Singapore-based on-demand services giant Grab has increased its stake in leading Indonesian e-wallet OVO by buying out the shares of its early investors.

With the latest deal, Grab will more than double its stake in OVO to 90 per cent from the current 39 per cent. Grab has bought shares from Lippo Group, Tokopedia, and Tokyo Century Corporation.

The deal is awaiting approval from the regulators.

Grab’s rival Gojek had merged with Indonesian e-commerce giant Tokopedia earlier this year to form GoTo.

“We welcome a greater commitment from Grab in OVO. We’re working in close consultation with the regulators to complete the ownership restructuring process,” OVO said in a statement.

Started as Lippo’s rewards system within its corporate ecosystem, OVO launched e-payments in 2017. It is now one of Indonesia’s leading e-wallet with about US$2.9 billion in valuation and nearly 100 million downloads. The e-wallet is accepted in more than 300 cities across Indonesia.

Also Read: Grab acquires US$274M-worth stake in Emtek, fuels talks of OVO-DANA merger: Report

As it stands, 5 per cent of OVO is owned by IDE Teknologi Indonesia, while local investment firm Cakra Finansindo Investama holds an equal number of shares.

Grab’s acquisition of a majority stake in OVO will likely face some bumps ahead as the Singaporean firm will have to find a local entity to transfer this stake. This is because the central bank Bank Indonesia’s rules stipulate that 51 per cent of an e-payment operator needs to be held by a local citizen or entity.

As per various media reports, Indonesian media and technology conglomerate Emtek may be a candidate to buy such a stake. Earlier this year, Grab had acquired a 4 per cent stake in Emtek for US$274 million.

Emtek owns another e-payment company DANA. As per the central bank’s regulations, an entity cannot become a minority owner in more than one e-payment company. What this means is that Emtek will need to divest its DANA shares for the OVO deal to realise.

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Image Credit: OVO

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The 2021 edition of the Facebook Community Accelerator program has launched!

With the difficulties that come with community building, it is important for leaders to garner support from reputable institutions and industry experts. This is the onus of the Facebook Community Accelerator Program: to help nurture communities by providing them with the tools, mentorship, and support that allow them to learn, network, share, and collaborate.

Spearheaded by community-building leader Facebook in partnership with startup ecosystem platform e27, the program is designed to help leaders harness the power of their community to turn impactful ideas into action. With access to new products, one of a kind training and coaching opportunities, and potential funding, this program is a game-changer for carefully selected communities across the Asia Pacific. 

Meet the 19 communities and their leaders

The Bicycle Scouts Project, Inc
Country Base: Philippines
Community Lead: Myles Delfin

“This opportunity to be connected to Facebook directly is important for us as a real-world community doing social good and fostering community-based disaster resilience.”

In 2013, Bike Scouts was created to provide a network of support and an alternative means of access to communication and essential supplies in the aftermath of severe disasters. Bike Scouts serves as a platform for social teamwork for anyone that wants to do something good in their own community or anywhere in the world where help is needed. Since its creation, Bike Scouts has grown to multiple pages and groups local to the different communities where they can make a difference.

Also read: ScaleUp Malaysia and e27: a partnership that could turn the tide for startups in the region

Bounce Back PH
Country Base: Philippines
Community lead: Jason Dela Rosa

“The Facebook Community Accelerator Program is an awesome way for us to make a real impact in the community that we want to serve and the social goals we want to achieve.”

In March 2020, Jason started Bounce Back PH to help small businesses and subject matter experts endure and recover from the pandemic. Bounce Back PH’s goal is to provide a community where businesses and business leaders can work together to help each other recover and rise above the crisis. With over 65,000 members, the group has launched hundreds of learning and mentorship programs, donation drives, retooling, and business matching activities for SMEs.

Doctorate Support Group
Country Base: Malaysia
Community lead: Anita Binti Adnan

“I am honoured to be selected for the Facebook Community Accelerator Program as I believe there should be more education content highlighted for Facebook users.”

In 2010, Anita created the Doctorate Support Group to provide support for Malaysian Postgraduates who were struggling to write their thesis and needed resources. The community has become a one-stop centre for all resources related to Postgraduates, especially in Malaysia and South East Asia. Members who have graduated come back and give support through webinars and thesis coaching to others who are still on the journey.

Entrepreneurs and Startups in Malaysia
Country base: Malaysia
Community Lead: Daniel Cerventus Lim

“Being selected to the Facebook Community Accelerator Program enables us to serve our community better.”

In 2009, Daniel started a group to empower entrepreneurs around Malaysia to grow and learn from each other. Entrepreneurs and Startup Malaysia aims to enable entrepreneurs to reach their full potential and lift Malaysia’s economy. Throughout the pandemic, the community has come together to help each other’s businesses survive.

Fifty Shades of Aid (50 SOA)
Country Base: Thailand
Community Lead: Maya Hasan

Founded in 2015, Fifty Shades of Aid is a community created by and for humanitarian aid workers to connect, support, and advocate for the people behind dangerous professions. The community’s network of 26,000+ members with chapters in 35 cities, including many active humanitarian crisis locations, benefit from a safe and brave space to share stories, seek advice, and find support.

GABUNGAN ANAK-ANAK PALSI SEREBRUM (GAPS)
Country Base: Malaysia
Community Lead: Rafidah Ahmad

Rafidah founded Gabungan Anak-Anak Palsi Serebrum (GAPS) in 2016 to support and empower the Cerebral Palsy (CP) community in Malaysia and to increase public awareness. GAPS creates awareness and provides socio-emotional support, information, and resources to empower people with CP, families, and society. The community’s 2,300+ members and non-members have benefited from the sharing, training, projects, and sports and recreations activities, significantly increasing visibility and reach.

