Identity data specialist GBG leads US$7M in Singapore’s fintech CredoLab; Built on over 22M credit applications across 70+ lending partners, CredoLab’s algorithm crunches millions of features to find the most predictive micro-behavioural patterns, before converting them into risk scores; The firm has approved over US$2B in loans to date. Finextra

SEA’s VC gender diversity score is out, and it doesn’t look too good; The region has 32 true investing female partners; However, about 76% of VCs with SEA operations don’t have a single female partner; For every one female investing partner, there are 5 male decision-makers in the region. DealStreetAsia

Thai agritech startup Ricult secures US$2M to take its pre-Series A funding to US$5M; Investors are Bangkok Bank’s VC arm Bualuang Ventures and Bank of Ayudhya’s VC arm Krungsri Finnovate; The startup uses AI to help farmers increase yield, access online markets, and also offers a chat line with agriculture experts. e27

SEA’s tech startup investments fall 13% to US$5.6B in H1, says a Cento Ventures research; The region’s Series B and C financing (US$10M- US$50M) totalled a record US$1.2B in H1 this year, up about 25% from a year ago; gojek raised US$1.2B in March, and in May, Ninja Van raised US$279M. Bloomberg

How startups should approach public relations; An agency will always bring more skills to the table than even a fairly large in-house PR team; The fear of underservicing a client and therefore losing out on revenue is much more acute in an agency; It means, there’s more economic alignment with the agency model for delivering good work than the in-house. e27

Why its important for SaaS startups to be frugal; The best way to be frugal here is to aim for the long run and go for a sustainable approach; the more you switch platforms in the later stages of your development, the more expenses you will suffer; Having a sustainable approach ensures frugality in the long run. e27

Why edutech is becoming an investor favourite this season; Online tutoring companies in the US, China, and India have attracted huge traction and interest from the investors; Interest and investment in tools and services designed for direct use of the students and parents are on the rise. e27

How to strategically build your brand; Business is not conducted solely based on what you provide, but also your character, credibility, integrity, and how you deal with people; The products and services are what the consumers are looking for, while personal branding is the reason why people come to you over your competitors. ABS-CBN

Nokia, StarHub conduct first live 5G non-standalone network trial in Singapore; By leveraging existing 4G infra, the trial 5G network will allow StarHub to provide higher data bandwidth and reliable connectivity to its subscribers without a major infra overhaul; StarHub will expand the network coverage and expects it to reach 70% by Sep 2020. TechCoffeeHouse

How Thailand’s renewables sector will bounce back from COVID-19; Renewable energy projects all over the world rely on getting their materials, components and equipments from China, Korea, Vietnam; However, due to supply chain disruption, the sector will need to source these parts from elsewhere; This creates room in a crowded market for Thailand to make an impression. Tech Collective

How to raise your first VC fund; Just as VCs bucket startup founders into categories, LPs have an unwritten way of categorising venture managers; Having built an innovative company, former founders/operator-turned-VCs can bring special insights in where the market is headed; Building a company, however, requires different skills from founding a fund. TechCrunch

Visa launches initiative to encourage Singaporeans to support local merchants, SMEs to go digital; As part of this, Visa will be working with Shopee to feature more than 2K local micro SMEs in its marketplace and create campaigns to enable Visa cardholders to enjoy discounts when they shop at these local merchants. TechCoffeeHouse

MDEC launches #SayaDigital to spur growth in digital initiatives; The initiative has four primary goals — to make life convenient, boost income, empower careers and accelerate biz expansion; It will feature several capacity-building programmes, providing businesses with various means to go digital and enabling Malaysians to be digitally skilled with speed and at scale. MiDEC

Banks rush to apply modern tech in digital transformation in Vietnam; Many banks already started allowing customers to open online payment accounts for immediate payment transactions without waiting; This can be seen as a turning point in tech in the experience of Vietnamese card users and a strong push to promote banking digitalisation, towards a cashless society in the nation. Vietnam News

Pandemic driving adoption of health-tech for the elderly in Singapore; Telehealth and telemedicine technologies are on the rise; Accelerating home-based health services delivered through technologies would support the transformations needed to care for older adults at home and create market incentives to develop and deploy such technologies. The Straits Times

Indonesia can expect more startup investment: Sequoia India; At least 31 funding agreements for local startups were announced in Q2, higher than the 24 deals recorded over the same period last year; There are opportunities in the “old-school” digital economy, from e-commerce and cashless payments to warung, manufacturing and financial services. Jakarta Post

E-wallet service provider Boost helps micro SMEs move biz online in Malaysia; This will be done by providing its own e-commerce catalog and integrated with Boost Payment Link feature; During the campaign period until Sept 30, participating traders have the opportunity to receive rewards and benefits. Malay Mail

Pertama Digital eyes US$120M revenue from digital biz; The firm is expected to launch its own app MyPay, which aims to offer a one-stop centre for all queries and payment related transactions with government agencies, by end-2020; Pertama Digital is the proposed name change for investment holding firm Sinotop Holdings. Malay Mail

Meet the ant collector who left his job to open an ant shop in Singapore; The shop has about 30 to 35 species of ants, ranging from the most common Carpenter Ants to the invasive Anoplolepis gracilipes; A starter test-tube kit for a beginner ant hobbyist could go for about US$9, while an established colony of 20 to 30 ants would sell for US$15. Channel News Asia

