PayMongo receives demand to investigate board chairman
‘As concerned employees of the company, we are worried and disappointed that Luis Sia continues to be involved in the board of PayMongo’, an anonymous person claiming to be a PayMongo employee filed the complaint via email.

MUFG partners with Danamon to launch US$100M startup fund in Indonesia
The fund, MUFG Innovation Partners Garuda No. 1, will invest in Indonesian companies that are expected to have synergies with Danamon; Danamon was acquired by MUFG and MUFG Bank in April 2019.

Investments in SEA slam the brakes in January
Based on data from Tech in Asia, there were only 47 funding deals in January, totaling US$220M; This is down from the 53 deals worth US$840M recorded in December 2022.

Philippine VC firm Foxmont Capital closes US$21.3M Fund II
The investors are Pavilion Capital, AppWorks, and Netherlands-based Orient Growth; To date, Foxmont Capital has invested in 31 startups, including Kumu, edamama, Colourette, Ztock, and Peddlr.

PayPal to shed 2,000 jobs globally
This accounts for nearly 7% of the company’s total headcount; PayPal now joins the growing list of global tech giants announcing layoffs, including Amazon, Meta, and Alphabet.

Bangladeshi B2B e-commerce platform ShopUp bags US$30M debt financing
The funding consists of US$20M from Lendable and US$10M from The City Bank; ShopUp will use the funds for expansion, strengthening supply chain operations, and helping address the food waste problem in Bangladesh.

E-scooter rental startup WeMo nets US$15M for Thailand, Indonesia expansion
The investors include AppWorks and Taiwan National Development Fund; WeMo is partnering with governments, investors, businesses, and transportation providers throughout Southeast Asia.

Freight rate management platform Freightify raises US$12M Series A
The investors are Sequoia India, TMV, and Alteria Capital; Freightify provides white-labelled rate automation solutions to digitise freight forwarders’ rate procurement, rate management and quotation processes.

Gobi Superseed II Fund invests in Durioo+, Lapasar, Paywatch, pitchIN
Gobi Superseed II Fund targets early-stage tech-enabled Malaysian startups operating in AI, Big Data, cloud, e-commerce, fintech, IoT, and Halal economy.

Healthtech firm WhiteCoat grows revenue 3x US$7.7M in 2022
The Singaporean firm targets profitability in its home market by the end of the year; The firm also aims to reach profitability in Indonesia and Vietnam within four years.

Malaysian farmtech startup Secai Marche bags US$1.6M Series A
The investors are Agribusiness Investment & Consultation, Spiral Ventures, and Beyond Next Ventures; Secai Marche will use the new capital to develop its own demand forecast system and optimise truck routing.

Indonesian cybersecurity startup Peris.ai raises funding
The investors are East Ventures and Magic Fund; Peris.ai will use the money to build its cybersecurity platform, train AI/ML capabilities, and nurture the ethical hacker community.

Fund managers have their task cut out right now: Edward Tay
VCs have to relook at their portfolio companies’ valuations as part of the fiduciary role as a fund manager, says ex-Sistema Asia CEO; There’s been an increased tendency to focus on sustainability-related investments in 2023.

Balancing revenue, impact is social impact startups’ top challenge
SoundEye, The Posture Lab, and ACKTEC Technologies reveal the challenges that they are going through and how Sustainable Impact Accelerator can help them tackle them.

Be hungrier and bolder to explore a variety of industries: Sharina Khan of Thoughtworks
The Lead Consultant and Experience Designer at Thoughtworks talks about plunging into the risk of switching careers while juggling motherhood.

Web4, a vision of an intelligent, decentralised web
AI and the Symbiotic Web are key technologies that will drive the development of Web4; Web4 aims to provide a more secure and private web, where users have more control over their data and how it’s used.

How the metaverse and blockchain accelerate economic development
Blockchain technology serves as the foundation for the metaverse, as many applications within it run on blockchain systems.

Genesis bankruptcy: Luno Malaysia assures funds are safe
Luno is Genesis’ sister company and lending partner; In Nov 2022, Luno took steps to ensure its customers had access to their savings wallets after Genesis decided to suspend redemptions and loan origination temporarily.

Year of the rabbit: Leaping into a bumper year for digital payments
Where innovation grows, it is vital that regulation must follow, particularly in the payments industry where trust is of paramount importance.

3 success tips to help e-commerce businesses unlock online success
The full potential of the APAC region remains untapped, and there is a great opportunity for growth and funding in the e-commerce space.