Home Buddies PH
Country Base: Philippines
Community Lead: Frances Cabatuando

“We feel grateful to Facebook for recognising the impact we’ve shared with Filipinos through these challenging times, and we hope to positively transform more lives through the mentorship we’ll receive through this program.”

Frances created Home Buddies to inspire and equip Filipinos with ideas on how they can live and work comfortably while stuck at home during the pandemic. Home Buddies aims to give Filipino home enthusiasts a safe, creative space where they can share and exchange home improvement tips and design inspirations. The 2.7 million-strong community continues to shape the local home improvement scene, hosting free webinars, empowering small businesses, and creating jobs for displaced workers.

insKru
Country Base: Thailand
Community Lead: Namo Dulyakorn

“Always inspired, Always insKru”

In 2018, Namo established insKru with a determined dream for all kids in Thailand to learn happily and with a purpose along with their teachers to ultimately make good education accessible for all. insKru aims to spread ideas and possibilities for learning by creating an inspiring community for teachers and empower them to continue growing as kids’ learning partners.

Also read: Industrial IoT startup Sophic Automation set to scale up Industry 4.0 projects in the region

KakiRepair by KakiDIY
Country Base: Malaysia
Community Lead: Johnson Lam

“We only live once. But in your lifetime, touch as many lives as you can; you will be able to live your life through them.”

Johnson started KakiRepair in 2017 as a movement to encourage people to fix their own stuff rather than just throw them away. KakiRepair by KakiDIY is a collaborative platform powered by the community to post-repair related issues, diagnose, fix, and learn from one another. Its 14,000+ members actively post-repair related issues and constantly help each other to solve problems and share best practices.

Komunitas Peduli Skizofrenia Indonesia
Country base: Indonesia
Community lead: Bagus Utomo

Komunitas Peduli Skizofrenia Indonesia started in 2009 to provide group support for people with schizophrenia and their families. The group promotes mental health awareness and works to fight the stigma.

Mobile Chess Club Philippines
Country base: Philippines
Community Lead: Mark Angelo Godin

“In the game of chess, same as in life, it’s either we win or we learn.”

In 2019, Mark began travelling the country to promote chess. During the pandemic, and with travel no longer an option, he utilised Facebook to continue promoting chess.  Mobile Chess Club Philippines aims to make chess one of the popular sports in the country. The community members include chess masters, non-masters, and chess enthusiasts. The community conducts tournaments, match-ups, and other chess activities, funded by the community through donations and sponsorship. 

Peri Kertas
Country Base: Indonesia
Community Lead: Rauf Raphanus

“I am very honoured to be selected as one of the Community Accelerator participants. It’s our passion to develop papercraft and provide a safe place for others to learn more about it.”

Peri Kertas started in 2009 to provide a safe place for papercraft enthusiasts to learn, discuss, develop, interact with, and inspire each other. The group hosts free papercraft downloads, raises awareness to make environmentally friendly papercraft from reused paper, and gives free papercraft workshops for schools and foster houses.

Philippine Surfing Spot
Country Base: Philippines
Community lead: JP Pasaylo

“[Our goal is] transforming the children of the world as valuable human resources of their respective communities.”

In 2019, JP started Philippine Surfing Spot to open opportunities for children interested in surfing. The group has since become the go-to entity in training children in surfing and has helped nurture their sense of responsibility in protecting the seas, oceans, and marine life. The 5,000 members help conduct a series of community activities such as weekly coastal cleanup, mangrove tree planting activities, children surf training, safety awareness programs, and more.

Phonetography Community
Country Base: Philippines
Community Lead: Dem Oliva

“The Facebook Accelerator Program gives communities hope, opportunity, and support to grow sustainably and create more significant impact. Thank you, Facebook and team!”

Phonetography started in March 2017 to create a space for people passionate about mobile photography to connect, share, and learn from each other. The community grew from less than 1000 people in the Philippines to 280,000 people globally at the start of the pandemic. The group’s mission is to spread creativity, one photo at a time.

Pig Academy Group
Country Base: Philippines
Community Lead: Oreste David

“The Facebook Accelerator Program will help us promote backyard pig raising to help generate income for poor people in the countryside.”

Dr David started Pig Academy Group to help backyard pig raisers in the Philippines gain knowledge in hog raising and grow their income and production of pigs in the countryside. The community’s goal is to increase the profitability and productivity of backyard pig farmers in the Philippines by teaching them modern ways of pig farming and giving free pig veterinary consultation. The 53,000 members learn to raise pigs and grow their network of hog raisers and others in the pig industry through live training and Q&As with pig experts.

Play:On Indonesia Community
Country Base: Indonesia
Community Lead: Rangga Marvel

“It’s all about being a positive influencer — anyone can share anything, but not all influencing is a positive thing.”

Playon Indonesia Club is a hobby group where all members can do healthy sports and running activities. With thousands of members across the country, the community motivates others to do family activities outdoors and encourage healthy activities for kids. 

Queer Safe Spaces (Family RoTin)
Country Base: Philippines
Community Lead: Roanne Carreon

“We’re here, we’re queer, and we’re ready to take our space.”

In 2019, Roanne and her partner started Family RoTin to help young, queer people who are navigating through their sexuality feel seen and validated. The community serves as a support group for Filipino queer people and allies, especially during the pandemic, when many have been stuck in unsafe spaces. With over 14,000 members, this community was able to spearhead several donation drives, fundraising events, and outreach programs.

