This is a new series for late-stage (post-Series B) startups. If you are a late-stage company that wants to share your growth story with the world, please reach out to us at writers@e27.co. 

For many years, agents ruled the roost in the Indonesian insurance sector. And still, the insurance penetration didn’t cross 4 per cent.

“In Indonesia, many people tend to be reluctant to purchase insurance protection because they have to spend their money monthly or annually for a safety net purpose. When purchasing insurance, this forfeited spending is considered a “loss”, Cleosent Randing tells e27.

This is due to several factors, including the lack of education and the stigma of the challenges often linked with insurance, such as high premium costs, lack of accessibility, and complicated processes. Because of this, a major chunk of Indonesia’s population is left out of insurance protection; as of 2021, the insurance penetration is a meagre 3.18 per cent in the country, according to the financial services authority OJK.

Cleosant Randing wanted to become an agent of change here. So in 2015, he joined Michael Saputra to launch the insurance aggregation platform PasarPolis.

PasarPolis aims to provide a solution for a more embedded and frictionless insurance system. It aggregates insurance products from over 50 insurance companies in Southeast Asia through its partnerships with over 40 digital ecosystem distribution partners and its Tap Insure mobile app.

Also Read: It is costly to develop and sell insurance products in Indonesia: PasarPolis CEO

Thus far, the company claims to have issued over one billion policies; in 2022 alone, it issued 500 million policies.

Nine in ten of PasarPolis’s 80 million customers had never purchased insurance policies before, while 40 per cent are workers in the informal sector, including taxi drivers, couriers, and online MSMEs.

Standing out

Unlike its competitors, PasarPolis is a full-stack digital insurer, meaning it can underwrite its own products. For this, it has strategically collaborated with Tap Insurance, which holds a full license from the Financial Services Authority of Indonesia (OJK) to operate as an insurance underwriter.

The company also provides microinsurance or low-priced coverage solutions for any type of risk (from broken gadgets to accidents).

“We have identified that the greatest opportunities lie in new insurable risks or utilising technology to insure previously uninsurable risks where incumbents do not have a strong foothold. For example, we offer affordable but highly profitable gadget insurance for crack screens and accidental damage, which saw exponential uptake of over 20x last year, with 175,000 device protections sold in December 2021 alone,” he says.

The startup has created an embedded system that allows it to distribute insurance through its partners, including e-commerce firms (Shopee, Blibli, Lazada, and Bukalapak), ride-hailing apps (Gojek), consumer electronic firms (Xiaomi), fintech companies (Home Credit and Dana), OTAs (Traveloka), and furniture firms (IKEA). It creates a win-win situation.

“We allow consumers to easily purchase micro-insurance products with a tap as they can add insurance to their purchases from the ecosystem partners like Shopee, Tokopedia, Gojek, and Xiaomi. The cost of these micro-insurance products is often less than a cup of coffee (at around 5,000 to 20,000 Indonesian rupiah). Filing claims is also easy, as consumers can fill out a simple form via SMS/Whatsapp to process their claims,” he said.

According to the firm, it allows people to purchase micro-insurance products with a tap. They can add insurance to their purchases from the ecosystem partners like Shopee, Tokopedia, Gojek, and Xiaomi. 

Going forward, PasarPolis will embrace future insurtech opportunities by developing a holistic insurance ecosystem through an embedded insurance system. This can cater to people’s daily needs — every day from the time people wake up until they drive/ride back home from work.

“We focus on delivering products that can help solve people’s daily problems based on their everyday needs as well. This is in line with our mission to democratise insurance for all by providing better accessibility, a more affordable and delightful consumer experience,” he elaborates.

Challenges

Indonesia’s insurance market is facing several challenges. One, it is costly to develop and sell insurance products. Underwriters often take high margins when creating insurance products, and there are layers of brokers and agents who also take a cut when distributing the products. This makes insurance products expensive for consumers.

Additionally, it is hard for consumers to access insurance products, as they often have to communicate with agents to purchase them. There was previously no way to buy micro-insurance products online 24/7 in Indonesia. Another issue is that the insurance industry has a negative reputation when it comes to processing claims, as it can be a bureaucratic and lengthy process with a lot of paperwork involved.

PasarPolis attempts to address all these problems with its micro-insurance platform.

SEA is poised for a significant growth

Southeast Asia’s insurance market is poised for significant growth, with key regions like Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia representing about 60 per cent of the total premiums underwritten, according to Randing.

“We will now focus on increasing insurance penetration and literacy in Indonesia and other ASEAN countries like Vietnam and Thailand. This will be our key priority in the coming year, given the huge potential, especially amid the increasing awareness of day-to-day protection due to the pandemic’s new way of life,” he shares.

Country-wise penetration rate

Indonesia: The gross written premium for the general insurance industry was IDR71.36 trillion (US$4.9 billion) in 2021. The market is expected to grow at a CAGR of more than 7 per cent during 2020-25 (GlobalData). The insurance penetration rate is 3.18 per cent as of 2022.

Vietnam: The general insurance industry is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.5 per cent from VND60.15 trillion (US$2.6 billion) in 2021 to VND90.24 trillion (US$3.5 billion) in 2026 (GlobalData). The penetration rate is less than 3 per cent.

Thailand: The insurance industry is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.7 per cent from THB890.4 billion (US$27.8 billion) in 2021 to THB1,1129.3 billion (US$36.1 billion) in 2026. The insurance penetration rate is 5.5 per cent (GlobalData).

In comparison, markets like Hong Kong (20.8 per cent), Taiwan (17.4 per cent), and South Korea (11.6 per cent) have a 3-6x higher penetration (Swiss Re). 

Funding & Competiton

Since its launch, PasarPolis has secured over US$71 million across four funding rounds, according to Crunchbase. The latest round of US$12 million came in December 2022 in the form of convertible notes. Previously, PasarPolis raised US$5 million in a Private Equity round from IFC in February 2021.

Before the PE round, the insurtech firm bagged US$54 million in September 2020. The investors in this round were LeapFrog Investments, SBI Investment, AlphaJWC, Intudo Ventures, Xiaomi, and Go-Ventures. In the past, it also raised undisclosed amounts in seed and Series A rounds.

In Southeast Asia, PasarPolis is mainly competing with the home-grown Qoala, an omnichannel insurtech platform. Qoala works with insurers to develop products that have high relevancy for customers and make them financially accessible to their customers. It distributes retail insurance products to consumers for cars, bikes, homes, and health through its platform.

