Although 21 per cent of the US millennials are actively collecting NFTs, the industry is still struggling to grasp real adoption among the masses. For instance, the process of creating and collecting NFTs is tedious and technical to the average user, let alone understanding the underlying utility. Similarly, there is also a loose link between NFTs and the inherent value they represent. All of these technical hurdles are slowing down mainstream adoption despite the huge potential.

But on the brighter side, new technological advancements in the industry are solving these challenges, bringing an array of novel opportunities. Location-based NFTs are disrupting user experience and utility, making NFTs easier and more ubiquitous to access by all levels of users. Moreover, location-based NFTs add a new layer of scarcity by requiring users to physically go to a specific location, drawing potential on how NFTs can empower new business models.

Location-based NFTs explained

Location-based NFTs, also known as geotagged NFTs or Area NFTs, are a class of digital content, albeit pieces of metadata, that are tagged to real-world locations. These non-fungible tokens secured by smart contracts can represent digital identities of social media profiles, a concert ticket or even an exclusive voucher for a local restaurant. The location part comes in to enable business logic that encapsulates geocoordinates. For instance, in order to access these NFTs, users need to travel or be within the radius of the specified coordinates as in the case of Lost Worlds, a mobile-friendly platform for location-based NFTs.

Making location a key aspect for unlocking NFTs creates a new breed of possibilities in rewarding loyal customers and users. Think about fans who can unlock branded merchandise only when they are present at a live music concert. “Binding NFTs to a real location allows shared experiences to be blended through the interaction of the physical and virtual worlds. By allowing any business to expand their offerings to consumers with unique geotagged NFTs, we see more value behind the utility of NFTs for many sectors including fast-moving consumer goods, retail businesses, restaurants and entertainment,” says Quaison Carter, CEO & Co-Founder at Lost Worlds.

Also Read: Demystifying NFTs and DeFi

Location-based NFTs drive new businesses models

Entrepreneurs are still catching up with how NFTs can help revive their offline businesses, especially after the pandemic’s disruption of consumer behaviour. That’s why 41 per cent of businesses are trying to pivot from offline to online operations, even though most of their revenues are generated from in-store purchases. Fortunately, location-based NFTs can help revive the existing habit of in-store experiences that consumers are almost giving up on and transform into a hobby.

A majority of NFTs making recent headlines are primarily seen as another “profile picture” collection that offers little utility beyond art. But the truth is that NFTs are more than what meets the eye, especially now that geolocation technology is in play. This technology expands shopping experiences to become part of hobbies or turns daily outdoor activities into lasting rewards.

Geolocation NFTs are merging the real world with the metaverse to make Web3 apps accessible to more users. With a typical smartphone and a free Web3 wallet, anyone can start using NFT platforms like Lost Worlds. This empowers brands to engage and connect with consumers in innovative ways that drive content ownership, monetization, and redemption, as well as shared digital experiences with friends and family.

“Besides a fluid user experience, attractive rewards remain a key driver for customer retention and acquisition. With location-based NFTs, businesses can invite users to redeem exclusive rewards only when they physically mint them at select places. This concept will help drive consumers to visit physical stores, unlock redeemable content in the form of NFTs, and in effect drive more revenue for offline retailers,” says Quaison.

Rethinking consumer and brand interactions

Location-based or Geotagged NFTs are just starting. Their practicality opens up many use cases to disrupt all industries, as long as location can be fused into the user engagement model. For instance, the music industry can adopt location-based NFTs to redefine the experience of acquiring, using and interacting with artists and their content. Fans flock to events when they stand a chance to collect exclusive giveaways, as a means to emotionally connect with their favourite celebrities. These giveaways, in the form of NFT merchandise redeemed at select locations, are now reinventing how fans engage with artists.

Similarly, record labels can leverage this technology to stimulate new revenue streams for their artists. By leveraging location-based NFTs and shared experiences, record labels can create digital experiences that directly connect fans to music artists. For example, record labels can host events that bring communities together based on regional or seasonal events. These communities create a ready market for NFT-driven campaigns that upgrade the overall fan-artist experience.

Also Read: NFTs provide new ways to handle IP management, empower content creators: Inmagine CEO Warren Leow

Expanding the potential of NFTs

“One of our goals is to encourage business owners to tap into the full potential of NFTs that bring new engagement models for their end users,” says Quaison. Consumers are already intrigued by NFTs and are more inclined to see how they can spend, redeem, or unlock them as rewards. It’s just a matter of time before NFTs become closely integrated as the new normal.

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The content was first published by The Human & Machine.

Image Credit: The Human & Machine

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Indonesia-based fintech startup JULO today announced that it has raised US$80 million in funding from Credit Saison, a Japan-based company that provides digitalised and localised financial services to the underserved market in Southeast Asia and India.