Also read: Protégé Ventures as a gateway for VCs to invest in the future

Scoliosis Philippines Support Group Inc. (ScoliosisPH)
Country base: Philippines
Community Lead: Amanda Bonife-Kiamko

“Alone, we are strong. Together, we are stronger.”

Amanda created Scoliosis Philippines Support Group on Facebook to raise awareness, help give scoliosis patients a forum to share their issues and stories, and provide psychosocial support. Its 31,000+ members have been able to connect with other patients and feel empowered through meetups, awareness events, learning sessions, and story sharing.

Solo Female Travelers
Country Base: Singapore
Community lead: Mar Pages

“We are excited to be a part of Facebook’s Accelerator and continue empowering women to travel solo safely and on their own terms.”

Solo Female Travelers started in 2015 as a place for women who love to travel on their own to connect with each other. The group empowers women to travel solo, safely, and on their own terms via the community, online resources, and women-only small group tours. Solo Female Travelers has empowered thousands of women to take their first solo trip safely and confidently, breaking stereotypes, expectations, and barriers.

Culminating in a demo day, the Facebook Community Accelerator Program also provides participants with the opportunity to share their goals and strike potential partnerships with other communities in the future.

For more information, visit the Facebook Community Accelerator Program official page.

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As per PwC’s 19th Annual Global CEO Survey, 81 per cent of banking CEOs are more concerned than any other industry sector about the speed of technological change. Consumers’ behaviours and expectations are also changing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

It’s no secret that traditional banks need to adopt technology solutions quickly to digitise their physical processes. This is to serve their current customer base better and regain their market share against fintech competitors such as neo-banks, online banks or Peer-to-Peer lending platforms. 

These 21 startups below are blazing a path in innovating and supporting traditional banks’ digital transformation and expansion on all fronts. 

Let’s look at how they are working with these financial institutions and heat the competition in the financial sector in Southeast Asia.

Also read: Digital transformation is crucial for banks to remain competitive amid the fintech buzz

1- Verihubs

Founded in 2019 by Rick Firnando and Williem Williem, Verihubs helps Indonesian digital businesses authenticate their customers’ identities, check their backgrounds, and get access to their financial information. 

While Verihubs’ solution is largely used in the banking and finance industries, it is also useful in e-commerce, rental markets, and hotels.

The company utilises AI-based identity authentication technologies and APIs to cut verification time from weeks to seconds, allowing businesses to continue authenticating returning customers via SMS, WhatsApp, or flash calls while still performing KYC checks.

Last month, the YC-backed startup bagged US$2.8 million in seed funding led by Insignia Venture Partners.

2- BJTech

Started in 2015, BJTech is an Indonesian AI conversation platform aiming to improve customer service for SMEs. 

Its first products are an intelligent banking app and a “virtual friend” that automatically does things for companies. It later developed an easy-to-use platform for businesses to create their chatbots. 

Its smart chatbot service assists banking, insurance, and logistics companies in connecting, building relationships, and understanding their target customers. The bot is deployed across various messaging apps simultaneously to target a diverse audience demographic.

As noted on Crunchbase, the firm has raised a total of US$1.4 million in seed funding from three investors, including GDP Venture and Stellar Kapital.

3- 6Estates

Co-founded in 2015 by Dr Luan Huanbo, Dr Wang Chao, Prof Chua Tat-Seng, and Roger Yuen, 6Estates is a spin-off from NExT Research Centre, a joint research centre by the National University of Singapore and China’s Tsinghua University. 

The company specialises in finance back-office intelligence automation using unstructured data. It combines AI and RPA technologies to deliver an AI-powered process automation solution for trade finance, credit assessment, audit and compliance.

In 2019, the startup collaborated with Indonesia’s Bank Central Asia to develop an AI and RPA solution for trade finance. In the same year, it received an undisclosed Series B funding round led by GDP Venture, with participation from Bank Central Asia through its VC arm named Central Capital Ventura.

4- Active.ai

Co-founded in 2016 and located in Singapore, Active.ai offers full-stack AI solutions for financial institutions. It provides machine learning, natural language processing, and natural language creation technologies, which could be used in messaging, speech, and IoT devices.

The firm supports clients in deploying products on-premise or in the cloud. It also offers a conversational banking platform to financial institutions.

Users may use the site to check their balances, see transactions, make payments, and obtain advice, among other things. The bot may be used on Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Line, Telegram, or a custom platform. Wealth managers and financial services firms may also utilise the platform to connect with consumers.

In 2019, the startup called US$3 million in its extension of Series A funding, bringing the total amount to over US$11 million. 

5- Silot

Built by Andy Li in 2017, Silot is a Singaporean startup that offers a suite of AI-enabled banking software and merchant banking services. 

Merchant onboarding, KYC, cross-channel banking, account opening, and QR-based payments are among its offerings. 

Silot’s current clients include leading banks in Southeast Asia, such as Nobu Bank (Indonesia) and Krungsri Bank (Thailand).

In 2018, the startup raised “multi-million US dollars” in a pre-Series A funding round from Arbor Ventures and Eight Roads Ventures to support its expansion in Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and other markets in the region.

6- CredoLab

Created in 2015 by Peter Barcak, CredoLab provides credit evaluation and decisioning solutions for banks, consumer financing firms, telecommunications, insurers, and retailers. 

The company analyses various data points from the smartphone device with its AI-based proprietary algorithm, transforming the digital footprint of consumers into predictive scorecards.

