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 shine a spotlight on an outstanding contributor and dive into the vastness of their knowledge and expertise.

In this episode, we explore the journey of Reinis Simanovskis, Co-Founder and CTO of Finfra, as he works to establish embedded lending in Indonesia. Finfra provides the necessary infrastructure and seamless integration for technology companies in Southeast Asia to embed financial services from application to decision to operations.

Thoughts, goals, and journey

Before transitioning into fintech, Simanovskis worked as a management consultant, primarily collaborating with Telco and some banking clients across Europe and Africa. Upon visiting a friend from university, he decided to relocate and join him in founding Danabijak initially, and now they have co-founded Finfra together as well.

Simanovskis specialises in embedded lending, setting up full-scope loan management systems from scratch.

“In embedded lending, there’s a trend that this is the best avenue how to distribute Impact funds as you can target distribution channels that fit your impact criteria. In loan management systems, there’s been a significant shift over the last five years. There has been a huge switch from in-house-built systems to outsourced SaaS services, and the outsourced systems are getting better and cheaper each year. At first glance, it looks easier to set up lending systems. Also, the KYC, fraud and risk challenges are increasing — meaning your system needs are increasing as well,” Simanovskis noted.

The driving force

Simanovskis became part of the e27 contributor community in March last year. His articles, which delve into topics like embedded lending, lending as a service, AI, and more, have amassed over 3000 content views.

Also Read: Top 10 contributing startup founders shaping the tech industry

“I’m mostly a rather quiet guy and not necessarily jumping in the spotlight. I saw this as an opportunity to create some content based on the experience I’ve gathered in the industry and hopefully provide useful guidance to others,” he said candidly.

Advice for budding thought leaders

Simanovskis emphasises the importance of consistency when offering advice to aspiring thought leaders. “Consistency in communication and in your message is key,” he reflects. “Building your personal brand is achievable with a simple yet consistent message.”

Juggling too many things?

When discussing how he maintains work-life balance, Simanovskis highlights the importance of eliminating time-draining habits that don’t contribute to personal or professional goals. “Last year, I switched off all my social media except LinkedIn,” he shared. “This not only saved time but also freed up mental bandwidth. Whether your goals are in your career, family, or elsewhere, it’s crucial to conduct an internal audit to ensure your time and mental energy align with them.”

Staying in the loop

To stay updated and informed about the latest happenings and changes in his field, Simanovskis said, “Keeping a wide network both here in Indonesia and back in Europe with relevant peers. Luckily, in Latvia (where I’m from), there’s a huge number of global fintech lending founders and professionals, which makes it a lot easier for me to keep up with global trends!”

He recommends the Fintech Insider Podcast by 11:FS, hosted by one of the leading fintech consultancies globally. The podcast features great guests and covers excellent topics, keeping listeners up to date with global trends.

—

Are you ready to join a vibrant community of entrepreneurs and industry experts? Do you have insights, experiences, and knowledge to share?

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

The post Reinis Simanovskis: Building embedded lending infrastructure for SEA appeared first on e27.

NEWS

SEA startups got US$5.5B funding in 2023, lowest since 2018: report
It’s more than a 30% fall from US$8.4 billion in 2022, and is the lowest total capital raised since 2018, according to the January Capital report; SEA’s tech sector made 855 investment deals in 2023.

Startup salaries cool down in 2023, but job security remains intact: Report
The Southeast Asia Startup Talent Trends Report 2024 by Glints and Monk’s Hill revealed that despite layoffs and salaries cooling in Southeast Asia, demand for tech talent remains high across markets amid increased supply.

GudangAda denies report that it may shut down
DealStreetAsia recently reported that the board of the Indonesian B2B e-commerce firm is mulling options that include winding down operations; B2B ecommerce startups have struggled of late.

Drop in Tokopedia’s market share led to TikTok acquisition: GoTo chief
The “very intense” competition in the Indonesian e-commerce space also led to the deal; ‘Our competitors are large foreign companies with significant funding. To grow and survive, Tokopedia requires a very large investment,’ said Patrick Walujo.

PropertyGuru lays off 79 employees amid strategic shift
In a message to employees, CEO Hari V. Krishnan cited changing customer needs and a volatile market in Southeast Asia as the main factors for the strategic shift; PropertyGuru will shut down non-scalable businesses, including two branches in Vietnam.

SCBX acquires consumer finance firm Home Credit Vietnam for US$866M
Home Credit claimed to hold the second-largest market share in the country’s consumer finance, accounting for 14% of total market; The company has nearly 6,000 employees and 15 million customers in Vietnam.

Soft skills, learning ability becoming important for hiring managers
A staggering 88 per cent of employers have observed substantial changes in the skills and qualifications they prioritise in job candidates due to the pervasive impact of AI and automation in their industries, says a LinkedIn report.

Singapore’s cybersecurity startup Silence Lab raises US$4.1M
Investors include Pi Ventures and Kira Studio; Silence Laboratories aims to create a global privacy-compliant collaboration infrastructure, eliminating single points of failure for enterprises.

