Indonesian e-commerce firm Blibli inches closer to IPO
The firm looks to raise US$400M in IPO later this month or early Sept 2022; As part of the plan, Blibli and Tiket.com will merge and conduct the IPO together as one group.

Insignia Ventures raises US$516M for its funds; bullish about web3, climate-tech, healthcare in SEA
The VC firm says its enterprise value is over US$46B on US$304.9M of invested capital, with a loss ratio of less than 2 per cent; It has backed 50+ companies, including Carro, Ajaib, Appier, and GoTo.

A new set of founders will emerge in Indonesia amid funding winter: Vertex Ventures
Senior exec Joshua Agusta said investors may be selective in their investments and have adjusted their expectations of the returns; A lot of growth-stage startups will need longer time to fundraise and that too at moderate valuations.

Botsync’s automatic mobile robots want to lift APAC’s logistics sector to the next level
Botsync’s MAG AMRs can autonomously navigate the operating site to transfer loads of up to 1,500 kg, utilising the base map and multiple integrated sensors.

Jack Ma may let go of Ant Group control
He controls 50.52% of the company’s shares through an entity called Hangzhou Yunbo Investment Consultancy; The business tycoon may cede control by transferring some of his voting powers to Ant executives, including CEO Eric Jing.

B Capital was the top investor in troubled crypto exchange Zipmex
The Thai startup has so far raised a total of US$65.3 million from investors across four rounds; Last week, Zipmex briefly suspended withdrawals following its US$53M exposure to the troubled crypto lenders Babel Finance and Celsius.

SG-founded cybersecurity firm Acronis secures US$250M funding
BlackRock is reportedly one of the backers; The firm offers cyber protection solutions covering backups and protection; Acronis is currently HQed in Switzerland with 34 offices worldwide, catering to 750K businesses across 150+ countries.

SG’s scion Kiat Lim’s Towerhill buys Vulcan Post parent Grvty Media
The acquisition comes as Grvty Media is still recovering from the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic; The deal will give the media firm access to services from Kiat’s portfolio companies.

Creador leads US$11M round of Filipino digital bank player UnoAsia
UnoAsia aims to serve 45 million underbanked people in the Philippines; It also plans to set up digital banks in other countries in South and Southeast Asia, making the firm a regional player in the next few years.

Axie Infinity head moved millions in game tokens before transaction freeze
Axie Infinity developer Sky Mavis confirmed Bloomberg’s analysis of public data that linked the wallet of CEO, Trung Nguyen, to a large transaction of about US$3M in Axie’s AXS tokens to crypto exchange Binance.

SG DeFi firm OrBit Markets raises US$4.6M in Matrixport-led round
Investors include Matrixport, Brevan Howard Digital, New Form Capital, Maven 11, and Westridge Markets; OrBit designs quantitative models and risk engines to create crypto-based financial solutions.

Packworks bags US$2M to launch m-ERP platform for Filipino sari-sari stores
Investors include Fast Group, CVC Capital, ADB Ventures, Arise, Techstars, and IdeaSpace Foundation; Packworks enables store owners to process their business inventory, bookkeeping, and data collection through The Pack: SuperStore App.

Insitor Partners leads Cambodian agritech startup’s pre-series A round
Azaylla provides supply chain solutions for farmers, helping them process and distribute fresh produce worldwide; It also plans to launch an online B2B platform that incorporates consumer insights, market data, and curation.

The post Ecosystem Roundup: Blibli inches closer to IPO, Insignia raises US$516M for Fund III, Jack Ma may let go of Ant Group control appeared first on e27.

The world of startups is a high-stakes game, further perpetuated by increased uncertainty. Of the number of enterprises that launch, 90% eventually fail within the first 10 years.

There are many lessons to learn from the creme de la creme that make it through. These strong enterprises have invested in the right priorities, especially in tough times. Extending internal cash ways and focusing on operational efficiencies while continuing to deliver great customer value are key factors to stand out.

While there are headwinds that come with abrupt change and macro market challenges, there are also tailwinds to be harnessed with the increased digital adoption among consumers. What comes with constraints are opportunities to exercise creativity and harness the power of “and” versus “either-or” thinking. The right tools need to be in place for people and processes in the company to work efficiently and continue to drive growth, save money and reduce risk.

Shifts in consumer trends

Amidst the challenges, there are great opportunities for Asia’s startup ecosystem. A big chunk of consumers is changing their purchasing behaviour and shifting to digital. This presents a plethora of entry points for enterprises to provide value in this space, as well as be able to optimise operations, by working with digital platforms.

There are many ways of tapping business efficiency. One of these is to invest in systems that pay off in the long run. An opportunity to build this efficiency into your enterprise is to incorporate an agile go-to-market model and make your website work for you, get the right audience, and focus on deals that you can win. Aligning internal functions and uniting sales and marketing around your customer is crucial.

Also read: How AlphaJWC Ventures built Indonesia’s largest early-stage fund

Freshworks (NASDAQ: FRSH), a leading software company that empowers businesses in delighting both their customers and their employees, has cloud-based sales and support solutions that help businesses improve the experience of their customers and respective market segments. Their services facilitate connectivity within internal teams and enable them to interact and engage customers and realise the efficiency of various operational processes through technology

Freshworks has enabled over 50,000 small and big companies across the globe to exceed customer and employee expectations. 

For Freshworks, customer engagement is key

In the Southeast Asian region, Zalora is a Freshworks customer, enabling the leading e-commerce fashion retailer to increase its customer agent response time and enhance personalisation to its 50 million customers online. 7-Eleven in the Philippines is also benefitting from improvements in its omnichannel customer experience through Freshworks’ solutions. They are able to automate and optimise their customer resolution processes, delivering great conveniences to both their in-store and online customers, across their 3000 24-hour convenience stores.

Freshworks also has solid representation and support in Southeast Asia, with its regional headquarters in Singapore. With its increasing growth in the region impacting the operational improvement of many businesses, it is committed to delivering customer needs, strengthening partner ecosystems, and sustaining the build-up of these ecosystems.

Also read: Alibaba Cloud launches AsiaStar 10×10 campaign for SEA startups

Your startup is better with Freshworks. You can leverage key features such as automation, multiple-channel support, and AI tools, which are all available on the Freshworks Customer Engagement Solutions suite. They provide tailored cloud-based solutions that suit specific needs, native collaboration to improve workflow efficiency, and intuitive interfaces that enable quick training & transition.

Freshworks has catered to various enterprises globally amidst a range of sizes, also offering solutions for small and medium-scale businesses, entrepreneurs, and business professionals. They offer the flexibility of their solutions to enable efficiencies, such as omnichannel customer service software, customer support software, customer messaging software, contact centre solutions, sales software, customer relationship management for sales and marketing teams, marketing automation software, IT service management software, and human resources software.

The benefits you get with Freshworks

As a startup, you are eligible to avail of the Freshworks suite of solutions through their Freshworks for Startups program. The perks include $10,000 worth of credits across products. With an allocation of $1,250 per product, your team is guided through a white glove onboarding process.

To add to that, you are also able to engage with a built-in community of mentors and founders and access useful resources for startup founders, including Youtube playlists, webinars, and playbooks.

Also read: Four takeaways from companies actively building ventures in Singapore

Freshsales Suite (all-in-one CRM), Freshdesk (helpdesk software) and Freshchat (live chat software) are some of the loved Freshworks products, other Freshworks customers include Klarna, Fiverr, and Delivery Hero.

Boost your startup journey with leading customer and employee engagement solutions from Freshworks now, with a simple, cost-effective setup and user process, and comes equipped with powerful automation. Sign up here.

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

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