N&E Innovations, Intersnack Jon hands to convert cashew waste into an organic disinfectant

The story: Singapore-based medtech startup N&E Innovations has partnered with Intersnack Group, a savoury snacks producer in Europe, to create Vi Kang 99, an active compound synthesised from cashew waste.

Through this collaboration, N&E Innovations developed a cutting-edge technology which is able to effectively recycle cashew testa, the reddish-brown skin covering cashew kernels which are an abundant byproduct of the cashew processing industry. The active ingredient has been added to N&E Innovations’s face mask range, Vi-MASK, as well as its most recent organic disinfectant range, C2+.

How Vi Kang 99 works: Upon contact with oxygen and moisture in the air, Vi Kang 99 produces Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS), a reactive molecule that is naturally found in all living cells. The release of ROS damages proteins, DNA lipids and membranes of microorganisms including bacteria and viruses. This eventually leads to cell death, thereby destroying bacteria and viruses.

Also Read: Alt.Flex.Eat: Flexitarianism is the flavour of the SEAson

There are various types of ROS including singlet oxygen (1O2), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), the superoxide anion (O2•−) and the hydroxyl radical (OH•). Each type of ROS has different targets and lifetime. In general, ROS acts to damage the cell membrane, enters the cell and further disrupts the proteins and DNA synthesis of the bacteria, thus leading to cell death (Fig

About N&E Innovations: Established in 2020, N&E was founded by Didi Gan with the intention to provide users with a safer alternative range of products that can be used by people of all ages. The startup identified the importance of sustainability and the harsh effects of chemicals as major pain points to eventually engineer its innovative molecular coating technology, Vi Kang

Orios Venture Partners closes US$30M Select Fund I

The story: India’s technology venture capital firm, Orios Venture Partners, has announced a final close of its Select Fund I. The funds have been raised from multiple family offices and institutions.

This is the third fund raised by Orios; it had earlier launched and closed two early-stage funds in 2015 and 2018.

Investment areas: New commerce, technology-led financial inclusion, new media, gaming, consumer and agritech amongst others.

Ticket size: Orios’s Select Fund I invests between US$4 million and US$8million per company. It primarily does follow-on investments into its existing companies, which have proven to be winners; and also late stage to pre-IPO companies whose founders it knows well.

Also Read: The pros and cons of signing on an angel investor for your startup

So far, the Fund has invested in Series D and E rounds of Pharmeasy which has now announced plans to launch its IPO in the next nine months, Series B and C rounds of Country Delight and the Series C round of GoMechanic.

It has also invested in Mobikwik’s recent round in March 2021 which has already seen follow-on investments at +40 per cent from Abu Dhabi Investment Authority ( ADIA); and the pre-IPO of Nazara technologies.

The firm’s portfolio companies also include gaming company Zupee, agritech company Krishify , digital health company Beato, retail tech company Gully Network, fintech company MoneyOnClick, and EV-battery-as-a-service company Battery Smart.

Pomelo launches brand solutions platform Prism.

The story: Pomelo, Southeast Asia’s leading omnichannel fashion platform, has announced the launch of Prism., total brand solutions to cater to the needs of brands across Southeast Asia.

What is Prism.?: It is an end-to-end total brand solutions platform that aims to provide total solutions for brands to scale their business. Prism. provides a wide range of brand-centred integrated solutions, from merchandising and trading, to 360 creative marketing tools, data analytics and insights, leading tech operations, and dedicated performance marketing.

Prism. offers brand-focused services that include dedicated omnichannel solutions including Tap.Try.Buy., Pomelo’s in-app online-to-offline shopping feature, as well as access to the brand’s e-commerce platform and physical stores in Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.

Also Read: How Pomelo tackles the problem of high product return with its O2O retail experience

Furthermore, brands can benefit from the platform’s 360 marketing capabilities, incorporating branding consultation, a full-service creative studio for best in class content production, multi-channel social media content localised to their target audience, a wide influencer and KOL network, and data driven performance marketing solutions. Throughout its 8 years of service, Pomelo has built up a solid network of users and traffic, made up of female audiences that are passionate about fashion, a unique offering that brands can tap into for real brand growth.

The scope of Prism.’s offerings also extend to trading and merchandising, offering best-in-class design, manufacturing and fabric sourcing services. This will enable brands to get invaluable industry insight on trend forecasting, product development, technical design, sizing and production. Moreover, the platform’s tech capabilities allow brand personalization which permits optimal product discovery based on our proprietary machine learning, a resource that can help brands become more competitive in the online retail landscape.