This funding includes a mix of US$30 million equity and US$50 million debt fully funded by Credit Saison.

In a press statement, the companies stated that the investment round was structured to scale JULO’s growth with a two-pronged approach.

The US$30 million equity will be used to advance JULO’s analytics, for product development, marketing, and customer acquisition plans by hiring additional talent across their developer, data scientist and business intelligence teams. Meanwhile, the US$50 million debt will be used to fuel finance loans on the platform.

As the only corporate investor in the startup with a global lending business, Credit Saison stated that it will play an active role in JULO’s hyper-growth phase and provide governance direction as the company scales. Both companies will also explore preliminary opportunities to expand into other emerging markets together.

For Credit Saison, the investment is aimed to accelerate its expansion to the Indonesian market. The investment strategy builds on its existing activities in emerging markets via Saison
Capital, the corporate venture capital arm with a focus on discovering startups with an opportunity to build embedded finance capabilities.

Also Read: The 27 Indonesian startups that have taken the ecosystem to next level this year

“Credit innovation requires a deep understanding of local consumer behaviours and needs in order to truly improve the financial health of all. JULO has emerged from the past few years as a resilient and COVID-19-proven business with more than US$300 million in disbursements under its belt to date. We look forward to joining hands with them in this next phase of growth to accelerate financial products that will drive truly meaningful change for individuals in Southeast Asia,” said Kosuke Mori, Senior Managing Executive Officer and Head of Global Business at Credit Saison.

JULO is one of the earliest in the Indonesian market to offer a virtual credit card service.  In 2021, it launched a digital credit card which claimed to have seen 97 per cent of users utilising non-cash features to top-up e-wallets, top-up phone credits, pay utility bills, and process payments on e-commerce sites.

Previously it raised a US$60 million Series B funding round in February.

Its investors include Skystar Capital, Saratoga Investama, East Ventures, Quona Capital, Central Capital Ventura, MDI Ventures, Gobi Partners and others.

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Image Credit: JULO

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Philippine-based Voyager Innovations, the company behind end-to-end money platform PayMaya and neobank Maya Bank, today announced that it has raised US$210 million in funding.

Led by SIG Venture Capital, this funding round included new investors such as EDBI and First Pacific Company Ltd. It also included the participation of existing shareholders telco company PLDT, global investment firm KKR, Tencent, IFC, and two funds managed by IFC divisions IFC Emerging Asia Fund and IFC Financial Institutions Growth Fund.

This funding round helped the company secure a unicorn status at nearly US$1.4 billion valuations.

Voyager Innovations plans to use the new funding to launch its neobank services through Maya Bank. The company was one of the six to secure digital banking licenses from the BSP in September 2021 and commencing pilot testing in March.

It will also continue to expand PayMaya’s offering with new products such as cryptocurrency, micro-investments, and insurance.

Also Read: Meet the 22 notable startups that have brightened up the Filipino tech ecosystem

PayMaya caters to various segments of customers and enterprises through its e-wallet app, payment processing business, and on-ground agent network Smart Padala. Voyager Innovations plans to leverage this existing infrastructure in launching its Maya Bank services suchas consumer and merchant credit and savings.

Voyager Innovations said that as of end-March, PayMaya had over 47 million registered users across its consumer platforms. It has also recently introduced cryptocurrency through its e-wallet app after securing a Virtual Asset Services Provider (VASP) license from the BSP.

The company claimed to have enabled over 630,000 online and face-to-face touchpoints to accept digital payments from e-wallets and QR to any credit, debit, and prepaid card.

Orlando B. Vea, Voyager and PayMaya CEO-Founder, said in a press statement, “Our strong record of execution and innovation is a testament to our world-class team’s hard work and talent. With this milestone, we are excited to leap forward and bring the best of PayMaya and Maya Bank to help unlock the digital economy for the underserved and unbanked Filipinos.”

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Image Credit: Voyager Innovations

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NFTs were all the craze this past year, not just from a hype and attention perspective. Not a day goes by without a rare mutant ape or a plot of virtual land going on sale for hundreds of thousands of dollars on platforms such as OpenSea or Mintable.

If you’re from a generation that’s reading this on their computer and not on their phone, paying half a million dollars for a pixelated JPEG may seem insane. But let’s all be reminded about something that we’ve all done before or have relatives that have done it.

We’re talking physical collectibles like numismatic coins (with little R2D2s where George Washington should be), vinyl, rare toys you can’t take out of the packaging without losing their value, and Pokémon cards (some of which are selling for close to US$400,000).

