TurtleTree, which produces cell-based milk, has raised US$30 million in the first tranche of its Series A funding from a group of investors, led by existing investor and Finnish growth-stage VC firm Verso Capital.

Having just launched its Sacramento R&D facility in September, TurtleTree will now use the new capital to continue expanding its portfolio of sustainable, better-for-you food items. 

It will also set aside funds for technology development and talent acquisition, enabling the firm to grow its world-class R&D team.

Together, these initiatives will help TurtleTree scale up its research and production of the highly functional ingredients in human milk, which offer proven benefits for immune system function, gut health, and cognitive development. One example of these ingredients is lactoferrin, a bioactive protein slated for launch as TurtleTree’s first commercial product.

Also Read: TurtleTree secures pre-seed from Saudi entrepreneur Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed

“The funding received has truly opened up a new world of possibility. We can now set our sights on turning ambitions into reality. We will start with our US-based expansion plans and then move on to the development and manufacture of our first consumer-ready products,” TurtleTree’s chief strategy officer Max Rye said.

This will ultimately bring scalable solutions to the cell-based food industry, ensuring people everywhere will have access to the nourishing nutrients of mammalian milk in a uniquely sustainable and affordable way.

Founded in 2019, TurtleTree uses its proprietary technology to produce whole milk in clean production facilities from mammary cells. Moving forward, the company will expand into a global biotechnology platform with a vision for transforming performance nutrition, food systems, and cellular agriculture. 

To date, TurtleTree has raised over US$40 million. 

In December 2020, TurtleTree closed a US$6.2 million in an oversubscribed pre-Series A round from investors such as Green Monday Ventures, Eat Beyond Global, KBW Ventures, and Verso. A few months prior, it raised pre-seed funding round from investors such as KBW Ventures, Lever VC and K2 Global. 

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Multiplier, a Singapore-based startup aiming to simplify international employment, has secured US$13.2 million in a Sequoia India-led Series A financing round.

Individuals, including Deepinder Goyal (Zomato) and Amrish Rau (Pine Labs), along with existing investors, also co-invested.

The new round follows a US$$4 million investment round led by Sequoia Capital India’s Surge programme in July.

Multiplier will use the new capital to boost its full-stack platform and expand globally. A portion of the proceeds will also be deployed to scale up its payroll and benefits solutions for businesses.

Also Read: How to simplify the overcomplicated hiring process

Multiplier was established in 2020 by Amritpal Singh, Sagar Khatri, and Vamsi Krishna. It is a global employment platform that helps companies employ, onboard and pay their global talent compliantly. Multiplier provides automated HR workflow, compliance and payroll all rolled into one integrated platform.

As per a press statement, the company has doubled its customer base since it came out of Surge, and revenues grew 3x.

Multiplier co-founder Sagar Khatri said: “Talent is everywhere, and our vision is to enable companies to hire the best person for the job, regardless of their location. We have grown exponentially since the launch, which is testament to the demand from companies—both large and small—for a simplified, international employment solution.”

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Singapore-headquartered accelerator-cum-VC-fund Accelerating Asia announced the first batch of investments from its US$20-million Fund II launched in September.

This is also the fifth cohort of pre-Series A startups joining the fund’s flagship 100-day accelerator programme.

The nine startups are:

• Chat Genie (Philippines): An online B2B platform providing integrated online payment and automated delivery services to businesses on Facebook Messenger, Instagram, Viber, GCash, PayMaya, and other super apps.
• Dana Fintech (Bangladesh): A fintech startup that enables banks, financial institutions and fintech firms to offer digital lending and buy now pay later (BNPL) facilities to underbanked SMEs and individuals through its unique credit scoring engine, digital underwriting, and API platforms.
• Ellegra (Malaysia): An online personal styling service for women.
• Giftpack.ai (US): An AI-powered corporate gifting platform that digitalises companies’ relationships with customers through analyses of recipients’ social media, cultural background, and digital footprint to customise gift options at scale.
• Mayani (Philippines): An agri-e-commerce platform that empowers smallholder farmers by providing them broader access to market, while minimising food loss through a digitised agri value chain.
• Sohopathi (Bangladesh): An online social platform for P2P learning that enables learning and teaching simultaneously.
• Supply Line (Bangladesh): A digital B2B procurement and invoice financing solution to connect local retailers with lenders and distributors through a single platform.
• VIFO (Vietnam): A single SaaS platform unifying insurers, agencies, customers, and customer services to make insurance easier for everyone.
• Z-Waka (Myanmar): A SaaS platform that enables doctors in developing countries to efficiently manage clinics, collaborate with other healthcare professionals and pharmaceutical companies in order to provide affordable high-quality healthcare.

