VCs face hundreds of startup pitches on a regular basis, so they don’t have time for bullshit.  For startup founders who wish to impress the VCs, it’s important to get their pitch decks up to scratch. They need to do their homework and include any pertinent facts and figures.

The following slideshare by J.Skyler Fernades perfectly encapsulates what any VC would look for in a pitch deck. Enjoy!

Image Credit: dolgachov / 123RF Stock Photo

This article was first published on September 26, 2017

The post A guide to creating the ultimate investor pitch deck appeared first on e27.

Dear reader,

In recent months, Southeast Asian tech startups have faced significant challenges, leading to a wave of layoffs across the region. The latest company to downsize its workforce is ShopBack, a leading shopping rewards platform.

ShopBack’s decision to downsize its workforce by 24% — 195 employees –reflects a strategic shift towards sustainability and efficiency in the wake of rapid expansion.

According to CEO Henry Chan, ShopBack aggressively focused on expansion over sustainability in 2021 and early 2022 by scaling the team from 550 to over 900 when the economic situation was favourable. However, from Q2 2022, when market sentiments shifted and aggressive growth became unsustainable, its focus turned to cost efficiency. This led to the last resort.

CEO Henry Chan’s candid message underscores the gravity of the decision and his personal accountability for pursuing overly ambitious growth strategies.

Chan’s emphasis on minimising future layoffs by implementing more substantial reductions underscores the company’s long-term vision for stability and resilience.

As businesses worldwide navigate economic uncertainties, ShopBack’s strategic realignment offers valuable lessons in adaptability and prudent decision-making for sustainable growth.

Sainul,
Editor.

—–

NEWS

ShopBack lays off 195 employees to become ‘self-sustainable’
A leaner and more agile team, significantly different from ShopBack’s current organisational structure today, is needed to succeed, says CEO Henry Chan.

Philippine startups raised US$956M in 2023 amidst funding winter
While this is a relatively modest dip (14%) year-on-year, the number of deals increased by 16 per cent to 96 in 2023; Fintech (22 deals), B2B SaaS (14), and e-commerce (13) were the top 3 funded verticals in 2023.

Kaya Founders looks to back 30-40 startups in SEA with new funds
The VC firm has invested in 44 companies, spanning e-commerce, SaaS, healthcare, financial services, and agriculture; Kaya invests in pre-seed to Series A, with the cheque size ranging between US$100K and US$500K.

EFishery acquihires Indonesian AI-powered IoT startup DycodeX
The deal will let eFishery expand its AI plans, which include an upcoming brand called eFishery.ai; Currently, eFishery has one AI-powered product called eFeeder, which allows its clients to enable automatic feeding for fish and shrimp cultivation.

AnyMind Group sets foot in Malaysia by acquiring e-commerce enabler Arche Digital
Arche Digital’s operational expertise in e-commerce will be combined with AnyMind’s proprietary software for e-commerce and marketing to strengthen its BPaaS capabilities for enterprises in Malaysia.

B Capital closes US$750M Opportunities Fund II
Opportunities Fund II will make primary and secondary investments in later-stage companies across the VC firm’s core sectors of technology, healthcare and climate tech, with a focus on North America and Asia.

Verifiable digital identity startup Accredify raises strategic funding
The investor is Okta Ventures; Accredify uses blockchain technology to ensure the authenticity of a shared or received document, protecting against fraud and forgery.

NUS Enterprise commits US$15M to help university grads, alumni turn deeptech entrepreneurs
It will provide US$155K pre-seed funding each to successful teams under the NUS Graduate Research Innovation Programme; It aims to boost the translation of cutting-edge research and innovation by NUS faculty and researchers into impactful solutions.

GoTo Group logs adjusted profit for Q4, plans to buy back US$200M worth of shares
In Q4 2023, the company’s adjusted EBITDA improved to US$4.9M, recovering from US$197M in adjusted losses in the same period the year before; GoTo expects to hit group-level adjusted EBITDA breakeven for the full 2024 financial year.

GoTo, TikTok to launch BNPL service in Indonesia
In an earnings call upon the release of GoTo’s Q4 2023 results on March 19, GoTo Financial head Thomas Husted said BNPL has shown promising growth prospects; Financial services is expected to be a significant driver of the group’s growth.

Ex-Alibaba Group CEO Daniel Zhang joins Chinese VC firm Firstred Capital
He brings 16 years of experience to Firstred; He led the transition of Tmall from a purely PC offering into a mobile app and spearheaded the idea of “Singles Day” in the platform.

SCB 10X backs rendering tool for interior designers Spacely AI
Spacely AI is expanding its global footprint, serving users from Thailand, the US, Portugal, and several other countries; Spacely offers 12+ innovative features, 100+ interior curated premium styles, and supports more than 100+ space types.

Indonesian edutech platform PINTAR raises US$3M in pre-Series A funding
PINTAR offers various online education programmes for college and university levels, enterprise training programmes for employees, boot camp certification and masterclasses.

Binance founder unveils new project amid legal woes
The platform Giggle Academy provides education for grades one to 12 learners, according to its concept paper; It is also a zero-revenue platform that uses AI and automation and is fully online.