Also Read: PasarPolis secures US$54M in oversubscribed Series B to scale its online insurance biz in Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam

Qoala claims to have processed over US$30 million in claims by partnering with insurers across Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia.

In March this year, Qoala closed its Series B extension funding round, raising US$7.5 million led by responsAbility Investments and Appworks.

Other leading insurtech companies in the region are igloo (Singapore), PolicyStreet (Malaysia), and Sunday (Thailand).

The future

According to Randing, the future of insurance will be embedded in every daily activity. “We were the first to bring contextual microinsurance at the point of digital sales, and today our insurance products are well integrated and built in over 40 ecosystem partners across verticals. This allows us to be in a good position to win across all distribution channels, growing together with aligned interest with our partners and swiftly building a large customer base.”

“We believe buying insurance should be as simple and as frictionless as today’s online shopping experience that is very much accustomed by today’s consumers, especially during this pandemic time. Our frictionless distributions redefine insurance as relatable and easy to buy. The insurance is contextual across ecosystems with policies issued instantly,” he says.

—

The post PasarPolis: selling insurance in a country that considered purchasing insurance a ‘loss’ appeared first on e27.

The evolution of artificial intelligence augurs well for the drone industry as it will bring in more automation and intelligence, according to Kamarul A Muhammed, Founder and CEO of Malaysia’s global drone services company Aerodyne Group.

“If you look at the evolution of the industry, drones were manually operated and piloted from the ground at the beginning. Now, the advent of AI has brought more autonomy to the sector,” he said speaking in a panel discussion on the second day of Beyond Expo in Macao.

Drones have now become better physically and they can now fly by themselves. But they need to have the intelligence of how they will do their own operations. If we can develop an AI model that can understand the environment and the assets, drones can do far more effective work. At the end of the day, the real value lies in how we make a meaningful impact on society, he said.

Also Read: Enterprise drones startup Aerodyne raises US$30M; claims to have inspected over 250K assets in 25 countries

AI can also automate the process of extracting intelligence from data that drones gather. It will make a significant impact on the industry. Aerodyne has developed an AI model that has helped reduce the amount of time taken by a drone to carry out the inspection of a telecom tower from 136 hours to just under 15 minutes, Muhammed added further.

“We carry out inspections of thousands of telecom towers the world over. We used to spend manually or automatically applying and capturing the data. It would require a long time for engineers to process the data and gain insights from it. Over the past year and a half, we spent a lot of effort automating this process and developing an AI model and intelligence system. As a result, we have been able to reduce the number of hours taken to process the inspection of a single tower from 136 hours to less than 15 minutes,” he claimed.

AI can also lead to swarm intelligence. In the past, a single drone would go out and fly piloted by an individual and then another team would fly another drone doing another work. If we can use AI to swarm all these tools together, they can communicate and collaborate with each other to make it far more efficient, the Aerodyne CEO shared.

Ingredients for success in modern SEA

Muhammed also talked about the key ingredients for startups to be successful in modern Southeast Asia. In his opinion, startups need to look at what key problem they solve and then find the key gaps in society that they can make a significant impact on, find and develop the right technology, and build the right team to deliver the solution.

According to Techsauce Co-Founder and CEO Oranuch Lerdsuwankij, to be successful in a fragmented region of 650 million people, it is crucial to understand the local culture and the behaviour of each market.

Also Read: A snapshot of the six cool products we found at Beyond Expo in Macao

In her opinion, there are massive opportunities for SMEs to be converted into tech startups. Southeast Asia’s second and third generations of SME owners are looking to transform their family-run businesses into tech startups. Most of them have domain expertise.

“If we take the construction or food & agriculture industry, the second or the third generation of people who study abroad come back and see that digitalisation can help them transform their family businesses and leverage technology to transform them. This presents great opportunities for startups in Southeast Asia,” Lerdsuwankij said.

The session was moderated by Jumpstart Executive Chairman James Kwan. Ling Xiangliang, Deputy CEO, ESCO Lifesciences Group also participated in the session.

—

Echelon Asia Summit 2023 is bringing 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 get the chance to pitch to 5000+ delegates, among other benefits like a chance to connect with investors, visibility through the e27 platform, and other prizes. Join TOP100 here.

The post AI can bring more intelligence and automation into drone industry: Aerodyne CEO appeared first on e27.

As an entrepreneur or startup operator, navigating product-market fit (PMF) is crucial for any business’s success. PMF is the sweet spot where your product features, target customers, and business model come together seamlessly.

Rather than any specific performing metric, PMF is a composite signal for a company that, based on market response and conditions, the time is ripe to sell and scale operations around a specific product. Many startups fail due to a lack of PMF, which may stem from issues such as narrow market focus, insufficient R&D, or inexperience.

And while PMF is not the sole factor investors consider, it significantly influences their decisions during Series A and B funding rounds. Demonstrating PMF can improve a startup’s chances of securing investments.

To better understand this vital aspect of company building, we debunk some common misconceptions about PMF, explore its importance for long-term growth, and examine real-world examples from Southeast Asia.

Misconception: PMF solely depends on the product and market

Reality: Product-market fit isn’t the only fit that matters. Achieving PMF is a challenging journey that involves factors beyond the product and market, such as language, distribution channels, and operations. Understanding these factors can help refine your product and achieve better PMF.

Real-world example: Especially for fintechs, it’s important to know existing regulations and consumer sentiments around the status quo. The founding team behind the pioneering digital bank Tonik had to spend time working with local regulators to secure a license to launch in 2021. They also made it a point to find a language-market fit that would appeal to their target market.

Misconception: PMF is a one-time achievement

Reality: PMF is not a final destination but a continuous process that requires constant adaptation based on customer feedback and data. Embracing this dynamic journey can lead to long-term growth and success.

Real-world example: Instead of optimising for topline, GTV growth on their financing and ERRP SaaS business, Indonesian fintech for FMCG SMEs AwanTunai optimised their ability to manage risk and build up their data ops to unlock successive PMFs after their initial financing product, leading to the launch of their app-less ERP software and financing products for other stakeholders in the FMCG supply chain. This especially enabled the company to weather the impact of the pandemic on financing businesses and more recently, become a Top 50 APAC high-growth company.

Misconception: Sustaining growth is all about product features

Reality: Every product eventually reaches a plateau in user growth. To break through this ceiling, startups must revisit customer assumptions, optimise performance, and unlock new market segments.

At the heart of breaking through what is often called the “S-curve” of growth is the company having the ability to unlock value from the data it has. Already we are seeing today that the biggest companies today aren’t just great at selling, they are great at leveraging data to make what they’re selling matter.