As per a press release, 80 per cent of Cohort 5 startups address at least one of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, such as gender equality, responsible consumption and production, and industry, innovation and infrastructure. In addition, 50 per cent are co-founded by female leaders.

Also read: Investing with gender lens: Proven strategy to achieve 2x+ in returns

Launched in September 2021, Accelerating Asia’s Fund II aims to bridge the gap between seed and pre-Series A investments for startups with untapped potential that are six to 18 months away from institutional funding.

The fund claims that the nine startups have increased their recurring revenue by over 40 per cent to an average of US$20,000 per month after one month of joining the programme.

Founded in 2019, Accelerating Asia has invested up to US$250,000 each in over 40 startups spanning across ten countries in Southeast and South Asia.

Accelerating Asia has also joined “Pledge 1%”, a global movement to inspire, educate, and empower every company to be a force for good. The new cohort represents the fund’s commitment to accelerating startups with scalable technology solutions and business models that combine purpose with profit.

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Filipino social entertainment platform Kumu has secured an undisclosed amount in a Series C financing round.

Global growth equity firm General Atlantic led the latest round, joined by returning investors Openspace Ventures and SIG.

It brings Kumu’s total funding to over US$100 million.

As per a press note, this deal marks General Atlantic’s first investment in the Philippines.

“Kumu is rapidly emerging as a leading digital content community and social platform in the Philippines and the global Filipino diaspora,” said Sandeep Naik, Managing Director and Head (India & Southeast Asia) at General Atlantic.

Also Read: Gobi-Core Philippine Fund discloses investment in Kumu, to invest in a total of 7 startups by end-2021

“We believe an immense digital opportunity exists in the Philippines, a market that is hungry for content and ripe for disruption. Kumu’s innovative live-streaming offerings pave the way for its continued growth as a broader online media platform,” he added.

Established in 2018 as a live streaming app, Kumu claims it has since amassed a base of over 10 million registered users across over 55 countries. It generates revenues from virtual gifting, advertising, and e-commerce, which allow content creators to convert engagement into income.

Kumu provides premium content and has co-produced the last two seasons of the hit TV show Pinoy Big Brother.

The company has also teamed up with the top-grossing Filipino film director Cathy Garcia-Molina to produce a movie. It enables Kumu users to earn a spot as a co-star or as part of the film’s soundtrack.

It claims to have seen early signals of product-market fit beyond the Philippines, with tractions coming from non-Filipinos in the US and Europe.

Kumu wants to be the “Disneyland of social media”, enforcing authenticity, positivity, and safety through its community-driven content moderation system.

“We are less than one per cent of the way to our goal,” said Roland Ros, Kumu’s founder and CEO. “Billions of dollars are being spent on internet infrastructure, and you have a market of over 100 million people with a median age that is GenZ and millennial, with affordable, 4G-capable smartphones. That together is a perfect playground for us to build a social platform at a global scale that is founded upon deep engagement and positivity.”

“The first generation of social media was defined by passive engagement, where the platform wins through advertising, but all except the top 1 per cent of creators struggle to earn a living,” said Rexy Dorado, president and co-founder of Kumu. “We are early movers in this movement towards a genuine creator economy where anyone can earn a sustainable income from just a hundred true fans each.”

Earlier this year, the company announced a Series B funding round co-led by SIG. It was preceded by a Series A led by Openspace Ventures.

Also Read: Philippines-based livestream mobile app Kumu raises US$1.2M seed funding

Kumu believes that the Philippines is at a tipping point: structural and behavioural changes have led to the internet and social media penetration increasing by almost 10 per cent yearly. The Philippines is often termed as the world’s social media capital as Filipinos spend at least 10 hours of their days online and dedicate at least four of those to social media alone.

“At Kumu, we seek to acquire a larger share of users’ mindshare and make even a couple of those hours spent online as delightful as possible for content creators and consumers alike,” says Dana De La Vega, Kumu’s VP of Strategic Management.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a dramatic loss of human life worldwide and presents an unprecedented challenge to public health, food systems, and the work environment.

Economic and social disruptions caused by the pandemic have been devastating– with tens of millions at risk of falling into extreme poverty.

