Gajiku, an on-demand payroll and people management solution startup in Indonesia, has bagged a US$1.1 million seed financing round led by AC Ventures.

Agung Ventures, Monk’s Hill Ventures, Sampoerna, and other unnamed Indonesian entrepreneurs and angels also co-invested.

Gaijku will use the funds for product development, expanding the team, and accelerating sales and business development focusing on large enterprises in the Indonesian market.

Also read: Human capital is the biggest enabler of digital transformation. Here’s how to enhance it

Gajiku was established in January 2021 by CEO Sherman Tanuwidjaja and CTO Herry Gunawan, who served as Head of Engineering at Ruangguru and Lead Engineer at Tokopedia.

The startup offers workers earned wage access (EWA) and other financial services. On the other hand, for employers, it assists in digitising their human resource and accounting operations by offering a full suite of employee management processes for attendance, payroll disbursal, and KPI tracking.

These businesses can also utilise Gajiku’s on-demand payroll services to provide their employees with a lifeline, helping them relieve financial pressure and reduce employee turnover.

Gajiku stated that its platform is most commonly used by labour-intensive businesses that employ thousands of blue-collar workers, most of whom are unbanked and may work in shady situations.

“Indonesia’s blue-collar workforce is filled with immense potential, given the right tools and opportunity to thrive. With more businesses looking to Indonesia as part of the global supply chain, we are working with employers to improve employee management, while also ensuring that their employees are in the best financial position for success,” said Gajiku Co-Founder and CEO Sherman Tanuwidjaja.

Gajiku counts Indonesian retail and manufacturing companies among its clients, with an average of more than 1,500 employees per client.

As per a press statement, through collaborations with Indonesian conglomerates and companies, 90 per cent of Gajiku’s registered employees trade at least once a month.

Over the past year, the archipelago has witnessed several fintech startups tapping into EWA solutions, including Paywatch,  wagely, and GajiGesa.

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So yes, it is true that there is a lot of room for improvement concerning UI/UX and native use cases. Additionally, crypto is still a relatively small portion of the global economy, even in some of the most popular use cases like “store of value,” i.e., Bitcoin.

Despite all that, we need to give web3 credit for the incredible growth it has achieved in just a decade.

“I’m sick of feeling like we have to apologise for our early-stage and walk on eggshells around politicians and regulators. We built a US$2 trillion financial market from scratch in less than a decade with absolutely no institutional help and active encumbrances from the government,” said Ryan Selkis, founder of Messari.

Web3 funding

Intelligent people and explosive traction typically attract a lot of capital. That’s precisely what we experienced in 2021. As a result, dedicated crypto funds are reaching new records of assets under management (AUM).

OpenSea

The increasing venture capital has fueled incredible growth in web3 startups, especially NFT marketplaces. For example, in just a few years, OpenSea has achieved astonishing growth. From a seed-stage startup to a ~US$13B valuations. Just look at OpenSea’s annual transaction volume:

• 2018: US$474k
• 2019: US$8 million
• 2020: US$24 million
• 2021: US$15 billion

For comparison, OpenSea did 80 per cent of eBay’s volume in Q4. All that while having less than a million users…

Helium

Web3 has touched even the world of atoms (i.e., hardware). Helium uses blockchain to create a scalable incentive and payment model for a public wireless network.

As per their official website: “Mining HNT is done by installing a simple device on your office window.

That’s it. Seriously.

Hotspots provide miles of wireless network coverage for millions of devices around you using Helium LongFi, and you are rewarded in HNT for doing this.

And because of an innovative proof-of-work model (we call it “Proof-of-Coverage”), your Hotspot only uses 5W of energy.”

Often referred to as the People’s Network, Helium has reached more than 150,000 hotspots globally. In about two years! Meaning, Helium is the largest wireless network owned by its participants. Not any third-party company.

That’s quite a meaningful milestone. Moreover, it demonstrates how hardware businesses could be bootstrapped with the right incentives.

Decentralised finance (DeFi)

Moving away from single-use cases, let’s consider web3 verticals and DeFi in particular. The most popular protocols for exchanging tokens (i.e., Uniswap, PancakeSwap, and SushiSwap) make more than US$100M in annualised revenue.

Non-fungible-tokens (NFTs)

NFT sales across platforms have seen exponential growth too. Q3 of last year alone resulted in US$10.7B in sales. Thus, it is no surprise that crowdfunding solutions like PartyBid have started popping up.

Also Read: The great rebranding of crypto to Web3

Such products enable groups of friends to bid on an NFT collectively. Pooling funds together is a smart way to trade high-value NFTs. In many cases, such NFTs can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Play-to-earn

Perhaps, the most popular use case of NFTs today is collectibles. Collectibles are a set of assets. Some successful examples include CryptoPunks (lowest price US$292K) and Bored Ape Yacht Club (lowest price US$115K).

Yet, another use case is getting more popular by the day: play-to-earn. Examples of play-to-earn are Axie Infinity, Sandbox, CryptoBlades, and FarmersWorld.

In August last year, Axie generated more than US$342M, about 3000x year-over-year growth. The monster battling game has become the second most successful web3 project after Ethereum (revenue-wise). Ahead of OpenSea and Metamask wallet.

Decentralised autonomous organisations (DAOs)

Last but not least, I would like to highlight the fascinating growth in DAOs. While I have not written on the topic yet, it has been on my mind for a long time. This is because DAOs are such a simple yet important use case. Hence, some would argue, the most exciting innovation enabled by crypto.