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Businesses in the ASEAN region face an interesting situation this year with the implementation of near-sourcing strategies to overcome supply chain issues in China, presenting opportunities for local manufacturers. On the other hand, interest rate hikes both here and in other regions will impact the liquidity of trade finance institutions.

How organisations implement their digital transformation strategies will play a huge part in whether they will turn the uncertain economic climate across the region and the world to their advantage.

To guide ASEAN decision-makers in navigating 2023, I share five key trends that are expected to have a significant impact on their businesses:

Continued transition to “just-in-case” strategies

Many businesses have reverted to this model as a response to pandemic-related supply chain issues in previous years. We can expect more organisations to follow suit as more challenges crop up while existing ones persist this year.

According to EY, ASEAN companies that opt to do so: supply chain visibility, intelligence, traceability, supply chain resiliency and sustainability, and digital enablement. Blockchain technology is a key enabler of this, as it allows all parties to a transaction to have visibility. At the same time, each transaction’s record is immutable, eliminating fraud and assuring all parties involved of its accuracy and reliability.

Greater emphasis on sustainability

With global shipping alone accounting for three per cent of all greenhouse gases, regulations and customer expectations are driving companies to reduce their carbon footprints across their supply chains.

Blockchain-enabled traceability and visibility can help organisations track down their products’ and shipments’ carbon footprints from end to end, enabling decision-makers to identify where they can work to reduce greenhouse emissions and raw material consumption.

Renewed focus on working capital management

With central banks in the region following the US Federal Reserve in raising rates, there will be a renewed focus on working capital management. Decision-makers will look for ways to improve cash flows and make processes more efficient.

Also Read: ‘Trade & supply chain sector is set to witness unprecedented blockchain adoption’: #dltledgers

Blockchain technology assures financial institutions that transactions are free from fraud, increasing confidence and allowing for more funding.

Blockchain implementation at scale

With blockchain viability and application becoming increasingly apparent, it will be implemented at scale for supply chains. Instead of being used between several companies across a supply chain, governments will deploy blockchain solutions for use in specific trade corridors.

Companies transporting goods between two ports or airports in any of the aforementioned trade corridors will have to use a blockchain platform to record and update their transactions. There will also be more use cases outside of shipping, such as tracing counterfeit products and parts, financial transactions, and maintaining sensitive data such as patient health records.

The blockchain-driven transformation will further drive Web3 transformation

As more companies, industries, and sectors adopt blockchain tech, even more applications and use cases will be discovered, leading to an upward spiral in blockchain tech and, hopefully, a breakthrough in Web3 becoming a reality. In general, Web3 will dramatically change how data is stored, secured, and consumed.

From the central servers of a few organisations, data will be owned and managed securely by millions of users using blockchain platforms. Using the same technology, businesses can connect with each other with a single source of truth, helping them make timely and informed decisions.

Final thoughts

Digitising supply chain processes and operations is the key to turning the current economic climate from a challenge into an opportunity. Blockchain, in particular, has tremendous applications ranging from automating processes, securing cross-border transactions, combatting trade finance fraud, and sustainability.

On a macro level, we see 2023 as the year where blockchain makes a breakthrough in terms of becoming universally accepted as something that is here to stay and will radically change the way we do things, not just in supply chains. 

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In January, Singapore-based startup Smthgood launched their social commerce platform that combines user-generated “lookbooks” with a fashion marketplace that is focused on ‘conscious fashion’ brands –defined as fashion brands with positive environmental and social impact in their mission and operations.

The user journey on the Smthgood platform begins with a quiz that helps set up the algorithm to tailor to users’ tastes and preferences in fashion. It allows them to browse through the collections and create a personalised Lookbook using a virtual styling editor. After that, users can publish their Lookbook and have other users purchase the products directly from these lookbooks.

“Creators are rewarded with Smthgood coins, exchangeable for shopping cashback whenever a purchase is made from their Lookbooks. All these create a discovery-led and gamified shopping experience where users can both inspire and get inspired,” the company explains.

The platform features small- and medium-sized fashion brands from across the Asia Pacific, from Thailand to Australia, with price tags that range from US$20 to US$200.

“All brands on the platform have been carefully curated to align with Smthgood’s values based on three factors: what the item is made of, how the item is made, and the impact of the finished item on the environment. Smthgood aims to provide more personalised user experiences with fashion AI tagging and uplift the conscious brands on its platform,” the company says.

