AgriG8, a Singapore-based startup that aims to decarbonise rice production, has secured an undisclosed investment from Better Bite Ventures, a local early-stage VC firm, and The Trendlines Group of Israel.

“This investment will fuel our regional pilots of an inclusive financing solution that encourages sustainable practices among rice farmers and improves their livelihoods,” said David Chen, co-founder of AgriG8.

Co-founded by Chen and Joshua Tan, AgriG8 supports smallholder farmers in rice-growing Asian countries and helps them adopt practices that can reduce methane emissions.

Also Read: Rize seeks to decarbonise rice cultivation in Asia with US$14M Series A raise

Its digital platform allows access to finance and incentivises methane-reducing farming practices, while the gamified smartphone app CropPal helps them report emissions-reducing practices they have implemented.

Additionally, AgriG8 uses satellite images combined with machine learning to validate water management practices associated with methane reduction. Its water management system, called alternate wetting and drying (AWD), combined with other solutions can lead to a 55 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

AgriG8 has completed the pilot in central Thailand and will start the next pilot in Tra Vinh, Vietnam, and Battambang, Cambodia, during the next planting season.

Rice production has the highest carbon footprint among crops globally. It is responsible for up to ~2 per cent of all greenhouse gas emissions, on par with the global aviation sector.

According to PwC and Temasek (source), rice is one of the five major sources of greenhouse gas emissions in Asia’s food and agri sector – together with meat and dairy, deforestation related to palm oil production, fertiliser use and food waste.

Also Read: Better Bite Ventures launches US$15M fund for early-stage alt-protein startups in Asia

In Vietnam, rice contributes more to emissions than the entire transport sector combined.

Reducing the carbon footprint of rice production is necessary for governments across Asia and many food companies globally to reach their net-zero targets.

Last month, Rize, another agritech platform that aims to make sustainable rice cultivation viable through innovative and data-driven practices, closed its US$14 million Series A funding round, which was co-led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures, GenZero, Temasek, and Wavemaker Impact.

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Image Credit: AgriG8

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Taiwan’s AppWorks Accelerator has unveiled the 16 startups that participated in its 28th demo day in Taipei.

The batch featured companies connecting social commerce with offline channel logistics, innovative payment solutions, and new applications for blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI).

As a batch, AW#28 hosted 38 innovative startups, with founders hailing from 17 different countries and regions, including Greater Southeast Asia, the UAE, South Korea, the US, France, Finland, and beyond.

Also Read: Pavilion Capital, AppWorks invest in US$21.3M Fund II of Philippine VC Foxmont Capital

As many as 20 per cent of participating startups were founded by female founders.

AW#28’s demo day featured the following companies:

ADPList: A global mentorship platform to access knowledge from experts (Singapore)

XO: AI-powered and blockchain-verified conversational platform for Gen Z (Taiwan)

Borong: B2B bulk e-commerce platform (Malaysia)

EQUO: A one-stop-shop omnichannel platform of curated, high-performance, quality products for the conscientious consumer (Vietnam)

Orderfaz: Shopify for social commerce sellers (Indonesia)

Event Horizon: DAO meta-governance layer (the US)

Return Helper: End-to-end solution for cross-border e-commerce returns (Hong Kong)

ShipAny: Smart logistics gateway for e-commerce (Hong Kong)

ABConvert: Specialised A/B testing tool for e-commerce (Taiwan)

Ajourney: One-stop HR and payroll platform for businesses in Southeast Asia (Singapore)

Quantlytica: AI-powered crypto asset management infrastructure (Finland)

Olli: AI-powered operating system for toy manufacturers to turn toys into children’s personalised companions (the US)

Qiro Finance: On-chain private credit protocol (Singapore)

Exchequer Finance: Allows projects to self-insure token risk, incentivising users with time premiums instead of tokens (Singapore)

Also Read: Why Asia provides exciting opportunities for Artificial Superintelligence Alliance to scale

Jomud: Digitised career consultation using AI for university (Hong Kong)

Cheko: Bridging students with subject experts for homework assistance (Philippines)

“With the addition of AW#28, we have now nurtured 563 active startups in 14 years. Among them, 30 per cent have successfully raised Series A funding or beyond, and nearly 100 can be considered large enterprises with revenue exceeding US$6 million or have successfully completed IPOs/IEOs. Additionally, there are nearly 100 hidden champions that have achieved sustained profitability through bootstrapping,” said Jamie Lin, Chairman and Partner of AppWorks.