Top Thai telco Advanced Info Service urges factories to adopt 5G for robots and AI; It has set aside US$1.4B to build 5G infra in the country’s crucial Eastern Economic Corridor; It aims to bring the next-gen mobile standard to manufacturers, giving them a tool they can use to introduce cutting-edge robotics, AI and internet-connected devices to their factories. Nikkei Asia Review

Malaysian scientist uses tech to help farmers grow better crops; Dr Chew Bee Lynn has been working together with local farmers and food growers to help maximise the quality of crops through practical cultivation methods, like micropropagation (propagation of plants by growing plantlets in tissue culture and then planting them out). SAYS

More Vietnamese use ride-hailing services, survey; The percentage of surveyed participants booking a ride via ride-haling platforms on their mobile devices rose to 83% in 2019 from 45% a year ago; The survey also found that a majority of Vietnamese had demand for participating in sharing economy business models. Vietnam News

—

Image Credit: 123rf.com

The post Ecosystem Roundup: SEA’s tech startup investments fall 13% to US$5.6B in H1 2020; Credo Lab, Ricult receive investment appeared first on e27.

Smith Taweelerdniti, Managing Director of his family business Nithi Foods, based in Chaing Mai, Thailand, used to give talks on global food trends back in 2017, most of which were related to healthy diet.

One day, he asked himself how many of the good health-related trends Nithi followed and implemented in its products.

“We realised we didn’t follow any of the good food trends,” he tells e27,” because we were not sure what trend was right or what was wrong — there were so many diet gurus and diet styles in the market. So I embarked on a journey to find out more and started reading books to gain knowledge of the health-related foods.”

Also Read: Why Sesamilk thinks plant-based milk is healthier than cow milk and has a bright future

After a lot of reading, he zeroed in on a theme: plant-based diet.

Turning vegetarian

“The very next day (12 January 2018), I decided to turn vegetarian. Then I started reading and watching more videos on vegans. This is when I chanced upon a video of Beyond Meat, which makes meat out of plant ingredients which still tasted as good as real meat,” he recounts. “This inspired me to start something similar in my home country.”

‘Let’s Plant Meat’ was founded in March 2020 by Taweelerdniti (CEO), as a division of Nithi Foods (It is currently in the process of spinning off as a separate entity).

It is an alternative meat made out of four plants — soy, rice, coconut and beetroot.

Currently, the startup offers two products: plant-based burger patty and minced meat.

“The burger patty, once cooked, will have the aroma of grilled meat, plus herbs and spices. The texture is firm outside but it is tender inside — similar to the texture you expect in a real meat burger,” says Taweelerdniti. “We cover both western and eastern cooking styles with strong emphasis on Asian consumers demand in tastes, sizes and price.”

The process

It starts from plant protein extracts (soy and rice protein). The proteins are then made into texturised structure using high heat and pressure.

“We then add these proteins to water, add coconut fat, and mix them with many ingredients to perform the desired function such as binding, colouring, flavouring to give it a umami taste, and then freeze quickly. It then becomes frozen plant-based meat ready to be shipped for cooking anywhere in the world,” he explains.

Plants-based meat tastes as good as animal meat, and some can’t even distinguish the difference. It has also incorporated so many advancements in food science and technology.

Also Read: Bühler invests in Big Idea Ventures’s New Protein Fund; to invest in up to 100 plant- and cell-based firms

“Compared to animal meat, plant-based meat has no anti-biotic, cholesterol, animal proteins or fats, which are key contributors of cardiovascular disease and certain types of cancer,” he shares.

Besides the health benefits, plants-based meats also have some environmental benefits and can even stop climate change. Says he: “It uses much less energy, clean water, land to produce plant-based meat than those in production of animal meat.”

As per a study conducted by the University of Michigan’s Center for Sustainable Systems, making one plant-based burger consumed 99 per cent less water, 93 per cent less land, 90 per cent fewer green house gas emission, 46 per cent less energy than a real beef burger.

“To top it all, I think the taste of plants-based meat has got much better than in the past. The success of Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods have been real inspiration,” he says.

Opportunities

Let’s Plant Meat (a startup incubated by Space-F, a startup programme run by National Innovation Agency) primarily targets vegans, vegetarians and anyone who cares about one’s health. “Our products will be focusing more on mainstream meat items that can be made from plants. We will be working on marinated meat and sausages products soon,” he discloses.

Thai food is one of the most popular cuisines in the world. In addition to the popular Tom Yum Kung, Pad Thai, and spicy curries, the country also has a lot of meat-based cuisines like skewer meat, spicy sausages, and fish cakes.

“We can now offer meat-based recipes using plant-based option for exports. We have so many inquiries from frozen meal and retort pouch companies, who want to incorporate our plant-based meat into their products,” Taweelerdniti says.

According to the founder, Thailand as a food manufacturing country has a lot to offer to the world; it has skilled workers, good supporting ecosystems and cost-effectiveness.

“The domestic market is interesting. People are more concerned about health than never before. With the growth of social media and small influencers, people are now more open to accepting better options that make sense for them. We hope to offer that choice. Our products are now selling in more than 120 outlets of major supermarket in Thailand,” he discloses.

