As Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology becomes more commonplace in the business world, more and more leaders are realizing the practicality of using it to support their company operations. There are lots of ways that AI can be advantageous for all sorts of businesses, and according to reports, current AI adopters are most commonly using the technology for various marketing and sales strategies. Many are using AI these days for lead generation, customer service, and ultimately, sales.

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So, while these uses are fantastic ways to make money, AI is not necessarily saving companies money upfront. The high initial cost of this technology is one of the most common barriers to adoption, especially for startups whose budgets are tight as it is.

However, it’s important that owners look at the savings potential for AI over the long term. Here are three ways online startups can keep more cash in their pockets by investing in the latest machine-enabled technology.

1. Improving the UX of Your Website

Nailing the look and feel of a website is often a top priority for most online companies. After all, without a physical location, the website is essentially the storefront. While the price of launching an e-commerce website can range depending on its complexity, it often costs companies US$5,000 to US$10,000 to create a good one.

However, just because a website is launched does not mean it’s finished. The next step is to continuously make improvements and changes in order to optimize the UX for customers, a process that can take months to complete, which of course, costs a lot of money.

AI systems can streamline the UX optimization process by using machine learning technology to correct the weak points and snags that are causing people trouble. Using reactive processes, AI systems can observe consumer behaviour and make the necessary changes to reduce issues that are compromising the UX.

Many online companies understand the importance of recording customer information, but this data is completely useless unless it is working to generate conversions. AI can be used to translate this data into personalized experiences for customers by learning their preferences and identifying triggers that prompt action, such as call-to-action button placement or relevant content recommendations.

AI can also be used to speed up the testing process before final changes are implemented on the site. The US-based online clothing brand Cosabella used an AI software system to run their A/B tests on their website design. The process of comparing various design variants and reporting results can take months – or even years – but with AI technology, the process only took roughly 3 weeks. This saved the company copious amounts of money that would otherwise have been spent on design teams and heavy market research.

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2. Avoiding Expensive Bad Decisions

Bad choices can mean major losses for a new business. For example, making one bad hiring decision for a new employee who either does their job poorly or quits soon after being hired could cost even a small startup up to US$11,000; not to mention the amount of productivity that may be lost due to their shoddy work.

Also Read: 8 things to consider when choosing a mobile app development platform

For this reason, many companies are incorporating AI technology into their recruiting strategies to avoid bad hiring decisions. These tools can qualify thousands of applicants in a short amount of time by narrowing down the candidates based on experience, keyword usage, and skill matches.

Some systems even use AI-enabled personal assessment tests to measure each candidate’s strengths and weaknesses and report how good of a fit they would be with the company. This information can certainly help hiring managers to make more informed decisions when it comes to bringing new people onboard. A shocking 96% of HR professionals believe that AI will make vast improvements in talent acquisition and retention in the future.

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In terms of retail, an extremely costly mistake that can be avoided with AI is inventory management. Overstocking is a waste of resources; whereas running out of inventory could lead to lost sales. Finding the balance and knowing how much product to have in stock is usually a guessing game (more or less), especially for startups who have no past data to guide them.

AI tools that use predictive analytics can forecast inventory needs based on large sums of data, such as changes in the market and consumer behaviour patterns. From here, online businesses can use this information to drive smarter dropshipping strategies by preparing for future inventory needs far ahead of time and avoid any issues.

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Even the smallest inventory mistake can be quite costly to a new business. While it may not be possible to avoid every single bad decision, AI technology can certainly help startups to make smarter choices and avoid ones that could end up as expensive disasters.

3. Automate Time-Consuming Tasks

Time is money for any business; this is especially true for startups with lots to do and so little time. Little administrative tasks are necessary to keep an operation running smoothly, but they can eat up precious time that could be spent making sales or brainstorming better strategies.

Also Read: 8 proven tips for successfully scaling an e-commerce business

Because of this, many businesses opt to outsource tasks like payroll, accounting, and customer service. While this method certainly costs less than hiring another employee to handle the job, it can still be costly and produce meager results.

AI systems can automate many of these time-consuming tasks while still providing businesses with control over its inner workings. AI personal assistants can take on the task of scheduling meetings, following up with leads, and even payroll or employee onboarding. Customer service chatbots can handle common customer FAQ’s and issues in an instant, delighting customers and saving startups the cost of hiring representatives. Businesses that use AI to automate tasks like these save roughly 25 hours a month and report 14 per cent increases in productivity.

Conclusion

AI systems have lots to offer online startups on shoestring budgets. Thanks to its ability to gather, analyze, and learn, it can fix many of the costly and time-consuming issues that new businesses face. By using this technology, startups can not only save themselves time and money, they can provide a better experience for customers in the long run, too.

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This article was first published on May 9, 2018

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PepsiCo, the global leader in beverage and convenient foods, announces the extension of its deadline for applications to its earlier announced Greenhouse Accelerator (GHAC) program in the Asia Pacific region (APAC) to 22 March 2024. With only one week left to the deadline, interested startups across APAC can seize this opportunity to collaborate, achieve business growth, and drive positive change toward environmental sustainability.

Launched on January 25th of this year, the pilot-oriented program is dedicated to fostering the advancement of APAC startups specialising in sustainable agriculture, circular economy, and climate action. Dubbed the Greenhouse Accelerator, this initiative offers finalists exclusive opportunities, including personalised mentorship from PepsiCo along with access to the corporation’s extensive networks and resources. Through this program, participants can expect tailored guidance and support as they navigate the challenges and opportunities inherent in these critical sectors, aiming to catalyse innovation and drive positive environmental impact.

