It is without question that technology has vastly improved our lives in more ways than none, making everything faster, easier, and more efficient than ever before.

For the longest time, consumer finance has been confined to a traditional way, where customers regularly visit a bank’s branch to avail themselves of their products and services. Conversely, bank employees must address customer concerns and document and validate bank transactions.

Striking a balance between speed and security

I first entered the world of consumer finance when I joined a leading and established bank in Poland, at a time when retail banking was starting to get ahold in the country. My first experience not only taught me the ropes but it established my foundations on how essential it was to work as a team and what it meant to be a professional.

It also made me realise the harsh reality that banks faced: everything took time, perhaps too much time. By its very nature, banks have a fiduciary duty towards their clients to ensure that their money remains safe and secure. However, I found myself asking this, “Is there a better and faster way to do all of this without risking our customers’ trust?”

With this in mind, I brought this with me to the next stop in my career, this time in a growing retail bank in Ukraine. Fuelled to augment and reduce the lead time needed, I was determined to optimise our core banking processes. During this period, we could finish projects in two months, which would usually take six months, a 300 per cent improvement.

Building on process automation and human innovation

To achieve these results, our team made use of known data-driven methods such as Six Sigma, which allows us first to identify and then eliminate defects in business processes. This emphasis on data would further serve as the light that guides my career from that point forward.

Digital transformation is in full swing, a phenomenon that continues to affect us in every facet of our lives. This would not have been possible without breakthrough technological advancements driven by data.

Consumer finance has already grown leaps and bounds compared to when I started. New processes like predictive auto-dialling and automated reminder calls can now be executed at increasing speeds and with little to no human errors.

Also Read: ‘Neobanks can create a better digital CX by leveraging AI, blockchain’: banco CEO

That does not mean that our role has diminished. In fact, it highlights the brilliance of human ingenuity – our abilities to be innovative and creative. We no longer need to focus our valuable time on doing rote work; we can now shift to designing systems that will put customer experience at the forefront, allowing technology to automate processes in a faster and more secure way than any person could ever do.

Leveraging on data for business optimisation

As Co-Founder and former CEO Of Singapore-based FLOW (previously known as Asia Collect), we established professional, ethical, and highly efficient credit management through our data-driven collection strategies in the APAC region.

Redefining credit management was made possible with AI technologies and ethical practices. With no field collection, automation was the framework which allowed digital debt collection to handle larger volumes of transactions with significantly reduced manpower.

With over 2.8 million customers utilising FLOW’s personalised and digital-first experiences, FLOW’s strategies have shown impressive recovery rates for financial institutions and technology companies. Its growing success was made possible by efficiency improvements not just in its processes but also in optimising our personnel.

After my venture with FLOW, I am more than proud of the work that we have done at Tonik, the Philippines’ first purely digital bank, or neobank as we call it. In their 2021 Financial Inclusion report, the Philippine central bank, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), showed that 45 per cent of adult Filipinos in 2019 were unbanked. In that same year, only 12 per cent of those had bank accounts. In 2021 per cent, that figure doubled to 23 per cent for those with bank accounts.

That rise in the figure, which happened throughout the pandemic, greatly accelerated the adoption of digital payment and banking systems. Now that digital banking has gained widespread usage due to its ease and convenience, Filipinos now have more access to lending and deposit products and payments channel, all done with a few taps on their phones.

Customers can seamlessly transfer funds, apply for loans, and pay their bills in a fraction of the time compared to before. Our core banking infrastructure is in the cloud, powered and secured by world-class tech companies.

With a strong and experienced leadership team that is steering the ship, amplified by our shared vision of revolutionising the way money works in the region, I am excited to be on this trailblazing journey. By harnessing both the power of operational efficiency through technology and the talents and passion of our people, we are set to continue to revolutionise the way money works in Southeast Asia truly.

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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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Facial recognition has the power to make remote work more seamless and less distributed. In fact, experts say that by 2025, 22 per cent of the workforce will work remotely. Remote workers report being 22 per cent happier at work and 30 per cent more productive and engaged with their tasks.

However, despite these positives, there are still several challenges that remote work presents. Since the beginning of COVID-19, 47 per cent of remote workers report experiencing burnout. There has been a newfound loss of work and home balance and longer hours that create a slew of new challenges.

Challenges of remote work

A shocking 75 per cent of remote workers report experiencing stress and burnout at work. 43 per cent are likely to work over 40 hours per week, with nearly 40 per cent reporting longer hours than before the pandemic. Over 20 per cent of remote workers find it difficult to unplug from their jobs, as their living space and their working space have now become the same. 

Remote work also has been found to lead to disorganisation and frustration among workers. Many report feeling stressed, which impacts workplace well-being and productivity. Some also struggle with delays, as time management within teams becomes taxing and difficult.