It creates bank-grade digital scorecards for banks, lenders, e-commerce, travel, ride-hailing, e-wallets, insurance, and retail businesses, as well as any other company that wants to make better credit choices.

In 2020, the Singapore-based company bagged a US$7 million in Series A investment led by GBG to expand in the US and other markets. 

Also read: AI-powered decision-making for the banks of the future

7- AntWorks

AntWorks was founded in 2015 to provide an operations processing automation platform called Robotic Process Automation (RPA). It targets to provide services ranging from AI-based data recognition to operational automation on a single platform. The platform reads data from non-standard format documents, which account for 90 per cent of all in-house papers, using fractal theory-based AI technology.

In 2018, the Singaporean startup took part in Season 2 of Bangkok Bank InnoHub and got the chance to collaborate with other members of the Bangkok Bank financial group and raise funds through the bank’s business networks. It raised a US$15 million Series A funding round from Japan’s SBI Holdings in the same year.

8- Pand.ai

Pand.ai was created in 2016 to provide AI-powered chatbots to financial institutions in Southeast Asia. It provides conversational-based micro-learning and gamification to help clients increase marketing efficiency while improving financial adviser sales productivity.

The Singapore-based startup uses a natural language processing (NLP) engine to allow financial institutions to communicate digitally with customers. 

Last year, Bualuang Ventures injected a 7-digit USD pre-Series A funding round into Panda.ai. It is also a member of Season 2 of Bangkok Bank InnoHub in 2018.

9- Growthbotics

Founded in 2018, Growthbotics is a provider of a conversational AI solution for finance and banking. Client onboarding, fraud detection, anti-money laundering, stable coins for intra-banking and cross-border banking, and other services are among the company’s offerings. 

Its features include client authentication based on facial and voice recognition, payment gateway integration, and bot-based chat assistance.

The Malaysia-based startup is powered by its own proprietary AI framework and uses Node.js, Python, Solidity as main programming languages.

10- Computer Vision

Established in 2020, Computer Vision (CVS) is a client identification and verification solution for fintech and banks based on sophisticated image processing technology. 

The Vietnam-based CVS owns the feature of extracting information from photos to help banks automatically process customers’ records more quickly and systematically. In addition, the project also includes image-related solutions such as searching on a data set of millions of customer-related images for businesses, time attendance, face attendance, license plate recognition, and analysis of facial features.

In 2020, CVS raised a US$500,000 investment from NextTech Group and the Next100.tech fund to help the financial and banking industry embrace digital change.

Also read: An unlikely duo: Will banks and fintech have a happy marriage?

11- akaBot

Launched in 2018, akaBot is a Robotic Process Automation (RPA) platform that helps businesses automate their processes and save money.

akaBot merge AI and Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to build complete smart automation solutions without intruding on the existing IT system. It can interface with corporate applications such as Microsoft Word, Excel, SAP, among others. 

The firm counts Vietnam’s most prominent banks such as Vietcombank, TPBank, BIDV among its clients.

12- FlowAccount

Founded in 2014, FlowAccount is a cloud-based accounting service that helps freelancers, small business owners, and accountants in Thailand manage their accounting, payroll, and expenditure responsibilities all in one place. The startup claims its services are used by 50,000 clients and are connected with banks and e-commerce platforms.

Earlier this year, Thailand’s KBank provided its 1,000 SME clientele with the FlowAccount solution to help them function more effectively by keeping them up to speed on their financial situation regularly, controlling expenditures, and gaining better access to financing sources.

The company raised US$4 million in a Series A round led by Sequoia Capital India in 2021.

13- ThitsaWorks

Launched in 2016, ThitsaWorks offers a banking software suite to microfinance institutions. 

It provides business intelligence for visualisation tools that collect aggregated financial data, cloud-based core banking software for supporting digital banking and lending, and a financial bot for payback plans, among other services. To control risks, it also provides solutions for collecting, managing and analysing data.

In Myanmar, the fintech company says that its solutions are utilised by 70 financial institutions, including banks, non-bank financial institutions and microfinance institutions. Its services assist over 2.5 million borrowers.

In 2020, the startup landed undisclosed funding round from BOD Tech to offer digitisation solutions to Myanmar’s banks.

14- HARA

Dattabot co-founders Regi Wahyu and Imron Zuhri started HARA in 2014. The Indonesian company is a global and open blockchain-based data exchange that allows customers to make better data-driven decisions.

It helps alleviate rural poverty by creating jobs and empowering and educating women to become “agripreneurs.” HARA also works with banks and insurance firms to provide these farmers with financial services.

Its mission is to solve the invisible territory for banks and insurance. The company provides knowledge that assists banks and insurance firms get the data they need to calculate risks.

Also read: Blockchain will force banks to change their feudal mindset

15- Ayoconnect

Co-founded by Jakob, COO Chiragh Kirpalani and CTO Adi Vora in 2016, Ayoconnect’s application programming interface (API) platform allows developers to easily offer a variety of white-label financial solutions to their consumers.

Ayoconnect combines financial data from several sources to enable its close partners to provide better, more inclusive financial services to millions of Indonesians.

Its clientele includes Bank BRI, Bank Mandiri, Permata Bank, DANA, Gopay, Shopee, Bukalapak, Lazada, Blibli and Akulaku. It has also partnered with several Indonesian banks to accelerate its open finance activities.

Earlier this year, the Indonesian startup snagged US$10 million in Pre-Series B funding from strategic investors to expand into Open Finance. 

16- STACS

Founded in 2021 in collaboration with Bluecell Intelligence, a Singapore-based online financing solutions provider, STACS aims to help companies certify and monitor green and sustainability-related loans and bonds. 