Crypto exchange OKX ceases services in India
The move follows Apple and Google pulling the eponymous app of OKX in the country after an Indian government agency said many crypto exchanges were operating illegally in the South Asian market.

FEATURES

AirX Carbon turns coffee grounds, rice and coconut husks into bioplastic
Its biodegradable products are used as shoe soles and in electronic devices, household appliances, and furniture; AirX has set up a production facility in Long An Province in Vietnam with a production capacity of 100 tons per month.

Forte Biotech: Helping farmers with early detection of prawn diseases in Vietnam
The timely identification of disease outbreaks allows for targeted treatment strategies, reducing the need for costly interventions; Forte Biotech was one of the three winners of the Net Zero Challenge 2023 in Vietnam.

Book Excerpt: How entrepreneurs can implement visual thinking to achieve success
In their latest book, esteemed academic lecturers Sherrie Low and Goh Ai Yat reveal the transformative potential of pictures.

KodeGo allows Filipino workers access digital skill development programmes
It implements a flexible payment scheme that includes a study-now-pay-later format while providing end-to-end career assistance and support for its students post-training; Each curriculum takes between two and 22 weeks to complete.

MiyaHealth reveals details of its expansion plan to Indonesia, the Philippines
MiyaHealth builds digital infrastructure to power healthcare. It serves all facets of healthcare by enhancing interoperability.

CONTRIBUTORY ARTICLES

From peak scrolling to personalised communities: The Gen AI solution
As AI drives change, creators aiming to build a Gen AI app must reassess data flows to craft a magical, creative Gen-AI experience with meaningful data.

Bold moves: Capitalising on market dips in edutech
The examples of Memeland and Animoca Brands highlight the potential for businesses to achieve significant leverage by strategically “buying the dip” in overlooked or undervalued sectors.

The future of AI-driven tech solutions in enhancing business infrastructure
Embracing AI-driven tech solutions offers businesses more than an edge; it provides a telescope into the future of innovation.

Multifaceted effects on Vietnam’s e-commerce: A near-term potential to break through in the Asian market
Forecasts suggest Vietnam’s e-commerce will continue growing, with Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City remaining competitive markets.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

Want to build a sustainable startup? Solve a problem for your customers
It often happens that when you aim to solve a particular problem that affects a significant chunk of humanity, you end up solving a whole bunch of related and similar problems.

Ask yourself, are you building a cathedral with your startup ideas?
The whole concept that a business idea has to be absolutely unique and world-changing is quite irrelevant; And questions like ‘what is your competitive advantage and where will you be in 5 years?’ don’t have any meaning.

What you should –and should not– say when fundraising for a crowdfunding project
New research revealed that claiming your product to be both “novel and useful” may actually ruin your chance to reach the crowdfunding goal.

4 key growth metrics startups should watch closely
In order for a startup to gain the traction it needs to propel forward, its marketing strategies must be better than average for its industry; Gauging metrics and ROI is quite a challenge during the initial phases.

How to keep your remote employees’ networks more secure
As remote working becomes more commonplace, here are some steps you can take to ensure your IT security is not compromised.

How to use podcasts to enhance your brand visibility and reach
So almost all the power of podcasting lies in your own voice; The key is to make it recognizable above all the others that the audience hears on a daily basis.

—

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.

The post Ecosystem Roundup: ShopBack cuts 195 roles | New Kaya Founders funds to back 30-40 startups | EFishery acquihires DycodeX appeared first on e27.

Despite progress, there continue to be challenges in ensuring a level playing field for people of all genders in the startup ecosystem.

“While evening out the playing field via representation numbers is a helpful indicator of progress, this isn’t the all-encompassing practice to promote gender equality. The core of closing the gender gap stems from fostering the right support system and environment to retain and nurture bright talent, while our leadership models the type of values we expect from each of our employees,” says Veronika Folkova, Director, People Business Partners in APAC, Confluent.

Silicon Valley-based data streaming platform Confluent has implemented initiatives to ensure equal opportunities for employees of all genders. However, with the rising popularity of AI technology, as the technology becomes more widely used, most of us would start to ask questions: Is there any risk related to gender equality in this phenomenon?

How will the rising popularity of AI affect gender equality in the workplace, particularly in the tech industry? How can startups play a more active role in promoting the responsible use of technology? In this email interview with e27, Folkova discusses the issue.

The following is an edited excerpt of the interview.

Can you share with us how gender bias can show up in AI? What potential/existing harms can it cause?

Gender bias within AI is quite a complex topic in and of itself. As AI pulls information by ingesting large amounts of training data, analysing it for correlations and patterns, and using these patterns to make predictions for the future, its input and output impact people across different backgrounds, industries, and socioeconomic levels.

Also Read: Revolutionising retail: A blueprint for future success

The truth is that women in many countries have limited access to training and education, even more so in the field of R&D, which may result in unconscious biases. Fundamentally, most content and research on AI are typically written in a language that automatically assumes the reader’s perspective as a man.

This forms the foundational bias for words used and embedded into algorithms, which leads to misinformed algorithms and ultimately breeds gender discrimination and exclusion of qualified individuals.