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Social media platforms like MySpace, Friendster, Facebook, and Twitter reshaped communication with the infinite connection of the internet. However, these platforms are centralised protocols. Because it all connects to one server, this often leads to privacy breaches, data misuse, and lack of user control. As social media platforms intensify their rules on users, people are actively seeking better and more secure alternatives.

Enter social finance — SocialFi for short. SocialFi runs on blockchain technology and functions in a decentralised network, giving more freedom to users and better security for both people and personnel. As a reward for using a SocialFi platform, users can earn money just by existing on it. As of April 2024, 5.07 billion people have social media accounts. This number makes SocialFi projects able to appeal to a wide audience, which could lead to mass adoption.

SocialFi is rapidly experimenting with diverse social media functionalities, potentially beginning a new era of digital interaction that gives more power and liberty to the people.

Leveraging zero-knowledge proofs for enhanced privacy in SocialFi

SocialFi relies on zero-knowledge (ZK) proofs. Providing anonymity in SocialFi, zero-knowledge proofs (ZKP) facilitate secure and private user identity verification. Their integration represents a major advancement in how user identity is safeguarded, managed and secured online.

According to research by Protocol Labs, the ZK proof generation market will reach a US$10 billion value by 2030, with an expected demand for nearly 90 billion ZK proofs to power Web3 services.

Also Read: Financial world is the first to be transformed by Web3: Saison Crypto’s Qin En Looi

“The ZK proof market is up-and-coming and already moving towards tangible use cases. Identities are at the heart of the rapidly expanding decentralized social layer, including decentralised social media, DAOs, reputation systems, and on-chain gaming,” Kitty Horlick, Director of Rarify Labs said, “Moreover, the use of ZK proofs is accelerating due to the urgency with which identity credentials are needed both within Web3 and Web2 as AI-generated bots and deep-fakes make it increasingly difficult to discern humans – and human-generated content – from machines and AI-generated content.”

For example, SocialFi platform AsMatch has a unique approach to social connectivity, emphasising matches based on shared interests. The platform uses ZK proofs for identity checks like zkKYC. It integrates Manta Network’s zkBAB and zkGalxe for decentralized and trustless KYC verification on-chain.

Additionally, the platform goes beyond the concept of typical social media by nurturing connections and enabling trade among users. The platform’s ZK badge system allows users to verify financial credibility, such as “whale” status, or individuals or entities with significant holdings of digital assets.

Rewarding community participation

SocialFi platforms revolutionise engagement by rewarding user participation, standing in stark contrast to traditional social media’s one-sided value extraction. These platforms, such as Friend.tech and AsMatch, leverage NFTs and digital assets to reward user contributions ranging from content creation to community involvement. This model not only motivates active participation but also fosters a sense of trackable ownership and social time investment among users.

Through such mechanisms, SocialFi introduces a sustainable ecosystem where contributions tangibly value and reward users, marking a significant shift from conventional models that monetise user input without providing direct benefits to the contributors themselves. Friend.tech, a decentralised social network, encourages user engagement through a system called “Keys”, enabling individuals to tokenise and monetise their social influence for access to private chat rooms and exclusive content.

Also Read: Why Asia is dominating the fight for Web3 gaming

Innovatively expanding on this concept, AsMatch, the first Social L3 on Manta Network powered by Polygon CDK and Celestia DA, democratises SocialFi with a community-first approach. AsMatch supports the everyday user by offering rewards for interactions within the platform. Users can elevate their engagement by minting and bonding the zkPortrait, a unique AIGC zkSBT that serves as a Decentralised Identity (DID).

AsMatch’s complete decentralisation and secure, private communication systems underscore a commitment to user empowerment and reward, ensuring that each interaction is valued and recognised in the Web3 space.

Critical role of innovations

The decentralised social media sector has matured, offering Web3 counterparts to traditional platforms. Mastodon serves as a decentralised version of X (formerly Twitter), operating through independent servers. Meanwhile, DTube‌ enables a community-driven video-sharing service that rewards content creators with cryptocurrency, ‌democratising the content creation and curation process.

However, the landscape still needs further development. The mainstream appeal of social media has led to 1.4 billion hacked users monthly. As malicious attackers change their methods, so does cybersecurity. Innovations like ZK proofs are going to be crucial for enhancing SocialFi platforms’ overall security and data integrity, improving user satisfaction with verified digital identities.