The startup allows loan and bond specifications to be encoded into security tokens. It interacts with data sources such as IoT devices and satellite photos to provide real-time impact reports on a distributed ledger. This helps to avoid “greenwashing,” when something is made to appear more ecologically friendly or sustainable than it actually is.

The firm counts Deutsche Bank, Bursa Malaysia, EFG Bank and Bluecell Intelligence among its clients. 

In April, STACS raised a US$3.6 million Pre-Series A funding round led by Wavemaker Partners.

17- Bento

Bento, a Singapore-based digital wealth management solution provider, offers a hybrid B2B platform designed for banks, wealth managers, brokers, and insurance firms. It enables consumers to deploy digital wealth solutions at a cheap cost of entry and with a short time to market.

Its module may be used as a complete solution or only to meet a specific requirement.

In 2020, Grab acquired Bento to provide retail wealth solutions to millions of people in Southeast Asia.

18- PrivyID

Co-founded by Marshall Pribadi and his partner in 2016, PrivyID is a legally binding digital signature provider. The firm integrates its digital signature technology with online credit card application systems of six prominent consumer banks in Indonesia, including Bank Mandiri, BRI, BNI, BNI Syariah, CIMB Niaga, and Bank Mega.

The Indonesia-based firm stated that this partnership enhanced the online credit card application experience for over 50 thousand consumers within a year of its launch.

19- Flow

Flow was founded in 2016 by banker-turned-entrepreneur Borowski. The startup utilises AI and machine learning to create debtor profiles to help banks and non-banking lenders recover their non-performing loans through mediums such as automatically-generated SMS, interactive voice recordings and predictive dialling systems.

The firm launched its first operations in Vietnam in 2016 and has since expanded to Indonesia and India.

In 2020, the startup raised a round of debt capital from Genesis Alternative Ventures.

20- Liquidity Marketplace (LMX)

LMX was founded in 2016 by financial and technology experts from HSBC and Goldman Sachs.

The firm connects corporates, banks and non-bank financial firms via an all-to-all marketplace, where they can borrow and lend directly with each other by eliminating intermediaries. This helps clients achieve lower costs and higher yields while also bolstering risk controls.

In 2018, LMX raised US$1 million in seed funding, led by Javelin Startup-O Victory Fund, a partnership between Singapore-based online assessment and venture building platform Startup-O and Javelin Wealth Management.

21- Bank-Genie

Founded in 2016 in Singapore, Bank-Genie is a mobile-native software that enables banks and financial institutions to create virtual retail branches.

Using a mobile device such as a tablet, POS terminal or smartphone, these financial institutions will be able to offer services such as bill payments, insurance premium payments, and other bank account management services.

The startup secured an undisclosed Series A investment from SBI FMO Emerging Asia Financial Sector Fund (SBI-FMO Fund) in 2017.

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Image Credit: Verihubs, AntWorks, FlowAccount, Ayoconnect

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edamama, an e-commerce startup targetting millennial mothers in the Philippines, has secured an undisclosed amount in debt funding from Innoven Capital.

This brings the company’s total investment raised thus far to over US$6 million. In July, edamama bagged US$5 million from a clutch of investors, including Gentree Fund, Robinsons Retail Holdings, Kickstart Ventures, Foxmont Capital and angels.

The deal marks Innoven’s first-ever investment in the Philippines.

The company will use the new capital to accelerate its logistics and fulfilment capabilities in advance of a Series A funding round early next year.

Also Read: edamama, an e-commerce platform for moms in Philippines, raises US$5M

edamama was established in 2020 by the husband-wife duo of Nishant and Bela Gupta D’Souza. edamama offers over 25,000 SKUs spanning nearly 1,000 brands. The company said in a press note that it leverages a personalized, content-driven approach to provide a digital gift registry, baby product subscription services, and a wide selection of online classes for children and parents.

The e-commerce startup claims it has millions of site visitors and has grown its gross merchandise value by over 50x since its launch.

The company also recently launched its direct-to-consumer fashion label ‘bean by edamama’.

Innoven Capital is a joint venture between Seviora Holdings (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Temasek) and the UOB Group. The firm has made over US$800 million in loan disbursements across Asia in the past six years. More than 20 of its portfolio are unicorns, including Byju’s, OYO, Carsome and FirstCry.

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Image Credit: edamama

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Singapore recently experienced several flash floods after heavy downpours, with the national water agency, PUB, issuing more than 30 flood warnings for at least 10 locations at one point.

Such extreme weather events look set to become the norm for Singapore should planet-warming emissions continue. According to a report by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Singapore is at risk of experiencing more punishing heatwaves, severe coastal flooding events and bouts of heavier rain if planet-warming emissions are not reduced to net-zero by 2050.

The real estate sector has one of the highest carbon footprints of any sector, contributing 39 per cent of global annual process-related carbon dioxide, according to the United Nations (UN) Environmental Program.

Within Singapore, the sector is responsible for 20 per cent of the country’s carbon emissions. It is therefore crucial that property developers work to reduce such emissions by tapping into design and technology when retrofitting or developing new buildings.

Effects of climate change

Since the pre-industrial period from 1850-1900, the world’s temperature has risen by one degree Celsius and, according to the latest climate change report by the UN, every region in the world will experience more extreme droughts, intense and frequent rainfall and flooding.

In Singapore, annual mean temperatures have risen from 26.9 degree Celsius to 28 degree Celsius and rainfall in the city has become intense in recent years as well, with the annual rainfall total for Singapore increasing from an average rate of 67 millimetres per decade from 1980 to 2019.

