At e27, we believe in fostering thought leadership and providing a platform for talented individuals to share their expertise and unique viewpoints. The Contributor Programme serves as a channel for passionate voices to contribute to the broader conversation surrounding entrepreneurship, technology, and innovation.

We are thrilled to present the weekly compilation of articles published through our Contributor Programme. This curated collection brings together a wealth of diverse and insightful perspectives from our community, offering a fresh lens on emerging trends, industry insights, and thought-provoking ideas.

Why Japanese startups are interested in the Southeast Asian market

“South East Asia offers a great opportunity for Japanese startups to expand. With a large population, supportive governments, and low costs of entry, the region is an attractive proposition for ambitious startups looking to tap into the potential of its markets. Japanese startups are increasingly taking advantage of the region’s opportunities, propelling the growth of their businesses and strengthening Japan’s regional influence.”

Marketing and Operations Director at Rainmaking, Meghan Bridges’ byline explores the rising interest of Japanese startups in the Southeast Asian market. It also showcases the success stories of Japanese startups in Southeast Asia, highlighting their strategies and key growth factors and offering insights into the challenges and opportunities faced by Japanese startups expanding into this dynamic market.

Sustainable solutions for energy-intensive data centres in humid Singapore

“Prioritising sustainability in operations and regulations is crucial for reducing data centres’ carbon footprint and energy consumption. By embracing sustainable practices, data centres can reduce costs and improve efficiency and contribute to a more sustainable future for all. Data centre operators and policymakers can help shape a more eco-conscious and responsible digital landscape in Singapore and beyond.”

Chief Commercial Officer at Iceotope Technologies, Nathan Blom’s byline introduces sustainable solutions for energy-intensive data centres in humid Singapore, specifically addressing the challenges of maintaining efficient operations in a high-humidity environment. It also delves into innovative approaches aimed at reducing energy consumption, optimising cooling systems, and maximising the utilisation of renewable energy sources.

How to build customer trust with improved data privacy

“Protecting customer data privacy is paramount for cultivating consumer trust and ensuring business operations run smoothly. A brand that conveys strong security measures is more likely to foster customer trust and develop a solid reputation.”

Features Editor at ReHack, Zachary Amos’s byline emphasizes the importance of data privacy in building customer trust. It also explores strategies for enhancing data privacy practices, including transparent data handling, obtaining informed consent, implementing secure storage, and complying with regulations.

AI revolution in marketing: Transforming the way businesses connect with customers

“Artificial Intelligence has become a transformative force in various industries, and marketing is no exception. With its ability to analyse vast amounts of data, personalise experiences, and predict consumer behaviour, AI is revolutionising the way businesses approach marketing strategies.”

Expert Venture Builder, Strategic Advisor at KingSwap and Technicorum Holdings, Malcolm Tan’s byline delves into the AI revolution in marketing, highlighting how it is reshaping customer-business connections and transforming marketing strategies. It also explores the benefits of AI-powered tools and techniques, such as personalised recommendations, chatbots, and predictive analytics, in enhancing customer engagement and driving business growth.

The checkout revolution: Transforming transactions into brand experiences

“But a smooth end-to-end customer journey is not only within reach of the super apps with huge teams at their disposal. Retailers of any size should consider establishing strong partnerships with payment providers or platforms that can support them in establishing and automating a seamless end-to-end customer experience.”

Head of Sales (APAC) at Primer, Kailash Madan’s byline, explores how businesses are revolutionising the traditional checkout process to create memorable brand experiences and highlight the shift from transactional-focused interactions to customer-centric experiences that leave a lasting impression. The article delves into various strategies, such as seamless digital payments, personalised recommendations, and interactive technologies, that are transforming the checkout journey.

Breaking the myth: The reality of social entrepreneurs and their business approach

“Your social enterprise must also be able to put a clear offering in front of that banker. They get this if they pay this. But they get more if they pay more. The question is, ‘What’s in it for them?’ And the only way to answer it is to think about market value and business opportunity.”

Business Coach and Co-Founder of Impactified, Antoine Martin’s byline challenges common misconceptions surrounding social entrepreneurs and explores the realities of their unique business approach. It also sheds light on how social entrepreneurs balance social impact with sustainable business practices, debunking the notion that they prioritise one over the other.

Web3 needs novel prevention tools for novel attack vectors: AI saves the day

“The Web3 community must thus rethink threat detection and prevention. It’s high time to build and adopt innovative, problem-specific solutions. Leveraging AI and ML is crucial. But it also requires understanding Web3’s unique security concerns and where it currently stands concerning cybersecurity.”

Guest Lecturer at Sydney University, Luke Fitzpatrick’s byline explores the evolving landscape of Web3 and the need for innovative prevention tools to address emerging attack vectors. By harnessing the power of AI, Web3 platforms can enhance security measures and ensure a safer environment for users. The article also emphasizes the importance of staying ahead of novel attack vectors and leveraging AI as a key defence mechanism.

Embracing AI’s promise: Navigating the future of marketing

“As the dawn breaks on the digital age, marketers face a horizon gleaming with the promise of Artificial Intelligence. For Temus, an upstart in the fast-evolving business of digital transformation, the future of marketing is a captivating narrative — a story of transformation, unprecedented possibilities, and discerning navigation through uncharted territory.”

