Media spend has grown exponentially – especially so in the Asia Pacific, where digital ad expenditure constituted 46 per cent of total expenses in 2018 and is set to rise to 55.1 per cent by 2022, according to eMarketer.

On the flip side, the lucrativeness of the industry, coupled with the relative ease in which nefarious players can get away scot-free, has unfortunately made adland very arable for fraudsters.

To put it in perspective: the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) predicted that ad fraud would grow to become the second biggest organised crime enterprise within the next decade, pipped to the top spot only by the global drugs trade.

More recently, the industry has been left reeling by the dismantling of 3ve – a massive botnet operation that infected at least 1.7 million computers with malware, generating high volumes of fake traffic.

As many as 60,000 fake accounts were created to swindle money from marketing campaigns. The fraudsters also hijacked IP addresses at corporations, redirecting them to their own servers.

Over four years, 3ve is thought to have collectively defrauded brands and businesses out of millions in advertising dollars through various fraud networks, with the biggest among these costing businesses US$29 million in ad spend.

These are staggering numbers, but relative to the US$34 billion lost to ad fraud globally in 2018, and US$17 million lost to ad fraud in APAC on a daily basis, it’s a drop in the ocean.

And as fraudulent practices become increasingly sophisticated to evade detection, we’re likely to uncover many more 3ves, while more sophisticated operations continue to go under the radar.

The vulnerabilities of Southeast Asia’s startups

The digital behaviours of Southeast Asian people put it especially at risk.

According to eMarketer, all markets in the region saw the mobile ad spend grow by at least 50 per cent in 2018.

This, along with high mobile penetration growth rates in the Philippines (33 per cent growth, 2018-2022), Malaysia (14 per cent) and Thailand (10 per cent) would mean that fraudsters have even more avenues to target and infect devices.
Meanwhile, more mature smartphone markets – such as Singapore – aren’t spared either.

Unlike the region’s emerging markets, however, it’s the high amounts of advertising dollars going through the nation that make the country a target.

That puts small businesses and startups in the region in a tricky situation – because to achieve scale, these younger organisations are typically more reliant on digital advertising than anyone else, standing to lose the most from ad fraud.

Shifting perceptions

Needless to say, the growth of ad fraud globally, combined with the region’s vulnerabilities, have been a major wake-up call.

The speed and dynamism of said operations has cast a spotlight on the shortcomings of the prevailing industry attitude towards ad fraud — one which prioritises reactive detection when it really should be preventive and proactive.

If we compare ad fraudsters to bank robbers — by preventing fraud, you stop the robber from stealing the money.

However, an approach that focuses on detecting fraud to reclaim ad spend is akin to watching the robber flee with the cash and wait for the insurance policy to kick in.

The fraudster makes a clean getaway with their pockets lined and as long as they can make money, they will come back for more.

Also Read: First set of Echelon Asia Summit 2019 speakers—revealed!

As such, every effort, and every decision made in dealing with ad fraud, across all levels of the industry, should be focused on stopping the flow of media spend to fraudsters, and removing the incentive for fraud — not waiting to fight among ourselves when the funds are gone.

With that in mind, let’s go into the specifics of what a prevention-focused approach looks like.

The ideal solution will be driven by AI

Fraud evolves at a startling pace.

In 3ve, for instance, evasion tactics were found to be constantly mutating — detection of one tactic or blacklisting of IPs resulted in only temporary interruptions before the agile operation adapted and resumed in full force.

The unrelenting nature of the vice makes it tricky to envision the types of fraud we’ll face in the future. And if we don’t know what fraud is going to look like tomorrow, how can we stop it?

The right antidote leverages on big data to inform decisions. Relative to traditional advertising, online advertising has a higher degree of accountability, due to the swathes of data available.

We get to see what ad led someone to a website or app download page, the location they accessed the ad from, the type of device used, and even the duration between the initial click of the ad and eventual purchase.

However, the problem is there’s a lot of data — the scale of the data and need for real-time insights puts this job beyond human analysis.

This is where machine learning comes in to play — it makes sense of data, removes noise and, by analysing the data to note patterns and correlations, determines what normal human behaviour looks like versus what fraud looks like.

In doing this, it’s possible to invalidate traffic not by what the fraud tactic is (as this changes), but by comparing it to what normal traffic is.