“It also makes sense to turn Thailand to a hub for production of plant-based meat for distribution in this region and beyond. We are working with potential distribution partners in Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Japan, India and China,” he adds.

As per a report by Markets And Markets, the global plant-based meat market is estimated to account for a value of US$12.1 billion in 2019 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 15 per cent from 2019 to reach a value of US$27.9 billion by 2025.

The Asia Pacific market is projected to be dominated by China. The increasing environmental impact due to the excessive animal killing for meat consumption has created significant demand for plant-based meat in China.

The Chinese market is projected to witness significant growth due to the increase in demand from consumers for meatless food products, says this report.

Competition

Apart from Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods in the global market, Let’s Plant Meat has some local competitors, such as More Meat and Meat Avatar. There is also news of big players like CPF planning to enter this space.

“In Southeast Asia alone, there is a number of interesting startups such as Phuture Foods in Malaysia and WTH Foods in the Philippines. Hong Kong-based Omni Meat is probably the leader in Asia. Karana of Singapore is also a whole-plant option (which recently raised US$1.7 million led by Cocoon Capital). It will be a fun to watch this space in 2021,” he laughs.

Let’s Plant Meat is currently being funded by Nithi Foods. Taweelerdniti says the startup would like to achieve some significant milestones before raising external investments but is open to investors whose interest and value align with their’s.

Also Read: Unable to find good milk to make her dream cheese, this founder created one from stem cells

“We are working hard to grow our sales, launch some more products, expand into co-manufacturing facility for 10x capacity. We also have plans to launch our products in all major markets, deepen our research in protein technology, build a brand, and add some more key personnel,” he signs off.

—

Image Credit: Let’s Plant Meat

The post No animals were harmed in the making of this ‘meat’ burger appeared first on e27.

BukuKas, a digital ledger app for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Indonesia, has secured US$9 million in a pre-series A round of investment from a host of investors, including existing backers Surge by Sequoia India and Saison Capital.

Speedinvest, S7V, January Capital and Cambium Grove Capital also joined the round, which brings the company’s total funds raised to US$12 million.

BukuKas will utilise the capital to expand its product offerings and “build on its market leadership in Indonesia”.

Started in 2019 by Krishnan M Menon and Lorenzo Peracchione, BukuKas helps owners of MSMEs understand and manage their financial flows effectively with a free-to-use digital ledger mobile app.

Also Read: BukuKas makes book-keeping easy for Indonesian MSMEs to save money and time

Many small businesses in Indonesia still traditionally manage their finances using pen and paper. They struggle to get visibility and have no clue about the profits they earn.

The BukuKas app provides a book-keeping solution that can record sales, expenses, accounts receivable, and debt. With the app, merchants can gain better visibility on what drives their profits and cash flow, enabling them to actively improve their business processes.

The app also sends reminders to its customers to pay back.

According to the founder, the process helps small business owners achieve up to 20 per cent cost reduction and save two to four hours per day by avoiding manual calculations and reconciliation.

Since inception, BukuKas said it has partnered with about 800,000 small merchants and retailers and the app is used in over 700 cities and districts across Indonesia.

“The speed at which BukuKas has grown in the last eight months since launch has shown us that more than ever, Indonesian small businesses are ready to go digital. About 73 per cent of merchants are outside of tier-1 cities today — and very few products and services are built for them. BukuKas is committed to reaching them, they are the real Indonesia, the spine of our economy. And helping them prosper is our only goal,” said Menon.

Also Read: How working from anywhere is defining the next normal

BukuKas is also backed by several angel investors, including Amrish Rao (Pinelabs, Citrus pay), Edward Tirtanata (Kopi Kenangan), Willy Arifin (KoinWorks, Alternate Ventures), Nipun Mehra (Ula, Sequoia India), Patrick Walujo (Northstar Ventures), Sandeep Tandon (FreeCharge) and Jonathan Swanson (Thumbtack).

—

Image Credit: BukuKas

The post BukuKas raises US$9M pre-Series A from Surge, Credit Saison, others appeared first on e27.

On 15 January 2020, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority of Singapore (ACRA) launched the variable capital company (VCC), a new corporate structure under which investment funds can be created.

The VCC is regulated under the Variable Capital Companies Act 2018 (VCC Act) and is a new corporate structure for all types of collective investment schemes in Singapore. Under the VCC Act, foreign corporate entities may also be re-domiciled to Singapore, provided that the relevant conditions are satisfied.

As the CEO of Entail Holdings, a leader in the international fund management industry in Singapore, I have seen how the VCC structure has benefitted our clients, and I am happy to share some of the features of the VCC structure with you.

A VCC can be set up as a standalone entity or as an umbrella entity with multiple sub-funds. Each sub-fund may have different investment objectives and strategies, investors, assets, and liabilities.

This graphic is extracted from the PwC Singapore publication titled The Singapore Variable Capital Company – The game changer for asset management in Asia Pacific.

Also Read: MAS to introduce new corporate structure for investment funds next year

The new VCC framework has features that are on par with other global leading fund structures, such as those available in Luxembourg, Ireland, and Mauritius. I am optimistic that the VCC framework will elevate Singapore’s position as an attractive fund domicile centre.

