Day: February 14, 2023

Moonfare, a global digital private equity (PE) investment platform with Asia Pacific headquarters in Singapore and Hong Kong, has raised US$15 million in a Series C extension round.

The investment came from 7 Global Capita, a cross-border VC firm investing in capital-efficient internet and consumer technology companies with market-leading potential.

This capital brings Moonfare’s total Series C round to over US$130 million. The startup earlier raised funding from Insight Partners, Vitruvian Partners and Swiss private bank Bordier & Cie.

Moonfare will use the new capital to fuel its growth plans.

Moonfare CEO and Founder Steffen Pauls said: “Individual investors and their advisors are increasingly seeking refuge in private equity, especially in current volatile public markets. We aim to meet this demand by giving an even broader range of like-minded investors access to our curated low-minimum private market funds.”

“We will offer new products, expand into new markets and strengthen our senior management team with seasoned private equity experts. We are well equipped to meet our growth plans for this year,” he added.

Moonfare provides individual investors and advisors with access to curated PE investment opportunities. With a digital onboarding process and asset management platform, Moonfare allows investors to register and invest in companies.

Also Read: How SMUA’s 12-day certificate programme equips you to detect potential FTX-like scams in future

To date, the startup claims to have offered more than 69 private market funds from top general partners worldwide, such as KKR, Carlyle, Permira, and EQT, with an emphasis on private equity buyouts, venture, growth and real asset categories like infrastructure.

Moonfare’s investment team conducts ground-up due diligence on all funds. Fewer than 5 per cent of available funds pass this process and make it onto its platform. It has over 3,00 clients who have invested more than €2 (US$2.13) billion on its platform.

The company increased its assets under management by almost 60 per cent to over US$2.3 billion in the last calendar year. The number of Moonfare investors grew by 40 per cent to 3,393, and the community of registered users more than doubled to over 48,000 in this period.

It recently increased the funds offered on its platform from 40 to 69 and entered into two new asset classes, Impact and Philanthropy.

Headquartered in Berlin, Moonfare operates in 25 countries across Europe, Asia, and America and has offices in New York, Hong Kong, London, Zürich, Singapore, Paris and Luxembourg.

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There are three billion gamers globally, with roughly half of them in the Asia-Pacific region. Southeast Asia alone boasts a US$5 billion video game market with 270 million gamers. With rising technological literacy, affordable smartphones, a young population, and improving internet infrastructure in the region, there is ample room for growth still.

Contrary to traditional gender stereotypes, recent data shows that video games are not only for boys. Women today already make up around 45 per cent of gamers in Asia, and the number is fast growing. India, Indonesia, and Malaysia are three of the top markets in APAC for female gamers playing on mobile, with other markets catching up neck-to-neck.

As we look for new growth engines in 2023, female gamers will play a significant role if businesses are equipped with the right insights to penetrate this new group of customers. In addition, the fast growth of mobile gaming also sparks a promising outlook.

Know your customers and give them what they want

Knowing your customers is at the core of any gaming business, which needs to tap into the emerging trends and reflect the diversity of their gamers’ profiles.

A recent report from Niko Partners found that the number of female gamers in Asia is growing at a rate of 7.6 per cent year-on-year, against five per cent for male gamers. Evidence from the US, however, suggests that only 30 per cent or fewer mobile games are believed to be designed for women, with 44 per cent of the top games on Google Play featuring male characters.

Also Read: 7 trends changing the reality of immersive gaming

Clearly, there are unmet market needs for games tailored to female players and featuring female characters. Notably, while male gamers are typically driven by competition (61 per cent), challenge (58 per cent) and learning new skills (58 per cent), female gamers are more likely to cite relaxation (47 per cent), fun and entertainment (45 per cent) and escapism (44 per cent) as reasons for gaming.

Therefore, brands looking to make the most of this growing demographic should gain a female perspective and speak directly to these needs to gain a competitive edge.

Offer more mobile-friendly games

Tapping into the growing market of female gamers also means a focus on the mobile experience.

Statistics show that 94 per cent of female gamers in the world’s top 10 games markets use mobile as their primary gaming platform, and mobile is the preferred choice in every major market in Asia. What’s more, 84 per cent of female gamers are willing to make in-game purchases.