By not relying on any single method of detection, which a sophisticated fraudster could easily reverse engineer to evade the next time, and instead, by utilising a complex array of hundreds of behavioural, device, and network indicators, we can effectively prevent fraud even as it mutates and evolves.

A strategic alliance

Of course, while tools of the trade are important, there’s only so much a young business or startup can do by itself — and the ecosystem is only as strong as its weakest link. Remember our focus should be on prevention.

That means we must share information so that upstream intermediaries don’t pay for fraud either.

The rise of other more sophisticated, and savvier ad fraud operations is inevitable — and it has never been more important for businesses, brands and ad intermediaries to show a united front.

In-house fraud defences of media suppliers are just one line of defence. Transparency within the ecosystem of advertising is crucial.

Third-party verification, for instance, ensures that suppliers of media are accountable for the quality of their supply.

When media suppliers and verification solutions work together, ad campaigns benefit from the specialist skills and tech of the verification vendor — who specialises in ad fraud mitigation — and faster optimisation for better campaign performance, offered by an informed media supplier.

Also Read: Meet 9 of the fantastic judges for TOP100 2019

By subsequently sharing this intelligence with the ecosystem — such as its partner ad networks and agencies — the different players can all work together to optimise fraud out of the equation, meaning the fraudsters don’t get paid.

It doesn’t stop there.

A culture of openness wouldn’t be complete without continuity and consistency between partners.

The current, broken modus operandi is to drop an ad network when fraud is detected and find a new one. Real-time fraud prevention and shared fraud intelligence can actually help traffic sources optimise fraud out of their supply.

This means that every campaign benefits from the optimisation and insight of working with an experienced partner as opposed to cold-starting with new traffic sources.

Ultimately, the prevailing attitude of dealing with ad fraud reactively is one which is complacent and does close to nothing to deter fraudsters.

Through a concerted industry effort to tackle the challenge, powered by technology, we can pull the carpet from underneath fraudsters’ feet and stem the flow of money to fraud.

That means brands and traffic sources need to have access to the same set of data and analysis in real-time, not just at the time an invoice is raised.

The industry has to tackle the problem from its roots and begin by significantly eradicating vulnerabilities throughout the ad lifecycle — thus making ad fraud as risky and unappealing a business as it can be.

TrafficGuard/Juniper Research’s assessment of ad fraud risks in various APAC markets, according to 5 main indicators

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As one of the leading conglomerates in Indonesia, Salim Group is widely known to be the parent company behind Indofood, which produces instant noodle legend Indomie.

But in the past few years, the group has also been making its move in the country’s tech startup scene.

Apart from running its own corporate venture capital arm, Salim Group has worked with NUS Enterprise to bring the Block71 brand into Jakarta, Bandung, and Jogjakarta. It is also working with Japanese venture capital firm GREE Ventures to introduce accelerator programme SKALA.

Apart from that, Salim Group is behind food-focussed accelerator Accelerice and has secured a partnership with ESL to tap into the e-sports market.

“We see tech as an enabler to our wide array of customers, helping their experience to become more seamless. Take the example of [our portfolio company, local fast-food chain] Warunk Upnormal which now has its own apps for food order,” explains Edmund Carulli, investment portfolio manager at Salim Group’s corporate venture capital (CVC) arm.

Also Read: Indonesian conglomerate Salim Group invests in e-money app Youtap

“It is all about innovation. Every older corporation would certainly be aware that it is important to keep on innovating in order to maintain its growth. This is basically what Salim Group is doing. That is why we set the CVC aside from existing companies under the group,” he continues.

Speaking to the press at the sidelines of Nexticorn International Summit in Bali, Indonesia, in November, Carulli further explains the company’s move in building its own startup ecosystem –and why the existence of an ecosystem is crucial for the tech industry to grow.

“A startup ecosystem may include supports from the government, other startups, and infrastructure. Funding also plays a key role in it. Last but not least, market adoption is also critical,” he says.

“For this particular part, Indonesia has been doing really well, even at the regional level in Southeast Asia. It is easier for startups to grow in Indonesia and there is a great possibility for another unicorn to come up from the country,” he stresses.

Seeking for synergy

When asked about the group’s investment philosophy in a startup, Carulli puts an emphasis on having synergy with Salim Group’s family of companies.

