In a world marked by rapid technological advancement and the relentless march of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation, it might seem paradoxical to suggest that the heart of public relations (PR) remains rooted in human connections.

Yet, as we at iOli have discovered, even amidst the tech revolution, the essence of PR continues to thrive on genuine human connections and a personal touch with clients and media. Our approach is one that marries tradition with innovation, recognising that while AI and automation have transformed the PR landscape, they have not diminished the irreplaceable value of human relationships.

The resilience of human connections

The digital age has brought forth transformative changes in PR, reshaping how businesses and individuals communicate with their audiences. AI-driven tools now help us analyse vast amounts of data, identify trends, and even draft press releases. Automated social media management platforms schedule posts with impeccable precision, and chatbots respond to inquiries around the clock.

While these technological advancements undeniably streamline many aspects of PR, they cannot replace the emotional intelligence and nuanced understanding that human PR professionals bring to the table.

It is important for PR practitioners to embrace these technological innovations as valuable tools in our PR arsenal whilst also understanding that PR is fundamentally about people.

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In an era where automation is often seen as the way forward, our commitment to maintaining the personal touch is our way of ensuring that the core values of PR are preserved. It’s a delicate balancing act between tradition and innovation, and it is what sets us apart.

The essence of PR lies in building relationships, fostering trust, and understanding the unique needs and perspectives of clients and the media. It’s about more than just disseminating information; it’s about creating connections that resonate.

While AI can help us identify media contacts and suggest communication strategies, it can’t replicate the empathetic conversations that human PR professionals engage in daily. It can’t understand the subtle nuances of tone, body language, or unspoken emotions that play a crucial role in effective communication.

One of the most vital aspects of PR is storytelling. Crafting compelling narratives that capture the essence of a brand or a client’s message requires an innate understanding of human psychology and emotions.

While AI can assist in data analysis and content generation, it cannot replace the creativity, empathy, and intuition that humans possess when it comes to storytelling. The ability to weave a narrative that resonates with the target audience and elicits an emotional response is a uniquely human skill that remains at the heart of PR.

Furthermore, the value of human connections in PR extends to crisis management and reputation repair. When a crisis hits, clients need more than automated responses and pre-programmed statements.

They need a trusted partner who can navigate the storm with them, offering genuine support and reassurance. The human touch in crisis communication is what can turn a potential disaster into an opportunity for redemption and growth.

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Media relationships are another cornerstone of PR success. While technology can help identify potential media contacts, it is the cultivation of genuine relationships with journalists and editors that leads to meaningful coverage.

Balancing tradition and innovation

Building trust and credibility with the media requires personal interactions, an understanding of their preferences, and a keen awareness of the stories that resonate with their audience. These connections are built over time through shared experiences and mutual respect.

In our approach at iOli, we embrace technology to enhance our efficiency and effectiveness, but we never lose sight of the fact that PR is fundamentally a human endeavour. We invest in ongoing dialogues and development for our team members, emphasising the importance of emotional intelligence, communication skills, and the ability to adapt to evolving media landscapes.

The synergy between tradition and innovation is evident in the way we blend old-fashioned relationship-building with cutting-edge data analytics. We understand that AI can help us identify emerging trends and target our outreach, but it is our human professionals who interpret the data, craft the messages, and establish the connections that truly matter. The two elements complement each other, creating a holistic approach to PR that combines the best of both worlds.

As I tell all my students and everyone who is listening, the PR landscape will continue to evolve in the digital age, but it is essential to recognise that the heart of PR lies in human connections. While AI and automation have transformed the industry and offer valuable tools, they can never replace the emotional intelligence, creativity, and empathy that human PR professionals bring to their work.

At iOli, we remain traditional in our commitment to genuine relationships while equally innovative in our use of technology. We believe that this balanced approach is the key to delivering exceptional results for our clients and maintaining the core values of PR in a rapidly changing world. In the end, it’s the human touch that makes all the difference.