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Image Credit: Orios Venture Partners

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We are in the best of times, and yet also, the worst of times. In the age of rapid digital innovation, we are reliving the narrative in Charles Dickens’ Tale of Two Cities. Some businesses thrive at unimaginable speed while some get eliminated completely. Many are caught in the in-between, struggling to stay afloat to keep up with the change of digital disruption.

Across industries, the wave of digital disruption has brought new technologies, new entrants, new customer experiences and new business models. In order to beat the disruption, one has to be the disruptor.

We see this narrative unfolding in the logistics sector. Technological revolution has accelerated change in an industry that is traditionally backward and least digitally exposed. It has enlarged the divide between the new and the old.

The reality is that the supply chain is not naturally a digital business, as concluded in the report by Janeiro Digital, The Modernisation Gap: Digital Innovation and Transformation in Supply Chain and Logistics.

Many, prior to the pandemic, have regarded digital tools as unnecessary expenses. In the container trucking industry, it is a typical sight to see drivers writing down the jobs that they had completed each day on a piece of paper. It is just how things have always been.

This has contributed to the common inefficiencies observed in the sector today that are leading to the wider problems of inefficient container routings, bottlenecks at ports, affecting cargo quality and resulting in security risk.

In these troubled times, the magnitude of a supply chain disruption is keenly felt. This was especially highlighted during the Suez Canal blockage causing congestion at ports and container shortages.

Also Read: Locad founder on building SEA’s first cloud logistics network in the midst of COVID-19

The ramifications were global, where everyone including retailers and producers was affected. Sadly, consumers have already begun to feel the pinch, as costs get passed down to them.

The benchmark food price index published by the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) registered a sharp increase in May, averaging 127.1 points – the highest level in 10 years.

This is the result of a confluence of factors, including higher marine shipping costs and supply chain disruptions. Freight rates are expected to reach new highs this year given port congestion and equipment unavailability.

With the changing preferences of consumers driving a surge in demand, there is great potential for the shipping industry. According to Research and Markets, the global logistics market is estimated to grow to US$12.68 Billion by 2023 with a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 3.49 per cent between 2017 and 2023, with Asia as the top player in the global maritime trade arena. One key highlight is the boom in the logistics market in SEA region, with trade volumes expected to increase by 130 per cent in 2023 to US$5,653 billion.

With the increasing international trade and investment, the rapid growth of e-commerce and the improvement in infrastructure, the Southeast Asia region is an untapped gold mine within the logistics ecosystem.

Southeast Asia’s internet economy hits US$100 billion for the first time in 2019, and it is expected to grow to US$300 billion by 2025.

The 2020 Southeast Asia e-Conomy report by Google, Temasek and Bain & Co revealed that COVID-19 had led to an acceleration of digital consumption, with SEA economy exceeding USD$100 billion in gross merchandise volume (GMV) and e-commerce accounting more than 50 per cent.

Haulio has long seen the beauty of the interconnectedness in the supply-chain business. As Singapore’s fastest-growing cloud-based digital container haulage network, Haulio built on a multi-tenancy system to allow multiple customers or ‘tenants’ to share the same resources while being able to configure the application to fit their needs.

This new model of ‘sharing’ using digital capabilities allows their business to optimise the vast logistics network.

Using technology to optimise the usage of haulage trucks and drivers, Haulio problem-solves inefficiencies through their platform while also partnering with major logistics players and fintechs.

Strategic partnerships allow them to connect the most offline node to the rest of the supply chain, uplifting the lives of millions of haulers and drivers.

Also read: Challenging existing fundamentals in logistics and supply chain

Haulio’s collaboration with ESCO in Thailand, which operates one of the six inland container depots (ICD) at Lat Krabang (LKB) port, is a prime example of the transformation that digitalisation of the trucking ecosystem has brought.

In Thailand, freight transport via road is an integral part of the logistics network. To improve operational efficiency at ESCO’s terminal, Haulio’s landmark digital tool has helped assist the terminals to execute movement of more than 10,000 TEUs since Q2 2020.

Through Haulio, ESCO’s trucking partners can be tracked based on factors such as the speed of response to jobs, number of partner’s drivers online, new revenue stream jobs, hence allowing ESCO to measure terminal operational efficiency gains. To date, ESCO has seen an efficiency improvement of around 20 per cent with the administrative savings from improved operational efficiency.