Higher annual temperatures would likely drive an increase in the use of air-conditioners, leading to increased energy demands and higher domestic carbon emissions in the country. As such, the building of air conditioners will need to be continually monitored to ensure that they run optimally.

Sensors, such as those enabled by wireless powered solution Transferfi, can be used to help monitor vibrations and the need to maintain equipment, enabling facilities managers to ensure that building air-conditioning systems are running optimally.

Also Read: Komunidad nets US$1M funding to help businesses adapt to the consequences of climate change

Incorporating emerging technologies for sustainability

Building Information Modelling (BIM) is a technology that has been used by construction professionals to gain advanced insights into building design and infrastructure. Since 2012, the Building and Construction Authority of Singapore (BCA) has made the submission of BIM for certain projects mandatory.

By digitally representing all aspects of a given structure, organisations are able to cut down on waste and delays by identifying potential challenges before the field execution. While the submission of BIM has been mandated for certain projects, industry specialists who are not adequately trained are unable to access its benefits.

As such, industry specialists turn to companies like VRcollab, which offers a game-like experience of BIM models where architects, developers and specialist contractors can easily collaborate with a common view of the project, thus maximising efficiency and the potential for sustainability gains.

The use of digital modelling systems has also enabled architects to design buildings such that they work with, rather than against the local climate, thus reducing the energy needed to cool buildings.

Other emerging technologies being incorporated into buildings include motion sensors and smart controls, which help to regulate electricity consumption within a building or adjust indoor temperatures in response to current outdoor temperatures

One smart sensing technology example is Xandar Kardian, which uses radar to detect human presence through their heart rate and breath, turning down lights and air conditioning automatically when people are no longer detected. 

The benefits of net-zero and green buildings

Green buildings are energy-efficient structures and the global green building industry has the potential to cut energy consumption by 50 per cent or more by 2050. Presently, however, the building sector is responsible for global emissions roughly equivalent to that of China.

The sector must operate at “net zero carbon” by 2050 if global warming is to remain under 2 degrees Celsius. As such, net-zero buildings have come to the forefront as these highly energy-efficient buildings generate or supply the energy they require from renewable sources to achieve net-zero carbon emissions.

The adoption of net-zero buildings, however, has been slow, with the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) recording only 500 net-zero commercial buildings and 2,000 net zero homes worldwide in 2017, well under one per cent of all buildings worldwide.

A monumental and coordinated effort is needed from businesses, governments and non-governmental organisations, to bring the building sector within striking distance of the Paris Agreement targets.

Increasing the adoption of green and net-zero buildings is beneficial for people as well. Green and net-zero buildings have been found to not only increase the health, functioning and well-being of inhabitants, they also foster higher productivity and improve cognitive functioning.

Recent studies have found that green buildings provide optimised environments that are beneficial for people’s health, through their features of natural lighting and better air quality. On the other hand, net-zero buildings help to improve the quality of outdoor air, given that they do not use fossil fuels and emit zero pollutants.

Net-zero buildings could, in fact, produce more energy than they use and would even be able to power electric vehicles with the energy produced, further reducing outdoor air pollution.

Also Read: Life after COVID-19: How and why smart cities need to focus on sustainability

Towards a sustainable future

While green buildings have been increasingly adopted worldwide and have been able to help us in reducing our carbon footprint, the building sector must work to operate at “net-zero carbon” significantly earlier than the deadline of 2050, if global warming is to remain under two degrees Celsius.

To achieve this, the building sector must shift its focus from green buildings to net-zero buildings in order to truly combat climate change.

While the incremental costs of net-zero buildings will be a concern for many, this premium will pay for itself in the long run as the savings from running the operation will offset the upfront incremental costs.

In our fight against climate change, the adoption of net-zero buildings will be an absolute key for us as we move towards a sustainable future.

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Bizzi, an AI-powered invoice processing automation solution in Vietnam, has raised US$3 million in a pre-Series A round led by Money Forward, a fintech company headquartered in Japan. 

Other investors include Do Ventures and existing investor Qualgro.

Bizzi plans to improve its product features and functionality and expand its customer network to other Southeast Asian markets with the new investment.

“We will support the company in building the largest receivables and payables management platform in Vietnam by sharing the know-how cultivated in the Money Forward Cloud business,” said Tatsuya Kanto, chief strategy officer at Money Forward.

Co-founded in 2019 by CEO Nghia Vu and CTO Nguyen Nguyen, Bizzi is a SaaS platform that automates the time-consuming accounting process for finance teams.

Also read: How automation and innovation will boost SME success in Singapore

Bizzi’s unified platform, powered by AI and robotic process automation (RPA), can be connected with vendors’ existing ERP/accounting solutions and automate financial operations such as bill payment, receipt scanning, compliance, and bookkeeping.

The startup claims that its technologies reduce the invoice processing time by 80 per cent, lower the cost by 50 per cent and boost transparency and tax compliance. 

According to a press statement, Bizzi has achieved a monthly invoice processing value exceeding US$300 million.

Secured by Amazon Web Services and applying international information security standard ISO 27001, Bizzi boasts of winning large clients such as Grab, GS25, Circle K, Tiki, Guardian, Medicare, Pharmacity, and over 4,000 vendors.

As per the “Accounts Payable Automation Market” report, the worldwide accounts payable automation market is predicted to reach US$3.1 billion by 2024, with a CAGR of 11 per cent during the 2019-2024 period.