Workers have also reported noticing lower quality work, as the lack of team direction and attention leads to poor output. Lost time and interruptions are also significant roadblocks. Many remote workers feel that even after a long or busy day, nothing meaningful was accomplished. Distractions have become the norm, as other events outside of work are constantly competing for the attention of these struggling remote workers.

Organising the woes of remote work

Studies show that 90 per cent of Americans feel more refreshed after stepping away from their computer. These same participants felt that they have a more enjoyable workplace experience and higher productivity after taking these breaks. It is from this concept that the tool of automatic time tracking was born.

Also Read: Is the remote working trend “swallowing”​ office employees’​ vacation time?

Automatic time tracking can help remote employees in a multitude of ways. It can identify where their time is being most spent and track their long-term progress. It can help facilitate breaks and time off appropriately, as well as prioritise what is most important. Many workers report feeling more focused and organised during their workday while using this technology.

On the other hand, businesses can also benefit greatly from time tracking. There is more transparency, increased employee accountability, and a better opportunity to gain insight into their demands and budget use. To illustrate these benefits, experts say that in the United States, filing timesheets waste US$7.4 billion a day in productivity. These numbers are reaching these heights solely because workers forget to log their hours, a burden that can be alleviated through time-tracking technology.

Time tracking, while revolutionary and beneficial in many ways, presents its own set of challenges to businesses and employees. Employees still spend up to four hours a week on unproductive tasks. Nearly 30 per cent spend their time just checking and answering emails, while over half spend three or more hours on non-work activities.

Many waste up to five hours weekly on calls and meetings that achieve nothing. The freedom that comes with working from home is something that many managers are concerned about. Over 80 per cent admit to feeling concerned that remote working may reduce employee focus and productivity.

There are several types of time-tracking technology that are slowly making their way into the world of commerce. They vary from manual to full remote monitoring, including but not limited to timesheets, keycards, biometric data and GPS tracking.

While many small startups are still using manual methods, 60 per cent of companies with remote workers are using full remote monitoring to track their employees. This means that they can keep tabs on keystrokes, browsing, hours spent working, and even tap into live webcams.

Facial recognition is another fairly new tool that can contribute to time tracking for many businesses. Facial recognition software cannot be fooled by pictures or lookalikes, works on both Apple and Android devices, works via web browser, and is backed by smart technology.

When used together, these technologies allow for a distributed and efficient remote workforce with more time for productivity and less busy work. Time tracking is the right-hand man for any business that relies on remote workers, saving time, money, and energy when it is needed the most.

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Elon Musk closes Twitter buy for US$44B, fires CEO and CFO
Aside from CEO Parag Agrawal, Musk also fired CFO Ned Segal, General Counsel Sean Edgett, and Head of Legal Policy, trust and Safety Vijaya Gadde; The deal follows months of Musk’s journey to take full control of the social media platform.

Square Peg closes new US$550M fund
The global VC firm will continue to invest in consumer internet, fintech, edutech, future of work, healthtech, and SaaS in SEA, Australia, and Israel; The firm has backed 60+ companies, including LottieFiles, Doctor Anywhere, and FinAccel.

Blibli parent sells 6.6B more shares in IPO, nets US$513M
The Jakarta-based firm upped its quota for sale to 17.8B shares at US$0.029 each from the 11.2B shares at US$0.026 to US$0.03 apiece; Anticipating a US$3.5B valuation, the company will list on the IDX on November 7.

SEA digital economy to grow in 2022 despite headwinds: report
The digital economy is poised to hit US$200B in GMV in 2022; In 2030, this figure could skyrocket to up to US$1 trillion, according to a joint report by Google, Temasek, and Bain and Company.

Lamudi parent EMPG raises US$200M funding, eying IPO listing
This round was led by Jared Kushner’s investment firm Affinity Partners, with new funding from KCK, Acacia Partners, plus several other investors, including Prosus, which maintains its stake.

Temasek’s 65 Equity Partners pours US$105M into SG’s Cityneon
Neon creates experiences using tangible and intangible environments; It brings these experiences to locations for clients like Disney, Universal, Marvel, and Hasbro, among others; The company also announced that it would be rebranding to Neon.

HK fintech firm Reap banks US$40M Series A
The investors are Acorn Pacific Ventures, HashKey Capital, and Arcadia Funds; Reap’s platform helps users access payables management and international payments and collections.

Indonesian solar energy firm Xurya banks US$33M Series A+
The lead investor is Mitsui & Co; Xurya helps partners achieve sustainability, economic, and financial goals by lending expertise on sourcing, developing, operating, and maintaining distributed solar projects.

