Know Your Customer or KYC is crucial for businesses for fraud prevention, and this becomes even more pertinent when it comes to the finance sector and eCommerce. KYC checks help identify money launderers, tax evaders, and other criminal activities.

Companies that do not comply, not only run the risk of exposing their business to fraud, but they also risk being deemed complicit, which may result in hefty fines and possibly further prosecution.

Furthermore, robust due diligence, executed with full data privacy compliance, bolsters a customer’s trust in the company’s operations and helps with their reputation. Moreover, when it comes to fintech or eCommerce, reputation and trust are key to growth and success.

Challenges faced by fintech and eCommerce when it comes to e-KYC

With the surge in fintech and eCommerce, there has been an increase in online frauds as well. According to a recent report released by Fenergo, in 2020, financial institutions in the Asia Pacific and globally racked up more than USD 10.6 billion in penalties related to non-compliance of Know Your Customer (KYC) other important regulations. In APAC alone, organisations accrued more than USD 5.1 billion in penalties as regulators crack down on poor behaviour from financial services firms.

One of the main challenges that fintech companies face when it comes to KYC is that the regulations keep changing constantly and it can be hard to keep up. For regional players, it becomes even more complicated as different countries might have different regulations. In such scenarios, compliance becomes difficult and non-compliance can cost money, reputation and sometimes even the entire business.

Also read: RevComm’s MiiTel, Cloud IP phone powered by artificial intelligence, is changing how businesses engage customers

Another issue is that when using fragmented tools for verification, the process can be complicated as well as expensive. And, last but not the least, with these challenges if the KYC process becomes too complex and bumpy, customer experience is affected and businesses end up losing valuable users.

This is where reliable, easy and efficient identity verification becomes crucial in an increasingly digital world. As such, Japan-based TRUSTDOCK is leading the way in holistic e-KYC solutions for seamlessly facilitating trusted business relationships and transactions for fintech and eCommerce companies.

Helping businesses with innovative and customisable e-KYC solutions

Launched in 2017, TRUSTDOCK makes e-KYC easy and efficient for growing companies and their customers. Their centralised e-KYC API platform offers scalable local compliance; they have the local expertise and operational commitment in each country with local teams on the ground, localised products and KYC as well as data privacy regulation compliance.

Furthermore, their single modern API portal makes integration simple and cost-effective for businesses by eliminating the need to develop their own technology or hire an internal verification team. Plus, TRUSTDOCK has a superior UI/UX that offers an intuitive and stable verification process encouraging more users to complete the process. In a nutshell, TRUSTDOCK’s comprehensive digital identity verification solutions meet the standards required for security, compliance, customer experience, and scaling.

Also read: Connect with 10 more verified investors on e27 today

Available to businesses at a one-time onboarding fee and a flat monthly maintenance fee plus variable verification fee, TRUSTDOCK’s solutions are simple, transparent and cost-effective. From design to development and testing, the entire onboarding cycle is quick and takes just about a month or two.

Another advantage with TRUSTDOCK is that their innovative e-KYC solutions are customisable to address a business’s specific KYC and CDD needs for secure, expedited regulatory or commercial compliance.

● TRUSTDOCK App is ideal for companies serving their customers on both websites and apps and looking to fully outsource eKYC with simple integration.
● TRUSTDOCK Web is suitable for companies serving customers exclusively on a website and looking for browser-based KYC solutions.
● TRUSTDOCK SDK is for businesses focused on mobile apps and looking for KYC solutions within their apps. They plan to release this in quarter 1 of 2021.

TRUSTDOCK is already a trusted name and has received financial backing and support from the likes of Sony Innovation Fund, Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, Mizuho Capital, and SMBC Venture Capital. They have a rich clientele, including Transferwise, Softmap (Bic Camera Group), and Altoa (ORIX Group) among others. Having verified over 2 million identities in the last two and a half years, TRUSTDOCK is among the leading e-KYC providers in Japan.