Director at Temus, Marcus Loh’s byline explores the transformative impact of AI on marketing, highlighting its potential for personalised experiences and improved campaign optimisation. The article also discusses the challenges and opportunities that arise with AI adoption, emphasizing the need for marketers to understand AI’s capabilities and ethical considerations.

Do cards have the opportunity to flourish in Southeast Asia’s digital payment services landscape?

“As the region continues to evolve, the adoption of cards has the potential to transcend limitations and redefine financial inclusion, providing consumers with convenience and security while fostering economic development. With the right mix of innovation, collaboration, and regulatory support, Southeast Asia can unlock the true potential of card adoption, empowering businesses and individuals.”

Founder and CEO of Ayoconnect, Jakob Rost’s byline examines the role of cards in the rapidly evolving digital payment services landscape of Southeast Asia. It also discusses the factors contributing to the growth of digital payments in the region and explores whether traditional cards can still thrive amidst the rise of mobile wallets and alternative payment methods.

Is generative AI the game-changer for productivity?

“As we integrate Gen AI more deeply into our lives, we must remain mindful of its limitations and potential pitfalls, striking a balance between leveraging the benefits of AI and preserving the irreplaceable value of human ingenuity.”

Senior Content Strategist at Insignia Ventures Partner, Paulo Joquino’s byline explores the potential of generative AI in revolutionising productivity across various industries. It also delves into how generative AI technologies, such as natural language processing and computer vision, can automate and augment creative tasks, streamline workflows, and generate novel solutions.

How to create harmony between work and life as a Founder

“Achieving work-life balance is an ongoing process that requires regular assessment and adjustment. It’s important to be kind to yourself and prioritise self-care as you work towards achieving a healthy balance between your work and personal life. And yes, I have pivoted many times!”

Co-Founder and Managing Partner at PeopleKult, Ivan Palomino’s byline provides insights and practical tips on achieving a healthy balance between work and personal life for founders. It also explores the challenges faced by founders in managing their time and priorities effectively and offers strategies for setting boundaries, practising self-care, and fostering a supportive work environment.

Rewriting the creation process of ad creatives using generative AI

“I want to highlight that generative AI tools provide value to the creative production process not so much by replacing the human, mechanical efforts involved in asset creation but rather by mitigating the risks associated with human biases when determining which specific creative elements outperform others because these processes will be led by unemotional machines.”

Founder at Atria, Ray Jang’s byline explores the transformative potential of generative AI in revolutionising the creation process of advertising creatives. It also delves into how generative AI technologies can automate and enhance the ad creation process, enabling marketers to generate unique and compelling content at scale.

Discover TikTok Shop: The ultimate shopping-entertainment experience in Vietnam

“Experts say that social commerce is the future of retail. The combination of social media, video, and e-commerce has made shopping more fun and interactive. This is a two-way interaction between buyers and sellers, instead of one-way from sellers like current e-commerce platforms.”

Co-Founder and CEO at Adamo Software, Kevin Nguyen’s byline introduces TikTok Shop and explores how it is revolutionising the shopping experience in Vietnam. It also highlights the unique combination of entertainment and e-commerce on the TikTok platform, allowing users to discover and purchase products seamlessly.

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

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Think about this: You have spent innumerable hours setting up an Instagram-worthy online store with eye-catching photos, your logo is perfect, and the products are amazing. But it’s the moment of truth, and your customer has abandoned the checkout.

Did you make sure everything has been covered so that your customer doesn’t get frustrated? Often it’s the finer details that could dilute your brand experience. 

For any online business, driving conversions and building a loyal customer base are essential ingredients for long-term sustainable growth. A smooth checkout is an important part of this, but it has not typically been regarded as part of the brand identity.

That’s now changing, with payments no longer seen as the ‘last stage’ of the customer transaction but as the beginning of a post-purchase customer experience and the perfect opportunity to cultivate a stronger brand relationship.

Payments and brand trust go hand in hand

Increasingly, shoppers expect payments on their own terms. This was a key finding of our recent survey of 2,000 Singaporean shoppers and 300 e-commerce leaders to discover their key pain points – from both sides of the checkout.

The rapid growth of digital payment methods means today’s shopper is more discerning about how they pay. Shoppers are spoiled for choice and will move on if they cannot pick a convenient or trusted payment method at the checkout. 76 per cent of Singaporean shoppers reported that they would abandon their cart if their preferred payment method is not offered. 41 per cent will also walk away if the payment process is too complicated.

Also Read: How interoperability can spark a payments revolution in SEA

That payment experience isn’t only about reducing abandoned shopping carts. It can impact the future use of a brand or product. For example, more than half of survey respondents regarded payment security as a factor that would help them decide if they would like the visit an online store again. Payments have evolved from a last-mile transaction feature to an important element that can alter the consumer’s view of the brand.

Merchants are also becoming increasingly aware of the importance of the payment process, with 99 per cent of retailers surveyed reporting to have made some type of improvement within the past 12 months. Retailers who are taking action to improve their payment services are already beginning to see the benefit.