Also read: 9Unicorns to facilitate $110M funding for 20 startups at DDAY 5 with 1500+ investors

As part of the program, PepsiCo will select up to ten applicants in APAC, including China. These finalists will each receive a US$20,000 grant and gain access to PepsiCo’s networks, resources, and expertise. Finalists will have the opportunity to pitch their ideas and receive guidance to scale and grow them to fruition. The selected startups will also receive personalised mentorship to help improve various aspects of their business, including product development, supply chain, marketing, and more. Additionally, potential pilot and partnership opportunities with PepsiCo and its partners may also be unlocked in the process.

The winning startup will be announced during an event in Bangkok in September 2024 and will be awarded US$100,000.

Spotlighting sustainability in addressing environmental challenges

Amidst escalating environmental challenges in the Asia-Pacific, the imperative for collective action underscores the region’s sustainability pursuits. PepsiCo’s APAC Greenhouse Accelerator program, now advancing into its second year exemplifies this collaborative spirit. This pilot-oriented, mentorship-based initiative supports innovative startups addressing the circular economy, sustainable agriculture, and climate action. 

Since its inception in 2017, the Greenhouse Accelerator has included over 86 companies across the Middle East and North Africa, Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa, the United States, and APAC. To date, the collective revenue of the emerging startups has exceeded US$20 million. Last year, the program received over 100 applications across the APAC region, with Powered Carbon delivering the winning solution. Powered Carbon’s low carbon fertiliser solution which uses CO2 to cultivate bacteria, has since been tested on potatoes in PepsiCo China’s Guangdong Farm. Other notable finalists from last year include MEDS Venture (Singapore), Green2Get (Thailand), and Adiona (Australia).

Also read: Sustainable development through empowering commerce in Indonesia

For the second edition of its program, PepsiCo has partnered with Suntory PepsiCo Beverage Thailand, Suntory PepsiCo Vietnam Beverage, the National Innovation Agency of Thailand, and Circulate Capital. This collaboration will drive solutions for a comprehensive range of environmental challenges while cultivating a sustainability-minded generation of entrepreneurs.

Aligned with PepsiCo’s pep+ (PepsiCo Positive) strategy to create a sustainable food system, the Greenhouse Accelerator program aims to make a positive contribution to society by creating a chain of reactions that create a sustainable environment for everyone.

To make a difference in the environment and empower a greener future, apply today for PepsiCo’s Greenhouse Accelerator program – APAC Edition. For inquiries and application details, please visit the official program website at: http://bit.ly/ghac2024. 

About PepsiCo

PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers more than one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated more than $86 billion in net revenue in 2022, driven by a complementary beverage and convenient foods portfolio that includes Lay’s, Doritos, Cheetos, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Mountain Dew, Quaker, and SodaStream. PepsiCo’s product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including many iconic brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.

Also read: SAFE STEPS D-TECH Community Hub is leading the way to a resilient future

Guiding PepsiCo is our vision to Be the Global Leader in Beverages and Convenient Foods by Winning with pep+ (PepsiCo Positive). pep+ is our strategic end-to-end transformation that puts sustainability and human capital at the centre of how we will create value and growth by operating within planetary boundaries and inspiring positive change for the planet and people. For more information, visit www.pepsico.com, and follow on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn @PepsiCo.

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

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Open Metaverse and Web3 giant Animoca Brands has invested an undisclosed amount in Param Labs, a gaming infrastructure startup based in the UAE.

The partnership strengthens the two companies’ existing partnership to accelerate the development of Param Labs’s scalable Web3 infrastructure and expand its ecosystem, which boasts over 50 IP partnerships with notable brands, such as GameStop, Pudgy Penguins, and Mocaverse.

Also Read: Animoca Brands to drive Web3 initiatives in Saudi Arabia’s NEOM City

“With our new funding, we’ll continue to invest in building out and scaling our current products while also advancing our ecosystem initiatives and fostering community involvementm,” said Anthony Anderson, founder and CEO of Param Labs.

With this deal, Animoca has also expanded its presence in the MENA region, following a partnership with NEOM to drive Web3 in the region and with King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology to establish a physical office and Web3 hub in Riyadh.

Param Labs develops video games and infrastructure to power the next generation of gaming. Its flagship Web3 multiplayer third-person shooter game, Kiraverse, allows players to compete, earn, and trade digital assets like characters and skins. Kiraverse is designed to promote digital ownership and user-generated value, leveraging Param Labs’s innovative technology.

Param Labs is also actively constructing technology to equip developers with the necessary tools to elevate their users’ blockchain-based experiences effortlessly. Additionally, its Pixel-to-Poly service enables users to transform 2D images into 3D playable in-game characters, compatible with Kiraverse and popular Web2 titles, including Grand Theft Auto V and Fortnite.

Also Read: Animoca Brands invests in Singaporean Web3 entertainment startup Imaginary Ones

Yat Siu, co-founder and executive chairman of Animoca Brands, commented: “Both Animoca Brands and Param Labs share a vision to redefine the gaming landscape and the open metaverse by leveraging the power of shared network effects.”

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Fintech Nation and its venture capital arm Fintech Nation Fund are appearing on Mediacorp’s business reality show on Channel News Asia, The Big Spark. In their appearance, which happens on March 15 to 22, the organisation will evaluate and potentially invest in startups from a pool of 24 contenders in the fintech, ESG, edutech, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), and health and wellness.

Fintech Nation Co-Founder Vanessa Ho, who had previous experience in the media and entertainment industries, believes participating in the programme will give startup founders advantages.