Also read: AI Communis: The first B2B ASR-based solution provider in SEA with local language adaptation

With fintech and eCommerce on the rise in Southeast Asia post-pandemic, TRUSTDOCK is looking to expand into the region with a keen focus on Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. TRUSTDOCK believes in the ethos of collaborations and invites key stakeholders in the industry keen on working on this technology with them. They are also actively looking for investment partners to help with their expansion plans and to build further on the technology.

To learn more about TRUSTDOCK’s products and services and to connect with them, visit https://e27.co/startups/trustdock-inc/

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This article is produced by the e27 team, sponsored by 
JETRO

We can share your story at e27, too. Engage the Southeast Asian tech ecosystem by bringing your story to the world. Visit us at e27.co/advertise to get started.

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Australia-based law firm Allens today announced the seven startups that have joined its legal tech accelerator, Auctus, of which two hail from Southeast Asia.

Allens — which has offices in Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia — said it received more than 120 applications for its 8-week virtual accelerator.

The final seven were chosen from a shortlist of 15 who pitched their startups to a panel of judges.

The two startups from Southeast Asia are inPact.ai, a Singapore-based AI-powered enterprise software platform that turns contracts into structured and analysable data to uncover new business insights; and Avvoka, a startup with offices in London and Singapore implementing document automation, negotiation and analytics tools for in-house legal, law firms and business teams.

The chosen startups will work with mentors and experts from Allens on their legal, growth and innovation strategies as well as attend masterclasses, test and receive feedback on their products from the firm. They will also have the opportunity to participate in facilitated strategic introductions to Allens’s networks.

Also Read: Legaltech on blockchain is set to be the next hot investment sector. Here’s why

Selected startups may have opportunities to discuss further strategic engagement with the firm or potential investors at the conclusion of the accelerator.

“Our first cohort of startups impressed us with the potentially transformative solutions they’re building to some of the most pressing issues faced by our firm and our clients,” said Penelope Barr, Allens’s Head of Legal Product Lab.

“We are excited by the potential of our first group of startups to not only add to our own legal tech offering but to meaningfully contribute to the Australian legal landscape more broadly,” she added.

“When startups stand on the shoulders of a giant like Allens, they both see further and get to their destinations faster, and I’m looking forward to watching the journey unfold with the crop of startups that were selected,” said Steve Glaveski, CEO of innovation consulting firm Collective Campus, which partnered with the law firm to help attract and source for potential accelerator candidates.

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Image Credit: Unsplash

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Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve been working on verifying the investors on the e27 platform.

Being a verified investor means that there are people managing the investor profile in an official capacity. More than just reassurance that these are legitimate investor profiles, it also means that e27 Pro members can directly engage with these investors via the Connect feature.

Check out these ten verified investors that you can connect with for advice, mentorship, and fundraising opportunities”

Peng Ventures
Stages: Seed, Pre-Series A / Bridge, Series A
Verticals: Transportation, Travel
Investment Range: Not Specified
Straight from Peng Ventures:
Peng Ventures is a venture builder that creates, invests, or acquires, and thereafter operates businesses in the tourism and hospitality industry in Bangkok. We focus on business models that have the potential to turn profitable quickly and return the invested capital quickly.
Connect with them

Fosun Capital
Stages: Stages Seed, Series A, Series B, Series C & Above
Verticals: Advertising, Biotech, Entertainment, Healthtech, Internet of Things
Investment Range: Not specified
Straight from Forsun Capital: Fosun RZ Capital has over 10 billion RMB AUM. As one of the most globalized venture capital platforms in China, RZ Capital is committed to investing in high-growth, high-tech companies in major economic growth regions and has fostered innovation ecosystems around the world, with offices in China, United States, India, Indonesia, Singapore, and Nigeria.
Connect with them

PwC Singapore’s Venture Hub
Stages: Series A, Series B
Verticals: All / Any
Investment Range: Not specified
Straight from PwC Singapore’s Venture Hub: Working closely together with motivated entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, incubators and accelerators, PwC Singapore’s Venture Hub adopts a one-stop shop approach to providing solutions and services to help businesses build resilience, achieve sustainable growth and expand into key markets.