The number of undernourished people could increase by up to 132 million by the end of the year from an estimated 690 million.

Asked to consider what life will be like in 2025 in the wake of the outbreak and other crises in 2020, a group of 915 innovators, developers, business and policy leaders, researchers and activists responded similarly in a research conducted by the Pew Research Center and Elon University’s Imagine the Internet Center.

These individuals are made up of those in technology, communications, and social change.

Their broad and nearly universal view is that people’s relationship with technology will deepen as more significant segments of the population come to better rely on digital connections for work, education, health care, daily commercial transactions, and essential social interactions. Several of them described this as a “tele-everything” world.

The question is how tech will help with controlling COVID-19 and with the world returning to normal or rather the “new normal”?

Also Read: COVID-19, the environment, and the tech ecosystem: what opportunity is available out there for us?

The pandemic accelerated 10 key technology trends, including digital payments, telehealth, and robotics. These advancements could help reduce the spread of the coronavirus and help businesses stay open.

Below, we list trends that can help build a resilient society in handling future pandemics and their effects on our lives, whether work, trade, learning, or entertaining ourselves. 

Working remotely

As more companies have employees working from home, technology has been integrated for a seamless experience.

Remote work is enabled by virtual private networks (VPNs), voice over internet protocols (VoIP), virtual meetings, cloud technology, work collaboration tools, and even facial recognition technologies that enable a person to appear before a virtual background to preserve the privacy of the home.

In addition to preventing the spread of viruses, remote work also saves commuting time and provides greater flexibility.

Distance learning

As of mid-April 2020, 191 countries announced or implemented school or university closures, impacting 1.57 billion students worldwide. Many educational institutions started offering courses online to ensure education was not disrupted by quarantine and lockdown measures.

The technology involved in distant learning is similar to that used for remote work, including virtual reality, augmented reality, 3D printing, and artificial-intelligence-enabled robot teachers. Note that even before COVID-19, there was already high growth and adoption in education technology.

Global edutech investments were US$18.66 billion in 2019, while the overall market for online education is projected to reach US$350 billion by 2025.

Also Read: How cloud kitchen startup COOKHOUSE, started amidst COVID-19, managed to win 35 F&B clients in Malaysia within a year

Since the pandemic started, there has been a significant surge in usage for language apps, virtual tutoring, video conferencing tools, and online learning software. 

More than a hundred education technology and service companies worldwide have attracted venture capital, raising upwards of US$1.9 billion in funding rounds as of April 23, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data.

The US accounted for the bulk of global venture capital poured into the edutech market, accounting for US$875.7 million, followed by the Asia Pacific region at US$528.3 million. Meanwhile, Europe and Emerging Markets respectively pulled in US$342.3 million and US$178.9 million each.

5G and Information and Communications Technology (ICT)

At the heart of the technology mentioned above trends is; a stable, high-speed, and affordable internet. The adoption of 5G will increase the cost of compatible devices and the cost of data plans.

Addressing these issues to ensure inclusive access to the internet will continue to be a challenge as the 5G network expands globally.

An example of the application of 5G technology is its use in the remote control of heavy machinery due to its low latency.

In Wuhan, during the COVID-19 crisis, 5G-enabled robots checked patient temperatures, delivered drugs, guided routes, and cleaned and disinfected rooms.

The robots were designed to help treat patients and reduce the risk of human exposure to coronavirus by minimising person-to-person contact.

Also Read: Vietnam’s supply chain amid worst COVID-19 outbreak: How tech startups are getting along

The supply chain

The COVID-19 pandemic created disruptions to the global supply chain. Factories were shut down because of distancing and quarantine orders. Heavy reliance on paper-based records and a lack of visibility on data highlighted how existing supply chains were vulnerable to any adverse shocks. 

Core technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution – such as Big Data, cloud computing, Internet-of-Things (“IoT”) and blockchain – are the basis for a more resilient supply chain management system for the future by enhancing data accuracy encouraging data sharing.

Telehealth/ Healthtech

Here are four health-tech trends that are expected to boom post-COVID-19:

(i) Predictive analysis in healthcare

An example of this is the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health researchers COVID-19 mortality risk calculator. The team developed it to estimate the potential of severe outcomes for individuals and to inform of vaccine rollouts. 