It is one of the startups in the region that aims to cater for the needs of today’s customers, who are becoming increasingly aware of the negative impact of consumerism–and actively looking for a better alternative.

Also Read: Slow fashion is back: How environmental sustainability becomes the hottest trend this season

A different way to purchase

Smthgood targets women aged 16 to 44 as its users, and the creation of the platform is in line with notable changes in user behaviour in the global market today. These changes have become more prevalent in recent years, providing new opportunities for businesses.

In an interview with e27, Smthgood Founding Director Tony K Tan points out the three major trends that the company aims to capture, based on research by leading institutions:

– Sixty per cent of today’s customers are driven by discovery-led inspiration and are looking out for new purchasing experiences (Meta and Bain)
– The market for sustainable products is growing at a much higher speed at 2.7 times (NYU Stern School of Business)
– The year 2022 was the first time purpose-driven buying trumps price-driven buying at 44 per cent to 37 per cent (IBM Institute for Business Value)

These are the opportunities that Smthgood aims to pursue.

“The way we are looking at this is that we are telling a story, not just to people who are already into the conscious [lifestyle], but also to people who are curious, just thinking about it, or hearing about it, but may not know where to start,” Tan explains.

The company believes that it can help promote conscious fashion brands through the way the platform works. By having user-generated lookbooks, instead of one created or curated by fashion editors, they can help build trust in users’ minds that conscious fashion brands can also look good.

But how about fast fashion itself? Does Smthgood see it as a competitor?

“To be honest, fast fashion will always be there. There’s no way to eradicate fast fashion. It’s all about co-existence,” Tan says.

Also Read: How blockchain can enhance sustainability in fashion

Fashionably sustainable

Prior to founding Smthgood, Tan had close to 20 years of business experience across core divisions in an investment bank, including corporate finance, global markets and wealth management.

A lifelong passion for businesses that combine profits and social impact, combines with the opportunity for self-reflection that the pandemic provides, led him to start Smthgood.

When asked about how his background affects how he is running a startup, Tan says that it has definitely influenced his approach.

“In a sense, my experience as a banker allows me a lot of interaction with business owners and companies,” he says.

He lays down the three points that he believes are keys to building a “good business”. The founders have to:

– Have a good understanding of the global trend, where the world is going to
– Build a product that the costumers actually need, instead of what founders believe to be a good product
– Secure the right team members to execute the vision of the products

“By having that understanding of where the world is moving to, it’s the starting point from a macro perspective. Then, if I pull it down to the second level, it’s about what you’re building. Are you building the things that are your product? Are you building something that you would consume?” he explains.

“Ultimately, when everything is out in the market, it’s about iteration. It’s about getting that feedback, and evolving things nimbly using data points.”

Also Read: How the tech-enabled second-hand fashion resale market is growing in Asia

Operating from its base in Singapore, Smthgood is currently fully bootstrapped. While Tan acknowledges that raising external funding can help a business expand, he believes that being bootstrapped also allowed them to focus on launching the product that they envision.

“We are not distracted … It allows us to focus on the vision of what I think this app can be,” he closes.

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Image Credit: Smthgood

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Singapore-based smart electric motorbike company ION Mobility has secured US$18.7 million in its Series A round of financing from investors, including India’s leading two-wheeler maker TVS Motors.

Other investors are AC Ventures Malaysia, Michael Sampoerna, and ION’s CMO Ng Ho Sen. Existing investors TNB Aura, Quest Ventures, Monk’s Hill Ventures, Village Global, GDP Venture, and Seeds Capital also joined.

Also Read: ‘Singapore isn’t ready for mass adoption of EVs yet; hybrid may be better for the present’

This brings ION Mobility’s total capital raised to over US$25.5 million since 2020.

TVS made the strategic investment through its subsidiary TVS Motor (Singapore). It will provide the necessary ecosystem support for the e-vehicle startup to succeed in the electric two-wheeler markets of Singapore and Indonesia.

ION will use the fresh capital to grow its Indonesia team, operations and capabilities. This includes its sales and marketing presence, local supply chain networks, production tooling and manufacturing capabilities in Indonesia to achieve at least 50% local content.

This announcement comes on the heels of the company’s launch of its M1-S electric scooter in Jakarta in November 2022. It also signed a broad-ranging Memorandum of Understanding with Indonesia’s national grid operator PLN to expand its charging network and two-wheeler fast-charging technology research and user outreach and education.