Also Read: Achieving product-market fit: The ultimate guide to growth, strategy and positioning

Real-world example: From day one, auto retail platform Carro has been leveraging its ability to ingest data on customer transactions to improve the auto retail experience, from offering personalised financing and insurance to optimising pricing and ensuring the quality of their supply of used cars.

Misconception: Achieving PMF guarantees long-term growth

Reality: Long-term growth requires continuous product improvements, experimentation, and the ability to build viral products. PMF is a critical aspect of achieving this durability and sustainable growth, but not a guarantee.

Real-world example: Vietnam retail wealth management platform Finhay found PMF with their initial mutual fund investment product, but realised in order to unlock further growth, they needed to expand into other asset classes. This led to them launching several other products in the next few years, including savings accounts, stock trading, and gold investing.

Misconception: Scaling is independent of PMF

Reality: Scaling a business without a solid PMF can lead to wasted resources and customer churn. Establishing a paying customer base, ensuring your product can be sold by your sales team, and maintaining customer retention rates are essential steps in the scaling journey.

Real-world example: Indonesian startup Gojek, in its early years, successfully scaled by focusing on its paying customer base, expanding its services beyond ride-hailing, and maintaining low churn rates.

While there’s no single formula to find PMF, it is clear that having clarity on what this means for your startup is crucial for long-term, sustainable growth.

Instead of a single formula, what we have are many frameworks, mental models, and approaches born out of the experiences of entrepreneurs over the years. We distilled 20 of these frameworks and more insights into a Product-Market Fit playbook which is free to access here.

–

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

The post Debunking 5 common misconceptions about product-market fit appeared first on e27.

UENA, a hyperlocal online F&B startup based in Indonesia, has raised an undisclosed amount in funding co-led by existing investor East Ventures and new investor Trihill Capital.

This new round, closed in Q1 2023, strengthens Uena’s balance sheet following the seed funding raised in September 2022.

The new capital will be used to continue expanding the locations and services to reach more users and customers.

“The majority of our orders come from repeat customers and their orders continue to increase from month to month. Even though we have only been operating for less than one year, the mature stores are already break-even and getting a healthy payback period. The new fund adds our confidence to continue capturing the great opportunity ahead,” said Alvin Arief, Co-Founder and CEO.

Also Read: Bootstrapped: How dating app Sirf Coffee takes on the likes of Tinders without raising VC money

Since launching in August 2022, Uena has opened seven kitchen locations in Jakarta and has served more than 300,000 portions. Customers can order Uena directly through its app or by contacting WhatsApp number. It does not rely on food delivery aggregators too much since more than 80 per cent of its orders come through direct channels.

Each of the kitchens only serves a hyperlocal radius of 1-1.5 km radius and handles delivery internally to minimise delivery cost and delivery time. A typical order will arrive in 15 minutes after a customer placed the order.

Uena sees the problem where the daily food segment in Indonesia is a US$90 billion market annually but almost entirely served by unorganized street-side vendors. This causes customer pain related to high fragmentation, especially in quality, reliability, and price. Uena aims to solve this problem by serving quality food at affordable prices through online delivery. It uses a very light cloud kitchen format and leverages the power of technology and economy of scale to increase quality while decreasing the price at the same time.

Uena is now gearing up for expansion and duplication in Jakarta. Each kitchen requires low capital, fast set-up, and flexibility to use a wide range of available spaces.

It will also continue to add more menus to increase customer repeat orders at multiple meal times each day and multiple days throughout the week.

—

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 platform, and other prizes. Join TOP100 here.

The post East Ventures, Trihill Capital invest in hyperlocal online F&B startup Uena appeared first on e27.

Southeast Asia and India’s first wave of fintechs was characterised by B2C products that provide consumers with easy access to financial services. While demographic and macro factors favoured fintech adoption, a large part of this was also driven by venture funding. Rewards and incentives, rather than the products alone, spurred end-user adoption.

Last year’s market correction became a forcing mechanism for fintechs to prove their long-term value. With tighter capital, fintechs and embedded finance companies are now forced to rely on a differentiated product or service to attract demand.

The necessity to differentiate has in turn created a new opportunity: Finance-as-a-service startups that abstract complexity at the infrastructure layer, enabling end-customer-facing companies to build better products and solutions faster than ever.

(Re)Building infrastructure

Instead of building for the last mile, finance-as-a-service startups provide the infrastructure needed for emerging companies to build an end-customer solution on top. By building the baseline tech stack, solving for regulatory compliance, and forming partnerships with banks, they help accelerate the pace of development of other fintechs and embedded finance startups.

For traditional banks, working with infrastructure companies can help them grow their digital distribution channels. As an example, M2P Fintech is partnering with traditional banks to offer an integrated tech stack for lending.

Finance-as-a-service does not just help new startups starting from scratch. Existing companies can leverage this to improve the quality of the tech stack or reduce the time for expanding into new product lines or geographies.

Also Read: Revolutionising fintech in Southeast Asia: AI and ML empower businesses with data

An embedded finance player expanding from Singapore to Indonesia will have to rebuild its own integrations and bank partnerships, a process which would take at least half a year without an infrastructure partner.

Finance-as-a-service

Banking-as-a-service

An end-to-end model that allows third parties to connect with the banks’ systems directly through APIs to build banking offerings on top of the providers’ regulated infrastructure. BaaS is different from Open Banking, which is the framework that makes BaaS possible by providing rules around how third parties can access financial data (i.e., BaaS is a subset of Open Banking).

Bank-connections-as-a-service 

Their APIs provide third-party access to financial data from banks. Use cases include enabling users to have a consolidated view of their finances across platforms or enabling bank transfers as a payment method on checkout forms.

Point solutions in as-a-service

Models that focus specifically on enabling one type of financial service, instead of the full banking proposition with bank accounts, cards, loans etc. Examples here include Marqeta, Card91, and FinBox for cards issuing-as-a-service, and Calyx and Finastra for lending-as-a-service. Point Solutions provide a focused product set for companies who do not necessarily want to become banks and can also help traditional banks extend their services digitally.

How they generate revenue

• Interchange: BaaS companies primarily make revenue on the interchange split based on card usage, adopting a rev share model with partner banks.
• Subscription/SaaS fees: Startups may also charge a subscription fee for platform usage. Some place a higher importance on this as a revenue stream.
• Monthly per account/per customer fees: This is usually charged in addition to subscription fees to account for variable costs as a startup scale.
• Credit/lending offerings: Interest rates, account fees etc., which will typically be a revenue share with banking partners.