(ii) IoMT

Connected Medical Devices that support proactive healthcare. Applications have ranged from connected wearables that report critical patient data to the deployment of “smart beds” in hospital settings to improve patient comfort.

(iii) New cybersecurity concerns increase cloud adoption in healthcare

In other words, simply deploying the scope and scale of cloud resources necessary to support tech-driven healthcare initiatives is not enough by itself. IT staff from healthtech companies must be prepared to address common challenges such as distributed denial of service attacks and ransomware, along with more targeted threat vectors such as COVID-19 vaccination scams.

(iv) Patient-focused emphasis 

The future of telehealth will have to deliver the best of both worlds where the needle moves towards a more patient-focused healthcare delivery experience. This means combining low-tech solutions such as standard blood pressure cuffs with video tutorials, allowing patients to self-report vital data.

Also Read: Sleeping beast ready to awaken: The rush for regtech in a COVID-19 world

Such solutions will be essential for healthcare organisations serving distributed and disparate populations without access to unlimited smartphone data or high-speed broadband internet. 

It will be safe to say that integrating technology into different businesses going beyond the five verticals stated above will be essential in controlling COVID and helping the world adapt to the “new normal”.

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Singapore-based Recommend Group (formerly RecomN.com), which provides on-demand home and local services in Indonesia and Malaysia, has bagged US$4M in a Series A fundraise.

Led by Chinese VC firm Morning Crest Capital (MCC), the round also saw participation from existing investors, including Singapore-based Brain-Too-Free Ventures.

MCC was a key investor in AirTasker, a local services platform listed on the Australian Stock Exchange.

Recommend Group will use the capital to grow further in Indonesia and Malaysia. It also intends to foray into other markets in Southeast Asia in the later part of 2022.

Also Read: ‘Investors are returning to being more sensitive to value’: Goh Seng Wee of Brain Too Free Ventures

In addition, it plans to strengthen its product and engineering, data analytics and market-based teams.

“We want to enhance the customer user experience on our app and web platforms, improve the job-matching algorithm and build features that empower service workers to manage and grow their business,” said co-founder Alex Tan.

Recommend Group provides a platform for customers to hire recommended service professionals for their homes. In Indonesia, it operates under the brand Sejasa.com and in Malaysia under Recommend.my.

Over 200 services are available across ten verticals, including home maintenance, appliance servicing and repairs, home improvement, cleaning and disinfecting, and lifestyle and beauty services.

Customers can choose to book a home maintenance service directly or get multiple quotations from several service professionals for home improvement and renovations services. The platform automatically matches the job to the right professional based on reviews, ratings, expertise, location, and availability.

Recommend Group has vetted over 40,000 small companies and independent service professionals in Indonesia and Malaysia. It works with them to standardise service scope and prices, improve service quality, enable cashless payments, and provide strong service warranties and insurance protection.

It has served 1 million homes in Indonesia and Malaysia.

Also Read: Singapore Press Holdings partners RecomN Technologies to launch services matching portal

“There has been a significant increase in demand for professional home services, especially during the pandemic when people spent a lot of time at home and wanted to make their homes more beautiful and comfortable. Demand in some categories grew by 3x during the pandemic, driven by customers’ need for speed, quality, reliability and adherence to SOPs,” said Jes Min Lua, co-founder and CEO of Recommend Group.

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Southeast Asia is home to multi-million dollar businesses that have managed to attract eyes from around the world. As per a report by Cento Ventures, the Southeast Asian startups drew a record number of investments in the first half of 2021. 

However, the value of these deals declined, as seen in the graph below. There are other challenges and pitfalls that the companies of this region have to overcome.

To understand the current Southeast Asia venture market, it’s essential to understand the scope, market growth, and challenges it’s experiencing. 

Ventures that are booming in the Southeast Asia market

The Southeast Asian market is giving importance to several startups varied across different services. Some of the significant ventures that have stood out from the competition are: 