“The experience that founders will go through of being in front of the camera and a huge audience is a good training for them,” she says in an interview with e27.

“In my experience, founders who go to the public will eventually become very media-friendly … it will benefit them in future fundraising opportunities or when speaking to clients.”

Describing itself as a not-for-profit grassroots platform, Fintech Nation was founded by Varun Mittal to bring together the fintech community, regulators, investors, startups, and corporates.

Also Read: Daniel Tan: Banker turned fintech founder, finding opportunity in crisis and market inefficiency

Started in 2020 with the development of the Fintech Nation book, it supports access and scaling talent, capital, policy and venture development in Singapore. It has recognised over 250 individuals through the Fintech 65 platform and invested in multiple startups through the Fintech Nation Fund.

In supporting the fintech startup ecosystem, the organisation has worked closely with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Elevandi on various initiatives. It also has a role in events such as the Fintech Festival Investor Summit and Singapore Fintech Festival (SFF) Investor Hours.

According to Ho, Fintech Nation has three pillars of activities: Investments, community, and thought leadership.

“We invest in early-stage Southeast Asian companies, usually in the pre-seed and seed stages. Our domain expertise is in fintech, but we are sector-agnostic. So we have done deals across other sectors such as health tech, gig economy, and platforms,” Ho says.

Fintech Nation looks at different factors in assessing a potential investment, including a company’s Blue Ocean strategy. “We look at companies that are not fighting incumbents to find a niche space,” Ho stresses.

The organisation’s portfolio companies included crypto company Triple A, employee wellbeing platform Choys, health screening platform Mito Health, and financial services infrastructure provider Finfra.

However, the community and thought leadership pillars are where Fintech Nations sets itself apart.

Also Read: Is voice the next revolution in fintech?

“The part where we are different from other funds or VCs is that we spend a lot of time doing grassroots initiatives such as community events … We bring players from corporates, startups, investors, and regulators together whether it is for investment purposes, business opportunities, or knowledge sharing,” Ho explains, adding that the organisation also does nomination events and publishing books and reports with notable names such as Singapore Fintech Association.

This year, in addition to bringing back its flagship programme Fintech65, Fintech Nation wants to invest in more companies, doubling last year’s number of five.

“Many of our portfolio companies are going out to other markets; they are looking at the Middle East and Southeast Asia. So, we want to work with trade organisations such as government associations or the SG Innovate of their countries–to see how we can help market entry for our companies as well,” Ho closes.

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Image Credit: Fintech Nation

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As the world gets more digital, education is undergoing a revolution with new tools and approaches to enhance student learning. Education veterans Neo Zhizhong and Alicia Cheong began as private tutors over 10 years ago. After university, they founded School Plus in 2007, offering tailored math and science lessons. Despite early success, scaling became a challenge due to limitations in manpower and time.

“Personalisation was notoriously difficult to scale because of the growing number of students at the learning centre. Tailoring the experience was also a highly manual process that required extensive time and energy,” noted Zhizhong.

At this point, Zhizhong and his team knew they had evolved beyond their brick-and-mortar education centres to meet their vision of accelerating student learning. The scale of opening more centres would not be comparable to a technology-led approach. Going fully digital was the fastest way to achieve their vision.

Therefore, they launched Geniebook in 2017, an edutech platform that uses machine learning and human teachers to personalise each student’s education.

“Our next challenge then was bringing this product to the masses. As we rolled out the Geniebook platform to the public, the team sought and received feedback from both students and parents on how the apps could be improved. Doing so allowed Geniebook to rapidly iterate its products in tune with what its users desired, ultimately aiding the goal of creating a more scalable service,” said Zhizhong.

Today, Singapore-based Geniebook leverages a trifecta of artificial intelligence, live streams, and chatrooms to turn the educators’ dream of personalised learning into reality and drive measurable improvements in students’ performance.

Empowering learning: Geniebook’s suite of solutions

Leveraging AI Geniebook’s learning ecosystem offers a personalised experience where students can practice with tailored questions, attend classes, and seek clarification within the same platform. With real-time grading and support from dedicated advisors, Geniebook provides comprehensive learning solutions, including:

• GenieSmart: The AI-personalised worksheet generator harnesses proprietary AI technology, analysing over one million data points to recommend questions tailored to maximise student improvement. Questions dynamically adjust based on students’ mastery of each topic, with over 300,000 aligned with the Ministry of Education (MoE) syllabus. Expert-crafted explanations accompany personalised reports on student performance. Additionally, the AI-marking feature covers 80 per cent of all P3-P6 Science Open-Ended Questions (OEQs), providing immediate feedback.

Also Read: The solopreneur boom: How Finna is empowering the future of work

• GenieClass: Real-time online lessons feature experienced educators, including MOE/NIE-trained teachers, delivering interactive sessions with demonstrations and experiments. Weekly live classes accommodate flexible learning schedules.
• GenieAsk: The community platform enables real-time chat (Monday to Friday: 3 to 9 PM, Saturday and Sunday: 10 AM to 7 PM) and private messaging with teachers for instant doubt clarification and homework assistance.
• Learning rewards: The Bubble Store motivates independent learning with over 5,000 kid-safe items for redemption. Gamification elements, including achievement badges, streaks, and leaderboards, promote continuous engagement.

“We have been ahead of the curve in integrating AI into our business. At our core, we have been harnessing the power of AI for education since we started in 2017, well in advance of the AI boom we have seen in the last two years. To remain competitive, we are continually innovating and planning exciting developments for the future. Looking ahead, we see the immense potential of AI, especially generative AI, to revolutionise education and learning. The true power of AI lies in its ability to deliver measurable outcomes. By leveraging AI in strategic and innovative ways, we are poised to shape the future and unlock opportunities for success,” said Zhizhong.

