Karana gets US$1.7M seed funding for its ‘whole plant-based’ meat alternative made from jackfruit; Investors include Henry Soesanto, CEO of Monde Nissin, foodtech fund Germi8, Big Idea Ventures; Karana will also use the funding to launch its plant-based products in restaurants in Asia. More here
Has COVID-19 pushed us into the digital future?; If the pandemic has exposed anything, it is the need to transform the industry “T minus ten minutes” from now; However, the digital transformation we need has to balance between machine intelligence and human imagination. More here
Here is what a bag of popcorn can teach us product pricing; ‘Anchoring’ may be one of the simplest and most powerful tactics you can use in your pricing; It’s about using the human need to make comparisons in order to make supposedly rational and correct decisions; It allows us to hack our customers’ brains, influence their decisions to a certain extent. More here
Zilingo cuts Singapore and global headcount, puts Singapore HQ up for rent; The fashion e-commerce startup has laid off another 11 employees as part of a 12 per cent global cut to its staffing; In April, the Temasek-backed startup had laid off less than 5% of its 796-strong global workforce. More here
Myanmar’s telemedicine startup MyanCare secures US$600K led by SPARX; Japan’s Scala and AIN Holdings co-invested; MyanCare offers MyanCare healthcare app and YinThway paediatric medical call centre service; WHO says Myanmar has one doctor for every 2K patients in urban areas, only one healthcare worker for every 5K patients in rural areas (This article is yet to be published).
Vietnam to commercialise 5G in October; It’s one of the few countries that can produce 5G equipment; The government will facilitate directing local businesses to invest in research and production of the equipment towards commercialising 5G products this year. More here
Singapore tops autonomous vehicles readiness index for the first time; The island state edged out the Netherlands which had ranked first in the past two editions of the index; The ranking reflects Singapore’s leadership in areas of consumer acceptance and policy as well as legislation pillars. More here
How fintech can help reach the unbanked and underbanked in SEA; The region’s 70% of the adult population is either unbanked or underbanked; Integrating blockchain in financial services can significantly enhance access to credit by using alternative sourcing data such as payment transactions. More here
Thailand’s NRF seeks to invest in 100 startups over 2-3 years; This will allow the food distribution major to learn about food innovation and tech; In 2019, NRF invested in 19 startups globally; This year, it has invested in another 12 startups, aiming for 40 by year-end. More here
Indonesia’s Bukalapak turns street sellers (warungs) into banking agents; Users will be able to deposit and withdraw cash at warungs, and conduct transactions such as transfers and payments; About 5M warungs move over US$70B worth goods a year, a quarter of Indonesia’s US$380B retail market; The Ant Group-backed e-tailer is valued at US$2.5B. More here
Thailand Post plans Smart Mailboxes using IoT; It will work with CAT Telecom to produce the mailboxes that can detect when parcels are deposited; By the end of 2021, they aim to install up to 22K smart mailboxes nationwide to cover the increasing needs of customers, especially those in e-commerce and logistics industries. More here
MDIF invests US$750K in Indonesia’s Arkadia; The company owns news portal Suara.com, sports portal Bolatimes.com, ads platform Iklandisini.com; The investment will enable Arkadia to further develop its regional content and networks. More here
A snapshot of the 3 startups graduated form VIISA’s batch 7; The three startups are Ask Locals (traveltech), Medigo (medtech), Gring (employee training); So far, VIISA has accelerated 32 startups over six batches; It is looking to launch batch 8 in August 2020. More here
How early investment in tech pays off when startups expand to other markets; Ohmyhome’s co-founder says investing early in tech allows you to see opportunities to fill gaps in the market; By automating administrative tasks as much as possible, employees will be freed up to do higher-value work. More here
Korea sets up K-Startup Centre (KSC) in Singapore; It focuses on fintech and cybersecurity; The KSC is supported by ESG and will serve as a launchpad for Korean SMEs and startups to plug into Singapore’s and the region’s innovation ecosystem; ESG also has a partnership with Korea Institute of Startup and Entrepreneurship Development. More here
Japan’s IntegriCulture, Singapore’s Shiok Meats partner to ramp up cell-based seafood production; The two will develop inexpensive cultured serum for growing shrimp meat in the lab; Shiok Meats raised US$3M in a bridge round last month. More here
Mastercard, fintech startup tonik partner to create digital Neo Bank in Philippines; As a mobile-only bank, tonik will be able to develop a highly customised, scalable banking solution; It’s set to launch by Q3 of 2020, with a full range of banking services, including transactional savings account with a debit card, savings, term deposit accounts, consumer loans. More here
Sunway, Celcom, Huawei ink MOU to develop 5G in Sunway City in Malaysia; The collaboration will see the development of smart solutions in the areas of public safety and security, telehealth, e-learning, hospitality, leisure and retail experience using the latest telecom tech; It will also contribute towards achieving sustainable development. More here
Indosat launches digital operation with Ericsson, Huawei; The digital transformation will make the Indonesian telco’s back-end system more sophisticated; The telco reported 56.2M mobile consumers and registered a 7.9% yoy increase in revenue to US$454M in Q2. More here
Philippine government eyes support for e-commerce boom; The country has one of the slowest internet speeds in SEA; Reforms can be done by opening the telco sector through amendments in the foreign investment and public service laws. More here
Thai Tapioca Starch Association’s (TTSA) new president to promote local startups in global arena; It will build network with international startups and work closely together with government and business sectors; TTSA will also team up with Thai SME Association to help SMEs make a smooth transition from traditional business to digital business. More here
Singapore digibank contender picks Tencent’s cloud platform to provide digital banking to SMEs; The collaboration will have a focus on inclusive and green finance and aims to create a regional flagship digital bank; Asia Digital Banking Corporation is a Chinese consortium that includes Shanghai Jifu, JIC Technology Investment; More here
Line looks to influencer commerce in Thailand; The partnership aims to help brands increase their sales during the economic downturn while attracting influencers to the platform; Line recently launched Line Idol as a place where artists and online influencers can connect and engage with their fans by becoming chat friends via official accounts. More here
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