• Grab: Grab is hailed as the biggest high-tech startup in Southeast Asia. The venture is a preeminent name when it comes to taxi booking and ride-sharing companies in Singapore. Headquartered in Singapore, and Indonesia, the company has scaled up its services to grocery, food, mobile payments, and more. Currently, Grab serves in 8 different countries, 400 cities with 214-million-plus app downloads. 
• Tokopedia: The startup was founded in 2009 and enables small businesses and big corporations to sell to consumers directly. An Indonesian E-Commerce giant, Tokopedia has over 100 million active users with 9.7 million merchants on the platform. Tokopedia also managed to strike a chord with pop music fans with BTS and Blackpink as their brand ambassadors. 
• Gojek: Starting as a call centre, today, Gojek is billed as the biggest on-demand multi-service platform in Southeast Asia. Hailing from Jakarta, the company is financially supported by names like PayPal, Google, Facebook, Mitsubishi, amongst many others. 
• Momo: Momo is the biggest e-wallet company in Vietnam that has a customer base of millions. The company app aids users to transfer money digitally which includes nationwide transfers, purchase services, recharge, bills, etc. This business has partnerships with 24 domestic banks and foreign networks that include Visa, JCB, and Master Card. 
• PropertyGuru: This business is the largest property platform in Singapore that caters to 37 million property seekers a month. Recently the company decided to go public backed by billionaires with an equity value of 1.78 billion dollars.

Also read: Sustainability starts at home: How I aim to tackle climate change as PropertyGuru CEO

Hence, the startup market of Southeast Asia is expanding, and it isn’t what it used to be. Even though the market is big, it lacks innovation with up-and-coming technologies as some western nations. This makes the business scene fierce in terms of competition. 

The curious case of Vietnam and its rise in the Southeast Asia startup scene

Vietnam has made great strides to become a competitive name in the Southeast Asia startup ecosystem. As per a report by Golden Gate Ventures, “Vietnam will become the third-largest startup ecosystem in Southeast Asia”.

The report further states that the nation will focus on early-stage investments and that the IPO in Vietnam will cross 300 by 2030. 

An exponential rise in funding of media startups can also be observed as per this report by Golden Gate Ventures. This is due to the global interest in Asian content as the sector recorded 100 million USD funding in 2020.  

However, Vietnam also faces specific challenges, especially in the field of AI. President of Vietnam recently signed the National Strategy on R&D and Application Of Artificial Intelligence. It’s a complete roadmap for this decade that wishes to make AI ubiquitous across Industries in Vietnam.

While at first, it seems ambitious, there are a few roadblocks the document fails to cover. As analysed by Nga Than, a doctoral candidate at the City University of New York, and Khoa Lam, contributor for humanity, the document requires more emphasis on security, the responsibilities of humans, and privacy.

There’s no in-depth explanation of AI ethos that can lead to more harm than good. Appending these points can solidify this document, making it beneficial for the economy and serving society. 

With the current pace, Vietnam is well on its way to becoming a hotspot for technology in Southeast Asia. It’s also predicted by DBS Bank professionals that Vietnam’s GDP will cross Singapore’s by 2030.

However, there are specific challenges the nation has to overcome. They have to clearly define and understand the shortcomings of the process and work on it as a whole. Being ambitious from collective directions is likely to help Vietnam with its vision. 

The flourishing startups of Southeast Asia: The rise and their challenges

With the increase in the business of the wild east, some intriguing observations are coming to light. These inspections demystify the startup market of Southeast Asia to any outsider. Further, this aids them in understanding the ground reality of the startup ecosystem in Southeast Asia. 

There’s market interest in this region.

It’s no secret that Southeast Asia’s potential and enthusiasm is the catalyst behind their market success. Major Chinese companies have invested a large chunk of their money into these innovative firms.

Investors from the USA have also accounted for 25 per cent of investment since 2015, as reported by Kroll and Mergermarket. 

This makes the market competitive, and investors have to be smart with their investments. Business founders should take advantage of this trust and investment and lead to innovative solutions that benefit society.  

The market conditions are ideal for a startup boom 

As stated before, the potential that Southeast Asia possesses encourages growth and investment. This region has a tech-savvy youth, and 90 per cent of this population has internet access that knows how to build technology.  

The 2018 Bloomberg Innovation Index puts Singapore in the 3rd spot. Significant investments in R&D and STEM education prove that Southeast Asia is the future of startups. 

However, these markets need to retain the talent that they possess. It’s essential to cater to workers’ needs if these organisations expect the best from their employees.

The companies that will identify and utilise the young talent will flourish, and all else will perish. 

Lack of global support and growth barriers

World funding for businesses is boosting at a rampant rate in this region. However, there’s scope for improvement as there’s a vast gap between early and late-stage funding.

Focus is still laid on significant companies and not on early-stage companies. Investors need to focus on early startups as they shape the next generation of businesses in the region.

The regional restriction is another barrier that hinders the growth of this region. Major companies from the US fail to establish a strong foothold in this region.