Also Read: Salim Group, LOTTE Group join forces to launch online mall iLOTTE in Indonesia

“We first look for synergy with business groups within Salim Group, in which Indomaret and Indofood are the biggest. For example, is there a startup that can help us improve customer experience or operations at Indomaret? We are also seeking for startups in the automotive sector but have not found a suitable one yet,” Carulli says.

Their focus on early-stage investments is also strongly related to that element of collaboration.

“It would be easier for us to support them and for them to build synergy with our vision,” Carulli explains.

Responding to questions about the recent IPO failure of coworking space giant WeWork, which has led to scrutiny over tech companies’ valuation, Carulli says that Salim Group is not a big fan of the cash-burning approach.

“Ever since day one, we put an emphasis on building sustainability,” Carulli stresses.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Around the world, from small startups to big MNCs, many have embraced and integrated this technology in various capacities, in their businesses. In the Asian subcontinent, Indonesia was quick to emerge as a forerunner in the race for blockchain adoption.

In fact, Bank Indonesia (BI) was one of the first institutions in the country to announce the launch of their own digital currency, backed by blockchain technology.

Since then, the country has come a long way and displayed great vigour in the acceptance of blockchain. An Indonesia Blockchain Association was established back in 2018 and it has been a key player in the formation of a strong, local blockchain community. What’s incredible is how blockchain is being used by many startups to empower marginalized sections of society and encourage more economical business practices on their part. 

Blockchain startups facilitating greater financial inclusion

A lot of the credit for the contemporary burgeoning blockchain community in the country goes to startups like Blockchain Zoo, the first company to offer blockchain consultancy services in the country and Blockchain Space Asia, both of which are founders of the blockchain association in Indonesia. With the advent of blockchain in Indonesia, many projects channelized the advantages of this technology to build tools for those who could benefit the most from this.

Financial inclusion or the availability of affordable financial services and products has been difficult to achieve for some sections of Indonesian society. Take the rural farmers, who have traditionally had to borrow money from loan sharks with unbelievably high-interest rates.

To end this financial extortion, blockchain startup Hara came up with a blockchain-powered platform to promote greater transparency in the food and agriculture sector. By digitizing loan administration and disbursement process of several financial institutions, the project has empowered small rural farmers to secure loans. CTO  Imron Zuhri emphasized the need to offer visibility to the invisible by saying,

“There are 1.5 billion people who have no proper ID in this world. By making them visible, by giving them an identity that they can use to identify themselves, then we can provide access to a lot within the system.” 

Another often neglected group is of those running small scale enterprises in Indonesia, who are facing severe competition from big businesses. Blockchain has in practice been able to break down the archaic financial systems and facilitate an alternative credit rating and payments system for small businesses.

The steadily growing startup Tokoin, is a prime example of such a business model. Co-founders Reiner Rahardja and Eddy Christian Ng have created a platform which aims to help MSMEs create their business profile and oversee their identity management, which could be used for credit scoring towards financial inclusion. Reiner Rahardja, CEO of Tokoin said,

“I started by establishing a small business by selling Cireng (a local fried snack in Indonesia) that I gradually popularized. Over the next 9 months, I was able to open up around 40 branches, a bento styled restaurant with 4 branches and eventually took to selling imported wood parquets.” 

While going over these two projects and looking into the background of their CEOs, a clear pattern emerged. For Regi Wahyu, CEO of HARA, his company is deeply personal to him. Brought up in a farming village in Sumedang, West Java, Wahyu has intimately and closely observed the circumstances of farmers in his country. He leveraged his background and personal experience to build his company from the ground up and experiment in the field of smart agriculture. 

The story for Tokoin’s CEO, Reiner Rahardja, is similar in many ways. He started off by establishing a small business by selling ‘Cireng’ (a local fried snack in Indonesia) that he gradually popularized.

Over the next 9 months, he was able to open up around 40 branches, a bento styled restaurant with 4 branches and eventually took to selling imported wood parquets. Had he not been a small scale entrepreneur managing his enterprise all by himself, he couldn’t have adjudged the ground reality and everyday struggles of MSMEs. His personal experiences pushed him to envision and build a venture like Tokoin. 