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Image Credit: Bizzi

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Upmesh, a Singapore-based startup providing e-commerce functionality for live commerce merchants on social media, has closed a US$3 million seed financing round led by Indian VC firm Leo Capital.

Beenext, Prasetia Dwidharma Ventures, and iSeed SEA, besides Chinmay Chauhan and Abhinay Pedisetty (founders of BukuWarung), Royston Tay and Kwok Yang Bin (co-founders of Zopim), and Jonathan Barki (GoTo Financial, also participated.

Founded in 2020 by Wong Zi Yang, Soh Jan, Nhat Vu, and Shawn Teow, Upmesh helps sellers automate capturing orders and collecting payments when selling physical goods on Facebook Live.

The foursome came together in early last year to build live streaming interaction tools on top of the Twitch API. But during their research into live streaming in Southeast Asia, they discovered various challenges plaguing live seller merchants, such as collating orders with pen and paper.

Seeing an opportunity here, the foursome set out to create a regional platform with the depth of localisation necessary to suit each country’s live selling culture and expectations.

Also Read: Is Southeast Asia ready to give birth to interactive e-commerce platforms like Pinduoduo?

In the current form, Upmesh combines the respective strengths of e-commerce platforms and social media platforms to introduce community and discovery into a previously intent-driven online shopping experience.

How Upmesh works

The company provides merchants with a web app and dashboard. Merchants log in via Facebook and grant the web app permissions to access their Facebook page.

With these permissions, the web app can capture comments and tag them to the inventory items that the merchants have uploaded. Upmesh then uses Facebook Messenger to send a checkout link to the customers from the merchant’s Facebook page. Customers then click the checkout link to complete the checkout process and make payments.

The company has onboarded nearly 300 merchants in Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines since its launch. It claims it currently processes almost US$40 million in annualised GMV.

“Enabling e-commerce functionality in live commerce is just the first step. Moving forward, we are working tirelessly to make Upmesh become the best place for communities around live selling to gather and share great products in a transparent format,” says CEO Wong Zi Yang. “Driven by a regional appetite for live streaming and the normalisation of e-commerce, the potential waiting to be unlocked by the evolution of e-commerce into a social, community-driven form in Southeast Asia is limitless. We are barely scratching the surface.”

Live commerce has in recent months gained prominence in markets all over the world as consumers turn to social media to discover, buy, and sell items.

In China alone, an estimated US$140 billion is transacted annually via live commerce, making up approximately 15 per cent of all online retail. Whatnot, an American live commerce platform funded by a16z and Y Combinator, in September 2021 closed a US$150 million Series C.

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Image Credit: Upmesh

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In the digital era, rapid advances in technology have managed to transform the way the world works. While some industries find this environment particularly favourable, other companies still have ways to go in engaging the right digital architecture.

It is undeniable that digitalisation is crucial to business longevity, especially in a post-pandemic world. The home renovation sector is no different.

Amidst the lockdowns, the renovation industry is flourishing. In Hong Kong, the traditional renovation market is worth HK$14 billion (US$1.7 billion). Yet, more than 40 per cent of the industry does not even have a digital strategy in place.

With a bulk of the market still conducting business in a traditional setting, this presents an opportunity for those ripe for disruption to migrate their operations into the digital workspace.

Untapped potential in the renovation market in Hong Kong

With most of the world confined to their homes, home renovation services have soared in demand as people want to create the perfect living space. In Hong Kong, homeowners here are more willing to spend on renovation projects.

Where apartments are packed and space is scarce, constructing the right house plan can transform the way people live.

Paired with the increasing transactions involving Home-Ownership Scheme (HOS) flats amounting to HK$17.6 billion (US$2.2 billion) in the first half of 2021, the housing and renovation landscape in Hong Kong is slowly picking pace.

There is an opportunity in the market right now to build better infrastructure to accommodate increasing demand. Most homeowners are also digital natives. To get in on this first-mover advantage, contractors need to prepare their services to survive in the new playing field.

Leveraging the latest technologies to resolve diversified renovation needs

As such, HKDecoman, a technology-powered marketplace for renovation services, has placed synergy at the forefront of its strategy to digitally transform the industry. At its core, the platform allows homeowners to find traditional renovation companies that provide the services they need.

The Hong Kong-based startup works on a model of smart matching and big data. With an extensive knowledge base of about 1344 videos, 2648 articles, 905 case studies, 1479 floor plans, the system depends on big data to refer potential customers to suitable suppliers using an algorithm-based selection process.

Also Read: How proptech startup iMyanmarHouse remains profitable despite COVID-19

To illustrate, the AI-powered matching system defines the abstract needs of house owners into a set of parameters, which is used for matching with a database of over 1000 design and renovation suppliers. The companies on the platform would have gone through an interview where their services and specialisations are stored in a built-in algorithm.

The content on HKDecoman also generates a significant amount of traffic from search engines and social media, forming a foundation of the community. Not only does the system enable consumers to search for and find valuable recommendations businesses can also reduce the cost of lead generation through a scalable model.

With more valuable matches, the design and renovation firms can also boost their reputation by taking on projects within their expertise, essentially creating a win-win situation for both parties.

Creating synergy in the home improvement ecosystem

Besides simplifying a multi-structure renovation process using smart features, having an end-to-end solution has a synergistic effect on the ecosystem as a whole. In a time where businesses are looking to rebuild the economic downturn from the pandemic, HKDecoman seeks to provide multiple functions across players in the industry.

Alongside smart matching between homeowners and renovation companies, they offer a one-stop O2O decoration shopping platform via three channels: An online portal, a smart vending machine and a self-service showroom.