Achmad Zaky, 500 Global invest in Indonesian e-commerce enabler Komerce
Komerce offers remote team development, shipping aggregators, e-fulfilment, omnichannel SaaS, and CRM; It claims that 25K SMEs are registered and transacting on its platform, with over 2M transactions recorded in 2023.

Bootstrapped baby e-commerce brand KeaBabies hits US$58M in 2023 revenue
It is an increase from US$37M of revenue in 2022; The Singaporean firm continued to be profitable in 2023 with double-digit net profit margins; The firm first turned a profit in its sixth month of operations.

Singapore-based B2B payments firm Fluid bags US$5.2M
Insignia Ventures Partners is the lead investor; The company enables businesses to get paid faster and offers flexible payment options to their customers; By using Fluid, suppliers no longer need to engage with debt providers and undergo credit checks for buyers.

Animoca Brands invests in SG Web3 entertainment startup Imaginary Ones
Imaginary Ones has launched a Web3 gaming series titled Bubble Rider and Bubble Rangers, which it claims has garnered 6 million plays in three weeks; The games were designed in collaboration with international fashion brand Hugo Boss.

Ex-Googlers raise US$1.25M for text-free social app Yolk.fm
Investors include Forge Ventures, Sequoia’s Scout Fund, and investors from DST Global and Temasek; Yolk.fm lets users post images, and then react with AI-generated stickers of their face (or other things).

Farquhar, Korea’s S&S Lab collaborate to support biotech, foodtech startups
S&S Lab and Farquhar will collaborate on exchanging innovation ecosystem insights and mutually supporting each other’s biopharma/foodtech portfolio companies.

Web3 development tools startup BuildBear Labs nets US$1.9M funding
Investors include Superscrypt, Tribe Capital, 1kx, Iterative, Plug-N-Play; BuildBear offers developers the ability to craft customised Private Testnet sandboxes across multiple EVM and EVM-compatible blockchain networks.

Unified contact centre platform K-LINK nets funding for SEA expansion
Investors include Indelible Ventures, A2D Ventures, and Accelerating Asia; The capital will enable K-LINK to accelerate its expansion plans into Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, and Indonesia.

Protégé Ventures backs food order, delivery automation startup ZOLO
ZOLO’s solution integrates WhatsApp order details, transforming unstructured text messages into structured purchase orders and incorporating them into back-office ERP systems.

Ex-Funding Societies CTO launches YC-backed e-commerce AI startup
Branch AI, founded by Ishan Agrawal, is an ecommerce-focused platform that uses large language models and other related tech; Branch AI provides several tools, including those that enhance the quality of tail queries, boost search relevance, and analyse search queries.

FEATURES & INTERVIEWS

A paradigm shift on the Z axis: How Gen Z is shaping the new work culture
Gen Z, armed with digital prowess and a vision for a brighter future, is forging new paths by prioritising personal happiness over tradition.

Toki aims to bring transparency, trust to the collectible e-commerce space
Toki, a social commerce platform for collectibles, encompasses the features of a marketplace and livestream auction and offers 70K authentic items.

NBA star Jeremy Lin-backed BINAR aims to reach profitability through new innovations
BINAR is an edutech company that provides digital skills training through experiential, flipped, project/problem-based and collaborative learning methods; BINAR says it has trained more than 130,000 students and involved more than 850 facilitators.

Prefer develops climate-friendly beanless coffee for the masses
After Singapore, Prefer looks forward to expanding to the Philippines and other Asian coffee markets, including Indonesia, Korea, and Japan. It is also looking forward to exploring other products, including cacao.

CONTRIBUTORY ARTICLES

What are the possible investment strategies after ETH spot approval?
There are various investment avenues in the cryptocurrency post-spot ETF approval to potentially profit from ETH market movements.

Why startup founders should look for sharks as mentors
Mentors could be useful if they are the right ones — they can add real value; The wrong mentor will waste your time.

Driving innovation: How cutting-edge software startups are attracting Asian investors
For startups outside Asia to benefit from the region’s growth, leaders must grasp how to appeal to the desires of Asian financiers.

Will climate change force us to re-imagine travel in the future?
The metaverse offers a taste of a place, a culture, and a set of values that may otherwise be foreign to us; Virtual landscapes exist to be explored but also to be designed.

GB Helios: Empowering SMEs with tailored and innovative financial solutions
How GB Helios empowers Small-Medium Enterprises (SMEs) with tailored financing solutions backed by a legacy of success in Singapore.

CONTRIBUTOR SPOTLIGHT

Reinis Simanovskis: Building embedded lending infrastructure for SEA
Explore how Simanovskis is transforming embedded lending in Southeast Asia and shaping the fintech landscape with Finfra.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

Dynamic content in the era of machine learning
Each variation is automatically crafted for the individual consumer, and decisions are made based on the consumer’s unique tastes and interests.

8 productivity hacks to streamline your work-life
Bjorn Lee says his main productivity rule is that it’s not about more time, but more attention; his preferred byword for discipline, willpower, focus, and concentration.