Last year, they spent more than US$20 billion via in-app purchases to enhance their gaming experience. Focusing on mobile-friendly gaming design will largely help businesses stay close to their female users.

The growth of mobile gaming stretches across gender lines and connects more gamers from across the globe – and businesses are moving fast to ride on this momentum. Advances in hardware and big-name franchises, such as Mobile Legends and PUBG, have all widened the landscape of smartphone experiences. Backed by 5G technology and improved internet infrastructure, gamers are now able to unlock the connected and flexible gameplay experience on the go.

The rise of portable gaming has also provided a conducive environment for more people to join the games in a casual way. In 2020, a survey found that 23 per cent of gamers in Singapore are ‘time fillers’ who would play a quick round of mobile games while commuting or waiting. In 2021, the number of installations of such casual games grew even further by 49 per cent.

Unlike PC games which require a complete home setup, mobile games give commuters the flexibility to play wherever and whenever they want – and this is a trend that is expected to grow in coming years as travel resumes. For game developers, it is worth looking into more idle tap games and the like, which would give people a quick escape from the stress of life, turning boring situations into fun ones.

Find the right balance between safety and seamlessness

On the back end, security remains a priority as it safeguards gamers’ trust towards any gaming merchants who aspire to grow in the long run.

Also Read: How e-sports is evolving with blockchain gaming

A recent report shows that password-stealing malware cybercriminals have set their sights on gamers – 185,689 passwords were stolen from 2,179 devices in seven months of last year. As games gain popularity, so does the security threat.

Preventing security risks not only requires good user habits but a robust security system enhanced continually. By setting up a dedicated security team and leaning on trusted payment partners like PayPal, gaming merchants can stay vigilant in monitoring suspicious activity, while gamers can rest easy knowing their data and payment details are in good hands.

Gaming merchants, we work with tell us that gamers tend to be impatient, so a great payment experience should never interfere with the gaming flow. For example, gamers value one-click payments, which allow them to save their information and check out quickly. A smooth website layout with intuitive clicks and a crease-free in-app purchasing process with minimal waiting time are game-changers worth investing in.

Game on and upwards in the year ahead

There is global consensus that the year ahead will be challenging, but emerging trends have suggested bright spots for gaming businesses. Creating more inclusive and mobile-friendly experiences is one way to seize the opportunity.

There is no doubt that inventive game design and brilliant code are essential to success, but the real end game is a winning customer experience from start to finish. With a payment partner that offers built-in security solutions, frictionless check-out, and cross-border capabilities, gaming merchants can focus on what truly matters for their business and audience – elevating and enhancing the gameplay.

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The startup ecosystem does not exist in a silo. By collaborating with various parties, including corporations in the banking sector, startups can tackle some of the most pressing challenges they face today.

According to Amanda Murphy, Head of Commercial Banking, South and Southeast Asia, HSBC, there are a number of challenges that startups face, especially as they are aiming to scale: From how to recruit suitable talents to managing the business side of things.

“They got a great product or a great service. So how do they scale that up? How do they get it available to many people? How do they access markets beyond their home market?” Murphy asks the big questions for founders to consider. “How do they do their banking, and what technology to use?”

These challenges often led to the biggest question of them all: How to secure the funding that can help them reach these goals. Murphy highlights that while many startups might start out by borrowing money from “the bank of Mum and Dad”, they need to expand their connections and tap other resources as they scale –including banks.

“That’s where we’ve been very supportive of startups, both here in Singapore and more broadly across the region. I think that’s where we have a role to play as corporations, by working with small companies who have an idea for a new product and how we can help them get that to market,” she stresses.

Also Read: Bizbaz raises US$4M in seed funding led by HSBC AM to accelerate product development

In this interview with e27, Murphy speaks about how the organisation works together with startups, the milestones that they have made, and what they intend to achieve in 2023. The following is an edited excerpt of the interview:

What is your philosophy in working with startups?

Our philosophy in working with startups is to speak their language.

We have a team of people who are specially trained to deal with startups because there are different questions that you are going to ask them. They do not have a 20-year history to share. Sometimes there is also a bit more informality [in communicating with startups] as we are seeing younger people come through the startup companies. So it is about how we match that as well.