The company also owns Deco Academy, a learning centre that offers online and offline courses, 24/7 free Q&A with expert consultants, and a Deco Charter which mediates between two parties in dispute.

To illustrate the synergies within this environment, clients using the AI-based marketplace will proceed to buy materials from the shopping platform. Mall clients, on the other hand, can look for installation services via the smart matching software or learn DIY home repairing techniques from the Academy.

As a result, each advertising dollar spent not only benefits a single business unit but also drives traffic to others.

The impact of COVID-19 on the industry

In the past year, many brick-and-mortar businesses had to cease operations due to a decline in footfall. Traditionally, renovation retailers and suppliers go about their operations offline, from home inspections to sales meetings and the purchase of products.

Digital businesses, or those that were quick to pivot to online models, were able to avoid the bulk of these challenges with alternatives to old practices.

Also read: The world of proptech and its fate in a post-pandemic world

As an O2O online platform, HKDecoman managed to see a slight increase in leads during this time. However, due to more careful spending, especially on big-ticket items, the lengthened decision cycle lowered their sales for a while.

To ensure business continuity, the team took this opportunity to expand the infrastructure, establishing the solutions as a gateway for design and renovation companies to go digital and scale-up.

A pandemic-led slump has drastically shifted consumer spending and behaviour. Because of this, the recovery is expected to be a gradual revival rather than a sharp change. In particular, Hong Kong is facing a lot of other changes.

The emigration outflow, for instance, is a factor that has led to decreased demand during this period of time. On the other hand, pent-up demand plays a huge role in ramping up post-pandemic business activity.

On a macro scale, Southeast Asia represents a fast-growing internet sector. As the region moves to the online space, consumers will not only expect but demand digital services. With the proven business model, the right go-to-market strategy and potential synergy, HKDecoman has established itself as a leader in Hong Kong’s online renovation services.

The time is ripe for the startup to venture into the flourishing SEA economy, bringing its services to local markets, with the help of accelerator programmes such as 500Startups and the blueprint for a renovation ecosystem.

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Talino Venture Labs, a global venture studio for inclusive fintech, has secured US$1.25 million led by Wavemaker Labs, a next-generation corporate innovation fund investing in North America and Southeast Asia.

Foxmont Capital Partners, Johnsen Global Business Ventures, and Manila Angel Investors Network (MAIN) also joined the round.

The Philippine startup will use funds for technology R&D and working capital.

Talino Venture Labs also announced that it has launched an equity crowdfunding campaign on Wefunder.com and received commitments of over US$270,000 from almost 100 investors.

Also Read: Edukasyon investor Foxmont joins Philippine proptech startup AHG’s US$1.1M seed round

Born in the intersection of Silicon Valley and Southeast Asia, Talino Venture Labs is on a mission to bridge financial inclusion for over 1.7 billion people around the world. It uses the venture studio model to build repeatable, scalable, and profitable fintech companies that empower underserved, underrepresented groups around the world with financial access and mobility.

Talino has already incubated six fintech startups, such as BayaniPay, Neotech, Asenso, Saphron, Unawa, and DevCon. They together serve ~10 million customers within the US and Asia corridor.

“Talino Venture Labs started almost three years ago with the mission to become a venture studio for inclusive fintech,” said CEO Winston Damarillo. “While our venture studio has already been able to raise US$7 million in venture capital for our portfolio companies and operate profitably with over US$2 million in revenue since 2019, our latest funding round and our equity crowdfunding campaign signal a new chapter in Talino’s history.”

“Now, we’re making Talino itself accessible to retail investors who want to invest in innovation with impact. For as little as US$100 on our Wefunder campaign, they can be part of our journey to empower the emerging middle class with inclusive fintech innovation. This is closely aligned with our own mission of inclusive finance as we make financial opportunities available to more people around the world,” he added.

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GDP Venture joins Easy Crypto’s US$12M Series A

The story: New Zealand-based crypto startup, Easy Crypto, has secured US$12 million in a Series A round of funding led by Nuance Connected Capital.

Investors: Indonesian VC firm GDP Venture, New Zealand-based Pathfinder KiwiSaver (a retirement fund), Icehouse Ventures and Even Capital, and US-based Hutt Capital and Seven Peaks Ventures.

The plans: The funding will be used to expand into new markets, particularly Indonesia and Southeast Asia.

What is Easy Crypto: Founded by siblings Janine dan Alan Grainger in 2018, it trades more than 150 types of crypto assets. So far it has recorded US$750 million in sales. It currently has operations in South Africa, Australia, the Philippines, and Brazil.

Japan’s SmartRyde nets US$1.6M in Series A 

The story: SmartRyde, a global airport transfer marketplace in Japan, has raised US$1.6 million in a Series A funding round.

Investors: Angel Bridge (lead), SG Incubate, Yamaguchi Capital, SMBC Venture Capital, Hiroshima Venture Capital, Iyogin Capital, Inventum Ventures, individual investor and serial entrepreneur Shouji Kodama, Nobuaki Takahashi (NOB LLC), and Optima Ventures.

What is SmartRyde: It’s creating a marketplace to connect local transport operators and online travel agencies (OTAs). As of August 2021, it has collaborated with more than 650 transportation operators and more than 25 OTAs, including top global players such as Booking.com, Expedia, Trip.com, Traveloka (Indonesia), and Despegar (Argentina).

Plans: It will strengthen system integration with OTAs on the demand side, build a booking management system for transportation operators on the supply side, and promote digital transformation.

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Image Credit: Easy Crypto

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