Haulio’s success in Singapore, as well as this successful pilot with ESCO, further proves the value of Haulio’s solutions in bridging the gap between customers and their trucking partners, by bringing operational visibility to all parties.

While container haulage has always been the vertical that is left behind within the supply chain, Haulio’s solutions will be able to fulfil the potential for transformation within the first-mile container logistics space.

Haulio has plans to expand its footprint regionally, to complete the digitalisation of haulage in Southeast Asia by 2025, solving existing problems within the US$147 billion ‘First Mile Logistics Market’ in Southeast Asia.

Tech-driven operating models are able to tap on the underserved and uncontested opportunities in the various value levers. Tech-enabled logistics start-ups are using technologies such as data analytics and artificial intelligence to improve the efficiency of business operations and to serve niche markets.

Haulio believes in delivering value through technology. It is about building a culture of empowerment, starting from the digital connecting node of the Container Haulage vertical.

As the phrase goes, “Every Supply Chain is only as strong its weakest link”. The journey towards digital transformation would only be possible through the joint efforts of industry players.

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Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing contributions from the community. This season we are seeking op-eds, analysis and articles on food tech and sustainability. Share your opinion and earn a byline by submitting a post.

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June is internationally recognised as Global Pride Month. But beyond rainbow-coloured designs and virtual festivals to celebrate the LGBTQ movement, it is also a reminder to embrace diversity in the workplace.

There are several benefits to cultivating an inclusive, healthy workplace culture such as different perspectives to generate new ideas. Keep reading to find out how your team can discover and nurture new talent for more diverse and inclusive workplace culture.

Implement fair hiring and evaluation processes

Discovering new talent starts with recruitment and giving candidates a fair chance regardless of their gender, race, ethnicity, and religion. One way to achieve fairness at the interview stage is to ensure that the key hiring team is diverse. Alternatively, consider using an AI recruitment tool to remove human biases at this stage.

Also, it may be time to evaluate the onboarding training that new employees receive to ensure that they are well integrated into the organisation with clearly defined role expectations and fair practices.

Such recruitment protocols ensure that employees are introduced into the organisation’s mandate on fair inclusion from day one.

Empathetic leadership that prioritises trust

Studies have found that empathetic leadership has a direct impact on employee productivity, loyalty, and engagement. Empathetic leaders tend to intuitively pick up on their employees’ emotions, understand their perspectives, and take appropriate actions to make their team members feel accepted and validated.

Unlike traditional leadership styles which adopt a command-and-control protocol that alienates employees and stifles creativity, a leader with an empathetic nature can connect with employees.

Managers who trust their team can foster safe spaces for employees to perform their responsibilities. In turn, employees will feel more secure and motivated in their role.

Also Read: Building the rainbow bridge: How businesses can foster Diversity & Inclusion in the workplace

Essentially, as people are becoming more educated and mindful of their self-worth, they want to be valued for more than just a paycheck. Especially during a crisis, employees not only look towards their leaders for directions but also for assurance and confidence, which only an empathetic leader can provide.

Support and celebrate employees differences

In Singapore, most organisations exercise respect and tolerance for cultural and religious differences. Here are a few tips to make your employees feel more valued regardless of their background.

Offer floating holidays for employees from different religions or minority backgrounds that are not on the official public holiday calendar. While businesses already observe national public holidays, allowing employees the flexibility to take a day off on days that are important for their cultural background can certainly help them feel more appreciated.

Plan virtual group lunches to allow employees from different backgrounds to share their cultural practices. Such events can help to bridge differences and encourage more personal interaction between employees.

Highlight special dates from all cultures represented in the workplace through company newsletters or food items related to the festival.

Nurture talent to go beyond what is asked of them

Embracing diversity often means that employees have to go beyond the standard protocol to embrace the deeper meaning of their roles.

Much like what Starbucks did in 2018 when the coffee chain in North America closed 8,000 stores for racial bias training that cost the company an estimated S$26 million (US$19 million), the intention goes beyond establishing standard work processes to address unconscious bias issues.

Investing in training and nurturing allows employees to open up to more diverse views and ways of managing their work, hence cultivating a cohesive workplace that is characterised by harmony, productivity, and efficiency.