Financial sustainability and growth: Revenue model and funding success

Geniebook operates on an annual subscription revenue model, offering packages for English, Chinese, Maths, and Science subjects tailored to students from Primary 1 to Secondary 4. Each subject subscription costs SG$270.48 per month and grants access to GenieSmart, GenieClass, and GenieAsk, along with associated learning rewards from the Bubble Store.

The company’s educational consultants also offer a complimentary Strengths Analysis to assist prospective parents in better comprehending the value of the learning ecosystem and how it aids their children in addressing specific learning gaps. Beyond that, learning advisors actively support users throughout their subscription period, ensuring maximum learning and academic improvement on the platform.

Most recently, Geniebook secured US$16.6 million in Series A funding led by East Ventures and Lightspeed Venture Partners, with participation from notable angel investors including John Danner (Founder of Dunce Capital), Gaurav Munjal and Roman Saini (Founders of Unacademy), Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal (Founders of Snapdeal), and senior executives from Grab, Shopee, and Gojek.

Also Read: Rayo: Transforming web accessibility worries into confidence for people with disabilities

With this funding, Geniebook’s total raised amounts to US$18 million, following its previous US$1.1 million pre-Series A round in 2019 from Apricot Capital.

Leading innovation in education: Geniebook’s future endeavours

Zhizhong noted that Geniebook aligns with Singapore’s Ministry of Education’s focus on nurturing joyful learning while highlighting the company’s commitment to continuous innovation, particularly by developing new AI modules and innovations to personalise further the learning experience for a wider range of students.

Harnessing large language models (LLMs) as a foundation, Geniebook is prototyping a Composition Grader capable of instantly assessing essays, providing feedback on grammar, vocabulary usage, text flow, and a preliminary score.

The company is also prototyping a Hints system designed to encourage ongoing student learning by providing targeted advice on demand, especially when attempting to answer challenging questions on GenieSmart worksheets. These marking tools, alongside ongoing advancements in AI, aim to accelerate student learning and improvement.

Geniebook is currently developing Geniebook CAMPUS, a hybrid model that merges online personalisation with offline instruction to create an engaging classroom environment, aiming to revitalise the traditional tuition formula for a post-pandemic world.

“As our children grow up, their ability to learn quickly and to adapt will remain essential for success. We are proud to offer a platform that empowers students to take control of and accelerate their learning,” remarked Zhizhong.

Geniebook has evolved from traditional tutoring to a tech-driven platform aiming to revolutionise education, leveraging AI technology to personalise student learning alongside human instructors. Its focus on innovation suggests continued development in AI-powered education, shaping the future of learning for students in a digital age.

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Image credit: Geniebook

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First Move, an early-stage fund launched last year by Fave founder Joel Neoh and former head of its BNPL unit FavePay Later Audra Pakalnyte, announced on Wednesday that it backed ten Southeast Asian startups in the first year. With an average investment size of US$100,000 per startup, the VC firm has invested in companies, including The Giggly Company, Evo Commerce, DeCube, Save Day, Koppiku, 3Cat, PayGap, and Collektr. A key highlight is that 35 per cent of the founders it has supported so far are women.

In an interview with e27, Pakalnyte discusses the VC firm’s mission, vision, investment thesis and how it contributes to the country’s startup ecosystem.

Can you share about First Move’s mission and vision for supporting early-stage founders in Malaysia?

First Move aims to fill a critical and often overlooked gap in VC financing, specifically at the idea stages (pre-seed funding, often at the pre-product/pre-revenue stage). Our mission is to invest in capable founders at the very inception of their entrepreneurial journey, thereby encouraging more entrepreneurs to launch their ventures.

Also Read: Dream big, start small: Joel Neoh shares lessons from his years with Fave

By focusing on this early and pivotal stage, we aim to accelerate the development of scalable ventures and nurture local talent, providing them with the essential resources they need to grow and succeed.

What sets First Move apart from other early-stage funds, and how does your team’s entrepreneurial background influence your investment strategy?

First Move is a fund by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs. Our firsthand experience in building, running, and scaling businesses informs our investment strategy, enabling us to understand the unique challenges and opportunities faced by startups.

This perspective allows us to offer practical, actionable advice and support to our portfolio companies. Our approach is not just about financial investment; it’s about building a partnership and providing a supportive ecosystem that enables founders to thrive.

Can you walk us through the selection process for choosing the ventures you’ve invested in, mainly focusing on affordability, financial inclusion, and the circular economy?

Given our focus on very early stages, often including pre-product or pre-revenue startups, our primary criterion is the strength and experience of the founding team. We value founders with diverse backgrounds, deep domain expertise, proven operational experience, and the leadership skills necessary to steer a startup through its formative stages.

Additionally, the industry space and the market size represent critical factors in our evaluation process. We meticulously assess the potential of each venture to address significant needs within its target market, considering the innovation and value proposition it brings.

The opportunity for regional scalability is another crucial criterion; we look for ventures that can expand beyond their initial locality, envisioning how they might capitalise on the broader opportunities within the region. We look for ventures that not only promise commercial success but also have the potential to make a positive social impact.

It’s impressive that 35 per cent of the founders you’ve supported are women. How does First Move prioritise diversity and inclusion in its investment decisions, and what benefits do you see in fostering a diverse startup ecosystem?

