Portraying Gina Romero as tech-smart, business-savvy, down-to-earth, and a connector of people and ideas is too simplistic. There’s more to her than meets the eye.

“I often introduce myself as someone who has failed in business several times since the age of 16, not because I am proud of my mistakes but because I value failure as a catalyst for success. I have since dedicated my life to helping others succeed,” Romero writes on her blog site.

The only child of a former domestic helper grew up in the UK surrounded by overseas foreign workers just like her mom.

“My mum was one of the courageous pioneering OFWs (Overseas Foreign Workers) who went to the UK in the early 1970s to be a domestic worker. Growing up in the UK, I was surrounded by Filipinos who had left their kids home in the Philippines when they had to leave for overseas work,” says Romero, who speaks with a thick British accent.

It is not surprising that she is a staunch advocate of women empowerment in a field that she’s familiar with, technology, specifically in artificial intelligence (AI).

“Making sure that women have access to technology is a gamechanger. It allows us to bypass traditional career options. It creates opportunities that wouldn’t otherwise exist,” she says.

“Community, entrepreneurship and technology are at the heart of everything I do. I run many businesses and initiatives focusing on providing a platform for women to harness technology for success,” says Romero, who admits she was once a troublesome teenager and a college dropout.

Foray into technology

Romero’s foray into technology was accidental.

“I ended up in technology by accident. I did not incline anything technical until I met my husband, who has been passionate about technology since he was a young boy.

“Although I was a late adopter, I quickly realised that learning technology skills would create opportunities for me. As a high school graduate with supposedly limited prospects for success, technology has allowed me to self-educate, start businesses with little to no capital, amplify my advocacy and build my influence.”

Her mum met her British dad in the UK. They were married, travelled to the Philippines for Romero’s birth, and back to the UK when she was six months old.

Also Read: Breaking barriers and bias: How this VC empowers women to take the lead

She was 14 when her family decided to relocate to her mother’s provincial town in the Philippines, where her parents set up a family-run pig farm (her first job was raising pigs). When the cataclysmic 1991 Mount Pinatubo volcano eruption happened, the family’s business was one of the tragic casualties.

At 19, she returned to the UK, working in a currency exchange firm before joining British Airways as a long-haul cabin crew. She became a co-founding member of The Athena Network, a top referral network for women that started in 2005 in the UK and brought The Athena Network to Singapore in 2011.

Empowering Filipino women

In 2013 Romero co-founded Connected Women (CW), a Philippine-based startup social enterprise that believes technology can help women who had given up their careers to spend more time with their families by providing them with remote work opportunities.

CW runs a number of initiatives that provide technical skills training and online job matching. It has since received global recognition in the categories of inclusive innovation (Asia/USA), the future of work (UK), and e-employment (Switzerland).

The idea of empowering Filipino women came after she hired the family’s domestic helper when she moved to Singapore in 2010 with her husband and three sons. She was already working with women at The Athena Network, but the domestic helpers’ recurring narratives didn’t occur to her until she employed one in Singapore.

It suddenly hit her: for decades, work has been a sacrifice for Filipino women, with many needing to leave home to work overseas or choosing not to pursue a career to focus on raising their families.

“Connected Women was an aspiration—a vision. My idea was to solve the problems I spent my whole life questioning. Why do women need to choose between career or family? Why do so many Filipinos leave home to find decent work? Why do we need to be constrained within the hours of a working day or working week? What does it matter where we are when we work if we can do our work anywhere at any time? How do we create job opportunities for those who are deemed to be unemployable?

“These questions led to the idea of creating solutions. I was and continue to be inspired by many people doing fantastic work to solve these problems.

“There are so many that inspired my vision for Connected Women, but, in reality, a lot of hard work happens behind the scenes, and we’ve faced so many challenges. My Co-Founder Ruth Yu-Owen was the real catalyst behind Connected Women because she encouraged me to think bigger. She is the epitome of the “never-say-die” attitude, and I greatly respect and admire her.

“We started as a job matching platform for Filipina freelancers but were overwhelmed with the supply side. We had too many job seekers and not enough employers. Many who needed work were simply not skilled or experienced enough for such a competitive space.

“I was obsessed with solving that problem. How do you create tech-powered jobs for people with the most basic skills, connectivity and devices? How do we bring jobs to the masses and ensure they aren’t left behind in future work?

“I stumbled on the idea of impact sourcing and started putting together a business plan to pivot our original business to focus on this space. Then the pandemic hit, and the timing couldn’t have been better. We changed our business model to focus on upskilling and providing socially responsible outsourcing for the AI industry.”

Filipinos are hardworking, entrepreneurial, and resilient and are known for excellent creativity and customer service. These skills are in demand in the digital economy. The idea to create upskilling programs and opportunity matching for underprivileged women came from there. With increasing access to technology and connectivity, CW wants to make sure that no woman is left behind.

The challenge is that the barrier to entry can be high, and this space is competitive. The skills and experience needed to succeed are much harder for women from less advantaged segments to learn.

Romero continues, “We looked at the different industries that are fast-growing and in relatively early stages and found the AI industry was a good fit.

“Although a lot of the work in AI and Machine learning is highly technical, a huge amount of manual work is needed behind the scenes. This work is often carried out by invisible humans (humans in the loop) that handle large volumes of data that need tagging, categorising and cleaning.

“The work is simple but requires critical thinking skills, attention to detail and focus. And there are a lot of career growth opportunities for those who want to expand their knowledge and skills in this field.”

Nevertheless, someone is bound to cast doubt over CW’s underprivileged women AI tech capabilities. Romero is unperturbed because most clients they speak to are very receptive to what CW represents. Impact sourcing or socially responsible outsourcing is becoming something businesses are looking for. CW clients are aligned with its mission to empower women and can see the value that CW brings.

Most importantly, CW ladies are steady, stable and dedicated workers who need to earn to support their families. So this is more than just a job for them. It’s a chance, or sometimes a second chance they never thought they would have.

Upskilled underprivileged women

Jane* left her job as a pharmacy assistant at a local drugstore chain for two reasons: she had a newborn baby and COVID-19.

