Dear Pro Member,

SolarHome, a promising startup in the clean energy space, is shutting down, says a Deal Street Asia report. The pay-as-you-go solar solutions company has appointed a liquidator to wind up the business.

The news report is a shocker for those working to bring environmentally friendly energy solutions to the city-state, especially the government. SolarHome offered off-grid households a solar lighting system at a low-cost 24-month subscription plan, with an initial US$10 down payment, followed by daily, weekly, or monthly repayments through scratch cards or mobile money. This way, it significantly lowered the barriers to the adoption of solar technology by bottom-of-pyramid clients.

It is not clear what led to the untimely demise of the company. If the challenges in raising venture capital is the reason, then the government should come forward to help the company for the common good of society as well as for the future of the planet we live on.

Job cuts continue in startups; Livspace is the latest to join the list.

Let’s also look at the other key developments from across the region.

———

SVB Financial files for bankruptcy
As part of that process, SVB Financial is also disclosing some of the financial state of the holding company, which had a market cap of about US$12B before shares plunged last Friday as depositors made a run on the bank.

Singaporean startup SolarHome to discontinue business
The pay-as-you-go solar startup has appointed biotech company Ligature Therapeutics as a liquidator to wind up the company; SolarHome is founded by investors such as TRIREC and Insitor Impact Asia Fund.

Ant Group, CerraCap Ventures, EDBI invest in Proxtera
Proxtera implements the Business sans Borders initiative; It seeks to create a global ecosystem for MSMEs using trusted credentials and enable cross-border B2B trade through financing and fulfilment services.

Home decor unicorn Livspace slashes 100 jobs
KKR-backed Livspace has let go of 2% of its over 5,000-member workforce as it aims to hit profitability as early as this year; The move is part of “normal adjustments and/or performance management parameters”.

Antler to invest in over 30 firms in Indonesia
Antler is also launching a founder residency programme for Indonesian startups in Jakarta, beginning in June 2023; Since its expansion in 2022, Antler has financed 25 startups in the archipelago.

Indie game publisher The Iterative Collective nets US$1.2M seed funding
The lead investor is Cocoon Capital; The Iterative Collective has built an ecosystem for independent game studios and provides talented developers with resources and support.

Gaspack raises pre-seed funding to launch Web3 comic store Kometh
The investors include eMerge, 500 Global, and Tokoin; Kometh is built on blockchain and allows users to purchase the rights to read the comic and own, collect, trade, sell, and gift comics.

CEO of Vietnam-based digibank Tnex to step down
In 2019, Bryan Carroll co-founded Tnex as the digital banking arm of Vietnam Maritime Commercial Joint Stock Bank; The digibank said it’s now serving over 1.6M customers.

AppWorks names new principal to lead SEA arm
Sophie Chiu as principal will lead the Taiwanese VC firm’s newly established SEA arm; AppWorks runs a six-month free accelerator programme and currently boasts 472 active startups and 1,522 founders in its alumni network.

Indonesian Shariah digibank posts 3x increase in transactions
The bank also recorded a 200% year-on-year increase in profit in 2022, while its third-party funds rose by 220% and its assets increased by nearly 200% over the same period.

OpenAI releases GPT-4, a multimodal AI that it claims is state-of-the-art
GPT-4 can generate text and accept image and text inputs — an improvement over its predecessor, which only accepted text — and performs at “human level” on various benchmarks.

US startup launches e-pharmacy platform in Myanmar
Common Health has launched a platform in Vietnam to connect patients with service providers through its website, a traditional hotline, and chatbots on Facebook.

The US is investigating TikTok over journalist spying incident
In an internal investigation, ByteDance found that some employees accessed data on American journalists’ TikTok accounts in order to investigate who at the company was leaking information to reporters.

Introduction to SEA’s startup ecosystem and the fundraising landscape
Valuations are lower and driven by solid unit economics and revenue growth; Ticket sizes are smaller but growing; Exits happen mainly via M&As (80% of deals), followed by secondary sales (15%) and IPOs (5%).

‘TOP100 2018 was a valuable marketing opportunity for us’: Holistics.io
Participating in TOP100 provided an excellent opportunity to meet and connect with a wide range of people in the startup ecosystem, says Holistics.io’s Vincent Woon.

These 6 startups are among this year’s frontrunners for TOP100
From our diverse pool of applicants, get to know these 6 unique startups that are close to competing at this year’s TOP100.

Why is open banking the future of fintech?
The potential for open banking to continue to evolve is immense as the fintech sector relentlessly seeks innovative ways to provide the best possible services to consumers.

Creating sustainable futures: The vision of steady-state societies and still cities
Discover the transformative vision of steady-state societies and still cities and how they can create sustainable futures for our planet and communities.

