Southeast Asia is home to over 1,700 startups with at least one female co-founder. As many as 657 women-led startups have received investments so far, of which 14.3 per cent have progressed to the Series A stage and 1.8 per cent to Series C or beyond.

Singapore dominates the female-led startup landscape in this part of the world, with US$3 billion in funding raised across 380 rounds to date. Jakarta secured US$935.9 million through 106 rounds, while Cyberjaya’s female-founded ventures received US$86.3 million across ten rounds.

In 2023, female-led startups in Southeast Asia raised US$480.8 million in 2023. Despite a temporary downturn in funding observed last year, the overall trend shows a noteworthy achievement, with women-led startups capturing 7 per cent of the total tech funding in SEA.

Startup data research platform Tracxn has compiled the list of the ten highest-funded female-led startups in the region. Below are the profiles of these startups and the amount raised so far.

Advance Intelligence Group

Total investment raised: US$700 million
Female co-founder: Tongtong Li (Chief HR Officer)

Founded in 2016, Singapore-headquartered Advance Intelligence Group provides an ecosystem of AI-powered, credit-enabled financial products and services that include buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) platform Atome; Indonesian lending platform Kredit Pintar; SaaS provider of enterprise digital identity, compliance and risk management solutions ADVANCE.AI; and omnichannel e-commerce merchant services platform Ginee.

The company claims to be serving over 500 enterprise clients, 235,000 merchants and 40 million individual consumers. Since its inception, it has disbursed over US$4 billion in loans.

Xendit

Total investment raised: US$538 million
Female co-founder: Tessa Wijaya (COO)

Xendit is a payments infrastructure unicorn in Indonesia. The firm enables businesses to accept payments, disburse payroll, and run marketplaces on an easy integration platform. Businesses can accept payments from direct debit, virtual accounts, credit and debit cards, eWallets, retail outlets, and online instalments.

Xendit serves more than 6,000 customers, including Samsung Indonesia, GrabPay, Ninja Van Philippines, Qoala, Unicef Indonesia, Cashalo and Shopback.

Patsnap

Total investment raised: US$351.6 million
Female co-founder: Guan Dian (CMO)

Patnnap provides R&D intelligence and IP intelligence platforms for brands and enterprises. It began in 2007 as a patents analytics startup in Singapore and later set up a base in China through the NUS Suzhou Research Institute (NUSRI) and BLOCK71 by NUS Enterprise (the entrepreneurial arm of NUS).

Its flagship R&D Intelligence and IP Intelligence platforms use machine learning, computer vision, natural language processing, and other artificial intelligence technology.

Also Read: Funding into SEA’s female-led startups falls 42% to US$480.8M in 2023: Tracxn

Innovation teams at companies, brands, universities and research institutions use these platforms to get access to market, technology and competitive intelligence as well as patent insights needed to take their products from ideation to commercialisation.

ShopBack

Total investment raised: US$305 million
Female co-founder: Shanru Lai

ShopBack, founded in 2014, runs a shopping and rewards platform across Asia Pacific. It offers shopping deals, rewards and payment methods at the users’ fingertips. The group claims it serves over 35 million shoppers across ten markets and powers over US$3.5 billion in annual sales for over 10,000 online and in-store merchant partners.

In 2022, it launched ShopBack Pay and PayLater.

Investree

Total funding raised: US$254 million
Female co-founder: Amalia Safitri (Chief Risk Officer)

Investree is a fintech lending platform. Founded in 2015 in Jakarta, it provides digital financial solutions to largely underbanked MSMEs that previously faced difficulties securing loans without collateral from traditional financial institutions. It provides four products: invoice financing, working capital term loan, buyer financing, and microproductive loan for ultra-micro entrepreneurs.

As of October 2023, Investree Indonesia claims to have recorded a total loan disbursement of US$916.30 million in productive loans.

Sociolla

Total funding raised: US$220 million
Female co-founder: Chrisanti Indiana (CMO)

Started in 2015, Social Bella is an integrated beauty-tech company. It focuses on developing “a scalable and sustainable” online and offline ecosystem for beauty and personal care.

Over the past few years, Social Bella has evolved from being e-commerce to a beauty ecosystem with three business units — commerce (Sociolla), media (SO.CO and Beauty Journal), and Brand Development (offers end-to-end distributor service for beauty and personal care brands).

YouTrip

Total funding raised: US$106 million
Female co-founder: Caecilia Chu (CEO)

YouTrip is a Singapore-based fintech company providing multicurrency wallets. Licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, YouTrip offers services such as payments, foreign exchange, remittances and cards. Its multi-currency mobile wallet with a prepaid Mastercard lets users shop online and offline worldwide with zero FX fees. Users can use the wallet in over 150 countries and withdraw cash from overseas ATMs (only available for Singapore app users).

Astro

Total funding raised: US$92 million
Female co-founders: Jessica Stephanie Jap, Marcella Moniaga, and Sherlyn G: co-founders

Started in 2021, Astro is an on-demand quick e-commerce platform for groceries and other daily essentials in Indonesia. It delivers groceries and essentials such as snacks, drinks, milk and bread to customers within 15 minutes of placing the order. The firm offers 1,500-plus SKUs at competitive prices available 24×7 on its app.

Since the launch, Astro has established over 15 hubs across Jakarta and aims to expand this network to cater to millions of Indonesians.

Aerodyne Group

Total funding raised: US$86 million
Female co-founder: Azita Azizan

Established in 2014, Aerodyne is a DT3 (drone-tech, data-tech and digital transformation) company. It uses AI as an enabler for large-scale data operations, analytics and process optimisation. Its flagship precision agriculture solution is powered by in-house developed AI capabilities, with more than 300,000 secured effective hectarages for major industry players in Malaysia.