Also Read: Women in tech: It’s time to reframe the conversation

She joined CW’s data annotators pool in 2021 and has been a high-performing team member for CW’s image annotation projects, including a US Silicon Valley client, a local data science company and a local telco.

Jane earns an additional PHP 5,000 a month as a part-time data annotator working from home, which helps augment their family income to cover their daily needs. Moreover, her flexi-time makes it easier to take care of her family. She has two kids, and her husband works as a software engineer.

Rita* worked full-time in customer service-related jobs for almost 18 years. In May 2018, she stopped working to care for her son, who was diagnosed with Class III Primary Complex. The pandemic made it difficult for her to find a job because she needed to look after her son. She heard about CW’s Elevate AIDA (Artificial Intelligence Data Annotation) program. She saw an opportunity to get a part-time job, continue to learn and meet new people while staying home with her son. Needless to say, she applied.

“With free training provided by Elevate AIDA helped me develop my skills more and gives me hope that I can be part of the project. I feel blessed that I was able to be part of AI Projects. It is comforting for us mothers to get jobs in the comfort of our homes. It gives us earnings to provide for our family needs.” She started part-time work as an annotator at the end of 2020 and, in June 2021, became a full-time team member at CW, earning PHP 25,000 a month.

“I was able to pay some debts since my husband’s salary is not enough to pay for everything we need. It’s a great help for both of us to have jobs to have a comfortable living,” shares Rita, who now shares CW’s mission to empower women.

On the gender bias that men are better than women in technology

 GR: While I’m not an expert, I subscribe to the idea that every individual has both brain preference and competence. My opinion is that preference is the mother of motivation. We are motivated by what we prefer, so finding work that you enjoy means you will eventually be better at it.

With my team, I always want to know what type of work they prefer, as opposed to what they are good at. It’s easier to build competence in the things we enjoy than to learn to love something we happen to be good at.

While we continue to see gender imbalance in specific fields, I believe this is more related to perception after being exposed to decades-old biases. To this day, I still hear parents or grandparents declaring that certain toys or activities are “for boys” or “for girls”. This continues to contribute to gender inequality. If we want to create a more equitable future, we need to be more conscious of the biases that we put out there.

On breaking the glass ceiling

 GR: I can’t honestly say that I relate to the concept of a glass ceiling – not to my work, at least. As someone who hasn’t spent time in the corporate world, the term was alien to me until I moved to Singapore and met many women in successful, high-pressure corporate careers.

I’m always amazed by what these women have achieved in their fields, pushing back against workplace biases and reaching the top of their game despite these challenges.

I don’t see myself like that. In fact, I recently surprised someone by referring to myself as an underachiever. I measure my success on the impact I create, and everything else is tied to that.

But I think of myself as an innovator, a problem solver and an entrepreneur. Innovation – in particular, the idea of inclusive innovation fascinates me. I believe inclusive innovation is the answer to solving the world’s wicked problems.

Also Read: Unstoppable pioneers of Web3: 16 women spearheading the change

I put great value on the influence I’ve gained from over 15 years of advocating for women’s empowerment through technology in the UK, Singapore and now back home in the Philippines. I value it because I’ve earned it.

On her inspirations

 GR: Aidha in Singapore was a huge inspiration to me, particularly Veronica Gamez, the CEO at the time. Their work on breaking the cycle of poverty for domestic workers challenged me to do more for Filipino women.

Chef Benny Se Teo, who employs formerly incarcerated people in his restaurants to give them a second chance, made me realise the importance of creativity in business and that all businesses can and should make a profit and do good.

Undeniably, there’s more to Romero than meets the eye. Indeed, “inclusion” is deeply embedded in her DNA. It manifests in everything she does. Just look at CW’s numbers so far: 75,000+ community members, 17,000+ attendees of its global meetups, and nearly 9,000+ job applicants ready for matching. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

This story first appeared on weeklysparks.com on March 18, 2022

*not their real names

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Beyond blockchain and cryptocurrencies, the tech industry has been buzzing about NFTs and the Metaverse. Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have skyrocketed in popularity, becoming one of the most dynamic and prominent parts of Web3 over the last two years, while the metaverse has steadily gained mainstream popularity amongst businesses and consumers alike.

The two terms are often coined together, as NFTs are said to be the key that is driving the metaverse. The question is: where are we now and what happens next?

The explosive growth of NFTs

NFTs have experienced an exponential surge in transaction volumes, users, and the number of active NFT collections. According to Chainalysis’ State of Web3 report, collectors have sent over US$37 billion to NFT marketplaces in 2022 (as of May 1), putting them on pace to beat the total of US$40 billion sent in 2021. The movement was so significant that Collins Dictionary named NFT word of the year for 2021. 

NFT activity tends to ebb and flow with marketplaces experiencing growth, downturns and recoveries throughout the year depending on user demand and global trends. As shown in Chainalysis’ research, transaction volumes fluctuate from month to month. 

However, amidst fluctuations in transaction volume, there is still a progressive increase in the number of active NFT buyers and sellers in the marketplace, where the number of active NFT buyers and sellers increased every quarter from Q2 2020 onwards, before dipping in Q2 2022. The number of active NFT collections on OpenSea has also grown consistently since March 2021, reaching above 4000, as of late April 2022.

Utility of NFTs, real estate and gaming in the metaverse

NFTs allow individuals to have entire ownership of digital assets such as audio, images, video, and even real estate within the metaverse, where individuals can sell or buy items and transfer them to the Metaverse or over the Internet. 

The immense growth seen in NFTs is not exclusive to the digital space. For artists, brands, and gamers, the metaverse is a living reality. For example, Travis Scott’s Fortnite concert was attended by 27 million; JP Morgan just signed a yearlong virtual property lease; the Vatican is opening a non-fungible art gallery.

This swift adoption is a testament to the metaverse’s current and future utility, and it’s reflected in virtual real estate pricing. As reported by Chainalysis, from September 2019 to March 2022, blockchain-based virtual real estate prices grew by 879 per cent while real estate prices grew by 39 per cent.