41 per cent of those who are bolstering their systems reveal that taking foreign payments has seen an increase in revenue, and more than a third, 37 per cent, are reporting higher sales levels through widening the choice of payment options. These improvements to the bottom line are significant.

But while expansion of payment methods is certainly a wise move within the fragmented ASEAN payments landscape, retailers must also address existing friction at the checkout – such as payment failures – to ensure they can convert leads into sales and build brand stickiness for the long term.       

Brand stickiness is becoming harder to obtain with more and more online shoppers made up of digital natives who are skilful at finding alternative places to shop.

The importance of a great online customer experience was reiterated in a recent report from McKinsey, which found that Gen-Zs, in particular, cannot be tied down to a brand and are always open to switching. Similarly, according to Edelman’s recent trust barometer, for this new generation, the purchase is often the starting point for the brand relationship and not the final step.

They’re driven first by the product, with 78 per cent of Gen Z’s reporting uncovering and discovering things about a brand after they make a product purchase. In this sense, these days, the customer journey is less of a funnel and more of a loop, with positive experiences during and post-purchase just as important as a satisfactory experience.

The customer journey extends beyond the checkout

When asked to list their top pain points in the online shopping experience, consumers were crystal clear on where retailers are ‘not delivering’, with five of the top seven complaints relating to delivery, fulfilment or returns. The high delivery cost was noted as the top pain point with 61 per cent of consumers, who also cited it as one of the top reasons they will abandon their cart right before making payment.

Also Read: Thrive amid business uncertainties with a reliable payment partner

In the same thread of pain points, delivery delays lost packages, and unfavourable returns policies are also followed up as consumer concerns. It’s clear that logistical issues are closely related to customer satisfaction and the overall perception of a brand. Similarly, the seamlessness of payments extends beyond the sale, as chargebacks, refund requests, rewards, and cashback are all part and parcel of the payment, delivery, and fulfilment experience.

To remove some of the friction felt by consumers, merchants should look at the consumer journey holistically – beyond the point of sale.

Besides engaging reliable logistics partners to ensure the fulfilment of parcels, high costs can be worked into payment plans through annual fees or subscription fees for shoppers to ease the pressure of one-off high costs and reduce the risk of cart abandonment.

Chargebacks and refunds due to failed deliveries create administrative work for businesses and stress for consumers. Thinking of checkouts not as the final stage of the transaction but rather as the start of the journey towards parcel fulfilment and long-term retention will help businesses prioritise these essential elements of a good customer experience.

Retailers are upping their game, with Shoppee recently promising returns to be processed within two and a half days from an expanded network of 112 drop-off points. Big players are setting the expectations, so it’s clear that improving service levels is going to be key going forward.

Overall, as the e-commerce market matures, these expectations will only continue to grow. Consumers have more choices when shopping online and hence are more empowered to step away when their needs are not met.

But a smooth end-to-end customer journey is not only within reach of the super apps with huge teams at their disposal. Retailers of any size should consider establishing strong partnerships with payment providers or platforms that can support them in establishing and automating a seamless end-to-end customer experience.

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

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In 2019, a multi-author report flagged over 34,000 poorly-coded smart contracts, which put over US$4 million at risk across protocols on Ethereum. Web3 stakeholders have thus put an almost obsessive focus on clean and bug-free code. They’ve invested massively in security audits, formal verifications, bug bounties, and other ‘hands-off’ methods. 

However, researchers and experts from the Forta Network community point out that robust code isn’t enough for optimal Web3 security. Most exploits have nothing to do with code. They’re market-driven and target components beyond the developer or project owner’s control: third-party oracles, APIs, frontends, private keys, etc. And a ‘hands off’ approach doesn’t work for this reason. 

There’s merit to this claim. It’s further evidenced by reports from firms like Immunefi and Blockchain Security Alliance which revealed that Web3 projects lost over US$3.5 billion to hacks, scams, and breaches in 2022 — a more than 50 per cent increase vis-à-vis 2021. And besides that, the Web3 ecosystem witnessed several high-profile crashes and insolvencies like Terra and FTX, jeopardising trust and confidence.

The Web3 community must thus rethink threat detection and prevention. It’s high time to build and adopt innovative, problem-specific solutions. Leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) is crucial. But it also requires understanding Web3’s unique security concerns and where it currently stands concerning cybersecurity.

Panic mode and pause the protocol

Most Web3 projects enter into panic mode whenever they see any imminent threat. Their knee-jerk response in such scenarios is to ‘pause the protocol.’ Researchers at the Imperial College of London found that over 50 per cent of the 180+ smart contracts breached between 2018 and 2022 had useless pause functionalities.  

It currently takes around 24 hours to invoke a pause. That’s too slow, significantly, as hackers constantly improve their methods and processes. 

Also Read: How layer-2 rollups boost Ethereum’s scalability for broader Web3 adoption

Protocols usually have to pause everything since they lack targeted mechanisms. It’s a user experience nightmare that affects even legitimate participants for no reason. And this doesn’t help Web3’s goal of bolstering security for long-term, mass adoption.

The one-size-fits-all approach to Web3 threat prevention needs to be revised because each layer of the tech stack has different security requirements. Likewise, each alternative solution has its pros and cons. 