One real-life example is the Generative AI art generation application Midjourney. When asked to create images of people in specialised professions, it showed both younger and older people, but the older people were always men, reinforcing the age-old bias against working women.

What are your proposed solutions?

To be honest, there isn’t a one-stop solution to gender bias in AI. From my capacity as Senior Director, People Business Partners for Global Legal Organisation and APAC, we are seeing trends where AI may play a significant role in the future of sourcing candidates and coordination of recruitment processes.

As such, it goes back to laying the groundwork to provide equal opportunities to the right people, doing our own thorough research to uplift the right talent, and improving the training and development of our own people to identify the limitations of AI and better use its strengths.

How can the government take a proactive role in this?

In the recent Budget 2024, Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced that Singapore will invest S$1 billion over the next five years into AI computing capacity, talent and industry development.

This will support Singapore’s National AI Strategy 2.0, which was launched in December last year.
These investments are in the right direction, coupled with the growing awareness of AI’s shortcomings, such as biased data and hallucinations, i.e. AI model learning incorrect patterns that lead to incorrect predictions.

Also Read: The future of AI-driven tech solutions in enhancing business infrastructure

To combat this, I appreciate that the Singapore government has set up a Generative AI framework that outlines a “systematic and balanced approach” for Generative AI concerns while facilitating innovation. We need to keep working together, educating each other, and pooling resources to keep up with the advancements in technology and understand how it can be used for good for the wider population.

What role can tech startups play in ensuring responsible use of AI?

While they might be smaller in size, startups have the ability to move the needle in the industry and influence change in their area of expertise.

Some ways that they can ensure the responsible use of AI include:

– Diverse and inclusive teams for bias mitigation: Startups should prioritise building diverse and inclusive teams that bring together individuals with different backgrounds, perspectives, and expertise. This will ensure teams can create AI systems that account for diverse needs and backgrounds and identify and mitigate biases in AI outputs.

– Transparency and explainability: Startups can promote transparency and explainability in AI systems by clearly documenting how their algorithms work, including data sources, training processes, and decision-making criteria.

– Collaboration and knowledge sharing: Startups can contribute to the responsible use of AI by actively participating in industry collaborations and sharing best practices as they test and run new ways of doing things.

As a business, do you have any initiative to prevent the harmful use of AI?

As Confluent drives data streaming with real-time data, we ensure our customers can tap into continuously enriched trustworthy data streams to quickly scale and build real-time AI applications for maximum value.

Also Read: From peak scrolling to personalised communities: The Gen AI solution

Data streaming is quickly becoming the data backbone for modern AI. Our solutions can consolidate an organisation’s operational and analytical data from disparate sources to construct a unified source of real-time truth of all their data. This not only empowers them to excel in model building and training, driving unparalleled levels of sophistication and accuracy across various applications but also helps identify any signs of abuse as soon as possible.

—

Image Credit: Confluent

The post Women and AI: How startups can prevent gender bias and promote responsible use of the tech appeared first on e27.

Untukmu.AI, a Singapore-incorporated startup providing AI solutions for the gifting industry, recently bagged an undisclosed amount in a seed round from 1982 Ventures and angels to scale the business across its home market in Indonesia.

The platform offers tools, such as a gift tracker, budgeting tool, and events calendar to provide a smooth user experience. In addition, its AI-powered dashboard allows merchants to manage and increase sales, provide valuable insights into customer preferences, optimise their product offerings, and personalise shopping experience.

e27 spoke with Untukmu Founder and CEO Pang Xue Kai, a serial entrepreneur who earlier built Tokocrypto, a leading crypto exchange in Indonesia, to learn more about the business.

Edited excerpts:

What inspired you to start Untukmu.AI, and what gap in the market do you aim to fill with your AI solutions for the gifting industry?

My co-founder, Pang Xue Cong, and I recognised how time-consuming and challenging online gift-giving can become, which leads to missed opportunities to celebrate important moments. We launched Untukmu.AI to address this by harnessing artificial intelligence to simplify and enrich selecting gifts.

Also Read: Tokocrypto founder’s new AI startup Untukmu bags funding to disrupt Indonesia’s personalised gifting market

The platform is designed to deeply understand the preferences and interests of recipients, making gift-giving a thoughtful, personalised, and efficient experience.

Can you provide insights into the gift tracker, budgeting tool, and events calendar on the platform?

The gift tracker is designed to help users keep track of the gifts they’ve sent and the reactions they’ve received. It ensures that users can maintain a personal touch with their gifting, remembering past gifts to avoid repetition and making future gift choices more informed and personal.

The budgeting tool helps users manage their gifting expenses effectively. This tool will allow users to set budgets for different occasions and receive suggestions that fit within their specified price range, ensuring that gifting remains joyful and stress-free.

The events calendar ensures users never miss a momentous occasion again. By integrating personal, cultural, and widely celebrated events into a single, easy-to-use interface, this tool will prompt users about upcoming dates that might require a gift. This proactive approach helps users plan and purchase gifts in advance, making last-minute rushes a thing of the past.