A DAO is a community of people united by a mission. The governance of the community is handled entirely on the blockchain.

Members of the DAO need to own a token issued by the community. That token is then used for voting rights. Meaning the community decides what and how to be built.

It’s still too early to speculate how things will develop in the DAO space. Yet, DAOs are a lot more transparent than traditional companies. As a result, risks of corruption or censorship are considerably reduced.

“Whereas most technologies tend to automate workers on the periphery doing menial tasks, blockchains automate away the centre. Instead of putting the taxi driver out of a job, blockchain puts Uber out of a job and lets the taxi drivers work with the customer directly,” said Vitalik Buterin.

Crypto Twitter argues that 2020 was all about DeFi, followed by NFTs in 2021, and now 2022 will be the year of DAOs.

After all, more than 100 DAOs launched in the last year or so, collectively managing +US$10B in assets.

A hundred DAOs may not seem like a lot, but that’s because we lack the regulations to legalise them. Over time I expect all that to change. But, additionally, think about all the unique cases that will come out of that. We now have a special type of entity. An entity designed to enable communities to invest, buy businesses, support artists, develop new tools, and so much more.

WAGMI

I dislike making robust predictions because my experience has taught me better. Yet, I cannot imagine a future web3 is not part of.

There will probably be several market crashes— an inevitable outcome given what has happened in the past and the pace of innovation.

It will take time to transition from exploration and sophistication to mainstream adoption. But in the long run, crypto is most likely an unstoppable force. Tailwinds remain strong.

Capital is abundant. Talent is pivoting careers, and we have started seeing more successful use cases. I will end today’s essay with Ryan Selkis’s predictions on what may happen next in web3:

“1) most likely, we experience a blow off top before the end of Q1 2022, followed by a shallower, but still painful multi-year bear market; 2) we rocket to a $20 trillion bubble that lasts all year, and sits on par with the dotcom boom in real dollars – unlikely, but possible given accommodative monetary policies worldwide, neverending government spending, and crypto’s accelerating narrative momentum; 3) we march slowly and steadily higher into perpetuity (the “supercycle” thesis). Ironically, the most bearish case here (Q1 blow-off top) may be the most bullish long-term and vice versa.”

– Ryan Selkis, Founder of Messari

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As the pandemic swept across Asia Pacific and businesses rallied against the impacts of safety restrictions on their operations, small and medium businesses (SMBs) and how they are managing the disruption, has come under the spotlight.

Many have been recognised for their resilience and ability to pivot to gain a competitive advantage, and governments across the region have offered support to help them manage in this challenging business environment.

Midsize businesses are an important subset of SMBs and indeed a crucial part of the economy. In my experience working with SMBs over the past decade, I have found that this segment, sandwiched between small businesses and large enterprises, is in a sweet spot when it comes to business and digital transformation.

They have the resources and operating systems in place to invest in technology and support effective onboarding of new processes while remaining agile and nimble to make changes efficiently.

As we approach the start of a new year, I would like to highlight three trends that midsize businesses should leverage to take their transformation to new heights and seize opportunities ahead.

Hybrid everything to power agile, resilient organisations of the future

As businesses continue to adapt to changing restrictions, a key question is being raised – what does the future of work look like? Employees today are putting a higher value on flexibility and want more control over their hours and where they are working from.

Also Read: How Warung Pintar builds tech solutions to help warung owners embrace the future

In enabling such hybrid working arrangements, it is critical for companies to invest in effective technology solutions to allow employees to stay productive and engaged while working apart from their colleagues and ensure companies can remain agile when facing unforeseen disruptions.

Against this backdrop, we are seeing an accelerated shift to the cloud in the past year due to hybrid work arrangements. The demand and adoption of cloud in the Asia Pacific are forecasted to exceed that of the rest of the world, with overall cloud spending in the region expected to reach USD200 billion by 2024, according to Gartner.

The business of tomorrow will operate in a “hybrid everything” ecosystem, with hybrid work being the norm, and cloud being a driving force for success and expansion

Cloud serves as both a technology and business transformation strategy. It offers a host of benefits including cost savings, more flexibility for employees to collaborate with others, and simplified management. However, what makes the future of cloud unique is that every organisation starts from a different base, and midsize companies will not follow a singular, pre-defined route to cloudification.

They have the opportunity to become the chief architect in their digitalization journey, mapping out an infrastructure that truly fits their requirements across aspects like employee needs, customer needs, and resources available.

This is why we are seeing increasing adoption of the hybrid cloud model, in which organisations use a mix of public and private cloud services to leverage their respective advantages.

A strong cybersecurity posture will become even more important in this hybrid and distributed environment. This is key for midsize businesses especially, as over three in five companies in the region have suffered a cyber incident (63 per cent) in the past year, according to Cisco’s recent research.

Even for those who are aware of cyber threats, bolstering cybersecurity resilience is no easy task. Challenges companies face range from staying abreast of continually evolving technologies and security requirements, to keeping up with constantly evolving cyber threats, and the ability to recruit cybersecurity talent.

Also Read: How SMBs can use conversational commerce to boost year-end sales

Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) and Extended Detection and Response (XDR) are emerging as effective architectures that support the demands of hybrid cloud and hybrid workplaces.  As a cloud-based, as-a-service model, SASE provides strong, secure edge-to-edge access covering everything from datacenter to remote offices, and individual employees, to support the hybrid workplace.

