, with the first one for food technology.”

Also read: Startup scaling and the woes of corporate financing: How PikoHANA fills the gap

Kingkawkantong said that “[For] series A onwards, there are a ton of choices for you because a lot of corporates have their innovation funds or VCs. Whichever industry you’re in, there are VCs that are eager to discuss with you. Besides the corporate and financial venture capital, there are a lot of investors as well looking to invest in great companies and help you succeed in the Thai market.”

“For early-stage capital, the landscape is very active as well, and there are a lot of successful and big angel investor networks out there,” he added. Ferguson said that companies that are pre-Series A can also start looking around at accelerators and incubator programmes. “There are some phenomenally cool accelerators and innovation programmes funded by corporates in different segments like agritech and of course, fintech and NFTs/blockchain, etc.”

How can companies effectively scale in Thailand?

The discussion also included strategies on how companies can scale in Thailand quickly and effectively. What competitive advantages does Thailand’s tech talent workforce provide and how can startups leverage technology to their advantage? 

Kingkawkantong feels the best way to grow isn’t to start cold and to try to invent everything by yourself. “A lot of corporates are eager and desire to collaborate with different startups to help boost their business as well, and that means there is a ton of opportunity to grow together with businesses such as banks, construction, or property sectors. There is room to build synergy and partnership,” he pointed out. 

Ferguson suggested that startups should prepare an appropriate pre-departure checklist before expanding to Thailand. “Do your homework and understand the legal aspects of expansion. For example, there are ownership restrictions around businesses so foreign investors opening a Thai limited company are limited to a maximum of 49 per cent ownership. 

With entity setup and infrastructure deployment, there are several things to consider. Getting work permits, appointing shareholders, taxes — all these different things can be challenging, remarked Ferguson. “So I want to advocate for people to consider alternative ways and means by which you test a market before you go all in.”

He continued: “From a talent point of view, you want to be able to navigate the cultural nuances and be able to plug into local partner networks.

How technology plays a part in helping companies get a headstart

Ferguson remarked that countries like Thailand have had access to free or low-cost open-source software in the last 20 years. He explained how this led to the proliferation of innovative, technology-driven startups, which also fostered a rich talent pool. “You’ve got access to incredibly talented engineers in these markets which don’t necessarily exist in high volume in the more mature markets, so I would advocate that companies look for talent in these markets.”

Speaking of leveraging technology solutions, Ferguson said that in terms of speed, his number one key performance indicator is the time to value (TTV). Technology can have a great streamlining effect, but it depends on how you utilise it to get a strategic advantage. “When technology is deployed with a strategic partner who knows how to maximise the impact of that technology in the market, that’s where the time to value comes in,” said Ferguson.

Also read: oVice releases its biggest interface update

Technology solutions like Globalization Partners’ Global Employment Platform are already localised and ready for the Thai market with compliant labour contracts, access to benefits, and payroll specific to the Thai market so you can hire local talent quickly and compliantly. To learn more, you can schedule a demo here.

In the Q&A session that followed, more tips were offered as the panellists shared insights on the potential for Web3 startups, how startups can tap into available grants from the NIA, and how to navigate tech talent hiring in Thailand.

To learn more, view the webinar here.

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This article is produced by the e27 team, sponsored by Globalization Partners

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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With the funding winter set in, growth-stage startups worldwide find it hard to raise capital. Many high-profile unicorns in fast-growing markets like India have started feeling the pinch and are laying off people in hundreds, if not thousands.

In volatile times like this, Pakistan could offer a golden opportunity for VCs to tap into its largely untapped startup sector. The Islamic republic has recently witnessed a steady inflow of VC.

Malaysia-based Gobi Partners is one of the most active VCs in Pakistan. The VC firm has partnered with Fatima Group to form Fatima Gobi Ventures which has invested in two dozen startups, such as Rider, Tazah, Colabs, and Fasset.

In this article, Taraec Hussein, Vice President of Gobi Partners discusses Pakistan’s emerging startup ecosystem.

Improved internet infrastructure

Pakistan is at an inflexion point of mobile connectivity. Pakistan was one of the countries lagging in 3G and 4G connectivity. If you look at some other economies like India and Indonesia, there was always a love period after the introduction of 3G and 4G infrastructure before the market caught on. Right.

For Pakistan, it happened in 2019-2021. There is now a lot of mobile connectivity, and many directly engage on smartphones. The country has over 100 million 3G and 4g mobile connections.

Abundance of talents

Pakistan has many highly skilled professional nationals working in the US, Europe, the Middle East, Singapore, and other Southeast Asian markets. These talented people, trained in some of the world’s best companies, are now returning and starting digital businesses for the country.

As we know, venture capital always seeks talent, so there is a huge talent pool at the co-founder or CEO level, software engineers, and product engineers.

Also Read: Pakistan startups, the last massive untapped opportunity in the world

Pakistan is also a market where IT export is one of the biggest GDP contributors. It has a lot of software houses. As a result, there’s a lot of trained IT talent.

COVID-19-induced digitalisation

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the push or need for digitalisation. There is now a digitalised way of doing everyday tasks. It even exceeded our expectations in terms of how fast can companies grow in Pakistan.

Given that it’s a very nascent ecosystem, how long would it take for Pakistan to catch up to other markets, such as Indonesia? And I think that the timing was right. In terms of COVID-19, the silver lining is that now Pakistanis, who cannot go to a grocery shop or walk into a bank, are looking for online ways to do basic everyday tasks.

High-profile Pakistanis in VC firms in the US

Another crucial thing about Pakistan is a lot of Pakistanis are sitting in high position partner positions in VC firms across the US. So the hurdles to understanding what the Pakistani market is or the opportunities. A lot of these challenges are being curbed by the local Pakistani partners.

Exciting opportunities in crypto, social commerce and agri

The cryptocurrency space in Pakistan presents tremendous opportunities. The Pakistani per capita is one of the world’s highest owners of crypto assets. There are no crypto platforms in Pakistan, but Gen-Z buys digital assets through money changers. This generation’s first investment assets will be either crypto or NFTs. So they are leapfrogging the local exchanges and going straight into digital assets. There is a great opportunity now, depending on how the regulators react to a crypto platform.

The other exciting space is social commerce. If you look at other markets, social commerce has surpassed the market size of e-commerce.

Social commerce is a big part of consumer behaviour in countries like Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines. This is a big space in Pakistan because it is a very social market. Whether it is group buying, whether it is a reseller, a live streaming model or the D2C model, many models within social commerce are still not explored in the early days.

Pakistan is a massive agriculture market, and there are many hurdles within the supply chain. There are some companies like Tazah that have raised decent rounds. We will see a lot more opportunities within the agri space.

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