Shopify invests in WhatsApp CRM firm WATI’s US$23M round
Other investors are Tiger Global, DST Global, Sequoia India & SEA; The firm enables companies to have scalable and personalised conversations using customer engagement software built on WhatsApp’s business API.

SG’s cloud communications firm Toku nets US$5M Series A+
Lead investors are Delivery Hero Ventures and Malaysia’s OSK Ventures; Toku will use the fresh money to establish a presence in Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Vietnam, South Korea and the Philippines.

KYAN Therapeutics bags US$5M to bridge the cancer care gap using tech
The investors are Altara Ventures, SEEDS Capital, and K3 Ventures; From drug development to personalised medicine, KYAN offers a solution to identify the optimal outcome for millions of possible drug-dose combinations.

Ex-Gojek VP’s mobile café network Jago nets US$2.2M pre-Series A
The investors are Intudo Ventures, Beenext, CyberAgent Capital, and Arkblu Capital; Jago will use the funds to expand to over 200 mobile cafés, covering 20 hyperlocal areas in Jakarta.

Malaysian fleet fuel expense management startup BayaPay raises funding
The investor is Winacore Capital; BayaPay offers BayaFuel, a card to enable businesses to make secure payments within set limits and controls across all fleet-related expense management.

Facebook unveils the 2022 APAC cohort for Community Accelerator Program
Throughout the 4-month programme, participants will receive training from experts and coaches through a customised curriculum to help them organise and strengthen their community while connecting with community leaders globally.

Investments in startups grew by more than 45% in 2021
As a signal of confidence in the startup investment scene, funding activities have increased exponentially to reach US$10.5B in 2021; Venture funding within H1 2022 alone has reached US$5.8B.

Wavemaker Impact, Bill Gates’s VC arm, Temasek launch agritech startup
The startup aims to bring together climate-tech, agri-food, and venture-building capabilities to accelerate rice decarbonisation in SEA and the rest of Asia; The three VC firms have also invested in the company, whose name is yet to be disclosed.

Singapore’s NFT startup AWST raises US$1.7M funding
The investors are East Ventures, 500 Global, and Antler; AWST integrates companies and brands into the Web3 landscape by helping them launch NFT collections across different blockchain protocols.

UOB’s greentech accelerator names 12 startups in first batch
Launched in May this year, Greentech Accelerator aims to inject ~US$105K into startups that create solutions to help the environment, such as energy efficiency products, zero-waste supply chains, as well as carbon management and reporting software.

Stripe brings flagship services to Thailand
The fintech firm will be rolling out support for subscriptions and recurring payments, ecommerce transactions, automated payments, and fraud detection and prevention, among other services.

Temasek shuffles executives, CFO appointed as Singapore head
Leong Wai Leng, who has held the role of CFO for 16 years, will step down to be appointed as the firm’s Singapore market president; Deputy CFO Png Chin Yee will be elevated as the CFO from January 1.

Should Southeast Asian startups look to transition from Web2 to Web3?
Shaun Heng, Qin En Looi, Rishi Randhawa, and Rachael De Foe, Eddie Thai will discuss ‘How Web2 Founders can leverage Web3 technologies and business models and Embrace the New Internet’ today at Echelon 2022. 

How iPrice Group navigates the seven SEAs
A deep-dive into how Malaysia-headquartered iPrice built a successful price comparison venture across the region despite all the odds.

Dream loud, dream big and dream now: Surbhi Agarwal of Yellow.ai
Yellow.ai’s senior VP and Head of Marketing Surbhi Agarwal about how she’s driving organisational efficiency by building high-performing teams.

How startups and VCs can propel Indonesia’s energy transition
As Indonesia continues on its rapid path to modernisation, demand for the internet will steadily increase, and so too will its energy needs.

Going the extra mile in digital innovation for Singapore’s commuter experience
Singapore’s MRT system is no longer just a train network; it has become a landmark; With vibrant transit spaces designed for interactive commuter experience, taking the train is meant to be more of an enjoyable trip than a tedious chore.

East Ventures-backed Mighty Jaxx launches first metaverse project
The Spooky Season project is a collaboration with US-based collectibles giant Sideshow Collectibles and can be accessed on Animoca Brands’s The Sandbox from October 28 to November 11.

Vertu Metavertu is a new “Web3” smartphone that costs US$41K
The super-high-end mobile device brand asserts that it has “10T IPFS” storage, a “metaspace encrypted space” and the A5 “Privacy Chip” necessary to secure the NFTs the smartphone can apparently create from any photo taken with its camera in one step.

‘Phishing scammer has drained US$1M in crypto and NFTs in Past 24 Hours’
The two biggest victims, 0x02a and 0x626, lost a combined US$370K after signing transactions on phishing sites run by the prolific scammer, according to ZachXBT.