ION Mobility Founder and CEO James Chan said: “We are excited to draw upon TVS Motor’s decades of global expertise in two-wheelers to accelerate our “Mobius” M1-S production readiness, as well as the design and development of other models.”

Also Read: ION Mobility lands US$6.8M as it prepares to launch smart e-motorbike in Singapore

Founded in 2019, ION Mobility aims to become a technology company leading the region’s transition towards a low-carbon economy with consumers’ electric and electric mobility products. It wants to provide clean alternatives for urban users to alleviate urban air pollution and lead the transition to electric vehicles (EVs) across Southeast Asia, starting with motorbikes.

The plan is to convert the 200-plus million motorcycle users from petrol to electric to drive a sustainable future in Southeast Asia.

In October 2021, ION completed its US$6.8 million seed financing, co-led by Quest Ventures and TNB Aura.

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Online shopping isn’t just a COVID-19 fad, it has become a lifestyle. Even as we move on from the pandemic, an increasing proportion of consumers in the Asia Pacific region continue to embrace self-serve and mobile retail experiences.

Indeed, in a 2022 report, 9 out of 10 millennials listed online shopping via their smartphones as their preferred means of purchasing. Elsewhere, in the United States, a record US$9.12 billion was spent online on Black Friday 2022, up 2.3 per cent from Black Friday 2021, while Thanksgiving saw US$5.29 billion in online spending, up 2.9 per cent from 2021.

This holiday season, the digital space will once again be the battlefield where shoppers hang out, and businesses compete. Anyone who wishes to survive and thrive in the competitive environment must buckle up and brace for the biggest shopping window of the year.

In this article, we’ll explore some tips and strategies, illustrated with the success stories of three e-commerce businesses that we were able to partner with to help take their business to new heights.

Create a brand that speaks to customers’ hearts

In the crowded e-commerce space, numerous businesses are selling the same type of products. How do you stand out? Why should people choose and stay loyal to your business? The key lies in creating a brand that connects with your customers.

Founded in 2020, Cheak (formerly known as Butter) is a Singaporean brand offering women’s activewear. With only five products in their catalogue in their first year of business, Cheak generated an impressive six-figure revenue, and they did it by building a unique brand around women in Asia.

Cheak was born when its founders, Olivia Yiong and Tiffany Chng, couldn’t find active apparel that is chic, affordable and fit for Asian body types. Setting out on their own to address this gap in the market, Olivia and Tiffany built a brand that made it a point to listen to the Asian women’s community and what Asian women wanted.

Not to mention, Cheak’s collection of vibrantly coloured activewear fits both the body and budget as well. Finally, Asian women’s voices were heard, and Cheak quickly became a newfound favourite.

But as with any start-up retail business, there is a substantial outlay required to purchase inventory to sell. In fact, this is a problem often faced by newer e-commerce companies who are often not able to secure any financing from traditional financial institutions, as many e-commerce merchants lack sufficient assets to serve as collateral for bank loans, while private equity and VC firms tend to favour disruptive innovators over e-commerce businesses. 

Fortunately, we were able to work with Cheak to provide the funds required to finance their inventory purchase. With this injection of life, Cheak was able to significantly fulfil more orders, increase their revenue, and grow their brand.

Also Read: Profitable e-commerce: Making real money in the new year

This caught the eye of Love, Bonito, Singapore’s leading women’s fashion label, which is poised to expand to overseas markets such as Hong Kong, Japan and the US. Cheak was recently acquired by Love, Bonito enabling their female-founded activewear brand to continue to empower millions of women with confidence in themselves and in everyday life.

Scale growth with paid search advertising

When it comes to scaling a business, it’s often said that you have to spend money to make money. In this regard, digital advertising is what you can do to multiply your revenue quickly and exponentially.

Jaco Hardware illustrates this well. Now a big name in Hong Kong’s hardware industry, Jaco Hardware began as a college hustle by its founder, Henry Chao. It wasn’t until Henry decided to double down on the digital venture and seek funding that he turned the business around.

Henry invested some 60% of funds secured into digital marketing – which is a huge sum for a business, but one that paid dividends. Noticing huge search volume for certain products, he started sourcing new hardware tools from across the globe and amped up Google Ads spending in those categories. When people searched for hardware products on Google, Jaco Hardware’s ads would show up and drive visitors to its online store.

As a small business owner, Henry shared that the amount of money spent on advertising seemed overwhelming at first. With clearly defined goals, performance tracking, analytics and optimisation, however, returns on ad spend (ROAS) turned out to be very promising.