In the above diagram, we highlight some of the critical features of the VCC structure.

Some of the benefits of a VCC include the following:

• Improved tax and operational efficiencies (including, the US “check the box” election);
• Financial statements of the VCC are not required to be made public;
• A VCC can be set up for different types of funds, including traditional mutual funds, private equity, hedge funds, and even real estate funds;
• A VCC may be used as pooling and investing vehicle, thereby dispensing multi-tiered fund structures;
• A VCC can be utilised to list funds as information listing and trading purpose; and
• The VCC structure is now an option for the wealth management industry.

Beneficial tax structures

Under the Income Tax Act (Chapter 134), the tax structure for standalone VCCs will be the same as a Singapore company with regard to the Enhanced Tier Fund (ETF) Scheme and Singapore Resident Fund (SRF) scheme.

The new umbrella VCC provisions have significant benefits and are distinctive. Certain economic conditions will apply at the level of the umbrella VCC and not at the level of the sub-funds. An umbrella VCC has only one set of economic terms applicable under the current ETF and SRF schemes.

For all VCCs, there are several tax and operational benefits, including:

• Availability of Goods and Services Tax (GST) remission for the VCC (even when it is not GST registered)
• Availability of a Certificate of Residence
• A withholding tax exemption
• The 10 per cent concessionary tax rate under the Financial Sector Incentive — For the Fund Manager
• No approval for additional sub-funds that are within the same investment scope (i.e notification process)

In my view, the new VCC framework is not a radical departure from the existing fund structures that fund managers and investors are familiar with, but rather, this product is evolutionary in nature, in that the VCC draws (and builds) on certain attractive features found in existing frameworks used in other fund jurisdictions. This is a masterstroke, and one which will cement Singapore’s status as a fund hub, both in Asia and the world beyond.

Also read: 4 things that makes Singapore a startup paradise

The VCC is bringing Singapore to the forefront of the investment world and is opening up many new options for fund managers to structure their investments. In addition, the VCC structure may now be used in conjunction with existing Singapore incentives such as immigration and business programmes, making Singapore an enticing location for investors who wish to set up their investment hub.

SME and startups

SMEs in Singapore contribute more than 50 per cent to Singapore’s GDP and provide employment to approximately two million people. However, these SMEs in Singapore are often confronted with industry competition, rising costs, and tight labour.

To support the sustainability and competitiveness of SMEs and startups, the Singapore government established equity financing schemes, cash grants, business incubation schemes, debt financing schemes, and tax incentives.

Furthermore, Singapore’s active technology ecosystem has attracted many venture capitalists and overseas investors to provide funding to locally based technology companies.

With a thriving venture capital ecosystem, startups can now access a wider variety of funding options and seek the necessary guidance for their future progress.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the official policy, position, or views of any agency or department of the Singapore government (including the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory of Singapore) or PwC Singapore.

–

Register for Meet the VC: Genesis Ventures

Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing contributions from the community. Become a thought leader in the community and share your opinions or ideas and earn a byline by submitting a post.

Join our e27 Telegram group, or like the e27 Facebook page

Image credit: lucas Favre on Unsplash

The post Why the new Singapore variable capital company is a fund structure game changer appeared first on e27.

We recently announced an exciting new feature for e27 Pro, Perks!

Perks is designed to give pro members access to top-class products and services with over US$10,000 worth in savings.

To be able to do that, we have partnered with these amazing companies for these e27 Pro exclusive perks:

Doctor Anywhere (Video Consultation rate at $13)

Doctor Anywhere is a regional tech-led healthcare company headquartered in Singapore. With a strong network of established healthcare providers and experienced doctors, Doctor Anywhere’s digital platform enables users to manage their health easily and effectively through the Doctor Anywhere mobile app. Users can consult a licensed local doctor anytime, anywhere, and get medication delivered to their doorsteps within hours

Pro member perks:

• Video Consultation rate at $13 (from $20-35) per consult on the Doctor Anywhere app
• Speak to an SG-Registered Doctor online 24/7 and get medications delivered to your doorstep in 3hrs with FREE delivery

Access this Pro perk here.

NewCampus (free remote membership)

NewCampus is a modern leadership school that aims to equip a new generation of critical thinkers and infinite learners to take on the challenges of the era of unprecedented global change ahead. Access live workshops, masterclasses, and virtual conferences designed to equip you with the latest business, technology, and leadership frameworks to accelerate your career or your business.

Pro member perks:

• 1 free month remote membership

Access this Pro perk here.

MyStartupEquity (free annual subscription)

MyStartupEquity is a SaaS product to manage cap tables and ESOPs. The product is designed to be able to scale from 10s to 100s of employees or shareholders and do away with the discrepancies that creep in while managing equity on Excel sheets. MSE Cap Table dashboards helps founders and CFOs manage their investors and fundraises seamlessly.

Pro member perks:

• Free annual subscription for startups for first 100 users
• Preferential pricing of $20 SGD per user per year

Access this Pro perk here.

Also read: Meet the first batch of e27 Pro Perks partners

Canva (20% off)

Canva is a graphic design platform that allows users to create social media graphics, presentations, posters, and other visual content. It is available on web and mobile, and integrates millions of images, fonts, templates and illustrations.