XDR is an integrated security approach that brings security solutions for different parts of a company’s IT infrastructure under one roof, enabling faster incident response as well as greater visibility of cyber threats across the private network and public clouds.

Leveraging AI, ML and fostering strong IT governance

2022 is the year businesses will contemplate how they can keep pace with the acceleration of technology. Be it interacting with customers, or collaborating with colleagues or partners, companies are using multiple applications every day.

They are also leveraging technologies like AI and ML to enhance the customer experience or improve their operational performance by making sense of the vast amount of data that they are generating through digital touchpoints.

Yet, the accelerated pace of digitalisation has also exposed a myriad of gaps and vulnerabilities companies might face, especially as departments risk working in silos, as they rapidly innovate and evolve their strategies and priorities before the right infrastructure is put in place in tandem with the IT department.

Contrary to popular belief that IT processes will slow down innovation; the right IT governance can accelerate innovation and ensure smooth and seamless operations amid rapid change.

In addition, IT departments also face the issue of shadow IT, where employees use IT systems, applications, and devices without the IT team’s visibility. Continued hybrid working arrangements and the shift to the cloud have given rise to shadow IT especially as users become increasingly comfortable downloading and using apps and services from the cloud.

This has introduced a host of new issues, from security gaps and collaboration inefficiencies to wasted time and money. Issues like these can be addressed with a formal IT governance framework that sets out policies for the deployment of IT and monitoring of usage.

Also Read: SMBs need to prioritise their digital strategies. This is how Facebook plans to help them

To this end, Full-Stack Observability, which provides real-time observability across the modern technology stack, including applications, software-defined compute, storage services, network, and more, is a crucial capability for companies to gain visibility of their entire IT infrastructure.

This enables them to easily access, explore and search a plethora of data and correlate application performance to business outcomes.

Armed with such visibility, companies can better understand the usage of applications and address issues in real-time to improve end-user experience and enhance business outcomes or mitigate potential issues and vulnerabilities.

Skills and mindset change will drive the culture of growth and resilience

As the adoption of technology accelerates and new business models emerge, midsize companies need to ensure employees stay relevant and knowledgeable in a highly competitive and complex market.

Notably, the region is also facing a talent crunch, with management consulting company Korn Ferry estimating a shortage of 47 million tech talent by 2030 within the Asia Pacific, which could threaten the recovery and growth of different economies and sectors.

Against this backdrop, companies should actively implement measures to address this deficit especially as the demand for technological skills is only set to grow. Continuous upskilling and retraining of talent are key ways to enhance the digital skillsets of current employees and bridge the talent gap.

In fact, over half (54 per cent) of APJC Chief Information Officers (CIOs) and IT Decision Makers are upskilling talent within the next 12 months, higher than the global average of 46 per cent, according to Cisco’s Accelerating Digital Agility Research.

Making sure employees keep pace with the evolution of skills required in their roles enables them to adapt and thrive in a rapidly changing world. Moreover, every IT organisation, and in fact, every department, has a set of skills and roles that are in decline, and a set that is in demand.

Employers should aim to align those with declining roles against open or potential positions that are poised for the future and prepare them to transition to new roles with higher value-add and support the company’s sustainable development.

As hybrid working continues to be the mainstay, a cultural shift is needed and this begins with fostering a high-performance culture in which employees achieve a greater sense of job satisfaction and are empowered to be their best selves through continuous learning and upgrading.

Also Read: How TikTok co-creation strategy is supercharging Southeast Asian SMBs

Change is never easy, but one thing the pandemic has taught us is that change is sometimes thrust upon us. Whether we are talking about adopting a hybrid work or IT model, strengthening IT governance, or embracing a new culture, the companies and people who emerge stronger through crises are those who are ready to proactively evolve with the times and stay ahead of the competition.

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As 2022 continues in the development of decentralised apps, or popularly known as DApps, more ideas are coming to fruition. To date, there are over 3,901 DApps, both in use and under development.

Among the players leading the blockchain revolution is Avalanche, having contributed to the success of over 400 projects in the past 15 months alone. Some of the major factors behind this growth are the Avalanche subnets, or sub-networks with unlimited scalability. They can be configured for specific needs such as gaming and metaverse apps that require very fast and low cost transactions. Avalanche has also successfully launched their cross-platform Ethereum to Avalanche bridge in 2021.

Fast forward to this year, Avalanche just announced the biggest online blockchain hackathon for global developers interested in Asian markets and resources. The hackathon, aimed at gathering top developers globally and attracting quality partners in Asia, is flagged by household names in the industry, including AVATAR, DoraHacks, Blizzard, Elevate Ventures, among others. This hackathon aims to take the blockchain ecosystem to a whole new level as it makes major strides to bring meaningful apps to mainstream users.

An opportunity for global developers to tap into Asian blockchain resources

The hackathon is for the entire blockchain community, including developers, investors, and community DAO members, who play a critical role as voting members. All developers, as well as early-stage projects built on Avalanche, are eligible to apply and submit their projects.

Also Read: Demystifying NFTs and DeFi

Central and Southeast Asia are among the top regions globally, leading in blockchain adoption and applications, just after Europe and Northern America. In 2021, the region experienced a 701 per cent growth in raw value.

“This hackathon comes at a time when we realise an enormous pool of valuable blockchain resources in Asia and talented developers all over the world. With the industry’s rapid innovations, we are driving serious incentives for developers and projects to utilise,” says Wilson Wu, Founder at AVATAR and Head of Asia at Avalanche.