Also Read: Buy from her: Elevating women’s entrepreneurship

The group employs over 1,000 drone professionals in the UAS (unmanned aerial vehicle) services sector. It claims to have managed more than 560,000 infrastructure assets with 458,058 flight operations and surveyed over 380,000 km of power infrastructure across 35 countries.

Pinhome

Total funding raised: US$76 million
Female co-founder: Dayu Dara Permata

Pinhome is a property transaction platform in Indonesia. Its O2O property brokerage platform tackles the fragmented real estate market in the archipelago. The company works with banks, property developers, and other service providers. It leverages its algorithm and wealth of property data to enable seamless discovery, transactions, and post-transaction services for property buyers and sellers in the country.

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When thinking of the term ‘business owner’, what do you picture? You won’t be faulted for conceptualising an image of someone who’s a little older and experienced running the show — and the statistics back it up. According to NBCS, roughly 60 per cent of people who start small businesses are between 40 and 60 years old, but the entrepreneurship landscape of today is seeing change.

Despite this, youth entrepreneurship is now increasingly prevalent, with the younger demographic becoming steadily more open to venturing into business, even at a young age. Research from Ernst & Young found that 41 per cent of teens would consider entrepreneurship over working a traditional job.

These potential young founders are driven by their ideas and passion for starting businesses, but many embark on this journey through an inward-looking lens, not weighing the external factors affecting a business, with it being understandable due to their general lack of experience.

This lack of structure and an external outlook often leads to struggles in validating their ideas and proving their worth to potential partners and investors. In a highly connected world where geo-political events are complex and volatile, this is where the strategic tool of PEST analysis comes into play.

Although generally used by larger organisations to help them become more competitive, I personally feel that it can help these young entrepreneurs identify the political, economic, social, and technological factors, offering them a structure which can positively affect their ideas and passions in becoming a reality.

Identify external factors with PEST

As mentioned, PEST analysis comprises four key components: political, economic, social, and technological factors. Each of these components plays a crucial role in shaping the business environment and can have a significant impact on the success or failure of a young business in convincing investors and first funders that their vision is worth pursuing.

Political factors

Political factors refer to the influence of the government and its policies on businesses. These factors encompass regulations, laws, and political stability. Understanding political factors helps young business owners navigate the legal landscape and comply with regulations relevant to their industry.

Warren Buffett once said: “Predicting rain doesn’t count. Building arks does.” This quote underscores the importance of businesses being proactive and adaptable in response to foreseeable changes in the political and regulatory landscape.

Economic factors

Economic factors encompass overall economic conditions — including inflation, interest rates, exchange rates, and consumer spending patterns. These factors directly impact the demand for products or services and affect the purchasing power of consumers, which can conclude the direction in which the economy might move. In today’s world, where capital becomes very expensive due to high inflation, startups face even more challenges raising the money they need.

Also Read: How Dash Living built a social media community of 13K+ members for its co-living platform across Singapore, HK

Social factors

Next, social factors refer to the cultural, demographic, and societal influences that shape consumer behaviour and preferences. They include population demographics, lifestyle trends, attitudes, and social norms. Other factors are educational levels and distribution of wealth. These social factors might ultimately affect the sales of products and services provided and can help young business founders plan their pitches and course of action accordingly.

For example, nations like Japan, South Korea, and Singapore face a rapidly ageing population, which has translated to increasing amounts of the nations’ budgets being skewed to support the elderly. In turn, more opportunities and money will be available in sectors that provide active ageing services.

Technological factors

Lastly, technological factors factor in technological advancements, innovation, and the impact of digitalisation on industries. Apart from those pointers, it also considers the rate of technological obsolescence. These factors can disrupt traditional business models and create new opportunities, which, for young business owners, presents undiscovered pathways to success.

Artificial intelligence has been all the rage today since the launch of ChatGPT. It will create a lot of disruption to existing businesses (and jobs) and present new opportunities if a startup can tap into the trend.

Importance of PEST analysis for young business owners

PEST analysis is used together with SWOT analysis to present a better picture of operations and is an especially significant tool for young business owners due to several reasons.

First off, it allows for anticipating opportunities and threats. Instead of solely focusing on the product, service, and inward-looking components of the business, conducting a PEST analysis allows young business owners to identify the how, the why and the what that will impact their business plan (or SWOT). In turn, this will alert or make them more sensitive in their planning and execution.

For example, if a young business owner identifies a political decision where the country’s strategic plan is to embark on the Green Economy and new investments are made in this sector, they can position their business idea to take advantage of it.

Also Read: Rise of the social entrepreneur: can doing good be good for business?

On the other hand, if a country is more conservative and has a large low-cost labour manufacturing base, the introduction of disruptive technology like industrial 4.0 automation and robotics means the company may face huge challenges for anyone to adopt it due to the social upheaval it will bring.

Building on the ability to anticipate opportunities and threats would, in turn, allow young founders to stay ahead of the competition. PEST analysis helps them identify emerging trends and changes in the external environment that can impact their industry, thus gaining a competitive edge.

The Russia-Ukraine war comes to mind, which has caused disruption to the global supply of grain and fertilisers. It caused production costs to spiral and had a huge economic impact with spikes in inflation globally. If a young business owner is starting a new agri-food business, he or she must factor this into their SWOT analysis and even change course if needed.

In turn, PEST analysis gives business owners the clarity to make a more informed business decision. By understanding the external factors that can impact their business, they can assess the potential risks and rewards associated with different strategies.

I once invested in a Taiwanese hardware firm making VoIP routers (Voice over Internet Protocol) in the late 90s, when the internet was in its infancy. It was adopted by a Taiwanese telco which sold them to their customers, becoming a hit for businesses and families who had members located overseas. One set would be installed locally, and the other would be sent to the other side of the world, where they could then call for free using the internet.