The opportunity in APAC

In APAC, embedded finance is projected to grow at a CAGR of 24.4 per cent from 2022 to 2029, reaching a total revenue size of US$358 billion. The large and fast-growing market aside, a few underlying characteristics make finance-as-a-service a unique opportunity in the region

Real-Time Payment Systems (RTPS) at the forefront

RTPS is already prominent in countries such as India (UPI), Singapore (PayNow), and Thailand (PromptPay), with others like Indonesia (BIFast) catching up fast. While governments and bank consortiums have focused on the infrastructure, there is much more to do to wrap products around these rails.

Also Read: How voice AI is revolutionising the fintech scene

Emerging companies in the region can differentiate themselves from global brands by delivering products that capitalise on or help to enhance, RTPS. For example, by leveraging RTPS to facilitate instant pay-outs from platforms to freelancers, startups can help platforms circumvent the high costs of instant pay-outs in an automated manner.

Supporting, and not replacing, traditional banks

Many banks in the region operate on legacy core banking platforms with data siloes and APIs that are not suitable for the next generation. Instead of only partnering with banks, finance-as-a-service startups can make banks a lucrative revenue stream by providing them with modern infrastructure for digital offerings.

M2P Fintech recognised this and is expecting their lending infrastructure product to traditional companies to account for 25 per cent of revenue. Hyperface.io, a cards-issuing-focused fintech in India, is primarily helping banks improve their card programs.

In addition to being a revenue stream, this approach can help startups de-risk regulatory restrictions that protect traditional banks.

Constantly evolving local regulatory landscapes

In multiple countries (e.g., the introduction of the Account Aggregator framework in India, and consumer protection rules by OJK in Indonesia) means that companies need to put in substantial effort to stay up to date with compliance and regulatory changes.

For those that plan to scale regionally or globally, this becomes even harder to manage. Instead of managing regulatory complexities on their own, having the right partners will free up their capacity to focus on building products.

Looking for the next best thing rather than having brand loyalty

Case in point: the average number of cards per user in Singapore is close to 5, and a user in Malaysia owns an average of two e-wallets. Startups facing end customers want to spend most of their time on product and service differentiation, and thus have less time to focus on building out a reliable and secure infrastructure layer.

Regional plays over domestic-only play

The fact that many fintechs and embedded finance startups aspire to win in the APAC region, and not just in domestic markets, gives finance-as-a-service a unique opportunity. Aside from providing the required technology and partnerships, emerging companies that can support cross-border money movement or multi-currency accounts will stand out.

Despite the potential, the thesis will take time to play out in APAC

• Building close to the metal is a long game that takes years.
• The buy vs build question will continue to be top of mind for many startups. The largest traditional banks and embedded finance companies today have been around since the startup boom and have existing resources (e.g., finances, existing partnerships, and a talent brand) to tap on. In some markets, they can even buy their own bank (e.g., FinAccel’s acquisition of Bank Bisnis, BharatPe with Unity SFB). Given the nascency of financial infrastructure startups in the market today, it may just become a race on who can build faster.
• Regulations and partnerships in the region are highly local. And with the region lacking an intragovernmental regulatory framework, this makes regional expansion for infrastructure startups themselves difficult to scale.
• Finance-as-a-service startups work with a wide spectrum of partners and suppliers including card networks, sponsor banks, and other core APIs that they white label. This makes supply-side integrations extremely critical to longer-term profitability, and part of the unit economics of these businesses is the delicate balancing act across third parties. In addition, risks of regulations that limit the upside, such as interchange caps, could mean even tighter margins.

Parting thoughts

While challenging, the heterogeneity of the region and active regulatory landscape means that there will always be lots of complexity and complexity means opportunity. Those who survive need to be highly focused on what matters most to the companies they are selling to and maintain a moat from being commoditised.

Are they selling a stellar tech stack? A solid network of bank partnerships? How sticky is their offering? The startups that can navigate these questions and articulate their value will be worthy of investment.

–

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 Exploring the rise of finance-as-a-service in APAC appeared first on e27.

What do Coca-Cola and Web3 have in common?

Not much at first glance. 

Yet could there be timely lessons that Web3 can glean from the world’s most popular beverage?

To find out, we begin with the origins story of Coca-Cola. The American Civil War was not kind to recipe creator John Stith Pemberton. After sustaining a sabre wound, the soldier became addicted to morphine. Desperate for a cure, this doctor brewed a potent concoction of coca wine, kola nut extract and damiana. A brown liquid advertised as an “intellectual beverage”, the first version of Coca-Cola was anything but successful, selling just US$50 in its first year. Pemberton sold the rights to the Coca-Cola formula and brand in 1888 for US$1,750, just over US$50,000 today.

Fast forward 135 years and 94 per cent of the world recognises the iconic white cursive on a red background of the Coca-Cola brand. 

 

What led to the ‘mass adoption’ of Coca-Cola?

There are many factors, but advertising has played a major role in making this medicinal concoction the world’s most popular drink. Between 2014 to 2020, Coca-Cola averaged an annual ad spend of US$4B. The brown liquid that came out of Georgia laid the foundations of a global conglomerate generating more than US$30B in annual revenue. 

Can ads do the same for Web3? More interestingly, could Web3 also improve the ad experience?

Why do ads feel unwanted?

The common reaction to ads, especially amongst Web3 natives, is “eeck”! Just as few early adopters appreciated Pemberton’s beverage, ads in Web3 seem equally unwelcome. From a builder’s perspective, using ads can often be considered a sellout. For users, ads carry memories of misused data, annoying interruptions and being taken advantage of.

Most of these negative perceptions stem from the power imbalances in contemporary advertising. A whopping 86 per cent of digital ad revenue is concentrated in three companies: Google, Meta and Amazon.

Also Read: Web3 startups: The next big thing investors are flocking to

This has established unfair advantages in accruing first-party data,  the kind users generate through online actions and creates impenetrable ‘walled gardens’ with little space for competitors to offer a better ads experience for audiences. It is little wonder that the ads experience is as unpleasant as interacting with the mob for advertisers or consumers; it’s pitched as a necessary evil with no room for improvement. 

What does Web3 bring to ads?

As written previously,  Web3 heralds a paradigm shift in advertising. The first-party data that Google and Meta used to create unfair moats is now public and accessible if recorded on a blockchain.

With social protocols such as Lens emerging, every user interaction, be it a like or comment, is now on-chain and visible to anyone with a block explorer. Advertisers are no longer walled in by closed ecosystems, nor is their customer targeting reliant on centralised giants.