Financial inclusion has thus emerged as a major theme in Indonesian society, warranting increased attention from all sections of the society. What is impressive is that entrepreneurs are leveraging their personal experiences and struggles to come up with innovative solutions, making the entire industry a more ground-up industry.

Blockchain has successfully equipped people with the tools to digitize their businesses and expand it and we hope to see more such revolutionary ideas take the world by storm in the future.

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Tanya is a strategist, and have been helping business leaders around the globe solve key challenges. She created Native Spaces to make the events industry more efficient and transparent by facilitating the discovery and booking of unique underutilised spaces worldwide.

Email: contact@native-spaces.com

Web: native-spaces.com

Copyright – Podcasts for Startups by nfinitiv

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This article was first published on nfinitiv.

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By now, we all know that human bodies are programmed to progress as per the cadence of our solar system – typically known as the circadian rhythm.

The circadian rhythm is the internal clock of the human body that is responsible to regulate the sleep-wake cycle. In other words, it is responsible to regulate the alertness and sleepiness in our bodies by responding to the slight variations in our environment. Naturally, living beings are habitual of sleeping in the darker hours and feel alert in the early morning. This is all because of the synchronization of the circadian rhythm with the solar system.

Every single one of us wants to do give our best to the day with every next sunrise, and what factors we consider to be most important to achieve that are healthy nutritious intake, ample sleep, less stress, and sufficient workout. However, sadly, the reality is not so!

The human body is far more than what a layman imagines.

Digging the advancements of science and growing in an era of circadian rhythm lighting, by now, who doesn’t know the detrimental impacts of poor exposure to sunlight. The world knows that low or no exposure to sunlight can turn out to be disastrous for one’s health resulting in conditions like fatigue, eye strain, debilitating mental health, and just what not.

But what if I told you that sunlight has a directly proportional relationship with your productivity provided that your mind’s optimization is wholly dependent upon the lighting conditions you spend your day in.

Circadian rhythm lighting

Human bodies should progress with the harmony of their innate rhythm—the Circadian Rhythm to have the most out of their existence.

For suppose, you wake up on a heavenly bright day and feel empowered, prepared to get up and handle whatever agenda strikes you throughout the day.

Contrary to that, the next morning, you are welcomed to a dark stormy day as soon as you slide the curtains from the window, you feel like creeping back under the sheets to have some more sleep. Only if you are having vibes that your energy level is dependent upon the intensity and the frequency of the light exposure you have, you are not fooling, either assuming, because this is what it is!

Circadian rhythm lighting is a rare type of lighting system that was initially designed to mimic the daylight with respect to the changes in colour and brightness witnessing the fact that the sunlight has an ability to impose a dramatic impact on our body’s overall energy and productivity.

It is like a 24-hours internal clock regulating the sleep-wake cycle commanding a living being’s mind for staying alert and sleep.

What influences our circadian rhythm?

Have you ever pondered “how our internal clocks decide when we are supposed to be alert and sleepy at a certain time?”  It’s all because of plenty of light or lack in the opposite scenario, respectively. This is the reason that you won’t experience a similar energy spark on a dark stormy day as you enjoy on a bright sunny morning.

It is often assumed that the sun is the only one to be responsible for our productivity.  However, it is not so: artificial lights play a vital role when it comes to affecting our energy and productivity. You name it—and science will have it for you, here, we are drooling over the circadian lights, mood-enhancing lights, and many other healthy light bulbs bringing a revolution in our daily lives. Similar to how sunlight and moonlight regulate our sleep cycle, circadian rhythm lighting can also control it in the same way.

Overviewing artificial light sources, we came across blue lights that are more prevailing to interfere in our day-to-day routines. What a layman is unaware of:  blue lights are basically mood-enhancing lights and the ones responsible for condensing your sleep!

There are many devices like television, mobile phones, PCs, etc. to have an emittance of such blue light rays. As a result, it lightens your sleepy feeling while enhancing your mood at the same time.

How productivity is increased by circadian rhythm

The concept of circadian rhythm and productivity revolves around the secretion of a hormone called melatonin. The phenomena are regulated by the hypothalamus presented within the cerebrum of the human brain. This region is primarily responsible to transmit signals from the eyes to the brain alerting/notifying mind about day and night time. Hypothalamus is responsible for the secretion of melatonin to harmonize sleep with darkness and light with alertness.