How does the AI-powered dashboard assist merchants in managing and increasing sales?

The dashboard provides deep insights into customer preferences and behaviour. It analyses customer interaction and purchasing patterns to identify trends in gift preferences, timing, and budgets, enabling merchants to tailor their offerings and marketing efforts more effectively.

The dashboard aims to increase sales and foster meaningful connections between businesses and their clients by aligning gifts with company values and customer expectations.

Additionally, Untukmu.AI is developing an omnichannel platform to help Indonesian merchants reach a global audience, further boosting their sales and market presence.

A press release mentions you are exploring leveraging blockchain and crypto tokens to reward users. How do you envision implementing this technology within the Untukmu.AI platform?

Rewarding participation: Users can earn tokens for various forms of engagement, such as contributing reviews, recommending products, and sharing their experiences. This not only encourages a more active community but also enhances the data quality that feeds into our AI, improving the personalisation and accuracy of gift recommendations.

Decentralised trust: We aim to introduce a decentralised trust mechanism into the platform. This will ensure transparency in transactions and interactions, building a more reliable and secure environment for both users and merchants.

Enhanced user experience: Crypto tokens can be used within the Untukmu.AI ecosystem for purchasing gifts, accessing premium features, or availing of special discounts. This utility adds a layer of value to the tokens, making participation in the platform more rewarding.

Therefore, this integration emphasises the 3Cs — consent, compensation, and credit — to ensure ethical data use and community engagement:

Consent: Prioritising voluntary participation and informed decision-making, ensuring contributors are aware of how their data is used and the associated benefits and risks.

Compensation: Offering fair rewards and possibly implementing a licensing model for the use of cultural and linguistic data, ensuring contributors are equitably compensated.

Credit: Properly acknowledge contributions, whether data for AI or cultural expressions and work to preserve and promote cultural heritage and languages.

This approach not only aims to revolutionise the gifting industry but also ensures the platform is built on a foundation of trust, equity, and respect for cultural significance, setting new standards in e-commerce and AI landscapes.

How does Untukmu.AI plan to collaborate with small businesses, corporations, and self-employed professionals to cater to their diverse gifting needs and preferences?

For small businesses and self-employed professionals, we are exploring partnership programmes that allow them to showcase their products on our platform. This not only provides them with a broader audience but also enriches the variety of gifts available to our users, making it easier to find unique and meaningful options.

For corporations, Untukmu.AI intends to develop dedicated Corporate dashboards that enable HR departments and managers to manage their gifting needs efficiently. This could include employee recognition, client outreach, and other corporate events, with features to track spending, preferences, and feedback.

We are also looking to integrate Untukmu.AI with Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS) to streamline the process of employee recognition. This will allow companies to effortlessly reward their employees with personalised gifts directly through the HRIS interface they are already familiar with.

Engaging with the business community for feedback and insights is crucial. We plan to hold regular sessions with small businesses, corporations, and professionals to understand their needs better and adapt our platform accordingly.

We also want to offer resources and support to help businesses and professionals navigate the platform, aiming to be a versatile platform that not only meets the diverse gifting needs of various business entities and professionals but also supports small businesses in gaining visibility and growth.

What learnings do you bring from Tokocrypto? Do you foresee a partnership with Tokocrypto, moving forward?

One of the most critical aspects I learned is the power of community. Engaging with and listening to your user base is crucial for growth and improvement. This is something we’re keenly integrating into Untukmu.AI, fostering a community that feels valued and heard.

Operating in the crypto space taught me the importance of navigating regulatory landscapes adeptly. This understanding is vital as we explore integrating blockchain technology within Untukmu.AI, ensuring we comply with laws and regulations while innovating.

Also Read: Tokocrypto-BRI Ventures accelerator invests US$40M in participating startups

In the crypto world, security is paramount. This has ingrained in me the importance of building robust security measures and maintaining user trust, principles that are foundational to Untukmu.AI.

The fast-paced nature of the blockchain industry highlighted the need for constant innovation and adaptability.

Regarding a partnership with Tokocrypto, there are several synergies that could benefit both platforms. For instance, leveraging Tokocrypto’s blockchain expertise could enhance the security and efficiency of transactions on Untukmu.AI. Additionally, a collaboration could open up new avenues for token utility and rewards, enriching the user experience on both platforms.

The possibility of partnering with Tokocrypto is an exciting prospect. Such a collaboration would not only signify a convergence of my past and present ventures but also potentially pave the way for innovative solutions at the intersection of AI, e-commerce, and blockchain technology.

Why was the company incorporated in Singapore? Is it for ease of doing business? How is Indonesia evolving as a startup nation?

We chose Singapore for Untukmu.AI’s incorporation due to its favourable business ecosystem, robust regulatory framework, and accessibility to investors, leveraging our deep understanding as Singaporeans.

While Indonesia offers a large, growing market and a supportive startup ecosystem, its regulatory challenges prompted our initial choice of Singapore.

Also Read: Tokocrypto, BRI Ventures launch blockchain accelerator programme

However, we’re optimistic about Indonesia’s future for startups, especially with recent governmental changes aiming to enhance the digital economy and startup environment.

