The promise of Web3, a vision of the internet built on blockchain, has reinvigorated an entirely new generation of investors and consumers. It is the next internet revolution where every platform, organisation and digital economy is being decentralised.

However, as with many other industries presently, the Web3 universe is dominated by men and investments in female founders are still bleak. According to a recent report from cryptocurrency marketplace Gemini, women make up just 26 per cent of Web3 investors. Additionally, as evidenced by ownership of bitcoin (BTC-USD), the premier digital currency, women make up less than 15 per cent of Bitcoin investors. In crypto, the landscape is even worse, with only five per cent of crypto companies being led by women, according to a recent estimate.

Angela Walch, research associate at the UCL Centre for Blockchain Technologies shares with Reuters, “As crypto becomes more mainstream, it is important to have diverse perspectives in creating and running the systems so that better decisions can be made.”

This systematic way and imbalance in the Web3 sector is a missed opportunity for investors since women-led startups come with a high stake in betting on good change. At e27, we are giving the spotlight to some inspirational female founders and influencers who are going against odds and breaking the bias in the world of crypto, NFTs and the metaverse.

Also Read: Breaking the bro code: How women are taking over the Web3 world in Asia

Krista Kim

Contemporary artist and founder of the Techism movement, Krista Kim’s work explores the concept of digital consciousness. Kim’s working process is described as creating “metaverse realms that uplift humanity”. She views the metaverse as a development to create new environments with a progressive culture beyond real-world divisions of race, gender, religion, politics and geography.

Kim wants more female leaders in the evolution of Web3. “The more empowered women are in Web3, the more evolved and peaceful the world will become as a whole as women will create alternate worlds in the metaverse that changes world culture, co-creation, collaboration and decentralisation.”

Wan Wei Soh

As an advocate of open-source movements, Wan Wei Soh founded IKIGUIDE Metaverse Collective (IMC), an open metaverse with a mission to empower promising individuals and groups to become leaders in new digital spaces and believes that NFTs are the key building blocks to the open metaverse. Soh is also one of the founding team members of the dWeb Southeast Asian node.

Maddy Bergen

“The funding gap between male and female-led ventures worldwide is still far from close to being equal. While women have proven their ability to become successful in business, they are still forced to face hurdles such as societal expectations and lack of representation, capital, and support, resulting in fewer entry points for women to break through into strong business networking opportunities.”

Being a VC Analyst, Maddy Bergen realised the underrepresentation of female entrepreneurs and felt inspired to do something about it, which is how Angel Alliance was formed. Angel Alliance is a Web3 initiative empowering female entrepreneurs by providing them with grants, exclusive access to resources to scale their businesses, and connecting female founders. Bergen is the CEO and Co-Founder of Angel Alliance.

Faye Yang

In the last couple of years, the influx of attention and investment in the NFT space has proven there is vast interest not just in digital art, but specifically in the unique value proposition of digital scarcity and verifiable ownership.

Also Read: The 27 Web3 startups in Singapore that show crypto is more than Terra Luna and stablecoins

Faye Yang, the Founder of Unschul and Artworks.vc is a passionate advocate for the conduit between art and technology. “So how do we get the masses involved with art and truly democratise the industry? It likely isn’t with NFT, as crypto is hardly a mass-market product. But from NFT, we learned that more people would be excited about art as an investment product. Money speaks louder, fact of life. Penny stocks have their places too.”

Iris ten Teije

Co-Founder and CEO of Koia, Iris ten Teije is excited about the prospect of communities joining together and democratising access to capital. Linking NFTs to real-world assets, her start-up is a platform for people to buy, trade and collect fractions of iconic assets.

Teije tells Yahoo! Finance UK that “as trillions of dollars of value will be created in Web3 over the next decade, I want women to benefit from that as much as men to get closer to true gender equality.”

Priscilla Koukoui

Priscilla Koukoui is deeply involved in Web3 and XR technologies. Koukoui is the Co-Founder of the NFT Factory, a unique space to discover NFTs, connect with the ecosystem and build projects in the Web3 for entrepreneurs, artists, corporates, investors and the general public.

Koukoui is also the Co-Founder of Power Women NFT, a women-led fully doxxed initiative to empower business women in Web3. A community to connect, educate and learn, match with opportunities and jobs.

She lives for her next big exploration and is a big enthusiast for ensuring the use of tech for good. “Technologies are just a tool. They can be used for good or bad, like any tool. The ‘Why’ is important and needs to stay in mind when we decide to download a new app or create one.”

Cecily Mak

Cecily is the Chief Operating Officer at Blockdaemon, a leading independent blockchain infrastructure provider. A deeply experienced operator, investor, and advisor to a number of start-ups and organisations across tech, blockchain, media, and wellbeing, her background in strategic partnerships, fundraising, revenue generation, adaptive planning, and talent optimisation provides companies insights on ways to excel in dynamic contexts.

Cecily is a hands-on advisor to a select set of phenomenal start-ups and organisations working to make the world a better place. Known for helping leaders realize their potential, she has played a key role in the raising of hundreds of millions of dollars in venture capital, multiple successful mergers and acquisitions, and the building of several household-named companies, often behind the scenes, all while keeping the big picture in mind.