Complex regulations, stiff competition as well as expectations from investors, industry partners and other stakeholders are common challenges in this rapidly developing ecosystem.

Tapping on our global network and deep industry knowledge, we can provide a suite of tailored advisory services for both startups and investors to help spur innovation and expedite growth, while enabling your business to remain competitive and compliant.
Connect with them

Vertical Health Accelerator
Stages: Seed
Verticals: Food & Beverage, Healthtech, Mobile, Sports
Investment Range: USD 0 – USD 150K
Straight from Vertical Health Accelerator: Our modern digital world is fast-paced, and there’s no prize for standing still. To keep moving forward, companies need adaptable strategies for output and internal development as well as for partnerships, mergers, and acquisitions. You can rely on our team to navigate your business towards growth. Our expertise will help you develop the strategies you need, collaborate with the best partners, and make the right deals.
Connect with them

Raffles Venture Partners Pte Ltd
Stages: Seed, Series A, Series B, Series C & Above
Verticals: Advertising, Consumer, Cybersecurity, Enterprise Solution, Healthtech, Media, Medtech, Robotics, Travel
Investment Range: USD 200K – USD 5M
Straight from Raffles Venture Partners Pte Ltd: Raffle Venture Partners is a Singapore-based venture capital company that specialises in late stage investments.
Connect with them

NTT Docomo Ventures
Stages: Seed, Pre-Series A / Bridge, Series A, Series B, Series C & Above
Verticals: Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality, Big Data, Cybersecurity, Education, Enterprise Solution, Finance, Healthtech, Internet of Things, Media, Platform, Robotics, Software as a Service, Virtual Reality
Investment Range: USD 500K – USD 5M
Straight from NTT Docomo Ventures: NTT DOCOMO Ventures is the gateway for the startup and venture community in NTT Group. We are rapidly enhancing our innovation of various services, technology, and processes. We also bring together people of diverse interests in order to create new infrastructure.

We offer strong business support and collaboration for the passionate and creative people working at startups everywhere. By shoring up our efforts together, we will create new value that changes established thinking around the world.
Connect with them

AgFunder
Stages: Seed, Series A, Series B
Verticals: Agritech, Food & Beverage
Investment Range: USD 200K – USD 800K
Straight from AgFunder: Based in Silicon Valley, AgFunder is a new kind of venture capital firm built on proprietary technology and a global ecosystem of over 85,000 subscribers. We invest in exceptional and bold founders who are committed to building the next generation of agrifood technology companies that will transform our food system. We are one of the most active agrifood tech investors in the world and our mentor network represents some of the most successful executives and founders in the industry.
Connect with them

Rocket Equities
Stages: Private Equity
Verticals: E-commerce, Finance, Information & Communications Technology, Logistics/Supply Chain, Sports
Investment Range: Not specified
Straight from Rocket Equities: Rocket Equities is a mid-market M&A advisory firm based in the Netherlands and the Philippines. We consult with fast-growing companies in Europe and Asia to provide the strategy, capital raising, M&A, and digital transformation services.
Connect with them

Marsh Pte Ltd
Stages: Seed, Series A, Series B, Series C & Above
Verticals: Biotech, Energy, Finance, Food & Beverage, Mobile
Investment Range: Not specified
Straight from Marsh Pte Ltd: Mercer Marsh Benefits is a combination of Mercer and Marsh local offices around the world.
Connect with them

Corwin Asset Management
Stages: Series A, Series B
Verticals: Biotech, Energy, Finance, Food & Beverage, Mobile
Investment Range: USD 25K – USD 1.5M
Straight from Corwin Asset Management: In Corwin Group, we have 3 major businesses pillars to support as our core business, which are Property, Investment and Trade.