Pro member perks:

• 20% off Canva Pro for the next year of subscription

Access this Pro perk here.

Notion ($1000 off)

Notion is an all-in-one platform that lets you curate your company’s notes, tasks, wikis, and databases in one convenient workspace. With Notion, you can organise your important workplace information, run a wiki, manage projects, share documents, and more while keeping everyone aligned with a shared project roadmap.

• $1,000 off your Notion Team Plan

Access this Pro perk here.

Join e27 Pro

If you want to enjoy these exclusive perks available only with Pro, be a part of the Pro community and sign up for an e27 Pro membership today! You may visit here for more details.

Stay tuned to find out what other Perks we have in store!

The post Over US$10,000 worth of cost savings: meet the second batch of Perks partners appeared first on e27.

Coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc on the global economy. Be it established businesses or startups, this outbreak has negatively impacted every area of the market. South Asian economy is no exception. Apart from this pandemic, South Asian startups have to fight one more battle that is the cash burn.

The formerly thriving South Asian startups sector is coming down to a halt. With economic activities paralysed, the majority of the tech and non-tech startups are looking forward to ways to cut costs. They are laying off employees as well as slicing wages and payrolls of those who are still working.

Their goal is to stay afloat by cutting off marketing costs and halting business expansion until the global market gets back to normal.

Market conditions before COVID-19 outbreak

South Asian digital startups expected in 2020 to be a promising year for unprecedented growth. That’s because, for the past couple of years, the technological sector of South Asia has been continually booming. From virtual wallets to online grocery shopping, the number of customers for digital services and financial technology had been rising with every passing day.

However, what they hadn’t expected was the worldwide coronavirus pandemic will impact everything from households to economies. The outbreak forced them into retreat. The measures that were taken to prevent coronavirus infections from spiralling out of control ground the society to halt.

As a result, consumerism had to take a back seat. This caused a massive decline in the growth rate of South Asian startups. As the pandemic intensified, the majority of the startup had to take strict measures to stay afloat.

They had to lay off the majority of the part-time employees, halt efforts of marketing your business in coronavirus and delay their plans for overseas expansion.

Also Read: 5 survival strategies for startups in a post-COVID-19 world

According to FOMO’s co-founder Zack Yang, this move enabled the company to reduce around 10 to 20 per cent of the total cost. He further added it has to be done since the capital market is far from positive these days. The situation of the global economy is getting worse as the pandemic prevails.

Transportation is another major sector that has been greatly impacted by the outbreak of coronavirus. The majority of the exporters have warned their customers to expect a delay in the delivery of goods because it is hard to find containers amid lockdown. The majority of these containers are stuck at ports making it hard for small businesses to make or receive shipments.

Why are startups losing investments?

 

Coronavirus pandemic has caused investors to reconsider funding in young startups. It has caused them to become more selective in where to invest. They are rather focused on conserving cash during the most uncertain of the times.

This is making it harder for startups to raise funds to keep their young businesses afloat. As a consequence, they have to layoff employees and pause their marketing efforts to conserve as much cash as they could.

While investors were already cautious about where to spend, the global pandemic made it even harder for small businesses to raise funds. As the capital market and the global economy fell, so did the South Asian startups.

GV Ravishankar, managing director at Sequoia Capital India, warned startups just as the pandemic hit, to expect very little funding during the next couple of months. He suggested them to cut their spending as “quickly and deeply” as possible.

Startup financing is expected to decline

Startup financing has fallen 22 per cent within the first quarter of 2020, said a Financial Times report. The global slowdown in startup investment has caused several young businesses and startups to close down. According to data shared by market intelligence platform CB Insights, various compounding economic factors have led to the acute decline in startup investment.

Also Read: gojek-backer Samsung Ventures invests in Indonesian proptech startup Travelio, to focus more in Southeast Asian startups

One of the most prominent of these factors is the economic uncertainty caused by the prevalence of coronavirus. When compared to 2019, the overall startup funding is expected to decline by 16 per cent. In 2020, the startup sector is going raise only US$77 billion as compared to US$92 billion in 2019 and down close to 12 per cent in comparison to US$87 billion in Q1 2019.

South Asian startups have been experiencing the detrimental effects of the Coronavirus pandemic for over five months now. A big number of small businesses have crippled in a matter of months. In India alone, a survey of 35,000 startups has revealed, over 71 per cent are experiencing a massive decline in the demand for goods and services.

On the other hand, 48 per cent of these businesses are facing disruption in supply as well as an increase in its cost. This disruption in supply and its cost has caused even more instability and uncertainty within the small business entrepreneurs community.

How South Asian startups are dealing with the impact

Surveys have revealed that the majority of the South Asian businesses will try to reduce the cost associated with workspace and operations. The majority of the employees will be asked to work from home. This will not only prevent the spread of the virus but also curb the cost of maintaining workspace and electricity bills.

Around 30 per cent of the respondents are willing to manage their expenses by cutting off on advertising or marketing costs, office rentals, and other operations. Around 37 per cent of these businesses haven’t experienced a significant impact of coronavirus pandemic, so they won’t be taking any such action.