Also Read: Gobi Partners, Ozora Yatrapaktaja launch US$10M seed fund for women-led Indonesian startups

Katie Mitchell

Katie Mitchell is the Global Head of Policy and Engagement at Crypto.com, the world’s fastest-growing cryptocurrency platform where she is building and leading the diplomatic and advocacy corps to ultimately shape Web3 policies across the globe. Mitchell’s career has been guided by a passion for channelling the power of technology to drive social impact and change.

“We are at a crucial moment in ensuring governments around the world craft policies and regulatory frameworks that capture the promising potential of Web3, while ensuring sustainable, inclusive, and equitable economic growth. Crypto.com believes in democratising access to financial services, data, and identity – and I’m thrilled to build a team that partners with the public sector globally to unlock more economic opportunity through cryptocurrency, ” said Mitchell.

Janine Yorio

Janine Yorio is the Chief Executive Officer of Everyrealm, the gateway to the metaverse with a background in private equity and in real estate. Everyrealm is a metaverse holding company with holdings in 27 metaverse platforms, over 4,000 NFTs, an e-sports gaming guild and an esports league. Everyrealm also operates Realm Academy, the premier online educational campus in the metaverse.

Yorio’s “superpower is her ability to turn wildly creative visions into financially-feasible realities.” She says one of the most important things to understand about developing in the metaverse and making NFTs is that these products need communities.

Nat Wittayatanaseth

Nat Wittayatanaseth’s life centres on democratising access to tools to help people improve their growth potential. She deeply believes that financial access and literacy are some of the best tools and leverage to improve one’s life.

After having ended her career as a venture capitalist to embark on a startup journey by joining an early-stage crypto company, Wittayayanaseth is now the Head of Strategy at Alpha Venture DAO, a community of daring individuals who aspire to shape the future of Web3 by reinventing how dApps are built, contributed, and owned.

“At the end of the day, what keeps you going is your inkling of possibilities, an inkling that this may actually work, and you’re super excited about what could happen if it works.”

Also Read: Breaking the bro code: How women are taking over the Web3 world in Asia

Outside of work, Wittayantanaseth is an active angel investor in fintech and crypto startups and has built Frontier Fintech Podcast to serve as a platform for founders to share stories and inspire next-generation founders.

Natalie Johnson

Natalie Johnson is the Founder and CEO of Neuno, a marketplace showcasing digital fashion and is hoping to change the way luxury brands do business.

Her mission is to harness the full potential of fashion technology while paving the way towards sustainability in fashion through sartorial innovation, moving the industry towards better and more circular models of distribution.

Jaime Schmidt

Jaime Schmidt is the Co-Founder of BFF. The decentralised organisation is an emerging community that supports women and non-binary people in receiving their share of knowledge, opportunity and financial rewards in Web3.

In just about a month, the community grew to 14,000 members. The group has 70 founding members including Gwyneth Paltrow, Tyra Banks, Julia Hartz and Mila Kunis.

Schmidt states there is a need for more diverse voices at the forefront of Web3 as it is “critical for innovation, mass adoption and social good”.

Emily Yang

Emily Yang is one of the world’s biggest NFT artists and a member of the prolific investment group PleasrDAO, a collective of DeFi leaders, digital artists and early NFT collectors.

Yang famously created the ‘Crypto vs Wall St’ Fortune Magazine cover and has collaborated with Steve Aoki and Sotheby’s to launch a fund in supporting upcoming female artists. The 27-year-old also made the list of Forbes’ 30 Under 30 for Art and Style in 2022. For Taiwan-born Yang, the Web3 community is still very inclusive and the platform serves as an important change for females in having an equal space and voice.

Katherine Ng

Katherine Ng is the Head of APAC Marketing for TZ APAC, the leading Asia-based blockchain adoption entity supporting the Tezos ecosystem. Previously, Katherine was the Global Marketing Head for Liquid.com, the world’s first global cryptocurrency platform regulated in Japan, that provides high-performance trading and exchange services for digital currencies. She currently sits on the Board of the Association of Cryptocurrency Enterprises and Start-ups Singapore (ACCESS).

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

“For mainstream adoption to soar, creators and enterprises alike will certainly do well to localise crypto offerings in the notoriously fragmented market of Asia. The exponential growth that the crypto ecosystem is experiencing in Asia, along with the developments the industry has seen since Bitcoin’s emergence 13 years ago, are certainly causes for celebration as we enter a new year. As we look ahead, we can expect to see boundless iterations of novel use cases and blockchain continuing to shape our world in a multitude of innovative ways.”

Ida Mok

Ida Mok is the Co-Founder and President of Women in Blockchain Asia (WIBA), where she is building, raising and empowering a generation of Asian women builders, thought leaders and policy drivers in the blockchain space through active and supported participation in projects, education and funding opportunities.

Allyson Downey

Allyson Downey is the Co-Founder of Meta Angels, an NFT community that “harnesses metaverse relationships to unlock real-life opportunities”.

“We wanted to build out something that brought everybody to the table, regardless of their life experience to date, as long as they share the same core values of generosity of spirit, transparency and a belief in getting other people into the room.”