In the future, it is expected that the Web3 social sector will exceed US$101.2 billion by 2033. These innovations will shift toward enhancing user control, privacy, ownership, and monetisation.

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In 2023, Hong Kong’s financial headlines centred around cryptocurrency, painting a predominantly negative picture. Seven per cent of coverage related to Hong Kong in global tier-1 media across 2023 was negative, according to a financial hub analysis by CARMA.

In comparison, two per cent of Singapore’s coverage was negative, while Dubai had a statistically negligible percentage of negative coverage. We question if this reinforced Hong Kong’s image as an unfavourable destination for talent and global crypto firms.

Crypto news dominated Hong Kong’s media coverage in 2023. In the first half of the year, there was a surge in positive coverage regarding Hong Kong’s efforts to boost crypto trading.

This included significant events such as the licensing of crypto exchanges like Huobi and OKX, the green light for the first retail cryptocurrency exchange, and the legal recognition of cryptocurrency as property.

However, attention shifted dramatically in the latter half of the year as the media extensively covered the JPEX scandal.

Amidst a year marked by turbulence in Hong Kong, we explore the significance of a financial hub maintaining a robust reputation as portrayed by the media.

What was the crypto media landscape like for Hong Kong in 2023?

Domestically, the Hong Kong media extensively covered the scandal, considering it the largest cryptocurrency fraud case in the region, involving HK$1.5 billion (US$191 million).

Local media outlets attributed responsibility to celebrities, key opinion leaders, and brands for failing to conduct proper due diligence before associating with JPEX.

Apart from the JPEX scandal, other crypto news included the Hong Kong BC Technology Group exploring the sale of its crypto platform, OSL. Today, we know that, ultimately, it did not take place. However, those rumours alone captured a large volume of attention and media mentions.

Also Read: How this 12-day programme by SMUA equips you to detect potential FTX-like scams in future

Financial coverage related to Hong Kong thus portrayed a grim outlook for the region.

Reputation plays a significant role in attracting top talent and skilled professionals who prioritise security and stability.

Throughout 2023, Hong Kong experienced a brain drain as skilled workers migrated to Singapore or other hubs, highlighting the impact of reputation on talent retention.

What were the spillover effects of the JPEX crisis?

Despite these challenges within the cryptocurrency realm, the industry still thrives.

Globally, the media’s response to the crypto scandal in Hong Kong was not one of shock, given the prevalence of similar scams in the crypto and fintech sectors worldwide.

Consequently, while Hong Kong’s status as a cryptocurrency hub took a hit, its international reputation remained largely intact. It is unsurprising that Hong Kong, being a global financial hub, became a target for such scams.

Notably, Consensus, the premier cryptocurrency event, announced that its 2025 edition would be hosted in Hong Kong, underscoring the city’s enduring prominence in the crypto sphere and suggesting that its reputation as a crypto hub has not suffered irreparable harm.

In neighbouring hubs like Singapore, firms like Coinbase and Ripple secured licenses in the same quarter.

Similarly, over in Dubai, the media reported on crypto.com receiving a licence to operate in the country.

Strengthening reputation through media intelligence

The reputation of a city (or an organisation) is at stake when confronted with a public-facing or high-visibility crisis. While the causes of such crises may vary, what truly matters is how we choose to react and respond.

In today’s corporate landscape, reputation management has gained significant importance, prompting CEOs to prioritise it alongside other critical business units.

Also Read: Temasek says FTX could have duped it

The ability to reclaim your narrative is key when a crisis happens. Every statement issued or message released is a step towards taking back control. With news breaking at the speed of light, it’s crucial to rely on intelligence and analysis to effectively address and manage the incident.

Media intelligence, which examines and evaluates media coverage, offers a roadmap of reputation pillars and areas of visible recognition and helps assess the extent to which a crisis might tarnish reputation. In-depth analysis of the collected data then guides the development of strategic recovery approaches.

In-depth analysis of the collected data then guides the development of strategic recovery approaches.

The Hong Kong government, for instance, made concerted efforts to mend its public image by implementing initiatives to boost the public’s understanding of crypto.

Cultivating trust and a positive reputation fosters consumer loyalty. Trust encourages consumers to exhibit greater levels of forgiveness, particularly during challenging times.

