Asia, home to more than half of the global population, offers vast potential for impact investments, according to Tan Shao Ming, Chief Investment Officer at ABC Impact, a Singaore-based private equity firm investing in companies creating positive change in Asia.

“Since we began our work, the Asia impact investing space has grown rapidly in awareness, volume, diversity, and standards,” Ming said in an interview with e27. “More investors and companies now recognise the relevance and importance of positively impacting our society and the environment. The deal flow in Asia has also increased in both value and segments.”

Also Read: How climate tech companies in Asia measure the impact of their work

While the region is diverse in its impact needs and challenges, we have observed that impact capital can help address bottlenecks in crucial areas such as agricultural productivity, bioenergy, and healthcare, particularly in Southeast Asia. “China and India continue to hold massive potential for such outcomes in healthcare, education, and financial inclusion. Positive transformation in these segments can help uplift entire generations and communities,” he added.

Founded in 2019, ABC Impact invests in companies driving positive change by addressing the world’s most pressing challenges, such as climate change, resource scarcity, and deepening inequality. Its investment themes include financial and digital inclusion, better health and education, climate and water solutions, and sustainable food and agriculture.

Its founding investors are Temasek Trust, Temasek, Pavilion Capital, Mapletree Investments, Seatown Holdings, SP Group, and Sembcorp Industries.

Recently, the PE firm announced the first close of its second impact fund. Launched in August 2023, ABC Impact Fund II now has over US$550 million in assets under management (AUM). The final close is expected later this year.

Fund II will continue to focus on the climate & water, sustainable food & agriculture, better healthcare & education, and financial & digital inclusion themes.

“Since our inception, more sovereign investors and family offices have become increasingly interested in impact investing in Asia. With the new investors that have joined us in Fund II, we can now extend our collective influence to further the impact agenda,” Ming shared.

Also Read: Temasek, SeaTown invest in ABC Impact’s Fund II

The investment firm is also focused on catalysing climate technology for the Asia region. Last May, the firm and sustainable chemical company Indorama Ventures led a £20 (US$25) million Series B funding round in Polymateria Limited, a biotransformation technology company combating plastic pollution.

“Since our investment, we have introduced our portfolio companies to potential Asian customers. Given our access to Asia and to the impact ecosystem, we are well placed in helping innovators from around the world deploy and deliver their solutions in Asia to address the region’s pressing environmental challenges,” Ming concluded.

In 2022, the fund exited Singapore-based solar company Sunseap.

As per a study, impact investing is expected to see faster growth compared to other ESG investing approaches, with the main drivers being institutional adoption, next-generation wealth, and Asia transition progress.

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A new study has revealed that Singapore’s Artificial intelligence (AI) investment rate has outpaced the US by 16 per cent per thousand $GDP.

This is despite the US being the largest investor in AI, with US$328,548 million spent in the last five years.

Although being placed tenth in the amount of money spent, Singapore invested an amount equivalent to 1.5 per cent of its GDP in 2022, according to the AI statistics report curated by AIPRM.

As of 2023, the AI market size was valued between US$136.55 billion and US$454.12 billion. The largest share is in North America, with an estimated value ranging from US$87.18 billion to US$167.3 billion, accounting for more than a third (36.84 per cent) of the global AI market share.

Also Read: DANA Indonesia advocates fintech companies’ vital role in advancing financial inclusion

Asia Pacific contributes significantly (23.93 per cent) to the total AI market size. Japan and South Korea, in particular, are key players in AI, valued at US$20.2 billion and US$16.3 billion, respectively, as of 2022.

The survey was conducted in December 2023 and engaged 6,000 US adults.

The global AI market is an economic powerhouse worth almost US$455 billion. The market size could exceed US$2.5 trillion by 2032 at a compound annual growth rate of +19 per cent.

According to the report, the predominant workplace use of AI is email spam filters, utilised by 78.5 per cent of respondents. Around three in five (62.2 per cent) workers employ chatbots for customer service questions.

For the complete study on AI statistics, please find the link here. 

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VETA Finance, an on-chain platform supporting margin trading of structured products, has closed its US$2.85 million strategic funding round.

Matrixport Ventures, the VC arm of Matrixport, led the round with the participation of imToken Ventures, WT Capital, Future Money Group, and 280 Capital.

The money will be used further to optimise the supply of the platform’s structured products, strengthen its IT system, and achieve a new round of business growth.

Also Read: What is cryptoeconomics and why is it crucial in decentralised networks?