Downey believes there is still an opportunity to set a foundation for equitable gender representation within Web3. She adds that investing in developing an ecosystem that includes more female founders is an economically clever move.

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ROSS Digital, a Singaporean firm focusing on food & beverage robotics and automation, has secured fresh Series A+ funding of SGD4.2 (US$3) million led by F&B firm Fraser and Neave, Limited (F&N).

Existing investors Frasers Property and zVentures also joined the round, bringing its total funds raised since its inception in 2017 to SGD21.2 (US$15.3) million.

ROSS Digital will use the money to accelerate product enhancements, expand into Thailand and Malaysia, and scale the team.

The startup will partner with F&N to implement and distribute its suite of robotic, automation, digital and AI solutions in Southeast Asia, including its latest 5th-wave coffee robotic barista.

Also Read: SEA’s F&B tech startups raised a record US$461M funding across 49 deals in 2021: report

F&N owns and distributes well-known brands, such as 100PLUS, F&N, F&N ICE MOUNTAIN, F&N SEASONS, F&N MAGNOLIA and F&N NUTRISOY. It claims it also runs one of the largest vending machine networks across Singapore and Malaysia.

Gavin Pathross, CEO and Founder of ROSS Digital, said: “Through this investment and strategic partnership, we believe that we will be able to leverage each other’s strengths to deliver phenomenal new market offerings for the more discerning GenZ consumers.”

Ross Digital is a food automation startup. The firm continues to expand, setting its footprints across Singapore. It also has clients in China.

In March 2022, ROSS Digital teamed up with Tiong Hoe Speciality Coffee, a leading speciality coffee chain in Singapore, to launch gastrobar with its latest 5th wave coffee robotic barista – The Super Manual (TSM) in Singapore. TSM aims to emulate the coffee-making skills of a veteran barista, including perfectly crafted latte art.

ROSS Digital has deployed 15 robotic arms in Southeast Asia, counting Martell, Timber+, Coffee & Toast, RazerCafe and a leading Singapore-based telco as its customers. ROSS Digital also targets to deploy another 40 robotic arms into the market.

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Shopee set for mass layoffs
The job cuts will primarily affect ShopeeFood and ShopeePay workers in several markets, sources told Tech In Asia; This comes only a couple of months after news broke of Shopee’s decision to shut down its India ops, laying off over 300 workers.

What lessons can crypto investors draw from the Luna, UST episode?
Crypto investors should ensure that if they’re planning to take a long position, they’ve also taken the necessary risk management measures; e27 spoke to several crypto experts for this feature.

Krungsri Finnovate looks to step into metaverse, Web3 with new US$52M fund
The Finnoverse fund will invest in fintech startups and blockchain, and enhance Krungsri’s capacity in DeFi via incubator programmes; Thailand is one of the leading countries in the adoption of digital assets.

UST, Luna crashes: Can regulation alone restore investors’ confidence in cryptocurrencies?
Some regulations may be necessary but they won’t be the primary driver of overall investment interest in crypto v/s potential financial gains.

Coinbase to pour money into SG digital asset exchange Zipmex
Earlier this year, Coinbase was looking to acquire Zipmex but signed a term sheet committing to an investment in March, instead; Zipmex has raised a total of US$52M in Series B, raking in US$41M in Sept. 2021 and US$11M in March 2022.

Three Arrows Capital joins US$20M round of crypto firm
Orderly Network’s on-chain order book exchange is a platform for modular decentralized applications that enables them to use financial instruments, such as spot trading, margin trading, perpetual swaps, lending, and borrowing.

Mighty Jaxx acquires statue digital collectible firms Kinetiquettes, PLAYe for “multi-million dollars”
Kinetiquettes is a statue collectible firm, whereas PLAYe is a specialised DTC platform of consoles, video games, collectibles, and action figures; The deals will allow all the three companies to collaboratively evolve, develop better technical expertise, and increase product offerings.

True Global joins US$42.5M round of French crypto firm Coinhouse
Coinhouse will use the funds to develop more crypto asset management products and accelerate its international expansion to tap external growth opportunities; Coinhouse provides retail and corporate crypto-asset investment services.

Huobi Global unveils investment arm for blockchain ecosystem
Ivy Blocks is an investment unit focused on DeFi and the Web3 blockchain ecosystem; While Huobi did not disclose the fund size of Ivy Blocks, it has a “multibillion-dollar war chest”.

Zilingo board approves US$40M loan repayment
This could further pressure the financial position of the startup, which is already struggling with cash burn and lack of fresh investments; In May, Zilingo fired its CEO, Ankiti Bose, on alleged charges of financial irregularities.

Rocket Internet-backed Flash Coffee raises US$32.8M Series B1
Investors include White Star Capital, Conny & Co, and DX Ventures; Flash Coffee allows users to order and pay for their coffee via the Flash Coffee app and pick up their orders from its stores or get it home-delivered.

Indonesian Shariah bank launches VC firm with US$21M fund
Called BTPN Syariah Ventura, it will focus on Indonesian startups in Series A to pre-Series B stages; It has made its first investment by leading the US$6.6M pre-series B round of social commerce firm Dagangan.