For example, a fitness application can utilise Web3-native ad networks such as Slise to discover and target the holders of “move-to-earn” tokens. The possibilities to innovate and improve the consumer ads experience are no longer far-fetched. 

If data is no longer the moat, and control is seized from the hands of “too big to fail” tripoly actors, what are the differentiators in advertising?

One factor would be ad network quality and algorithms to more efficiently process data and understand user intent better, as outlined previously. Another would be the thoughtfully designed incentives to reward users; the focus of this piece. While incentives were once one-dimensional, Web3 has created new, fascinating avenues for incentive design.

The case for rewarding users

While the open nature of on-chain data is exciting, it is only half of the equation. On-chain data needs to be complemented with off-chain data to deliver personalised, relevant ads to users. Whereas interactions with smart contracts and dapps create an accessible on-chain history, most transactions and actions still occur off-chain, where accessibility is limited.

Advertisers and ad networks have two choices: permission access to off-chain data, where users approve the sharing of their first-party data, or permissionless access, where user approval is not needed and an understanding of the user is built on a combination of guesswork and algorithms. Both approaches carry distinctive benefits and trade-offs; we believe the permissioned approach will prevail for two key reasons:

Completeness of data

With data and privacy regulations tightening worldwide, a growing amount of personal data will only be accessible to advertisers and ad networks through the explicit permission of the user. These privileged data tend to be most pertinent in ad targeting, so a permissionless approach will face increasing challenges to achieving completeness of data.

Lack of interoperability across on-chain and off-chain sourcesWhile there are emerging ‘bridges’ like oracles to connect on-chain and off-chain data, or to consolidate on-chain data across multiple chains, interoperability remains tricky. As more blockchains emerge, aggregating and analysing data across permissionless chains becomes more technically complex than permissioned methods

If we believe permissioned access to off-chain data is key, then we need incentives to reward users for giving their permission.

Where are the opportunities for incentive design?

One of the most immediate opportunities to incentivise users is the “pay-per-consumption” approach: view an ad, and be compensated.  The benefit to users is clear: they are directly rewarded for completing the desired action instead of centralised entities like Google or Meta.  

Also Read: Meet the 22 Web3 investors that are ready to rock the future with your startup

This model can be over-simplistic: few users would intentionally consume ads to earn compensation. Ads are often a by-product of a user’s job-to-be-done, whether it is checking a token price on a coin tracking site, or searching a transaction on a blockchain explorer. Incentivising a user to divert attention from their job-to-be-done to view an ad can be costly, the few dollars from an impression or click might not be sufficient. 

What if incentives are designed to enable users to complete their jobs to be done faster, cheaper, and simpler?

While users might not intentionally divert attention to consume an ad, there are proven models around cashback, the emphasis being supporting the user’s intended job-to-be-done, instead of hindering. Cashback and other forms of affiliate marketing are turbocharged as a result of on-chain data, as the correlation between a user’s identity and their transactions is accessible instantaneously, and can be rewarded with tools such as Chainvine and Fuul. 

Another opportunity area for incentives is gas fees: the pesky but necessary costs to transact on blockchains like Ethereum. Currently, end users pay the gas fee.  While the few dollars per transaction might seem trivial to sophisticated crypto traders, gas fees disincentivise new-to-crypto users, adding extra costs and friction toward adoption.

A beginner hoping to transfer their first token may not have the native token to pay for gas. The need to on-ramp a small amount to pay for gas is simply unappealing. Yet, the recent advancement of ERC-4337 reveals a potential opportunity for advertisers and ad networks to silently cover transaction fees for users, thus creating a seamless experience for all. 

Incentives also need not be financial. Often, users may be seeking quid pro quo exchanges. Emerging incentive mechanisms such as the DataDAO model enables users to pool together data, creating meaningful and valuable datasets whose value is greater than the sum of parts. The incentive for users is clear; contribute data in exchange for “credits” to access other forms of data.

Often data that are otherwise hard to access or aggregate. For example, a user can offer her browsing history data in exchange for tokens, and subsequently, she is able to utilise the said tokens to request data around the Web3 data economy. In short, non-financial reciprocity may prove to be a viable alternative alongside financial incentives.

The Coca-Cola moment for Web3

Incentives expand the possibilities of rewarding users and removing friction. Unhindered by barriers like gas fees and empowered by new use cases through quid pro quo exchanges, we can expect to see more users onboard to Web3, generating more demand for Web3 applications, which creates a positive flywheel effect for web3 advertising and general adoption.  

Just as traditional ads brought Coca-Cola from a non-descript beverage to a cultural icon, Web3 ads can potentially catalyse the inflection point across multiple categories. We can expect to see a reshaping of the tripoly advertising landscape where centralised entities have their power undermined, users will be incentivised to share data so they can better accomplish their jobs to be done, and ultimately, mass Web3 adoption will accelerate.

This article is co-written with Oleksii Sidorov, Co-Founder and CEO at Slise. 

–

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 Web3’s Coca-Cola moment: Tapping into incentive design to catalyse better ad experiences appeared first on e27.

So, how does a livestreaming app such as Kumu make its revenue?

In this email interview with e27, Kumu Co-Founder and President Rexy Josh Dorado explains how the company’s revenue is currently driven by virtual gifts available on its platform. It allows users to send one-time animations to support their favorite streamers, who earn commissions from those virtual gifts.

“In doing so, users can also support streamers in winning campaigns, which are contests that allow streamers to win prizes, get themselves on a billboard or TV broadcast, etc. But more broadly, our economy is driven by people around the world supporting Filipino content creators–and retained on the platform by a sense of authentic connection that they can’t find elsewhere. Through the years, one thing still rings true – users are willing to support their favorite creators financially, and this has been a key driver of revenue growth for Kumu,” he stresses.

While virtual gifting remains the main source of revenue for Kumu, according to Chief Operating Officer Arianne Kader-Cu in the same interview, there are also a couple of other contributing streams from advertising and social games.

“Advertising involves partnering with brands to create highly targeted and engaging ads or executions that run during live streams and shows. Meanwhile, social games provide a platform for our community to interact with each other making the platform more fun and engaging. One of our games, color raid, allows the community to work together to achieve a common goal to win,” she explains.

To get a better understanding of how this Philippine-based startup do it, Dorado and Kader-Cu answer some of the biggest questions about making revenue in this Q&A session. The following is an edited excerpt of the conversation.