It has been discovered that light imposes an effect on both, our visual and non-visual system—now may it be electric light or solar light, both imposes an effect on our circadian rhythm.

Circadian light is the innovation to support human health by minimizing the symptoms of circadian rhythm disorder. It is believed and proved that prolonged exposure to blue light at a certain intensity can affect the secretion of melatonin, adversely. The idea of circadian lighting is still new in the market. Hence, it is still residing in its early stages of development and research.

However, up till now, there are three approaches validating the circadian lighting system:

1. Intensity tuning

2. Colour tuning

3. Stimulus tuning

Intensity Tuning

Intensity tuning has a very prominent share in the circadian lighting technology. These lights maintain a fixed correlated temperature but the intensity is customized as the hours’ pass and we move minute by minute from sunrise to sunset.

For instance, kick-starting the day with lower intensity in the earliest hours as the sun begins to rise, crawling to the maximum intensity in the afternoon, and wrapping up with a remarkable reduce in it as the sunsets and we encounter evening.

Colour tuning

Circadian rhythm lights are designed with customized color tuning to mimic the correlated color temperature for different times of the day. These lights are capable of being customized to cool color temperatures of 4000K to 10,000K during the late evening hours so that a person may feel relaxed and sleep peacefully without any disturbance being caused by exposure to the blue light or anything else. Similarly, they are featured to customize to a warm-cool temperature ranging from < 2700K to 3500K simulating daylight to help a person stay alert.

Stimulus tuning

Paired with intensity tuning, these light fixtures are inherent to reduce the bad blue light effect and transform it into a good blue effect during the night time hours. The feature is present to keep the CCT In place while suppressing the melatonin secretion so that a person may fall asleep quite easily.

Techniques to reduce stress

Crawling down to techniques to reduce stress, blue light therapy is regarded as the best source for the purpose. Scientists prove that where blue light disrupts your sleep, it also works at enhancing your focus and concentration, significantly. Hence, directly or indirectly, it can help one reduce stress easily.

Conclusion

Circadian rhythm is one of those things that are not supposed to be ignored by any individual. If you want to stay healthy and function like a normal healthy person, it is vital to keep a check of your body’s internal clock.  Circadian rhythm does more than one thinks of it.

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What you need to know about social media tech in Southeast Asia

Over the past few years, Southeast Asia has continued to grow and advance digitally. In 2017, a study found that there 339.2 million internet users and 305.9 million active social media users, with more than 200 million of those people using their mobile devices to browse social media networks.

Unlike in the U.S., internet access isn’t something that was always so readily available. But with more than half of Southeast Asia’s population using the internet, it’s no surprise that users have quickly picked up on social media platforms.

With continued growth in digital connectivity, it’s expected that more and more people will begin to use and invest in social media tech in the region. Here’s what you need to know about social media tech in Southeast Asia.

A boom in influencer marketing

For years now, influencer marketing has experienced a huge uptick in popularity. These days, companies are always looking for the latest and greatest ways to best market their brand and image. In the U.S., influencer marketing has experienced amazing success, and the same stands true in Southeast Asia.

With influencer marketing, brands are able to depend on modern-day word-of-mouth in order to increase brand recognition, reach, and visibility as ways to drive more interest and sales.

According to a survey conducted by PwC Global Insights, social media is the top factor that consumers consider both online and off. In fact, the survey found that more than half of Malaysian consumers reported being influenced by social media networks.

So what does this mean for you? If you’re a brand on Instagram or some other social media platform, you’ll want to place a heavy emphasis on not only getting Instagram followers and building a community but also identifying a well-known name in your industry that can serve as an influencer.

Mobile connectivity is on the rise

In terms of mobile social media use, Southeast Asia is ranked third worldwide. In fact, there are more than 376 million people that access social media using their mobile devices on a routine basis.

Just as mobile usage has become very popular in the U.S., it’s become common in Southeast Asia for similar reasons, including:

1. Ability to interact with content

2. Instant and convenient online shopping

3. Access to more information and connections

As more and more people become connected, it’s expected that the middle class will grow and get stronger, which paves the way for new businesses that look to social media and mobile connectivity as a way to marketing and engage with consumers.

Facebook is extremely popular

More than 60 per cent of Southeast Asia’s population is active on social media, a number that has steadily increased over the years. While people in the region use many social media platforms, Facebook is one of the most popular.