We look forward to potential reforms that could streamline operations and attract foreign investment, further energising Indonesia’s startup landscape.

What are your expectations from the new government and President of Indonesia?

Our expectation from the new government and President is to continue focusing on digital economy growth, with measures to foster innovation, support startups, and create a more favourable business environment. This could include simplifying the regulatory framework, offering incentives for startups, and investing in digital infrastructure, collectively boosting Indonesia’s startup ecosystem.

—

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.

The post Building Tokocrypro taught me the power of community: Untukmu’s Pang Xue Kai appeared first on e27.

B Capital, a global multi-stage investment firm founded by Facebook’s Singapore-based co-founder Eduardo Saverin, has announced the close of its B Capital Opportunities Fund II with aggregate capital commitments of US$750 million.

This nearly doubles the size of its predecessor Opportunities Fund I.

Also Read: SIRCLO acquires Eduardo Saverin-backed Indonesian parenting platform Orami

The Fund II received participation from both existing and new investors and represents a diverse global base of well-known private and public pensions, family offices, high net-worth individuals, and sovereign wealth funds.

Opportunities Fund II will make primary and secondary investments in later-stage companies across the VC firm’s core sectors of technology, healthcare and climate tech, with a focus on North America and Asia.

The majority of the fund will seek to identify follow-on investment opportunities in existing, high-performing portfolio companies.

A portion of the Fund will also invest in new investment opportunities, where B Capital’s value-added capabilities, including its strategic partnership with the Boston Consulting Group, can have an immediate impact on the companies’ next phase of growth.

In June 2023, Fund II made its first investment through a secondary purchase of Icertis, a contract intelligence company in its portfolio.

Also Read: 10 highest-funded female-led startups in Southeast Asia

With over US$6 billion in assets under management across multiple funds, B Capital focuses on seed to late-stage venture growth investments, primarily in the technology, healthcare and climate-tech sectors. Founded in 2015, it has team members working across nine locations in the US and Asia.

The VC firm’s Southeast Asian portfolio companies include Carro, Kopi Kenangan, PayFazz, Ula, and Orami (acquired by SIRCLO).

—

The post B Capital closes US$750M Opportunities Fund II, to back later-stage firms in its portfolio appeared first on e27.

Alamanda Shantika’s first claim to fame in the Indonesian tech industry came when she took the position of VP of Products at Go-Jek, one of the country’s first unicorn startups. Ever since then she had moved on to start BINAR Academy, a Jogjakarta-based coding school that enables students to learn from experts — for free.

In these presentation slides, she stressed on the importance of critical thinking as the must-have skills for the year 2020. Not only that critical thinking helps teams build a great product, it also help them create more meaningful relationship with their stakeholders.

—

This article was first published on November 30, 2017

The post BINAR co-founder Alamanda Shantika on critical thinking as a way to a meaningful work appeared first on e27.

The Philippines is facing an urgent need to prioritise digital skills development among its workforce. According to the 2023 World Digital Competitiveness Ranking, the country ranked 59th out of 64 countries in overall digital competitiveness, scoring low on knowledge and talent, technology, and future readiness.

This is the problem that KodeGo aims to solve as an edutech platform.

“Our key differentiator is really that the model we operate on prioritises accessibility and affordability,” explains KodeGo CEO Ina Gervasio.

“The courses that we provide range from basic digital skills all the way up to intermediate-level skills, which allows us to cater to all types of interests and needs of both students and companies. This ensures our students gain practical knowledge and skills that are highly sought after by companies. We also endorse our graduates to companies who are looking for digitally skilled workers, which allows us to support companies in bridging the gap.”

Launched in 2020, KodeGo implements a flexible payment scheme that includes a study-now-pay-later format while providing end-to-end career assistance and support for its students post-training. Each curriculum takes between two and 22 weeks to complete.

Also Read: Bold moves: Capitalising on market dips in edutech

KodeGo is a portfolio company of 917Ventures, a corporate venture builder and the innovation arm of Globe Telecom. The platform provides digital skills training programmes that offer multiple courses, including full-stack web development and virtual assistance. It also provides courses in virtual bookkeeping and basic transcription.

“Aside from mastery of these in-demand tech stacks and skills, KodeGo also focuses on cultivating essential soft skills crucial for tech professionals. These include staying updated on current industry trends, fostering effective communication, honing problem-solving abilities, nurturing leadership qualities, and fostering creativity,” Gervasio says.

To date, the platform has had more than 2,000 graduates, many of whom have been successfully hired by the likes of GCash and Accenture.

Gervasio further explains that KodeGo users consist of participants of a diverse range of backgrounds, including career-shifters aiming to upskill in tech and individuals with minimal to no prior knowledge of tech but aspire to build a career in the field.

“To easily reach a nationwide audience, our acquisition strategy primarily relies on online marketing through Meta, Google, Tiktok, etc. Our Kwentong KodeGo campaigns featuring KodeGo students JM and Lorraine helped us leverage the positive experiences and successes of our graduates to attract new learners to our platform,” she explains.