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Dubai-based unicorn Emerging Markets Property Group (EMPG) has completed a US$200 million investment led by Affinity Partners, a global investment firm launched in 2021 by former US president Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.

New investors KCK and Acacia Partners joined the funding round along with the existing investors, including Prosus.

EMPG will use the funds to solidify its position in its operating markets and prepare for an IPO soon. With the majority of the investment being earmarked for the UAE, the firm will continue to remain focused on its core markets. A significant part of the incoming funds would also be devoted to further investment in its proprietary and highly scalable technology platform.

Also Read: Cloud communications firm Toku nets US$5M Series A+ for APAC expansion

Founded in 2015 by Imran Ali Khan and Zeeshan Ali Khan, EMPG operates several online classifieds platforms across emerging markets focused on the Middle East and Africa, South and Southeast Asia, including Bayut, Dubizzle, Zameen.com, OLX (Pakistan, Egypt and Lebanon). EMPG also owns and operates the Southeast Asia-focused property marketplace Lamudi.

EMPG’s popular classifieds and transactional product offerings are deeply rooted in its technology platform and benefit from strong network effects. The company has invested heavily in its technology infrastructure, with its own tech centres comprising over 500 engineers.

“With this investment round, EMPG begins a new chapter in its success story. We are on track to double our revenue over the last 24 months while achieving an EBITDA positive position, and we look forward to continuing this strong growth trajectory,” said EMPG CEO Imran Ali Khan.

Previously, EMPG raised US$279 million, according to CBInsights and Crunchbase.

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On the first day of Echelon 2022, Carmen Yuen, General Partner at Vertex Ventures, explains how startups in the Southeast Asian ecosystem today still have to deal with global challenges in a manner similar to the earlier days of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

“We were bracing for the worst. The response by companies was to cut costs ratio, extend the runway, and make sure to have money that lasts for 18 to 24 months. Are you able to work on a creative model to make sure that your talent stays around?” she points out. “Then, subsequently, everybody forgot about that because money started coming in investments. It takes you on a rollercoaster ride that is very, very high … then we came down again. So, the practices that we did in 2020 still apply today.”

Yuen gave this observation at a panel discussion called “The state of SEA startup ecosystem today and what’s in it for 2023” at Echelon 2022, held at Resorts World Sentosa on Thursday. However, in addition to a warning, she also gave hope by stressing that the region “is just about finding enough pieces [of puzzles] to solve”.

Some verticals also continue to be popular, even during a time of crisis. Yuen gave the example of climate tech, particularly companies that are working on providing solutions to problems such as food security and waterborne diseases, in addition to the already popular sector of electric vehicles.

Despite not being an impact investor, Vertex Ventures has portfolio companies that have developed a product with impact. In addition to working closely with MSMEs, these companies try to implement principles of inclusion in their operations.

“Honestly, when you are doing something good, you will probably generate employment in the area of work that you are doing. So your job should not be only about making money for you and your immediate partners. Your wealth should go down to more and more people in the community you serve. So that’s where you got economic empowerment,” Yuen said.

Also Read: Echelon 2022: Moving into Web3, why now is the right time?

Fundraising today and tomorrow

Regardless of the global situation, there are several pieces of advice that remain timeless when it comes to fundraising. Carro, as a company that confirmed its unicorn status last year through a US$360 million Series C raise, has several tips to share.

The first one is to understand the difference between fundraising for companies in the early and later stages. According to CEO Aaron Tan in a fireside chat at the event, for early-stage founders, there is a stronger emphasis on their ability to tell a compelling story. On the other hand, investors will scrutinise the economic units in Series B and C stages.

“[The investors at the early stage] basically just want to find a team that can execute and stuff,” he stressed.

Particularly for early-stage companies, Tan shared his experience in fundraising and the points that founders need to pay attention to. It starts with researching the background of the VC that they want to raise from, followed by understanding how to reach out to them.

“We do not like to work with people we cannot get along with. Sometimes it works similarly for me as a founder,” Tan said.

Not just VC funding

In the startup ecosystem, raising VC funding is often viewed as an important milestone that a startup must go through. However, it is important to acknowledge that not all companies will raise external funding. Even if they do, VC is not the only available alternative for founders to reach out to.

Also Read: Malaysian fleet fuel expense management startup BayaPay raises funding

In a separate panel called “Alternative to fundraising from VCs – The growth of syndicates, venture debt, and marketplace”, panellists look at situations where VC fundraising can actually be “a downside” for startups.

According to Milan Reinartz, Co-Founder at Genesis Ascend Angels, it starts with the company’s stages. For companies in the very early stages, VC firms often do not cater to their needs.

“I think that there are also other elements around having strategic value on the cap tables or even in VC rounds, you often see angel syndicates or super angels coming in individually to participate in the fundraising … It could also be family offices or somebody who has a senior position in an adjacent or same industry,” he explained.