The prosperity of the ecosystem is inseparable from the growth of native DApps, therefore this Hackathon hopes to discover and encourage talented developers to develop Avalanche native DApps. At the same time, developers who are building early stage projects on EVM-compatible chains, such as Ethereum, are welcome to join the hackathon and bring their apps to Avalanche. Developers don’t need to build projects from scratch when porting from EVM-compatible chains to Avalanche thanks to the availability of developer-friendly tools.

Top projects to win from the US$5 million + prize pool

The hackathon attracts a total prize pool of more than US$5 million, where the top 10 projects will win 90 per cent of the pool. Ten per cent of the fund will be rewarded to projects voted by the community DAO. Avalanche invites global community members to echo their views by voting for quality projects via the DAO.

“We invite contenders to share their ideas, ask pertinent questions, and ignite conversations with our ecosystem, who represent a global community of blockchain innovators,” says Wilson.

Projects delivering real-life solutions for popular blockchain verticals will stand a chance to emerge among the top winners. The multi-million dollar rewards are set to transform ideas into business models that will enrich the broader blockchain ecosystem. The hackathon invites participants to compete in various categories including Web3, DeFi, Metaverse, Infrastructure and Tooling, GameFi, and NFT.

The Avalanche Asia Hackathon comes at the opportune time

The Avalanche hackathon comes at a time when the blockchain industry requires fresh innovation to take it to the next level. In addition to capital resources, contenders can tap into technical support provided by the hackathon contributors. This support includes technical workshops, online office hours contact, media resources, alongside business networking.

Also Read: NFTs provide new ways to handle IP management, empower content creators: Inmagine CEO Warren Leow

This hackathon brings major opportunities for Asian-based investors, global developers and the worldwide community to join the ecosystem shaping the foundations of Web3.

“We have witnessed hundreds of projects leading the way for DeFi, GameFi and enterprise blockchain solutions. It’s that time for a new wave of Web3 to take on greater adoption as more people are realizing the benefits of smart contracts. AVATAR is here to support this growth by connecting worldwide talents, especially to the Asian market. In addition, Avalanche has demonstrated to be a hot ecosystem for blockchain development,” says Wilson.

The fastest smart contracts platform in terms of time-to-finality is bringing one of the biggest blockchain hackathons to date —a rare opportunity that life-changing projects shouldn’t miss.

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The content was first published by The Human & Machine.

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Singapore-based Cialfo, which provides access to international higher education options for students globally, has secured US$40 million in a Series B round of financing, led by global investor Square Peg and Australia-based SEEK Investments.

SIG Global, Vulcan Capital, DLF Venture, January Capital, and Lim Teck Lee participated in the round.

This capital will enable the edutech company to grow its user base and develop new features for high school students, counsellors, families and universities.

This latest round brings Cialfo’s total funds raised to date to US$57 million, including a US$15 million in Series A funding in February 2021.

Started in 2017 by Rohan Pasari, Stanley Chia, and William Hund, Cialfo is a platform that aims to transform the higher education landscape by simplifying the college application process and making education accessible to all.

Cialfo aims to empower students and schools — from K12 to university — throughout the career exploration and college search and selection process.

Also Read: College admission platform Cialfo raises US$3M Series A funding

With over 170 employees across Singapore, India, the US and China, Cialfo connects high school students, their counsellors, and families with over 1,000 colleges. Its university partners include Imperial College London in the UK, The University of Chicago in the United States, and IE University in Spain.

The company is currently working on a new tool called Direct Apply that allows students and counsellors to seamlessly apply, track, and send documents to hundreds of programs globally using a single application form.

According to Education Data, the international higher education sector is expected to rise to more than 7 million students by 2030 and increase in total market value from US$280 billion to US$400 billion.

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Starting a company is hard enough, but hiring and retaining talent is much harder.

Our guest today is Michael Podolsky, the founder and CEO of Wiser Brand, which helps brands with their marketing efforts. His company has over 80 employees, and today we learn how he has built his team to last.

Specifically, we talk about:

– What were the most important first hires?
– The importance of hiring in-house?
– When should you recruit an HR Manager?
– How does your company change after hiring an HR Manager?
– How does having an HR Manager help with the recruitment process?
– How often should you communicate with your department heads?
– What can you do to retain your employees?
– How have you changed over this entire process?

Also Read: How to simplify the overcomplicated hiring process

If you don’t see the player above, click on the link below to listen directly!

Acast
Apple
Spotify
Stitcher

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The article was first published on We Live To Build.

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Facebook early investor leads Darwinbox’s US$72M funding at US$1B valuation
Investors include Technology Crossover Ventures, Salesforce Ventures, Sequoia, Lightspeed, and SCB 10X; Darwinbox says it’s powering digital HR for more than 1.5M employees from 650+ enterprises worldwide.

Square Peg co-leads US$40M round of edutech firm Cialfo
Cialfo connects high schoolers, counsellors, and colleges to ease the career exploration and college search process; It has partnered with over 1,000 colleges, including Imperial College London in the UK, and The University of Chicago in the US.

Aruna adds US$30M more to Series A round for Indonesia expansion
Investors are Vertex Ventures SEA & India, Prosus Ventures, AC Ventures, East Ventures (Growth Fund), Indogen Capital, SMDV and SIG Venture Capital; Currently operational in 27 provinces in the country, Aruna has developed 100 communities with over 26,000 registered fisherfolks.