Also Read: A sneak-peek into the six edutech startups joining EduSpaze’s cohort 8

“We have had music teachers, undergraduates, housewives, and more on the website, many of whom successfully found employment opportunities after completing KodeGo courses.”

Talking about the business model, she further explains that the company’s flexible payment options allow it to earn through different streams, from one-time payments, monthly instalments as students go through the courses, and another monthly instalment after they have been hired.

“In line with this, we also do not charge placement fees from our partners so there is less burden to both our students and partners,” Gervasio points out.

Towards a brighter future

KodeGo is run by a lean team from its base in Manila. In 2024, the company wants to focus on fostering B2B partnerships, engaging with local governments, and launching more courses.

It is also looking forward to launching its first scholarship programme that will allow KodeGo to cater to even more underserved communities in the Philippines.

Also Read: In this age of digitalisation, is edutech a bane or boon for educators?

“We launched Training-as-a-Service (TaaS) in 2023, and because of the high demand, we will be further expanding and enhancing it this year. TaaS allows us to work with companies to customise a curriculum or boot camp specific to their employees’ most crucial needs, hyperfocusing on what it takes to make them more productive and deliver optimal results,” Gervasio closes.

“This, however, does not stop us from fine-tuning and refining our current operations as we continue to learn and test along the way. There is definitely a lot to look forward to from KodeGo.”

—

Image Credit: KodeGo

The post KodeGo wants to make digital skill development programmes more accessible to Filipino workers appeared first on e27.

In December, Forte Biotech, a producer of on-site RAPID diagnostic tests for early detection of prawn diseases, won the Food Systems & Sustainable Agriculture track at the inaugural Net Zero Challenge 2023, a climate innovations competition in Vietnam conducted by Touchstone Partners and Temasek Foundation.

Its patented RAPID system, which was developed in partnership with the National University of Singapore, utilises the LAMP PCR technology, allowing farmers to diagnose diseases without needing any expert help quickly.

e27 recently caught up with its founder, Kit Yong, to learn more about the technology and the opportunities in Vietnam.

Edited excerpts:

Can you elaborate on the specific prawn diseases your RAPID tests can detect? Are there plans to expand the range of detectable diseases in the future?

Currently, our RAPID tests are capable of detecting three of the most common and devastating diseases affecting prawn farms: White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV), Enterocytozoon hepatorenal (EHP), and Acute Hepatopancreatic Necrosis Disease (AHPND), also known as Early Mortality Syndrome (EMS).

These diseases pose significant threats to prawn health and can lead to substantial economic losses for farmers if not detected and addressed promptly. Some of these diseases cause a complete wipeout of the crop, while others lead to slow growth and reduced efficiencies.

Also Read: Alterno, Forte Biotech, AirX Carbon win Net Zero Challenge 2023 in Vietnam

While our current focus is on these three diseases, we are actively researching and developing new testing capabilities to address a broader spectrum of diseases that may impact prawn farming in the future.

What is the level of accuracy and sensitivity of your RAPID tests? How does this compare to traditional diagnostic methods?

Currently, we have close to a 93 per cent concurrence rate with PCR. This is an excellent number, considering that farmers do not require expensive equipment such as PCR machines and centrifuges to conduct their tests; instead, they rely only on handheld equipment. The main advantage of our testing system is the speed with which farmers can get results on their farms in an economical manner.

Considering the potential user base of prawn farmers, how user-friendly are your RAPID tests designed to be? What level of training is required for farmers to conduct the tests effectively?

Our RAPID tests are user-friendly, ensuring that even farmers without extensive technical background can conduct the tests effectively. Typically, only minimal training is required, often provided during a demonstration by our salesperson.

Additionally, we offer instructional videos and manuals for farmers to refer to at their convenience. Farmers can quickly learn how to use the RAPID tests and incorporate them seamlessly into their farming routine with these resources.

How can widespread adoption of your RAPID tests benefit the Vietnamese prawn farming industry economically? (e.g., reduced crop losses, improved farm management)

By enabling faster detection of diseases such as WSSV, EHP, and AHPND, farmers can take proactive measures to mitigate disease outbreaks and minimise crop losses. Harvesting prawns earlier, facilitated by early disease detection, can significantly reduce crop losses and maintain optimal growth rates. As a result, the overall feed conversion ratio improves, leading to more efficient use of feed resources and ultimately increasing overall farm profitability.

Additionally, the timely identification of disease outbreaks allows for targeted treatment strategies, reducing the need for costly interventions (e.g. antibiotics).

This way, farmers can improve their farm management practices, further optimising production efficiency and ensuring the long-term sustainability of their operations.

What strategies are in place to encourage them to integrate them into their practices?

Our strategy revolves around direct sales and marketing efforts, primarily targeting prawn farmers in Vietnam. We employ a hands-on approach, utilising our sales team to conduct in-person demonstrations of our RAPID Test kit directly at partner farms. This strategy allows us to showcase the effectiveness and benefits of our product firsthand, capturing the interest of potential customers.