Revenue grew 100x in less than two years,  establishing the company’s leadership position in the online hardware industry. Henry’s hardware empire now turns a seven-figure monthly revenue and is continuing on an upward trajectory.

Sell directly to consumers to accelerate growth on your own terms

For digital merchants just starting off, joining marketplaces like Amazon, Shopee and Lazada are the easy path to take. To push your business towards further growth and success, however, building a direct-to-consumer (DTC) brand is a must. In fact, this is how Archiology grew its revenue by 5x in 6 months.

Archiology is a designer company of home lighting and furniture goods and first came into being as one of the many merchants on the Amazon Marketplace.

Also Read: How e-commerce brands can tap into the US$600 billion social commerce market potential

Among all challenges of being a marketplace seller, commission fees are where it hurts most. Platforms pocket up to 45 per cent on every transaction, often undercutting merchants’ profit margins to razor-thin levels. Interacting with customers, delivering customised marketing messages and offering seasonal promotions also prove challenging since all must be done within platform rules and policies.

The company subsequently cast about for ways to establish a DTC brand and eventually made substantial capital investments in the transition from being an Amazon seller to establishing its own DTC brand. 

The pivot to DTC opened up a treasure trove of opportunities for Archiology. On top of eliminating exorbitant platform fees and offering higher profit margins up for grabs, selling directly to consumers enables Archiology to engage in hyper-personalised interactions with them.

With its own online store, Archiology now offers 15 per cent off a customer’s first purchase, a US$5 reward for each referred purchaser, as well as a live chat box to answer shoppers’ queries right away.

This way, interested visitors turn into purchasers, existing customers bring in new ones, and they themselves remain loyal customers of the brand. More importantly, most of them know Archiology by its name, not just another seller on Amazon.

Reaching into the opportunities of e-commerce

As the Chinese saying goes, starting a business is difficult, but keeping it going is even harder. Running a business in today’s crowded digital landscape, the real challenge is to stand out from the competition and achieve continued growth.

As a key funding partner for the Southeast Asian/APAC e-commerce market, we have partnered with hundreds of e-commerce businesses. We believe that the full potential of the region remains untapped and that, contrary to recent reports, there remain great opportunities for growth and funding in the e-commerce space. 

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Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing views from the community. Share your opinion by submitting an article, video, podcast, or infographic

Join our e27 Telegram group, FB community, or like the e27 Facebook page

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What Sistema Asia Capital is facing is likely no different from any other established VC firms in the market in the current downturn, said former CEO Edward Tay.

He was responding to a recent DealStreetAsia report that said India- and Southeast-Asia-focused Sistema Asia was caught in a liquidity limbo and struggling to find buyers for its Asian portfolio. Sistema had placed its portfolio on the secondary market but could not evoke buyer interest owing to the political implications of being associated with Russia, which is engaged in a fierce war with Ukraine. 

Sistema Asia’s parent company is headquartered in Russia.

Also Read: ‘The era of easy money is over’: VCs speak of funding winter and exit landscape in Southeast Asia

Tay quit as Sistema Asia CEO amidst this crisis and is currently an Associate Professor with the UNITAR (the UN Institute of Training and Research). UNITAR provides innovative learning solutions to individuals, organisations and institutions to enhance global decision-making and support country-level action for shaping a better future.

“From Sequoia Capital to SoftBank, many VCs have already announced an investment freeze because the outlook looks very negative,” Tay said in an interview with e27. “Therefore, top VCs, including Sistema Asia, have to relook at their portfolio companies’ valuations as part of the fiduciary role as a fund manager. Looking at some of the portfolio companies, deciding whether they should keep some of them because there’s still potential despite the negative outlook, and investing their capital to support them through this crisis are the areas they are currently looking at.”

He further remarked different VCs have different outlooks on portfolios and valuation. Top-tier VCs will look at how best to protect Limited Partners’ interests and help them recycle their hard-earned capital in this hostile environment. “They also have a different perspective on how the global economy, especially the regional economy, will move and how they ultimately affect their portfolio valuations. So I believe the fund managers now have their task cut out.”

Established in 1993, Sistema Asia Capital (part of Russian investor Sistema) invests in telecom, utilities, retail, high-tech, pulp and paper, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, railway transportation, agriculture, finance, mass media, and tourism. It has invested in over a dozen companies, primarily in India, including Qwikcilver (acquired by Pine Labs), Licious, Lendingkart, Faasos, netmeds (acquired by Reliance Retail), Uniphore, and Seclore.