SIRCLO acquires Warung Pintar to strengthen its omnichannel commerce strategy
It will offer a comprehensive omnichannel solution for principals or brands, distributors, business players, to end-consumers through its network of warungs (mom-and-pop stores).

Grab still tops SEA’s food delivery market in 2021: report
Grab contributes almost half of the region’s total GMV of US$15.5B, according to Momentum Works; Grab generated US$7.6B in GMV last year; It painted a similar story to 2020, when Grab contributed US$5.9B in GMVs to the region’s total of US$11.9B.

Edutech CoLearn raises US$17M more to close Series A round at US$27M
Investors include TNB Aura, KTB Network, BINUS Group, Alpha Wave Incubation, and AC Ventures; CoLearn gained traction amid the rise of mandatory online learning due to the pandemic and managed to amass over 4.8M users.

Retention in e-learning: Data analytics and crypto find their way into vogue
While personalised learning has started to make the mark in increasing the retention rate, using crypto to provide incentives in a “study-to-earn” mechanism is evincing interest among educators.

Logistics platform Inteluck closes US$15M Series B round for SEA expansion
Investors include Creo Capital, East Ventures, and Headline Asia; Inteluck provides a data-driven logistics platform that helps customers and supplier partners maximise logistics efficiency.

Ayoconnect scores US$15M in Tiger Global-led Series B
Other investors include PayU, Muir Capital, Ephesus United, and Watiga Trust; The fresh round comes 4 months after Ayoconnect raised US$10M in pre-Series B; The fintech firm connects bill providers with offline and online channel partners so consumers can pay their bills more seamlessly.

Singapore, Sri Lanka named as top Asian emerging ecosystems for cleantech startups
Cleantech companies have the highest age at transaction of any sub-sector, with the average company taking 3.8 years to reach Series A; One factor that Singapore and Sri Lanka have in common is the amount of government support and startup-friendly regulations that these two markets have.

Una Brands acquires ergonomic furniture brands ErgoTune and EverDesk+ for 8-figure USD
Una Brands will expand them into new regional and international markets, further their O2O offering with a showroom in Sydney, and launch onto additional e-commerce platforms; The brands have already been launched in Australia.

How Singaporean startup Xctuality helps creators, brands accelerate into metaverse
It offers 360° and immersive solutions in collaboration with the local arts, cultural and hospitality community; Xctuality has already raised over US$550K across two rounds of funding from investors, including Brain-Too-Free Ventures.

AirAsia’s logistics arm Teleport invests in trucking marketplace Kargo
The partnership also supports Teleport’s goal of making 24-hour deliveries possible through multimodal routes across Indonesia; Kargo enables shippers, transporters, and truckers to connect, transact, and track shipments through its marketplace; It has more than 75K trucks in its network.

Podcast platform SoundOn gets strategic investment from Taiwan Mobile
SoundOn provides consumers with a suite of audio products, including podcast originals, hosting services, social audio entertainment platform, podcast player and 360°audio advertising service; In January 2021, Kollective Ventures and Joseph Phua’s Turn Capital acquired SoundOn.

Meet the 5 Southeast Asian startups graduating from Sequoia Surge’s sixth cohort
For the first time, Surge also has onboarded startups from Malaysia, Thailand, and Taiwan; Of the total 20 startups announced by Surge, 17 have already received US$60M funding from Sequoia and other investors.

E-commerce enabler Etaily banks US$4.3M in seed extension
Investors include JG Digital Equity Ventures, Century Pacific Group, Landmark Department Store, Gobi-Core PH Fund; The fresh funds will go toward its regional expansion efforts and the development of solutions such as O2O cloud software for sales integration.

Sequoia’s Spark-backed edutech firm Ascend Now books US$2.1M in seed funding
Investors include Karen Yung of Dulwich College, Peter Galante of Innovate Language Learning, and Rishav Kajaria of Hastings Jute Mill; Ascend Now offers personalised online coaching and mentoring for K-12 students on both academic and beyond academic topics.

Ex-Tokopedia employee’s HRtech startup Gajiku nets US$1.1 M seed funding
Investors include AC Ventures, Agung Ventures, Monk’s Hill Ventures, and Sampoerna; Gajiku offers workers earned wage access and other financial services while assisting employers in digitising their human resources and accounting operations.

M&A roundup: Saleswhale sold to 6sense, PriceSpider acquires Hatch
Saleswhale is an AI-driven email marketing platform backed by Monk’s Hill, whereas Hatch is an omnichannel commerce solutions startup; Saleswhale is a company backed by Monk’s Hill Ventures and is also the first Y Combinator-backed company in Singapore to be acquired.

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Teleport, the logistics unit of Malaysia’s budget airline operator AirAsia, has invested an undisclosed sum in Indonesia’s B2B trucking marketplace Kargo Technologies. 

The deal connects Kargo’s trucking network with Teleport’s infrastructure, broadening the latter’s mid-mile capabilities beyond air cargo to 24-hour deliveries using the multi-modal routes across the archipelago.

As per an announcement, the financing was made in the form of convertible notes, using Teleport’s internally generated sources.

Through the partnership with Kargo, Teleport can open up the possibility of combining air connection with ground transportation capabilities, employing advanced technologies and expanding the network in the Southeast Asian logistics market. 

For Kargo, it intends to expand its end-to-end freight coverage across the country through the support of Teleport’s regional presence, extensive network, and rich data.