For Property, we get involved in whole property chain from acquisition, development, construction, renovation, interior design, property funding, marketing, management, selling, letting and renting for our own assets, stakeholders and investor’s properties.
Connect with them

Watch out for more announcements of new verified investors (yes, there is more!). If you’re an investor and looking to get verified, find out how here.

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Photo by Startup Stock Photos from Pexels

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Member.id, an Indonesian-based marketing and tech firm focusing on loyalty services, announced today it has secured US$1.1 million in a Series A round, led by East Ventures with a strategic investment from travel giant Traveloka.

The funds will help it scale its content creation capabilities by bringing in more resources and talent, and create a “more diverse” library of digital content.

The startup also announced Luna Maya, a popular local actress and entrepreneur, has joined it as Managing Partner.

In addition to this, the Jakarta-headquartered startup announced its expansion into the creator economy with the addition of ‘Travel Secrets’, a travel content platform. ‘Travel Secrets’ will be part of a new content production division, called TS Media.

Member.id claims TS Media allow brands and companies to tap into Indonesia’s growing creator economy by equipping them with the necessary technology and expertise.

Also Read: Superfanz: Growing visibility for creators in the wake of COVID-19

Launched in 2014, Member.id provides strategy consulting, data analytics and tech solutions for enterprise clients to drive customer retention. On the other hand, its TS Media division is focussed on creating content to raise awareness, driving up customer acquisition for businesses.

“We are now able to offer clients and brands an end-to-end marketing solution from awareness, aspiration, activation, to retention and referrals. By creating quality content across several digital platforms, we have expanded our ability to create beyond travel-related content but have diversified into other areas including culinary, sports and lifestyle,” said Marianne Rumantir, CEO and Co-founder of Member.id.

“We are expanding and creating new programmes with new talent to cater to different audiences. This opens up more opportunities for new brands across different industries to work with us,” she added.

Meanwhile, Member.id noted the strategic investment from Traveloka brings in the unicorn’s extensive networks of merchants and business opportunities for the company.

Also Read: Innovate and go: How Traveloka revamps its services to comply with changing travel behaviour 

“The pandemic has triggered a behaviour change among consumers, in which they spend significantly more time viewing social media content. By creating content that is geared towards domestic tourism, we can be a significant force in driving additional demand for Traveloka,” said Robert Tedja, Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Member.id.

Fuelled by the country’s high mobile penetration rates, the creator economy is flourishing in Indonesia. According to App Annie, Indonesians spend an average of 5.2 hours per day on mobile in 2020, the highest in the world.

“As we start living in the post-pandemic era, we are witnessing the shift of media consumption. One of the key trends is the rise of the creator economy, which is the extension of Member.id’s customer management solution,” said Willson Cuaca, Cco-founder and Managing Partner of East Ventures.

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Image Credit: Member.id

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India-based Zolve raises US$15M led by Accel, Lightspeed

Investors: Blume Ventures, Dr. Ashish Gupta (ex-Helion MD), Greg Kidd (angel investor in Twitter), Kunal Shah (founder of Cred), Rahul Mehta (Managing Partner at DST Global), and Rahul Kishore (Senior Managing Director, Coatue Capital), and Founder Collective.

What the funding will be used for: Product enhancement, hiring, and marketing.

About Zolve: Zolve provides financial services to people migrating to different regions. The startup works with banks in the US and India to provide consumers with access to financial products seamlessly without paying any premium or security deposit.

The startup was founded by TaxiForSure co-founder Raghunandan G, who sold his startup to Indian ride-hailing giant Ola. He believes that his latest startup Zolve will enable people to access financial products seamlessly without being limited by borders.

MDEC pledges support towards Government’s Digital Economy Blueprint

The story: The Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) has pledged its support and commitment to the Government’s Digital Economy Blueprint – MyDIGITAL, according to digitalnewsAsia.

What is MyDIGITAL?:  A blueprint designed to become the foundation for Malaysia’s transformation into a digital hub by 2030.

Also Read: MDEC seeks to encourage SMEs; digitalisation with US$1.5M grant

More about the story: Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin is set to launch MyDIGITAL on Feb 19.