In fact, Malaysia, the Philippines, Hong Kong, and Taiwan make the network’s top ten largest advertising audiences. With almost 98 per cent of its population aged 13 and above, social media sites like Facebook have become the goldmines of social media, allowing brands to reach millions of users on a regular basis.

For businesses, this means that Facebook should be the first platform to use as a way to digitally market your brand in Southeast Asia.

…and so are other social networks

While it’s not uncommon for people in Southeast Asia to use Facebook, Instagram, and other well-known social media platforms, the region also has a host of its own networks.

For example, people also use platforms such as WeChat, Sina Weibo, and others to stay connected and in the know. WeChat is the most popular social media network in China, serving more than one billion monthly active users.

Sina Weibo works very similar to Twitter in that users can share short messages, use hashtags, tag people, comment on posts, and even create polls.

Online regulation is real

As the online space in Southeast Asia continues to grow, governments in the region have quickly learned that regulation is a must. There are all sorts of laws that have been passed in order to provide an online environment that promotes social harmony and respect for the government.

For example, there are anti-fake news laws as well as laws that allow the geo-blocking of certain platforms and apps in many of the Southeast Asia countries.

While these laws are designed to keep citizens safe, there are opponents of many of these laws, citing free speech and overly broad legislation that is open to interpretation by those enforcing said rules.

We face similar challenges

For years there’s been an ongoing debate as to whether or not social media is more helpful than it is harmful. Have you ever looked at a photo on Instagram or Facebook and wish that you had that person’s life? You aren’t alone.

Many people use social media as a way to share an insight into their enviable lifestyles that seem to be nothing short of perfect. And while others don’t let lavish photos both them, studies have found that for some, these posts can have a damaging effect.

Indonesian researchers found that teenagers and young adults often feel resentment towards their richer friends after seeing their posts on social media. In a region where there’s dramatic inequality, many agree that social media can lead to jealousy, bitterness, and envy.

Indonesia and other countries in Southeast Asian have a growing consumer class, but this class is a stark contrast between those who are unemployed or have less education.

Conclusion

Whether you’re an everyday consumer or the owner of an upcoming business, it pays to know what’s going on in the world around you.

While you may be aware of how people in your country use and embrace social media tech, it’s eye-opening to see the changes and statistics in other places throughout the world.

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Mirae Asset Venture Investment, South Korean VC firm that focusses on investing in enterprises and provides technology and management consulting, has co-invested US$19 million in Series B funding of bioscience startup Hummingbird Bioscience alongside GNTech Venture Capital, the corporate investment arm of Kooksoondang Brewery Co. Ltd..

Existing investors, Heritas Capital and Seeds Capital, as well as new investors, Delian Capital; Mirae Asset Capital; DAValue-GiltEdge; HB Investment; Wooshin Venture Investment; and Kiwoom Investment- Shinhan Capital also participated in the round.

Hummingbird Bioscience is a biotherapeutics company that brings the discovery and development of new precision antibody therapeutics for difficult-to-treat conditions.

The funding will be used to support the discovery of new disease targets that will expand Hummingbird Bioscience’s pipeline of first and best-in-class antibody therapeutics, as well as fueling the work on the co-discovery projects.

According to an official statement from the company, these are part of the multi-target collaboration
agreement signed with Amgen in September this year. Current lead portfolio assets, HMBD-001, and HMBD-002, are expected to enter first-in-human clinical trials following regulatory submissions in the second half of 2020.

Also Read: As September ends, wake up to these notable early stage funding rounds of the month

“Our platform is able to accurately identify previously intractable targets, enabling us to engineer antibodies that precisely hit these difficult targets. This approach is demonstrated by our two lead candidates, which are progressing towards clinical trials in partnership with, and with the support from institutions such as Cancer Research UK and Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas. We will continue to execute on rapidly building our pipeline of potential medicines across different disease modalities to help treat and inspire hope for people living with cancer and other conditions,” said Dr. Piers Ingram, Chief Executive Officer, and co-founder, Hummingbird Bioscience.

Jae Joon Kim, Managing Director at Mirae Asset Venture Investment, commented: “Hummingbird Bioscience has invented a differentiated rational antibody discovery platform that designs and generates candidate therapeutic antibodies against difficult yet desirable targets. We are optimistic about the company’s potential to create breakthrough therapies that impact the lives of patients living with serious illnesses.”

