Ayoconnect, an open finance platform in Indonesia, has raised US$13 million for its Series B+ financing round led by SIG Venture Capital.

The round also saw participation from CE Innovation Capital and existing investor fintech PayU, the payments and fintech business of Prosus.

The new funding will enable Ayoconnect to continue building the leadership team and invest in product and technology development.

The round will also facilitate the execution of Ayoconnect’s roadmap through organic and external growth, including new solutions around payments, data and banking, and new APIs planned for account opening and card issuing.

In January end, Ayoconnect announced closing a US$15 million Series B financing round led by Tiger Global. This round came after a US$10 million pre-Series B financing from Mandiri Capital and Patamar Capital.

Founded in 2016, Ayoconnect provides embedded finance and data solutions to help companies of all sizes launch banking and payment services within a few weeks.

Also Read: Open Finance platform Ayoconnect banks US$15M Series B to launch new products

Ayoconnect enables its business customers to launch new financial services “faster and cheaper” with its core infrastructure that is secure and regulated. Using Ayoconnect’s APIs means companies can bypass the lengthy and expensive process of building their own technology infrastructure from scratch without needing a BI license.

Its tech solutions are used by more than 200 clients, including Bank Mandiri, BRI, Dana, and Bukalapak.

With under 250 employees, the firm has also launched automated recurring direct debit with seven of Indonesia’s biggest banks (Mandiri, BRI, BNI, CIMB Niaga, Danamon, Bank Syariah Indonesia and Bank Neo Commerce). The direct debit API provides Indonesian businesses with recurring capabilities that can instantly debit from customers’ saving accounts across multiple banks.

Jakob Rost, CEO and Co-Founder at Ayoconnect, said: “The new funding will help us accelerate the delivery of our vision by shipping new solutions to our banking and API clients. The next 12 months will execute even faster and invest smartly in new solution rollouts.”

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A multimillion-dollar international express delivery business came from a failed business venture. Ninja Van was founded by three young entrepreneurs who had to give up their struggling fashion line to focus their attention and resources on delivering more than a million parcels daily to customers of some of the leading retailers in the region.

Also read: Grab vs Gojek: Whose strategy should you follow?

The e-commerce touch

Ninja Van’s technology-led model is crucial to its success. It addressed poor logistics infrastructure that posed challenges for retailers and customers and tapped the region’s active and fast-growing e-commerce markets.

Responsible scale up

It was not an easy journey for Ninja Van to go beyond Singapore, but the progress was quick. Instead of growing at all costs, the founders assured of growth “in a responsible manner.” They focused on the people, the customers, and the services, allowing them to achieve profitability.

So, what is Ninja Van’s secret?

Ninja Van has grown and achieved financial sustainability over the years, but how did it handle all the nitty-gritty? At the Echelon Asia Summit 2022, Adriel Yong, Investment Analyst at Orvel Ventures, will explore Ninja Vans’ success in a fireside chat: Pursuing sustainable growth – how Ninja Van increased their growth margin from 8% to 60%. In addition, Alvin Teo, Chief Partnerships Officer at Ninja Van, will be there to answer questions raised about the company’s business model, including:

• How did founders think about growth five years ago, especially when the capital was much more accessible and investors might not have been as concerned about near-term profitability?
• What were some of the critical decisions and actions taken to improve the business?
• What were the difficult tradeoffs that the founders made in pursuit of better margins?
• What methods were tried but didn’t work?
• Where is Ninja Van focused on, and what does growth mean for it in the next few years?

Also read: Echelon 2022: The rise of a new startup profitability culture

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 Echelon Asia Summit 2022 (October 27-28) returns after a three-year hiatus. It aims to gather the most influential decision-makers and industry leaders from the Southeast Asia tech and startup ecosystem.

Register for Echelon Asia Summit 2022 now!

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FinAccel turns unicorn with US$140M in Series D money
The investors include Mirae Asset, Square Peg, GMO Global Payment Fund, Jungle Ventures, Openspace Ventures, Cathay Innovation, and Endeavor Catalyst; FinAccel operates a BNPL service that allows customers to do online and offline transactions and pay for their orders in instalments.

Malaysia’s US$100M startup funding in doubt as elections loom
Financial and political analysts speaking to Tech in Asia noted that as the general elections neared, the budget was like a “carrot” dangled in front of beneficiaries ranging from large businesses and startups to poor households.

Zilingo’s fate in limbo as liquidation question lingers
One of Deal Street Asia‘s sources said Zilingo’s board has decided to shut down and liquidate the firm in a transaction that will see its debtors receive half their money back.

Thai e-commerce enabler aCommerce to delay IPO to next year
According to one of GlobalCapital Asia’s sources, given the current market situation and aCommerce being a tech company, there’s been a lack of visibility on the startup’s earnings, leading to the IPO being postponed.