“The strategic partnership with Teleport will help us become multi-modal, expanding in the value chain horizontally,” said Tiger Fang, Co-Founder and CEO of Kargo. “We expect the partnership to mutually benefit both parties by growing each other’s presence in Southeast Asia in 2022 as we look to solve the evergreen logistics issue in the region.”

Teleport has a presence in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, India, Singapore and China.

Also read: How the logistics partner can make or break the online shopping experience

Founded in 2018 by former Uber employee Tiger Fang and technology veteran Yodi Aditya, Kargo (dubbed itself “Uber for logistics”) allows shippers, carriers, and truckers to connect, trade, and track goods via its marketplace of more than 75,000 vehicles.

The firm offers product suites that can integrate with businesses and empower supply chains to work with more transparency and efficiency. Its workflow tools also allow freight to be priced, tracked and billed with technology.

In 2020, the startup closed its US$31 million Series A round led by Silicon Valley-based Canva-backer Tenaya Capital. Coca Cola’s VC arm Amatil X is also a strategic investor of Kargo.

Over the past year, Kargo claims to have grown 15-fold its volume and attracted big clients such as Unilever, Coca Cola, Shopee, Maersk, among others.

According to Mordor Intelligence, the Indonesian freight and logistics market was valued at US$81.30 billion in 2020, and it is predicted to expand to US$138.04 billion by 2026, representing a 9.22 per cent annual growth rate.

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The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has recently taken steps to discourage the advertising of digital payment tokens (DPT) trading in public areas, citing the “highly risky” nature of such activities. So how can crypto companies communicate about DPT trading in a responsible manner? 

On January 17, MAS issued a set of guidelines discouraging the promotion of cryptocurrency trading in public areas such as public transport, venues, broadcast media, third-party websites, social media platforms, events, and roadshows. Joint activities with social media influencers and third-party websites to solicit new customers are also discouraged. 

Crypto platforms and companies are, however, permitted to promote their services on their own corporate websites, mobile applications, and official social media accounts.

The deal? Crypto companies must not trivialise the risks of trading in DPT in a manner that is inconsistent with or contradicts the risk disclosures required under the Payment Services Act.

While all this sure sounds like a mouthful, the aim of these guidelines is to protect the retail investor who could be swept off their feet by content around how seemingly easy it is to make money by trading crypto. One only has to log into TikTok to see videos of “investors” showing off huge profits buying certain tokens or sharing hacks on how to time the market in order to make a windfall.

Given the nature of a TikTok video, these numbers are rarely substantiated and you won’t really know if the creator has indeed put money into the tokens they’re promoting. 

“Markets around the world, both at the institutional and retail level, have indicated strong interest in the crypto market over the past year. Thus it’s not surprising that regulations have been enacted to encourage a prudent approach to the crypto market,” says Yusho Liu, CEO of Coinhako, a cryptocurrency exchange that’s received in-principle approval from the MAS to provide DPT services under the Payment Services Act as a major payment institution. 

Also Read: Demystifying NFTs and DeFi

Not suitable for the general public

Underlying the motivation for this initiative is the regulator’s view that DPT trading is not suitable for the general public. So, what is it that makes it so “highly risky”?

Edward Cooper, Head of Crypto at Revolut in London, says that while cryptocurrency can be a volatile asset class, the volatility is not what makes it riskier than, for instance, investing in stocks. This, he points out, is evidenced by the recent 20 per cent drop in Netflix’s share price in after-hours trading and the incredible 1,600 per cent rise, and subsequent fall, of GameStop’s share price in January 2021.

“The main risk is that, due to the lack of regulation in the space, there are many scams and schemes which hurt consumers that are promoted pretty aggressively, including pump-and-dump schemes on some tokens that don’t have real utility or a solid technical team behind them, but have just been created to quickly make money for their creators before being abandoned.”

In fact, Singapore isn’t the only market to clamp down on crypto advertising. Around the same time, the MAS made its announcement, the UK government shared its plans to bring cryptocurrency ads under tighter scrutiny and crackdown on “misleading” claims that may cause investors to lose money.

“At Revolut, we check every token before offering it to customers. Meaning that only high-quality tokens are listed, but many other players in the space don’t currently follow this practice. These steps by the Singapore and UK regulators will help protect investors, add legitimacy to the space, and allow consumers to more easily choose reputable crypto services and projects and tokens,” Cooper concludes.

Revolut Singapore is in the process of applying for a licence to provide DPT services under the Payment Services Act.

Communicating about crypto in a responsible manner

The first thing to know is that not all forms of publicity are disallowed. Companies are still permitted to talk about their services on their own websites, apps, and official social media accounts.

This means unless someone proactively searches for the content, he or she is unlikely to encounter any publicity by a crypto company when going about their everyday business.

Joel Lah, Account Director of Redhill, a communications agency that counts Hg Exchange and Mongol NFT amongst their clients, believes that education should become the focus of engagement by crypto companies to support their audiences in making the right choices.

Deepak Khanna, Head of Wealth and Trading at Revolut Singapore, agrees. “Financial services providers have a duty of care towards investors. Business growth is always contingent on building trust with investors. These new guidelines help set common standards and improved quality of customer communications, all of which is good for investors and the industry in the long run.”

Also Read: NFTs provide new ways to handle IP management, empower content creators: Inmagine CEO Warren Leow

What does it mean then to talk about crypto in a responsible way? Lah opines that it isn’t about who has the “biggest advertising budget” but rather who can demonstrate the most credibility. “Failure to build trust will most certainly have a negative impact.” He shares three principles crypto companies should take on board for their communications strategy: 

Focus on long-term credibility

Crypto firms should be wary of targeting a quick profit as the main goal. They should instead focus on creating a long-standing, credible company. Credibility is built over time whether through thought-leadership or education. Be consistent with your communications and avoid making incendiary comments to create short-lived hype.