Unfortunately, the company did not understand that the internet had brought about the passion of young software developers who wanted to change the world. The launch of Skype doomed the hardware-based product! Given its entrenched position, if the company had analysed the situation using PEST of the external environment and moved towards a software-based solution, it would have thrived.

Circling back to the importance of PEST for young business owners, partners and investors seek assurances that the ventures they support are well thought out and equipped to navigate the complexities of the market. PEST analysis plays a pivotal role in providing this assurance by presenting a holistic view of the external factors that could impact the business.

By demonstrating a clear understanding of the political, economic, social, and technological landscape, entrepreneurs can instil confidence in potential investors, thereby increasing the likelihood of securing funding for their ventures.

Incorporating PEST analysis into their business strategies gives young founders the ability to perform an in-depth evaluation that goes beyond the typical SWOT assessments. This comprehensive approach enables them to convince potential funders that their ideas are well thought out and have the options ready in the event of unforeseen circumstances that may disrupt the implementation of their business plan.

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

Moreover, by adding PEST analysis as part of their pitch, young business owners can assure the investors that every aspect — including opportunities and risks, has been meticulously considered. This gives them a one-up over other startup pitches.

Final thoughts

In the realm of entrepreneurship, the ability to balance the showcase of both negatives and positives is crucial in bringing ideas to fruition. A structured approach, such as PEST analysis, facilitates this balance by providing a comprehensive understanding of the external factors that can shape the success of a business.

By leveraging PEST analysis, entrepreneurs can not only validate their ideas effectively but also demonstrate a thorough consideration of the opportunities and risks involved. Ultimately, embracing a structured approach empowers young founders to transform their visionary ideas into tangible and sustainable business ventures.

PEST analysis does not need to be the domain of larger companies, and founders should be encouraged to adopt it early in their business plans.

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Is a local partner necessary?

Southeast Asia (SEA) has been in the eyes of many businesses for a long time. With the countries opening their markets and prioritising economic goals, everyone is gunning for a slice of this enormous pie. Despite this, many businesses fail to capture their target markets successfully. Even Uber, the ride-hailing world leader, decided not to compete with local competition such as Go-Jek and Grab in SEA.

A local partner can help a business effectively penetrate these attractive markets for the following reasons:

1. Relationships

The SEA market is highly driven by close relationships. People in SEA are relational and can make decisions based on these relationships. Familiarity is vital to them as trust is the key factor. Economic benefits are unlikely to be enough in winning locals over during negotiations.

When introducing a new product into the market, the familiar factor will be the party selling it. This does not just apply to sales, but all other stakeholders, such as finding investors and suppliers. The locals are often apprehensive of new products and doubt the actual values unless they are proposed by someone trustworthy.

Also Read: These top 27 females took Asia’s tech ecosystem to new heights

A local partner can bring along a wealth of past relationships with the stakeholders, which is critical for any business looking at entering SEA. Without these relationships, it will be nearly impossible to close big deals and building them will be time-consuming. The underdeveloped databases will be a considerable hindrance to even finding the right people.

2. Culture

SEA countries are also known to have strong local cultures, with some varying even among villages. These cultures set the expectations the locals have for businesses and thus, respecting these cultures can be more important to the locals than plain economic benefits. Interpreters or online studies can not simply solve the complexities that come with such a diversity of cultures.

Local partners help to bridge the gap and deal with the vast range of locals, allowing businesses to gain the trust of locals most efficiently.

Furthermore, while English literacy is growing in ASEAN, the majority of daily conversations still happen in native languages. Local partners can ensure that the translations can bring across the intended messages to the target audience effectively.

3. Regulations

One of the most significant obstacles to economic growth is weak regulatory frameworks rampant in many ASEAN countries. With corruption still present in some regulatory systems, someone who is unfamiliar with the system will be likely to face costly challenges.

For instances, application processing is slow in many ASEAN countries due to the underdeveloped systems. This can lead to substantial inventory costs and even opportunity costs as competitors can capture the available markets.

Local partners will understand how to deal with these matters by having experiences in the country. They will know how to speed up external processes through relationships, which are unavailable to foreigners. They will also be familiar with the complicated legal matters to prevent accidental legal infringements that can be costly in terms of financial and reputation.

How to Find a Local Partner?

The idea of finding a partner in a foreign country can sound arduous and risky. Here are some practical steps to finding a partner:

1. Sourcing

There are various business development agencies in SEA that help to form ecosystems for partnerships. These can be useful as agencies tend to recommend trustworthy partners, which is crucial for any business that intends to move forward with the related matters quickly.

Apart from individual partners, businesses can turn to the growing Venture Capital (VC) firms to seek strategic investors who have valuable experiences in building businesses in this region. They also hold other companies that can provide complimenting products with an existing customer base, making it easier to penetrate the market.

2. Securing

When forming a new partnership, the onus is on the business to understand the culture of the partner to build the relationship. It is essential to give respect to the local partners and not be too aggressive.

Certain cultures require expectations for gifts and yet even with these gifts, there are conditions laid out that must be researched. Businesses can use this link to understand the behavioural adjustments to be made when meeting a partner to increase the chances of securing a partnership.

Also Read: Asia’s beauty lies in its complexity: 3 strategies to do well in an Asian market

For VCs, since they are investors, businesses must be able to pitch their value propositions effectively. They need to convince VCs that there will be attractive returns that will follow their investment and that the business model fits the existing portfolio of the VCs.

Negotiation for an initial partnership agreement can be tedious. However, it is common in SEA and is a necessary skill for any business looking to enter SEA, even for deals with customers.

What is necessary when forming a partnership?

A robust framework for a partnership is significant to ensure smooth business operations and efficient decision-making models.

1. Making clear agreements

Due to the weak regulatory frameworks, written contracts are sometimes viewed as a guideline to the partnership. This calls for a strong relationship between partners to prevent any disputes from arising. Making clear agreements and separations regarding matters such as ownership and IP rights will help in clarifying disputes and expectations.