---

The post Ecosystem Roundup: TRIREC-backed pay-as-you-go solar energy firm SolarHome to wind up business appeared first on e27.

It is an exciting time in the tech space not just because of the advancements fueled by Artificial Intelligence and Industry 4.0 but also due to the variety of up-and-coming talent, particularly those who are women.

The term ‘Women in STEM’ has been gaining traction as more women graduate with STEM degrees and eventually find employment in their respective fields. On the surface, it seems as though we have made progress in equalising the playing field, but is this progress truly sustainable when a lack of female leadership is still lacking? 

The current tech landscape and wage bias

Singapore currently boasts a percentage of over 41 per cent of women in the tech workforce, nearly double the global average of 28 per cent. However, the global percentage of women leaders still remains at a startling 10.9 per cent, holding either senior-level or CEO positions. 

Women are usually paid less than men to do the same task.  Women in STEM are no exception to this as well. Whilst my continued work in the field has helped me gain the salary that I deserve, it was not an easy task to get there. 

In the past, even when positions were created for me (because they needed a person like me in their team to take it forward), I was told I could not be paid what I rightly deserved. At such times, I had to weigh between pursuing the opportunity and championing my own dignity.

Such wage gaps, along with workplace gender bias and a shortage of female role models, are among the various glass ceilings faced by women in the tech industry when it comes to advancements in their careers. This leads to a lack of women leaders, and having little to no representation is what leads many young workers to feel discouraged and isolated and eventually leave the industry altogether.  

 Women as innovators and business leaders

When I started commercialising technologies, initially,  I started facing challenges that any brown woman would face. But I like to think of myself as being more than an ordinary brown woman; I’m a fighter, I’m a survivor.

Also Read: Fighting misinformation and cyberbullying against women in public sphere: Call for gender equality and online safety

Even after being the inventor, innovator, and business face of the medical device that I had invented, I was asked to take a backseat, as a brown woman with a kind heart ‘presumably’ cannot run a business in the med-tech ecosystem.

Ironically this came from a woman. I had to turn a deaf ear towards demotivating criticisms, continue believing in myself, keep delivering, and continue with my excellence. This is my strategy to excel in my purpose-driven commitments.

With my continued excellence, I went on to become one of the top 100 women in technology in Singapore and one of MIT Tech Review’s 35 innovators under 35.  

From my own experience, I believe that every woman, alongside multitasking, can be empathetic leaders who can bring different perspectives to the table. Women are needed in every stage, from the design and development of innovation to building ventures around it.

This belief is what propelled me to take up the task of building Let-Lab in Singapore.

Let-Lab in Singapore

I was pregnant when I was given the opportunity to build and lead Singapore’s first industry 4.0-focused startup accelerator, Let-Lab. As a fearless, relentless person who never backed down from opportunities, I decided to leave the comfortable corporate job that was tailor-made for me and jumped straight into the project. 

It was almost a one-woman show trying to persuade corporate companies why it is necessary to engage startups to address unmet needs within the company and infuse innovation into the fragment to give it a competitive edge.

Being a woman with a STEM background and a PHD helped me convince stakeholders within the corporation to work with innovative startups over their traditional suppliers. It helped me convince them of how startups can give customised and better solutions for a lower cost. While working within a corporation, I’m also establishing an ecosystem of industry 4.0 players who can proudly call Singapore their global headquarters. 

Let-Lab empowers startups with resources and innovations and simultaneously fosters an ecosystem of partners, which includes tech companies, academic institutions, startup hubs and relevant investors. Start-ups within the Let-Lab’s ecosystem will have the opportunity to interact with domain experts, develop industry solutions and implement pilot programmes with the facilities of an OEM. 

Also Read: Why it’s time to hit ‘refresh’ when it comes to addressing the gender diversity gap in the IT sector

As Let-Lab aims to empower innovators to go above and beyond with their ventures, I saw it as an opportunity to help and empower other women to break into the tech industry, especially as manufacturing and industry 4.0  is a lean space for women to be in.

Role of mentoring and women

I believe in mentoring as a valuable tool to address the gender gap and nurture the right talents. I co-founded The Edify Project, a one-stop innovative mentorship platform and serve as a mentor for various startups, venture creation programmes and aspiring talents hoping to make it big in the industry.

Through my endeavours, I hope to get a chance to impart my skills and knowledge to help mentor and encourage other women to take that leap of faith and find the confidence to break into the tech industry. I specifically focus more on mentoring girls and women so as to bridge the gender gap and help the next generation (both genders) cross the chasm.