Projects thus need to choose solutions that best suit their risk appetite while prioritising user expectations. And in doing so, transparency is crucial since it enables users to make informed decisions. 

Projects must consider various factors while determining their threat prevention and mitigation strategies. For example, the adopted method should be feasible to increase the cost and friction for users. It’s essential to preserve composability, decentralisation, and robustness without introducing too much complexity or the scope for censorship. And above all, the solution should utilise the latest technologies for maximum potential.

Web3’s unique security concerns

Blockchain ledgers are often public, so anyone can know what each account holds. Vulnerabilities like smart contract bugs or compromised external dependencies can collapse entire financial systems due to knock-on effects. This underlines the unique nature of cybersecurity concerns in Web3. 

Though Web3 eliminates several attack surfaces common in Web2—like corruptible intermediaries, for example—it’s not 100 per cent attack-proof because there are blockchains underneath. On the contrary, Web3 introduces a range of new attack types, such as 51 per cent Attack, rug pull, reentrancy attack, etc. And the incentives to attack Web3 protocols are also more significant than in Web2.

In Web2, attacks like phishing happen via text messages or emails that trap users into sharing personal and identifiable information. In Web3, however, entering malicious sites or approving random EOAs can cause immediate and irreversible financial loss since hackers get access to users’ assets. The stakes are thus high both for attackers and their victims.

Another key challenge for Web3 security is the speed at which hackers invent unforeseen ways to exploit blockchain-based systems. For instance, while Web3 projects increasingly explored cross-chain bridges as a means to better interoperability, hackers managed to breach them and steal over US$1.4 billion. Rapid response and constant vigilance are mission-critical for robust Web3 security.

Threat prevention with AI and ML

AI is more than a cheeky technology coming to take away jobs and spread misinformation or fake news in the media. It’s Web3’s security lifeline, enabling tools to protect millions and billions of dollars worth of user funds. 

Coupled with ML, AI is a critical component of the efficient monitoring systems that leading audit firms like OpenZeppelin, ChainSecurity, MixBytes, etc., highly recommend. 

As Dr. Neha Narula from the MIT Media Lab says, “Machine learning can be used to predict and prevent future exploits. By analysing patterns and trends in data, it can identify potential vulnerabilities before they are exploited. This allows developers to take proactive measures to mitigate these vulnerabilities, making Web3 projects more secure for users.”

Moreover, Web3 attacks aren’t usually atomic — they don’t happen in a single block. It’s thus essential to prioritise runtime monitoring, which can increase the chances of dodging attacks. This adds further weightage to the case for real-time security measures in Web3. 

Also Read: Creator economy: How Web3 is changing the game for content creators

Web3’s threat detection capability has improved significantly in recent years, thanks to various innovative projects like Forta, Halborn, and Cyware Labs. From advanced pen-testing and smart contract auditing to real-time ‘Attack Detector’ bots, these projects bolster security vigilance and due diligence in Web3.  However, stopping identified threats’s still a long way to go. 

Flashbots, Mem pools, and zKProofs

Frontrunning exploit transactions was a viable defence against Web3 attacks in the past. But the rise of private mem pools, Flashbots, high-rate L2s, and zkProofs has made this method increasingly challenging and effective. Coordinating block builders and relayers is another option, though temporary. 

That’s where AI-powered automated pausing mechanisms or ‘circuit breakers’ can come in handy, similar to legacy stock markets. They can trigger security responses based on data from monitoring systems, seamlessly connecting prevention and action. This was unthinkable in Web3 so far, but not anymore. 

Further, innovating ways to implement automated circuit breakers specifically, not globally, can finally resolve the utter helplessness with which Web3 projects face attackers today. 

It’s a long game. But with Web3 poised to become a US$6 trillion market by 2030, there’s a good reason to play it well. After all, securing the Internet’s next paradigm and global user community is a question. 

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

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Singapore-based AI marketer Needle has closed a US$1.2 million oversubscribed pre-seed round led by local accelerator Iterative.

Ethos Fund and Goldbell Financial Services, besides angels, including Rainforest Founder JJ Chai, also participated.

The startup will use the funds to expand its team, including data scientists, AI trainers, and engineers.

“It’s never been easier to start a business, and it’s also never been harder to grow one. New brands need to find customers on multiple channels and transact with them on multiple platforms. On average, they are using over ten tools which is also a lot of data to make sense of and a lot of decisions to make. At Needle, we want to help founders cut through the noise, make sense of their data, and point them where to focus,” said Kiyan Foroughi, CEO and Co-Founder of Needle.

Also Read: AI revolution in marketing: Transforming the way businesses connect with customers

Needle was founded by seasoned e-commerce entrepreneurs and operators, including Foroughi. A serial entrepreneur, Foroughi previously founded Electric8. He is also a seed investor at Ometria. He was earlier Managing Director at Shopee (Sea Group).

It is an end-to-end AI marketer for the founders of rising brands, which are often resource-constrained and spend up to US$3,000 monthly for generic marketing campaigns with little to no ROI.

The startup begins by helping founders generate ideas, determines business and marketing priorities, and then provides personalised recommendations for effective tactics. From creating emails to preparing and launching ad campaigns, Needle streamlines the process using generative AI.