However, businesses must maintain a low level of assertiveness to prevent offending partners who may blow disputes out of proportion. Structuring the partnership such that the partner has a stake, rather than upfront fees, serves as a motivation to fulfil their responsibilities properly.

For effective business operations, it is also important to define roles clearly so that disputes do not break out over accountability and responsibility issues. This can be detrimental to the relationship as it may cause the business to fall apart regardless of how attractive the business is. It is also critical in partnership with VCs to understand which party has the final say.

2. Technical Requirements

Always understand the technical requirements for the business model to work and ensure that the business partner can satisfy these requirements.

Majority of the startups today are tech-related with specific infrastructure requirements. Ensuring the partners to provide that infrastructure locally is vital as incompatibility of infrastructure can cost heavily on funding, resources and time.

Businesses should also find partners with legal expertise or experience in intellectual property (IP) is critical. Enforcement of regulations in SEA countries can be quite complicated and inefficient. A knowledgeable partner will be an invaluable asset with the capability of expediting enforcement actions to prevent opportunity losses.

Conclusion

Expanding into a new country is never easy, not to mention a culturally fragmented region like SEA. Businesses must be clear on their goals and what they need to achieve those goals while mitigating risks.

This will set the values to look for in partners who will then help drive the businesses to greater heights.

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Image Credit: Jezael Melgoza

This article was first published on September 24, 2019

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We live in an exciting time when it comes to innovation and progress, especially in terms of technology and commerce. Some of our latest tech inventions such as machine learning and artificial intelligence (or AI for short) have had a tremendous impact on every single industry out there.

Education, medicine, travel, banking, you name it, it has been changed beyond recognition by the rise of many technological inventions native to our age. So, it’s no wonder that e-commerce is on the list of industries that have utilised tech to its fullest to grow and meet the needs of the modern customer. 

However, there’s one specific invention that has yet to show the extent to which it has altered how we shop online – the use of voice assistants. Starting with Siri, the world has embraced a new way of communicating with AI entities.

Then came Google Assistant, Amazon’s Alexa, Cortana by Microsoft, Watson for IBM, and Bixby for Samsung. We’re sure there will be more joining their ranks while the existing ones are rapidly becoming more refined to meet our needs and preferences.

Also Read:  How to make a website voice search friendly

Suddenly, there are few homes in the world where “hey Google” hasn’t become a norm for searching for your favourite song online or ordering takeout. And that is why voice assistants are indeed changing the face of e-commerce, one smart feature at a time.

Increasing the security of shopping online

Cybersecurity is a hot topic today, perhaps even more so than in the early years of tech development. Now that we have access to incredibly advanced devices and their complex features, the risks of using them to buy online are all the greater.

We constantly share our most sensitive, private information with brands to purchase from them, such as our credit card information, our physical address, as well as our details. We’re not alone in using this sophisticated equipment since hackers can use the very same superior solutions to tap into this highly sensitive data while it’s being transmitted.

Enter your voice.

Security breaches will always be a possibility, but using your voice for another layer of authentication can help prevent any security leaks and issues. This, in turn, means that users will feel safer to buy online, visit your store knowing that no one can make a purchase without your authentic voice, and come back to your store for more.

That also means that your kids cannot accidentally purchase a thousand dollars’ worth of cookware or toys online without your voice. If Alexa is designed to listen to the parents and ask for their voice command when making a purchase – such accidents can be easily prevented.

Security is indeed a very important piece of the customer experience puzzle. Companies in e-commerce need to invest heavily to increase safety, and voice assistants are one of the most novel ways of doing just that. 

Changing the SEO game for e-commerce

To understand the importance of SEO for online stores, we need numbers that give us a clear view of the current as well as the expected state of e-commerce.

Take Asia, for example, revenue in the e-commerce market amounts to US$975.

This number is expected to grow even more in the future, especially in Singapore, where revenue is expected to show an annual growth rate of 14.9 per cent by 2023.

Another study shows that 58 per cent of internet users in Singapore shop online at least once a month. If a brand sells online in this market, or any specific region in Asia, the brand in question needs to be able to stand out to grab a piece of this multi-billion-dollar pie. And the most effective solution to being noticed is ranking high in the search results.

Also Read: Why hyper-localisation is key to optimising voice-based SEO

What’s more, voice search is one of the growing digital marketing trends in Asia, and more than half of smartphone owners use voice-enabled technology to find information about products.

If a business wants to stand out in Asia to those who use voice search, it would have to use localised, voice-friendly phrases and specific linguistic solutions to make it’s brand more noticeable to search engines and users alike.

That’s why SEO Services in Singapore will differ from those of its neighbouring regions, as brands that are located in this country need to use a strategic approach to become more visible for its voice search users. After all, their numbers are growing, and their search preferences are changing.

If your local users rely on phrases such as “the best pastry shop near me” or “in Singapore”, then your website and your SEO strategy need to reflect those trends. It sounds simple, but it pays to understand the market and its evolution in order to implement the best approach for your specific market and industry.

This will become especially relevant for mobile searches, as more users are switching to shopping on the go, which means relying on portable devices that should boast the same voice features. Having more mobile users means you’ll need a stellar mobile presence combined with local-friendly SEO tactics. 

Personalisation through voice apps

Some of the most notable brands across different industries have noticed how voice search can become their tool for better customer engagement, improved personalised experiences for each customer, and many other improvements across the board. 

Look at the giants such as Tide or Nestle – they have no time to hand-sign letters to customers, and yet, personalisation is a huge deal in their industries.

They make use of voice assistants to personalise their customers’ experiences every step of the way, and most importantly, especially after the purchase. You’d expect the journey to end there, and for brands to let you figure it all out, but with voice assistants, you can integrate your brand features and let them lead the way.