Moreover, deep-tech ventures need women at every stage, as innovators and as business leaders, as there cannot be a developed society without a seat for women at the table. In a way, mentoring is a very unique way I have adapted to overcome burnout situations. This way, I’m doing my part in creating a culture and ecosystem of good-willed humans. 

This is my way of empowering fellow beings who will empower every woman and girl out there, make the world gender-neutral, and in turn, lower the barriers and challenges for girls. I feel that modern startups such as the ones supported by Let-Lab have the potential to inflict change and break away from the traditional gender norms within the industry. It is my personal goal to bring onboard Let-Lab, women-led and women-founded ventures and innovations.

Women are such an integral part of any workforce, and a nation cannot progress if it leaves women behind and does not allow them to flourish. Just as our tools and processes are advancing each year, it is time to make room for more diversity with the inclusion of more women leaders whom the next generation can look to for inspiration and that vouch of confidence that they, too, have what it takes to excel in their careers.

This is even more imperative in developing deep-tech ventures as women innovators and business leaders complement men when it comes to addressing societal needs in a holistic manner.

–

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

Image credit: Canva Pro

The post Women in industry 4.0: How modern startups can equalise the playing field appeared first on e27.

At e27, we are committed to empowering entrepreneurs by providing them with the necessary resources to build and grow their businesses. Our platform offers startups the chance to showcase their ideas and products to prominent investor networks.

Additionally, we provide industry leaders, technology catalysts, and investment firms access to startups across a diverse range of industries, stages, and locations.

As part of our efforts to connect startups with investors, we introduced Pro Connect over 3 years ago. This platform enables startups and investors to engage directly, leading to the successful facilitation of over 20,000 startup-investor connections.

Our platform has also enabled two startups to secure multi-million dollar funding through connections with investors they met on Pro Connect. We are thrilled to see these success stories, and we are committed to continuing to create opportunities for entrepreneurs to thrive.

Also read: Better browsing experience begins at home(page)

What’s new with the investor page

We have improved the investor page on our platform to create a better experience for our members. The page has been redesigned to include a cleaner filter and search bar, as well as a results table that provides more information about investors.

This redesign will make it easier for our members to determine if an investor is relevant to their needs and if there is a potential for synergy when connecting with them. 

Identify investors who are more likely to respond to connection requests

Previously, our investor page didn’t show whether an investor was actively responding to connection requests. But now, we’ve added a feature that lets you see which investors are most active and responsive. 

Members can now quickly browse through the investor page and discover the right investors who are aligned with what they are looking for. On top of the investors’ activity indicators, the results table includes investment location, verticals, and stages. Visit the redesigned investor page here.

Also read: Why your startup deserves to take part in the 2023 TOP100

Connect with investors on e27

Pro Connect is an e27 Pro membership plan that provides members with a lot of benefits. Members can access more than 500 active and verified investors, along with tools to help startups find and connect with the most appropriate investors for their fundraising goals. 

With a Pro Connect membership, you can send connection requests to investors on the platform, and you’ll also have access to a Connect Dashboard, where you can manage your connection requests and schedule appointments easily. If you’re interested in connecting with investors, you can get your Pro Connect membership today and enjoy a 14-day all-access free trial with any of our Pro Connect plans.

The post A simpler and intuitive investor discovery experience with a new Investor page appeared first on e27.

While working in the packaging and printing industry, Tum Patompong and two of his friends saw the pains of SME restaurants and cafes in sourcing food packaging solutions in low quantities at affordable prices.

They decided to help these small outlets in Thailand and ease their pains.

“We started Dezpax to build a food packaging solutions startup to solve all the pain points in the supply chain. Our online B2B platform enables cafes and restaurants to find affordable, eco-friendly packaging solutions,” Patompong tells e27.

The startup was founded by Patompong (CEO), Pick Passara (COO), and Feem Settapat (CMO).

Dezpax is an e-commerce platform for food packaging solutions for F&B businesses.

“SME restaurants and cafes need packaging solutions, such as food boxes, cups and bags with their logo printed on the items to promote their brands. Usually, they need to order a minimum quantity or pay a minimum of US$1,000 for every order,” he explains.

Also Read: Thai oil firm OR, 500 TukTuks launch US$50M mobility and lifestyle fund ORZON Ventures

Since each category comes from different factories, cafes and restaurants are often forced to contact multiple factories to fulfil their orders. This means they have to shell out thousands of dollars for inventory that lasts just six months.

“This is where Dezpax comes into play,” Patompong shares. “We have brought over a hundred packaging and printing factories into a single platform. We help businesses to customise the packaging with 10x lower minimum order.”

Over 100 factories are listed on the Dezpax platform. Different kinds of materials — fibre-based, bio-mat and petroleum-based — are available on it.

“All the packages are recyclable,” he claims. “Some products are 100 per cent biodegradable. We continuously collaborate with factories to develop products that are good for the environment.”