The findings were based on CARMA’s report.

The content of the report was collected using a selected set of keywords and search queries, focusing on global tier-1 online media. CARMA analysed 41,000 articles in total from 1 January to 31 December 2023, that featured major mentions of each city: Singapore, Hong Kong and Dubai.

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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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Hello founder,

Are you having a tough time with fundraising this year so far?

I totally get it.

Oh yeah, before I forget, let me introduce myself. I’m Jackie, co-founder of BorderDollar — we’re a non-LLM startup in the B2B embedded financing space. I know, right — fintech is so 2018, and LLMs are still the rage these days. But hey, my co-founder and I are retro like that.

That said, while I’d like to say that “startup founder” is my main job, these days I just drive a bus. Speaking of which, here’s my bus.

Come onboard, the Struggle Bus is a bit crowded but there’s still space for you. Just make some space for AI founders that missed the 2023 bandwagon — we’ll pick them up in a bit.

Where are we going? We’re gonna go on a journey and discover why it’s been so hard to fundraise this year.

The destination? An abyss of despair and darkness (probably). And maybe just a glimmer of hope at the end of the tunnel.

Also Read: Understanding fundraising and VCs: Essential reads about cap tables, exit strategies, and job titles at a VC firm

Regardless, it’s useful information for existing founders and those who are about to embark on their fundraising (don’t do it, fellas).

2024 is a terrible year, and I miss 2021

To understand what’s going on, here is a very handy image from KPMG (thanks nerds) on the state of funding in Asia between 2018 to Q1 2024. If you’ve noticed, life was increasingly good between 2018 to 2021 when both the number of deals and total funding amount were high.

Without going too deeply into details, this happened because the interest rates were low during 2021, which meant LPs had to allocate money to things that had higher returns, i.e. startup investments, to hedge against inflation. A greater appetite for risky bets meant that anyone with an idea scribbled on a napkin could have received pre-seed or seed funding in those days.

Post-2021, you can see that the trend is reversing, i.e. the graph went down for both deal numbers and volume across all stages. This is because interest rates increased again after 2021, and we didn’t see any high numbers of M&As and IPOs after that. Without M&As and IPOs, LPs don’t get their money, and if LPs don’t get their money…no money goes back to VCs, and subsequently, that means no money for startups (you).

Gone are the days when T*g*r Gl*b*l literally chased founders with term sheets — these days, it’s courting a VC for six months only to get a “no, you’re a bit too early for us” even though you’re post-revenue and have somewhat of a product market fit.

What’s that? Haven’t you got the memo? Pre-Series A metrics are the new seed metrics now. Your peers, whom you thought were amazing, are also going through this pain. Expectations have gone up sky-high, and that means you have to have tons of traction, signals, or tailwinds to help them build conviction in you.

How to survive 2024

My point is that if you’re having a really tough time fundraising, there’s a fair chance that it’s not your fault. Part of it lies in the funding climate these days so don’t beat yourself too much over it.

Also Read: If there is one thing investors are afraid of, it is lack of commitment from founders

To founders out there onboard the Struggle Bus, here are things you can consider to survive the following months until things get better:

• Get more revenue (crazy idea, I know)
• Charm angel investors (hit up your rich, bored, and supportive friends for checks of $5-50k)
• Find a side hustle (no problem for those who already have day jobs)
• Increase your luck surface area by telling the world that you exist (like writing an e27 article 🙂 or posting on LinkedIn)
• Become an indie hacker (let’s get SaaS-y)
• Reach out to your fellow founders and have a pity party (make sure they’re not alone in this)

Hey now, are those tears I see? Wipe your tears, and don’t despair too much, founder. Here are some comforting words from your bus driver.

Firstly, if you look back at the graph above, you will notice that VC investments do pick up in Q3 and Q4. There are many reasons for this, but if it’s of any comfort, we’re (at the time of writing this) a month away from Q3. Hang in there, bro/sis.

Secondly, if you can survive this, you can survive anything. No, seriously — those who find a way to survive under such unfavourable circumstances will be unstoppable. The implication is that you’d be forced to figure something out to survive.

You’ll be better for it, I promise you. Now go, stop reading this article and get back to work.

Don’t forget to update your progress with your potential investors as well.

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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.

Join our e27 Telegram group, FB community, or like the e27 Facebook page.

Image credit: Canva Pro

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