E-commerce brands first connect data from platforms like Shopify, Google Analytics, and Facebook Ads to Needle, which then sets goals and personalised tactics. The tactics recommended are taken from a database of proven marketing strategies and campaigns used at the world’s largest brands.

Also Read: How Shopee uses AI, data to build a marketing strategy that suits changes in user behaviour

The platform then takes action quicker and uses generative AI to create marketing campaigns and assets.

According to the startup, early customers who have implemented at least three Needle tactics have grown their baseline revenue to 1.5x over five months.
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A few weeks back, the world’s largest advertising agency, WPP, announced an AI partnership with NVIDIA. The partnership outlines that NVIDIA will empower creative advertising production by using exclusive visual content from Adobe Firefly and Getty Images created by NVIDIA Picasso, a foundry for custom generative AI models for visual design, and will be provided exclusively on behalf of WPP’s advertising clients.

This recent news underlines how generative AI has emerged as a powerful tool that is revolutionising the field of ad creatives among the world’s largest agencies and enterprises. By leveraging advanced algorithms and machine learning, generative AI enables marketers to produce innovative and high-performing advertising content with unprecedented efficiency.

As the cost to produce content trends to zero and the organic discovery becomes ineffective, the ability to attract attention towards various forms of content will become harder and more crowded. This cost dynamic increases the necessity of paid advertising to find new customers and realise meaningful traction, which is why we need to uncover how generative AI impacts marketers so that every marketing team can include it as a part of their toolkit.

Also Read: Unleashing the power of specialised AI startups in the era of generative AI

Before diving into the impact of generative AI on ad creatives, what is the most important objective of an ad creative production and testing process? The purpose of an ad creative production and testing process is to ensure the availability of fresh and viable creatives before active creatives approach their performance inflection point. Put simply, marketers need to launch new ads before their previous ads degrade and reach creative fatigue.

As a result, generative AI is a real breakthrough for advertising, given its ability to preempt creative fatigue with minimal cost. Tools like Runway, StableDiffusion, and Midjourney enable marketers to experiment with various iterations that were once of high complexity and cost, like video, and once commanded by an army of designers but now can potentially be covered by a SWAT-like team of two or three persons.

Depending on your perspective on this new process, the definitive value of using such AI tools is that it eliminates the need to understand the why behind a successful outcome, as we can now use processes like image inversion to feed the AI with your competitor’s assets, for example, to help create remarkably similar results and quickly cycle through various iterations until you get the campaign results that you want.

That said, the most important point that I want to underline here is not that generative AI will lead to substantial cost savings but that it is likely to produce outperforming advertising results that defy conventional human intuition.

Also Read: How to unlock new horizons with generative AI

For example, the critical value of tools like MidJourney and Stable Diffusion is to decouple the ideation process from the arbitrary aspects of advertising creatives that teams often believe lead to the success of their ad campaigns. By pairing MidJourney and Stable Diffusion with vast datasets and sophisticated algorithms, generative AI algorithms will identify subtle patterns and correlations that humans may often overlook.

This inherent capacity to uncover hidden insights enables marketers to reach highly targeted segments and achieve optimal campaign performance. Consequently, the value of generative AI is in its ability to push beyond traditional boundaries and consistently deliver superior results with significantly less effort.

For smaller and less resourced teams, the future of advertising production might be human creators who are advanced in procedurally parsing existing creatives and really good at generating high-quality variants from those components. This future is exciting because it is more likely to level the playing field between bigger and smaller advertising teams.

Ultimately, I want to highlight that generative AI tools provide value to the creative production process not so much by replacing the human, mechanical efforts involved in asset creation but rather by mitigating the risks associated with human biases when determining which specific creative elements outperform others because these processes will be led by unemotional machines.

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

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eFishery secures US$200M

Indonesia’s aquaculture company eFishery has raised US$200 million in its Series D funding round led by Abu Dhabi-based global fund manager 42XFund.

Malaysian public sector pension fund, Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (KWAP), Switzerland-based asset manager responsAbility, 500 Global, Northstar, Temasek, and SoftBank also joined.

The funds will be used to expand the eFishery farming community, targeting to engage over 1 million aquaculture ponds in Indonesia by 2025 and increasing the transactions of fish feed and fresh fish on the platform. The goal is to export fully traceable, chemical-free and antibiotic-free shrimp to international markets.

NEU Battery Materials scores US$3.7M

NEU Battery Materials, a Singapore-based lithium-ion battery recycling startup, secured US$3.7 million in an oversubscribed seed funding round led by SGInnovate.

ComfortDelGro Ventures, Shift4Good, Paragon Ventures I, and other angel investors also joined.

These funds will accelerate the deployment of NEU Battery Materials’s automated recycling line, which will lower operational manpower requirements. It will also develop partnerships in key global markets to support their battery requirements and forge new direct partnerships with electric vehicle OEMs and battery manufacturers to further the adoption of its technology within the transport and mobility sector.

Antler names Agung Bezharie as Partner

Singapore-based early-stage venture capital firm Antler has appointed Agung Bezharie Hadinegoro as a Partner.