What I learned about procrastination while scaling my startup to 4.2M users
The reasons we avoid completing a task are extremely personal; The commonly touted “productivity hacks” don’t always cut it.

Save yourselves and stop making these pitch deck mistakes
Іt’s а cold wоrld оut thеrе, and sometimes you’ll get a little frosty too. So make sure you are prepared. Starting from your pitch deck.

How the UGC economy is shaping the next era of creative game development
As the gaming industry embraces UGC, players become both creators and contributors to the game’s ecosystem.

Neuroscience-backed productivity tips every tech founder should adopt
What if the key to boosting productivity isn’t just working harder, but rather understanding the intricacies of how your brain operates?

Founding a startup: You think you’re ready, but are you really ready?
According to the Lean Startup methodology, many startups fail to take off simply because founders never take the time to speak to their potential customers about their needs, and how the product can help fulfill these needs.

—

The post Ecosystem Roundup: Startup investments in SEA in 2023 hit a 5-year low | GudangAda denies it is shutting down appeared first on e27.

Despite the lingering challenges of the tech industry, Southeast Asian startups are forging ahead with remarkable resilience, as evidenced by the recent influx of funding. From fintech to e-commerce enablers, these ventures are attracting investments to fuel their growth and innovation.

Below are the list and profiles of startups that announced investments this week:

ProCredit

Country: The Philippines
Funding: US$4.1 million
Round: Pre-seed
Investors: Menardo Jimenez Family Office, M Venture Partners, Cento Ventures, Gobi-Core Philippine Fund, and angels

ProCredit is a tech-enabled SME lender in the Philippines started by a founding team that has held senior lending roles at Citigroup, Standard Chartered, ANZ, and the Asian Development Bank. The startup employs credit-first client engagements, a rules-based underwriting and portfolio management architecture, and flexible product offerings incorporating risk-based pricing. It claims to reduce operating costs and expenses while improving customer experience.

1Long

Country: Vietnam
Funding: US$500K
Round: Pre-seed
Investors: Iterative, Monk’s Hill Ventures, R2VP, Orionis Capital

1Long is a wealth management platform. Founded by a team of former investment banking and Y Combinator-backed veterans, 1Long enables individuals to start with as little as 10,000 VND (approximately less than US$1).

It offers two principal savings products, 1Safe and 1Term, designed for flexible savings with annual returns of up to 6.6 per cent and the possibility of earning rewards up to 9 per cent for long-term deposits. The platform allows daily transfers and withdrawals without fees, thus removing barriers to accessing funds.

The new capital will be channelled into technology development, partnerships with asset managers and financial institutions, and strategic team expansion.

K-LINK

Country: Singapore
Funding: Undisclosed
Round: Not specified
Investors: Indelible Ventures, A2D Ventures, Accelerating Asia, angels

K-LINK provides a unified contact centre platform. It aims to simplify enterprises’ customer service operations with its single, omnichannel contact centre platform, eliminating the need for complex telecom infrastructure and costly hardware. Organisations can manage their telephony, social media channels, SMS, email, video calls, tickets, and CRM in one dashboard.

Also Read: Unified contact centre platform K-LINK nets funding for SEA expansion

The capital will fuel K-LINK’s expansion in Southeast Asia.

Refy

Country: Singapore
Funding: US$525K
Round: Pre-seed 
Investor: Wavemaker Impact

Refy is an AI-powered green asset fintech financier in Southeast Asia. Refy aims to de-risk smaller green assets for investors by offering asset-based financing solutions. By prioritising decarbonisation, Refy aims to eliminate barriers to project deployment stemming from issues related to bankability.

Refy sees a significant opportunity to increase the bankability of these smaller green assets by supporting high-potential green asset project developers in two main ways:

1- by providing innovative and flexible financing solutions to developers tailored to the nature and risk of the assets,

2- by offering an AI-enabled technology platform that streamlines due diligence and project evaluation processes.

This funding will allow Refy to execute secured pilot projects, develop its technical platform, and assemble a specialised team with experience in green assets and industrial projects.

Komerce

Country: Indonesia
Funding: Undisclosed 
Round: Not specified
Investors: Achmad Zaky, 500 Global

Komerce is an e-commerce enabler for small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) in Indonesia. Founded in 2020 by Darmawan, Syaefullah Syeif (COO), and Satriyo Budi Utomo (CTO), Komerce offers remote team development, shipping aggregators, e-fulfilment, omnichannel SaaS, and customer relationship management. Headquartered in Purbalingga, Central Java, the startup serves SMEs looking to start and expand their e-commerce business, especially those facing operational efficiency challenges.

Also Read: Achmad Zaky, 500 Global invest in Indonesian e-commerce enabler Komerce

The funding will allow Komerce to accelerate product development and customer acquisition.

ZOLO

Country: Singapore
Funding: US$25K
Round: pre-seed
Investors: Protégé Ventures

ZOLO is an AI-powered B2B software company started by two alums from two Singapore universities. Founded in 2023, ZOLO is designed to simplify orders, payments and deliveries for food suppliers.