Vietnam’s proptech firm Propzy lays off over 50% of staff
This comes amidst the SoftBank Ventures Asia-backed company is scaling down due to the pandemic and preparing to shift the business model; The layoffs are understood to have taken place in September.

Indonesian logistics firm Biteship raises seed funding
Investors include East Ventures and Beenext; Biteship helps SMEs and large companies deliver products to their customers. It creates an API that can connect users to third-party logistics and warehouse providers.

Pakistani startup 24Seven raises US$1M from Betatron Venture Group
24Seven started out as a D2C grocery store; It developed its B2B channel amid the Covid-19 lockdowns; Betatron is an early-stage tech investor based in Hong Kong and Singapore; It typically invests US$500K-US$2M in seed to series A rounds.

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Foreign domestic workers (FDWs) have been an integral part of Singapore’s socio-economic framework. In fact, in less than a decade, the number of FDWs in Singapore has spiked by about 27 per cent, from about 201,000 in 2010 to 255,800 as of June 2020.

According to a study, FDWs contributed more than US$8 billion in 2018 to the Singapore economy, this was 2.4 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product. In addition to their contribution to the economy, they also provide irreplaceable support to the local communities. A more recent report found that foreign workers will continue to contribute to job growth in 2022.

However, the industry is plagued with several challenges. Based on MOM statistics, two in three maids do not complete their two-year contracts, with 250 employers changing maids five or more times within a year in 2018. 

A TODAY article reported that while at first glance, the figures seemed to suggest that the employers here are too picky. But interviews with several employers who had changed maids several times within a short span present a different story- some maids were caught lying on sofas applying face masks while ignoring tasks and some were caught ignoring babies they were asked to babysit. 

On the other side of the table, studies have found that the three most common issues for FDWs are being overworked, suffering verbal abuse, and salary disputes. Indeed there have been an unsettling number of cases recently of employers abusing.

MOH: Bridging the gap between employers and helpers

Clearly, there is a gap somewhere. In an effort to address some of these challenges, the Singapore-based Ministry of Helpers (MOH) has emerged with an innovative and comprehensive solution that aims to make the process easier and more efficient for the parties involved.

Launched earlier this year, the Ministry of Helpers is a dynamic, inclusive, one-stop e-platform developed to better serve the needs of both employers and foreign domestic helpers. Having found that close to 50 per cent of helper/employer matches did not survive past one year, the founders behind the Ministry of Helpers realised the need to overhaul the sector and its processes to weed out the inefficiencies and non-transparency.

Also Read: How the global growth of fintech defies age and gender

I had the chance to speak with MOH’s Dirk van Motman to understand the technology behind the platform, its goals and future plans.

Leveraging the latest technologies for a holistic solution

MOH describes itself as a Home Management Solution which combines fintech, HR tech, and service tech to provide an entry point for domestic workers and allow household owners to resolve pain points. 

Explaining the three aspects of technology and how they are leveraging these solutions to bring the platform together, Motman explains “The fintech aspect of our platform enables us to provide financial services, such as insurance, managing household expenditure and helper debit cards, enabling convenience, choice and freedom.”

“We act as an HRtech platform as we not just prive matching services but enable the whole hiring process with chat/video interview functions, contract engine, management of documents and connecting it with things like salary payments (debit cards), scheduling of Medical ERTC, etc. Furthermore, training with close to 150 videos that include quizzes to be taken afterwards through our partner StepUp is another form of HR Tech,” he adds.

And, finally, the platform’s service tech aspect enables users to leverage the household/task scheduler which integrates with their calendars and grocery lists.

Not an agency, much more than that

MOH is not just another maid agency. They are much more than that. Motman explains that MOH is not focused on just placing people but on making connections that work because they believe ‘Better Connections make Better Homes’. 

“We, therefore, don’t operate as an agency and don’t charge fees accordingly, but rather a subscription that allows access to the total suite of services,” he says.

In fact, MOH has an elaborate training programme for helpers, for which they have partnered with StepUp which has built an extensive library through their years of doing this. “On our site, we are featuring a selection of ten programmes that shows the cross-section of available materials. We will be continuing to work on the topics based upon feedback from our members for instance the blog that we also run on our site and consultation with other related industry partners,” shares Motman.

Quickly emerging as one of the top startups helping domestic workers in Singapore, MOH had seen over two thousand sign-ups as of April (soft launch period) despite having done minimal or almost no marketing efforts. “We expect to see an acceleration as we are starting our campaigns now. We have been very focused on the launch and are continuously improving the experience, adds Motman.

Also Read: 6 fintech startups you should keep an eye out for

Amidst the pandemic, there was a lot of pressure on both employers and helpers. Both sides had limited flexibility to be mobile and choiceful. It was especially challenging for helpers who were cut off from being able to see their families and for employers, the struggle was the limited opportunity to bring in new helpers.

However, MOH doesn’t believe in setting course to going back to pre-pandemic days. Instead, they believe in providing progress for all and that would entail more transparency, equality, empowerment, and choice, considering that our homes have become more than ever a multi-functional hub where you live, work, play, and learn.

It would be interesting to see how MOH is able to change the FDW landscape and address crucial pain points in the post-pandemic future.