“That would make sense for the founder to have beyond just money. It is not that VCs are all non-strategic; they can be very strategic as well. Oftentimes, it makes sense to take smaller checks and get a wealth of knowledge and support from the angel community, even for Series As and Bs.”

Regarding the fundraising process itself, such as performing due diligence, there are no significant differences between VC fundraising and alternative platforms such as angel syndicates or marketplace.

“One consideration that I would say is that founders need to be very realistic about the valuation that they are looking for,” said Danyaal Shah, Group Head of Corporate Development & Partnership at Alta, formerly known as Fundnel.

“If you do a round at a higher valuation than you should be, the next round will suffer from a previous valuation that is too high to follow. Doing a down round is never a good thing. So it should always be that you know your valuation is justified.”

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Singapore-based impact VC firm Wavemaker Impact has partnered with Bill Gates’s VC arm Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Temasek Holdings and its subsidiary GenZero to set up an agritech startup.

The goal is to bring together climate-tech, agri-food, and venture-building capabilities to accelerate rice decarbonisation in Southeast Asia and the rest of Asia.

The agritech startup plans to build a platform that will rapidly identify and implement the most effective strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in rice cultivation and the right economic incentives to drive the adoption of sustainable cultivation techniques.

Also Read: ‘The next generation of unicorns will be from greentech’: Wavemaker Impact’s Steve Melhuish

The four investment firms have also injected undisclosed seed funding into the startup, whose name is yet to be announced. The capital will be used for initial hiring and experimentation costs.

Rice is the greatest climate and food security challenge in the region. A staple crop for more than half of the world’s population, rice will see global demand increase by 50 per cent by 2050. Rice cultivation is the second-largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in agri-food due to methane-emitting bacteria generated from flooded rice paddy fields. It is responsible for up to 33 per cent of Southeast Asia’s methane emissions, with methane having over 80 times more global warming potential than carbon dioxide.

“90 per cent of rice is cultivated and consumed in Asia, so this is a climate challenge that needs an Asian solution and is exactly the kind of venture we set out to build at Wavemaker Impact,” said Steve Melhuish, Founding Partner of Wavemaker Impact.

While rice cultivation is a significant and growing source of emissions, it is highly fragmented. Across Asia, the livelihoods of 400 million people on 144 million smallholder farms depend on rice, with the average farm size ranging from 0.5 to 2 hectares. There are also significant yield gaps. Southeast Asia’s rice production per hectare lags behind high-producing countries by approximately 40 per cent.

Solutions to reduce rice cultivation emissions and increase yield are available. However, the adoption has lagged for various reasons, such as the difficulty of changing entrenched farming practices, lack of access to high-quality inputs and incentives, and infrastructure challenges.

Also Read: ‘There’s a mismatch of investment and entrepreneur focus in SEA’s climate tech’

“There is an urgent need for the global community to tackle methane emissions, which are far more harmful than CO2 due to the 81-83 times higher potency of methane on a 20-year basis. Rice produces 12 per cent of global methane. On a 20-year equivalence basis, rice cultivation is a top 10 contributor to climate change, with its GHG impact greater than the global aviation industry. Despite the magnitude of this problem, it has not gotten adequate attention from the global community.”

Founded by Bill Gates and backed by many of the world’s top business leaders, Breakthrough Energy Ventures is a purpose-built investment firm seeking to invest, launch and scale global companies that will eliminate GHG emissions throughout the economy as soon as possible. It has raised more than US$2 billion in committed capital to support cutting-edge companies leading the world to net-zero emissions.

GenZero is an investment platform that aims to accelerate decarbonisation for future generations towards a net zero world.

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Echelon 2022 is happening from 27-28 October at Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore!

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.

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Company Training. The two least exciting words to be joined together.

Nobody likes to spend two weeks in a training programme, coming out of it without any certification and feeling like you have not learnt anything. It’s a waste of time, especially when there are 101 other things on your to-do list.

And, even with the numerous training sessions (if any at all), many are left feeling unsupported at their workplace, with all that textbook theory at hand but having no clue how to put it into practice.

With globalisation, online, digital, virtual and borderless work, the local workforce now competes with a global talent pool. Singapore is respected for its high standards, and that is one way our local workforce can be differentiated globally. Singapore’s government has initiated, led and supported companies by providing grants and subsidies to beef up the workforce through skills’ development courses.

The road to being the best in the industry

Sales is an essential and evergreen function across all industries. We need sales trainers who have worked with various corporations, with real sales experience and track records to guide others. Apart from sales experience, they should also be professionally trained trainers and coaches.