“Digital assets are among the world’s most volatile yet fast-growing asset classes. To enable investors to navigate the opportunities within the crypto industry, VETA Finance transforms the ‘volatility bonus’ of these assets into financial products that are convenient and accessible. With the support of our investors, we plan to enhance our offerings, maximising safety and returns, said Founder Daniel.

VETA Finance specialises in structured products for digital assets, including the entire service chain of decentralised financial platforms, structured product quotations and operations for exchanges and other channels. Backed by its trading desk, it has developed a Margin System for ‘exotic options’, allowing investors to buy structured products by pledging mainstream assets like BTC and ETH so that investors can earn from both the collateral and the structured products while holding onto their assets.

Exotic options are hybrid financial securities that offer unique and customisable payment structures, expiration dates, and strike prices. The assets that underlie these options also include non-traditional assets and securities.

Together with its OTC Request for Quotation System, Automated Dynamic Hedging System, and Pool Valuation Monitoring System, VETA Finance creates a secure and efficient on-chain structured product platform.

Also Read: Zignaly’s DAO aims to remove boundaries from your crypto investment portfolio

VETA Finance offers a variety of products with different returns and risk structures, such as Snowball, Snowball with Floor, Enhanced Snowballs, FCNs, Shark Fins, and Dual Currency to meet the needs of diverse customers. The core structured product “Snowball” has exceeded sales of US$20 million.

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X marks Echelon. Join us at Singapore EXPO on May 15-16 for the 10th edition of Asia’s leading tech and startup conference. Enjoy 2 days of building connections with potential investors, partners, and customers, exploring innovation, and sharing insights with 8,000+ key decision-makers of Asia’s tech ecosystem. Get your tickets here.

Want more from your Echelon experience? Be an Echelon X sponsor or exhibitor. Send enquiry here.

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Omnichat, the one-stop messaging integration platform that offers conversational commerce solutions in the Asia-Pacific region, announced a significant revenue growth of 10 times in the second half of 2023 compared to its first half in the Southeast Asian market. 

“We are shaping the business world with conversational commerce,” Alan Chan, Founder and CEO of Omnichat, remarked. “The outstanding results encourage us to go further in the Southeast Asia market, and we are confident that our innovative solutions are going to empower more businesses to achieve sustainable growth,” Chan added.

With 300% Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) growth in the past three consecutive years, Omnichat is loved and trusted by over 5,000 international companies including Dyson, OSIM, FILA, Logitech, Sa Sa, Venchi, and Eu Yan Sang, among others.

Unlock the power of conversational commerce with a proven track record

Leveraging Omnichat’s chat commerce solutions, Singapore’s leading apparel label iORA has successfully improved customer journeys and efficiency through 80% automation. Ng Hao Ping, Marketing Manager of iORA, commented on the implementation of an omnichannel strategy, “With the rising trend of ‘Online-merge-Offline Retail’ in the Asia-Pacific market, we can divert traffic across online and offline seamlessly and increase the overall conversions, thus providing a superior customer shopping experience.”

The exceptional efforts and achievements of Omnichat have garnered award recognition from prestigious organisations and clients. The company has received the Gold Award for Best Pandemic Response at the Loyalty and Engagement Awards from Marketing Interactive, the Silver Award for Best Use of Digital Solution at the MARKies Awards, and the Digital Strategic Partner Award at the Watsons Health, Wellness, and Beauty Awards from Watsons.

Also read: Echelon X: 10 years of empowering the SEA startup ecosystem

Omnichat, in collaboration with the international health and beauty retailer and leader, achieved a significant accomplishment by securing the Gold Award for “Best Use of AI/Chatbots” at the esteemed Asia eCommerce Awards 2023, presented by Marketing Interactive. This achievement stands as a testament to Omnichat’s unwavering dedication to excellence and innovation in the industry.

The campaign allows customers to consult with pharmacists, dietitians, Chinese medicine practitioners, or beauty consultants on WhatsApp, which is available to customers worldwide and helps them purchase suitable products easily and conveniently.

Deliver cutting-edge marketing technology to achieve personalisation in the digital age

Omnichat’s recent introduction of the Social Customer Data Platform (Social CDP) and Omni AI has further enhanced operational efficiency and has generated higher conversions for brands. The Social CDP collects customer identities from various social media platforms, maps them to unique customer profiles, and consolidates the data into a comprehensive customer database, facilitating automated and personalised shopping journeys. 

With the integration of ChatGPT, Omni AI serves as a digital assistant for content generation and product recommendations, allowing brands to create seamless communications and optimise customer support, marketing, and sales services with artificial intelligence.