We prioritise talent and potential in our investment decisions, focusing on nurturing diverse talents. While 35 per cent of the portfolio companies’ founders are women, our commitment extends beyond gender, aiming to empower founders from all underrepresented groups.

We believe diverse teams bring innovative perspectives and solutions, driving creativity and problem-solving in the ecosystem.

How does First Move collaborate with other VCs and stakeholders in the ecosystem to maximise the impact of its investments?

We view collaboration as essential, working alongside VC firms and ecosystem stakeholders to enhance the impact of our investments. Since we invest at very early stages, building a pipeline of investable ventures, aligning with the country’s long-term goals and regional economy is crucial. This alignment ensures the ventures we support are scalable, investable, and capable of contributing to economic growth and positive social impact.

In what ways do you envision First Move contributing to Malaysia’s startup ecosystem in the long term, particularly in terms of economic growth and job creation?

We are dedicated to backing Malaysian and Malaysia-based founders, including the Malaysian diaspora starting businesses abroad and foreigners starting ventures in Malaysia. This commitment to a diverse range of entrepreneurs aims to spur innovation and scalable growth, significantly enhancing Malaysia’s entrepreneurial landscape.

Also Read: Joel Neoh joins hands with ex-Fave colleague to launch early-stage fund First Move

Our strategic investments align with the country’s broader economic and social goals, ensuring our supported ventures positively impact Malaysia’s economy and society.

What are the critical focus areas for First Move in its next growth phase, and how do you plan to continue empowering visionary founders in Malaysia and the broader Southeast Asian region?

We remain committed to being the initial funding source for startups, actively fueling the ecosystem with investable and scalable businesses. We focus on supporting ventures that develop tech-enabled solutions to consumer problems, aiming for a broader positive impact.

What is the impact of the funding winter on Malaysian startups? Crowdfunding platforms have been a significant funding source for Malaysian startups. Has this trend changed in the recent past?

The funding winter has presented challenges for startups globally, including those in Malaysia, leading to tighter capital availability and more cautious investment decisions across all stages.

For startups, this has meant a greater emphasis on demonstrating clear value propositions, sustainable business models, and paths to profitability. While the funding climate has become more stringent, it has encouraged startups to focus on operational efficiency, cost management, and innovative growth strategies.

This period has also shown that startups were exploring alternative funding sources, such as government grants, angel investors, and crowdfunding, which delivered excellent results last year.

We see this as a great time to invest in the early stages, as founders are building businesses with a strong unit economics foundation in mind from day one, which will lead to more sustainable business models.

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We’ve all heard cyberattacks are no longer a matter of ‘if’ but ‘when’. In today’s economy, where businesses are all part of a complex ecosystem of digital supply chains, decision-makers must build resilience against cyber-attacks, expecting major cyber incidents and crises to happen to them.

More importantly, however, they must do this in the context of their business and environment.  I explain two strategies that ASEAN businesses can adopt in their cyber operations today.

Cyber operations in ASEAN lack context

The average annual cost of cybercrime is rising, expected to increase from US$8.4 trillion in 2022 to more than US$23 trillion in 20271. Asia Pacific is particularly vulnerable when compared to its global counterparts, accounting for 31 per cent of all incidents remediated worldwide, according to the IBM Security X-Force Threat Intelligence Index 2023. 

Respondents cited the top forms of attacks across the Asia Pacific as spear phishing by attachment (40 per cent), exploiting public-facing applications (22 per cent) and cases of external remote services and spear phishing links tied at the third place (12 per cent).

The most common action on objectives included deployments of backdoors (31 per cent), ransomware (13 per cent) and malicious documents (10 per cent). The most common impacts observed included extortion (28 per cent), impacts on brand reputation (22 per cent) and data theft (19 per cent). 

A key reason for these vulnerabilities in Asean is that a lot of the cybersecurity software adopted by businesses in Asia has been developed by firms in the US and Europe, which lacks the collective intelligence of the Asian context.

Hence, when it comes to cybersecurity, Asia is always catching up, and attackers are aware of that.  As a result, it’s critical that companies build a successful defence with urgency and operate based on intel specific to their business context and environment.  

Also Read: 6 cybersecurity criteria for corporate compliance

The path to contextualided cyber operations depends on operationalising your data. This involves two distinct data-driven strategies:

• Profiling strategy for understanding and prioritising data with context
• Resilience strategy for responding and adapting to threats with context

Profiling strategy: Understand and prioritise data with context 

When it comes to cybersecurity, the first problem we solve for our customer is contextualising their data and making it operational.   

The market is not short of world-class tools that organisations can adopt to identify and detect security threats and vulnerabilities.  However, different tools generate different data that must be understood, prioritised, and acted upon for effective cyber operations.  The challenge is not the absence of data but the operationalisation of data that varies wildly in their ‘five V’s’: velocity, volume, value, variety, and veracity.

Businesses need to consolidate, process, and analyse data events before they can even decide what is important.  Solutions that aggregate and integrate from data sources work largely for software as a service or modern solutions.  Legacy servers, on-premise or in-house systems are notoriously difficult to operationalise — and they are still very much common in ASEAN markets.  

To add to the complexity, cybersecurity teams don’t just have a data management challenge; they have a data contextualisation challenge. Alerts, events, and logs must be understood in relation to the business context, made up of unique information about the organisation as and when they happen.