Can you explain to me the existing support that is HSBC currently giving to startups?

We got a dedicated fund for Southeast Asia which is half a billion dollars available for startups. Because what we have found is that there are lots of opportunities in Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia. We got a very strong balance sheet both here and in another country, so we are utilising that for the benefit of startups.

We’ve got a US$200 million tech fund here in Singapore, focused on tech companies that are being established here in Singapore. That is to help those fast-growing companies expand through Singapore and into other parts of Southeast Asia and beyond.

We also got a tech fund in India for US$250 million dollars, and we got a tech fund in Australia as well.

We are just trying to say to those companies in that space that we are open here to support you. We also have companies who are starting up today and want smooth seamless, disruption-free banking. According to the market, we have the best products in that space. Whether it is our trade services products or cash management products, our transaction banking franchise is very, very strong. We process 1.1 million payments every day with 95 per cent of those through digitally.

Also Read: Singapore’s FX trading platform Spark Systems raises US$15M from HSBC, Goldman Sachs, others

From a trade perspective, we are the world’s largest bank by some distance, and we would finance a million dollars worth of trade every minute.

One of the key areas that we have been focusing on for the last number of years is a heavy investment in digital solutions. So we have spent US$2 billion in investment to improve our digital capabilities … that means we can co-create with startups, take our products, and make them work for you in a bespoke manner for each individual company.

The other thing that we have is an international footprint. Bringing startups to other parts of the world, and bringing other parts of the world to startups, is really important. We know Asia very well; we have been here for over 150 years.

What are the criteria for the startups that you are looking for?

There are no standard criteria. We look at each one on an individual basis. What we would like to see is the potential size of the market. Who are the people that are in it? Who are the people behind the project or the initiative? Do they have experience or knowledge expertise in that space? Will they be able to deliver? What is the business plan look like?

This is not a one-size-fits-all.

Is there any particular sector that you are looking at?

We do look at a lot of sectors. But in recent times, we have been quite focused on the new economy, thinking about these businesses that are established in that space and how we can continue to adapt our policies and our products for that.

Some key areas that we are watching are agri-foods, the use of tech in agriculture is a very fast-growing area. Health tech, you can imagine how COVID-19 has accelerated that. We are seeing some really interesting technological advances in there, whether it’s the use of AI to help solve patients’ queries or drug development.

Then the final one–there has been quite an explosion over recent years–is green tech. Everything from electric vehicles, charging points, packaging, virtual communication … all of those types of initiatives. So, we are seeing quite a bit of that and bouncing back to some of the more traditional industries such as transport, travel, and food. We saw them quieten down in certain areas through COVID-19 times, but they are bouncing back, and the recent announcements of China opening up have just added to that as well.

Also Read: Funding Societies gets US$50M credit facility from HSBC

What are the biggest milestones that you have made with these funds?

It centres on the partnerships that we have established. We partner with a number of tech firms as an organisation. We are ideating, generating new solutions, and thinking about how we evolve. We have used our funds to the benefit of some of the companies here.

If I look at some of the examples that I’m able to share with you, Funding Society … we have lent them US$50 million. They have gotten a credit facility in place, and they’re operating across Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Thailand.

Also, Next Gen Foods. We have helped with some sustainable finance lending for them.

In India, in particular, we have opened bank accounts for over 1,000 new startups. We have also made a partnership with Zoho Books, enabling our customers to access that as well.

So, kind of moving beyond banking, bringing additional value-added services for our clients as well.

What is the big plan for these funds for this year?

The plan is to be very vocal about being open to supporting businesses here in Singapore and beyond. We support businesses through a mixture of funding and lending, but also through other bank products, services, and expertise. Also through the connections with each other.

We’re very bullish on the region; we think there’s a huge amount of opportunity. What we describe as the 3Ds–digitalization, dynamism, and demographics–if you think about Southeast Asia, the digital economy is worth in excess of US$200 billion and it is growing so fast, over 20 per cent every year.

On top of that, you have a very strong growing population, a young population that is growing at a median age is about 30.

Also Read: CXA Group raises bridge round of funding from Thai HR solutions provider Humanica, HSBC Life

Then you add to that the dynamism, and that is very apparent here in Singapore.