Amazon is failing to compete with e-commerce locals such as Lazada and Shoppee. The homegrown success story is familiar in these regions as the ventures of Southeast Asia understand the local consumer behaviour. 

Also read: Why Vertex Holdings CEO is optimistic about the VC industry in SEA

Southeast Asia is a highly divided region with small fragments forming a specific area. Some cultures are large enough and can be considered as one. However, some are small enough not even to sustain a business. A nation in Southeast Asia consists of various small cultures, each having its behaviour and habits. Southeast Asia is not a homogenous society marked by splits and divides, making it hard to do business.  

Apart from Singapore, almost every region nation has failed to establish a friendly business policy with foreign countries. Due to its restrictive nature, Southeast Asia has faced significant barriers with investments and upscaling. 

A cut in investments has led to an extreme but less innovative startup scenario in Southeast Asia. Common man also lacks general technical knowledge making it harder for them to use the cutting edge technology. These factors curb the innovation in Southeast Asia, making the region less innovative than western nations. 

On the contrary, easing business processes and implementing global friendly regulations can help the businesses in this region.

With the right balance of the local and international, these startups can go global and acquire valuable foreign investments. However, it’s crucial to have a local mindset that understands consumer behaviour to succeed in Southeast Asia.

It’s interesting to see the rampant growth of businesses in Southeast Asia. The market has infinite potential for companies that can expand and do better for society. However, the Southeast business market faces challenges with foreign investments and cultural barriers required to overcome.

Conquering these challenges can lead to innovative solutions that can benefit society at large. As stated by Kevin Aluwi, CEO of Gojek, “What’s unique and great about Indonesia and Southeast Asia is there’s a deep alignment between what’s good for business and also what’s good for society”. 

With the prospects looking bright and investments more than ever, it’s important to tap on this market’s potential. However, with time, we’ll see the precise direction that the Southeast Asia business market takes.

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NAMA Beauty, an Indonesia-based direct-to-consumer (D2C) cosmetics and skincare company, has announced the closing of its US$5M seed funding round led by AC Ventures.

Digital customer engagement solutions firm DMMX and logistics company SiCepat Ekspres also participated.

NAMA Beauty plans to use the capital for R&D development, marketing, and branding, hiring more talents, and launching a new second-line brand.

The startup was launched in 2019 by Luna Maya (CEO) and Marcel Lukman.

Also Read: AC Ventures hits first close of its US$80M third fund focused on Indonesia

Maya is one of Indonesia’s leading entertainers and well-known personalities with close to 40M followers across her personal and brand social media channels. On the other hand, Lukman has over a decade of experience in retail, being one of the brains behind Atmos and The 707 Company, which have brands such as Fred Perry, Nudie Jeans, Superga, And Melissa, among others, under its belt.

NAMA Beauty offers “high-quality” skincare and beauty products at affordable pricing, such as decorative cosmetics, skincare, health and beauty care. It claims to have a strong offline distribution network that allows the brand to reach customers throughout Indonesia.

By working closely with DMMX, NAMA Beauty will access offline market distribution networks such as the Sampoerna Retail Community (SRC), spread across more than 20 cities in Indonesia. It will leverage DMMX’s vast distribution network, sell its products in minimart chains, and access thousands of signage retail and TransJakarta networks. It will allow for broader customer reach and brand visibility. It will also sell its products in a digital commerce platform for the SRC as provided by DMMX.

On the other hand, SiCepat Ekspres will serve as the logistics partner of NAMA Beauty by assisting the company in fulfilment and delivery services.

Indonesia has a population of 270 million, 50 per cent of which are women, and 51 per cent are internet users.

As appetite and confidence for locally produced cosmetics are growing, there is a rising demand in the market for high-quality yet affordable beauty products.

Also Read: SiCepat raises US$170M Series B from Pavilion Capital, MDI Ventures to expand last-mile delivery platform

Furthermore, Indonesia’s cosmetic market and growing population of young people create an opportunity for beauty brands to grow and increase their market share. Colour cosmetics in the archipelago have immense market potential, estimated to reach US$1 billion in 2023, growing at a CAGR of 16.9 per cent.

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Singapore-based VC firm Wavemaker Partners has launched a climate-tech venture builder in Southeast Asia. The venture builder, Wavemaker Impact, targets to raise US$25 million for its first fund. 