Hadinegoro will spearhead Antler’s investment strategy and operations in Indonesia. This aligns with Antler’s plans to invest in over 30 Indonesian companies in 2023.

Hadinegoro brings over a decade of entrepreneurial and venture capital experience. Before joining Antler, he co-founded and headed Warung Pintar, a digital platform that connects micro retailers with suppliers (manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers). Warung Pintar, backed by East Ventures, SMDV, Vertex Ventures, and OVO, was acquired by SIRCLO Group in 2022.

Before Warung Pintar, Bezharie contributed to organisations such as East Ventures and Global Entrepreneurship Program Indonesia, where he actively empowered aspiring entrepreneurs by providing them with the necessary resources, funding, access to mentorship, and networking opportunities to flourish in the competitive business landscape.

NodeFlair gets US$2M in Series A

NodeFlair, a Singapore-based career advancement platform for tech talents, received US$2 million Series A funding.

Iterative led the funding round with participation from 500 Global and PERSOL VENTURE PARTNERS, HR management group PERSOL’s corporate venture capital arm.

Prominent angel investors Quek Siu Rui (CEO & Co-founder of Carousell), JJ Chai (CEO & Co-founder of Rainforest), and Siew Kum Hong (Former COO of AirBnB China) also participated in the funding round.

The new funding will be used to accelerate product development, expand into new markets across Southeast Asia, and grow the team. NodeFlair aims to reach profitability by 2024.

Stag raises US$600K

Vietnam-based financial education startup Stag was selected to participate in the inaugural Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR) programme managed by Viet Capital Ventures (VCV), including an investment in the startup.

Alongside VCV, NH Securities Vietnam Co. Ltd. (NHSV) and Singapore-based Resolution Ventures also invest in a seed funding round for the company.

This year, with the funding, Stag plans to continue enhancing financial education features while also launching new value-added products for retail and corporate users. It also plans to enhance KYC and security features and complete technology integrations with key strategic partners.

Furthermore, Stag is actively seeking collaborations with universities and educational organisations to promote and raise awareness of financial literacy in Vietnam.

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TikTok Shop Vietnam is currently one of the potential online sales markets for sellers. Along with the explosion in the number of users and the virality of many videos on the Tiktok platform. The birth of the Tiktok shop promises to be one of the “successful” e-commerce channels for sellers if they know how to seize business opportunities on this platform!

Citing the report “Shoppertainment: APAC’s Trillion-Dollar Opportunity”, TikTok said that Vietnam is one of the most potential markets for the trend of shopping combined with entertainment, which is expected to lead the commercial electronics in Southeast Asia.

The appearance of TikTok Shop has affirmed the throne of shopping combined with entertainment in the Vietnamese market within the past one year.

Sharing at the event, Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Dung, Chairman of the Vietnam E-commerce Association, said: TikTok Shop has been making significant changes in the appearance of the e-commerce industry in Vietnam. The remarkable progress of TikTok Shop in the past one year has confirmed the development prospects of this platform with the cooperation of the business community, merchants, content creators, and users.

In a short time, TikTok Shop has shown the special influence of this platform on businesses, sellers, and shoppers across the country. In the past six months alone, the GMV (total value of goods) of TikTok Shop increased 11 times, of which the number of orders increased six times. Some categories are taking up a large proportion, and the main customers of TikTok Shop today are fashion, accessories, food and beverages, beauty care, and electronics.

Also Read: How TikTok co-creation strategy is supercharging Southeast Asian SMBs

Currently, there are about 50 million hours of video watching on TikTok every day in Vietnam, not to mention watching live streams.

Besides, TikTok has become the user’s favourite discovery tool. Content on the platform stimulates them to discover new brands and products naturally, even making unplanned purchasing decisions. Half of TikTok users admit they discovered a new product or brand while using the platform, and 89 per cent made an unplanned purchase after watching a video on TikTok. This is also the highest number of all existing social networking platforms.

Sell to people who don’t need it

A representative of TikTok Vietnam said that TikTok’s idea is to sell to people who have no need. After implementing this idea, there were days when TikTok recorded 700,000 – 800,000 shoppers in Vietnam. The number of sellers is also up to several tens of thousands.

Specifically, the TikTok platform provides three types of services. The first is to help users be entertained when watching videos. The second is entertainment for learning, such as cooking skills, learning English, etc. Finally, TikTok provides shopping entertainment services. Users who view TikTok after seeing other people buy will generate shopping behaviour.

As can be seen, TikTok’s way of doing this is to create opportunities for buyers, sellers, and manufacturers so that all have to pay the lowest cost. Sellers and manufacturers can completely focus on their expertise, regardless of marketing, while buyers will buy goods at the cheapest price.

The representative of TikTok Vietnam explained that every person who produces any product has a reason. TikTok allows them to tell their story. People who use the product also have the opportunity to recount why they use the product. From there, ordinary consumers can listen and make decisions.

Accompanying the local economy

Not only quickly adapting to new shopping trends in Vietnam, but TikTok Shop also “paved the way” for Vietnamese specialities to come closer to Vietnamese people. In rural development, TikTok launches the OCOP Live Market project to sell OCOP specialities every Saturday morning, introducing OCOP products in provinces and cities nationwide.