Also Read: Kumu nets Series C to become the ‘Disneyland of social media’; total funding exceeds US$100M

What process did you have to go through to come up with this revenue model?

Dorado: We took pointers from the success of live streaming apps in China, which pioneered livestream virtual gifting. The trial-and-error has been more around how to execute this in a way that promotes a safe, family-friendly content environment that has the potential to break into the mainstream.

We’ve done this by working with some of the leading local influencers, TV shows, and films in the Philippines–which have helped launch live streaming into the public consciousness. The challenge now is how to execute that playbook with talents and IP for whom we are true partners and help them grow their careers while enriching the Kumu ecosystem in the process.

Kader-Cu: There were definitely a lot of experimentations before we got things right. One of the biggest lessons we learned while scaling up the business was the importance of building a strong community of users. It was a balancing game to establish an online culture based on positivity and new possibilities.

Who are your users and how do you acquire them?

Dorado: Our users are Filipinos both within the Philippines and around the world. Specifically, Filipinos who are looking for entertainment and connection at a deeper level. The average user spends 60 minutes a day on the platform on just a few pieces of content. We have found user growth primarily effective via word of mouth, but it is also accelerated through partnerships with talents and IP with established fanbases.

Also Read: Kumu nets Series C to become the ‘Disneyland of social media’; total funding exceeds US$100M

There has been greater pressure for startups today to become more sustainable businesses financially. What are your thoughts on this? How do you approach building a profitable and sustainable business model?

Dorado: It’s the right move–especially if you are in a business that’s less winner-takes-all, and more about creating enduring and differentiated value for a specific but highly engaged group of people. This is the case for Kumu; just 20,000 paying users generate millions of dollars a month for our economy.

And in the past, we’ve been profitable for a full quarter before we started investing heavily in growth–which means we are well-positioned to be sustainable again as we go through the rocky macroeconomic movements of the next few years.

Kader-Cu: Having a sustainable business model is crucial for the long-term success of any startup. At Kumu, we have found that diversification of revenue streams and being able to pivot in response to market changes is key to achieving this goal. Relying too heavily on any one source of income can leave a startup vulnerable to changes in the market or unexpected disruptions. That is why we built a model that provides us with multi-faceted revenue streams as a safety net to mitigate any risks and ensure that there are multiple sources of income to draw from.

However, we also recognise that diversification alone may not be enough to guarantee long-term success. Through the pandemic, we’ve had to enact swift strategic changes in our business, which we can admit have been difficult calls to make, but that’s growth; that’s the journey.

Also Read: Kumu raises Series B funding round co-led by SIG, Openspace Ventures

How do the back-to-back global crises affect your business? And how do you deal with it?

Dorado: We grew from COVID-19 as people got stuck indoors–and so growth became harder when the economy opened up. Moreso when inflation started to hit our users’ wallets. For us, this means a shift in focus from aggressive growth to indefinite survival to ensure we are positioned to win in the long term when the tide rises back up.

What other opportunities do you aim to seize this year? What will be your big plan?

Dorado: Growing our base of homegrown talents and IP. Engaging around them more holistically–not just through virtual gifts but through other revenue streams, such as merch, gaming, etc. We are laying the foundations for what we believe will be the most vibrant network of Filipino creativity that we can proudly showcase to the world.

Kader-Cu: Our long-term vision at Kumu is to become a formidable digital entertainment company.

We have begun planting seeds throughout 2022 among a number of local businesses – acquiring Penlab, a leading local comics and webtoons platform with over one million monthly reads, and beginning to take major steps into gaming.

—

Echelon Asia Summit 2023 is bringing 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 get the chance to pitch to 5000+ delegates, among other benefits like a chance to connect with investors, visibility through e27 platform, and other prizes. Join TOP100 here.

Image Credit: Kumu

The post How Kumu uses virtual gifting to make revenue as a livestreaming app appeared first on e27.

Use our special promo code: GO for 75% off your Echelon tickets!

The 2023 Echelon Asia Summit is happening at the Singapore EXPO on 14-15 June 2023. Are you a startup founder, investor, corporate, or tech enthusiast? Don’t miss out on one of the most anticipated tech conferences in the region! For more information, visit the official Echelon page.

Registration for TOP100 is now open and we are looking forward to seeing your startup on the list!

TOP100 Program gives you the one golden chance to connect with hundreds of investors, showcase your startup at Echelon, pitch on the TOP100 stage, and access special programs. Find out what’s new in TOP100 and join here: https://bit.ly/TOP100_2023

– –

Now that Echelon Asia Summit is coming back in full swing, e27 is determined to make one of its key features, the TOP100, one of the best yet!

The TOP100 program is an annual initiative organised by e27 to showcase and recognise the most promising startups in the Asia-Pacific region.

The program is open to exciting new startups from the Asia-Pacific region with innovative ideas that break barriers across different industries. The selection of the TOP100 involves a rigorous screening process, including an evaluation of the startup’s product or service, team, market potential, and traction.

Also read: Echelon Asia Summit is back! Get to know our PR partner

The selected startups are given the opportunity to pitch their business ideas at the Echelon Asia Summit this June 14-15, 2023, at the Singapore Expo. The program also provides exposure to investors, mentors, and potential partners, enabling growth among participating startups and helping them expand their networks across the larger global tech ecosystem.

The TOP100 program has become one of the most prestigious startup competitions in the region, attracting thousands of applicants each year and providing valuable visibility and support to the most promising startups in the region.

6 startups closer to competing at this year’s TOP100

Being a frontrunner refers to startups close to making it to this year’s TOP100 program.

With all the amazing startups sprouting across the Asia-Pacific region’s vibrant tech startup ecosystem, we now present you with 6 frontrunners closer to competing at this year’s TOP100. Get to know them here!

Factorem

Factorem saves hardware teams time sourcing for parts while saving manufacturers time in drafting quotes. We enable both sides to connect & transact seamlessly while growing the platform sustainably.

Their technologies provide a seamless ordering experience for custom parts while enabling scale and cost-savings for organisations. With better communication and more efficient decision-making, they help teams build better products in weeks instead of months. Their trusted Factorem Partners offer capabilities ranging from CNC Machining, 3D Printing, to Sheet Metal Fabrication.

Factorem is Southeast Asia’s first tech-enabled platform for on-demand custom manufacturing.

3DNA Technology Ltd.