Context catalogues: Assets and controls  

To analyse data with the business context on-demand, the Human Managed platform automatically builds and continuously manages context catalogues, including but not limited to: 

• Asset catalogue: All your uniquely identifiable assets, their criticality and their relationship to the business services and products.  
• Control catalogue: Security controls deployed on each asset, their functions, policies, and operational status  

These catalogues form the foundation of the business context and determine the operational procedures for use cases.  For example, a bank’s critical business logic is banking transaction logic.  Knowing what assets (e.g. app, API, network) are involved in the entire transaction process and what security controls are operational on each asset is the context that will impact prioritisation and response.  

 As logs, metrics, traces, and alerts get normalised and processed through the Human Managed platform, they are analysed with the current state of assets, controls, and other context attributes.  This allows for contextualisation and triage of data up front, minimising manual intervention. By the time detection is notified to the customer, it is already prioritised based on the customer’s business context so that appropriate action can be taken.  

One of our customers, a leading ASEAN conglomerate, approached us with a widely shared problem in cyber operations: effective prioritisation. They had struggled with siloed asset databases for 20+ years and managing disparate cybersecurity tools across the public cloud, software vendor cloud, and on-premise. This resulted in manual and slow cyber operations, where many issues slipped through. 

The goal was to automatically contextualise and prioritise our customer’s cybersecurity issues as and when the alerts are generated. The customer’s job was completed when they chose 10 data sources to provide us with the required input (alerts, logs, metrics from SaaS and on-premises systems) and context (asset databases, strategies, and business logic).

Also Read: How an AI cybersecurity company harnesses the power of AI for optimal business performance

The Human Managed platform onboarded the customer’s data for continuous cyber operations in less than a month. We catalogued their assets, controls and attributes and structured their cybersecurity alerts, logs and metrics under one data schema and model. 

Resilience strategy: Respond and adapt to threats with context

Once you have visibility on your data sources and analyse them based on your business context, what do you do next — especially in the face of real threats and attacks, often with incomplete information and limited time?  

While many companies say they have a playbook (procedural steps for response), timely response is another set of challenges, because they require specific conditional steps to be executed across physical and digital assets. Even with playbooks that detail a checklist of required steps and actions, businesses are up against cyber threats and attacks with wildly varied velocity, volume, value, variety, and veracity.  

Threat and attack patterns consistently change and are difficult to predict.  Therefore, having the relevant intel and action steps to react and respond — upfront and at speed — goes a long way. At Human Managed, we solve this problem by applying the same principle of contextualising security events and making them operational — not just for intel generation but for decisions and actions.

We build a customised cybersecurity playbook and runbook (detailed sequence of conditional steps) for cyber use cases and operationalise them by translating them into data flow and models and automating them wherever possible.

Context flows: Playbooks and run books  

To analyse security exposures, threats, and attacks with the business context on-demand, the Human Managed platform builds and manages context flows, which determine the data-driven pipelines and workflows for recommended actions to fix or resolve the issue or incident in question.  Context flows are made up of playbooks and runbooks with the objective to:  

• React: Contain and mitigate issues triaged by the platform as a short-term fix.  
• Resolve: Remediate and resolve issues triaged by the platform as a long-term solution.  

Playbooks and run books form the foundation of the business context workflows and determine the operational procedures for response. They are stored and managed as databases that get triggered when specific use case conditions are met.

For example, malware detected on a non-critical asset in the development environment will trigger a playbook and runbook to accept and monitor the threat, whereas the same malware detected on the critical system in the production environment will trigger multiple playbooks and run books simultaneously to mitigate the threat by containment and launch back up service.

Security logs, metrics, traces, and alerts are processed through the Human Managed platform, and they are analysed based on the current state of assets, controls, and other context attributes such as risk threshold and tolerance. 

Also Read: The business edge: Why prioritising employee cybersecurity is a smart investment

By the time detection is dispatched to a customer, it is already prioritised based on the customer’s business context, with recommended playbooks and run books.  The above graphic provides examples of the process followed when business-context-specific conditions for digital, cyber and risk management are under threat.  

Our experience with one of our clients who took no action over two years, even after 40,000 violations were generated from 100+ firewalls, demonstrates the stifling impact of complex change management and unknown implications for organisations. Human Managed prioritised three playbooks to optimise firewall rules that were immediately actionable and had a high impact. 

By embedding contextualised analysis throughout the entire security event lifecycle, a customer spends less precious time gathering intel, triaging, and responding — they can act and adapt with higher speed and accuracy, which is critical for resilient cyber operations today.  

Conclusion: Resilience by design and intervention

The foundation for cybersecurity begins with complete visibility over enterprise data and the controls around it. This allows for regular investigations into the quality of controls, while keeping a regular look-out for suspicious activities that may breach data guardrails.

Unfortunately, with heightened and ever-evolving cybercrime, the reality for established businesses is not if a business will be attacked but when. Hence, the goal becomes one of resilience, rather than defence — how soon can operations bounce back from identified threats and attacks?

The key strategic and operational change for cybersecurity leaders in today’s digital age is to see data as not only a type of asset to protect but an intelligence-generating asset that can be embedded in everyday operational decisions and actions.

This can be proactively designed and intervened systematically by contextualising data throughout the entire lifecycle, from its initial generation to the action that it triggers. When all data is understood from the lens of business priorities and analysed based on defined tolerance and existing controls, businesses will improve their ability to anticipate, withstand, recover, and adapt to threats.

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A year after its launch in 2022, Singapore-based digital bank Trust Bank reached a 12 per cent market share, becoming one of the world’s fastest-growing digital banks. By the end of 2023, the company said that its customer base had grown to over 700,000, or 14 per cent of Singapore’s bankable population, with deposits grown to S$1.9 billion (US$1.4 billion).