The startup currently caters only to B2B businesses. It has over 7,000 clients nationwide, such as restaurants, cafes, food delivery outlets, hotels, hospitals, and corporates.

Its clients include McDelivery (McDonald’s), MINOR Food, TAROTO, ibis, Holiday Inn, Amwy Cafe, Ben’s Cookie, Mercado, Thammachart Seafood, TRUE, and Luk KaiThong.

Talking about the market opportunity, he said Thailand has over 600,000 food services, and the market size for food service packaging is about US$1 billion. It also plans to foray into other markets in Southeast Asia in the future.

The Bangkok-based startup has secured two investments since its inception in 2018. These include a US$1.2 million, led by SCG Packaging, in 2020 and a US$2 million Series A round from ORZON Ventures, Next Ventures, and iSeed SEA in 2022.

The COVID-19 pandemic was a challenging period, admits Patompong. “The market was down from the peak demand during the pandemic. However, it is now back on track, and the market has grown slightly. We need to diversify our customer portfolio to other segments, such as food chains, franchises, and cafes. That’s our next goal.”

—

Echelon Asia Summit 2023 brings together APAC’s leading startups, corporates, policymakers, industry leaders, and investors to Singapore this June 14-15. Learn more and get tickets here. Echelon also features the TOP100 stage, where startups can pitch to 5000+ delegates, among other benefits like connecting with investors, visibility through the e27platform, and other prizes. Join TOP100 here.

The post Dezpax helps Thai F&B businesses find affordable, eco-friendly food packaging solutions appeared first on e27.

Singapore-based VC firms Purpose Venture Capital and Carbon Zero have invested an undisclosed amount in Hong Kong-headquartered marine tech company Archireef.

Archireef was co-founded by Vriko Yu, Deniz Tekerek, and Dr David Baker.

The startup 3D-prints reef tiles made from natural materials through proprietary algorithms. The tiles are made from a terracotta-based mixture, an ocean-friendly material based on a hexagonal modular system to allow easy expansion.

Also Read: How all-electric, self-driving Clearbot helps tackle ocean plastic pollution in Asia

The design utilises a bio-mimetic approach to enhance coral survivorship and growth. Archireef reef tiles are currently 4x more effective than any alternative.

Its 3D-printed terracotta-based reef tiles have recently been deployed to aid coral restoration in the Arabian Gulf off the shore of Abu Dhabi with a partnership with Abu Dhabi-based investment and holding company ADQ and the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD).

The broader partnership between ADQ and Archireef, announced in November 2022, funds the R&D of eco-engineering solutions for marine biodiversity restoration, combining scientific research with the latest 3D printing and AI technologies.

Archireef CEO Vriko Yu said: “We have already lost 50 per cent of the world’s coral cover since 1950, and if nothing changes, we will lose up to 90 per cent by 2050. By adopting a new Global Biodiversity Framework in Montreal, 196 countries committed to protecting at least 30 per cent of Earth’s lands, inland waters, coastal areas and ocean by 2030 to ensure that natural capital is sustained for inter-generational prosperity. It is estimated that US$140 billion in annual financing will be required. We need innovative financing arrangements needed to deliver on this bold ambition.”

Also Read: ‘TOP100 2018 was a valuable marketing opportunity for us’: Holistics.io CEO

“We firmly believe that nature and technology can inspire innovations in how we approach solving climate issues from prevention to mitigation, especially to enhance biodiversity. Archireef is a rare company in the nature-based solutions spectrum with a scalable and profitable business model,” said Sharon Sim, Co-Founder and General Partner in Purpose Venture Capital.

Purpose Venture Capital, co-founded by Sharon Sim, Sertac Yeltekin, and Von Leong, supports early-stage sustainable tech companies. The firm invests globally with a focus on Southeast Asian-based startups. Its portfolio companies include Zumvet (digital animal health services), Igloocompany (a secure access management platform for smart cities, infrastructure and properties) and HydraX (regulatory-compliant and sustainable financial infrastructure for capital markets of the future).

Carbon Zero Venture Capital is a climate change investor, providing long-term capital and support to environmental companies using innovation to create a cleaner and more equitable world. Its recent investments include Seppure and Vflowtech.

—

Echelon Asia Summit 2023 brings together APAC’s leading startups, corporates, policymakers, industry leaders, and investors to Singapore this June 14-15. Learn more and get tickets here. Echelon also features the TOP100 stage, where startups can pitch to 5000+ delegates, among other benefits like connecting with investors, visibility through the e27platform, and other prizes. Join TOP100 here.

The post Archireef secures funding to restore degraded marine ecosystems using 3D printing, AI appeared first on e27.