In response to the growing trend of restaurants utilising messaging apps like WhatsApp for B2B orders with food suppliers, ZOLO first starts with addressing the challenges posed by text-based orders for food suppliers, which are time-consuming and error-prone (e.g., spelling mistakes, language variations, incorrect interpretation of acronyms). The solution integrates WhatsApp order details, transforming unstructured text messages into structured purchase orders and incorporating them into back-office enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. The three-layer AI technology helps suppliers reduce errors, save time, and minimise cost and wastage associated with inefficiencies of manual order processing.

With the solution, suppliers can easily automate and streamline their orders from WhatsApp to ERP in seconds.

Silence Laboratories

Country: Singapore
Funding: US$4.1 million 
Round: Not specified
Investors: Pi Ventures, Kira Studio, angels

Silence Laboratories is a cybersecurity startup focusing on Web3 technologies. Founded in 2021 by Dr Jay Prakash, Dr Andrei Bytes, and Dr Tony Quek, Silence Laboratories focuses on privacy-enhancing technologies through a fusion of cryptography and security engineering for enterprises. It aims to create a global infrastructure that enables privacy-compliant collaboration and exchange, eliminating single points of failure.

The fresh funds will be used to scale the company’s tech and business teams and enrich the company’s R&D pipeline.

BuildBear Labs

Country: Singapore
Funding: US$1.9 million
Round: Not specified
Investors: Superscrypt, Tribe Capital, 1kx, Iterative, Plug-N-Play, angels

BuildBear Labs is an innovator in Web3 development tools. Founded by Dipesh Sukhani and Emmanuel Antony, BuildBear Labs is building an automated and continuous testing engine (ACTE) inspired by tools like BrowserStack that goes beyond standard testing to address the unique complexities of the Web3 landscape.

The capital will be used to accelerate the development of BuildBear Labs’s flagship platform.

—

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 SEA startups get a funding boost in latest investment wave appeared first on e27.

Have you ever wondered if there is a convenient and accurate way to screen your business’ trading partners on their sustainability practices? Fear not; this is the solution that climate tech startup Givvable offers their clients.

The company builds an AI-powered platform for supplier sustainability that automates identifying and monitoring supplier sustainability and ESG data.

“In the past, organisations have used self-reported data and questionnaires to get information on the sustainability profile of their partners, but now, with regulatory and reporting requirements, organisations must have data-backed evidence of their claims, which can’t be satisfied through self-reported data,” explains Givvable COO Naomi Vowels in an email to e27.

“Givvable captures and tracks the sustainability profile of trading partners through 100 per cent verified data (i.e. no self-reported data). You can instantly look up the sustainability profile of a trading partner or have your entire supplier pool screened in bulk. We also provide tools for suppliers to self-register, complete modules, and improve their visibility to potential buyers, which are provided to suppliers for free.”

The platform also maps the sustainability profile of a supplier to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and corporate sustainability targets, making it easy for users to identify how a particular trading partner aligns with their sustainability goals.

Also Read: AC Ventures: Investors put more focus on ESG, but Indonesian startups seem ‘well-positioned’ for this shift

In developing the solutions, Givvable co-founders Naomi and Frances Vowels spent the first nine months undertaking more than 230 interviews with corporate and government officials to understand the problem they face with sustainability reporting.

“We created prototypes using Figma and other software to test the solution with three early adopters, who continue to be clients today, and did not build a single piece of tech or software until we were comfortable with the direction and roadmap,” Vowels says.

The co-founders both come from a financial services background and have seen many data challenges related to the ability to track the ESG profile of companies.

When they started investigating the space, they learned that this information was being captured in many organisations’ MS Excel, emails, and attachments. They are not systematically tracked or refreshed, quickly becoming out of date.

Further expansion in Asia

Within eight months of its launch, Vowels says that Givvable was able to secure its first international clients and has since expanded to countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, the Philippines, India, the EU, and the UK.

It also became the first sustainability tech platform selected to be displayed in the Microsoft Singapore Experience Centre.

Also Read: SaaS startup Pantas champions efficient ESG metric management, expands presence across SEA

“Our direct users are the sustainability and procurement teams of corporates and governments that must capture, track and report on the sustainability profile of their suppliers or trading partners. Many have set specific targets, such as all suppliers reporting emissions and disclosing actions to manage modern slavery risks, or have set social or local procurement or diversity targets. Or, they are responding to current or soon-to-be-implemented regulations, such as CSRD, that require reporting on the sustainability actions or profile of their value chain,” Vowels explains.

“Our indirect users access our data via partners, such as e-procurement, financial services companies, and e-commerce merchants.”

These clients can access Givvable’s quick search tool on a per-user-per-month fee. They can also access bulk screening tools on an annual subscription basis.

The Givvable team consists of 12 people who are split between three work streams: Sustainability, Data, and Dev/Product. The company has offices in Singapore, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

In addition to securing grants and prizes, Givvable has raised a pre-seed funding round in June 2022.