“Since we went live, we have been fortunate to have received very, very strong client feedback and adoption … It has been a strong start, even though it is very early days for us,” Trust Bank CEO Dwaipayan Sadhu tells e27 in an interview.

Trust Bank is a joint venture between Standard Chartered and FairPrice Group, whose network of businesses includes coffee shop chain Kopitiam and insurance group Income Insurance. This large ecosystem of companies is viewed as one of the keys behind Trust Bank’s success.

“The fact that we are an ecosystem and are integrated into various parts of the client’s daily lives helps us create real value for clients. For example, almost all Singapore residents have a LinkPoints card. Trust is the only way to accelerate your rewards on it,” Sadhu points out.

“We know that people are concerned about inflation and the cost of daily living. And the fact that Trust allows you to get tangible savings at FairPrice makes it a compelling value proposition for clients.”

Also Read: UNOAsia secures US$32.1M to provide digital banking services in Philippines

Another key point is the improved user experience that Trust Bank offers customers and the proposition built around simplicity and transparency.

“If you look at the market, there are many innovative and complex products. However, clients often tell us that products become too complex over time. As a result, clients feel that many headline rates seem very attractive, but they cannot enjoy those rates or do not know how they can enjoy them.”

Digital banking customers in Singapore

When it comes to the profile of digital banking customers, one usually assumes that this service is geared towards the younger generation. However, according to Sadhu, the one surprising thing about their user profile is how well-distributed their demographics are.

“When we were first launched, there was some myth or expectation in the market that digital banks mostly attract only young customers. Younger customers are usually the early adopters of digital banks. But our experience has not been like that,” he says.

“We have clients who are young, much older, and in the middle age. We have a very well-distributed profile of clients mirroring the Singaporean population. This is possibly a reflection of the fact that everybody has digitalised over the last three to four years. So, it is no longer the case that some people are digital and some are physical, though it is true that some people might be further ahead in the digital curve.”

When asked about key learnings about the Singapore digital bank customers, Sadhu shares two key points: Singapore digital bank customers love rewards. They are also already accustomed to banking products.

Also Read: Securing tomorrow’s finances: Navigating the rise of digital banks with cybersecurity

This delivers a particular challenge for any banking service entering the market.

“It is not a question of getting somebody unbanked to bank with you; it is more of making sure that you meet the unmet needs,” Sadhu points out.

“A great example is the interest rate that banks promised them but do not make it easy to earn. So, how do we build on that? How do we ensure that our terms and conditions for maximising interest rate and reward points are transparently built into the app so that every time you spend on the card, it is clear how far you have progressed and how much more to go to maximise your earnings. And clients have told us they liked this transparency because it is not something they enjoy with anybody else.”

This learning helps Trust Bank figure out the next innovation they want to launch. Sadhu points out that most digital banks are launched in the market with just one product, introducing a new product line as they go. However, Trust Bank went live with various products, including a credit card, a deposit account, and general insurance, distributed from NTUC Income.

“We knew having a wide product set is important in a competitive market like Singapore. We have held many client sessions, and clients have also told us they want a wider product offering than just a single product,” he says.

“Since then, we have further enhanced our products. For example, we have introduced personalised financial management or PFM. As a tool in the app, we have brought more forms of insurance. We have also introduced supplementary credit cards and an unsecured loan product, which we call instant loan, towards the middle of last year.”

It is also looking forward to bringing more variants of loan products and building investment propositions.

What is next for Trust Bank

Trust Bank is currently run by a team of 260 people based in Singapore.

Also Read: Digital banking in Indonesia: Growing importance and future trends

For the next stage of their journey, the company plans to build on the milestones they have achieved in less than two years since their debut.

“We want to establish ourselves as not just a digital bank, but as a major bank in Singapore,” Sadhu says when asked about the company’s 2024 plan.

“We believe that we want to establish ourselves as the fourth largest bank in Singapore. As a new entrant just launched in 2022, exiting 2024 as the fourth largest bank in Singapore will be ambitious, but it will also be quite a statement to make in the market.”

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Image Credit: Trust Bank

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Leapfrogging to voice

Businesses in the Asia Pacific increasingly cater their products toward digital natives. These, of course, are millennials and younger generations who grew up with digital technology as a way of life, as compared to a person who had to adopt it as a digital immigrant.

There is a new technological cohort that businesses should cater to; voice natives. These are people who grew up accustomed to interfacing with devices through their voice, as popularized through assistants like Amazon’s Alexa or Apple’s Siri.

This comfort for voice-enabled interaction cannot be emphasized enough, as their counterpart, those voice immigrants, tend to prefer legacy interactions like typing, pointing and clicking with a mouse or trackpad, or navigating via touchscreen. These voice immigrants, in short, prefer tactile feedback.

Why should businesses in the Asia Pacific care that there is an increasing number of people opting for voice over tactile interfaces? It’s because the use cases for voice is evolving, and evolving fast.

Most people in the region still associate voice with low-level commands: You can ask your voice assistant to play a song for you on Spotify, research basic queries through Google and recite them back to you, or check your schedule on your online calendar.

Also Read: The Brexit dilemma: will London still maintain its standing as a fintech hub?

But the voice will increasingly be shifting toward higher-value work, owing to the current state of mobile penetration.

Between 2018 and 2019, mobile penetration has risen in Indonesia by 9 per cent, the Philippines by 14 per cent, Malaysia by 17 per cent, Thailand by 19 per cent, and Vietnam by 24 per cent. The rise of mobile ownership in ASEAN sets the stage for the rise of voice.