The hunt for the rare

We as a civilisation always have coveted things that are scarce or otherwise limited in supply. From gold to seashells, we’ve even used them as payment methods.

The jump from finding value in rare things because they require a lot of craftsmanship. Only so many can be produced in one year, like luxury watches, to things intentionally limited in supply to convey an exclusive value was easy.

Go to any auction these days, and you’ll find value in items with at least one of these attributes:

• They’re old (antiques, fossils, old books, etc.).
• They’re made of something of value (jewellery, precious stones, precious metals).
• They’re rare (a Banksy painting, a classic car, a luxury watch).

But NFTs and digital art can be more than just pixelated JPEGs. You can think of them as a member’s card or a certificate of ownership for things in the real world or the digital metaverse.

Are NFTs just hyped?

Admittedly the hype may seem crazy to most, but with the advent of any new technology, we can expect a relatively standard hype cycle. According to the latest “Gartner’s Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies” in August 2021, NFTs could still be five years from mainstream adoption. They’re currently riding the “Peak of Inflated Expectations” phase.

While NFTs are popular in the art and collectibles scenes, you may have heard of the 2021 Bored Ape Yacht Club? The potential of NFTs goes far beyond eccentric and expensive digital artworks.

Big brands like Nike are already working on expanding the application of NFTs by acquiring RTFKT (creators of virtual sneakers and collectibles), and the US$85 billion video game industry is already experimenting with NFTs as building blocks for a next-gen digital world, something that’s being proposed by Meta (formerly Facebook) for their metaverse.

You may be wondering where this leaves you, what action you should take, and whether or not you should YOLO your life savings into a pixelated bunny.

• The crypto market is valued at around US$1.6 trillion
• The NFT market is valued at around US$31.4 billion
• Gold’s market cap is around US$11.7 trillion
• Apple’s market cap is around US$2.6 trillion
• The traditional Art market cap is around US$39.5 billion

With this in mind, and the past growth rate in view, ignoring this market as a whole from a pure diversification perspective would seem unsound. The earth is shifting below our feet, and pretending it isn’t, won’t make the shaking stop.

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Palm oil is the world’s largest edible oil commodity. However, this industry still relies on manual practices and is not digital-ready, despite advancements in technology.

Besides this, palm oil industry stakeholders are often accused of ‘greenwashing’, a way of marketing a company/organisation to make it appear environmentally friendly.

Unnikrishnan R Unnithan and Srinivasan Malarampath, who together have 45-plus years of domain expertise, saw an opportunity to bring digitalisation to palm oil trading and prevent greenwashing.

Last month, they launched an online B2B marketplace for trading sustainable commodities in the supply chain, guaranteed through blockchain technology. The aim is to help last-mile farmers and small-time producers to embrace sustainability at a low cost.

DIBIZ, headquartered in Singapore, is starting with palm oil trading.

Also Read: 13 years on since the birth of Bitcoin, it’s now blockchain’s time to shine

“Many enterprises from developed countries demand proof from buyers and sellers (producers/traders) of CSPO (certified sustainable palm oil) to authenticate sustainability till the last mile (plantations and smallholders). This is where DIBIZ plays a role. Our marketplace lists products only from verified producers/traders of CSPO,” said COO Malarampath.

DIBIZ is not another blockchain network for users to upload delivery info for traceability, he claimed. It provides a whole suite of tools for improving productivity and reducing costs through supply chain collaboration. “Our marketplace covers not only producers, traders and manufacturers. But it also covers last-mile farmers and service providers like logistics companies, fintech/banks, inspection agencies and clearing and forwarding agents.”

The platform also offers a way to search and identify partners and conduct transactions with ideal trading partners through a single window. “For the first time, smallholders can participate at no cost and be visible to end buyers to get incentivised for producing sustainably,” Malarampath shared. “A multi-sided marketplace, we make visible approximately 3 million smallholders who produce 40 per cent of palm oil globally, yet only 2 per cent are certified sustainable”.

In addition to the marketplace, DIBIZ also provides many value-added technical features. They include digitalised workflow automation to improve productivity and efficiency of operations and real-time traceability and inventory tracking with IoT and geospatial analytics covering farmers.

The firm also ensures compliance with regulations for ethical sourcing and provides direct access to low-cost trade financing from banks/investors who support ESG-compliant supply chains.

The role of blockchain

According to Malarampath, blockchain provides data immutability for authenticating sustainability across the supply chain. The data from end-to-end of a supply chain is collated from different stakeholders and processors at different times and locations. Private and sensitive data is not shared on the distributed ledger.

“Every quantity of product on DIBIZ has immutable data to authenticate sustainability, conforming to many global standards, specifically NDPE (No Deforestation, Peat, and Exploitation),” he claimed.