To further expand our market reach, we engage key opinion leaders (KOLs) within the province to test and endorse our product. Leveraging their influence, we aim to validate our technology and build credibility within the farming community. We also show them our case studies with Anh Phuoc, a partner farmer in Vietnam, and how Forte Biotech has enabled him to save 10% of his costs and double his revenue. Through word-of-mouth referrals facilitated by satisfied customers and KOL endorsements, we seek to organically spread awareness and drive adoption among other prawn farmers in the region.

Also Read: How biotech is changing the global agriculture game for investors

Additionally, we plan to establish dealership and distribution networks in neighbouring countries such as Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia. Partnering with local distributors and dealerships allows us to penetrate new markets efficiently, leveraging their cultural understanding and market expertise. By offering the benefits of RAPID prawn testing to these partner distributors and intermediaries, such as increased yields and reduced disease losses, we aim to establish mutually beneficial relationships and expand our market presence beyond Vietnam.

How do you ensure the cost and availability of your RAPID tests make them accessible to a wide range of prawn farmers in Vietnam?

We have analysed the lifetime cost of using our test kits for the farmers; the cost of using them is less than 0.2 per cent of their production costs.

We also offer schemes like free machine trials to ensure farmers are not constrained by cash flow factors when adopting our machine. Our machines start from 10 million VND (US$403), which is around 15 times cheaper than the nearest competitor’s.

Beyond disease detection, are there plans to develop additional products or services to support prawn farmers? (e.g., data analysis tools, disease prevention strategies)

In addition to disease detection, Forte Biotech has recently launched an app – Aotomatic – designed to support prawn farmers in various aspects of their operations. This app allows farmers to track essential data such as water quality, nutrition, medicine, shrimp sizes, and RAPID test results. Furthermore, it enables farmers to project their revenue from prawn harvests, providing valuable insights for decision-making and farm management.

The collection of data is crucial to enable us to produce risk models, which will allow us to help farmers predict the severity of disease outbreaks and take action to reduce their losses.

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The post Forte Biotech: Helping farmers with early detection of prawn diseases in Vietnam appeared first on e27.

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What business idea is your startup working on?

Is it a world changing idea? Will it have a huge impact on some part of the world?

Startups founders, particularly first time founders, do have this urge, an urge to change the world. The way their business ideas are analysed by investors too, at times, puts an emphasis on this aspect of a business idea.

A world changing idea sounds like a big opportunity. It has an added advantage — it gives a great sense of purpose too. A sense of purpose does play a role in motivating you in an uncertain, at times worrisome environment when you build your startup.

Drive : The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, a book written by Daniel H. Pink, delves into the role of “purpose” in motivation. Drawing on four decades of scientific research on human motivation, Pink exposes the mismatch between what science knows and what business does — and how that affects every aspect of our lives. In DRIVE, he reveals the three elements of true motivation: AUTONOMY — the desire to direct our own lives; MASTERY — the urge to get better and better at something that matters; PURPOSE — the yearning to do what we do in the service of something larger than ourselves.

We all have read the story — “I am building a Cathedral”. Bill von Achen, in his blog “I’m Building a Cathedral!”–The Role of Purpose in Motivation illustrates the importance of purpose in motivation using this story.

“A man came across three masons who were working at chipping chunks of granite from large blocks. The first seemed unhappy at his job, chipping away and frequently looking at his watch. When the man asked what it was that he was doing, the first mason responded, rather curtly, “I’m hammering this stupid rock, and I can’t wait ’til 5 when I can go home.”

”A second mason, seemingly more interested in his work, was hammering diligently and when asked what it was that he was doing, answered, “Well, I’m moulding this block of rock so that it can be used with others to construct a wall. It’s not bad work, but I’ll sure be glad when it’s done.”

”A third mason was hammering at his block fervently, taking time to stand back and admire his work. He chipped off small pieces until he was satisfied that it was the best he could do. When he was questioned about his work he stopped, gazed skyward and proudly proclaimed, “I … am building a cathedral!”

With startling clarity, this simple story illustrates that purpose has the power to transform not only our attitude about the work that we do but the quality of our work as well.

So, do the startup founders need to start building cathedrals?

Well, there are lots of people who say NO.

In The Big Idea Myth, Geoff McDonald asks us, why you need a big idea. Most people talk about a big idea as something that changes the world. Some ideas are big at their conception because they have profound implications. And, some ideas are merely big because of their popularity. Instead, of trying to change THE world, start with an idea that simply changes your world. If it doesn’t change your world, then it’s not that significant and you probably won’t do anything with it anyway. This is the starting point. The Myth of the Big Idea is that it has to change THE entire world.

In The Myth of Good Ideas, Jonathan Courtney, Co-Founder of AJ&Smart, a Digital Product Design agency states that being a creative genius is not the only way to have world-changing ideas. Ideas can be generated and in huge quantities. Good ideas simply come from having lots of ideas. The famous inventor Thomas Edison said that his “real measure of success” was “the number of experiments” he could crowd into one day. Rather than focus on coming up with the “perfect idea” or invention, he produced and produced. Failed and iterated. Failure was baked into his process. Waiting for inspiration can be the death of a projects’ momentum. Start with quantity, then curate.

Also read: e27 discussions, how do you generate (quality) ideas?