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Image credit: iOli Communications

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Indonesia-based telehealth startup Good Doctor has secured US$10 million in a series A funding round led by MDI Ventures, with participation from existing investor Grab.

With the capital, Good Doctor plans to expand its services across Indonesia, aiming to provide access to one doctor for every family while achieving profitability within the next 18 months.

“The new funding will be used for several things, including tech platform development, especially to cater to our enterprise clients. We’ll also utilise the investments for new product and services development, as well as for company operations,” said CEO Danu Wicaksana.

Founded in 2018, Good Doctor allows customers to consult doctors online, buy medicines from Health Mall, and book offline doctor appointments at hospital partners.

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The funding shift has transformed the healthtech startup’s corporate structure, with MDI and Grab becoming minority shareholders, effectively ending the joint venture that included SoftBank Vision Fund and China’s Ping An.

Following its exit from the Thai market in February, Good Doctor has redirected its full focus to Indonesia. The startup claims it has experienced positive growth in Indonesia, operating both as a standalone app and as part of GrabHealth.

Good Doctor’s strategy within GrabHealth is geared toward individual consumers, while its standalone app primarily caters to enterprise clients.

The company boasts partnerships with over 2,500 doctors and 4,500 healthcare facilities, including pharmacies, hospitals, clinics, and official health laboratories. These partnerships serve a customer base of over 2,500 companies and 15 million users in both the B2B and B2C sectors.

Looking ahead, Good Doctor aims to enter the business-to-government segment and advocate for integrating telehealth services into Indonesia’s health insurance program, BPJS Kesehatan.

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Fintech funding raised by Indonesian startups plunged 94 per cent to just US$21 million in Q3 2023 from US$352 million in the same period last year, according to a Tracxn report. The fintech investments in Q3 2023 saw a 7 per cent drop from the previous quarter.

The sharp decline is due to the absence of late-stage investments in Q3 2023.

Seed-stage funding for the last quarter stood at US$1 million, a 94 per cent decrease from Q3 2022 and an 87 per cent drop from Q2 2023.

Also Read: Fintech investments in SEA see record drop in Q3: Tracxn

No new fintech unicorns emerged in Indonesia in the past two quarters, as against one new unicorn in Q3 2022. Further, only one acquisition was recorded in Q3 2023.

Payments and investment tech were the only funded sectors in Q3 2023. Payments startups raised US$20 million, a 92 per cent drop from US$250 million in Q3 2022. On the other hand, investment tech companies secured US$1 million in Q3 2023, an 82 per cent decline from Q3 2022. There was no funding in Q2 2023 in this space.

East Ventures, Mandiri Capital Indonesia, and Alpha JWC Ventures were the most active investors in the Indonesia fintech landscape. Iterative was the most active investor in the seed stage during Q3 2023, while SWC and XCV were the most active early-stage investors.

Furthermore, the fintech sector in Indonesia is showing a downward trend, with only US$343 million raised in 2023, the lowest in the last five years.

In contrast, the Vietnamese fintech startups secured US$29 million in funding in Q3 2023, a 190 per cent growth from Q3 2022 and a massive jump of 2,800 per cent from US$1.1 million raised in Q2 2023. This is despite the lack of late-stage rounds in Q3 2023.

The fintech sector in Vietnam attracted early-stage investments worth US$28 million in Q3 2023, a growth of 1300 per cent when compared with US$2.5 million raised in Q3 2022. Seed-stage funding stood at US$1.1 million, similar to Q2 2023, but fell 86 per cent from US$8 million raised in Q3 2022.

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Alternative lending, banking tech, and insurance IT were the top-performing segments in the overall Vietnamese fintech sector in Q3 2023.

There was no activity in terms of IPOs and unicorns in Q3 2023. No local fintech companies went public in Q3 2023, and no new unicorns emerged. Further, only one acquisition occurred in Q3 2023, as against one in Q2 2023 and none in Q3 2022.

Y Combinator, Thinkzone, and Resolution Ventures were the most active institutional investors in Q3 2023.