The nascent nature of the metaverse space leaves the long-term value of blockchain-based VRE reliant on present-day and prospective utilities, such as access to private events and exclusive communities, which has been a big driver of NFT demand to date, and it looks to be translating into the sales of virtual real estate.

Also Read: The power of paid communities and NFTs

Bored Ape Yacht Club, for example, has always bundled its NFTs with entertainment, socialisation and digital community and has since been able to parlay that appeal into a sale of metaverse real estate amounting to US$310 million.

How will the new digital realm encourage mass adoption?

Interoperability will be key to the future of the metaverse. It remains to be seen whether companies interested in the space will build out their metaverse(s) in a fashion that is interoperable with current metaverse projects and blockchain technology.

However, there is at least one early indication of a more blockchain-compatible future: Epic Games’ acceptance of crypto games in its game store. While this has limited import to metaverse projects today, it’s extremely important to blockchain gaming, an industry with very similar commitments and aims.

This gaming industry will thus pave the way for other industries to hop on board the metaverse bandwagon and develop similar blockchain-based metaverse projects.

With a more cohesive system of exchanging information and resources, interoperability will also propel the adoption of new computing technologies, such as virtual reality (VR). Blockchain-based metaverse projects stand to benefit immensely from the adoption of VR technology.

The more immersive and life-like the virtual experience, the more likely it is for NFT-based ownership to feel tangible to users. The faster VR technology grows, the better it is likely to be for metaverse land offerings. As it stands, the revenue generated from VR-based gaming is growing rapidly, where VR gaming revenue experienced a compound annual growth rate of 28.5 per cent from 2017 to 2021.

The metaverse is fast approaching. Virtual real estate now offers real-world utility; VR technologies are coming closer to reality, and blockchains are imbuing digital ownership with meaning. NFTs lie at the heart of the intersection of these trends.

For NFTs to recapture the broad public interest they achieved in late 2021 and to become important instruments for redefining asset ownership in the metaverse, their value will be dependent on more utility, and not just collectibility.

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Our origin story started way back in 2003, and you could say it was quite serendipitous. I think nowadays people will say we manifested it!

Although we grew up in different environments and households, my co-founders Karl, Raymond and I are all huge foodies. We all agree that our earliest memories of eating food have always been around family.

For Karl, as a multi-generation pastry chef from Germany, food has always been a deep connection to his ancestors, and for Raymond and I, as typical Singaporeans, food has always been the highlight of our family gatherings. I think this feeling of warmth and joy that all three of us associate with food pushed us to start Foodedge Gourmet and the Melvados brand. 

We must go back to the beginning

In 1996, I started a company called TransFlorand with Raymond and another friend, and our main job was to do cold-chain logistics. We transported chilled and frozen goods imported from the region such as milk and ice cream from the airport to the warehouse.

While doing this, we noticed a lot of imports of foreign-made ice creams that dominated the Singapore premium ice cream market. A small number of imports of dips and cheeses, yoghurts and other artisanal food were also being sent to the hotels.

To put it into context, during this time there were no gourmet speciality stores like you see today, and definitely no cafes and artisanal bakeries like now. What we consider normal now was very exotic and expensive back then, and not many people had access to fine European pastries or traditionally made gelato and ice creams.

Seeing this, I really felt that there was a gap in the market, and our first thought was to become a distributor based here in Singapore to bring in and introduce more of these ‘western’ products to the mainstream market.

Also Read: Pipefy CEO on why founders should prepare for international expansion since Day One

We even tried bringing in a few items from Australia to limited success. But the costs in distribution were not viable without scale, and to achieve scale, we had to have many more customers so it became like a chicken and egg problem.

That’s when I started thinking about how we could manufacture here in Singapore instead. 

The brewing idea

While this idea was brewing, I was coincidentally introduced to Karl, who was the head Chef and production manager of a food factory at that time. We became fast friends, and decided, together with Raymond, to take the plunge and start our own manufacturing plant.

At first, we only made gelato, ice cream and brownies. But as we went out in the market and more customers demanded more products, we had to open more lines of work, and today we have eight departments including a bakery, pastry baking, pastry finishing, hot kitchen, cold kitchen, snacks, ice cream and packing.

Foodedge Gourmet is the parent company and what we started with. It is primarily an outsource manufacturer and we serve cafe chains, hotels, airlines, restaurants and even catering companies.  

Melvados is our retail brand that we started to go direct to consumers. We noticed through our own life experiences first by becoming husbands and then by becoming fathers, life could get so busy and realised how important convenience was to us.

So, Melvados was built to be an easy heat and eat solution for families, covering the full range of starters all the way to desserts. We also have different options for the different levels of cooks such as sauces and pestos, so one can be more inventive and creative in the kitchen with heat and eat meals that require no effort.

We are also known for our ice creams and brownies, which are made with the same quality of ingredients that you can get in Europe.

Another key aspect of Melvados that is very close to our hearts is affordability. All three of us love good food, but we all grew up in the lower-middle class, so we wanted to sell good food that was reasonably priced. This remains our ethos until today. We are very mindful of the balance that is creating delicious products while still being wallet-friendly, and a large part of our R&D is focused on this. 

Also Read: This founder’s story is the only optimism you need amidst the upcoming tech slowdown

I guess you could say how we manage Foodedge is a bit like a crew on a ship. Over the years we have had to constantly read the winds and pivot along. Most times, the tide has been on our side, smooth and steady, but sometimes the weather gets bad and we’ve had to brace ourselves.

Challenges and beyond

The most recent example of course is COVID-19, where our wholesale business dried up overnight as the lockdowns began. But on the flip side, Melvados sales soared as we served products that met the needs of staying at home perfectly.

Later this year, we will be opening our 9th outlet and the target is to have 15 in the next three years. We are also focusing on our snacks range and have introduced many new and unique flavours like our Gula Melaka Biscotti, Pisang Goreng Brittle and Ondeh Ondeh Brittle. In September, at the Food and Hotel Asia Exhibition, we will be unveiling our snack line for the first time on a global stage, and we are excited to see how we can break into this market as our third leg of business, not only through local distribution but through export as well. 