The DIBIZ marketplace captures all aspects of the trade from RFQ (request for quotation) till the final GDN (goods delivery notice), digitises them and stores the cryptographic data on a secured blockchain. The proof of validating a trade is thus available on a blockchain.

Its algorithms connect the dots to produce traceability to the source of these cryptographic data on the blockchain. “Any enterprise at the last mile of the supply chain demanding ethically produced palm oil can thus purchase with confidence from our marketplace, which comes with satellite-based geospatial analytics for conformance to NDPE.”

Starting with Indonesia, Malaysia

DIBIZ primarily targets Indonesian and Malaysian markets, which account for nearly 85 per cent of the world’s palm oil production. The one-month-old startup, however, nurses an ambition to go global, as the GMV of sustainable palm oil alone is more than US$200 billion globally.

Also Read: How to create a new normal for trade finance with blockchain

“We’ve been undergoing successful pilots in Malaysia and Colombia. Commercial contracts are expected to be signed soon. Meanwhile, we are actively discussing with many industry associations for industry-wide adoption of our platform,” he said.

A bootstrapped company, DIBIZ recently raised funding from a few angel investors. The firm plans to rake in pre-series A funding for growth shortly.

Revenue model

Users pay a transaction fee for the value transacted through the platform. It also receives subscription charges for premium SaaS modules, which help stakeholders improve their productivity and efficiency of operations, providing faster ROI.

“Many ESG-focussed investment funds and reputed banks have mandated to finance only sustainable supply chains. Immutable data on sustainability provided by us can be a great asset for the customers to avail of such attractive green financing and save millions on interest rates. We believe this revenue stream from the trade financing commission will be the biggest potential in future,” he said.

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The growth of any economy largely depends on its logistics and supply chain infrastructure. India has been on a high growth trajectory for the past few years, and much of it can be attributed to the innovations of tech-driven logistics players.

Even as the pandemic hit the segment harder than others, it makes a strong comeback with startups trying to solve some sector-specific problems with innovative solutions. The one-size-fits-all concept is not applicable in the logistics space as the solutions differ from sector to sector. In this piece, we talk about three startups developing unparalleled products and services for the sectors they are catering to.

Agrigator

Founded by IIM Ahmedabad alumni Udit Sangwan and Charu Chaturvedi, Agrigator is India’s first on-spot logistics startup for non-perishable segments of the agricultural supply chain. Buyers and sellers of grains can use Agrigator’s platform to find trucks for transportation across India. 

On-spot logistics is a fragmented business and covers almost 70% of the agri-logistic sector. Unlike contractual logistics, on-spot logistics is the way of business for lakhs of local mills and traders.

Today, as Agrigator’s network grows, the aggregator platform is now running on auto-pilot mode. With more customers joining the network, the startup has started facilitating its customers with trade and financing.

Also read: How these innovators are using data to change the world

The business revenue model is simple: the company charges a percentage for the service provided and runs a membership fee for premium services. The company’s target audiences are buyers and sellers of commodities all over the country, traders, local mills, industries, exporters, B2B, and Fleet owners.

The company opts for Amazon for trade, Uber for transportation, and NBFC for financing. Lately, the company began offering more than its competition, with brokers in the market at ground level intermediaries, Bijak at Marketplace and Agri-Financing, Delhivery and Truck Suvidha at Logistics Intermediary, agribazaar at a marketplace, aggregator at Agri logistics and Agri financing, and IndigoAG for abroad. The company has grown ten times and is enjoying more than 738% of revenue growth and building trade, having crossed 710% of GMV growth in the last year.

Biddano

Founded by Talha Shaikh and Ashok Yadav, Biddano is India’s largest healthcare supply chain platform focusing on delivering last-mile medicines and other medical equipment. The startup recognised that affordability and accessibility of medicines were the most significant challenges in the country’s healthcare ecosystem. Moreover, the challenges were especially more pronounced in the rural areas.

In 2018, the startup switched to a business-to-business model and connected local distributors with pharmacies to fulfil orders within three hours. It solves some significant challenges faced by distributors and pharmacists, such as unreliability and lack of an expiry management system for medicines.

Since the past year, the company has been on a massive expansion drive and is now offering services in over 18 Indian cities impacting the healthcare supply chain through its main products: Bkart and Shortbuk. The company is soon launching an app to integrate all its products and better serve every stakeholder in the healthcare supply chain ecosystem.

Also read: Supercharging B2B startups with SAP’s enterprise collaborations

Bkart is a tech-enabled logistics platform that consolidates and reduces delivery TAT from 24 hours to under 3 hours and helps solve delivery, accuracy, and reliability issues for the super distributors, distributors, and stockists. Shortbuk is its comprehensive daily procurement platform for pharmacies.