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1982 Ventures, an early-stage VC firm in Southeast Asia, has appointed Amiyandra Suratman as Regional VC Ecosystem and Platform Lead based in Jakarta, Indonesia.

In this role, she will support the fund with strategic stakeholder relations, including portfolio companies, Limited Partners, and corporate and ecosystem partners.

The hiring comes as 1982 Ventures prepares to launch its second fund, targeted at US$50 million. According to Founding Partner Herston Powers, the VC firm has raised about a quarter of the target and expects to hit the first close in early 2024. Fund II will look to invest in 30-35 startups across fintech and tech infrastructure.

Also Read: 1982 Ventures invests in fintech platform for social commerce sellers Orderfaz

Suratman brings extensive experience in managing partnerships, building platforms for startup founders and supporting corporates in fostering collaboration with the VC and startup ecosystem. Previously, she managed Strategic Synergy at MDI Ventures, the corporate VC arm of Telkom Indonesia. She managed the synergy between MDI’s startup portfolios and state-owned enterprises and programmes.

Before MDI, Suratman held senior roles in sales, business development and partnerships at Innovation Factory Block71 Jakarta, a partnership between the National University of Singapore and Salim Group. She established a series of accelerators, market access and corporate innovation programmes.

Established in early 2020, the fund focuses on seed-stage fintech startups in Southeast Asia. By the end of 2021, the company said that its portfolio firms had made nearly 3x return, with first-round investments in Brick, Infina (YC S21), Homebase (YC W21) Wagely, Go Zayaan, Lista, Bluesheets, and Monit, among others.

1982 Ventures is backed by global institutions, MNCs, major family offices, general partners of leading VC funds and unicorn founders.

Last year, 1982 Ventures announced the final close of its debut seed fund with over US$20 million in committed capital. It is backed by the family office of an Indonesian conglomerate, Trihill Capital, US fintech unicorn Carta, Genting Group’s venture arm, US fund of funds First Close Partners, and rali_cap.

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Circular, a Y Combinator-backed subscription service focused on high-end consumer electronics, has closed its seed funding round of US$7.6 million, led by AirTree Ventures, at a US$30 million valuation.

YC Continuity Fund, Global Founders Capital, Partech Ventures, and January Capital also co-invested. Additionally, notable angels, including the founders of PropertyGuru, Funding Societies, Stashaway, Carousell and Nutmeg, also joined the round.

With these funds, Circular is expanding its offerings in Singapore, doubling down on its expansion in Australia, and scaling its B2B offering to address the underserved startup and SME segments in both markets.

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Founded in Singapore in 2021 by Nick Ramsay, George Oliver, Pantha Roy, and Yaniv Bernstein, Circular offers customers subscriptions on a wide range of premium tech devices with free damage protection that covers up to 90 per cent of the repair cost.

Through a flexible and affordable monthly subscription, the startup allows customers to sustainably access the latest tech gadgets at a fraction of the cost. Adding to its core categories of phones, tablets and laptops, Circular recently began offering popular gaming products as part of its Singapore catalogue.

The company claims to have grown 3X in the last 12 months and plans to grow 3X more across Singapore and Australia in the coming year.

Circular’s business model maximises value while minimising waste by ensuring each device is utilised until the end of its usable life. By offering refurbished devices, in addition to brand-new options, and partnering with industry-leading specialists in refurbishment, Circular helps ensure that the precious resources used in the production of consumer electronics are put to good use by being brought back into market circulation until the end of its product life cycle.

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Moreover, cost-savings are passed on to the consumer, allowing Circular to package unique and attractive subscription offerings. Using the iPhone 15 Pro Max 256GB as an example, subscribers can save up to SG$955 compared to purchasing the phone outright from Apple, with no device protection.

“The problem of tech device underutilisation is huge, and Circular aims to help curtail it with our subscription model. By keeping products in use for longer – and keeping precious materials out of landfills – we hope to gradually shift patterns of consumption and reduce our collective burden on the environment,” CEO Ramsay said.

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Image Credit: Cicrular

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