We continue to face challenges even though COVID-19 is subsiding such as the war in Ukraine which has severely affected supply chains and caused a huge spike in ingredient prices.

Manpower is also another big issue we continue to face as we try to grow. But we understand that this is part of business, so we are always finding solutions to keep moving forward. 

Often we get asked about investments and really super-charging the Melvados brand but overall I think our business is what you would call ‘old-fashioned’.

We move steadily and reinvest our profits to grow the business, and I think all three of us can agree that we have succeeded in our dream to finally own food business with the hard work of our own hands.

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The metaverse continues to be a hot topic worldwide, so much so that GlobalData revealed that 40 per cent more companies have mentioned ‘Metaverse’ in their company filings documents quarter-on-quarter.

Metaverse is expected to significantly transform the way businesses connect with their customers, how they engage with their employees and the way people interact with each other. While the main context of the metaverse continues to revolve around virtual avatars, improving experiences for remote employees, immersive customer engagement and new opportunities for commerce, this virtual world have the potential to create numerous new job opportunities and roles. 

With the development of the metaverse having been substantially accelerated due to the pandemic, the transformation of how people work, where they work, to the jobs they can do, is well on the horizon.

As a result, new job roles, such as metaverse researcher, metaverse scientist, metaverse mentor, metaverse planet and ecosystem developer and even metaverse security expert are expected to emerge, as businesses gain access to their consumers’ metaverse through their devices.

In turn, this fuels the need for a varied range of talents in the metaverse, a topic Yellow.ai discusses in our recent Envision 3.0 web event.

The future of work in the metaverse

Although the metaverse is still an ambiguous concept, its main idea is rooted in science fiction which integrates the trio of physical, virtual and digital realities.

This is well demonstrated by Meta, which is reportedly already hiring close to 10,000 staff for their VR and AR hardware products and has also announced plans to create another 10,000 jobs in the European Union (EU) over the next five years.

The development of hardware, software and downstream services are expected to be spurred on by the Metaverse as businesses invest time, money and effort into developing a virtual presence.

Also Read: How the metaverse opens new opportunities for education

With platforms on the metaverse being utilised to collect and analyse insights on user behaviour, interactions and experiences, the very nature of work could be subjected to change, as the Metaverse plays into the future of hybrid workplaces, bridging the gap between in-person and remote working.

Employees would be able to work with geographically dispersed team members but feel as though these members are in the same room, sitting next to them and working on projects together.

For instance, with metaverse, employees could have beachside conversations with their colleagues, take meeting notes, or teleport from their office in London to New York, all without stepping outside their front door.

Already, we’re seeing work take steps towards this future, with numerous current workplace metaverse solutions requiring nothing more than a computer, a mouse and a keyboard. However, a VR-enabled headset will be required to experience the full 3D surround experience.

The metaverse will see existing job roles such as blockchain developers, AI experts, data scientists and more take on builder roles in its development. For the ‘first-movers’ of the metaverse, new jobs could also ensue as there will be roles in creating the metaverse’s applications from new industries, ranging from content creators, and interaction designers to experience designers and more.

Metaverse intensifying talent hunt

As AR and VR devices increasingly become more affordable and immersive experiences are made available for the masses, competition in the Metaverse space has also heated up.

In addition, due to the Metaverse requiring expertise in various types of emerging tech like VR, AR, mixed reality (MR), AI and more to build another ‘universe’ which is close to reality, there is a need for skilled talent which is not only difficult to find but also hard to retain.

With the metaverse’s continued evolution, the right recruitment strategy will depend on how well businesses can comprehend this new space, what it is capable and incapable of, and how businesses recruit or upskill talent to help grow this new reality as it matures in the future.

Skills in AR and VR will become imperative, and organisations will need to upskill their employees, particularly in the areas of AI application development, XR or MX (Extended or Mixed Reality) and NFT development.

Knowing how to code in C++, Java, Python, and R to build and deploy AI models will be crucial for those aiming to become Metaverse developers. They will also need to be proficient in big data technologies like Apache Spark Cassandra, Hadoop, and MongoDB.

For the builders of the metaverse, experience in developing AI frameworks like Caffe, PyTorch, TensorFlow, and Theano, along with skills in building deep learning (DL) algorithms like convolutional neural networks, generative adversarial networks, and recurrent neural networks, will be key skills which will give them an edge over other talents vying to become metaverse builders as well.

In constructing the metaverse, it will not be just talents from the tech industry that will bring value but also those from the marketing industry. Thus, it will not only be the tech companies who are headhunting but also consumer brands and the original pioneers of the metaverse from the gaming industry.

Also Read: Into the metaverse: How to extract real business value from the hype?

With the host of new roles expected to emerge as the metaverse develops, both companies and individuals will need to arm themselves with the knowledge and capabilities to cater to these newly formed roles across industries and functions.

The way forward

When hiring for the metaverse, companies can focus not only on bringing together the right skills and talents to create the metaverse’s capabilities but also on how users will access these capabilities safely?

Hiring dedicated teams which work towards emphasising safety and privacy will be crucial. Given that the Metaverse is slated to bring about a new generation of marketing and advertising opportunities, where brands and consumers come together to co-create, marketing and creator-aligned roles will become a prime focus.

The world of work is likely to reshape in four major ways: new immersive forms of team collaboration; the emergence of new digital, AI-enabled colleagues; the acceleration of learning and skills acquisition through virtualisation and gamified technologies; and the eventual rise of a metaverse economy with completely new enterprises and work roles.

As such, acquiring the right people and skills will be crucial for the success of the metaverse, whether it be the ‘universe’ or the business’s success in this new universe.

Watch Yellow.ai’s Envision 3.0 here, where we discuss various topics surrounding the Metaverse such as Conversational AI in the Metaverse, Redefining Brand Experiences for Digital Humans and more.

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Emotions are key in market psychology, and sometimes, it is difficult to be composed and rational when the market outlook is bleak. As we continue to feel the repercussions of the uncertainties over COVID-19 recovery, the Ukraine-Russia conflict, rising inflation, global interest rate hikes, and global supply chain disruptions, a global recession looks likely on our horizon.