To date, Hummingbird Bioscience has secured more than US$60 million in funding through financing activities and strategic partnerships.

Hummingbird Bioscience is located in Singapore, Houston, Texas and South San Francisco, California.

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Evermos, a Halal/Sharia-compliant social commerce company based in Bandung, Indonesia, has raised US$8.25 million in an “oversubscribed” Series A funding led by Jungle Ventures.

Shunwei Capital and existing investor Alpha JWC Ventures also joined the round.

The startup plans to use the funds to expand its presence in the digital Islamic economy ecosystem, accelerate growth by focusing on further collaborations with local brands and organisations, and build and support a vast online reseller network.

Founded in November 2018, the Evermos platform focuses on bringing the everyday needs of Muslims by providing halal products in various verticals, including fashion, food, cosmetics and home and business opportunities that comply with Sharia laws.

It also the reseller to own a business or online store without requiring operating capital and complex e-commerce system. For individuals, it incentivises them to share products on their messaging apps or social media.

Since its launch, the company claims to have grown into a network of over 20,000 paid resellers across the country and is marketing thousands of local products from hundreds of local brands.

Also Read: A blessed opportunity: Your guide in understanding SEA’s rising halal tech industry

Co-founder and Evermos CEO Iqbal Muslimin said: “The digital economy in Indonesia has grown particularly fast, and its Sharia economy has an enormous potential to become a part of this expansion. The Indonesian government has also been showing support to accelerate the Sharia economy by providing supportive regulations and plans, and we are keen to support that with our technology ecosystem.”

“Given the size of our Muslim population, this Sharia economy will have a positive impact throughout the country. Evermos will continue our work to build an end-to-end social commerce platform and ecosystem to connect brand owners to our resellers and to end consumers. We will also do business with our partners in compliance with Sharia law requirements,” he added.

Ilham Taufiq, Co-founder and Head of Partnership of Evermos, commented, “We believe Evermos is not limited to a business platform, but it is also an economic driver for the Muslim community. There’s a lot of untapped potential on this that we will address in the future, including social goods, ZISWAF, halal travel and Sharia fintech.”

According to Thomson Reuters, the market for Sharia-compliant goods surpassed US$2 trillion in 2016, and it is likely to increase to US$3.8 trillion by 2022. As the country with the largest Muslim population in the world, Indonesia will see a significant chunk of this growth of the Islamic economy, globally.

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Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. and trading house Marubeni invested a total of US$70 million in a new fund launched by state-owned Singaporean investment group Temasek’s venture capital arm Vertex Venture Holdings, Nikkei Asian Review has reported.

Marubeni is investing US$50 million in the fund, and SMBC US$20 million. They joined previously pledged Japanese investors such as Aozora Bank and Risa Partners.

Joining in the investment this time are ABeam Consulting and the government-backed Development Bank of Japan, making Japanese investors have put up US$180 million in all – which is around a quarter of the US$730 million in total funding.

The fund is aimed at nurturing Asian technology startups, primarily AI-powered and Internet of Things startups in China and India.

The Japanese investors will play a role in linking enterprises at home with the startups abroad to encourage technology and capital tie-ups, as well as acquisitions.

Also Read: Vertex Venture Holdings launches a US$290 million venture capital fund for technology firms in SEA

For startups, the fund will facilitate a chance to connect with Japanese companies with developed technological expertise and client networks.

Temasek’s Vertex has offices in several global locations, such as Silicon Valley, China, India, and Israel. It was known as an early backer of Singapore-based ride-hailing provider Grab.

In February 2019, Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India invest US$10 million in Thailand-based insurtech firm Sunday

Back in September, Vertex Venture Holdings also announced a US$290 million venture capital fund to invest in high-growth technology firms, with commitments from Temasek Holdings, Taiwanese chip design firm Elan Microelectronics and other institutions, family offices and funds based in Southeast Asia and Taiwan.

Vertex Venture Holdings’ long-time CEO Chua Kee Lock said: “The Vertex Growth Fund seeks to invest about US$10 million-US$15 million per company, typically in third and fourth round fundings, versus US$3 million to $4 million by affiliate funds in early rounds.”

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