In 2024, the company plans to grow distribution through data partners and expand client coverage in Malaysia, Singapore and India.

—

Image Credit: Givvable

The post Givvable uses AI to automate supplier sustainability and ESG Monitoring appeared first on e27.

Visit Echelon X to learn more about the program. Get your tickets here!

Building partnerships and collaborations are crucial in the tech startup ecosystem, especially in Southeast Asia, due to the region’s diverse and rapidly evolving market dynamics. Partnerships offer startups access to resources, expertise, and networks that are essential for navigating complex challenges and accelerating growth.

In a region characterised by diverse cultures, languages, and regulatory landscapes, partnerships provide startups with local insights and market knowledge, enabling them to tailor their products and strategies effectively. Moreover, collaborations with established corporations, industry players, and government agencies can open doors to funding opportunities, distribution channels, and mentorship programs, fostering a supportive ecosystem conducive to innovation and entrepreneurship.

By collaborating with complementary stakeholders, startups can leverage each other’s strengths, whether it’s technological expertise, customer base, or market reach, to create value-added solutions and gain a competitive edge. Strategic alliances enable startups to pool resources, share risks, and explore new market opportunities that may be challenging to pursue independently. Furthermore, partnerships facilitate knowledge exchange and skill transfer, allowing startups to tap into diverse talent pools and stay at the forefront of technological advancements.

Also read: Exploring emerging tech at the Future Stage in Echelon X

Ultimately, building strong partnerships and collaborations is not only essential for individual startup success but also contributes to the overall growth and resilience of the tech ecosystem in Southeast Asia.

As such, by its very definition, Forge does not only stand for the coming together of multiple elements. Forge means to create something out of those elements. With this ethos in mind, Echelon X, happening on 15-16 May at the Singapore EXPO, proudly presents the Forge Stage, a platform dedicated to partnership-driven topics and discussions.

Echelon X to catalyse partnerships and collaborations

Echelon X is the 10th edition of the Echelon Asia Summit. At the heart of the summit is our mission as an ecosystem enabler to push for growth and innovation among the Asian startup ecosystem by providing a dynamic platform for collaboration, networking, and knowledge-sharing.

We believe in empowering entrepreneurs, startups, investors, and industry stakeholders to connect, learn, and thrive in a rapidly evolving digital landscape. Through our events, including the flagship Echelon Asia Summit, we aim to foster a vibrant community where ideas are nurtured, partnerships are forged, and breakthrough innovations are born. By bringing together diverse talents, perspectives, and resources, we strive to fuel the next generation of disruptive startups that will drive economic growth, create jobs, and shape the future of technology in Asia and beyond.

Also read: The first 27 key innovation leaders who will speak at Echelon X

At Echelon Asia Summit, we are committed to supporting the aspirations and endeavours of startups as they embark on their journey to transform industries, solve complex challenges, and make a meaningful impact on society, and we believe that a surefire way to achieve all these things is by opening discussions where ecosystem stakeholders can learn about how to forge meaningful partnerships.

At the Forge Stage, participants can look forward to in-depth discussions and actionable insights on developing relationships with key players such as government, corporates, and VC firms, among others.

Our key industry leaders who will be sharing their insights will spotlight topics ranging from VC 2.0, enabling participants to decode the future of VCs in Southeast Asia, to engineering as an effective go-to-market strategy for the Southeast Asia markets today, to strategies on how founders can smoothly transition out of current startups and make their next move.

These topics are vital to helping ecosystem stakeholders explore opportunities not only for cross-organisational collaborations but also for co-creating innovative solutions that respond to today’s most pressing challenges.

Join us at Echelon X!

Echelon X embodies e27’s commitment to fostering a dynamic and inclusive ecosystem that empowers startups to thrive, investors to find promising opportunities, and stakeholders to contribute to the region’s overall growth.

Get ready for the ultimate tech and innovation conference as Echelon X kicks off on May 15th and 16th, 2024, at the Singapore EXPO. This dynamic event will bring together industry leaders, visionary entrepreneurs, and groundbreaking startups from all corners of the region for two packed days.

Also read: The first 26 trailblazing startups of the TOP100 Growth Program 2024

Whether you’re eager to expand your knowledge, network with key players from the tech startup scene, or showcase your innovative ideas, Echelon X offers an unparalleled experience. Join us as a participant or an official partner by securing your spot now on our official page. Together, let’s embark on a journey to shape the future and create a lasting impact.

Join us at Echelon 2024, where innovation knows no limits, and the possibilities are boundless!

The post Echelon X: A platform where partnerships are forged appeared first on e27.

I just finished reading Burn the business plan, Everything we believe that works for startups, does not work. Business planning, enterprise support, ecosystems, mentoring, etc.

Wikipedia

Mentoring has been on my mind. Decided to look up what mentoring means. According to Wikipedia, mentorship refers to a personal developmental relationship in which a more experienced or more knowledgeable person helps a less experienced or less knowledgeable person. Apparently, it stemmed from ancient Greek and was inspired by the character of Mentor in Homer’s Odyssey.