The growing anxiety around the unpredictable market outlook raises concerns that investors may make knee-jerk, emotionally-charged reactions to market turbulence, such as pulling out of portfolios central to their long-term investment strategy.

Emotional investing is using different emotions to make investment decisions, relying more on one’s reaction to the market trends than investing fundamentals such as technical analysis. We have seen that emotional investing is more common among those who manage their own portfolios, rather than those who engage with a financial consultant.

According to a survey conducted by Magnify Money in 2021, roughly 50 per cent of those who manage their portfolios said that it was a struggle to keep emotions out of investment decisions, and 40 per cent have lost sleep over the stock market.

Also Read: The rise of startup diplomacy: How this new breed of ambassadors attracts investors

We have also seen that the fear of missing out on investment opportunities generated by hype through avenues such as social media, has become a trigger for emotional investment decisions. With the growing influence of social media in the financial education space, we have seen the emergence of some bad actors in the industry. It is important that investors are not caught on the wrong side of their emotions.

During their investment journeys, investors may go through a rollercoaster of emotions, also known as the emotional cycle of investing. Riding the rollercoaster is not easy, and as human beings, it is natural for us to feel some form of emotion when we look at the performance of our assets, from jubilation in a bull market to disappointment in a bear market, and make decisions based on these emotions.

When an investor makes an emotion-based decision to respond to market events, it can create an illusion of control over both his assets and his emotions. However, these reactionary decisions may not be the right decision, especially in the long term. The most common impact is buying or selling remorse.

In the same study conducted by Magnify Money, two-thirds of investor responders expressed regret over making impulsive or emotionally-driven investment decisions, with a higher proportion of Gen Zers (85 per cent) and millennials (73 per cent) expressing buying or selling remorse.

Investing with trust, rather than emotions

Fundamentally, the key to combatting this emotional investing is trusting your investments and investment strategy. An investment strategy is predicated on an individual’s investment goals and objectives, as well as their risk appetite. Building a good investment strategy, with a diversified portfolio, can mitigate the impact of short-term shocks in the market.

For example, one of the strategies that investors can adopt would be the strategy of dollar-cost averaging, which is investing the same amount of money in a particular stock or stocks on a regular basis, regardless of the share price.

We also advocate for investors to incorporate a variety of different asset types into their portfolios so that the performance of one asset or asset class does not affect the entire portfolio. Diversification also allows investors to combine assets of different risk levels into their portfolio, to safeguard against any sudden shocks in the market.

Overall, it is important to invest in products that cover these rewards, as well as to understand the associated risks, so that an investor is not taken by surprise by market turbulence.

Employing technology to make better decisions

Part of the strategy for building a solid portfolio is to partner with a financial brokerage that you can trust. It is important for brokerages to continue to evolve, by keeping up-to-date with the latest developments in Fintech, AI and Big Data, to optimise the best solutions for their clients.

At PhillipCapital, we have made it a part of our ethos to look at how technological advancements in our industry can help enable us to serve our clients better. However, it is also important that brokerages continue to maintain the human touch, so as to provide ample reassurance and build trust with their clients. This trust can help clients when they have doubts about their investments.

Our objective is to build a relationship with our clients and work with them on their investment journeys, through a hi-tech, hi-touch approach. A fundamental part of this relationship relies on aligning our clients’ needs with our capabilities.

Also Read: How is the Russia-Ukraine war changing the talk in ESG investing?

Beyond stockbroking, we are an integrated financial house with a comprehensive suite of financial products and services including unit trusts, contracts for difference, exchange-traded funds, fund management, managed accounts, insurance planning, regular savings plan, and investment research, equity financing and property consultancy.

We take the time and effort to understand our clients’ needs, so as to build tailor-made investment strategies with their financial objectives and risk appetite in mind.

In recent times, we have also seen the growth of robo services which are digital platforms that provide algorithm-driven financial planning services that automate the process of allocating, managing, and optimising assets based on a customer’s investment strategy.

For example, PhillipCapital’s SMART Portfolio is a robo investment service that matches a best-fit portfolio based on clients’ risk analysis. The SMART Portfolio epitomises our hi-tech, hi-touch approach.

Employing a unique Cyborg methodology and periodic portfolio rebalancing in managing portfolios, SMART Portfolio invests in Unit Trusts across geographic regions, thematic sectors, and asset classes.

Cyborg methodology is a proprietary algorithm built in-house by the Principal Data Scientist to digest more than 1000 data points daily, at a breadth and depth that cannot be simply interpreted at a human level, picking up on robust and actionable signals. The information guides our Chief Investment Officer and Investment Team to select funds to form diversified portfolios for our clients.

Technological advancements enable us to innovate and develop solutions, like the SMART Portfolio, to serve our clients more efficiently and effectively. We can stay on the pulse of the market developments, and employ our knowledge and experience, to make the right decisions at the right time. It also allows us to give clients more reassurance on their portfolios.

Riding the wave of emotions

Investing based on emotions is not a new phenomenon, but an effervescent concern that bubbles to the surface with the markets’ rising and falling tides. In this, investors will need to ride the turbulence and the waves, stick to their investment strategy, and remember their investment objectives and goals.

One of the best ways for clients to avoid emotional investing is to build an investment strategy with a financial house they trust. Financial consultants, robo services, and financial institutions in general, function to not only make discerning decisions on investments but to alleviate the stress and anxiety of clients, by guiding them along in their investment journeys.

As I always tell my dealers and traders, “Keep calm when investing.”

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Experts project that the Metaverse landscape will rise to US$38.5 billion by the end of 2022 and aim to reach US$678.80 billion by 2030. But is the Metaverse truly going to resemble the current world we live in, in terms of virtual interactions? Well, that really depends on how users can utilise the virtual space. It also hinges on whether everyday users are in fact really interested in the so-called Metaverse.

Latest trends show that only 50,000 users across the globe are fully vested in Web3 virtual worlds. This number is quite low, compared to the five billion internet users today. Fortunately, digital collectibles, dubbed NFTs, stand the chance in opening the Metaverse space to millions of users, especially if they embody real-world use cases beyond their intrinsic and artistic value.