But today, there is a lack of professionally trained sales trainers and coaches in the industry. Why so? For professional B2B sales, at least everyone from the ranks of sales professionals to account managers and customer success reps is involved. But the truth is, not all of them are good in the field, and they require experts and coaches with relevant specialisation experience.

APACMA’s sales industry-endorsed accredited certifications are aligned with current industry sales practices. The coaches are hand-picked across global industries according to their specialisations.

An organisation can tap into these resources as and when without having to invest in under-utilised full-time resources. The sales professional can then get back to the station, be coached, guided and return to the field at any time.

Adapting to the evolving needs of sales

The sales industry requires diverse specialisation requirements. Customer behaviours are unpredictable with a requirement for both online, offline and on-demand experience requirements. Templated sales methodologies do not apply to the current situation, and disparate sales tools are not helping customers with their stories.

There is a lack of skilled talent pool in the industry. While there are associations dedicated to sales industry professional development, their courses require active engagement and participation for the whole industry to be lifted by the tide. There are opportunities for more talents to be developed throughout the industry, with double-endorsed professional certifications needed to overcome talent shortages in the field.

Also Read: Why ClavystBio believes in life science as a key driver of Singapore’s economy in the future

The only way to compete with a global workforce is through acquiring skills aligned with industry standards and requirements – to have global expert coaches and mentors’ guidance to acquire a diverse global experience.

The growth of sales: What the future will hold

Five years from now, customers will depend on advanced intelligence systems to help them decide which supplier or solution is right for them, without needing to talk to an actual human salesperson. Everything will be automated, and self-facilitated on-demand and customers want the autonomy to make self-made decisions.

With the ease of technological simplification, such as the evolution of low code, no code platforms and integration tools, companies will need ready-made tools to help them design their own customer experiences without depending on third parties.

That being said, while technology will be ruling the world, humans will still value interactions with other humans, and might reach out to a human for complex sales guidance, local facilitations and enterprise-wide engagement needs. Companies will, therefore, also need to invest in strategic sales and innovative products and solutions to differentiate themselves.

APACSMA has evolved with the times of customer changes, evolving learner needs, technology advancements, emerging rules in the sales industry and content changes. While we will continue to support and change with the times, we also foresee local language training becoming another core focus area in the coming years.

One thing in common across all these markets locally, regionally or globally is that there is still space and opportunities to drive more talents into considering sales as a professional career option. There’s a need to develop sales skills to meet industry needs and to educate the industry at large on the importance of ethical sales, leadership sales training, continuous development, industry engagement and industry-endorsed certifications.

APACSMA is well-positioned to serve the industry and the evolving nature of sales in the future. The on-demand industry endorses sales roles-based certifications, and training, and APACSMA is here to support organisations and sales professionals in achieving their pipeline and revenue goals.

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Bill Padfield is an Innovation Advisor with IPI Singapore’s Innovation Advisors Programme, which is tailored to help enterprises quicken their learning curve in tech and innovation to drive business growth. Bill has been involved in the tech and business development space for the past 30 years, with expertise in tech innovation, M&A, venture investments and digital transformation. He was formerly the global Senior Executive Vice President of Transformation and Platform Services at NTT Ltd, and global Chief Operating Officer of Dimension Data, among others.

This is what Bill Padfield has to say about the innovation landscape in Singapore.

Twenty-five years of steady progress

In the past 25 years in Singapore, I have seen a steady progress in technology companies from those that simply resell Silicon Valley products, to those that incrementally innovate those products through software or services, and now to pure innovation. Companies in Southeast Asia and, in particular, Singapore are truly creating new technologies that rival those of the Valley.

Companies such as Flexxon with their X-PHY products for cyber security and, in particular, the prevention of ransomware attacks, Transcelestial with their next-generation laser communications offers, and KoolLogix heat removal solutions for data centres. All of these offers will rival those from the West and yet are innovated right here in Singapore.

Also read: Investments in startups grew by more than 45% per annum in 2021

The tools of innovation have also evolved fast. The majority of innovation is focused on cloud-based software, particularly open software, microservices, and APIs. The speed at which developers can now bring together a cloud resident application calling on microservices (application sub-components) that have been developed by others anywhere in the world that can access various data sources through open RESTful APIs is staggering.

This development has enabled DevOps and DevSecOps to emerge, enabling the same team developing the apps to operate the services virtually simultaneously. It further enables the team to launch new services in the morning and, via such techniques as A/B testing, bring down or enhance the feature hours later based on real-time user feedback.

The global disparity between Southeast Asia and North America

Innovation in North America and Europe appears to focus more on X as a service (XaaS where X can be SaaS, PaaS, or other offers as a service) rather than point product development. The key difference is the seismic shift in the tech industry from capex deals to opex deals. Many of the most influential companies in the Valley provide subscription-based offers consumed at a price per user per month. It is a transition that companies here in Singapore are beginning to understand and adopt and why they are innovating.