With its unique B2B marketplace (for chemists, stockists, distributors, and manufacturers), the company aims to expand into 51 cities with over 100K outlets. The launch operation will ensure 3000 active SKUs across the country and help generate projected revenue of INR 26 crore every month. The company currently has a network of 150K pharmacies.

Assiduous Global

If you believe that the world is your oyster, Assiduus Global, a startup founded by Dr Somdutta Singh, must be on your watchlist. It is the world’s fastest-growing AI-powered cross-border E-commerce accelerator.

Assiduous helps D2C brands launch, scale, and grow across global e-commerce marketplaces by enabling their digital commerce through end-to-end distribution and supply chain management. Assiduous boasts of a patent-pending, technology-backed e-commerce supply chain and distribution solutions helping its clients scale their businesses across five continents.

Also read: Supercharging B2B startups with SAP’s enterprise collaborations

CarterX

CarterX is a first of its kind tech driven DoorToDoor baggage service. It creates a complete digital platform for over 300 Million passengers annually in India alone with an access to supply their luggages to airport right from their doorstep. It combines the passenger’s interaction with the Airport and Airlines through its digital platform and the only company cleared by the Bureau of Civil Aviation to check-in right at your doorstep for Indigo, Vistara, Spicejet and AirAsia.

Currently operational at 4 major airports, New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad that cater to 83% of the air traveler market. It has a mandate to add four more into their portfolio and expand their coverage.

The market for airport luggage services is $ 6 Billion and CarterX aims to scale to a revenue of $73 Million over the next 5 years. The service aims to skip the queues at the airport or simply send your luggage from one city to another with a secure transparent service backbone. CarterX has identified a new service vertical of luggage transfer to the airport terminals and supply the airport ecosystem to the passenger’s doorstep on the onset domestically and then scale internationally.

The company has raised $ 1 Million and are looking to raise our Series A with $3 Million dollars to achieve 33% market share.

To get to know these four groundbreaking startups better, catch Demo Day 2 (DDay2) organised by Venture Catalysts and 9Unicorns. You can access the showcase by registering here.

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Photo by Tom Fisk

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This article is produced by the e27 team, sponsored by Venture Catalysts and 9Unicorns

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In the Asia Pacific, the transition to remote work during the COVID pandemic has been more radical and abrupt than in other regions. Whereas the US and EMEA companies were already on the brink of shifting to remote work, 78% of Asian workplaces were in-person only.

Fast-forward to 2022, and we are looking at a new market, with 43% of the workforce facing hybrid work arrangements. Examining the last two years, we can identify the challenges in the sudden transition, lessons learned, and opportunities that emerged.

Achievements of hybrid work: productivity and accessibility

Introducing remote work policies helped APAC companies be more productive. Cutting the time associated with commute was the biggest time-saver, saving employees up to 2 hours a day.

Also read: Get to know these movers and shakers in India’s logistics industry

On top of that, shifting to working from home fueled the decentralisation of incredibly centralised APAC markets.  Before the pandemic, capitals were the beating heart of many regions. After the switch to remote work, more families moved to rural areas where they had access to better air quality, as well as larger and more affordable housing.

Challenges of hybrid work in APAC: distractions and technology gaps

One of the differences between APAC and EMEA or other markets is that not all employees in the Asia Pacific have access to distraction-free work environments.

Shared housing is a trend across the region, thus, remote work made it harder for employees to focus on work due to increased tensions in families caused by forced cohabitation, especially during a pandemic.

On top of that, in some countries in the region, companies struggled to build infrastructures that would support a remote team.

While in Korea or Australia the shift was smooth, in India, the transition brought forth new challenges: local employees were facing connectivity issues and the lack of powerful hardware.

As such, enabling employees with an environment for focused work and supporting them with a reliable tech infrastructure were the key challenges team leaders had to face.

Employee turnover: is the “Great Resignation” coming to APAC?

The “Great Resignation”, a trend of employees changing their jobs many times a year, is changing the face of work in the US and EMEA. In regions like Latin America, up to 70% of employees contemplate a job change within the next 12 months.

In APAC, this trend is often overlooked but the numbers show that Great Resignation is spreading to Asian markets. 57% of respondents in Microsoft’s recent report on hybrid work stated they would change jobs to prioritise mental health. The key reasons why people leave for better workplaces are looking for higher salaries, seeking personal fulfilment, and finding projects with better employee training and engagement.

Also read: How these innovators are using data to change the world

While hybrid work may not be able to stop the trend once and for all, it can help slow down the “reshuffle”.