Digital collectibles in the gaming industry

The gaming industry is leading in the adoption of digital collectibles, which can represent in-game content including characters, virtual land or even power-up items. A recent survey shows that 17 per cent of internet users aged between 18 and 34 are likely to play video games that feature earning digital collectibles as part of the main incentive. Moreover, the percentage of overall internet users playing this game is likely to rise from six per cent to 15 per cent by the end of 2022, thanks to the increasing consumer awareness that’s reimagining how gaming experiences can be monetised.

Surprisingly, users still want to have fun with digital collectibles, even if they come at a steep price or learning curve. For instance, playing the most famous NFT game, Axie Infinity, can incur you an upfront cost of up to US$100. That’s if you are able to snag a relatively affordable Axie in the competitive markets. Axie Infinity has a self-contained ecosystem that attracts nearly 2.5 million daily active users – a booming sign for the play to earn industry.

What’s missing for the playable metaverse?

Many users are willing to do what it takes to sail with this new trend of NFT gaming, including spending hundreds of dollars just to gain entry. However, this interest might fade in a matter of time without more innovation in how digital collectibles are influencing gamer perception.

Also Read: How Chronicle taps into fan economy to bridge between NFT and the entertainment industry

Playing and earning are rewarding as it bolsters user-driven economies. However, this is largely based on external market forces, which can be disadvantageous in many ways. For instance, players can earn and leave the ecosystem just as quickly, channelling the earned rewards to uninterested gamers in the long run. Short-term hype can lead to unhealthy profit-taking incentives, hurting the community who are truly vested in the game’s ecosystem.

At the same time, experts suggest that digital assets could be the gateway to real mainstream adoption for the Metaverse. But how can this be possible if popular digital collectibles limit players to specific ecosystems? The rise and monumental impact of social media, where users can seamlessly switch from one platform to another, points to major hints that the Metaverse can adopt. “The industry needs an open API that facilitates seamless digital assets utility across multiple games and Metaverse ecosystems without necessarily bridging, cloning, or generating a compatible digital collectible copy,” says Chris Li, Founder of PEPO Paradise.

Removing virtual boundaries in the multi-metaverse

Just like in traditional gaming, NFT games bring together players of different caliber and backgrounds connected throughout multiple networks. However, most digital assets are limiting players to specific networks, reducing opportunities to access limitless rewards and experiences offered by distinct Metaverse ecosystems.

“We are envisioning a future where digital collectibles will be easy to access, and deeply utilised across multiple Metaverse platforms. This will likely redefine how people interact in virtual communities and enhance the value of digital experiences, including the collectibles themselves,” says Li.

A digital collectible that features a standard multi-chain protocol can be used across numerous blockchain-based games and Metaverse ecosystems. For example, CyberKongz, a popular 2D/3D Social Avatars and NFT project partnered with The Sandbox, is now being powered up as playable characters in PEPO Paradise. Cross-collaboration initiatives, such as in the case of CyberKongz and PEPO Paradise, are allowing new sources of creativity for the Metaverse users to explore. “By partnering with multiple Metaverse platforms, we can create more of these unique and custom experiences and reward holders such as yield distribution,” says Sebssss, Core Member of CyberKongz.

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

The next phase of the Web3 internet is now finding its roots to nurture cross-platform cooperation among hundreds, if not thousands of different teams. Expanding digital assets utility in the Metaverse goes beyond enhancing the experience of everyday users. This is what the industry needs if it’s going to make the multi-metaverse as we envision it a reality. In a bid to foster virtual worlds that empower users with real content ownership and autonomy, new systems of interoperable Metaverse standards will be a crucial element of success.

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This content was first published by The Human & Machine.

Image Credit: The Human & Machine

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Indonesia-based job marketplace for blue-collar workers Pintarnya announced that it had raised an additional US$8 million (IDR120 billion) in a seed funding round from East Ventures and Vertex Ventures SEA & India (VVSEAI). With this new addition, the company had raised a total of US$14.3 million in funding.

In May, the company announced a seed funding round from Sequoia Capital India, General Catalyst, and some angel investors.

Pintarnya will use the additional funding to support tech development and data capabilities to give an added value to the company in facilitating an efficient job search process for both employers and jobseekers. The company is also expanding its team across all business lines.

“We aim to become a preferred platform that facilitates job matching for both parties and provides access to better financial access to blue-collar workers through a stronger digital identity and verifiable resume,” said Pintarnya Co-Founder Henry Hendrawan in a press statement on Tuesday, July 19.

In addition to investing in the company, East Ventures Co-Founder dan Managing Partner Willson Cuaca joins Pintarnya as a board member.

Also Read: Non-revenue generating jobs tend to be more affected in the current downturn: Glints CEO

Cuaca said there is a massive opportunity to empower millions of blue-collar workers in this region who struggle to secure a better livelihood. These opportunities come with various challenges in its journey but he believes that Pintarnya is the right team to tackle this challenge.

“They have a proven experience building and leading the B2C market and various financial services products in Indonesia. They have made significant progress and we are looking forward to future achievements made by Pintarnya,” he said.

Managing Partner Vertex Ventures SEA & India Joo Hock Chua added that job-seeking for blue-collar workers in Indonesia is considered inefficient –if not outdated. Pintarnya aims to solve this problem by using data and tech to enable a cost-efficient and sophisticated job-seeking process.

The Pintarnya solutions

Pintarnya was launched in May by three former senior executives Nelly Nurmalasari, Henry Hendrawan, and Ghirish Pokardas. Pintarnya aims to help Indonesian workers find jobs, access job opportunities, and secure better financial services.

The company claimed to have connected over 6,000 users with more than 100,000 job-seekers in the F&B, retail, logistics, and hospitality industries.

The Pintarnya platform is available in the format of a desktop and mobile app. Their service is available only for users in Greater Jakarta Area and Bandung.

Also Read: Indonesia’s community-powered social job platform Atma nets US$5M pre-seed funding

The platform works by allowing job-seekers to sign up and create a profile before it uses the information to recommend a suitable job opportunity which considers various parameters –not limited to job requirements, location, or skills. This approach is believed to give access more jobs.