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The Scale Factory, a Singapore-based startup that supports B2B tech companies to achieve accelerated scale throughout Asia Pacific, has announced an oversubscribed US$775,000 fundraise.

The capital came from several serial entrepreneurs and investors, including Antler’s Founder and CEO Magnus Grimeland.

The Scale Factory will use the funds to expand its regional geographical footprint.

“Despite a challenging macro environment, we have experienced high demand amongst investors leading to rapid and oversubscribed fundraising. We believe it was due to our unique business model combined with the rapid and profitable growth we have demonstrated over the past two and half years,” said Co-Founder and Managing Partner Pierre Maartensson.

Grimeland added: “The services provided by The Scale Factory are highly sought-after and necessary within the APAC startup ecosystem. Our region has grown fast in terms of funding startups. Now, there is a whole range of scale-ups out there that need to take the next step and accelerate their growth. I’ve seen that The Scale Factory has built the necessary playbooks and capabilities to support scale-ups.”

Also Read: 6 things you can do to keep your remote team engaged and happy

Founded in 2019 by two serial entrepreneurs, The Scale Factory supports B2B tech companies to scale their business in the region through a system of sales and marketing initiatives powered by tech and network orchestration. Once its clients achieve accelerated commercialisation, The Scale Factory invests back their fees into equity to further strengthen the partnership.

Over the last two and half years, The Scale Factory has supported the growth of 18 companies. The names HireQuotient (HR talent assessment), Cavai (conversational marketing), Pickatale (English language learning platform), Zyllem ( logistics management), Skuad (HR platform for remote teams), and Flow (campaign site creation).

“While Singapore will remain our home base, we believe that our clients will benefit greatly from a local presence in Australia and Indonesia. So we decided to raise a small round to expand our geo footprint into these markets and continue our profitable growth journey,” said The Scale Factory Co-Founder and Managing Partner Lars Bjoerge.

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As companies call their employees back to the office, we slowly put an end to many routines at home that have become so familiar over the past two years. But not everything will be going away.

Remote and part-time work has become widely accepted and is still a popular option in many firms. Gig workers continue to be the backbone behind many essential goods and services.

Zoom calls are here to stay too, just like many forms of digital entertainment that boomed during the pandemic, such as gaming and e-sports. We recently saw the rise of Web3, the metaverse, NFTs and decentralised autonomous organisations (DAOs), the “companies of the future” governed by transparent computer code on the blockchain.

The younger cohorts, predominantly millennials and Gen Zs, are reimagining the future, especially their own job future. The “great resignation” saw employees quitting nine to six positions in the search for a better work-life balance.

Self-employment and the gig economy offer a certain degree of freedom, with side jobs as a yoga instructor or café owner, for example, that provide additional income. The basic need for health or income protection, meanwhile, hasn’t gone away.

Different needs in the new workplace

New, innovative financial products are required. The need to balance out multiple and mostly irregular revenue streams of gig workers already produced services such as SteadyPay and Trezeo, which was recently absorbed by fintech firm Monese. Most people still prefer to have a predictable income they can plan with, and these tools help smoothen the extremes of good and bad months.

Employee benefits have to change too so that they no longer discriminate against certain types of workers. Whether they are on full-time or part-time contracts, or whether they are just project-based independent contractors, everyone should be entitled to their health benefits.

In this context, employers also need to pay attention to potential mental health issues that have been on the rise during the pandemic and offer appropriate help.

Many companies are becoming more flexible with regard to benefits and letting their workers use them as a form of credit. Everyone’s situation is unique. People might want to shift spending from dental to eye care or from maternity-related benefits to wellness.

A novel concept of work

With an uncommon attitude towards their careers, the younger population is boosting the gaming and (competitive) e-sports industry, with the latter alone expected to grow into a US$1.6 billion market in the next two years, according to Statista.

Also Read: How and why you should embrace neurodiversity at the workplace

It has created many jobs for game developers and event organisers, while also providing monthly five-figure incomes for several hundreds of professional players, as stated by Esports Earnings.

Blockchain-based “play-to-earn” games such as Axie Infinity, developed by the Vietnamese studio Sky Mavis, have become a mass phenomenon in this region, allowing participants in the Philippines to make more than the country’s average salary for a short time. Players organise themselves in gaming guilds that loan you the tools (NFTs) required to join the games.

But here as well, a need for better healthcare has emerged. Physicians are discussing new forms of “workplace” injuries such as the “gamer’s thumb,” carpal tunnel syndrome, or other overuse injuries that develop when playing video games in a full-time capacity.

More than 90 per cent of e-sports athletes experience some kind of fatigue or headache, according to a study conducted with players in China, prompting some to retire early.

Traditional insurance is changing

Private sector innovation is essential in closing shortfalls in terms of protection and financial access. New insurtech players can step in and provide right-sized offerings specifically tailored to the needs of the changing workforce, including medical benefits and paid outpatient coverage at the right price.

New blockchain applications allow for more trust and transparency. Hong Kong has been using distributed ledger technologies to tackle motor insurance fraud. In the agricultural sector, parametric insurance can be triggered on climate conditions and payouts can be done by automated smart contacts to farmer’s e-wallets.