Giving teams the freedom to choose their workplaces rather than constraining them to come back to offices, team leaders put employees behind the steering wheel and allow them to balance commitments.

Besides, hybrid work can help teams improve work-life balance, as most were struggling to do so during the pandemic. Over the last two years, one-third of the APAC workforce felt burned out due to the stress and isolation of full remote work. Being able to interact in an office environment would help teams set boundaries, interact spontaneously and reduce digital fatigue.

Solving the challenges of hybrid work in APAC with technology

The key difference between APAC and other markets is the importance of office-based interactions. For companies in the region, an office is a place for focused work, spontaneous interactions, and seamless performance monitoring.

At the moment, traditional collaboration and video conferencing tools (Microsoft Teams, Slack, and others) don’t meet all needs of APAC teams.

66% of APAC companies surveyed by Google say that they don’t have enough spontaneous interactions and have a harder time collaborating with the rest of their teams.

To solve the problem, team leaders in the regions are exploring virtual offices — 2D platforms where people can interact and stay in touch throughout the workday.

oVice, a virtual office provider based in Japan, has seen a sharp increase in clients from APAC, with large-scale clients from Korea, Vietnam, and other countries setting up spaces on the platform. The company’s clients use virtual offices for day-to-day work, corporate events, and educational workshops.

Also read: Supercharging B2B startups with SAP’s enterprise collaborations

oVice helps APAC companies solve connectivity challenges by supporting them with:

• Fast and reliable technology: oVice allows teams with poor network connectivity to stay connected.
• Space for natural interactions: the platform’s range-based audio transmission means that people can join conversations easily and exchange ideas without having to schedule a meeting for every discussion.
• Customizable spaces: team leaders can create office layouts that match brand values and identity, creating a sense of unity and togetherness that teams typically develop in offices.
• Work-life balance: getting into the habit of working only after logging into a virtual office platform makes it easier for employees to separate jobs and personal life.

Two years after its foundation, oVice has become an APAC leader in the virtual office market.

Join the crowd of fast-growing Asian teams using a virtual office by setting up a free trial space on oVice. If you want to see how teams use the platform, visit the oVice tour space.

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There’s a palpable shift going on in the NFT world. I wake up to tweets saying people wish things would go back to the way they were in 2020. They’re obviously referring to the 10x gains typical for a PFP project.

And the time when you didn’t have to keep your guard up so high when everyone could be trusted. These days, opportunities to flip a digital asset for such returns are few and far in between.

As Karafuru, Co-Founder, Jeffry Jouw, puts it, “80 per cent of NFTs are pretty much a cash grab, where they build and sell, and don’t care about what happens after.”

Could the supply of the remaining 20 per cent diamonds in the rough be dwindling? Are we witnessing a bubble about to burst? Is this the end of the NFT golden era? I say no.

Pun intended

To date, the majority of NFT drops are centred around digital art and its collectible nature. It seems that after two years of that, we’re all craving more. In microeconomics, it’s called diminishing marginal utility.

After repeated exposure to a product or service, we derive less and less satisfaction from it. Even with the best marketing, maintaining the mint hype is no longer sustainable unless projects begin to introduce something new.

Web2 business leaders breaking into the Web3 space couldn’t have come at a better time. They’re introducing innovation that NFTs need through what’s known in the industry as Utility, the add-ons you receive with the purchase of your token.

Commonplace Utility that PFP projects provide is access to a community and events, merchandise, voting rights, and use in a future game. What these battle-hardened business leaders are bringing to the table is their experience in recognising what a market wants and delivering it.

Beyond digital

In Indonesia, three formidable startups have banded together to bring the Karafuru project to life. Urban Sneaker Society (USS), The Museum of Toys (MoT), and NFT launchpad, Artivak, successfully sold out their 5,555 NFTs that go way beyond the standard jpeg.

Also Read: How are NFTs contributing in creating a social impact?

USS, with its wildly successful, almost cult-like following has the ability to bring out sneakerheads to its annual IRL convention that averaged 50k attendees pre-pandemic, 35k in 2021. Their online event boasted even more visitors with 120k unique attendees.  Clearly, USS knows how to mount meaningful events both online and offline.

As for Museum of Toys founder, Win Satya, purveyor of everything hip-hop, skateboarding, surreal creations, street art and comics as expressed in toys, he brings his expertise in street culture to the aesthetics of the Karufuru project.

Then there’s Brandon Salim of Artivak, that has guided the launch of at least three Indonesian NFTs. The team leverages such skills and experiences in their wheelhouse when they created Karafuru’s Roadmap which includes the creation of 3D toys, a real-life carnival, complete with partnerships, and much more.