Ohm Mobility acquires CloudNBFC to make EV financing easy for lenders

The story: Ohm Mobility, a one-year-old fintech and clean transportation startup, has acquired loan management software CloudNBFC.

More about the story: While the details of this deal remain undisclosed, this acquisition will help Ohm in its plans to launch a new platform that is going to make electric vehicle (EV) financing easier for lenders.

“While the government aims for EV adoption on a big scale, financing of EV remains to be one of the biggest challenges. Ohm’s tech platform is trying to make financing of EVs easier for lenders,” CEO and founder Nikhil Nair.

About Ohm Mobility: Founded in 2020, Ohm Mobility combines digital payments, internet of things (IoT) data from vehicles, and data science to help banks reduce lending costs and modernise lending.

Ata Plus, IAP announce strategic alliance

The story: Ata Plus, an equity crowdfunding platform in Malaysia has announced a strategic alliance with IAP Integrated to diversify avenues for funding that are available for companies.

More about the story: By leveraging on the strength of Ata Plus, IAP will be able to present alternative funding opportunities for early-stage companies that approach them, therefore reducing the number of companies that are left unattended or turned away.

Also Read: Ecosystem Roundup: Traveloka picks JPMorgan for US listing via SPAC; E-commerce to further thrive in Vietnam

“The hope is that, after a successful equity raise and further growth, these promising companies can return to IAP for their future funding requirements,” said CEO of IAP, Joann Enriquez.

What is IAP?: A wholly-owned subsidiary of Raeed Holdings (Raeed), which is a consortium of six Islamic Banks in Malaysia.

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Image Credit: alexey starki

The post In brief: 2-month-old neobank Zolve raises US$15M; Ohm Mobility buys CloudNBFC appeared first on e27.

It is no secret that sales conversion and customer satisfaction are crucial to any business’s growth and success. The more the sales, the more the revenues and the bigger the business, and there cannot be any sales without customer satisfaction.

Today, in the 4.0 era, keeping customers satisfied and happy has become more crucial than ever. With the power of social media and digital platforms, one bad review can kill a brand. In 2018, it took one tweet from Kylie Jenner for Snapchat to lose USD 1.3 billion in stock.

In Singapore, bad customer service cost businesses USD 26 billion in 2016 and over two-thirds of the consumers switched brands. In Japan, according to a 2017 survey with a thousand respondents, 56 per cent of consumers said that after one case of bad customer service, they’ll simply spend their money somewhere else. According to a report, in 2018 alone, poor customer service cost businesses more than USD 75 billion in losses.

Also read: Connect with 10 more verified investors on e27 today

One of the biggest gaps, when it comes to customer satisfaction is that conversations between agents and customers are actually a BlackBox situation- nobody knows why their performance varies depending on each agent. Sales agents and customer support agents have an important role as direct representatives of the company to potential as well as existing customers, and that is why it becomes crucial to be able to analyse their conversations and give them valuable feedback on how to improve.

As such, Tokyo-based RevComm is helping address this BlackBox problem with its B2B SaaS MiiTel that helps analyse and visualise sales and customer satisfaction conversations by leveraging artificial intelligence.

Solving the BlackBox problem for the customer support industry and helping businesses thrive

Founded in July 2017, RevComm focuses on issues in phone sales and customer support as well as success. To address the BlackBox problem faced by this industry, RevComm helps visualise and analyse the “whats” and “hows” of conversations between sales representatives and customers with the help of their flagship product MiiTel. RevComm’s MiiTel is basically a cloud IP-phone, which is powered by a conversation intelligence platform that increases sales conversion and customer satisfaction rates while decreasing education & communication costs.