“Southeast Asia has produced a whole digital generation whose first experience with the Internet is via smart mobile devices. The region is set to leapfrog technology once again with digital transactions initiated and fulfilled, more and more, via voice,” said Nilendu Mukherjee, the Regional Sales Head for ASEAN at Financial Software and Systems (FSS), one of the companies at the heart of this new tech frontier.

Founded in India in 1991, FSS services companies around the world, providing them with end-to-end payment solutions that include everything from issuance and digital banking to analytics and payments processing. Its latest solution is what it calls FSS Voice Commerce.

FSS Voice Commerce connects with the core systems of banks on the back-end, allowing their customers to conduct transactions through any voice-capable device made by Amazon, Google Home, Apple, and all the other brands in the space. Powered by machine learning, FSS Voice Commerce analyzes customer behavioural patterns and other data points to predict the next step of the conversation.

Preparing the voice ecosystem

Before consumers can regularly check their bank statements via their voice, pay their bills or merchants, or engage with advisory services, the banks themselves need to be first on board. There needs, in short, to be an ecosystem around voice. The ecosystem is just as important as the innovator, a fact you can see in spaces like grocery-delivery.

While Webvan pioneered the concept of grocery-delivery as early as the dot-com boom, it was not until the broader ecosystem of logistics, payments, and other key partners arose that allowed the industry to flourish in such companies as Instacart, Amazon Fresh, Google Express, and Brandless.

Also Read: The 8 contenders to watch for in Vietnam’s burgeoning fintech ecosystem

In much the same way, FSS is also focused on building its broader ecosystem of partners. The company is exhibiting at Seamless Philippines this week, as part of a larger initiative to grow its ASEAN presence, given that the region has now surpassed the west in digital payments growth.

FSS believes that voice will play a crucial role in developing its market leadership.

“FSS is gung-ho on voice as part of the company’s two-pronged approach to strengthen its market position: consolidating key strategic partnerships with leading banks, processors and fintech companies to develop targeted payment propositions; and investing heavily to build state-of-the-art infrastructure to drive growth and innovation. In this way we capitalize on a booming digital payments market,” said Ram Chari, FSS Global Business Head.

This premise is promising, given the growing ubiquity of voice-enabled devices. There are already 2 billion such devices in the hands of consumers worldwide, and 54 per cent of their users turn to these voice assistants at least once a day.

If a voice-driven future becomes a reality, consumers in ASEAN can look forward to more seamless and convenient user experience for their financial services.

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Image Credit: Ilyass SEDDOUG

This article was first published on October 2, 2019

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India’s leading multi-stage accelerator fund, 9Unicorns, will be hosting the much-awaited fifth edition of its Global Demo Day or DDay 5 on 24th April 2024. This year, the 9Unicorns Portfolio Companies expect to raise $110 million on the global demo day.

The previous editions of DDay were a huge success, with over 70 participating companies raising over $472 million. 56+ companies successfully raised further rounds of financing from global Marquee Investors and family offices.

9Unicorns, which has backed successful startups like ShipRocket, Videoverse, Blusmart, Join Ventures, Leverage Edu, Zypp Electric, Rooter, and Ethereal Machines, amongst others, will be hosting this flagship event across three time zones — the US & North America, Indian Subcontinent, and the Middle East. 

Over 20 startups led by disruptive entrepreneurs will showcase their businesses to over 1,500 global investors, family offices, and prominent venture capital funds. In this edition, participating startups hail from sectors across e-commerce, energy, SAAS, fashion, fintech and financial services, consumer brands, and media and entertainment. Through this event, these startups stand a chance to gain global exposure from investors at the event.

Bridging startups and investors

“DDays are a great opportunity for startups to connect with investors all around the world and showcase their offerings. This helps startups gain international exposure and build further rounds for growth. We are expecting a very good response from investors in the fifth edition,” said Dr Apoorva Ranjan Sharma, Managing Director and Co-founder of 9Unicorns and Venture Catalysts.

Also read: Sustainable development through empowering commerce in Indonesia

On average, most of the participating companies have raised about $3 million, and are seeking to raise $110 million. These companies are playing a pivotal role in empowering small businesses, aiding financial inclusion, and reducing the energy footprint of individuals and commercial properties.

These startups have been mentored by senior industry professionals and domain experts. They have been guided by serial entrepreneurs on their strategy, business, and roadmap in terms of product and operations.  Based on their past track record, these companies have scaled four times to twelve times in the past 12-18 months and achieved a strong product-market fit with users and enterprises. 

Interestingly, about 60% of the founders are serial entrepreneurs who have built, scaled, and exited profitable businesses in the past. Some of the first-time founders have scaled their businesses from 0 to $1Mn in less than 2 years, showing phenomenal dedication and commitment to addressing global problems. 25% of their current rounds are already committed by global investors from Europe, the US, MENA, and India.

Also read: SAFE STEPS D-TECH Community Hub is leading the way to a resilient future

DDay events serve as a pivotal platform for early and growth-stage companies to secure funding. The distinctive feature of these Demo days lies in their meticulous selection process, focusing on startups with impressive track records and a strong emphasis on profitability and growth. 

About 9Unicorns:

Mumbai-based 9Unicorns, founded by Dr Apoorva Ranjan Sharma, Anil Jain, Anuj Golecha, and Gaurav Jain, is an accelerator program backed by successful founders & leading CXOs for early-stage startups. The company believes in adding value to its portfolio companies by going beyond capital to help first-time founders and seasoned entrepreneurs build their next venture and become the next leaders in their category.

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This article is produced by the e27 team, sponsored by Venture Catalysts

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