The industry will continue to benefit from the continued growth in data collection and data accessibility that’s driven by digitalisation. Giving insurers access to basic information, for example via the Singpass, will make underwriting a more seamless experience. Insights generated by digital commerce platforms and marketplaces can further improve pricing and understanding of risk.

The concept of work is blurring these days. Hence the definition of “at work” used in insurance policies will have to change too. It may seem like a minor issue, but it’s just the tip of the iceberg as we herald in the new normal.

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The term sheet is the most important document a founder may sign to raise capital that’s required by the business to achieve its future potential. When it finally arrives, it does build excitement, however, there are always finer details that require attention before one signs up on the dotted lines.

There can be catches that can make you lose control in several future scenarios or clauses that may not be favourable in the long term. Here are my three suggestions on how a founder can successfully negotiate with investors for a term sheet that’s a win-win for both parties.

The post Term sheet negotiation: 3 ways you can win investors appeared first on e27.

Logistics companies are steadily transitioning from weathering uncertainties to acknowledging the need for smart, automated and transparent supply chains.

To leverage the impact of digitisation on global commerce’s connectivity, Singapore’s government has outlined strategic initiatives to strengthen trade foundations by rapidly advancing research. As a result, consumer demand for manufacturing has accelerated.

To reap the benefits of these emerging revenue-generating opportunities, enterprises in Singapore are seeking smarter, cost-effective and resilient solutions to innovate trade finance value chains.

The absence of visibility, real-time communication and information exchange, however, is rendering supply chains vulnerable to inefficiencies, reduced performance, and non-compliance with regulatory requirements.

The need for a data-driven modern supply chain has demonstrated value in the profoundly uncertain pandemic years. Today, in addition to streamlining labour and workforce pipelines, a data-driven supply chain and logistics platform with advanced digital capabilities including blockchain technologies enable collaboration, and greater transparency of global supply chains, as well as contributes to cross-border trade visibility, success and the enhanced movement of goods.

Cross-border trade offers enterprises the opportunity to expand beyond existing markets and is emerging as a high priority for Southeast Asian businesses in 2022.

According to a report by EY, Southeast Asia, at the confluence of major trade routes, is a rapidly growing economy with significant interest from investor capital, cutting-edge technology and a skilled workforce driving the growth of cross-border trading activities.

The key trends and solutions that are expected to impact the future of cross-border trade and commerce include:

Robust digitisation across the supply chain

With start/stop economic cycles impacting operations in the logistics and supply chain industry, organisations should embrace advanced digitisation to meet the digital-first customers’ needs for a fast, responsive, and hassle-free experience.

Also Read: Asia-led global supply chain needs to reinvent itself to address climate change

Organisations are increasingly adopting innovative digital business models such as ‘Everything as a Service (XaaS)’, and ‘Pay as you consume’ to thrive amidst the volatile workloads of retail trading environments and marketplaces and to enhance core operations, competitiveness and business scaling.

Business leaders are exploring modern, collaborative ways of working, with tools like ‘Digital Filing Cabinets’, a tool to automate document storage, for enabling customised and secure access controls for their internal teams and external stakeholders including logistics business partners, suppliers and customers.

Supply chain digitisation not only empowers businesses to build reliable processes and mitigate loopholes but also to explore new markets and revenue-generating opportunities, thereby accelerating change in global commerce.

Leveraging the potential of blockchain

Blockchain technology is emerging as a key tool for maintaining a secure and decentralised record of transactions for trading and logistics companies. Relying on a secure network of data blocks that are linked to each other using cryptography, blockchain offers companies access to distributed, trusted databases providing critical information and records.

In this manner, blockchain-enabled solutions are supporting the effective tracking of international shipments, increasing transparency and timeliness by automating administrative and documentation tasks.

Blockchain protects transactions across the entire logistics chain and is becoming a reliable tool to monitor trade flows between specific regions, countries and targetted product categories.

By implementing blockchain practices such as recording digital signatures for each party, tracing and correcting errors at each step of the process, enterprises are gaining the confidence to incorporate blockchain as a core component of their digital strategy.

Empowered with an increased oversight over operations with blockchain, organisations can predict and avoid delays in advance, and enhance cost-effectiveness across diverse sectors including cross-border payments, finance, manufacturing, food and beverages, and others.

Modernising working capital management

Dynamic changes in global geopolitical conditions are causing interest rates to rise, and creating the need for improved optimisation of financing and working capital cycles for supply chain enterprises.

Enterprises are investing in tools that can enable effective visibility of end-to-end processes, right from the stage of order placement to cash receipt, while offering greater collaboration and planning between purchasing and accounting teams to create higher efficiencies.

They are realising the need for digitised capital and expenditure management platforms to gain strategic control, improve cash flows and scale faster.

Building supply chain resilience to enhance customer experiences

The rise of the e-commerce trade has widened the need for personalisation and convenience in customer experiences. This necessitates the modernisation of cross-border warehousing, shipping and tracking services.

Also Read: Staying ahead of the game: How DeFi traders are using price discovery to outsmart bots

Supply chain companies are increasingly exploring cloud-based software solutions that enable smooth integration with legacy systems to improve system resiliency and become future-fit over the long term.