Honesty is the best policy

Companies should remain honest in their communications. Consumers are becoming increasingly discerning — exaggerating certain benefits will be met with resistance. Companies should be transparent and truthful about their strengths, weaknesses, and future plans, and cut down on hubris.

Showcase collaboration

It is crucial for crypto companies to showcase their openness by working with regulators and other industry players because this shows they want to play a part in creating a more mature crypto industry. In order for the industry to grow, it is essential for all players to collaborate, share insights and develop the space together. 

Watch out for the hype

For content specialist, Tan Lili, her unwillingness to invest in cryptocurrencies arises directly from how people make earning a quick buck look so easy. “I’ve been seeing so many crypto ads featuring celebrities and influencers on social media. To be honest, seeing such content puts me off crypto trading even more, especially on platforms like TikTok which has a younger audience. To me, this is just irresponsible marketing,” she says.

Also Read: “We want to facilitate organisations’ Web3 transition from bits to atoms”: Brinc CEO Manav Gupta

This sentiment is backed by Lah. “Social media has given everyone a voice, which is great for freedom of speech but can be dangerous when unqualified financial advice is being dished out so freely.”

He cites the recent example of the Squid Coin (SQUID), a token inspired by the popular Netflix series Squid Game. 

“It became the most hyped cryptocurrency across social media platforms, its valuation even shot up to US$2,861 per coin overnight, with influencers creating posts about its massive surge and potential price predictions. However, just a few weeks later, SQUID plummeted to $0 as a result of a rug pull— an event triggered when the creators of the token cashed out their coins for real money. This left many investors with nothing.” 

Most people with a healthy level of commonsense will regard the overly-enthusiastic promotion of any money-making method with scepticism.

Those who are taken in by content promising huge returns on any investments are likely swayed by the absence of jargon and the use of dazzling visuals. It is this group of investors that needs to be protected. 

As the crypto industry matures and sheds its image as a collection of novelty investments, companies will have to arm their customers with the power to make the best decisions for their money through education and thought-leadership and find ways to make such content engaging across generations. 

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The age of automation has descended upon us. The advent of artificial intelligence (AI) and internet-of-things (IoT) has completely altered the way we manufacture things. This transformation has been so revolutionary that it is dubbed the fourth industrial revolution or Industry 4.0.

When computers were introduced during Industry 3.0, they disrupted and changed how we did everything. Industry 4.0 builds upon Industry 3.0 but takes it another step further. Computers can communicate and interact with the physical world in ways never seen before, allowing them to make decisions with or without human involvement.

Cyber-physical systems exploit the improved capabilities of computers to create new ways of production and value creation. An example of such a solution would be robotic arms equipped with computer vision capabilities to streamline and increase effectiveness across manufacturing lines today. This forms the basis of Industry 4.0 and enables the transformation of traditional manufacturing firms into smart factories.

Taking a closer look at ASEAN

Sources: ASEANStats; BCG analysis

Based on a McKinsey report, ASEAN is predicted to capture productivity gains of up to US$627 billion. Industry 4.0 represents a golden opportunity for ASEAN nations to grow their industries and boost productivity.

Also Read: How Shopee uses AI, data to build a marketing strategy that suits changes in user behaviour

With a strong manufacturing foundation alongside a growing and dynamic domestic market, the ASEAN region is well-poised to take advantage of Industry 4.0.

Business leaders in the manufacturing space are also very hopeful about the future of Industry 4.0. Over 90 per cent of business leaders expect that new technologies brought about by Industry 4.0 will bring about improved performance and boost revenues. Governments are also on-board and have shown great excitement about the potential of Industry 4.0.

Countries are hoping that Industry 4.0 can pave the way to either revitalise or boost the growth of their manufacturing sector. By implementing new manufacturing technologies, countries are looking to boost national productivity and provide more jobs for their people.

To harness the full potential of the fourth industrial revolution, most of the ASEAN countries have issued national strategy plans targeted explicitly at Industry 4.0. To supply the demand for innovation, startups become an indispensable part of that equation.

These plans vary greatly between the different countries due to socio-economic factors and the development of existing infrastructure. They range from more broad-based strategies like Singapore’s Industry Transformation Map that targets more than 20 industries to more targeted strategies like Indonesia 4.0 which only targets five industries.

Despite the diversity, every country prioritises infrastructure building, attracting new investors, and driving innovation as key initiatives to cash in on Industry 4.0.

Among the diverse strategies, Singapore’s strategy stands out as one of the most proactive and ambitious. Innovation has always been the key to Singapore’s success, with Singapore being ranked third in the Bloomberg Innovation Index. This innovation streak has also made its way into the manufacturing space.

How Singapore is riding the wave

Being one of the world’s leading financial hubs, you might assume that Singapore might not have a future in the manufacturing space. This is far from the truth.

On the contrary, Singapore has quietly risen to become one of the top global exporters of high-tech products, and its journey to consolidate its position as the world’s leading industrial hub does not seem to be stopping anytime soon.

Also Read: Why industrial automation is the next big opportunity for startups

Today, Singapore has established itself as a key player in the aerospace, electronics, biomedical sciences, and precision engineering. This has attracted industry giants like Micron and Shell to invest and partner with Singapore to research and develop the latest technologies.