GoTo’s Electrum targets e-motorcycle by 2024
Electrum is a JV between GoTo and Indonesia’s TBS Energi Utama; Electrum’s MD Patrick Adhiatmadja said it will begin sourcing e-scooters from other companies before producing the units itself.

Indonesian fintech firm Ayoconnect raises US$13M Series B+
The investors are SIG Venture Capital, CE Innovation Capital, and PayU; Ayoconnect CEO Jakob Rost said the next 12 months will be about executing even faster and investing smartly in new solution rollouts.

Indonesia-based Fabelio declares bankruptcy
By the end of 2021, Fabelio staff had reportedly gone unpaid for months; A Change.org petition was created for the startup’s employees, demanding that the firm pay the salaries owed.

Thai beauty e-commerce firm Konvy bags US$10M from Insignia Ventures
Konvy will use the capital to expand its omnichannel and international distribution for health and beauty brands and for hiring; Konvy carries 1,000+ global and local beauty brands, ranging from skincare and makeup to perfumes.

Thai proptech platform PropertyScout raises US$5M Series A
The investors include Altara Ventures, Hustle Fund, AngelCentral, and Asymmetry VC; PropertyScout is an end-to-end real estate transaction platform connecting over 1,800 agents and agencies with buyers, renters and owners.

Indonesia’s Waste4Change secures US$5M Series A
The investors include AC Ventures, PT Barito Mitra Investama, Basra Corporation, SMDV, and Urban Gateway Fund; Waste4Change is a waste management platform for companies, individuals, and government agencies.

Chinese e-commerce enabler sets up regional HQs in Singapore
Baozun is also setting up its Philippine office, with expansion plans for Indonesia, Vietnam, and Thailand in the cards by 2023; It believes that there is an increasing demand for e-commerce tech and infrastructure in the region.

Vietnamese fashion recommerce firm Piktina raises US$1M
The investor is Touchstone Partners; Piktina connects buyers and sellers of secondhand goods, targeting individuals who want to free up their closets and businesses specialising in pre-owned fashion items.

ShopBack chief commercial officer steps down
Candice Ong will, however, continue to serve as a non-executive director on the company’s board; Ong had been ShopBack’s CCO since January 2017, when the company was operating in five markets with around 110 employees.

Singapore’s NFT infra firm Gomu raises US$5M
Investors are Coinbase Ventures, DeFiance Capital, and Saison Capital; Gomu offers NFT Hub, a white-labelled community hub and marketplace for NFT communities, and Collection.xyz, a protocol that enables NFT holders to create a liquidity pool with their digital assets.

India pilots blockchain-based web portal for police complaints
Powered by Web3 infrastructure Polygon Technology, the platform allows for online lodging of grievances; While the project is still in its initial phase, the question of data privacy arises.

Former NEA Partner Amit Mukherjee launches Chainforest DAO to back Web3 startups
Chainforest community consists of more than 400 full-time web3 operators from Polygon, Solana Foundation, Ava Labs, Consensus, Poolsuite, and Friends with Benefits.

The race of Web3 and crypto infrastructure vs big tech
For Web3 to mature, there must be recognition of the value of sovereignty, and UX must continue to improve; Any successful buildout in Web3 requires the availability of secure, reliable, and cost-effective tools at the same [or better] efficiency than Big Tech.

KoinWorks names ex-ABN Amro exec as CFO
Frank Van Deur will develop funding and forecasting strategies and oversee its financial management; Van Deur brings over 20 years of experience in the global finance and banking sector.

Blockchain.com secures green light for SG operations
The crypto financial services firm currently has 84M wallets and 37M verified users from 200 countries; The development follows its peer Coinbase securing a similar in-principle approval from MAS to operate in Singapore.

Sustainable growth in the SEA startup ecosystem: Why tomorrow starts today
At Echelon 2022, we will look at ways for companies to achieve sustainable growth in a post-pandemic world.

The rise of a new startup profitability culture
Learn about how the post-pandemic ecosystem has given birth to a new culture of profitability, opening up new possibilities.

Grab vs Gojek: Whose strategy should you follow?
At Echelon 2022, explore the differences in how the two most prominent tech startups in Southeast Asia are approaching regional expansion.

Globish helps children and working professionals in Thailand and Vietnam master English
Its curricula focus on building communication confidence using post-method pedagogy combined with local contexts matching learners’ behaviours; The lack of trust in online education for parents and schools has been a severe issue in Thailand.

The future of farming in the Asia Pacific is here to empower farmers
To make farming a profitable profession, we need to ensure that the people growing the crops are rewarded fairly for their work; And that starts by placing the farmer at the centre of an ecosystem of integrated solutions.

APAC businesses promoting a culture of sustainability
As the market is looking for more green businesses, incorporating sustainability into a startup’s mission statement can help people notice it.

Creative content business: What it means for streamers and broadcasters
There’s no magic formula or set of data points that can consistently predict which titles will hit and which won’t; Entertainment is a creative industry, and creating content is still principally an art rather than a science.