With the overriding need to comply with complex industry standards, yet reduce time-to-market, companies are preferring ‘Partner or Buy vs. Build’ when it comes to acquiring cutting-edge technology for business development.

Enterprises are also exploring nearshoring for increased flexibility and control over day-to-day operations and to reduce delays. The increased legal adoption of electronic transactions in many jurisdictions is also encouraging the use of smart contracts and digital agreements to accelerate documentation processes.

Intelligent techniques like these contribute to making supply chains more agile, intelligent, competitive and resilient.

Sustainable reconfiguration of supply chains

Digitally networked supply chains are not only more responsive and profitable but are also able to balance growth, and innovation with environmental sustainability, better than traditional models.

The COP26 has emphasised the need to reconfigure global supply chain processes towards greener, energy-saving operations, especially for heavy, resource-intensive industries.

More companies, shareholders and employees are realising the need to commit to the fight against climate change, reduce greenhouse emissions across supply chain ecosystems and adopt tangible best practices for a sustainable tomorrow.

It is important that sustainable governance practices are integrated into the core of every supply chain tier, including supplier selection, procurement operations and supply management processes.

Streamlining regional and global supply chains with technological expertise such as blockchain tools, is essential for reducing costs, increasing customer engagement and economic growth.

By modernising traditional processes and redesigning their operational workflows, both micro and macro supply chain enterprises can drive automation, improve merchandise planning, and product development, therefore, adding critical value to their supply chain operations and increasing cross-border trade revenues.

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For too long, diversity has been positioned as a problem to solve. I disagree. I believe that diversity is the solution.

Diversity of thought, perspective and lived experience is what allows us to build better teams, and ultimately build better products for our customers. Diverse companies are more likely to attract diverse teams and diverse customers because we understand their needs, their experiences and how to build for them.

I believe the key difference between these companies is that they all have a commitment to inclusion. An authentic commitment that starts from the top and trickles down through all levels of an organisation.

This commitment is not only important in making your company more diverse, but it’s also what will keep those employees around longer than most work anniversaries call for cake.

Inclusion is what connects people

Inclusion is what connects people to the organisation and makes them want to stay. Inclusion is more than just “diversity”; it’s about making sure everyone feels included in the conversation, from all circles of influence, not just the C-suite or board room.

Inclusion means everyone has a place at the table (literally). It means that all points of view are considered for each decision, regardless of who brings them forward. And it means that when you walk into an inclusive company, you feel like your opinion matters and your voice will be heard.

Diversity leads to better teams

The benefits of diversity are well-documented. The more diverse your team, the better it is at solving problems and making decisions. Diversity makes for smarter teams, in other words.

A variety of thought is key to a healthy organisation, it helps you avoid group thinking and encourages creativity. When everyone says exactly what they think is true, it’s harder for your company to grow or adapt to changing circumstances than if there’s some healthy disagreement among members about what should happen next.

Also Read: How and why you should embrace neurodiversity in the workplace

If you want innovation, creativity and even just good ideas from your employees, you need diversity!

Celebrate differences to make everyone feel included

To make everyone feel included, we must celebrate differences. To make everyone feel like they can contribute, we must celebrate differences. To make everyone feel like they belong, we must celebrate differences.

Educate managers about inclusion in the workplace

As a manager, you are responsible for creating an inclusive and diverse workplace. It is your responsibility to help employees understand the importance of inclusion in their work-life and how it affects the company as a whole.

Be prepared to explain why diversity is important for success and make sure your team understands that being inclusive does not mean lowering standards or allowing anyone into any position just because they’re qualified enough but rather hiring from within so that everyone has an equal opportunity at advancement.

Diversity is getting a dinner invitation

Inclusion. It’s a word that gets tossed around a lot, but what does it really mean?

Inclusion is more than just getting an invitation to the dinner party. In fact, diversity is getting invited to the party in the first place. Diversity is saying yes to that invitation and showing up for dinner with an open mind and heart, but inclusion is also making sure everyone can enjoy their meal together.

Also Read: Why the ‘Downfall’ of Boeing is a big lesson on diversity for all of us

If we’re going to be successful at encouraging diversity within our workplaces, then we must also actively work toward creating inclusive environments where everyone feels welcome and valued.

Inclusion is what helps your team succeed

Inclusion is not a programme or initiative. It’s a culture, and it starts at the top, with you.

Inclusion isn’t just about having diverse employees, but also about creating an environment where everyone feels like they belong and can contribute fully to the team. If your company isn’t doing this, it’s time to take action!

Final thoughts

I’d like to think of inclusion as the glue that holds people together. Diversity is what gets you invited to the party, but inclusion makes you want to stay.

As an employee (especially a minority), it can be difficult to feel like your voice is being heard and your ideas are welcome. But if you take the time to make everyone feel included, then your team will have no problem coming up with solutions that will benefit everyone, including yourself!

And as an employer, it’s important that each person on your team feels valued for who they are so they can contribute their unique talents and perspectives without fear of judgement from others who don’t quite look like them or speak with their accent.

