Chinese internet giant ByteDance has filed a series of trademarks hinting at a foray into the fintech sector

The article ByteDance registers fintech trademarks was written by Jill Shen for TechNode.

Chinese internet giant ByteDance has filed a series of trademarks hinting at a foray into the fintech sector.

The most valuable startup in the world, which runs content aggregator Jinri Toutiao and short video platform Douyin (known as TikTok internationally), filed for three trademarks on December 6. News of the filing was only picked up by media this week.

Included is BytePay (our translation, 字节付), classified as relating to insurance and other financial products.

The company also applied for the trademarks of two loan products, namely Qingli Installment and Wuxian Installment, falling into the same trademark category as BytePay.

The company declined to comment when contacted by TechNode.

Also Read: Today’s top tech news, Nov 30: ICONLOOP joins govt blockchain initiative, ByteDance fined for illegal medical ads

Speculation around ByteDance’s entry into the financial services market has circulated since 2017 when the company was reportedly applying for relevant licenses. ByteDance denied the claims.

In July, Jinri Toutiao launched a fintech product named Safe Lending. Up to 20,000 users were permitted to borrow up to RMB200,000 (around US$30,000) per person per day. The company claimed the Bank of Nanjing was one of its loan partners.

The product became the subject of investigations by the media in September. ByteDance later shuttered the online money lending service, while thousands of Chinese P2P lending companies shut down in the second half of the year.

Thanks to the success of its short video and content aggregation platforms, Bytedance has become one of the fastest growing startups in China. The company’s valuation skyrocketed to US$75 billion following a round of financing earlier this year.

ByteDance has sought to raise an additional US$1.45 billion for its first venture fund. The company reportedly plans to invest in AI and media content.

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The article ByteDance registers fintech trademarks first appeared on TechNode.

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Good Foodie Media produces food-, event- and travel-related content in the form of daily food review videos, listicles, event postings, and food deals compilations

Penang-based Good Foodie Media — the startup behind the online food channels Penang Foodie and KL Foodie — has secured RM220,000 (US$53,000) from the city-based i4 SeedFund and several angel investors.

The company plans to use the funds to expand to Singapore, Bangkok and Johor in 2019. A part of the money will also go into strengthening its market presence and its digital content (video and article).

Founded in 2018, Good Foodie Media produces food-, event- and travel-related content in the form of daily food review videos, listicles, event postings, and food deals compilations. Good Foodie Media currently has presence in Penang and Kuala Lumpur.

Also Read: (Exclusive) Thai fintech startup Masii.com acquires events ticketing platform One Place

The company claims it has over one million followers across multiple social media platforms. Its content reached 32 million and generated over 16 million video views in November.

Since its debut in early this month, its channel Singapore Foodie’s viewership has grown to reach three million, and has over one million video views.

The one-year-old startup is profitable from day one. The entity makes money via video advertising, advertorial, branded content and agency work.

 

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Make it easy for them to want to share

Question: What’s the best way to secure ambassadors to promote my brand?

Make it easy

“The easier something is to do, the more likely people will do it. So make sure they have all the tools, knowledge and information they need at their disposal: samples, literature, swag, the right answers to common questions, a support system in place, etcetera. If they’re confident that you’ve prepared them well and are standing at the ready behind them, they’ll be far more willing to go forward for you.”

– Nicolas Gremion (@FreeEBooksNet), Free-eBooks.net

Be authentic and offer incentives

“When we open a new store, we first read local magazines and search on social media to find the key influencers who are out and about and attending events on a weekly basis. We reach out to this influencer list and offer a complimentary product to see if they like the brand. We then provide them company credit for referrals, which can be significant given the number of people they’re meeting.”

– Fan Bi (@blanklabel), Menswear Reviewed

Create a programme and promote it

“Publicise an ambassador programme that actively seeks out these influencers who are more than happy to represent your product and service if they like it. The programme should include messaging and a targeting plan to seek out these ambassadors. Having a programme with consistent communication and buy-in for the potential ambassadors can help secure them.”

– Cynthia Johnson (@cynthialive), Bell + Ivy

Target your most dedicated customers

“As a company who reaches moms and moms-to-be, almost everything we do is word-of-mouth based. The best place to start is with your most dedicated customers. You would be surprised how many people will want to help spread the word. Often they will do it for trade, as they just want to be a part of a brand they love.”

– Lindsay Pinchuk (@lindsaypinchuk), Bump Club and Beyond

Gather, nurture, and ask

“For our members, we’ve worked hard to create a lively and engaged Facebook group. We are in there every day answering questions, having conversations and celebrating our members. On the sixth week of membership, they receive a survey. Whenever we see a super fan come through, we reach out to do a member feature and ask if that person will help to be an ambassador of our group. This works well.”