Also read: AI Communis: The first B2B ASR-based solution provider in SEA with local language adaptation

The IP-phone is directly connected with a CRM where sales representatives can make a call by simply clicking on a customer’s phone number. Once the call is through, the entire conversation is visualised and analysed with details like the operator’s name, date, time, duration of call, customer’s name and result of the call displayed clearly on the interface. The platform also displays a detailed analysis of the result: from speech evaluation with elements like the number of silences, the number of overlaps, speech rate and the number of rallies to voice evaluation with elements like fundamental frequencies for both customer and operator as well as the intonation strength. The platform also gives a summary of the speech rate, ie, characters spoken per second, for both operator and customer. Keyword appearances are also recorded that help clarify the highlight points of the conversation.

These detailed reports not only provide the employers with valuable insights on the performance of different representatives but also empower sales agents with useful feedback that motivates them for self-improvement.

Combining four separate domains of tech, namely IP-phone, cloud, an analysis engine and web as well as a mobile application, RevComm is providing quick, easy-to-use customer satisfaction and sales conversion solutions to businesses in Japan.


Optimising remote work in the new normal

In addition to the core values of helping address the BlackBox challenge and inspiring self-motivated sales agents, RevComm’s third fundamental vision is to optimise remote work in the new normal. With businesses — both big and small — facing different kinds of challenges amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns since early last year, there is no scope for gaps in customer satisfaction or sales conversion. For any business to survive and scale in the new normal, remote work is key to business continuity. This is where RevComm’s MiiTel can step up and help. Due to its cloud IP-phone, the need for physical phones is eliminated, which helps cut the costs and allows an immediate shift to remote work. Additionally, RevComm’s MiiTel costs just USD 59 a month with no minimum lot or initial cost.

Also read: How this Tokyo-based IoT startup seeks to revolutionise healthcare

RevComm has acquired more than 15,000 paid users in a short span of two years. Today, approximately 30 million sales calls are made via MiiTel in Japan. They have customers in a wide range of sectors, including banking, IT, tech startups and large corporations. BizReach, a fast-growing HR company in Japan, used RevComm’s MiiTel and in only four months saw a whopping 62 per cent growth in profits and their net ROI rose by over 538 per cent. Another company, SmartDrive, a hardware and big data solution provider saw a 140 per cent increase in the number of sales calls with MiiTel. RevComm’s MiiTel has helped many SMEs and startups cross an ROI of 500 per cent and for enterprises, it has gone beyond 1000 per cent.

Last year in October they closed a Series A round at USD 14.2 million with support from several Global VCs and CVCs. They are keen on expanding their business to Southeast Asian markets with a keen focus on Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines.

Find out more about RevComm and connect with them here: https://e27.co/startups/revcomm/

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This article is produced by the e27 team, sponsored by 
JETRO

We can share your story at e27, too. Engage the Southeast Asian tech ecosystem by bringing your story to the world. Visit us at e27.co/advertise to get started.

The post RevComm’s MiiTel, Cloud IP phone powered by with artificial intelligence, is changing how businesses engage customers appeared first on e27.

Indonesian travel giant Traveloka is planning to publicly list in the US this year through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), said a Bloomberg report quoting its CEO Ferry Unardi.

“A SPAC is very efficient and if we can do it faster we can then focus on execution and growing the company,” Unardi noted.

The Jakarta-based startup has reportedly engaged JPMorgan Chase as plans to go public accelerate amid the capital influx into the stock market. Traveloka is said to be valued at close to US$6 billion.

Unardi added the company will continue exploring potential mergers or acquisitions upon completion of its IPO and a public home listing remains on the cards.

The travel company joins a growing list of Indonesian startups seeking to list in the US through SPACs. Ride-hailing giant gojek is reportedly finalising its merger with e-commerce platform Tokopedia before a possible dual listing via the SPAC route in the US and Jakarta.

In an interview with e27, experts commented that the SPAC model that the company is implementing can be “an alternative” way to fundraise for startups in SEA.

“Having seen the more than 100 SPACs emerge in North America earlier this year, we are not surprised to see this new SPAC coming out to focus on Southeast Asia. We welcome this initiative, which will provide an alternative path to liquidity and access to public markets for one or more rising tech, financial services or media company in the region,” said Sanjay Zimmermann, Senior Associate at White Star Capital.