Wavemaker Impact’s founding members include Steve Melhuish (PropertyGuru), Doug Parker (Nutonomy), Paul Santos (Wavemaker), and Quentin Vaquette and Marie Cheong (both with ENGIE Factory).

It will team up with tech and sustainability entrepreneurs in the region to realise the mission of reducing global carbon emissions by 10 per cent by 2035. 

By joining the Wavemaker Impact platform, entrepreneurs can access a global network of investors, advisors, and corporate partners to identify opportunities and develop scalable business models, product prototypes, and teams.

Also read: Sustainability starts at home: How I aim to tackle climate change as PropertyGuru CEO

Wavemaker Impact has already identified over 50 opportunity areas with the potential to reach US$100 million in annual recurring revenue and abate 100 million metric tons of carbon at scale — what it calls ‘100×100 companies’. 

These high-growth opportunities include land use and carbon sinks, agriculture and food, industrial processes, and energy. They have a total potential market worth US$2 trillion in Southeast Asia alone, claims the firm.

 “With existing technology, we already have the solutions to cut global carbon emissions by 50 per cent, but we need to create incentives to disrupt traditional businesses, change behaviour, and drive adoption,” said Marie Cheong, founding partner of Wavemaker Partners.

“Unlike other climate funds, we don’t just write cheques, but we roll up our sleeves and co-found these businesses,” said PropertyGuru founder Steve Melhuish.

Last year, the VC firm established “Green Wave” to assist the Wavemaker team and community in becoming more sustainability-focused. Its efforts involve going carbon neutral, mapping its portfolio of startups against the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and running sustainability workshops for founders.

Earlier this year, Investible and Circulate Capital also launched funds targeting climate-tech startups in Southeast Asia. 

As of October 2021, climate-tech startups have raised a record US$32 billion globally, reports Dealroom. This is in line with the global trend in this sector’s funding, which has more than quadrupled since 2016.

UN Environment Programme’s emissions gap report underlined that faster adoption of technologies plays a critical role in allowing large-scale improvements in global emission to achieve the 1.5°C temperature goal by 2030 as stated in the Paris Agreement. 

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Image Credit: Wavemaker Partners

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Where did you meet your love, spouse? On a dating app?

A survey by YouGov in 2017 found that more than half the millennials (54 per cent) in Vietnam had experienced dating through the Internet or dating apps.

In Vietnam, a country with a 100 million population, Tinder has dominated the online dating industry in the past few years to become the top-of-the-mind brand in the 18 to 2 age group. Approximately 60 per cent of respondents surveyed by Rakuten Insight in September 2020 said they had used Tinder.

At the peak of the pandemic, between March and May in 2020, this globally most-downloaded app even picked up the pace with the number of ‘swipes’– the typical action that indicates you “like” or “dislike” a person’s profile on the app — increasing 36 per cent over the same period in 2019.

But the tables have turned now. Fika, a home-grown app, is here to end Tinder’s dominance in the market. This freshly funded startup is rising to the occasion with a dedicated app targetting local women. Founded just a year ago, Fika has already clocked over 750,000 downloads and has become the number one dating app on Google Play in Vietnam.

Also read: A woman among women: 27 female-led startups in SEA that are going places

What is it like to be a single woman in Vietnam?

The app was developed by Denise Sandquist, a former Swedish-Vietnamese diplomat.

In 2016, she returned to Vietnam to find her biological mother after 25 years of growing up in Sweden and working in seven countries worldwide. In the quest for her lost family, she gradually got to know her motherland’s culture and “wanted to do something for the country.”

“I realised the social pressure to find a partner in Vietnam, especially for single women who are getting older,” Sandquist, who founded Fika with Oscar Xing Luo (CTO), told e27.

As she realised that dating apps such as Tinder did not work for many people searching for a true relationship, the idea of building a women-centric dating app occurred to her.

Fika is a dating platform that prioritises safety and authenticity for users while forming and maintaining meaningful friendships. In her view, the only way to make and sustain such truly meaningful connections is by creating an environment that encourages more women and makes them feel safe and secure.

Fika’s concept reminds people of Bumble, the third most popular dating app globally that only allows women to initiate the first message. Bumble successfully launched an IPO in the US earlier this year and hit the headlines with its female-led board of directors.

“I think Bumble proved that the market wants a more women-centric app; it makes a lot of sense,” said Brian Ma, managing partner at Iterative Capital, an investor in Fika’s US$1.6 million seed round. “Empowering women to be in control allows a more balanced network and leads to increased trust, which, at the end of the day, is the basis of all great relationships.”