After that, Pintarnya will work with employers to verify and recruit said blue-collar workers. Apart from helping blue-collar workers secure jobs, verified digital identities and resume on the platform can help blue-collar workers to have access to better financial services through Pintarnya’s partner in the finance industry, helping them build a better life.

Though the company does not share further details about it, with its open finance platform, Pintarnya also intended to provide formal financial services for the workers to improve their livelihood.

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

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With e-commerce sales across SEA set to reach around $90 billion this year, we spoke to Alex Lin, Managing Director of Lalamove Singapore, to discuss the company’s evolution over the years and explore how Lalamove is enabling businesses to manage their logistic processes smoothly and maximise productivity.

Offering same-day delivery for personal and business users

Founded in 2013 and launched in Singapore 2014, Lalamove has since impacted various industries such as e-commerce, retail, wholesale, events, and F&B. One of the key sectors where Lalamove helps merchants meet the ever-evolving consumer demands quickly and efficiently, is e-commerce.

According to a 2021 Facebook and Bain report, over 32 per cent of Southeast Asian consumers switched between online commerce websites to secure faster delivery time. “Consumer needs and expectations are constantly evolving, particularly in the post-pandemic world. Consumers nowadays expect faster and more reliable logistics support for their online purchases,” said Alex.

Also read: How Singapore startups explore opportunities in Japan—and vice versa

This is where Lalamove is stepping up to create a robust ecosystem of on-demand same-day delivery connecting thousands of merchants with millions of customers on the ground. With its various in-app features, Lalamove enables businesses to manage their logistic processes efficiently and aims at helping them maximise their productivity.

By leveraging Lalamove’s last-mile same-day deliveries, businesses can keep up with changing consumer demands and are thus able to build brand loyalty in the long run. With Lalamove as a partner, businesses can reduce high operational costs and fixed overheads such as vehicle purchases and employee payroll. This, in turn, allows forward-looking e-commerce companies looking to expand across the region the ability for faster business growth and scalability.

Emerging trends and increasing demands

Speaking on the current e-commerce and delivery landscape in Asia, Alex shares, “e-commerce is an ever-growing and rapidly changing industry. The industry emerged as a lifeline during the pandemic to help businesses stay afloat while also providing a platform for them to thrive and scale. Today, in the face of fierce competition, the delivery sector has become a make-or-break factor for businesses seeking to fulfil their services and win over customers.”

As delivery is the final and most memorable physical touch point between a customer and a business, this is where an optimal business delivery service provider becomes vital.

Through Lalamove’s API integrations and e-commerce plug-ins, they have been helping businesses automate their delivery workflows and simplify ordering processes for merchants. This enables new businesses to launch their e-commerce stores seamlessly and effectively.

By providing a variety of business solutions such as a wide selection of vehicles, multi-stop delivery, API integration, real-time GPS tracking, and dedicated account managers to provide recommendations on the best route and services that are tailored to specific needs, businesses are emboldened to stay ahead and channel their efforts on an experience-led customer journey.

Emerging trends in the e-commerce and delivery industries: What’s next?

Lalamove believes that the e-commerce industry will continue to develop in the coming years, which is echoed by reports suggesting that the industry is poised to grow by almost $11 trillion between 2021 and 2025. As such, Alex believes that e-commerce may eventually supplant brick-and-mortar shopping as the primary default shopping method, with businesses that do not adapt to digital transformation possibly suffering long-term consequences.

Also read: Market Access Taiwan: Traversing the Taiwanese startup landscape

Alex shared that further down the road, we may also see more dedicated retail apps, cross-platform integrations, virtual assistants, and personalisation from sellers in the hopes of automating their processes to keep up with consumer demands.

With demands in the e-commerce space rising, demands for delivery services with customisation will also skyrocket. Given the shift in consumer behaviour, consumers are unlikely to give up the option to access their goods faster and more seamlessly, especially when already given access to the right kind of platform that bolsters this. Lalamove helps catalyse this by enabling businesses to work with their API integration systems to digitally transform brick-and-mortar SMEs, providing them with a faster, easier, and more seamless delivery experience.

Lalamove provides holistic logistic solutions for all businesses

As traditional businesses look for the most efficient way to move into e-commerce, they may face several challenges driven by global health pandemics and political tensions. This is where Lalamove can help. Clients will have the ability to adapt to shifts in consumer behaviour, creating an agile business environment that can accommodate different channels. For example, the Lalamove app comes with a route-optimisation function to help businesses intelligently improve their deliveries. By strategically batching delivery orders for multiple locations, the company can help deliver faster and more efficiently.

Lalamove seeks to establish itself as a one-stop solution for logistics in Southeast Asia. As such, the company offers a wide range of delivery vehicles- from motorcycles to lorries. This allows Lalamove to assist with all sorts of orders and to provide the manpower and vehicles for delivering goods of different sizes. For instance, if the business is delivering a small parcel, they would only require a car but if they’re moving furniture, appliances, and the like, Lalamove can provide a large lorry.

Additionally, Lalamove also provides cold-chain delivery for users that require it. This is an end-to-end delivery process that keeps the temperature of a package consistent. 

Helping businesses in Singapore and beyond

To help traditional businesses take the leap towards e-commerce, Lalamove has recently launched a regional campaign, ‘Make A Winning Move’. This campaign aims to encourage businesses in Singapore to use Lalamove’s variety of business solutions, which includes multi-stop delivery, API integration, and a wide range of vehicles for a faster, more efficient, and reliable delivery experience. With these business solutions, businesses are effectively able to save time and reduce operational costs.

Also read: From experts: Tips to improve operations and maximise ROI

Clients can also sign up for individual accounts and use coupon code LALAWIN to enjoy up to $15 off their first three orders in Lalamove vouchers. Alternatively, companies can choose to sign up for a business account and top up their e-wallet to receive up to 5% bonus credits. These offers are valid until 31st July 2022. Find out more information on the campaign here.