For instance, Nestle has built an app called GoodNes for Amazon’s Alexa to turn a dull cooking session into a culinary adventure with guidelines, tips, and tricks to make it simpler and voice-guided so that you don’t have to use your hands at all.

Another example includes automotive brands that have started using smart features in their vehicles and thus promote safe, streamlined rides with more user-friendly options for you as the driver. How about choosing your favourite tunes by merely telling your voice assistant integrated with your Toyota vehicle what you’re in the mood for.

The life of an average shopper has changed drastically over the past several years. We’ve moved from large keyboards and large screens to pocket-sized touch-screen devices that can recognise your face and your fingerprints.

Now that they can recognise your voice, alongside those home-based smart speakers, e-commerce brands need to step up their game in making themselves known in this voice-dominant world.

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Editor’s note: e27 publishes relevant guest contributions from the community. Share your honest opinions and expert knowledge by submitting your content here.

Join our e27 Telegram group here, or our e27 contributor Facebook page here.

Image Credit: Kelly Sikkema

This article was first published on September 24, 2019

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In today’s business world, technology is like the engine pushing companies into a future where everything is about digital advancements and improvements. However, this also results in a formidable challenge — the staggering accumulation of 420.3 million tonnes of e-waste globally, which primarily comes from the disposal of obsolete IT equipment.

Here in Malaysia, we also grapple with our own e-waste challenges, generating approximately 365,000 tonnes of e-waste annually. Clearly, tackling this electronic waste problem is a matter of immediate urgency.

While commendable efforts such as the Environmental Quality (Scheduled Waste) Regulations and even a national e-waste collection day exist, they primarily address the disposal of existing e-waste. What we need more of are proactive measures designed to curtail e-waste at its source, and businesses — as major contributors of e-waste — must recognise their role as catalysts for positive change. Simple operational changes can pave the way for a more sustainable business landscape.

Integrating digital mindfulness into business purchasing decisions

A foundational step in sustainable e-waste management is adopting a mindful approach to purchasing electronic equipment. Many organisations face redundancy issues as different teams independently acquire similar gadgets, leading to the accumulation of surplus electronic devices and eventual e-waste. To address this, businesses should actively seek out electronics manufacturers prioritising Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) principles.

Also Read: Growing and transforming global greentechs for sustainability

In the ambit of the 12th Malaysia Plan, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has spearheaded the proactive implementation of EPR. From a business-to-business (B2B) standpoint, collaboration with such manufacturers becomes crucial, ensuring that products are not only efficient but also designed with sustainability in mind.

It ensures alignment with environmental goals, regulatory compliance, and corporate social responsibility, fostering a responsible and sustainable business ecosystem that contributes to the nation’s environmental agenda.

Eliminating waste through digital subscriptions to daily software and devices

While responsible purchasing, EPR, and repairs are crucial, a groundbreaking solution gaining prominence is the Device-as-a-Service (DaaS) model. Recognising the shortcomings of our linear economy, where goods are produced, used, and discarded without consideration for consequences, the DaaS model aligns seamlessly with the emerging circular economy. As the global rental market is already growing by a significant 30 per cent, DaaS emerges as a game-changer in acquiring and managing electronic devices sustainably.

DaaS allows businesses to subscribe to devices instead of making outright purchases. This aligns with a circular economy mindset, reducing long-term commitments and ensuring responsible device management.

Complete Human Network (CHN),  as an enterprise mobility company, actively contributes to reducing e-waste through the DaaS model, collaborating with industry leaders and various ecosystem partners. The scalability and flexibility of DaaS make it accessible for businesses of all sizes, empowering them to contribute to a more sustainable future.

The CHN DaaS methodology has showcased proven success through widespread adoption across diverse sectors, including financial services, banking and insurance, aviation, government, education, and POS retail. This adoption has been substantial and impactful.

Businesses are urged to move beyond waste disposal and work towards waste elimination. By adopting a circular economy mindset, supporting innovative models like DaaS, and making environmentally conscious choices, every business, regardless of size, can play a vital role in creating a sustainable future.

After all, why settle for waste disposal when we can work towards eliminating it altogether?

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Dear reader,

The US House of Representatives’ passing of a bill targeting TikTok’s owner, ByteDance, represents a significant development in the ongoing saga between the social media platform and US lawmakers.

The bill, which received overwhelming support in the House, mandates ByteDance to divest from TikTok within 165 days or face a total ban in the United States. This move underscores growing concerns over national security and potential data privacy issues associated with Chinese ownership of popular social media platforms.

TikTok’s CEO, Shou Zi Chew, expressed disappointment at the decision, emphasising the company’s commitment to data security and the platform’s independence from external influences. Chew warned of the bill’s potential repercussions, including job losses and limitations on free expression.

The bill’s fate in the Senate remains uncertain, with some Democrats raising concerns about freedom of speech implications and advocating for broader measures to address foreign influence in social media. Nevertheless, the White House has signalled its support for the legislation, underscoring the administration’s stance on national security issues related to Chinese-owned tech companies.

While the bill primarily targets TikTok, its implications extend to other China-owned platforms operating in the US, potentially impacting companies like Tencent’s WeChat. As the debate unfolds, stakeholders on both sides continue to advocate for their positions, setting the stage for further deliberation and potential legislative action.

Sainul,
Editor.

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NEWS

Shiok Meats CEO Sandhya Sriram to step down after merger with Umami Bioworks
The Shiok Meats brand will be retained, and its employees will join Umami Bioworks; The new entity’s initial market launch will likely involve hybrid products, combining cultivated fish cells with plant-based ingredients.

House votes to force TikTok owner ByteDance to divest or face US ban
The vote was a landslide, with 352 Congress members voting in favour and only 65 against; The bill gives China-based ByteDance 165 days to divest from TikTok; The CEO says vote is ‘disappointing’ and that it will do all it can to protect the platform.