In another corner of the globe, in Australia, the Meta Trees team is creating a project that seeks to reforest a plot of land in New South Wales. Leading this project is a farmer and agriculturist Teale Simmons and soil educator Ray Milidoni, where one NFT minted means one tree planted.

With a supply of 25,000 NFTs and regenerative agricultural practises, they aim to sequester carbon and reverse the effects of climate change en masse. As part of the GreenChipNFT movement, their aim is to create a viable model where Web3 is used for good IRL and scaled globally.

Pinky swear

It’s one thing to promise the moon, it’s another thing to deliver it. That’s why in considering a Utility NFT to invest in, you need to look at the founders.

They need to have a consistent track record of accomplished projects, a deep understanding of their space, and a network of references that you can confirm the results. After all, an NFT mint is essentially a fundraising activity.

For this reason, I’m particularly interested in the work being done at Zoofrenz. Again, this project is backed by a company, Zombot Studios, and not individuals.

Zombot Studios has decades of experience in developing skins for games such as Destiny, Spell Break, League of Legends: Wild Rift, and many others. Many of their team members have been in the gaming industry even before NFTs were invented. When they say that they’re developing a game, they know their stuff.

We’re not just talking about theoretical knowledge that you get from reading a book or a few blogs. Zombot Studios in collaboration with Kosuke Kawamura, and Teahouse Finance, under the guidance of multi-awarded CheYuWu, have come together to create the Zombie Club NFT.

Their goal is to bring more people into Web3 through education that they earned the hard way: by making mistakes and learning from them.

Through workshops, seminars, and social events, Zombie Club aims to raise the proficiency of Asian holders in all things crypto from general blockchain to security in a decentralised space, cold wallets to tokenomics.

Also Read: The art of blockchain: What is the NFT craze all about?

By developing a think tank for the space then connecting the equipped talent with partner retail brands, major players in the industry, and creating an in-house publication unit, the project hopes to be the breeding ground for solutions that make the NFT ecosystem more equitable. With the team behind it, it’s likely to succeed.

Final thoughts

I think we’re way past derivative projects that have difficulty in finding a way to leave their unique mark on the world. Especially with business owners coming into the space and collaborating with others, we’re seeing endless permutations of Utility and Web3 technology neatly packaged into an NFT project. Those are the ones I’m particularly excited about this year.

The trend may have begun with tech and artists leading the way but as we see more people with diverse backgrounds enter the space, we’ll be witnessing even more use cases emerge.

What could happen when those from healthcare, education, agriculture, and governance come in? I can only begin to imagine.

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GoTo Group’s shares surged on the first day of trading on the Indonesia Stock Exchange after raising US$1.1 billion in the initial public offering (IPO).

As per a Bloomberg report, the shares jumped 23 per cent and were up 14 per cent to 386 rupiah at 9:41 am in Jakarta (The company offered 46.7 billion Series A shares at IDR338 apiece). This brought GoTo’s valuation to approximately US$32 billion.

GoTo’s IPO is the third-largest offering in Indonesia after Bukalapak and Mitratel.

The group plans to use the proceeds for working capital to support the growth strategy, comprising four pillars:

1. Driving customer growth and engagement through cross-pollination and increasing usage among consumers, merchants and driver-partners,
2. Enhancing hyperlocal experiences and infrastructure to provide consumers with more convenience in their digital daily lives,
3. Strengthening ecosystem synergies, including enhanced loyalty and rewards programs, deeper financial services offerings and further development of value-added merchant services,
4. Investing in high growth areas, including deeper demographic expansion in Indonesia, Singapore and Vietnam, targeted strategic investments, investment in technology and infrastructure, and the transition towards electric vehicles.

Also Read: Bukalapak raises US$1.5B on the first day of its IDX debut, shares jump 25 per cent

Last week, GoTo introduced the Gotong Royong Share Program and allocated over US$20 million to driver-partners. It also formed GoTo Future Fund, an endowment fund that aims to support initiatives and solutions that benefit the lives of stakeholders across the GoTo ecosystem.

GoTo Group CEO Andre Soelistyo said: “…the people who deserve the most recognition for today’s milestone are the people who worked so hard to breathe life into our business. Our success can be wholly attributed to our driver-partners, merchants, consumers, and employees. Therefore, it was a priority for us to ensure they could benefit from our IPO via the Gotong Royong Share Program, one of the most inclusive share ownership programs today. With all of these groups working together, we are genuinely unstoppable as we pursue our mission to empower progress for Indonesia and Southeast Asia.

The group claims its pro forma GTV grew at 46 per cent CAGR between 2018 and 2020 and at 62 per cent YoY between Q3 2020 and Q3 2021. Pro forma gross revenue grew at 56 per cent CAGR between FY2018 and FY2020 and 55 per cent YoY between Q3 2020 and Q3 2021.