The cost of business operations to be cut include:

• Discretionary expenses
• Reduction or exiting non-essential supplier project
• Reduction in the employee costs

Since the demand has gone low, it is a wise move to cut down on the supply that might not be needed. Various customers are also postponing their deliveries. This means startups don’t need to meet their demands right away. They can wait to purchase the new stock once things go back or close to normal.

Also Read: Top 5 promising media tech startups to look out for in 2020

How can the government help small businesses

There are various measures governments can take to curb the impact of coronavirus pandemic on small businesses and startups. One of these measures could be concessional working capital loans for startups, medium, and small businesses.

These loans should be granted based on one to three months’ average turnover of 2019. This loan can also be determined by the extent of disruption a business has faced in its demand and supply.

The government should also extend the period of payment to up to three months for:

• Utility
• GST
• Other statutory payments

The extension in the payment should not be impacted by the credit history of the business.

Why tech startups will thrive in the new normal

We are faced with an unprecedented global crisis. Even the most established corporations have taken a hit as Coronavirus infections spiral out of control. They have been incorporating smarter techniques to embrace the new normal. That’s what startups need to do as well. It’s time for them to rewrite their workspace culture and come out even stronger. Following are the way startups in South Asia can thrive in the new normal:

• Sought after exceptional tech talent:

For South Asian startups to grow and scale, it is important to hire employees with a bold vision and a strong grasp on the latest technology. These two factors serve as the key enablers for disruptive innovation. Start-ups need to keep pace with ever-rising users’ expectations.

With the advent of technology, competition in the market is getting tougher. Today, buggy UX means the loss of a massive number of potential customers. Therefore, startups need to replace their existing team with tech-savvy talent who is familiar with the latest tech stack and skills.

• Expand your market with offshoring: 

As a South Asian startup, you must have desired to grow your tech capabilities along with expanding your business. Don’t worry, you can kill two birds with one stone without having to go out of your pocket. You can build an offshore team within the region you want to expand your business to. This will not only help you to gain the initial exposure you need but will also help you break through the new market without having to spend a lot of time on research.

• Switch to remote working:

Lockdown imposed by the government across South Asia has made us learn that it is possible to run an office-less business. Coupons and promo codes turn out to be the best marketing strategy amid the lockdown. The majority of the investors are taking out their investment or reconsidering investing in South Asian startups. During these hard times, there is no better way to cut the cost of running your business other than going remote.

• Create a sense of balance:

To thrive in the uncertain times, we are faced with today, startups need to come up with ways to balance growth, cost, and quality that too at the same time.

Also Read: Why I chose to intern in the tech startups ecosystem

Medical science has been integrating the latest technological trends such as robotics to stop coronavirus. However, it’s not just the medical field that had been impacted by the outbreak of coronavirus. Established businesses to startups, every sector of the market has been influenced as the pandemic prevailed.

The South Asian startup market is no exception. This pandemic has caused various start-ups to lose sales or even close down. However, with a little help from the government and working smartly, these startups can continue to thrive during the pandemic.

–

Register for Meet the VC :Incubate Funds

Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing contributions from the community. Become a thought leader in the community and share your opinions or ideas and earn a byline by submitting a post.

Join our e27 Telegram group, or like the e27 Facebook page

Image Credit: Lindsey LaMont on Unsplash

The post Will South Asian tech startups thrive in the new normal?  appeared first on e27.

Coming up with a new idea with huge potential is only half the battle. Equally important is finding one that fits you.

I try to explain that even the most innovative idea will fail if it is not a good fit for you at this time, so the question I ask is “why you now?” rather than “why this solution now?”

The right person can make any idea a business success, and the wrong one will always struggle. Hence are you the Right Person to Pursue Your Business Idea?

The reality is that I can’t judge any idea in your context, because I don’t know your passions, knowledge base, and experiences. If you show me a written business plan, I can assess it from a technical perspective, but that doesn’t tell me if you are the right person to create the business.

Thus, I can only recommend some context for you to make your own idea and business decisions:

1. Play to your passions and personal interests

Pick an arena that gets your creative juices flowing, rather than one that everyone says is the next big thing. If your goals in life revolve around social change or the environment, aim in that direction for your startup, rather than maximising revenue and profit. If you are not motivated you won’t succeed!

Also Read: The 9 critical stages of building a business

Entrepreneur Tony Hsieh, who founded Zappos, was passionate in his belief that he could “deliver happiness” to customers, before making a profit, through innovative moves like surprising 80 per cent of customers with free overnight shipping. He succeeded well in both.

2. Trust your background and intellectual strengths

The most successful entrepreneurs focus on solving a problem that they personally have experienced and are convinced they fully understand. The same applies to deal with the business elements, such as marketing, business operations, and finances. You may need a partner on this one.

Bill Gates learned to appreciate the power of computers at a very young age but was frustrated that available models were large and hard to programme. He helped to invent Microsoft Basic and Windows, snagged Steve Ballmer for marketing, and Microsoft changed the world.

3. Consider your access to resources for startup efforts

Take a realistic view of your ability to assemble the necessary funding and attract the right people.
Your strengths in physics and electronics may be excellent, but most of us could never attract the funding required for a new microchip process. Maybe you need to start with a smaller idea.

