Dear Pro members,
A new DealStreetAsia study reveals that about 67 per cent of Southeast Asia’s venture capital firms don’t have a single female investment decision-maker (the one with authority to lead deals and sign cheques).
The startup industry has long been highly male-dominated. Women are massively under-represented among VC investors. A recent Harvard Business Review report found that women account for less than 15% of check-writers globally. This has often resulted in companies founded solely by women receiving less than 3% of all VC investments.
In a recent interview with e27, Delta Blockchain Fund Founder and Managing Partner Kavita Gupta revealed that she had to work extra hard to earn her seat at the companies she previously worked for.
This is changing, and more women are joining VC firms as partners, although they are not the decision-makers. More female representation in the highest decision-making body is the need of the hour as globally, an increasing number of women is diving into the startup world and seeking investments. This way, the gender gap in the startup world could be filled to a certain extent.
Today’s Ecosystem Roundup also has several exciting articles.
Have a nice day.
Sainul,
Editor.
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Not a single female chequewriter at 67% of SEA’s VC firms
While a cause for concern, the figure is still an improvement from 2022, when about 77% of investors lacked a single female chequewriter.
Zalora raises US$32.6M from parent GFG
Global Fashion Group (GFC) connects a population of 800M+ with thousands of brands through three established e-commerce platforms Zalora, Dafiti, and THE ICONIC.
Thai crypto exchange Bitkub raises fresh US$17.8M
The investor is local game publisher Asphere Innovations; Bitkub will use the money to expand its digital asset services in Thailand, a country where over 6.2M people owned crypto as of last year.
SEA firms to increase AI spending by 67% in 2023: report
The proportion of APAC businesses using AI in their operations jumped from 39% in 2020 and 2021 to 76% last year, according to an IDC InfoBrief commissioned by Dataiku.
SG yellow biotech startup Ento Industries raises funding
Ento leverages Black Soldier Flies to help address the growing food waste problem; It upcycles food waste to produce a sustainable protein suitable for farm animal and pet feeds.
China’s Shein files for US IPO, sources say
The stock market debut could make the fashion e-tailer the most valuable Chinese company to go public in the US since Didi Global listed in New York in 2021 at a US$68B valuation.
Rebel Foods eyes US$100M in revenue in Saudi expansion
Rebel Foods hopes to operate 60 cloud kitchens by the end of this year and has partnered with Dubai-headquartered cloud kitchen operator KitchenPark and Saudi-based Kitch.
Good Capital launches US$50M fund to back AI startups in India
The fund aims to invest in AI startups in India that are using the tech in areas such as distribution, personalisation, and business operations; The cheque size is up to US$1.5M.
Romanian firm Bitdefender to acquire Singapore’s Horangi Cyber Security
Horangi offers a cloud-native solution that secures critical cloud infra for enterprises across all major public cloud platforms.
Thai insurtech firm Roojai buys FWD General Insurance
Singaporean insurtech unicorn Bolttech owns FWD General Insurance; The deal will allow Roojai to boost its market share in Thailand with a joint portfolio of over US$50M in annual premiums.
Singaporeans to embrace AI-enhanced, immersive dining by 2040: report
Called “Snack to the Future,” the Deliveroo report predicts a shift toward personalized diets, with the emergence of “Me-ganism” as the mainstream dietary approach surpassing the popularity of the ketogenic diet.
Founders of Jirnexu step down from executive roles
Hann Liew was an executive director, while Lucas Ooi was corporate development director; Jirnexu provides tools and advice to its users and helps banks and insurance companies streamline their application processes.
British crypto exchange Blofin enters Vietnam
The exchange is customising its services to cater to the specific language and requirements of the local population; With 21% of its population reportedly owning cryptocurrencies, Vietnam has emerged as a global leader in cryptocurrency adoption.
Meet the 25 investors that invested in AI startups in SEA in 2023 so far
With AI fast becoming the most popular tech tool in the new era, we look at the investors that invested in SEA’s AI startups in 2023.
How to build customer trust with improved data privacy
Protecting customer data privacy is paramount for cultivating consumer trust and ensuring business operations run smoothly.
Sustainable solutions for energy-intensive data centres in humid SG
Addressing the environmental impact of energy-intensive data centres is crucial for ensuring a more sustainable future.
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