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One of the biggest challenges small businesses face is getting the word out about their products and solutions.

Though social media platforms have made online advertising more varied and diverse, providing opportunities for businesses of all stripes to attract new customers through posts, videos, and ads, it’s also become harder for small businesses to cut through the noise.

At Meta, we want to help SMBs connect with their audience and communities by enabling and empowering business leaders to use our platforms and tools so that they go from being invisible to visible, connect with new customers, and increase conversions, such as more website visits, appointment bookings, and sales.

Home to some of the world’s most popular social media and messaging platforms, Meta sees over 3.6 billion people use its services, which include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger, monthly.

The power of video

Over the past two years, Instagram and Facebook have become popular video platforms for connecting with brands, and half of the time people across the globe spend on Facebook and Instagram is spent watching a video.

This is a powerful storytelling medium that can help businesses showcase their products, people, and brand story, which in turn can help them win the hearts and minds of shoppers.

For example, homegrown Australian brand Pop Wilder successfully used Meta video tools such as Reels and Instagram Live to reach new customers.

“Our philosophy to bring plants into people’s homes in an easy and innovative way is bigger than the brand itself,” said Mishka Nansi, owner of Pop Wilder.

Also Read: Why every startup needs to embrace video marketing in 2020

“Reels has helped us develop and grow the business while connecting with our customers through visually powerful stories. We love making Reels and showcasing our products on Instagram Live.”

How to use videos to reach new customers

For businesses looking to raise awareness by diving into video content for the first time or by ramping up their video offerings on Meta platforms, here are tips and techniques to consider:

For Reels, the Instagram community loves short, authentic, and entertaining videos that are optimised for mobile viewing, meaning filmed vertically, and that help make your brand come alive.

The first three seconds are important for capturing people’s attention, and it’s important that your video is easy to watch, don’t clutter it with too much text and ensure that there aren’t watermarks that make it obvious you’ve recycled content from other platforms.

If you’re using Stories, many of the best practices from Reels can be employed: keep the videos short, authentic, entertaining, and filmed vertically.

But with Stories, you can add interactive content such as tags, links, and stickers that can help engage people and encourage them to take actions such as visiting a website, shop, or voting in a poll.

The business power of conversations

Apart from videos, messaging has also become a handy way for businesses to connect directly with shoppers to answer questions, provide customer support, and even drive sales.

In fact, 56 per cent of shoppers in the Asia Pacific said in a recent survey that they would like the ability to make a purchase directly through a messaging app and more than half of holiday shoppers across Asia are more likely to buy if a business is contactable via a messaging platform.

This shows the importance of conversational commerce, the ability for customers to chat with businesses, and why small businesses should use it.

By setting up customer communication channels on Messenger or WhatsApp, brands can chat with people in real-time quickly and easily. This in turn can provide a personalised experience and positively influence a shopper’s decision to sign-up for a subscription or class or make a purchase. 

Also Read: Creative content business: What it means for streamers and broadcasters

A great example of this comes from BungaKita, a business that sources ornamental plants from Bandung. Located in Indonesia, the company’s team uses messaging to connect with customers in real-time, engage with them to build relationships, and stay top of mind for their services.

“We build relationships and engage our customers using WhatsApp,” said Rudi Ardiansyah, owner of BungaKita. “I’ve seen my products become better-known thanks to Meta Tools.”

How to use conversational commerce to grow your brand

Like BungaKita, small businesses can use messaging platforms effectively to more closely connect with customers and grow their brand. Here are some quick tips that will help you be well on your way to providing excellent conversational commerce.

Since many small businesses will likely use a customer service team rather than automation to begin, make sure that you respond to people who reach out to you quickly and ensure your messages are clear and succinct, especially if you need a bit more time to respond fully to their query. 

Message tags can help you manage conversations by sending personalised and timely non-promotional messages, such as human agent responses and post-purchase updates and sponsored messages can be used to send promotional updates to people you’ve interacted with via Messenger if they have opted-in to receive them.

As your business scales and grows, you can consider transforming your conversational commerce experience to be fully automated or a hybrid solution that uses both automation and human agents. 

As you become more comfortable with both video and messaging on Meta platforms, you can use both to drive more awareness and connect with your customers in a friendly, conversational way. 

Gaining greater visibility with Meta

Businesses deserve visibility and with Meta platforms and products such as video and messaging, small businesses around the world are becoming more visible in their communities, both online and offline, as more people discover, interact with them, and become customers.

To discover more good ideas for small businesses, check out this space.

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Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing views from the community. Share your opinion by submitting an article, video, podcast, or infographic

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