As women are three to nine times less likely to use dating apps than men, Fika aims to break the status quo with features catering to this smaller chunk of users.

On Fika, the user is required to pass a manual verification check (to prevent fake profiles). About 40 per cent of Fika’s users fail this check. Although it may discourage people from using the app, Sandquist believes people will still use it if they know the “high-quality” outcomes with only real people on the platform.

“Asian women using dating apps are often frowned upon by the society in Asia in general. Those using such apps are often seen from the prism of prostitution, catfishing, scamming or part of friend-with-benefits and one-night-stand relationships,” she pointed out. “That’s the reason why we don’t allow sexually explicit, provocative and naked photos on the app.”

The startup then leverages the MBTI-inspired personality test and users’ interest settings to drive the app’s AI-powered matching. That is the primary difference between Fika and its global competitors.

“Astrology and Zodiac are important for a lot of people in Vietnam,” added Sandquist. “But the point is that to find relationships, it should always get started with you. You have to know yourself first rather than trying to please men.”

Would Fika be taken away after users find their right partners?

Fika wants to help people build relationships and maintain and deepen them through its ‘Couple’s Version’. It serves as a private online area for the couple to plan dates, chat, and receive information about their relationships, such as birthdays and anniversaries. “It’s all about the ecosystem and more like a full journey,” stated Sandquist.

Capitalising on users’ personality insights, Fika also sends curated articles to help people utilise their unique traits to get along with friends and partners. The app has also incorporated gamification into its business model.

Mini challenges pop up on the platform every day to encourage people to “match someone new today”, “text two days in a row”, and so on. Once completed, these challenges will reward users with Fika Coins. Users can use these coins to unlock other premium features such as “see who liked you”, “rewinds”, and “unlimited likes”.

Also read: How gamification is supercharging Vietnam tech startups’ growth potential

The app can also learn from users’ habits and interests data to improve the personalised and safe dating experience, thanks to its AI feature.

“What is the real value of Fika as a product is the data of users,” said Sandquist. “We can only get this kind of data if we have quality and real people joining in.”

Getting ahead of the competition

“We don’t only adapt it for the Asian audience but also make this like a full journey,” said Sandquist. “We start with Vietnam. When we are more authoritative than Tinder and other dating apps, we can take it to global markets.”

Sandquist wants to scale app and compete with global apps but only after gaining a thorough understanding of the respective local dating cultures and the ongoing renovation and adaptation. So far, Fika has clocked around 20,000 downloads outside of Vietnam.

Brian Ma echoed this viewpoint that Fika should develop its nuances in the product to cater to every market’s local culture or custom beyond Vietnam. In addition, iteration speed plays a vital role to win over customers.

“Companies that build and try things out faster tend to win,” he stated. “You rarely see founders that both have deep insight into the target consumer and can rapidly iterate their product to serve them. They [Fika’s founders] were the whole package.”

Ma added that even when Tinder is innovative and the category leader, it doesn’t have intimate knowledge of the local market and has slowed down significantly in innovating since the heydays. It, in turn, has created a fertile ground for new entrants like Fika to make a mark.

“The Eastern markets are huge, and so is the need for something different. I encourage the team to go their way and build something Westerners could never,” added Thérèse Mannheimer, CEO of Swedish healthtech startup Grace Health. “Prioritise wisely and be mindful of who you take advice from.” Mannheimer is also investor in Fika.

Since the core business of Fika lies in its data collection, regulatory hurdles regarding privacy and security may come into play. “I think that as a startup, you have to be agile and try to foresee the future before it happens. It’s crucial to keep all the data safe,” Sandquist stated. “We try to keep ourselves updated with lawyers and make sure that we do everything compliant.”

But the pressing challenge now is how to quickly expand Fika’s user base, both men and women.

“I think with most dating networks, the secret comes down to the ability to curate a high-quality network or people you’d actually want to meet and date,” said Ma. “Fika seems to be on the right path to building this trusted community.”

All in all, Sandquist is still upbeat about the potential market that Fika targets. “We have this young population, and they are more open to date and meet people online. And who would it be better to create a product for women than females ourselves?”

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Image Credit: Fika

The post A women-centric dating app developed by an ex-diplomat seeks to end Tinder’s dominance in Vietnam appeared first on e27.