AwanTunai bags US$27.5M, hits positive EBITDA
The investors include Norfund, MUFG Innovation, and OP Finnfund; It will use the money to expand its lending capital facilities to cover over US$2B worth of annualised inventory purchase financing by year-end.

Cash returns still ‘elusive’ for VC, PE investors in SEA startups: report
While VC deals in Southeast Asia tripled between 2015 and 2021, exits have been hard to come by, challenging both investors and mature startups in the region, according to a new report by US-based research firm PitchBook.

Funding into SEA’s female-led startups falls 42% to US$480.8M in 2023: Tracxn
In Southeast Asia, Singapore dominates the female-led startup landscape, with US$3 billion raised across 380 rounds to date.

Choco Up, Atlas Growth Fund to provide US$15M capital to F&B firms in Singapore
The first 100 F&B businesses that qualify will get SGD10,000 (US$7,500) pre-approved funding and a 6-month subscription to core Atlas products, including online storefronts with delivery capabilities and payment gateway.

Animoca Brands expands MENA footprint with investment in UAE gaming firm
Param Labs is a game development company specializing in multiplayer blockchain games and AAA design, which refers to high-budget games distributed by high-profile publishers.

SG gaming studio Lives Interactive secures US$3M
The investors include Mechanism Capital, Sfermion, 3Commas Capital, and Momentum 6; An independent gaming studio, 9 Lives will use the funds to develop its debut game, a cat-themed hero shooter called Nyan Heroes.

OKX Ventures invests in Bitcoin DeFi protocol DLC.Link
DLC.Link aims to bring the power and innovation of DeFi to the Bitcoin ecosystem without compromising on security, decentralisation or user experience; It partners with institutions (called dlcBTC Merchants) to mint dlcBTC, a decentralised wrapped Bitcoin.

Indonesia may block several foreign-owned OTAs this week
Booking.com, Expedia, Klook, and Trivago are not yet on not registered with the registry; They were given five working days to register – otherwise, they may be subject to punitive measures including a block.

OKX gets in-principle approval for digital token services in Singapore
The licence allows OKX to provide digital payment tokens and cross-border money transfer services in the city-state; The company looks to build a locally tailored suite of products and services.

Paytm secures the license it needs to survive
Paytm can participate in the payments ecosystem as a third-party application provider; The license won’t restore several of the perks Paytm enjoyed before but will allow the Noida-headquartered firm to operate similarly to Google Pay.

Singapore’s digital behaviour aggregator Sqreem acquires Trade Indy
Trade Indy is an outcome-focused data analyst and programmatic trader; Sqreeem develops AI solutions that match online behaviours with brands and publishers, identifying clients’ most valuable groups of customers and their behaviours.

Carsome appoints ex-Jardine exec to COO post as it eyes IPO
Eric Chan brings with him three decades of experience in the automotive industry across Singapore and Malaysia; He was earlier MD at Jardine Cycle & Carriage’s Singapore subsidiary and chairman for a Malaysian unit that operates Mercedes-Benz dealerships.

Xendit expands to Thailand, names co-founder as country CEO
In Thailand, the payment gateway firm will compete with incumbents such as TrueMoney and Rabbit Line Pay; Xendit already operates in Malaysia, the Philippines, and its home country of Indonesia.

FEATURES & INTERVIEWS

10 highest-funded female-led startups in Southeast Asia
Of the 1,700 female-led startups, 657 have raised investments so far, of which 14.3% have progressed to Series A and 1.8% to Series C or beyond; Singapore, with US$3B raised across 380 rounds to date, dominates the region.

How Fave founder’s new VC firm helps Malaysian entrepreneurs make their First Move
First Move has backed ten ventures in the inaugural year, prioritising diversity and innovation in Malaysia’s startup ecosystem; 35% of the founders it has supported so far are women.

The solopreneur boom: How Finna is empowering the future of work
Finna is an all-in-one solution that streamlines workflows by facilitating customer management, proposal creation, and payment processing, offering a comprehensive solution to the complexities of solo business management.

Why Soul Ventures Founder seeks founders with a vision “so big it seems impossible”
Soul Ventures has invested in notable names such as OpenAI and SpaceX; But what opportunities is it looking for in Southeast Asia?

Trust Bank aims to become Singapore’s fourth-largest bank with new product innovations
Trust Bank, a JV between Standard Chartered and FairPrice Group, is a digital bank whose customer base has grown to over 700K (14% of Singapore’s bankable population), with deposits grown to US$1.4B.

CONTRIBUTORY ARTICLES

Want to keep your best employees from quitting? Facebook execs and Adam Grant tells you how
Employees become attracted to their work when they’re connected with the meaning behind the job; You can help remind them what the work means in terms of end result impact for the company and the people it serves.

Building resilience against cyber attacks in ASEAN through data
The average annual cost of cybercrime is rising, expected to increase from US$8.4T in 2022 to more than US$23T in 20271; APAC is particularly vulnerable when compared to its global counterparts, accounting for 31% of all incidents remediated worldwide.

Buy from her: Elevating women’s entrepreneurship
Supporting women-led businesses offers access to quality products and services and fosters diversity and inclusivity in the business ecosystem.

Beyond the draft: Why AI won’t save fiction authors (yet)
We need to find ways to leverage the massive potential of AI for solutions that take fiction works from inception to market fruition.

Beyond apps and telehealth: The power of the Village approach for mental well-being
The village offers a platform for genuine conversations, creating a safe space to share challenges and find support in overcoming them.

SPOTLIGHT

Daniel Tan: Finding opportunity in crisis and market inefficiency
Explore how Tan identifies and addresses a loan industry problem, creating efficient connections between borrowers and lenders.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

Why a customer-centric digital marketing strategy is the way to go?
Being customer-centric doesn’t at all mean that you’ll be losing business at the expense of making your customers happy.