Also Read: Innovate and go: How Traveloka revamps its services to comply with changing travel behaviour 

Despite the pandemic wreaking havoc on the travel industry worldwide, Traveloka President Henry Hendrawan disclosed to the media in October 2020 that he expected the startup to be “potentially” profitable by 2021.

Last July, the company closed a US$250 million funding round from a host of investors including Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC and East Ventures.

Founded in 2012, Traveloka started out as a platform for consumers to book flights and hotels across the region. When the pandemic struck, it pivoted its products towards servicing more resilient sectors such as lifestyle and financial services. As part of efforts to reduce costs, it cut a number of roles, including about 80 jobs in Singapore last April.

“Last year was difficult, we had to assess our organisation, business, we had to make very difficult decisions,” said Unardi.

He added Traveloka’s travel arm is back in the green amid the lifting of travel restrictions. The company is also looking to expand its travel-now-pay-later offerings to further attract potential travellers.

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Image Credit: Traveloka

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In the national budget announced today, Singapore Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat launched a slew of initiatives aimed at catalysing the growth of startups and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the city-state.

Heng, who is also the Deputy Prime Minister, said that Singapore must deepen its position as a global-Asia node to emerge stronger from the COVID-19 crisis.

Here’s a list of the key initiatives announced and how it could impact the startup ecosystem in Southeast Asia.

1- Platforms to spur corporate innovation efforts

Details: The government will invest in three platforms (Corporate Venture Launchpad, Open Innovation Platform and Global Innovation Alliance) to help corporates innovate and collaborate and remain competitive.

Why it matters: The increased support, in terms of capital and resources, will spur more companies to encourage intrapreneurship within the organisation. Corporates will look to work with more accelerators, VCs and startups to source for innovative businesses that can value-add to their organisation, fuelling the growth of the startup ecosystem.

2- Improved intellectual property laws

Details: The Intellectual Property (IP) Strategy 2030 is being developed to strengthen existing IP laws in Singapore, with more details to be announced on World IP Day in April.

Why it matters: Deeptech startups will be the biggest beneficiaries of this move as they can look to better commercialise and protect their innovative ideas, creating a safety net for them to experiment with high-risk technologies and potentially create breakthroughs.

3- Increased support for the deeptech sector

Details: 500 fellowships will be launched under the National Research Foundation to improve deeptech expertise in areas including cybersecurity, Artificial Intelligence and healthtech.

Also Read: Uncovering the rise and challenges faced by deep tech startups in Singapore

Why it matters: These fellows will be able to help various stakeholders in the startup ecosystem — from accelerators and VCs to deeptech startups themselves — better understand the different deep tech sectors. With greater awareness of the nascent deep tech sector, investors and ecosystem builders alike will start to pay more attention and support its growth.

4- Enhanced venture debt programme

Details: To ensure high-growth startups have access to the necessary capital, the venture debt programme will be extended and enhanced — with an increase in the cap on loan quantum support from S$5 million (US$3.8 million) to S$8 million (US$6 million).

Under the debt programme, the government also shares up to 70 per cent of the risk on eligible loans with participating financial institutions.

Why it matters: There has been a shortage of capital in Series C and D stages in Southeast Asia, stunting the growth of promising startups in the region. Local high-growth startups are likely to benefit from this initiative and attempt to plug the funding gap with loans from financial institutions.

5- Promoting the use of electrical vehicles (EVs)

Details: Up to S$30 million (US$22.7 million) will be pumped into EV-related initiatives over the next five years, including projects aimed at improving the current charging network and narrowing the difference in cost between conventional and electric cars.

Why it matters: The government has been deliberate in its push to encourage the adoption of EVs in Singapore but still face teething problems such as the lack of a robust charging network within the city-state.

Also Read: ‘Singapore isn’t ready for mass adoption of EVs yet; hybrid may be better for the present’

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Image Credit: Unsplash

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Canada-based geothermal technology company Eavor Technologies has raised US$40 million from a host of investors, including Singapore-based Temasek Holdings and Vickers Venture Partners.