Also read: Empowering businesses: Lalamove’s impact on local enterprises

“The digital world is ever-changing, we have all witnessed the evolution of AI technology this year,” said Alan Chan. “We believe our AI-powered chatbot Omni AI can further enable brands to drive revenue growth to the next level. We are excited to bring our clients more cutting-edge features and solutions.” 

Achieving record-breaking business growth in the Southeast Asian market, Omnichat is planning to extend its strategic market penetration in the global market and is looking to close the Series B round of funding this year.

For more information, visit www.omnichat.ai.

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This article is produced by the e27 team, sponsored by Omnichat

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Earlier this week, Indonesian fintech startup DOKU announced the launch of its Wallet-as-a-Service (WaaS) offering, a
complete e-wallet infrastructure APIs, which allows businesses to add e-wallet capabilities within their ecosystem and offer embedded wallets for their customers.

In introducing this service, the company teams up with Tomoro Coffee and Coda, which already use WaaS services in their routine operations.

DOKU provides a complete suite of online and offline payment solutions, serving over 150,000 merchants across many industries, including TikTok, Google, Garuda, Prudential, and Traveloka. As one of Indonesia’s oldest-running fintech startups, the company has seen it all. Established in 2007, it entered the market when cash was the most popular payment method in the country.

But today, digital payments have become an integral part of the lives of Indonesians. How did DOKU adjust to the changes in the market, and what plan do they have to stay relevant amidst tight competition?

In this email interview with e27, DOKU Co-Founder & COO Nabilah Alsagoff reveals them all. The following is an edited excerpt of the interview:

After years in the industry, what valuable changes have your company gone through? What is the most important milestone that you have achieved?

We will proudly celebrate our 17th anniversary in the Indonesian fintech landscape in early April of this year. Our journey began with a mission to assist international tourists in making digital payments for hotel bookings, aimed at contributing to the recovery of Bali’s tourism following the 2005 bombing incident.

Also Read: DANA Indonesia advocates fintech companies’ vital role in advancing financial inclusion

Over the past 17 years, we have evolved from being a payment gateway to establishing ourselves as a prominent fintech payment company to over-industry solution products, serving a diverse clientele of over 150,000 merchants ranging from enterprises to SMEs.

We earned trust and received challenges from our merchants. As we committed to bringing solutions for payment fintech challenges, we came up with solutions, which is why we have a wide range of products and services. Of course, this is followed by the comprehensive licenses. Our merchants’ pain points actually helped us shape our product strategy over time as we witnessed the fintech industry evolve in Indonesia.

On top of that, our mission remains the same: to make payments easy for everyone by streamlining complex enterprise payment processes and making them more efficient.

In addition to launching this wallet-as-a-service product, what other strategy do you use to adapt to changes in the local market?

Indonesia’s market is very fragmented, and people have different behaviours related to payments according to their needs and surroundings.

Moreover, merchants’ business requirements change dynamically; thus, we believe the industry would need a scalable payment infrastructure that can grow together with their business. DOKU offers a single payment platform with a complete range of payment products that can easily be mixed and matched by various businesses from different categories and scales for a smoother payment experience.

What valuable lessons have you learned from operating in Indonesia?

Our industry is regulated by Bank Indonesia (BI, the Indonesian central bank). Hence, it is important that we pay attention to all the guidelines, especially when releasing new services. We are expected to innovate fast to keep pace with the market demands, and it is necessary for us to balance this with compliance requirements. There is no shortcut to it.

Also Read: Understanding the role of fintech, blockchain in transitioning to net zero

What do you think will be the most important fintech trend in Indonesia this year?

BI foresees a continual surge in digital banking transactions, with projections indicating a 23.2 per cent growth in 2024 and 18.8 per cent in 2025.

Open Banking will start to be mainstream, as it gives customers more control over their financial data, enabling them to access a wider range of products and services. This drives innovation for new players such as digibank or even the smaller banks to enter the market and compete.

Another notable trend is QRIS payments, especially now with the option of cross-border acceptance. We will see many merchant apps embedding QRIS in their ecosystem, whether online or offline, for a seamless and customised checkout experience.

What other innovation do you plan to launch in 2024?

As DOKU moves towards payment fintech solutions, we will still focus on providing merchant-facing solutions beyond payments. For example, there will be more products and services designed ‘as a service’ to support the backroom operation of a company, on top of our bread-and-butter ‘accept payment’ solutions.

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Image Credit: Doku

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