Is voice the next revolution in fintech?
Most people in Asia 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.

10 unarguable things that great leaders do
To be a great leader you don’t just need followers and employees, you need a whole team of leaders under you; Think Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway, and all of their companies.

Globalise your strategy, localise your conversations: the key to nailing native in new markets
Knowing what can make an impact now, and what to prepare for moving forward, for each local region, a balance can be established for marketers and advertisers.

11 easy strategies that are important for every startup to succeed
All start-ups need financial support; Securing the first round of funding is not going to be easy as you are starting from ground zero; You need good ideas with a reasonable go-to-market strategy.

Why trust is the biggest barrier to entrepreneurship and innovation
It is a basic principle in economics that in order for a trade to happen, the involved parties need to trust in their mutual gain from it; Trust enables value creation, and this makes it everyone’s most valuable asset.

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

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

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You came up with an idea, nurtured it into an enterprise, planted your feet firmly in the domestic market, and now envision tapping the foreign markets. What are the next steps you must take?

Naturally, you require capital to make capital. Once you have secured the necessary amount of funding, where do you invest the sum, how, and how much at a time? 

These are some of the questions among a million other concerns that play out in the head of all entrepreneurs seeking to wade into international commercial waters. The decision, after all, is daring, the prospect is daunting, but this does not mean that the execution needs to be nerve-wracking.  

For any vision to be realized to perfection, the efforts must be driven on the back of a robust strategic framework. The following, then, are some of the key points that growth-minded leaders need to keep in mind when planning to go global:

1. Think global, act local 

While it is important to develop a global vision, it is imperative to keep awareness of the ground realities and stay rooted in the present.

For, it is only after you have registered significant growth domestically and mustered enough commercial momentum that you are encouraged to expand internationally.

The prospect presents itself so naturally that the decision might look like a small, albeit significant, step to you but when you delve into the pragmatics involved, you realize how giant a leap it is for the organization.

Therefore, in order to ensure a secure and reliable passage into this brave new world, you must first be confident that your operations are effectively resolving the pertinent pain points in your local market.    

2. Have a concise and well-thought-through plan of action 

In order to make it big in the global market, you must first aspire to become the industry leader on your home turf. For this, you need to inculcate agile thinking and learn to strike the right balance between prudence and recklessness.

While the tendency to make short-term strategies that yield quick results might help you bag several small victories, you will realize that this stance will not serve you well in your struggle to realize your overarching vision in the long haul. Conversely, directing your entire focus on winning a war waged on the frontiers while ignoring battles closer to home will amount to self-sabotage. 

Therefore, work on a plan with clearly identified goals for the next 30 days, the next 3 months, and the next 3 years. Gone are the days when long-term would imply vague aspirations for 10 years down the line. On a long enough timeline, everyone would be dead, so it’s important to have a shorter turnaround time for measurable goals.

3. Technology is your best friend

New-age leaders need to learn to prioritize technology from the get-go without fixating on the perfect product. You also need to stay abreast of technological advancements that are occurring at the speed of light.

Figuring out which innovation can be plugged into your business infrastructure can help you maximize the quality, efficiency, and effectiveness of your offering. This, along with incorporating the necessary changes based on user feedback, is the only proven way forward. Keep pivoting and experimenting, but never lose focus on the MVP.

4. Evolve with your customer base

No amount of marketing histrionics will yield the right results unless you listen to your customers. Learn to integrate customer feedback at every stage to make your product resolve a real-world problem, instead of the other way around – the sooner the better.

Also Read: Is Taiwan ready to become a global innovation hub?

Building a product first and trying to create an audience for it later is the quickest way to the business graveyard. Solving real-life problems, and doing it effectively, will get you all the traction you need to stay on the winning side of the court. It will also get you further in the game on the back of enthusiastic word-of-mouth referrals.

5. Don’t obsess over competitors, but don’t ignore them either

Keep your rivals within your radar just enough for you to learn from their mistakes. However, do not look to them in the hope of chancing upon a way forward.

Your goal should be to build a better company by creating original differentiation, not ape the ones already existing in the market.

6. Execution is key

An idea is only as strong as its execution. Examine ventures outside your immediate industry niche that have a similar user behaviour, business model, etc. for out-of-the-box inspiration.

Supplementing your strategies with innovative work models will enable you to arrive at unique solutions to existing problems. Above all, never be afraid to fail. Fail fast, fail better. Learn from your mistakes, and get back to the drawing board every single time.

7. Sustainability trumps everything

Treat external funding not as an end goal, but as a means to an end. Ultimately, everything will boil down to whether you are able to create value for everyone involved – be it your clients, your employees, and other stakeholders, or yourself.

Also Read: Creating an employee engagement strategy that works

When you have checked all of these boxes and then some, consider yourself prepared to spearhead an effective expansion drive overseas.

While no amount of preparation can eliminate 100 per cent of the problems that you may face, a strategy-backed execution will help tide over the challenges with relative ease. After all, never has a sailor conquered a sea without setting sail.

And so, bon voyage!  

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Editor’s note: e27 publishes relevant guest contributions from the community. Share your honest opinions and expert knowledge by submitting your content here.

Join our e27 Telegram group here, or our e27 contributor Facebook page here.

Image Credit: Brett Zeck

This article was first published on October 1, 2019

The post Creating a global market for your business and what it takes to grow one  appeared first on e27.

9 Lives Interactive, an independent game studio, has secured US$3 million in a funding round led by Mechanism Capital.

Delphi Digital, Sfermion, 3Commas Capital, Momentum 6, Kosmos Ventures, Devmons GG, and CSP DAO also joined.