A cloud-based offering can go to market fast with a low cost of acquisition by the client as it can be consumed directly from the cloud without a long and expensive sales cycle. This is also magic to the ears of VC funds as this can provide hyper-fast growth in portfolio companies and higher valuation to the founders due to the annuity income model. Subscription-based offers are also a stepping stone to consumption-based models that meter the user and only charge when the service is used, in the same way as your mobile phone.

Also read: Journey to the top: From developer to CEO

Part of the work I have been doing for the past twelve months has been helping local tech companies understand this seismic shift in how tech is consumed and delivered. Through IPI’s Innovation Advisors Programme, my work with KoolLogix has been focused on bringing their exciting data centre heat removal technology to the market in a way that can impact greenfield and brownfield data centres using not only the traditional CAPEX models but new XaaS opportunities. There was a similar focus in the discussions with Flexxon for their cyber security offerings to bring them to market not simply as a product but also as a service.

Similar work is also underway with several other Singapore-based tech companies to enable them to adjust to the new innovative ways IT is purchased and consumed.

Universities are pumping out graduates who use these tools and see them as normal, whereas to some of us industry veterans, it is still seen as some form of magic! The role of education here is to ensure that their graduates no longer think outside the box but have a view that there is no longer any box at all. This level and speed of innovation will continue to accelerate, limited only by the imagination.

Exciting time for venture capitalists

Of course, innovation teams have to keep both eyes on the ability to monetise their innovation. Otherwise, as exciting as their ideas and developments may be, they may also be short-lived.

Linking to money, the Venture Capital world in Singapore is also exciting. I currently act as an advisor to a couple of VC funds and, as a result, see numerous pitch decks daily. This is critical to developing and monetising your ideas but forces the founders to talk commercially or risk failing to impress a fund. This is where advisors with expertise in financials can help too. I am currently working on a number of companies’ pitch decks helping them to tell their story in the way that analysts and GPs will want to see and at what stage, seed, Series A, Series B etc. It’s also important to have experts look over the tech company’s existing financials, as adjustments may be needed before any level of VC fund due diligence can be done.

So, the magic of innovation happens when people, ideas, and money converge. If you have only one or two of the requirements, you will most likely fall short. This is where governments can help, and the government of Singapore does help.

Also read: How can we create new urgency for a green recovery?

Good universities that are producing talent in the right areas, an open environment that allows young companies to hire the talent they need from anywhere on the planet, and grants that encourage these new teams to push harder and faster in areas that align with the government’s strategy. The speed at which a NewCo can be set up in Singapore is also impressive. I would, however, advocate more help in training these new tech companies in the world of fundraising, as currently, there are significant gaps of knowledge in several startup teams on how to go about this effectively. Again, an area where advisors can and do help.

Due to COVID-19 travel restrictions over the past few years have forced me to dig deeper into the tech companies in Singapore, which has been incredibly rewarding. It is exciting to see so many companies collaborating worldwide and creating genuinely new offers to the market.

I was very privileged to lead a company in Singapore that we grew to a US$ billion business (and beyond!), and I’m convinced there will be more provided we keep the people, ideas and money flowing.

SWITCH 2022

Find out how Singapore’s innovation infrastructure can help you grow your business at SWITCH 2022! Network with Research Institutes, Institutes of Higher Learning, industry experts and global delegates at our exhibition hall, and join us for curated tours of innovation labs around Singapore, to visit labs at the Singapore Science Park, JTC, Aquaculture Innovation Centre, Environmental & Water Technology Centre of Innovation and more!

Get your tickets to SWITCH 2022 here.

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Contributed blog by Bill Padfield, IPI Innovation Advisor

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Photo by ThisIsEngineering via Pexels

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

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At e27, we have kickstarted a new articles series called work-life balance to learn more about tech enablers and executives and their lives beyond working hours.

Surbhi Agarwal is a seasoned technology leader with over 20 years of experience in startups and large enterprises such as McAfee, Intel and Google. At Google, she managed over US$1B of Cloud Data and AI product portfolio.

She currently heads the marketing division of Yellow.ai. She has built a high-performing global organisation to lead all critical go-to-market functions, such as product marketing, demand generation, content strategy, revenue operations, brand, SEO, website, AR, and PR.

Agarwal has an MBA from UC Berkeley and is an Electrical Engineer who has been recognised in the Women in Tech and Women in AI communities for the business impact made in the technology field. She is a DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) Advocate and a sponsor of the Girls Who Code programme. 

She has been regularly contributing article for e27 (you can read her thought leadership articles here). 

In this candid interview, Agarwal talks about her personal and professional life.

How would you explain what you do to a five-year-old?