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Echelon 2022 aims to provide intimate and focused discussions on key topics and business matching services to facilitate business-driven connections during the two-day event. e27 will curate and invite key stakeholders of startups, investors, corporates, and ecosystem enablers to drive towards fruitful business outcomes at Echelon. 

Here’s the full list of the speakers for the 2022 edition, which will be co-located with SWITCH at Resorts World Sentosa from 27 to 28 October 2022. Learn more here. 

The post Ecosystem Roundup: FinAccel turns unicorn, Zilingo’s fate in limbo, aCommerce postpones IPO to ’23 appeared first on e27.

Thailand-based proptech startup PropertyScout has announced the completion of its US$5 million Series A financing led by Altara Ventures.

Partech and many returning investors, including Hustle Fund, AngelCentral, and Asymmetry VC, also participated.

Angel investor Carsten Rahlfs, a partner at Waterland Private Equity, also joined.

PropertyScout will use the funds to scale its core business by doubling down on investments into its technology platform and create an accurate property database for its customers and co-broker partners. It will also look to grow domestically organically and through acquisitions and prepare its entry into additional markets in Southeast Asia.

The startup also plans to boost its current staff of 200 by hiring talent in product and software engineering, sales, property management, marketing, and operations.

Also Read: Singapore’s klikit raises US$2M to bridge restaurants and creator economy

Established in 2020 by Mario Peng, Dr Marco Barth, and Salita Kamnerdsiri, PropertyScout provides an end-to-end real estate platform connecting realtors to buyers, renters, and owners. It currently works with over 1,800 real estate agents and agencies and lists more than 200,000 properties. The firm also digitises and automates 90 per cent of the real estate transaction process, enabling parties to close deals faster.

“The real estate market in Thailand and Southeast Asia is fragmented and plagued by fake and outdated listings. PropertyScout has successfully built a technology platform and scalable processes to solve this problem,” said Peng, Founder and CEO of PropertyScout.

In January 2022, PropertyScout raised US$2.5 million in its pre-Series A round bringing its total funding to US$7.8 million.

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Echelon 2022 aims to provide intimate and focused discussions on key topics and business matching services to facilitate business-driven connections during the two-day event. e27 will curate and invite key stakeholders of startups, investors, corporates, and ecosystem enablers to drive towards fruitful business outcomes at Echelon.

The 2022 Echelon edition will be co-located with SWITCH at Resorts World Sentosa from 27 to 28 October 2022. Learn more here. 

The post Thailand’s PropertyScout nets US$5M to connect realtors to buyers and renters appeared first on e27.

Indonesia-based Waste4Change has announced the completion of its US$5 million series A funding round co-led by AC Ventures and PT Barito Mitra Investama.

Basra Corporation, Paloma Capital, PT Delapan Satu Investa, Living Lab Ventures, SMDV, and Urban Gateway Fund, also participated.

The waste management startup will use the money to expand its reach and increase waste management capacity up to 100 tons per day in the next 18 months. It also aims to reach more than 2,000 tons per day over the next five years.

Waste4Change’s plan also involves integrating more digital technology into the monitoring and recording processes of the waste management flow and automating material recovery facilities. It will also strengthen partnerships with the country’s informal solid waste sector, which is currently powered by scavengers, waste banks, waste stalls, and waste aggregators.

Also Read: Thailand’s PropertyScout nets US$5M to connect realtors to buyers and renters

Established in November 2014, Waste4Change offers upstream and downstream waste management solutions consisting of consultation (research and studies related to solid waste), campaign (capacity building, education, and mentoring), collection (daily waste collection service that supports zero waste to landfill), and creation (waste recycling, extended producer responsibility, and waste credit).

The firm’s mission is to solve waste problems to prevent leakage into the environment and reduce the amount of waste in landfills.

The company operates in 21 Indonesian cities, managing more than 8,000 tons of waste annually. It has collected waste from over 100 B2B clients and 3,450 household clients. Since 2017, it has grown at a CAGR of 55.1 per cent.

Waste4Change Founder and CEO Mohamad Bijaksana Junerosano said, “Indonesia’s waste management sector is still growing, and we are more than ready to assist in the process. With its low 11-12 per cent recycling rate based on Ministry Environment and Forestry data, we know that many valuable materials are still ready to be brought back into the loop. Compared to what we experienced in 2014, today’s market is getting more mature. We will do whatever we can to provide solutions to every waste management need.”

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Echelon 2022 aims to provide intimate and focused discussions on key topics and business matching services to facilitate business-driven connections during the two-day event. e27 will curate and invite key stakeholders of startups, investors, corporates, and ecosystem enablers to drive towards fruitful business outcomes at Echelon.

The 2022 Echelon edition will be co-located with SWITCH at Resorts World Sentosa from 27 to 28 October 2022. Learn more here. 

The post Waste4Change grabs US$5M to shrink Indonesia’s landfills appeared first on e27.