The investment will be used to develop 9 Lives Interactive’s debut title, Nyan Heroes, a next-generation hero shooter game and cat-inspired IP to drive mass adoption.

Also Read: How the right ecosystem partners can propel Web3 games in the next market cycle

Founded in 2021 by industry veterans from leading studios, including EA, Bungie, and Ubisoft, 9 Lives Interactive utilises cutting-edge Unreal Engine 5 and blockchain technology to revolutionise the gaming industry.

Its debut title Nyan Heroes is a team-based, objective hero-shooter featuring quirky cats who pilot powerful mechs in competitive battles to save the world. Players select from eight guardian classes and use unique abilities and agile, feline-inspired movement to secure objectives and defeat opponents.

Mechs are customisable via an innovative “augment weapon” system, providing a wide range of play styles and opportunities to express high skill levels.

Currently, in pre-alpha, Nyan Heroes claims to have seen over 13,000 signups following its recent announcement of its early access launch.

Also Read: Web3 games should aim to have sustainable tokenomics, ecosystems: Froyo Games’s Douglas Gan

“Nyan Heroes features bleeding-edge technology, including the capabilities of the Unreal 5 engine and blockchain, to support true asset ownership in a thriving creator economy. We believe that this is the next evolution, where cute cat heroes give this genre mass appeal, which will lead to both Web2 and Web3 player adoption,” said Max Fu, Creative Director and CEO of 9 Lives Interactive.

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

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

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e27 has been dedicated to nurturing a supportive ecosystem for entrepreneurs since its inception. Our Contributor Programme offers a platform for sharing unique insights.

As part of our ‘Contributor Spotlight’, we spotlight an outstanding contributor and dive into the vastness of their knowledge and expertise.

In this edition, we explore the journey of Daniel Tan, Founder of FindTheLoan.com, Singapore’s first loan marketplace. Since publishing his inaugural thought leadership article with us in 2018, Tan’s subsequent articles have amassed over 10,000 views.

Thoughts, goals, and journey

Having experienced two layoffs from banking roles during the 2008 mortgage crisis, Tan decided to explore entrepreneurship. Despite uncertainty about the business idea, he immersed himself in tech strategies, including defensibility moats, walled gardens, engineering marketing, coding, and digital marketing.

Transitioning to the insurance industry post-banking, Tan became an assistant agency leader, eventually co-founding a mortgage loan agency with colleagues. His interest in improving the loan process was sparked in mid-2019 when a friend sought help assembling a team of loan brokers. Recognising the persisting manual, slow, and error-prone nature of the industry, Tan envisioned a solution.

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic intensified the need for streamlined loan processes. Tan observed brokers selectively serving borrowers based on loan size and increasing fees for perceived complex cases. Motivated by this inefficiency, he conceived the idea of a loan marketplace connecting borrowers directly to multiple lenders with a single application, eliminating intermediaries.

“Honestly, I don’t know if I have a particular expertise. When it comes to loans, loan brokering, engineering, and so on, many people know so much more than I do. Previous attempts to solve this problem in my industry were all by specialists. Being a generalist was, in my opinion, the reason I understood the needs and works of lenders vs borrowers vs brokers and to marry and design an end-to-end product,” said Tan candidly.

Also Read: Karen Kim: Leveraging design thinking for efficient decision-making in data management

In observing trends within his industry, Tan noted a growing awareness among venture capitalists and fintech companies of the existing credit gap, particularly for SMEs, which had persisted since the subprime crisis. Recognising the emergence of numerous fintech lenders, he pondered the challenge of efficiently connecting borrowers with these lenders while minimising friction in the process.

Furthermore, Tan observed a surge in startups and solutions focusing on KYC/AML processes, alternative credit assessment data, and AI application in credit scoring. However, amidst this growth, he contemplated the potential impact of increasing concerns regarding data privacy on these industry players.

Advice for budding thought leaders

Tan believes the best approach to making connections as a thought leader is understanding others’ perspectives and concerns, ensuring that your writing resonates with them.

“For instance, my recent article was on objection vs rejection. Having also been through it myself, I was prompted to write it after a friend lamented to me about how someone rejected him. I believe most founders are open to genuine feedback, but not from those who were not listening and probably just wanted to look smarter by being critical. Reading many articles each day from various sources and observing how leaders frame their words and thoughts also taught me a thing or two.”

Juggling too many things?

Reflecting on his approach to maintaining work-life balance, Tan remarked, “Balancing work and personal life can be challenging, especially for founders starting from scratch. Often, sacrifices must be made, with social life being the first to be trimmed down. Despite this, I’ve found a way to blend both worlds by offering advice to friends on their startups. While I wouldn’t label it as mentoring, it allows me to intertwine work with personal connections, offering face time with friends beyond the usual business circles.”

Also Read: David Kim: Championing entrepreneurs, shaping the future of innovation

Staying in the loop

For staying updated on industry developments while on the move, Tan relies on e27 and Google Alerts.

In recommending resources for keeping abreast of industry trends, Tan suggests following his blog, which provides detailed insights on selecting loan types, comparing offers, and exploring various financing options like VC, angels, and crowdfunding. For startups, he recommends two books: Venture Deals and The Matchmaker.

“Starting up can be extremely tough. I keep my loved ones’ photos on my desk, and my laptop wallpaper is filled with inspiring quotes, like my favourite from Ray Kroc, who transformed McDonald’s into what we see today: ‘Nothing in this world can take the place of good old persistence. Talent won’t. Nothing’s more common than unsuccessful men with talent.’ Often, starting up can be the toughest challenge one would ever understand. Having the courage to keep going is the number one skill I believe matters above all else,” Tan concluded.

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Join the e27 Contributor Programme and become a valuable voice in our ecosystem. 

The post Daniel Tan: Banker turned fintech founder, finding opportunity in crisis and market inefficiency appeared first on e27.