Those three things will really make a difference in this region. So we are very excited about what we can do. In a recent survey that we did of customers or non-customers, over 90 per cent said they expected to grow in this region. So, the business sentiment is very strong.

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Fundraising or preparing your startup for fundraising? Build your investor network, search from 400+ SEA investors on e27, and get connected or get insights regarding fundraising. Try e27 Pro for free today.

Image Credit: HSBC

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Asa Ren, a DNA data company based in Indonesia, has closed a new US$8.15 million funding round co-led by Top Harvest Capital (US), Kejora Capital, and Marcy Venture Partners (US).

Northstar Ventures, Naya Capital, PT Diagnos Laboratorium Utama Tbk, and several prominent angel investors also joined.

The capital injection will allow it to deepen its digital capabilities, and develop clinical bioinformatics, an e-health passport, and a clinical-genomic database focused on non-communicable diseases.

In addition, Asa Ren also aims to add medical diagnoses and complete health data of the customers.

The Ministry of Health of Indonesia disclosed that more than 70 per cent of deaths in Indonesia are caused by preventable diseases that can be detected from their DNA (including diabetes, CAD, stroke, and cancer). However, only 17 per cent of the healthcare spending in the country is allocated to prevention.

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Asa Ren strives to solve this by providing wellness, nutrition and clinical bioinformatics data for Indonesians.

Founded by CEO Aloysius Liang, Asa Ren aims to accelerate drug discovery and personalised treatments for Southeast Asia’s healthcare industry by developing clinical-genomic databases from healthy and confirmed diagnostic populations.

Its solutions allow customers to understand and manage their healthcare data through their genetic profile, 360 phenotypes, and medical records for a more personalised healthcare experience.

Currently, Asa Ren provides a direct-to-consumer DNA test that offers more than 360 reports, including predisposed health risks, ancestry, and other reports for adults, young parents and children.

Asa Ren has signed service agreements with more than 47 prominent hospital and clinic partners and is expecting to grow its distribution footprint to more than 60 hospital and clinic partners by the end of 2023.

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Fundraising or preparing your startup for fundraising? Build your investor network, search from 400+ SEA investors on e27, and get connected or get insights regarding fundraising. Try e27 Pro for free today.

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In the first edition of its Workplace Learning Report, LinkedIn revealed that upskilling employees remains a priority for Learning & Development (L&D) executives in companies in Singapore.

This finding is followed by other focus areas: Creating a culture of learning, aligning learning programmes to business goals, and making learning more agile and measuring the success of learning.

In the report, Crystal Lim-Lange, CEO and Co-Founder at Forest Wolf, as one of the executives surveyed for the report, commented that “L&D is critical for staff engagement and retention.”

This statement is echoed by 98 per cent of organisations who stated that they feel concerned about employee retention. Seventy-seven per cent of the surveyed companies also said that they are using learning opportunities to improve employee retention.

The report also stated that L&D is seen as a “cross-functional effort” by 80 per cent of L&D professionals, who stated that their role has become increasingly cross-functional each year.

Also Read: What can local companies do in 2023 for workplace mental fitness?

In this matter, C-suite influence is also seen as continuing to surge, according to 86 per cent of Department Heads and 67 per cent of heads of HR/CHRO/CPO. “L&D pros are working more closely with company leadership to deploy upskilling or reskilling programmes this year than they were last year,” the report explains.

The Workplace Learning Report was published in conjunction with the launch of the LinkedIn Learning course.

The report surveyed learning leaders across Singapore and other Asia Pacific countries to understand how effective L&D programmes put people and skills at the centre of organisational success.

It is also published with the background of the recent layoffs that affect top tech companies in Singapore and Southeast Asia.

A NODEFLAIR report noted 13 media-recorded layoffs in Singapore in 2022.

“At least 1,270 tech jobs were retrenched from July to November 2022. Many of such layoffs were due to economic uncertainty and aggressive hiring during the tech boom amidst the pandemic,” the report stated.

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Fundraising or preparing your startup for fundraising? Build your investor network, search from 400+ SEA investors on e27, and get connected or get insights regarding fundraising. Try e27 Pro for free today.

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