Lastly, with businesses in Singapore striding towards economic recovery in the post-pandemic world, Lalamove is currently onboarding more driver-partners and expanding its cold-chain operations to address the rise in demand for such delivery capabilities. Learn more at https://www.lalamove.com/en-sg/ 

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

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AnyMind Group, an end-to-end commerce enablement company, announced that it had raised JPY4 billion (approximately US$29.4 million) in its Series D funding round, with total funding to date approximating US$91.7 million.

The Series D funds were raised from new investors, including JIC Venture Growth Investments (JIC Venture Growth Fund I Investment Limited Partnership), Japan Post Investment Corporation (Japan Post Investment I, ILP), Nomura SPARX Investment (Japan Growth Capital Investment Corporation), and PROTO Ventures Inc. (PROTO Ventures 2 Investment Limited Partnership), along with existing investor Mitsubishi UFJ Capital (Mitsubishi UFJ Capital VII, Limited Partnership).

The funds will be used to strengthen the company’s advancement in the commerce enablement space and fund future acquisitions. It will be used to enhance further its AnyChat and AnyX platforms, which it launched this year, and strengthen its market share across its operating regions.

The funds raised will be used for future acquisitions in Japan and internationally. To date, AnyMind Group has acquired seven companies from various parts of the region, including Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand and India. The reasons to make these acquisitions were either to acqui-hire a company’s leadership, expand into new businesses or regions, acquire additional sales channels, or all three.

In addition to the Series D funding round, the company has secured a JPY1 billion (US$7.2 million) credit facility from Mizuho Bank for future use.

Also Read: News Roundup: AnyMind Group acquires Indian mobile ads startup POKKT

“Despite COVID-19 and geopolitical situations impacting the world, we have still achieved solid growth as a business. On the other hand, we see economies across Asia, including our operating markets of ASEAN and India, rapidly regaining growth momentum. We will continue to grow our business at a pace that matches our ambitions, look towards expanding our capabilities through M&A, and strengthen our investment and profit structure for growth as we continue to become the next-generation infrastructure for commerce in Asia,” says AnyMind Group CEO & Co-Founder Kosuke Sogo.

“We will continue to make it exciting for everyone to do business by enhancing and expanding our innovations that form the infrastructure for the next generation of commerce. Over the years, we have developed platforms across the end-to-end spectrum of commerce that can be used individually and can now also be used as part of an integrated suite of tools to deliver more effective and efficient commerce for businesses. We are just at the start of our journey, as we power some of the most exciting enterprises and forward-thinking publishers and influencers in this part of the world,” he continued.

Previously, AnyMind Group’s Series C stock was issued for the acquisition of cross-border marketing company ENGAWA in January 2021.

AnyMind Group was founded in Singapore in 2016 and expanded into Southeast Asia, East Asia, India and the Middle East. In 2019, the company shifted its headquarters to Tokyo, Japan. At present, AnyMind Group operates out of 17 offices across 13 markets, with over 1,000 staff from 27 nationalities.

Before the launch of AnyChat, the company had developed and launched the manufacturing platform AnyFactory and logistics management platform AnyLogi. The company started in the marketing technology industry with platforms for advertising and influencer marketing and, after that, expanded into the publisher technology and creator technology space.

Also Read: Afternoon News Roundup: Singaporean tech entertainment firm AnyMind raises US$26.4M Series B

The moves over the past two years were made as AnyMind Group created and enhanced its suite of tools, which look to form the backbone of businesses in the future. This future will be one where business can be done through a single platform, is borderless and open, and data can be utilised and maximised freely across traditionally siloed business functions. The company terms this “next-generation commerce.”

In 2021, AnyMind Group saw revenues of US$174 million with a compound annual growth rate (2017-2021) of 62 per cent.

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Image Credit: AnyMind Group

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Advance Intelligence Group acquires Jewel Paymentech to expand Web3, fraud and risk management capabilities
Advance Intelligence Group is behind BNPL platform Atome, SaaS provider ADVANCE.AI, and omnichannel e-commerce merchant services Ginee.

Australia’s Investible plans US$200M growth fund, hits first close of climate tech vehicle
The fund will have a global mandate focusing on the Asia Pacific. It has invested in nine companies in Southeast Asia in the last four years.

Indonesian social commerce firm raises US$20M in fresh funds
Founded in 2020 by Prateek Chaturvedi, Ivana Tjandra, Gopal Rathore, and Subhash Bishnoi, KitaBeli’s social commerce platform focuses on FMCG products. InnoVen Capital joined the round as a new investor while existing backers AC Ventures and Go-Ventures also participated, Tech In Asia wrote.

India: Investors flock to launch debut vehicles amidst funding slowdown
Last year, PE and VC firms garnered US$479 million across 14 first-time funds. Of all the debut vehicles raised this year, only a few are sector-specific.

Bank Islam launches cloud-native digital bank
In a statement, the bank said this first-of-its-kind technology stack, the cloud-native solution, is anticipated to be the cornerstone of all upcoming digital banks to be introduced in Malaysia.

Fintech startup OneCard is India’s newest unicorn after raising US$100M led by Temasek
The fundraising valued the startup at over US$1.4 billion and turned it into the 104th entrant in the country’s unicorn club. Earlier this year, the company said it had amassed over 250,000 customers spending about US$60 million with its monthly cards.

China’s 01VC hits first close of USD Fund III at over US$60M, targets US$100M hard cap
The fund will target opportunities in the enterprise SaaS, supply chain, logistics, automation and robotics, and cross-border businesses.

Is Singapore overly cautious and losing its appeal as a global crypto hub?
At the time, countries like the US and UK seemed to be clamping down on crypto trading, while Russia and China had banned it altogether. Singapore was primed to become one of the foremost destinations for blockchain companies to set up shop.

Of COVID-19 and funding winter: Why these 2 VC firms are bullish about SEA amid back-to-back crises
Intudo Ventures and Altara Ventures discuss how they view the recent crises and what to expect in the long term, and whether unicorns are to be celebrated

Indonesia urges tech platforms to sign up for new licensing rules or risk being blocked
As of Monday, more than 5,900 domestic and 108 foreign companies registered, including short-video app TikTok and music streaming firm Spotify.

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Image Credit: dookdui, 123RF Free Images

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