Other investors are bp Ventures, Chevron Technology Ventures, BDC Capital, and Eversource.

This round follows Eavor’s US$8-million fundraise in 2020.

The fresh funds will be used to scale Eavor’s projects and bolster its ongoing R&D to further improve its solution.

Launched in 2017, Eavor claims to be the world’s first scalable form of dispatchable energy. Its solution is Eavor-Loop, a technology that extracts the natural heat of the earth similar to a rechargeable battery in order to provide a consistent energy source for homes.

Eavor-Loop claims to have the potential to directly replace traditional forms of baseload power such as coal and nuclear. It is also designed in a way that is complementary to intermittent power sources like wind and solar.

Also Read: Temasek-backed Reefknot invests into US-based supply chain startup Roambee

In a 2019 interview with ThinkGeoEnergy, the company said it aims to use Eavor-Loop globally to transfer 10 million homes over the next 10 years onto heat or power from Eavor’s distributed green base-load solution.

John Redfern, CEO of Eavor said: “I am delighted that with the funding closed in this round, we can look forward to bringing down the cost of clean, dispatchable power to a universally competitive level – an important milestone for renewable energy.”

Temasek is a global investment company that tends to invest mostly in companies that operate in larger sectors like telecom, energy, and finance.

It has most recently invested in American company Reefknot, China foodtech fund Bits x Bites, and EV Growth’s US$250 million Indonesia-focused fund.

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Image Credit:Frédéric Paulussen

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China’s Huawei willing to transfer 5G technology globally

The story: Huawei founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei has said the company is willing to transfer its 5G technology to facilitate global innovation.

More about the story: “We are open to transferring all of our 5G technologies, not just licensing production to others. This will include source programs and source code to all the hardware design secrets as well as the know-how, and the chip design,” Zhengfei said during the opening ceremony of its intelligent mining innovation lab in Taiyuan.

Also Read: IMDA announces US$22M grant to support startups driving mass 5G adoption

Despite countries like the US, the UK and others barring Huawei products due to security issues, Zhengfei feels that countries must work together to develop their economies for the larger good of benefitting societies.

India’s decacorn Byju’s to acquire rival Toppr for US$150M

The story: India’s decacorn Byju’s is looking to acquire Toppr for about US$150 million, according to KrAsia.

Why the acquisition?: Toppr is the only other well-known platform for K-12 students and has a total user base of 13 million. This acquisition will immediately establish Byju’s as the market leader in the education space in India.

More about the story: “The two companies have been in talks for over two months and it has now reached an advanced stage,” Entrackr said. “The deal that would value over US$150 million is likely to be closed and announced soon,”.

“Byju’s sees Toppr as a formidable player in K-12 space and the acquisition will bolster its positioning in the space. The transaction will largely consist of cash along with a little equity,” it added.

Byju’s has also acquired WhiteHat Jr., a Mumbai-based coding platform last year.

About Byju’s: An education-focused platform that offers engaging learning programs for students in LKG, UKG, classes 1 -12 (K-12), and competitive Indian exams like JEE, NEET, and IAS.

WizKlub raises US$825K to help young children build up their cognitive skills

The story: Indian edutech startup WizKlub has raised US$825,212 in a pre-Series A round from Incubate Fund India.

What the funds will be used for?: To accelerate growth and run rate.

About WizKlub: A cognitive development platform for children aged 5-15 years to help them build skills through HOTS (Higher Order Thinking Skills) and SmartTech programs.

Also Read: Ecosystem Roundup: Traveloka picks JPMorgan for US listing via SPAC; E-commerce to further thrive in Vietnam

The WizKlub SmartTech Program enables children to create tech products by application of coding, robotics, smart devices, and AI. Its latest product is called ‘WizGear’, where a child gets a new product module to code and build, every month.

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Image Credit: Unsplash

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