‘2023 is a watershed moment’

Tay also said 2023 would be a watershed moment for the VC investment industry. There has been an increased tendency to focus on sustainability-related investments because of the global pandemic and fundraising challenges. Over the last 36 months, ESG-related investments have grown to about 11-12 per cent across the entire classes of venture capital globally. 

“Many foreign portfolio companies are also being reevaluated because globally, consumers (young and old) demand that manufacturers and producers build products using less energy so that they tax the planet less. They also demand companies carry green labels on their products,” Tay said. 

Listed companies with a clear sustainability action plan are rewarded with higher valuations and stock prices simply because they solve world problems. At the same time, organisations that don’t release credible sustainability reports with their annual reports are being marked down by many global retail and institutional investors. 

Also Read: Can Chinese VCs be a potential wild card for SEA during funding winter?

“In the past, many VCs and startups used artificial intelligence to solve different pain points. They now use the same deeptech in artificial intelligence, quantum mechanics and data analytics to solve practical sustainability-related issues. Such companies are being rewarded with revenues and contracts by the markets,” Tay continued. 

Southeast Asia has also been supportive of sustainability efforts. Six of the ten countries in the region, including Singapore, have clear sustainability policies. The Singapore green plan, conceived in 2020, already has an offshoot of more than 20 plans at different agency levels. “Singapore also has energy plans for 2050, green bonds programmes, and enterprise sustainability programmes to support startups and founders who want to learn more about sustainability,” he concluded. 

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Indonesian cybersecurity-as-a-service startup Peris.ai has raised an undisclosed sum in funding led by East Ventures, with participation from Magic Fund.

The startup will use the money to build and enhance its cybersecurity platform, train Machine Learning and AI capabilities, and nurture the ethical hacker community. Peris is supported by a community of more than 1,200 ethical hackers.

Also Read: ‘From a cybersecurity perspective, the Asian market still uses legacy tools’

“With constantly evolving cybersecurity threats and how there has been a significant increase in reliance on technology and connected devices, the potential for cyber attacks is more significant than ever. We believe Peris.ai is at the forefront in providing the right data protection solutions for every business and individual,” said David Samuel, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Peris.ai

Peris.ai was co-founded by David Samuel (CEO), Co-Founder and former CTO of Ritase.com and its former Cybersecurity Head Deden Gobel.

Peris.ai offers its solution as a subscription-based service with different pricing tiers based on the organisation’s needs. It also provides a specialised SaaS-based platform for high-risk industries and companies with complex IT infrastructures.

All the services are performed with the advanced technologies and the expertise of Peris.ai’s cybersecurity consultants and software engineers to ensure maximum protection. It comprises 13 highly skilled individuals with in-depth knowledge and expertise in cybersecurity and software engineering.

Peris.ai claims it has recorded a minimum of 20 per cent month-over-month growth in monthly recurring revenue (MRR).

Also Read: watchTowr can tell an organisation in real time if it can get compromised

“The advancement of technology should be followed by strong data protection. An organisation’s security level is no stronger than its weakest spot. It requires a holistic approach, including local relevancy. We believe Peris.ai is building cyber security solutions based on local and regional needs,” said Willson Cuaca, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at East Ventures.

The co-founders’ previous startup Ritase provided a trucking services platform in Indonesia. In 2019, it raised US$8.5 million in Series A funding led by Golden Gate Ventures, with participation from Jafco Asia, ZWC Ventures Insignia Ventures Partners, Beenext, and Skystar Capital.

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An agile, speedy and proud animal, the rabbit can leap over obstacles and maintain its pace as it navigates the complex landscapes it finds itself in. A symbol of longevity, peace, and prosperity in the Chinese Zodiac, the year of the rabbit is a timely token for the digital payments industry.

Yet, in the midst of the Lunar New Year celebrations, we find ourselves facing a challenging landscape. Inflation is rising rapidly, Singapore, for example, has introduced a higher rate of GST, and in the tech sector, we see a wave of layoffs as some of the world’s largest tech firms grapple with staying on course in the face of post-Covid corrections.

However, it’s not all bad news. The fintech industry is expected to see significant growth in Asia this year, and current predictions suggest the global payments revenue – which APAC accounted for over 50 per cent of in 2021 – will top US$3 trillion by 2026. As we leap over the economic challenges, there’s a lush landscape of opportunities for the tech and payment sectors across the APAC region to graze on.