3DNA has built the digital rails for the sustainable transformation of the eyewear industry. Their technology stack allows digitally native eyewear brands to innovate faster, go to market quicker, and solve the major sustainability issues with mass production of inventory by converting the value chain to an on-demand production model. 3DNA’s global network of independent optical retailers is supported by their retail technology kiosks, which contain face-scanning technology and their proprietary eyewear design app enabling rapid selection and customisation of eyewear. Their digital manufacturing solution enables products to be made on-demand, and made-to-measure.

At its core, 3DNA is an ecosystem for digitally native eyewear brands.

HealthySure

HealthySure is India’s most loved employee benefits insurtech platform for SMEs, startups, and enterprises across the country. The platform offers a suite of group health, life, and accident insurance products with curated health and wellness programs and operates with a digitised policy and claim experience. They have enrolled over 150 corporates in their portfolio, securing over 50,000 lives so far.

Their portfolio boasts some of the most credible corporate names such as Snapdeal, Chaayos, Enkash, Vista Rooms, Clovia, and Pocket Aces to name a few.

They have launched an industry-first Flexi Top-up Insurance which allows employees to personalise and upgrade their corporate health covers and enjoy continuity benefits post-employment.

RescaleLab

RescaleLab (a subsidiary of EAT Launchpad Pte Ltd) is a B2B platform-as-a-service whose mission is to power up skills development.

They are a data-driven B2B platform purpose-built to streamline skill development processes and needs, whilst capturing feedback loops between trainers and learners. They achieve this through an incentive-driven environment in and between users, then the assignment of varying weights into existing deep belief networks, recommender systems, long-short term memory, and recurrent neural networks. This outputs the user-matching results, activity optimisation, timeline prediction, skillset recommendations, input tuning strategies, and industry learnings. Their closed-loop algorithm continuously engages and collects user performance and feedback to recalibrate for building resiliency in people and businesses.

Ametshop Limited

Ametshop.com is a wholly Ghanaian-owned e-commerce retail shopping platform that offers a wide range of products that span various categories including home appliances, mobile phones, computer electronics, automobile accessories, furniture, and groceries while offering hire purchase or consumer finance services online through its web store and mobile commerce applications with flexible payment terms of quality and trusted brands of products in Ghana. Their mission is to help people own high-quality products at fair prices with flexible repayment terms to give them the peace of mind they need to freely pursue their dreams.

Ametshop was founded in February 2016, duly registered as a sole proprietorship business in April 2019 and later registered as a Limited Liability Company (LLC) in October 2020.

Glee Trees Pte. Ltd. (Gleematic)

Gleematic AI is a Singapore-based tech startup. The first Asia-focused cognitive automation system was developed and has enhanced productivity in banks, insurance businesses, logistics companies, manufacturing companies, government agencies, and service organisations by up to 319%. Their customers are spread across Asia, including China, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Singapore.

The Gleematic A.I. software robots can perform tasks up to five times faster than humans, have near-perfect accuracy with digital data, are flexible to any technique, are intelligent enough to handle semi-structured data, and can be used at any time of day.

A step closer to the coveted prize

After a rigorous screening process, these startups are a step closer to qualifying for this year’s TOP100.

If you are one of the founders of the startups above, a representative from e27 will be reaching out to you soon to discuss with you the next step in your application process. Feel free to get in touch with us for any inquiries.

Also read: 15 startups that are among this year’s frontrunners for TOP100

If you have an exciting startup with innovative ideas that can eclipse the best and the brightest in the region, join the 2023 TOP100 and stand a chance to pitch your ideas to some of the top investors in the Asia-Pacific at this year’s Echelon Asia Summit. Register for TOP100 here.

The post Check out 6 startups that are frontrunners for this year’s TOP100 appeared first on e27.

Cryptocurrencies have been making headlines for their potential to transform the way we think about money and investment. With their decentralised nature and lack of government control, they offer a level of autonomy that traditional assets cannot match.

As a result, many investors are looking to diversify their portfolios and take advantage of the potential for high returns as a hedge against the economic instability that cryptocurrencies offer. Furthermore, the anonymity and privacy afforded by cryptocurrencies are a significant draw for those who value their financial privacy.

However, as cryptocurrencies become more mainstream, it is becoming increasingly important to integrate them with traditional banking systems. This presents several challenges that must be addressed in order to fully realise the potential benefits of cryptocurrencies.

For example, traditional banks may be hesitant to work with cryptocurrencies due to concerns over money laundering and other illegal activities. Additionally, the technical complexity of integrating cryptocurrencies with existing banking systems can be daunting.

Despite these challenges, there are potential solutions that can help bridge the gap between cryptocurrencies and traditional banking. From regulatory frameworks to technological innovations, the future looks bright for those who are interested in leveraging the potential of cryptocurrencies in their investment strategies. In this article, we will explore the key obstacles to linking crypto to traditional banking and examine potential solutions for overcoming them.

Regulatory challenges

One major obstacle to linking crypto to traditional banking is regulatory compliance. Traditional banks are subject to strict regulations around anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) policies. Cryptocurrencies are often seen as high-risk due to their decentralised and pseudonymous nature, which makes it harder for banks to comply with these regulations and prevent fraudulent or illegal activities.

Also Read: Is CBDC the answer to the crypto fallout?

Technical limitations

Another is the technical challenges associated with integrating cryptocurrencies into traditional banking infrastructure. Traditional banking systems are built on legacy technologies that are not designed to handle the unique features of cryptocurrencies, such as decentralised ledgers and smart contracts.

Security concerns

One of the biggest concerns associated with cryptocurrencies is security, even more so after the debacles that happened in 2022 and the recent bank runs at some large crypto-friendly banks. Cryptocurrencies have a history of being targeted by hackers, and there have been several high-profile incidents where large amounts of cryptocurrency have been stolen. Traditional banks may be wary of the security risks associated with cryptocurrencies and may not have the expertise or resources to manage these risks effectively.

Lack of understanding

Another obstacle to linking crypto to traditional banking is the lack of understanding that exists between the two industries. Cryptocurrencies are a relatively new technology, and many traditional banks may not fully understand how they work or how they can be integrated into their existing infrastructure. As a result, banks may need to take extra care in ensuring that they are adhering to applicable regulations and industry best practices.

Overcoming these obstacles

Despite the challenges presented by regulatory compliance, technical limitations, security concerns, and lack of understanding, there are several potential solutions that can help bridge the gap between cryptocurrencies and traditional banking systems.

Regulatory frameworks are being developed in many countries to help clarify the legal status of cryptocurrencies and provide guidelines for banks and other financial institutions to follow. These frameworks can help alleviate concerns around AML and KYC policies, providing greater transparency and trust for both banks and cryptocurrency users.