Issues

I have some issues with mentoring. It might have to do with my own experiences with mentors, mentor schemes and business using mentors. Most mentors I know of are unemployed consultants or retired managers of big organisations. Most wouldn’t know much about entrepreneurship or small business and as a result, cannot add much value.

Smallbusinesscan

Which was one of the reasons we created www.smallbusinesscan.com, (now www.business-achievers.com) so businesses can interact with other companies and get help from people who have been there and bought the T-shirt?

Also read: 5 lessons “Shark Tank” viewers can apply to business

KPMG

It is what KPMG is now doing with the CEO and SME roundtables. Good old eyeball-to-eyeball conversations amongst owner-managers, CEOs and entrepreneurs, sharing lessons, insight and learning. No social media allowed.

Mismatch

There appears to be a massive mismatch between the business that really need resolved and the capabilities of an assigned mentor. As a result, a huge amount of time is wasted. What can an ex-banker tell you about social media? How can a retired CFO help you with your sales?

Lucky

The truth is also that many entrepreneurs got lucky and would not be able to repeat their success. Luck is not transferable. Always look for the serial entrepreneur who got lucky a few times.

Hands-on

Would you prefer a sales mentor that talks about it or somebody that actually sells for you? Do you want somebody to talk about finance or do you want somebody that can pitch to banks and investors with you? Do you prefer a mentor or a team member?

Non-commital

Which brings me to my biggest issue with mentoring is the non-committal nature. It is too soft, too fluffy and with no accountability for the results. My preference is for an advisory board to which a CEO, founder or entrepreneurs reports on a regular basis. A board filled people that create the creative tension and grit (blood on the boardroom wall) necessary to move a business forward. Swimming with the sharks.

Create a mentor job spec

If you decide to go for a mentor make sure you know who and what you are looking for. Have a problem definition and be clear on the expectations. Write a job spec. Be prepared to say “no” to the mentors that are on offer. Be also prepared to fire the mentor once they have outlasted their usefulness.

Also Read: SEA tech founders playbook: A to Z of becoming a fundraising legend (Part 1)

Get a shark

What I am saying is that mentors could be useful if they are the right ones, can add real value. The wrong mentor will waste your time. Get a shark, not a bunny. Even better, get a shark tank full of piranhas or what the author of Burn the business plan calls a cold circle.

—-

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

Image Credit: Moon on Unsplash

The post Why startup founders should look for sharks as mentors appeared first on e27.

Recently, Indonesia-based BINAR secured an undisclosed funding round from international strategic investors, including Blue7, JN Capital & Growth Advisory, Scala Group, DGS, MD Capital, and NBA star Jeremy Lin.

The participation of these international investors from Singapore, Japan, and the US will push the company’s network, expertise, technology, and business prowess to a higher level as it expands further in the highly promising Indonesian market.

“We plan to use the funding to reorganise the company to reach profitability by innovating new services and products,” says BINAR Co-Founder and CEO Alamanda Shantika in an email interview with e27, stressing that this year, the company plans to focus on innovating in new services and products.

Founded in 2017, BINAR is an edutech company that provides digital skills training through experiential, flipped, project/problem-based and collaborative learning methods. It also teaches students relevant soft skills such as social awareness, critical thinking, creative thinking, leveraging diversity, and collaboration which are increasingly sought after in the tech industry today.

It also included other programmes and services such as bootcamp, digital talent accelerators, digital transformation accelerators for businesses, and talent placement.

Also Read: Singapore Budget 2024: For startups, talents and funding remain key challenges this year

By 2022, BINAR says it has trained more than 130,000 students and involved more than 850 facilitators. Through its BINAR Job Connect service, by 2023, the company says that it has worked with more than 120 employer partners.

In considering the impact that BINAR has made in the lives of tech talents in Indonesia, Shantika points out that despite the high demand, Indonesian tech talents tend to have lower salaries than their Southeast Asian counterparts.

“This is why BINAR aims to improve the standard of Indonesian tech talents by continuously developing world-class curriculum and learning methods. We also perform link-and-match services to companies in Indonesia, Singapore, and the US looking for tech talents. This allows talents to work remotely with sufficient capabilities. This aligns with our goals to turn Indonesia into a global tech talent hub,” she says.

From Jeremy Lin to Indonesian tech talents

One of the highlights of this funding round is the involvement of NBA star Jeremy Lin, known for his performance at leading basketball teams such as the New York Knicks, Houston Rockets, LA Lakers, and Toronto Raptors.

He invested in BINAR through JLIN Capital Studio, an investment entity focusing on impact investing in Asia and the US. The firm invests in Southeast Asia’s education, financial services, housing, and agricultural sectors.

Also Read: Future-proofing businesses and talent through technology

Commenting on his involvement in the funding round, Lin shares his vision about equal opportunities. “I believe that empowerment can be achieved through collaborative efforts,” he says. “Everybody deserves the same opportunity to succeed, and I wish to provide more opportunities for Indonesians to build a career in the digital sector.”