According to a blog How to uncover a world-changing idea by Dinushi Dias; Sam Altman, from his work as the President of Y Combinator, has an advise for the start-up founders, “You will never uncover a world-changing idea unless you start working on something now.”

Walker & Co’s founder and CEO, Tristan Walker has another take on the world-changing Idea, from his own personal experience. In a video chat about World-Changing Idea, he explains his journey before starting to build a health and beauty products company that makes health and beauty simple for people of color. After his stint in Andreessen Horowitz as an entrepreneur- in- residence, he says:

“I was like, man, I got to make these guys proud. I want to build the most ambitious thing that I can build. First seven months, I spent some time thinking about how I was going to fix childhood obesity in this country. I spent some time thinking about whether or not I should build a bank. I think I spent four months working on an idea to fix freight and trucking in this country. Only to think, shit, what do I know about freight and trucking? And I felt like if I was going to dedicate the next 20 plus years of my life to anything, I wanted to fundamentally feel like I was the best person in the world to solve that problem. Fortunately, seven months later, I figured that out. And Walker and Company was born”.

In What makes for a great entrepreneur? Andy Rachleff, Founder of Weslthfront, discusses a question about what separates the exceptional entrepreneurs from the rest of the pack. He explains great entrepreneurs’ greatness comes from the quality of their insights — in other words, their ability to recognize how an inflection point in technology can solve an important problem. That insight emerges from as authenticity to a particular problem. The great entrepreneurs have a deep command of the problem they are trying to solve. They achieve that deep command, in turn, by following their passions.

In an article, How do you generate innovation?, Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, says the secret to innovation isn’t to have a great idea. It’s about moving quickly–and trying everything.

All these views resonate with lean startup building.

Lean startup building believes, start-up is a stage in the process of turning a business idea into an established real company and a ‘start-up’ is a company that is confused about — what its product is? Who its customers are? How to make money? We start with assumptions about everything, to begin with. More early you start to get a sense for theories against reality, the safer you are. Unlike in earlier times, today’s founders start small and make smart micro-experiments, besides customer interviews to test the assumptions.

The whole concept that a business idea has to be absolutely unique and world changing is quite irrelevant. And questions like ‘what is your competitive advantage and where will you be in 5 years?’ don’t have any meaning, because, in the early days, there is very little certainty about where a startup is going.

While we shouldn’t focus on the grand vision (or lack of) in the daily existential crises of the early days of a startup, what we need to focus on is what we as founders go ahead and put our hands to the grind towards building their businesses. Time and time again, what is clear is that one does not get anywhere without doing the very next thing in front of you as a founder.

Hopefully, some of us will get an opportunity to build a Cathedral, along the way.

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Featured Image Copyright: kadmy / 123RF Stock Photo

This article was first published in September 7, 2017

The post Ask yourself, are you building a cathedral with your startup ideas? appeared first on e27.

Despite global headwinds, the Philippine startup ecosystem showcased resilience by raising US$956 million in funding in 2023, according to a report.

While this is a relatively modest dip (14 per cent) year-on-year, the number of deals increased by 16 per cent to 96, according to the Philippine Venture Capital Report released by Foxmont Capital Partners and BCG. This is a notable achievement, given the 62 per cent y-o-y decline in funding observed across the region by the Global Private Capital Association across Southeast Asia.

Also Read: Founders are pessimistic about Philippines’ funding climate in 2024: study

The total deal value experienced a modest 14 per cent drop in the Philippines. In comparison, the deal value witnessed a 62 per cent decline across Southeast Asia, with Indonesia and Singapore feeling the largest drops at 68 per cent and 73 per cent, respectively.

Fintech (22 deals), B2B SaaS (14), and e-commerce (13) were the top 3 funded verticals
in 2023.

Agritech is the emerging sector with good public support as agriculture holds a significant role in the Philippine economic development in the coming years.

The report further revealed that the Philippines’s share of total funds raised in Southeast Asia continued to climb to 13 per cent from 7 per cent in 2022 and 5 per cent in 2021.

“The sustained momentum we see in Philippine startup investments is encouraging, particularly with early-stage deals. We attribute this performance to a deepening pool of strong founders, attractive Philippine macro fundamentals, modest entry valuations, and a reallocation of regional private capital,” said Jelmer Ikink, General Partner at Foxmont Capital Partners.

Furthermore, the report highlights that the Philippines has reached an inflexion point in key digital transformation levers, mirroring trends observed in countries like Indonesia, China, and India.

On the macro level, the report indicates that the Philippines’s growing labour participation rate is expected to overtake the global average by 2030. To fully capitalise on this demographic dividend, concerted efforts are underway within the public and private sectors to create job opportunities, improve talent quality, and promote entrepreneurship.

Also Read: Kaya Founders looks to back 30-40 startups in SEA with new funds

While the Philippine startup ecosystem is nascent, the report links numerous initiatives that have begun to facilitate exits for alternative investments, with the government implementing more progressive laws to encourage inbound investments and boost participation in the public market. Joint consultations between the private sector, operations, and the public sector have been taking place to make IPOs more accessible to both growth companies and investors.

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