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Ecosystem Roundup: FinAccel turns unicorn, Zilingo’s fate in limbo, aCommerce postpones IPO to ’23

finaccel_kredivo_funding

The FinAccel (Kredivo) team

FinAccel turns unicorn with US$140M in Series D money
The investors include Mirae Asset, Square Peg, GMO Global Payment Fund, Jungle Ventures, Openspace Ventures, Cathay Innovation, and Endeavor Catalyst; FinAccel operates a BNPL service that allows customers to do online and offline transactions and pay for their orders in instalments.

Malaysia’s US$100M startup funding in doubt as elections loom
Financial and political analysts speaking to Tech in Asia noted that as the general elections neared, the budget was like a “carrot” dangled in front of beneficiaries ranging from large businesses and startups to poor households.

Zilingo’s fate in limbo as liquidation question lingers
One of Deal Street Asia‘s sources said Zilingo’s board has decided to shut down and liquidate the firm in a transaction that will see its debtors receive half their money back.

Thai e-commerce enabler aCommerce to delay IPO to next year
According to one of GlobalCapital Asia’s sources, given the current market situation and aCommerce being a tech company, there’s been a lack of visibility on the startup’s earnings, leading to the IPO being postponed.

GoTo’s Electrum targets e-motorcycle by 2024
Electrum is a JV between GoTo and Indonesia’s TBS Energi Utama; Electrum’s MD Patrick Adhiatmadja said it will begin sourcing e-scooters from other companies before producing the units itself.

Indonesian fintech firm Ayoconnect raises US$13M Series B+
The investors are SIG Venture Capital, CE Innovation Capital, and PayU; Ayoconnect CEO Jakob Rost said the next 12 months will be about executing even faster and investing smartly in new solution rollouts.

Indonesia-based Fabelio declares bankruptcy
By the end of 2021, Fabelio staff had reportedly gone unpaid for months; A Change.org petition was created for the startup’s employees, demanding that the firm pay the salaries owed.

Thai beauty e-commerce firm Konvy bags US$10M from Insignia Ventures
Konvy will use the capital to expand its omnichannel and international distribution for health and beauty brands and for hiring; Konvy carries 1,000+ global and local beauty brands, ranging from skincare and makeup to perfumes.

Thai proptech platform PropertyScout raises US$5M Series A
The investors include Altara Ventures, Hustle Fund, AngelCentral, and Asymmetry VC; PropertyScout is an end-to-end real estate transaction platform connecting over 1,800 agents and agencies with buyers, renters and owners.

Indonesia’s Waste4Change secures US$5M Series A
The investors include AC Ventures, PT Barito Mitra Investama, Basra Corporation, SMDV, and Urban Gateway Fund; Waste4Change is a waste management platform for companies, individuals, and government agencies.

Chinese e-commerce enabler sets up regional HQs in Singapore
Baozun is also setting up its Philippine office, with expansion plans for Indonesia, Vietnam, and Thailand in the cards by 2023; It believes that there is an increasing demand for e-commerce tech and infrastructure in the region.

Vietnamese fashion recommerce firm Piktina raises US$1M
The investor is Touchstone Partners; Piktina connects buyers and sellers of secondhand goods, targeting individuals who want to free up their closets and businesses specialising in pre-owned fashion items.

ShopBack chief commercial officer steps down
Candice Ong will, however, continue to serve as a non-executive director on the company’s board; Ong had been ShopBack’s CCO since January 2017, when the company was operating in five markets with around 110 employees.

Singapore’s NFT infra firm Gomu raises US$5M
Investors are Coinbase Ventures, DeFiance Capital, and Saison Capital; Gomu offers NFT Hub, a white-labelled community hub and marketplace for NFT communities, and Collection.xyz, a protocol that enables NFT holders to create a liquidity pool with their digital assets.

India pilots blockchain-based web portal for police complaints
Powered by Web3 infrastructure Polygon Technology, the platform allows for online lodging of grievances; While the project is still in its initial phase, the question of data privacy arises.

Former NEA Partner Amit Mukherjee launches Chainforest DAO to back Web3 startups
Chainforest community consists of more than 400 full-time web3 operators from Polygon, Solana Foundation, Ava Labs, Consensus, Poolsuite, and Friends with Benefits.

The race of Web3 and crypto infrastructure vs big tech
For Web3 to mature, there must be recognition of the value of sovereignty, and UX must continue to improve; Any successful buildout in Web3 requires the availability of secure, reliable, and cost-effective tools at the same [or better] efficiency than Big Tech.

KoinWorks names ex-ABN Amro exec as CFO
Frank Van Deur will develop funding and forecasting strategies and oversee its financial management; Van Deur brings over 20 years of experience in the global finance and banking sector.

Blockchain.com secures green light for SG operations
The crypto financial services firm currently has 84M wallets and 37M verified users from 200 countries; The development follows its peer Coinbase securing a similar in-principle approval from MAS to operate in Singapore.

Sustainable growth in the SEA startup ecosystem: Why tomorrow starts today
At Echelon 2022, we will look at ways for companies to achieve sustainable growth in a post-pandemic world.

The rise of a new startup profitability culture
Learn about how the post-pandemic ecosystem has given birth to a new culture of profitability, opening up new possibilities.

Grab vs Gojek: Whose strategy should you follow?
At Echelon 2022, explore the differences in how the two most prominent tech startups in Southeast Asia are approaching regional expansion.

Globish helps children and working professionals in Thailand and Vietnam master English
Its curricula focus on building communication confidence using post-method pedagogy combined with local contexts matching learners’ behaviours; The lack of trust in online education for parents and schools has been a severe issue in Thailand.

The future of farming in the Asia Pacific is here to empower farmers
To make farming a profitable profession, we need to ensure that the people growing the crops are rewarded fairly for their work; And that starts by placing the farmer at the centre of an ecosystem of integrated solutions.

APAC businesses promoting a culture of sustainability
As the market is looking for more green businesses, incorporating sustainability into a startup’s mission statement can help people notice it.

Creative content business: What it means for streamers and broadcasters
There’s no magic formula or set of data points that can consistently predict which titles will hit and which won’t; Entertainment is a creative industry, and creating content is still principally an art rather than a science.

Echelon 2022 aims to provide intimate and focused discussions on key topics and business matching services to facilitate business-driven connections during the two-day event. e27 will curate and invite key stakeholders of startups, investors, corporates, and ecosystem enablers to drive towards fruitful business outcomes at Echelon. 

Here’s the full list of the speakers for the 2022 edition, which will be co-located with SWITCH at Resorts World Sentosa from 27 to 28 October 2022. Learn more here

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