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Lawsuit alleges Binance US misled investors over Terra tokens
The lawsuit was reportedly filed by a member of the Terra Research Forum; It claims that the US-based partner of cryptocurrency exchange Binance falsely marketed UST as being more stable than it was in reality.

True Global Ventures’s Web3-focused follow-on fund hits US$146M first close
TGV 4 Plus invests primarily in late-stage Series A, B and C firms across entertainment & gaming, financial services, infrastructure & data analytics/AI; Its portfolio firms include Animoca Brands, The Sandbox, and Forge.

Crypto firm Huobi to pull out of Thailand after losing license
Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission said Huobi had failed to “rectify the work system and personnel to be ready and in accordance with the relevant rules and conditions as ordered by the SEC.”

Singapore blockchain analytics firm launches Web3 messaging app
The app allows users to log in with their crypto wallet, choose a username based on their Nansen wallet labels, join groups based on their crypto holdings, and track statistics on token collections, among other things.

Merit Circle to buy out YGG’s seed investment
Merit Circle and YGG issued agreed to buy out YGG and Nifty Fund’s allocation into Merit Circle for a total of 5.4 million MC tokens at US$0.32 each; The proposed solution will also terminate the formal relationship between Merit Circle and YGG.

HK crypto firm 8 Blocks Capital accuses Three Arrows Capital (TAC) of swindling US$1M
It says TAC used the money to repay lenders and counterparties after the latter allegedly underwent over US$400M in liquidation; Singapore-based crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital could be in danger of insolvency.

Coinbase cuts 18% of workforce, warns ‘winter’ is coming for crypto
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong says the firm “grew too quickly,” which led to inefficiencies with new hires, and that their “employee costs are too high to effectively manage this uncertain market.”

SG crypto payments firm TripleA bags US$4M from Razer’s zVentures
TripleA helps businesses enable crypto payments and payouts; It provides various features such as locked-in exchange rates, real-time fiat conversion, and no chargeback crypto payment solutions.

Tencent leads US$55M round of Indonesian payments firm Flip
Flip provides various financial products such as P2P interbank transfers, overseas transfers, e-wallet top-ups, and payment solutions for businesses; The firm claims it has 10M+ individuals and hundreds of companies as its users.

OTT streaming firm Vidio bags US$44M from Sinarmas Group, Grab, others
Sinarmas Group’s investment marks an open door for Vidio to collaborate strategically with its portfolios, such as Smartfren and MyRepublic; The firm earlier secured US$150M from Affinity Equity Partners in October 2021.

Animoca Brands buys Isralei edutech firm TinyTap for US$39M
The deal, which gives Animoca an 84% stake in TinyTap, will help the former establish a new business segment for user-generated content on the blockchain for educational content that will allow educators to generate their own equity.

Indonesia to probe Telkomsel’s investment in GoTo Group
This follows a petition that has raised concerns over corruption, collusion, and nepotism; Telkomsel had injected US$300M into Gojek last year, in addition to the US$150M it invested in 2020.

Ismaya Group raises US$18M funding round led by East Ventures
Ismaya started by opening its first entertainment business outlet in South Jakarta; After that, it entered the F&B scene by launching restaurants such as Pizza e Birra, Kitchenette, Publik Markette, and Tokyo Belly.

AMILI raises US$10.5M Series A led to expand in SEA
Investors include Vulcan Capital, Pruksa Group, Emtek Group, and SEEDS Capital; Amili offers a multi-ethnic Asia microbiome database, a microbiome bank with samples stored for metagenomic and metabolomic analysis, and Amili Prime.

Singapore IoT coffee startup Morning raises US$5M funding
Investors are East Ventures, P9 Capital, zVentures, and Wee Teng Wen of The Lo & Behold Group; Morning operates an ecosystem that includes a marketplace for specialty coffee capsules and an app with built-in recipes to let users brew cafe-grade coffee automatically.

Smile API raises pre-Series A from Afore Capital
Smile API is an information infrastructure startup in the Philippines focused on employment and finance data; It is the second seed round since its founding in April last year with CreditEase and Plug and Play as investors.

Singapore’s data annotation startup Tictag nets US$1.3M pre-Series A
Investors are M Venture Partners, Investible, East Ventures, Farquhar Venture Capital, and Sam Gibb; Tictag converts complex annotation tasks into simplified bite-sized, gamified ‘quests’ on a mobile app platform.

Sequoia Capital launches US$850M fund to ‘double down’ on SEA
Sequoia SEA Fund I will invest actively at the seed, Series A, and growth stages in companies across the region; In SEA, it has invested in Gojek, Tokopedia, Traveloka, Kopi Kenangan, GuadangAda, Biofourmis, Insider, eFishery, and Appier.

Antler CEO Magnus Grimeland invests in The Scale Factory’s US$775K funding round
The Scale Factory supports B2B tech companies to scale their business in the region through a system of sales and marketing initiatives; The Scale Factory will use the funds to expand its regional geographical footprint.

Grab buys, relaunches food site HungryGoWhere
The renewed HungryGoWhere will focus on food reviews and recommendations; The platform will also feature profile interviews and behind-the-scenes stories of up-and-coming personalities and the origins of popular foods.

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