BINAR’s connection with Lin began when JLIN Capital Studio Managing Director Robert Kim contacted co-founder Dita Aisyah. The firm recognises the shared vision that the two organisations have.

“Apart from investing in the company, Lin also plays the role of an inspiration for tech talents in Indonesia due to his success in international sports. His story is evidence that one’s background should not prevent one from achieving success; this aligns with BINAR students’ journey in establishing success by working in global tech companies and improving their livelihood. We are making this effort to work with Indonesia’s demographic bonus, improving our employability level, strengthening our identity and positions in the global community,” Shantika says.

—

Image Credit: Binar

The post Following investment from NBA star Jeremy Lin, BINAR aims to reach profitability through new innovations appeared first on e27.

Silence Laboratories, a Singapore-based cybersecurity startup focusing on Web3 technologies, has secured an additional US$4.1 million in funding.

The round was led by Pi Ventures and Kira Studio, along with contributions from several prominent angel investors.

The fresh funds will be used to scale the company’s tech and business teams and enrich the company’s R&D pipeline.

Founded in 2021 by Dr Jay Prakash, Dr Andrei Bytes, and Dr Tony Quek, Silence Laboratories focuses on privacy-enhancing technologies through a fusion of cryptography and security engineering for enterprises. It aims to create a global infrastructure that enables privacy-compliant collaboration and exchange, eliminating single points of failure.

Also Read: Protégé Ventures backs food order, delivery automation startup ZOLO

The company’s product offerings, leveraging multi-party computation (MPC) as their core cryptographic primitives, consist of:

• Silent Shard: Empowers enterprises and users to safeguard sensitive private keys and establish advanced authorisation rules.
• Silent Compute: Facilitates collaborative information processing among organisations without exposing their secrets to third parties, enhancing insights while maintaining compliance and trust.

The growing global demand for privacy-enhancing technologies (PETs), with a compound annual growth rate of 26.6 per cent, highlights the increasing need for Silence Laboratories’ offerings. These solutions provide mathematical assurances for techno-legal expectations, enabling secure data collaboration across sectors with minimised risk.

“With this new injection of funds, Silence Laboratories is poised to redefine privacy by enabling businesses to fully embrace the power of AI while rigorously protecting their most vital asset — customer trust,” said Prakash, CEO and Founder.

—

Fundraising or preparing your startup for fundraising? Build your investor network, search from 400+ SEA investors on e27, and get connected or get insights regarding fundraising. Try e27 Pro for free today.

Image credit: Silence Laboratories

The post Silence Laboratories raises US$4.1M for privacy-preserving collaborative computing appeared first on e27.

S&S Lab, a shared research lab and the operator of IRIS Lab in South Korea, has announced a strategic partnership with Singapore’s Farquhar VC (FVC) to foster and deepen relations among Korean and global novel food and biotech startups.

Under this partnership, S&S Lab and Farquhar will collaborate on exchanging innovation ecosystem insights and mutually supporting each other’s biopharma/foodtech portfolio companies.

Also Read: Infobank, Farquhar to help Korean startups seeking global expansion

In particular, Farquhar will recommend S&S Lab as the preferred destination for global biotech startups to establish their R&D operations in North Asia. At the same time, S&S Lab will refer South Korean biotech and complementary-protein startups to the Singaporean VC firm for their growth and expansion needs.

S&S Lab and FVC will work together on future joint initiatives to enable Korean biotech startups to scale globally.

FVC Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer Jason Su commented: “In recent years, we have witnessed many high-quality global biopharma and foodtech ventures head to South Korea in search of new commercial opportunities, while South Korean biotech and novel food scaleups are seeking to expand globally via Singapore. We hope that this collaboration will enable these deeptech companies to accelerate their go-to-market timelines and bring forth their impact to society.”

S&S Lab is a subsidiary of S&S Tech Corp, a semiconductor company listed on the Korea Exchange. As a biotech-focused accelerator, S&S Lab offers physical infrastructure (shared laboratory equipment and facilities) and other services (such as POC verification, R&D tech support, and investment attraction) to grow bio-based ventures.

Also Read: Farquhar VC to help Korean university-affiliated startups to go global

To date, IRIS Lab has onboarded 11 startups, and the company is on track to establish more domestic facilities later this year.

Established in 2020, Farquhar has invested in nearly 40 startups. It has recently undertaken accelerator programmes with government departments such as KISED and the Seoul Business Agency to enable cross-border traction for Korean startups.

In 2024, FVC will invest in high-growth Korean startups via its Green Future Fund.

—

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 Farquhar, Korea’s S&S Lab collaborate to support biotech, foodtech startups appeared first on e27.

When they meet, Zoe Ocampo, Jules Jurado, and Frederic Levy, who are avid collectors, used to share their stories of acquiring rare items (collectibles) and often getting scammed with fake items.

The trio, who had earlier worked at Filipino payment giant GCash in different roles, wanted to do something about this.