4. Assess the time and effort you are willing to commit

Most startup ideas will fail if you approach them like a hobby that you can work on occasion and on weekends.
It’s hard to win when other entrepreneurs are known to work hundred-hour weeks, and perhaps don’t have a family to balance. Your time is a critical limited resource.

5. Measure the depth of your relationships with key people

Most successful startups have deep relationships with experts who can mentor and support them or provide access to critical resources and funding.

There is no entitlement in this business. You need to enjoy building the new relationships you need and nurturing the ones you have to succeed.

Also Read: TruTrip looks to cash in on the massive business travel market as the world emerges out of the crisis

6. Check your interest in learning how to fill the gaps

No matter how experienced and knowledgeable you are, every startup is a new learning process. If you don’t enjoy learning, stick to ideas and businesses that are “cookie-cutter” versions of what you already know. Your success depends on enjoying the journey as well as the destination.

7. Test your ability to communicate value to others

Some of the highest potential ideas and businesses require a massive educational and sales effort, which may not be your forte or interest.

Very few ideas these days have such obvious value that “if we build it, they will come.” Most startups require leading a team of people and engaging customers.

So before you make those cold calls to me or any other constituency for an assessment of the viability of your next great idea, my advice is to take a hard look at your own drivers and resources, per the items listed here.

I’m convinced that there are more than enough startup ideas around, such that you can pick one to match your profile, and we all win with your success.

So are you the right person to pursue your business idea?

—

The article was first published on nfinitiv.

Image Credit: Dylan Gillis on Unsplash

The post How to know if you’re the right person to pursue your business idea appeared first on e27.

Most governments around the world have temporarily closed educational institutions in an attempt to contain the spread of the pandemic, leaving 1.5 billion students in 188 countries out of their classrooms. The world has not seen this level of disruption of education since World War II.

There are various edutech companies providing a wide range of learning tools for primary, secondary and pre-university students across the continent and everyone will agree that the time is ripe for these startups to grow whether it is in brand awareness or user base.

Never before have schools and colleges so urgently needed digital tools and services to facilitate remote learning —and been less able to afford them. After a financing lull in March, investors poured money into edutech, catapulting several startups past the US$1 billion valuation mark.

For instance, Udemy raised US$50 million in February pushing valuation to US$2 billion, ApplyBoard raised US$71 million in May, Quizlet closed a US$30 million round in May crossing US$1 billion valuation mark.

Also Read: How the Coronavirus is teaching edutech startups a much-needed lesson

Barclays estimates that spending on technology by educators will increase 12 per cent a year and is still just three per cent of a US$6 trillion global market. However, the large scale adoption of the edutech offerings still remains a challenge because of the following reasons:

• Only 59 per cent of the world has internet access
• Only 49 per cent of the household globally has access to the PCs
• Governments are prioritising health care sector over the education sector 
• Schools struggle with capital technical resources in the absence of government support
• Lack of trained staff to conduct online classes

Hence, investors have deliberately focused on entities that market tools and services directly to consumers (DTC) and not to the institutions. Three DTC edutech sectors that gained most investments were online tutoring, digital aides and apps, and edutainment.

Online tutoring companies in the US, China, and India have attracted huge traction and interest from the investors.  For example, Chegg outperformed forecasts by hitting US$132 million in revenue and 30 per cent rise in the stock price in Q1 2020. Byju, India’s second highest valued startup raised US$100 million Mary Meeker’s Bond Capital. Countries such as Australia, Korea, and Saudi Arabia have seen a surge in edutech startups supported by large rounds of funding in Q1 2020.

Interest and investment in tools and services designed for direct use of the students and parents are on the rise. Digital aides and apps such as Google Classroom, Seesaw, and Classdojo have seen a sharp rise since the remote learning started. Sites such as Khan Academy have seen 2.5 to three times increase in the traffic, with users spending twice the amount they did before the pandemic.

Users are turning to learn as a source of entertainment and a way to gain additional skill sets. Some of the popular edutainment business in this space has added several users and attracted millions in investment.

Also Read: These Indonesian edutech startups are helping students cope and thrive during the COVID-19 crisis

Example: MasterClass, which recruits celebrities to share expertise in non-credit-bearing online classes has registered 10 folds growth in revenue and raised US$100 million in funding. Similarly, Duolingo reported a 101 per cent increase in the user base since March.

The outlook in the DTC edutech space certainly looks promising. However, investors foraying in this space should also be mindful of the ongoing risks such as regulation, funding cycles, and competition. Ultimately, the best companies, investors, and impactors in this space will be those who put the users at the centre.

Finding ways to reduce costs, deliver quality pedagogy, and demonstrate impactful outcomes will determine the long-term winners as the edutech market grows and matures.

–

Register for Meet the VC: Incubate Funds

Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing contributions from the community. Become a thought leader in the community and share your opinions or ideas and earn a byline by submitting a post.

Join our e27 Telegram group, or like the e27 Facebook page

Image Credit: Paul Hanaoka on Unsplash

The post Why edutech is becoming an investor favourite this season appeared first on e27.

According to CrunchBase, there are about 11,288 SaaS-based startups in the world. That’s the level of competition we are talking about. Companies are always on the lookout for ways to keep them ahead of their competitions.

One thing successful startups have found out is that while most of the factors might not be within their control, the internal factors such as cost and resources are definitely within their control. Proper financial planning and optimised execution are the building blocks to any long term business’s success.