Challenges present a hotbed for innovation

As the retail sector becomes even more competitive, transcending borders and channels, merchants and enterprises are fighting to get the attention of consumers, wherever they may be.

But, as the digital payments rabbit leaps through this competitive landscape, it must remember the lesson from that well-known fable – it mustn’t stop to rest on its laurels and be outdone by the slow and steady tortoise, but instead, it must innovate to maintain pace throughout this year. Innovation and creativity thrive in difficult environments, so we should expect great things this year.

One area where we can expect to see creative use cases is Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) systems across the B2B industries. Due to the larger and more expensive purchases involved in the case of corporates, it can be challenging to implement a BNPL system for B2B transactions.

Also Read: How to scale up your DTC game with payments

However, as more SMEs turn to BNPL for their zero per cent interest rates, we can expect businesses will take the leap to integrate BNPL systems to attract more customers in the current environment.

Across the APAC region, BNPL has continued to surge in popularity with consumers, evolving to become Live Now Pay Later (LNPL). When money is tight, consumers want to spread their costs for new work wardrobes, flights for their next escape, or even routine health and dental costs. We can expect consumer payment trends like BNPL and LNPL to continue to evolve, with entrants into the APAC market likely to come from China and the US.

Alongside BNPL, new digital wallet functionality often combined with Embedded Finance services and apps will appear on the scene, paving the way for merchants, enterprises, and payment service providers to offer customers unrivalled and highly personalised payment experiences.

Where innovation grows, it is vital that regulation must follow, particularly in the payments industry where trust is of paramount importance. We have already witnessed active regulators over the last year in the region with the BNPL space and the crypto industry, protecting consumers whilst promoting innovation.

Digital banks on the rise

In a market that is forward-thinking from a digitalisation standpoint, it’s surprising to see that digital banking is a concept that has seen a slow introduction into the region up until now. Popular for some time in the US and Europe, in 2023, we will likely see digital banks surge in popularity across the APAC region.

This will throw incumbent banks into a state of disruption in which they need to compete against offers of shopping rebates, improved interest rates, and sign-up bonuses, as well as greater convenience and the streamlined interfaces of digital banks.

Also Read: What the payments industry should consider when preparing for the holiday season

However, traditional banks are leaping towards the same opportunities as their fintech counterparts, increasing their offerings and stalling digital banks from winning the race for now. It will be exciting to see how the new and old players battle it out this year in the hopes that this will also spur innovation in the banking sector.

Hopping into the metaverse

Could this be the year that most of us take our first jump into the metaverse? Shifting our perspective on reality, big tech companies and financial institutions are foraging for their pixelated piece of the metaverse, which is estimated to be worth over a trillion dollars by 2024.

In December, Indonesia’s central bank (BI) announced plans to use the digital Rupiah to buy products in the metaverse in the future. Many central banks around the world are also developing Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) for use in the metaverse.

This emerging technology could have a transformative impact on APAC economies, with the metaverse having the potential to have its own digital economy with integrated payments and an avenue for commerce.

Though it is still in its dawning stage of development, countries such as China and South Korea are already ahead of others when it comes to adoption rates and regulatory stances on developing and integrating the metaverse.

Hopefully, other markets in APAC will mirror these steps, and we’ll see collaboration between regulators and industry players as we journey towards making the metaverse the next big transactional channel.

Whilst the year of the tiger promised adventure and bravery – as well as an element of cruelty which we saw play out in 2022 – the year of the rabbit promises to be a bumper one for the APAC payment market.

With innovation, the rapid advancement of digital payments, and new technological experiences presenting endless opportunities for those that seize them, I am left wishing you and the payments industry gong he xin xi (good luck in the year ahead).

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Early-stage Philippine VC firm Foxmont Capital Partners has announced the close of its Fund II at US$21.3 million.

Notable institutional investors participated, including Singapore-based Pavilion Capital, Taiwan-based AppWorks, and Netherlands-based Orient Growth.

Also Read: Fund managers have their task cut out right now: Edward Tay

The newly raised fund brings Foxmont’s total net asset value to over US$30 million across both funds.

With Fund II, Foxmont Capital will continue investing in Philippine-focused and Filipino-founded early-stage startups that have proven to scale effectively and lead the Philippine digital evolution.

The VC firm made the first close of Fund II in November 2021 with US$12 million in committed capital.