According to the World Economic Forum’s Readiness for the Future of Production Report 2018, Singapore was ranked second in the world in being best positioned to benefit from the changing nature of production. With the advent of Industry 4.0, Singapore has doubled down on its efforts and fully embraced the new movement. Singapore aims to grow its manufacturing sector by 50 per cent over the next 10 years and continues to position itself as one of the most attractive prospects for startups. Let’s go from a macro to micro perspective on why you might want to consider Singapore:

Strong government support

Singapore stands out from its peers regarding the sheer amount of funding and support for the Industry 4.0 movement. In most countries that are leading forces in Industry 4.0, government support is an imperative component in the early stages of adoption.

Sources: EDB

Heeding this advice, Singapore has invested heavily in not only R&D but also the wider Industry 4.0 ecosystem. Singapore has invested S$3.2 billion in Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering domains between 2016 and 2020.

This investment is targeted towards bolstering the innovation capacity of companies embracing Industry 4.0. Looking forward to 2025, Singapore has laid out strategic plans to continue its transformation into a global digital manufacturing hub.

This provides companies with the flexibility and the capability to explore the burgeoning startup ecosystem for tailor-made solutions to their problems. This initiative creates a collaborative environment for startups and corporations to research and test-bed solutions before deploying them.

Innovative startup ecosystem

Since 2014, Singapore has achieved the top rank in the Asia Pacific region on the Global Innovation Index. Singapore has an exceptionally dynamic innovation ecosystem with both private and public supporting organisations.

Organisations such as EDB and Enterprise SG provide schemes and grants to major corporations and startups alike to boost their innovation capability. Well-established global companies like Softbank and Intel have also chosen to populate the innovation ecosystem with their corporate venture capitals.

Also Read: How voice AI is revolutionising the fintech scene

This amalgamation of private and public organisations creates an environment ripe for startups to innovate and develop. This allowed Singapore to be ranked amongst the top 5 ecosystems for startups in Asia, according to the Global Startup Ecosystem Report (GSER) 2021. Over 36,000 startups have chosen to locate themselves in Singapore, and that number has been steadily growing as the scene becomes more and more established.

The thriving startup ecosystem alongside the well-established manufacturing sector has led to a rise of startups focusing on developing Industry 4.0 solutions. One of such notable startups is Structo, a 3D printing solution provider focused on dentistry, which raised over S$3 million.

It is my firm belief that with continued support from the government, the number of successful startups focusing on making Industry 4.0 a reality will continue to increase.

A strong culture of corporate-startup partnerships

Across the ASEAN landscape, many manufacturing corporations are struggling with Industry 4.0 adoption. One of the key strategies to deal with this challenge is to partner up with innovative startups and accelerate the entire process. Manufacturers are looking towards startups to co-innovate and develop tailor-made solutions.

Strong government support and a growing startup scene positions Singapore as one of the key providers of this solution. Many leading manufacturers have begun exploring Singapore’s startup and SME ecosystem for such solutions.

For instance, when German semiconductor manufacturer giant Infineon was looking for a solution for transporting materials across its production floor, it discovered Hope Technik, a Singaporean SME. The partnership was highly successful and was named the “Most Disruptive Collaboration between an SME and a Multinational Company” at the 2017 Singapore International Chamber of Commerce Awards.

Regional Innovation Hub

To further support the Industry 4.0 ecosystem in Singapore, the Jurong Innovation District was planned and developed. It functions as a home to many players along the entire industrial value chain.

One of the key centrepieces of the district and this movement is the Advanced Remanufacturing and Technology Centre (ARTC).

ARTC is Asia’s first manufacturing innovation centre to embrace and push the idea of the public-private partnership model to its full potential and drive innovation in the manufacturing space. ARTC has strong partnerships with over 60 consortium member companies, including members like Rolls-Royce.

This creates endless opportunities for industrial collaboration. Since its establishment in 2012, it has completed over 50 industry projects.

Also Read: What makes Singapore the marketing hub of Southeast Asia

ARTC collaborations do not only stop at leading players in the industrial space, but it also represents an avenue for startups to get into the fray. One of its key initiatives is the A*STAR Advanced Manufacturing Startup Challenge. The crowdsourcing of ideas from startups can provide an access point for startups to collaborate with well-established industrial partners while solving key industry pain points. This win-win initiative functions as a key opening for startups to break into the Industry 4.0 market and establish themselves as key players in this space.

With the Southeast Asia Manufacturing Alliance (SMA), Singapore will become an avenue for startups to break into the entire Industry 4.0 ecosystem in the SEA region. The SMA creates a playing field for Singapore companies to engage global partners and gain a foothold in the region. This provides a unique value proposition where startups can be nurtured in the Singapore ecosystem while having the opportunity to explore the entire SEA landscape once they have developed.

The next manufacturing frontier

As the movement of Industry 4.0 continues to evolve and gain traction, it can revolutionise and revitalise ASEAN manufacturing. With ASEAN’s five largest manufacturing industries poised to gain huge benefits from Industry 4.0 technologies, it becomes a question of not if but when ASEAN becomes one of the key manufacturing hubs of the world.

Amongst the various countries that make up the ASEAN region, it is my firm belief that Singapore has positioned itself to be one of the best avenues to join the Industry 4.0 movement.

With a dynamic innovation ecosystem built upon strong government support and diverse industry partners, Singapore has created an unparalleled platform for startups to transform new and innovative ideas into products used on the factory floor.

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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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