For example, in the United States, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued guidance in 2013 that clarified how virtual currency businesses should comply with AML and KYC regulations. More recently, in 2021, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued guidance that allows banks to use stablecoins for payment activities.

In addition to working with regulators, some banks are creating industry standards for dealing with cryptocurrencies. In 2018, the World Economic Forum created a framework for regulators and banks to use when evaluating the risks associated with cryptocurrencies. The framework includes guidelines for assessing the risks of cryptocurrencies and recommendations for developing risk management strategies.

Collaboration and education play a crucial role in bridging the gap between cryptocurrencies and traditional banking systems. Collaboration between tradfi and cryptocurrency companies can help foster greater understanding and trust between the two industries, leading to more effective integration.

Education efforts can help traditional bankers better understand the unique features and benefits of cryptocurrencies, enabling them to make more informed decisions about integrating them into their existing infrastructure.

Interoperability platforms or assets management firms have emerged as a promising solution to overcome the challenges of integrating cryptocurrencies into traditional banking infrastructure. Such companies can act as intermediaries between banks and cryptocurrency networks, enabling seamless transfer of funds and data. They provide a layer of abstraction that can help mitigate the complexity of the integration process.

Also Read: The regulatory war on cryptocurrency

However, companies must comply with existing AML/KYC regulations to provide banks with the necessary tools to monitor transactions and prevent illegal activities. Obtaining licenses from regulatory bodies in major financial jurisdictions is crucial to ensure that these companies are following the required regulations and to provide banks with additional confidence working with cryptocurrencies.

Therefore, by adhering to regulatory frameworks, these companies can become a critical bridge between traditional banking and cryptocurrencies, enabling the two to work together seamlessly.

Bridging the gap

As the world of cryptocurrencies expands, the need for bridging the gap between tradfi and crypto becomes more pressing. While there are certainly obstacles in integrating these two ecosystems, there are also promising solutions on the horizon. One immediate solution would be to enlist the help of asset managers with experience in both fields, which are licensed and adhere to strict regulations to ensure your assets are kept safe and secure.

These managers understand the regulatory, technical, security, and operational challenges that currently exist for crypto holders, and at the same time are experienced in navigating the traditional finance environment. By addressing these challenges head-on, they can create a more seamless and integrated system that benefits participants in both industries who would like access to one another.

As cryptocurrencies become increasingly popular, it is important to develop the infrastructure necessary to support their integration with traditional banking systems. By leveraging the benefits of cryptocurrencies while maintaining the trust and stability that traditional banking systems provide, licensed and experienced asset managers can play a crucial role in bridging the gap between these two worlds through their regulated licenses and technical prowess in blockchain technology.

–

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 Overcoming obstacles: Linking crypto to traditional banking appeared first on e27.

Imagine having the opportunity to be part of a dynamic and innovative community that not only values your voice but also helps you build your brand credibility!

That’s exactly what e27 Contributor Programme was created for. With the mission to equip founders, investors, innovators, and technicians with the tools to build and grow their businesses, our primary objective has always been to foster a sense of community amongst our members, both in-person and online.

But it’s not just about building businesses; it’s also about building relationships. Building a strong brand and cultivating a loyal community of customers and supporters is essential for any business to succeed. A well-established brand can help differentiate your company from competitors and create trust and credibility among your target audience.

However, building a brand and community is not just about marketing and advertising — it’s about establishing a genuine connection with your customers and providing value beyond your products or services.

Thought leadership is a powerful tool that can help businesses achieve this by sharing their expertise, insights, and ideas with their audience. By establishing themselves as industry leaders and providing valuable information to their community, businesses can build a loyal following of customers and advocates who believe in their vision and values. Through thought leadership, businesses can not only build a brand but also create a meaningful impact on their industry and the world around them.

Farida Charania, Co-Founder and CEO at Empauwer says, “I’m part of the e27 Contributor Programme because I believe in investing in myself. While the programme has helped me to develop my thought leadership journey and gain exposure, it’s also helped me to grow as a writer and learn new things about the ecosystem. It’s a great way for me to learn more about the ecosystem and what makes it tick. As a contributor, I can share my thoughts with the world on any business topic that interests me.”

Also Read: Write, connect, grow: What motivates us to run the e27 Contributor Programme

Introducing thought leadership for your organisation

While we are at it, we want to extend our family and reach out to your whole organisation.

As a leading technology news portal in Southeast Asia, e27 covers everything from startups and innovation to business and investment news. By having your employees share their insights on the latest trends and innovations, you can demonstrate your company’s expertise and position yourselves as a leader in the field.

The programme offers a unique opportunity for your company to increase its visibility and establish thought leadership in the industry. In addition to the exposure and recognition, you will connect with potential employers, investors, clients, and partners, forging valuable relationships with the key players in the startup ecosystem and opening doors to limitless possibilities.

Tap into the upsides

• Become a trailblazer in the experts’ community at e27 and stand out as a thought leader who shapes the future of Southeast Asia’s startup ecosystem.
• Get featured on e27.co and bask in the spotlight of our massive two million+ reader base and 50,000+ newsletter subscribers. Make your mark and gain recognition for your expertise.
• Elevate your personal branding and unlock a world of exciting speaking opportunities that showcase your unparalleled knowledge and expertise in the startup world.
• Secure your place in the prestigious e27 Voices Hall of Fame, a coveted list of 50 emerging thought leaders in the Southeast Asian ecosystem. Join the ranks of the most influential and game-changing entrepreneurs and innovators in the region.
• Enjoy unparalleled exposure with your brand promoted three times daily across e27‘s powerful social media channels. With our extensive reach, your voice will be amplified like never before.
• Connect with potential employers, investors, clients, and partners and take your business to new heights. Forge valuable relationships with the key players in the startup ecosystem and open doors to limitless possibilities.

What’s expected

Simply nominate two (or more) of your employees with adequate experience and expertise to submit articles on any topic of their choice. Our editorial team will support them in writing these articles and also publish them.

Who to nominate

• Your best-performing employee
• Your employee with the most unique background or story or career trajectory
• Individuals with diverse backgrounds, skill sets, and areas of expertise

We kindly request that individuals from content marketing teams within an organisation refrain from applying to the program. We believe that a more holistic and well-rounded team of contributors will provide our readers with a richer and more diverse range of insights and opinions.

Please fill out this short form to nominate your employees for this programme.

–

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 Level up your startup credibility: Join the e27 Contributor Programme and stand out amongst the rest appeared first on e27.