– Kim Walsh-Phillips (@KWalshPhillips), Elite Digital Group

Also Read: 6 tips to turn your customers into ambassadors

Call on strong network ties

“The best ambassadors are people with whom you’ve cultivated a solid relationship over the long term. You talk regularly, you’ve helped them out, and they’ve helped you out. Therefore, it’s not strange or irritating when you approach them with an ask to publicly promote your brand. I personally bristle when I get a request out of the blue, even if I happen to like the person or product.”

– Alexandra Levit (@alevit), PeopleResults

Only engage people with passion

“The best ambassadors are those who don’t need convincing or compensation. If you have a great product or service, there are undoubtedly influencers out there who either already love using it or would love using it. Develop a list of target influencers you think make sense, reach out to gauge their passion and excitement about your offering, and when you smell the organic mutual love, you’re in.”

– Andrew Antonio, World View

Show them that you care

“Build a relationship with them and ask for their opinion. It may sound simplistic, but when you show that you care about them, they will also reciprocate. If they sense that you’re just trying to get them on your side so you can get more exposure for your brand, odds are they will only do the minimum required. Create a brand they’ll want to promote.”

– Ismael Wrixen (@iwrixen), FE International

Build a microbrand first

“Brand ambassadors are force multipliers. But they need something to work with. Start building your product and community before recruiting ambassadors. Focus heavily on design. Ambassadors love working with brands that get great feedback from their fans. Show them that a few people already love your service, and they’ll follow your lead in promoting your company.”

– Neil Thanedar (@neilthanedar), LabDoor

Give first, ask second

“There’s a simple rule in the game of life: ‘Give and you shall receive.’ So before approaching ambassadors, how can you help them? Can you provide a dedicated training to help them grow their business or a personal phone call to help them with their marketing? Give first and ask them to help later.”

– Chris Bission (@chrisbisson), Salesmsg

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The Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) is an invite-only organisation comprising the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, YEC recently launched BusinessCollective, a free virtual mentorship programme that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses.

Image Credit: Drew Farwell on Unsplash

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Citramas’ Nongsa Digital Park in Batam houses Indonesian leaders in a bid to strengthen Indonesia’s startup ecosystem through the e27 Academy

The line that delineates digital economy and traditional economy is becoming increasingly blurred as businesses are finding ways to integrate the former with the latter. In a time where business practices are shifting to digital frameworks, it is worth investigating how different economies are dealing with this shift.

In Southeast Asia, efforts to support digital economy has been cropping up across multiple facets. Some countries are largely supported by state-sponsored initiatives; others rely on the support of more established enterprises.

In some instances, the best support comes from the tech startup community itself, gathering experts and insiders to connect and trade insights on how to manage different business models. More importantly, such initiatives help educate emerging startups on how to improve products under their businesses.

This is the main thrust of e27 Academy: building the right foundation through content, community, and coaching.

e27 Academy is a three-day learning programme that is designed to help aspiring and early-stage startup founders build their companies and navigate the ecosystem. The e27 Academy happened in the Indonesian island of Batam, home to Nongsa Digital Park, on November 28-30, 2018.

Also read: e27 Academy is your Founder’s Retreat with hundreds of other Founders

It was participated by startup founders across Southeast Asia, with trainers and experts representing some of the most sought after startups today.

Nestled among lush foliage, the Nongsa Digital Park—considered to be the “digital bridge” between Singapore and Indonesia—is in support of Indonesia’s plan to build 1,000 new digital startups amounting to a total of 10 billion USD by 2020. It also seeks to support Singapore’s expansion of its infocomm and technology sector.

Situated in Batam, merely a short ferry ride from Singapore, NDP positions itself in Southeast Asia’s largest economy (Indonesia) while maintaining close access to Singaporean and Malaysian economies.

Leveraging experience at the core of every new business

An institution that has shown its immense support for e27 Academy is Citramas Group, a diversified group of businesses that was founded in 1980.

Industries under Citramas group’s umbrella of businesses include: oilfield equipment manufacturing, shipping and logistics, drilling services’ infrastructure development comprising port and ferry terminals, hotels, and an animation and film production company as well as other interests in the hospitality and leisure industry.

The diversity of industries they work in puts Citramas in the best position to help emerging startups get a sense of how to build their businesses and improve their products, since many young startups do not have the same grasp and experience yet.

The Nongsa Digital Park is a subsidiary of Citramas, making it the perfect platform to house initiatives like e27 Academy, along with media and creative services company, Infinite Studios, that mooted the idea of the park.