Also Read: Unstoppable surge: Vietnam’s e-commerce growth continues to soar

Approaching the way of selling product stories, TikTok aims to improve the livelihoods of 20,000 local cooperatives, people from craft villages, and small businesses spread across 63 provinces of Vietnam, contributing to preserving the local traditional culture and promoting tourism in the regions.

TikTok Shop also organises professional training classes for farmers and businesses on how to build short video content, on creative advertising solutions TikTok for Business, and establishes a separate category for OCOP products on the Internet. TikTok Shop e-commerce features.

TikTok Shop continues to strengthen comprehensive solutions

It can be said that, after the period of explosive development, traditional e-commerce began to slow down and witnessed the explosion of social commerce (selling via social networks).

Experts say that social commerce is the future of retail. The combination of social media, video, and e-commerce has made shopping more fun and interactive. This is a two-way interaction between buyers and sellers, instead of one-way from sellers like current e-commerce platforms.

Before TikTok Shop, TikTok was very successful in Influencer Marketing (marketing by social influencers) with the explosion of short videos, KOC (key consumer) networks, and KOLs (people). influential in society) active activity on the platform has helped many brands reach their target customers more easily, thereby gaining consumer trust and revenue growth.

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SEA’s VCs raise fewer dollars in H1 2023 in sign of extended slump
Homegrown VCs closed 11 funds during the period, raising US$3.72B in total proceeds; While the number of fund closes was consistent with the previous six months, H1’s fundraising was less than half of the amount raised in H1 2022.

Zuckerberg claims tens of millions of Threads signups within hours of launch
More than 30M people have signed up to Threads, Meta’s rival to Twitter; Threads was introduced as a clear spin-off of Instagram, thereby sparing the new platform the challenge of starting from scratch.

Indonesia’s eFishery nets US$47.7M in Series D+
This brings the total funds raised for the round to nearly US$176M; eFishery supports aquaculture farmers through solutions such as B2B and supply marketplaces, smart feeding systems, and financing.

SeaMoney sheds jobs in Indonesia
The financial arm of Sea Group said the move is part of its “regular review of business operations” to maximise efficiency; The group retrenched about 7,000 staff throughout 2022.

Joel Neoh launches early-stage fund First Move
First Move will provide up to US$100K in funding to early-stage SEA ventures in e-commerce, fintech, and healthtech.

Li-ion battery recycling startup NEU Battery Materials raises US$3.7M
The investors include SGInnovate, ComfortDelGro, and Shift4Good; NEU has set up a 150-square-metre pilot recycling plant in SG, capable of processing ~150 tonnes of lithium batteries annually

Singapore’s NodeFlair gets US$2M Series A
The investors are Iterative, 500 Global, and PERSOL Venture Partners; NodeFlair provides payslip-verified salary data and detailed career information for roles across all levels of seniority.

BNPL major Atome confirms exiting Vietnam
The company said that Vietnam’s contribution to our overall business was limited; In April 2022, Atome debuted in Vietnam with a pilot spanning over 20 retail partners.

Ex-Shopee exec’s AI marketing startup Needle secures US$1.2M
The investors include Iterative, Ethos Fund, and Goldbell; Needle helps founders generate ideas, determines business and marketing priorities, and then provides personalised recommendations for effective tactics.

Antler names Warung Pintar co-founder as partner for Indonesia
Agung Bezharie Hadinegoro will lead Antler’s investment strategy and operations in Indonesia, where the VC plans to invest in more than 30 companies this year.

Bain & Company buys Rainmaking’s Asia business in undisclosed deal
With this, Bain hopes to boost its business-building services called Next, launched in 2022 to help founders go from ‘seed to scale’; Rainmaking has 50 employees in Singapore, Japan, and Korea.

Vietnamese financial education startup Stag raises US$600K
The investors are Viet Capital, NH Securities, and Resolution Ventures; Stag seeks to collaborate with universities, educational organisations to raise awareness of financial literacy.

Co-living startup Hmlet’s CEO steps down
Giselle Makarachvili joined the Singapore-based flexible living firm in January 2020 as VP (operations); One year on, she was appointed COO and then made CEO in October 2021.

You can’t post ass, Threads is doomed
Threads, the Meta-owned Twitter clone that launched this week, will always be hindered by its own content guidelines; The app is dry at best and at worst, leeching your personal data.

GM.co merges the best of Web3 and e-commerce to provide a better shopping experience
The transactions on GM.co are facilitated by cryptocurrencies and conducted over a blockchain to provide an added layer of security.

How AI-powered Dobin aims to empower half of Singaporeans who are financially illiterate
Dobin uses open finance and AI to provide consumers with a consolidated financial view, a personalised financial profile, and a permission-based app for getting value from their data

Driving financial inclusion in the Philippines: Why last-mile communities are key to winning the battle.
COVID-19 accelerated digital transformation in emerging markets, but the shift into digital payments in the Philippines is something that it has been aiming for.

The Mills Fabrica aims to transform agrifood, textile industries through its climate tech investments
It plans to invest up to US$3M in each climate tech startup and expand the model implemented in its impact retail platform Fabrica X beyond HK and London.

How to create harmony between work and life as a founder
There are a few things that we need to learn and unlearn if we want to establish harmony between our work and personal life.