We want to save time and make the world a smarter place! Hence, we make computers as smart as people to help us with everything, from online shopping, finding our lost toy package, returning something we didn’t like, to even scheduling doctor appointments!

What has been the biggest highlight/challenge of your career so far?

I was fortunate enough to see the birth of AI ten years ago when it was still so nascent. I became fascinated by how it could be used as a catalyst to enable high-growth systems in all industries.

I developed a deep passion for it and created a new category by building a new Deep Learning Accelerator that scaled high-performance computing workloads by 150x. At Google Cloud, I enabled the full power of AI by laying the data foundation and owned the product portfolio of Data and AI, where I led the launch of Cloud TPUs and AutoML.

Also Read: ‘Don’t chase titles; chase curiosity and let it lead you’: Bernadette Cho of Entrepreneur First

With this, I embarked on an AI mission to help businesses solve real-world problems more efficiently and faster. At Yellow.ai, I continue on my AI path with Conversational AI to help enterprises, their customers and employees deliver actionable outcomes daily in every conversation.

How do you envision the next five years of your career?

I believe that building teams that make great products, which in turn make high-growth companies is the future that every leader should invest in. 

Over the next five years, I want to empower this journey by driving organisational efficiency by building high-performing teams across multiple functions which bring forward diverse perspectives and solve business challenges.

What’s something about you or your job that would surprise us?

I have lived and worked on four out of seven continents early in my career, which brought me immense exposure to global cultures.

At 23, I had to live in a small town in Taiwan for six months for a work assignment. As a vegetarian and non-language speaker with no acquaintances was quite hard. It pushed me out of my comfort zone every day and made me adaptable as I had to adjust, learn and integrate into a new culture.

I accepted eating only plain white rice for lunch every workday with my clients. I accepted getting haircuts from someone who couldn’t understand what I was looking for. I accepted talking to local Taiwanese children who wanted to hear a few sentences in English. I accepted the changes around me, and the changes accepted me.

These early experiences have shaped me into a person who takes on new challenges, respects others’ perspectives, and leaps forward with change.

At Intel, I have led corporate retention programmes to build diverse teams. At Google, I led the “I am remarkable” programme to make every voice be heard, and every perspective valued.

What are some of your favourite work tools?

Google Workspace. I cannot imagine my life without it! My organisation spans multiple time zones and operates with a flexible-hybrid model. 

Google Workspace keeps me connected with everything big and small happening every minute of the day. From collaborating with my team and connecting with my customers to keeping my schedule on track and ensuring focus time, Google Ecosystem is a core part of my every day!

Also Read: Failure makes you wiser in your next attempt: Endowus CPO Vinod Raman

Do you prefer WFH or WFO, or hybrid?

Flexible hybrid because it brings the best of both the digital and physical worlds. But flexibility adds another layer of empathy. I like collaborating with my team as much as possible, and the hybrid experience allows that. At the same time, I believe in and support every team member’s flexible choice.

What would you tell your younger self?

Not every aspect of life can be planned to the last iota because life happens when we are busy planning! And the future belongs to those who are passionate about dreaming and believe in their dreams. So dream loud, dream big and dream now!

Can you describe yourself in three words?

Charismatic, visionary, and empathetic.

What are you most likely to be doing if not working?

Listening to relaxing music while lying in my hammock under the redwood trees.

What are you currently reading/listening to/ watching?

I enjoy reading books about astronauts and planets to my four-year-old!

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The post Dream loud, dream big and dream now: Surbhi Agarwal of Yellow.ai appeared first on e27.

Early-stage VC firm Winacore Capital has announced an undisclosed financial investment into BayaPay, a fleet fuel expense management startup in Malaysia.

The firm provides BayaFuel, a card that enables businesses to make secure payments within set limits and controls across all fleet-related expense management, such as fuel, travel, lodging, repairs, maintenance, road tax, insurance, tolls, and parking.

Using BayaFuel, commercial vehicle operators can save at least 20 per cent in fuel costs, the fintech startup claimed.

The fintech startup will soon launch the next-generation fleet fuel payment and expense management solution BayaFuel cards. It is a programmable SME payment card with credit facilities to pay for fuel and fleet-related expenses.

Also Read: How iPrice Group navigates the seven SEAs

BayaPay is currently pre-live on pitchIN to raise funds of up to RM3 million (US$635,000). Within a week of the campaign launch, BayaPay said it has received pledges surpassing its minimum fundraising target of RM500,000.

BayaPay hopes to close out the funding round by November 2022.

The company will use the funds to complete and launch the go-to-market fleet fuel payment card, expected by Q1 2023, to build traction in the market and structure credit funding.

Winacore Capital is a seed and debt fund with the primary goal of investing in and supporting Malaysian startups.

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Echelon 2022 is happening from 27-28 October at Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore!

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