Also read: Slew of Indonesian MOUs aim to support Batam island tech scene

Collectively, Citramas, NDP, and Infinite Studios were the three core signatories of the 13 MOUs (memorandum of understanding) that is pushing for growth in the western Indonesian startup ecosystem, putting the island of Batam at its heart.

This series of MOUs cover a range of verticals: industrial curriculum, funding for digital workforce training through LPK, exploratory work on opportunities related to vocational trainings, areas such as creative arts and digital skills, job opportunities for Indonesian talent, creating collaborative and innovative spaces to share scientific and academic knowledge, hackathon programs, seminars, workshops, and vocational trainings and conferences among many others.

The agreements made through the thirteen MOUs were signed during the e27 Academy.

Leaders to further their resolve to strengthen Western Indonesia’s startup ecosystem

In an effort to strengthen Indonesia’s startup ecosystem, Indonesian leaders also took part in e27 Academy. Infinite Studios, one of the core signatories of the series of MOUs, was part of the event through Director & Member of the Board, Marco Bardelli.

Indonesian creative economy agency, BEKRAF, was also present. BEKRAF is a new non-ministral institution formed by Indonesian president, Joko Widodo in an attempt to bolster and embolden the creative sector of the Indonesian economy.

Ilham Habibie, Implementation team Chair of Wantiknas, also took part in the e27 Academy. Wantiknas or The National Information and Communication Technology Council is a multi-stakeholder institution in the field of ICT, formed and chaired by the President of the Republic of Indonesia.

Its vision is to speed up the utilisation and growth of ICT in Indonesia efficiently and effectively by formulating ICT policies nationally.

Another important personality present was Shinta Dhanuwardoyo, Head of Digital Business, E-Commerce and Start-Up Development with the Indonesia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN), where she is currently creating a platform for start-ups and venture capitalists in Indonesia.

These leaders were all present over the course of the three-day event, crystalising their commitment to strengthening the startup ecosystem in Indonesia, and ultimately, in Southeast Asia.

The post Indonesian leaders to help strengthen Western Indonesia’s startup ecosystem appeared first on e27.

UMG Idealab is a corporate venture capital of UMG Myanmar, a manufacturer and distributor of agricultural heavy equipment

UMG Idealab aims to invest in up to 20 early stage startups in Indonesia next year.

In an email interview with e27, UMG Idealab Managing Partner Achmad Syaefi revealed that the corporate venture capital (CVC) firm is looking for startups in the internet-of-things (IoT), big data, voice recognition, and artificial intelligent verticals.

“The startups got to be innovative and [their work] got to have a social impact. We are also in favour of startups that help small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) digitised their work process, such as Aruna and Crowde,” he explains.

Aruna and Crowde are two of the 11 Indonesian startups that the firm has already invested in from their fund; Aruna raised a seed funding round in April 2017 while Crowde raised their funding round as recently as last October.

Though they declined to reveal the exact size of their fund, UMG Idealab plans to invest between US$50,000 and US$1 million in each startup.

According to Syaefi, there are several benefits that the firm can provide to the startups who are working with them.

“Coaching, networking with shareholders such as VCs, startups, and incubators, as well as expansion to Asian countries,” he says.

Also Read: Pay-as-you-go energy startup SolarHome raises US$10M in debt financing to accelerate Myanmar expansion

From Myanmar to Indonesia

UMG Idealab’s story began in Myanmar as one of the subsidiaries of UMG Myanmar, a producer and distributor of agricultural heavy equipment. Currently run by a team of 5,000 employees, the company is one of the biggest companies operating in the country.

Seeing the impressive growth of Southeast Asian tech industry, UMG Myanmar Founder Kiwi Aliwarga then initiated the founding of UMG Idealab.

UMG Idealab’s business lines are being divided into two parts: An incubator in Myanmar that helps startups begin their businesses, and a CVC in Indonesia that helps startups with seed funding investments.

In his email, Syaefi dubs UMG Idealab as a sector-agnostic CVC, though startups in the agritech sector do have a special value for them.

In addition to Indonesia and Myanmar, the firm is also investing in startups in Thailand.

In Indonesia, apart from Aruna and Crowde, UMG Idealab has also invested in agritech startup MSMB, voice recognition platform Bahasakita, chatbot platform Botika, online book store Bukku, healthcare marketplace Prosehat, human capital management platform Netis, food products e-commerce platform Total Agri Mart, on-demand homecare service Perawatku, and air taxi service Frogs, which is currently under development.

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Image Credit: UMG Idealab

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