Is generative AI the game-changer for productivity?
While Gen AI can automate various tasks, it cannot entirely replace human creativity, empathy, and critical thinking.

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Southeast Asia saw several emerging home-grown startups raising relatively smaller rounds of investments. In addition to domestic VCs, several foreign investors — from Japan to Europe — also came to invest.

Below is the list of investors that invested in the region’s startups this week.

Iterative

Singapore-based venture capital firm, Iterative, runs a Y Combinator-style accelerator programme. It launched its first fund in 2021, which has invested in over 65 companies in five cohorts.

500 Global

With US$2.5 billion in assets under management, 500 invests in founders building fast-growing technology companies. It invests far and wide across sectors and geographies, including 45+ companies valued at US$1 billion+ and 150+ companies valued at more than US$100 million.

Persol Venture Partners

The corporate VC arm of the Japanese HR management group Persol. Launched in 2015, Persol Venture Partners seeks to invest in the HR-tech sector.

This week, Persol co-invested in the US$2 million Series A round of NodeFlair, a Singapore-based career advancement platform for tech talents, along with Iterative (lead) and 500 Global.

Viet Capital Ventures

Established in 2018, Viet Capital Ventures (VCV) makes investments through Viet Capital Asset Management’s licensed portfolio management service. VCV invests in early- and growth-stage firms in Vietnam, emphasising companies with IT-based operations that already have revenue.

Resolution Ventures

It invests in seed to Series A fintech companies in Southeast Asia. It works with founders willing to tackle audacious goals on a global playing field. It looks for solutions that solve immediate problems around financial inclusion and the financial infrastructure in Southeast Asia that could be exported to the rest of the world.

VCV, Resolution Ventures, and other investors funded Vietnamese financial education startup Stag this week.

Ethos Fund

It invests in pre-seed-stage startups in Vietnam and the US. Ethos’s mission is to strengthen and leverage the connections between Vietnam and the US. In addition, it has established venture studios and programmes like Venture Protégé and Venture Fellowship that will provide a comprehensive support system for startups

SGInnovate

SGInnovate builds and scales deep-tech startups into high-potential companies with global impact. It focuses on adding tangible value to the deeptech startup ecosystem in two key areas: human capital development and deployment of investment capital. With the support of its partners and co-investors, it backs entrepreneurial scientists through equity-based investments, access to talent and business-building advice. Its focus areas are advanced manufacturing, agrifood, healthcare and biomedical sciences and sustainability.

ComfortDelGro Ventures

ComfortDelGro Ventures is the corporate VC arm of Singapore-based ComfortDelGro. It invests in transport-related technology startups, such as on-demand bus technology, fleet management, autonomous vehicles, fleet electrification, automotive engineering, and fleet management systems.

Shift4Good

Shift4Good is a VC fund manager investing in the decarbonisation of the transportation sector
With teams based in Paris and Singapore, it mostly focuses on European and Southeast Asian opportunities, particularly in the mobility sector.

It can deploy between €0.5 million and €20 million per company. It mostly invests in Series A and Series B rounds and can allocate 10 per cent of its funds to pre-Series A rounds.

Paragon Ventures

Paragon Ventures is an experienced merger and acquisition firm with long and deep experience in the healthcare sector. It has owned, operated and sold its healthcare businesses. It has represented and closed over 300 healthcare M&A transactions representing over US$1.4 billion in healthcare revenues.

ComfortDelGro Ventures, Shift4Good, and Paragon Ventures invested in NEU Battery Materials, a Singapore-based lithium-ion battery recycling startup, this week.

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Indonesia’s aquaculture company eFishery has raised US$200 million in its Series D funding round led by Abu Dhabi-based global fund manager 42XFund.

Malaysian public sector pension fund, Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (KWAP), Switzerland-based asset manager responsAbility, 500 Global, Northstar, Temasek, and SoftBank also joined.

The funds will be used to expand the eFishery farming community, targeting to engage over 1 million aquaculture ponds in Indonesia by 2025 and increasing the transactions of fish feed and fresh fish on the platform. The goal is to export fully traceable, chemical-free and antibiotic-free shrimp to international markets.

Co-Founder and CEO Gibran Huzaifah said: “The strategic support we receive from our investors will help us revolutionise the entire industry, especially by integrating Indonesian smallholder fish farmers into the eFishery ecosystem that spans the entire value chain.”

Also Read: eFishery secures US$32M loan from DBS Indonesia to support expansion move

Founded in 2013, eFishery is one of Indonesia’s largest digital co-operatives for fish and shrimp farmers. It offers an integrated aquaculture ecosystem that provides access to technology, supporting over 70,000 fish and shrimp farmers in 280 cities across Indonesia.

Its solutions include feeder technology that speeds up the crop cycle by up to 74 days, access to financial institutions worth more than US$40 million, and a platform to sell fish and shrimp crops.

The company has three main objectives: to address food security through aquaculture, to overcome fundamental challenges in the aquaculture industry by providing affordable technology, and to reduce social and economic inequality through an inclusive digital economy.

In October 2022, eFishery secured a US$32 million loan from DBS Bank Indonesia, as per a Tech In Asia report.

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