Having experience of co-founding and running three companies, with one in London and the two in India, the last 25 years have given me key insights into how to make the most with the resources you get.

I have tried, tested, failed, tried again, and succeeded in implementing measures and goals to optimise resources. One thing that I have learned over the years is that you don’t win in business (especially startups) if you waste money.

What we are going to address here is not just about being frugal but also about being sustainable. You cannot build a business by being a cheapskate, right? What worked for us was finding the right talent (or rather a sustainable talent with low turnover) and developing deep knowledge about the problem we are solving. The key here is to develop a low yet evolving footprint.

Also Read: A Beginner’s Guide: Should I buy a SaaS for my startup?

Frugality in work and office space

The section that I would like to discuss is how we optimised the costs in our daily-tools and operations. I believe this is where we saved a major chunk of our resources. We were very open and candid with our employees about our ethic of frugality in everything that we do in the company. We tried to be sustainable in almost everything that was under control, from creating a coworking space, work from home facility to using the right tools to minimising the travel expenses. To dive you a little deeper and get into the details, I’ve broken down the list into these areas.

Frugality in the product-development phase

Although we were being cost-effective with a lot of our choices, we never compromised on the quality of tools for our software developers. They would always get the most advanced and tech-forward computers and equipment. Before you jump to the conclusion that this was a biased (and uneconomic) call, let me tell you how it wasn’t.

As a SaaS company, developing a competitive product was the heart of all our operations. And my top priority was to take long-term, sustainable and smart decisions in product development.

One of the fundamental decisions that we had to make was choosing the cloud server infrastructure. It was a close call between AWS and DigitalOcean and we went with the latter.

One reason was obviously the pricing. And since we had a few but skilled and experienced software developers and I myself was involved heavily, it allowed us to build the website from scratch and gave us the flexibility we wanted.

Another bold technical decision that we took was choosing Scala as the language for programming. Scala is a very sophisticated language and to be honest it is not an obvious language to choose. The reason why I insisted on using this language is that I had over 15 years of experience working in Scala.

Not only did I have trust in it, I knew that I would be able to oversee each and everything going on in the website. And in case of an emergency, I will be able to take things on my own hands and keep the website in check. As entrepreneurs, sometimes it is important to take the route that is comfortable for you or one which you have faith in rather than venturing into unknown territory.

Also Read: 5 things Saleswhale learned about building a global SaaS platform from Southeast Asia

So far these two have been some of the good (and frugal) decisions we have made.

This doesn’t mean we haven’t made any mistakes. We did. Big ones that too.

For any startup that wants to build a mobile application, one of the cheapest and obvious ways is to go for a hybrid platform. We did the same and went for Titanium, which is a hybrid platform. But we started facing a lot of performance issues and it just didn’t suit the product we were building. After one year of struggling we had to move to native development. The app was already live on Titanium and it was a massive struggle to shift the platform. We could do it only because we had a very small number of users at that point in time.

So my advice for upcoming SaaS entrepreneurs would be to spend adequate time in the product development phase. Remember each small and big decision that you make in this stage will stick with you in the long run. In my opinion, the best way to be frugal here is to aim for the long run and go for a sustainable approach. The more you switch platforms in the later stages of your development, the more expenses you will suffer. Having a sustainable approach ensures frugality in the long run.

Efficient use of office space

One of our top priorities was having a good coworking space. Since we were a small team, rigorous collaboration was a must. While deciding on the office space for the Guwahati team, we made sure that a major part of the office space can be utilised as a coworking arena. This is where people across departments would sit together and work.

In fact, for the first five years, I myself preferred sitting in the common area. This helped us in two ways, mainly. Since we were a one-of-its-kind SaaS software operating from India, this working style helped everyone in the team understand each other’s role and contribution towards the common goals. Secondly, it helped us save a lot of money as we didn’t have to spend too much on renting out extra spaces for each team and department.

Also Read: How to choose a coworking space for your startup

It is a no-brainer that managing the operating space effectively can generate additional profits. I’ve mentioned earlier about the common working area which helped us a lot in setting the tone of the workplace. Rearranging and making the most out of the available space smartly can save up quite some bucks. Since we were sacrificing personal luxuries at the top-level, people never complained if we didn’t have state-of-art furniture or matching desks at our office.

Remember at the beginning of the entrepreneurial journey, the focus should be solely on growing (and sustaining) the business. When that happens, having a nicer office will be the least of your worries.

As a perk to make up for the limited desk space, we had a loaded snack station to keep our people happy during work hours. (This is a proven hack and I would definitely recommend it).

We didn’t have such options in India back in the day but you can even rent furniture from places such as Furlenco on a temporary basis. Optimising on your resources for the long term and sustainable development is not easy and definitely be augmented with years of experience behind your back. What wise people do is learn from their mistakes, smart people learn from others’ mistakes.

–

Register for Meet the VC: Incubate Fund

Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing contributions from the community. Become a thought leader in the community and share your opinions or ideas and earn a byline by submitting a post.

Join our e27 Telegram group, or like the e27 Facebook page

Image Credit: Joan Gamell on Unsplash

The post Why its important for SaaS startups to be frugal — and how to do it right appeared first on e27.