Also Read: Ex-GCash execs’ social commerce platform for collectibles Toki raises US$1.8M

“The process of collecting rare finds and making transactions are highly fragmented, requiring navigation across four to five platforms to purchase a single item. This process needs more transparency regarding the seller’s identity. In addition, collectors often get no assurance of receiving the exact item purchased, presenting significant trust and security concerns. We saw an opportunity to structure and grow the massive collectible market by addressing these critical pain points,” says Levy.

This landed them on the concept of Toki.

A highly curated marketplace

Launched in November 2023, Toki is a social commerce platform in the Philippines dedicated to collectibles, encompassing the features of a marketplace and a livestream auction.

It is a meticulously curated platform, not an open marketplace. This means each potential seller is thoroughly vetted before being onboarded to ensure legitimacy.

To date, Toki has onboarded 100 curated sellers who rank among the top 30 sellers/resellers in their respective categories. “Key criteria in the evaluation process of the sellers include the history of their operations, sales track record, inventory depth, reputation within the community, and supply chain integrity. In some instances, our team visits their warehouses for ocular,” Levy shares.

Also Read: Stanible lets celebrities, superfans embrace Web3 via digital collectibles

In some cases, Toki has retrieved sellers’ existing sales volumes and online/offline segregation. Moreover, since most transactions occur through Facebook groups or FB Market, the startup can recover some of the sales volumes for the most active sellers and then extrapolate the total volume. “Cross-referenced with other information, we have been able to establish a ranking of the main sellers for each of our categories,” he says.

Currently, Toki offers over 70,000 authentic items across its initial four categories: LEGO, Sports Cards, Sneakers, and Funko. Starting Q1 2024, it plans to expand into new categories, such as Trading Cards (e.g., Pokemon, One Piece, Magic: The Gathering, Flesh & Blood, Lorcana, Marvel, etc.) and Art Toys & Figures (e.g., Blind Boxes, Figures, Action Figures, etc.). “The goal is to launch ten categories in 2024, catering to a broader spectrum of collectors and enhancing our service offering,” reveals Levy, the CEO.

According to a joint study by Toki and GMO Research, the collectible market in Southeast Asia is currently valued at US$34 billion. It is projected to grow 7.2 per cent through 2026, reaching an expected market size of US$54 billion by 2030.

Nearly half of the population (46 per cent) identifies as collectors in Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Among these, 91 per cent have engaged in recommerce, averaging an annual spend of US$200.

Toki pins its hope on this growing market. Indeed, the company has already attracted “thousands of daily visits” to its site. Over half of the buyers have made multiple purchases, with the average unique buyer acquiring about five items monthly.

The livestream auctions are also getting notices. Since launching over 100+ auctions in November 2023, the marketplace claims to have received positive feedback from sellers and buyers. “Our sellers have experienced increased sales velocity through our auction platform, while buyers enjoy the thrill of engaging and bidding. We are developing new engagement-centric features to enhance the fun and interactivity of our auctions for all users,” says Levy.

Trust still remains a key challenge

As for the challenges, trust still tops the list, particularly in developing countries, where buyers and sellers navigate a predominantly unregulated marketplace—ensuring the authenticity of purchases, identifying the sellers, and having avenues for dispute resolution still present significant hurdles. “As the collectibles market emerges as an increasingly significant industry in the region, establishing a foundation of trust is imperative; that’s our main goal,” Levy adds.

From collectors’ point of view, logistics poses a significant challenge; any minor damage to the collectable or its packaging can directly affect the item’s value. To address this, Toki has partnered with NinjaVan to develop a bespoke logistics solution tailored for Toki.

Also Read: Rise of digital collectibles: The long-awaited “NFT” rebrand

For payments, the company has partnered with top payment providers, such as GCash, Maya, and Xendit to make payments easy. Through these partners, Toki can hold all payments in escrow for the buyer until item verification is completed and they receive their purchase. This ensures that the end-to-end transaction is both seamless and secure.

The startup recently raised US$1.8 million in pre-seed funding from Kaya Founders, Foxmont Capital Partners, and other strategic angels. The capital will be used to improve buyer and seller user experience, expand its operations nationwide, and initiate a series of online activations, particularly events that engage our community.

“We also plan to escalate our marketing endeavours to amplify our reach and impact. A key focus will be forging more collaborations with artists to develop unique, exclusive products,” he says.

Exploring international growth is on Toki’s agenda, particularly in Thailand and Indonesia, two markets whose buyer and seller dynamics closely mirror those in the Philippines. “However, the priority at the moment is to keep improving our product, streamline our operations, and gain awareness within the Philippines before we consider regional expansion,” shares Levy.

In an era where the thrill of collecting rare items meets the challenges of online transactions, Toki has emerged as a frontrunner in the collectibles market. By establishing a meticulously curated platform focused on transparency and trust, Toki has addressed critical pain points for collectors and tapped into a burgeoning industry. “Our goal is to set a new standard for authenticity and reliability in the global collectibles market,” concludes Levy.

—

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 Toki aims to bring transparency, trust to the collectible e-commerce space appeared first on e27.