The Philippines, with a population of 113 million, is an attractive destination for venture capital. In 2022, local startups raised US$1.1 billion, exceeding the US$1.03 billion amount raised in 2021.

The country is experiencing continued GDP growth momentum and is one of the fastest-growing e-commerce markets globally, according to a Google-commissioned report.

Foxmont believes that the Philippines is among the most technologically advanced emerging markets, ripe for digital innovation.

Over 60 million Filipinos are actively utilising fintech solutions paving the way for sustainable adoption of other digital solutions across varying sectors.

Also Read: Monde Nissin CEO backs Foxmont Capital’s initial close of US$20M Fund II

Founded in 2018, Foxmont Capital has invested in 31 startups, including live-streaming app Kumu, vertical e-commerce player edamama, D2C beauty brand Colourette, stock trading platform Ztock, and digital ledger and PoS app Peddlr.

“We look forward to continuing our investment track record, scouring the Philippine market for great entrepreneurs, and empowering them to build Filipino solutions to Filipino problems,” said Franco Varona, Managing Partner of Foxmont Capital Partners.

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Web4, also known as Web 4.0, is a term used to describe the next generation of the World Wide Web. It is a vision of an intelligent, decentralised web that is more secure, private, and equitable than the current web.

Web4 is built on the following key principles:

• Decentralisation: power and decision-making are distributed among multiple participants rather than being centralised with a few large tech companies.
• Interoperability: devices and services can work together seamlessly, regardless of their underlying technology.
• Self-sovereignty: users have control over their data and identities and are able to use them across different services without the need for a central authority.
• Privacy: users’ data is protected and kept private, rather than being collected and sold by companies.
• Transparency: users are aware of how their data is being used and have the ability to control it.

Web4 aims to provide a more secure and private web, where users have more control over their data and how it’s used. It also aims to create a more equitable web, where access to information and services is not limited by wealth or location.

Also Read: ‘The Axie hacking reminds us of the importance of a decentralisation network’

Web4 is still a concept, and many experts believe that it is still in the development stage. Some of the technologies that are being developed to make Web4 a reality include blockchain, peer-to-peer networks, and decentralised AI.

The Symbiotic Web

The Symbiotic Web is a concept that envisions a decentralised and distributed web where users have more control over their data and privacy. The idea is to create a web where users can share their data with other users or services in a secure and mutually beneficial way rather than having their data controlled by a central authority.

The Symbiotic Web is based on the idea of a web of relationships between users, devices, and services, where each participant has their own autonomy and agency. The goal of the Symbiotic Web is to create a web that is more resilient, secure, and fair for everyone by giving users more control over their data and how it is used.

The Symbiotic Web is built on several key principles, including:

• Decentralisation: power and decision-making are distributed among multiple participants
• Interoperability: devices and services can work together seamlessly
• Self-sovereignty: users have control over their data and identities
• Privacy: users’ data is protected and kept private
• Transparency: users are aware of how their data is being used

AI and the Symbiotic Web

To me, Web4 and the Symbiotic Web are relatively new concepts, and they are closely interlinked in many ways.

The Symbiotic Web is a concept that envisions a decentralised and distributed web where users have more control over their data and privacy. The idea is that users can share their data with other users or services on the web in a secure and mutually beneficial way.

Artificial intelligence (AI) can play a role in achieving decentralisation in the Symbiotic Web by allowing for more sophisticated and decentralised decision-making. For example, AI algorithms can be used to analyse and make decisions on data shared by multiple users in a decentralised network without the need for a central authority.

Also Read: Decentralised identities: Revolutionising access management practices

One way that AI and the Symbiotic Web can work together is through the use of decentralised AI models. These models are trained on decentralised data and can be shared and used by multiple users in the network. This allows for more accurate and personalised AI services while also maintaining user privacy and control over their data.

Another way is through the use of decentralised AI protocols. These protocols allow users to share and collaborate on AI models and data in a decentralised network without the need for a central authority. This can lead to more accurate and robust AI models, as well as more equitable access to AI services for all users.

Final thoughts

AI and the Symbiotic Web are considered to be key technologies that are driving the development of Web4, the next generation of the World Wide Web.

AI has the potential to enable more sophisticated and decentralised decision-making on the Symbiotic Web by allowing for the analysis of data shared by multiple users in a decentralised network without the need for a central authority. This can lead to more accurate and personalised services while also maintaining user privacy and control over their data.

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Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing views from the community. Share your opinion by submitting an article, video, podcast, or infographic

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