Of course, not every organisation has the budget to spend millions on training and development. Organising monthly workshops or wellness programmes that address gender identity, mental health, and common stereotypes can be just as effective.

Mindful communication and inclusion

Mindful communication is the key to bridging any gaps in inclusion. Consider getting a third-party perspective or employee feedback on how you can improve communication during team meetings. If someone brings a unique idea to the table, offering recognition can motivate others to participate more openly in the future.

Remember that exclusionary practices can often lead to lower productivity and can also affect problem-solving capabilities. As such, taking a deliberate effort to be an inclusive communicator, rather than playing favourites, is a necessary step to help the workplace thrive.

Creating a diverse and inclusive workplace culture that makes your team members feel valued and understood is essential to improve workplace culture. While you may need to invest some effort and finances into developing a system that works, the result will be well worth the time.

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Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing contributions from the community. This season we are seeking op-eds, analysis and articles on food tech and sustainability. Share your opinion and earn a byline by submitting a post.

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Vietnam-based loyalty platform Society Pass has acquired Leflair, a luxury e-commerce brand that filed for bankruptcy last year.

This news was first reported by TechInAsia.

Society Pass said the acquisition will “allow it to continue serving the ever-rising demand for online branded shopping in Vietnam”.

As per the deal, Society Pass will be relaunching the Leflair platform in the third quarter of this year, making some adjustments to ensure the benefits of suppliers and customers.

Founded in 2018, Society Pass is a platform that connects customers with merchants in South and Southeast Asia. Incorporated in the US, its app “SoPa” offers consumers shopping deals, services, and products from merchants through its Society Points that can be redeemed with any merchant on its platform.

Also Read: Afternoon News Roundup: Cash-strapped e-commerce firm Leflair files for bankruptcy in Vietnam

For businesses, it provides features like dedicated POS (point of sale) solutions, payment infrastructure, loyalty management, customer profile analytics, and SME financing packages to ensure that they can run their services smoothly.

On the other hand, Leflair was established three years before Society Pass and acted as an e-commerce platform for branded goods and flash sales. It did not operate as an online marketplace but worked directly with brands and official distributors in and outside Vietnam.

Leflair had to cease operations in 2020 after reporting debt of US$2 million. The added pressure of the pandemic on the luxury fashion market could have added its woes.

Things were not always as melacholic for the company as it had reported tens of millions of dollars of earnings in 2019. Additionally, it had raised nearly US$12 million in funding amount from investors like GShop, Belt Road Capital, and more.

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Taiwanese digital foodhall network 3 Square raises seed funding

The story: 3 Square, a digital foodhall network and virtual restaurant group, has raised an oversubscribed seed round of US$1.2 million.

Investors: Taiwanese department store chain Hanshin Department Store, foodtech VC firm Foodland Ventures, family offices and angels.

Plans: The funding will be used to scale the business in Taiwan and prepare for its entry into Southeast and North Asia.

About 3 Square: The startup was founded in 2020 by Victor J. Chow, previously an executive at food delivery platforms honestbee and foodpanda.

The startup provides tech-enabled, turnkey solutions that are both sustainable and profitable by maximising utilisation and revenue per square meter of kitchen spaces to create great tasting food.

3 Square provides an infrastructure and build a network of solutions where it is able to share and pool resources, learn from one another and grow together.

Also Read: PhillipCapital, PrimePartners, Fundnel commence trading private company shares on Hg Exchange

The company also has a virtual restaurant group with six in-house fully branded restaurant concepts available at launch. These menus are developed using big data and trend analysis with culinary design and consumer insights for the best foods that customers crave.

Hg Exchange graduates from fintech regulatory sandbox

The story: Hg Exchange (HGX), a private securities exchange formed by an alliance of leading capital market intermediaries, has graduated from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) Fintech Regulatory Sandbox with a Recognised Market Operator (RMO) license awarded by the MAS.

With this RMO license, HGX can now fully operate as Asia’s first member-driven private exchange to support the issuance and trading of both digital and non-digital capital market products.

New appointments: The exchange has also appointed Eric Neo Say Wei as President and promoted Willie Chang from Chief Operating Officer (COO) to Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to drive HGX’s business growth in Asia.

About Hg Exchange: Established by Fundnel, PhillipCapital, PrimePartners and Zilliqa, HGX is a member-driven private exchange. Powered by leading blockchain platform provider Zilliqa, HGX technology allows for digitised securities issuance and secondary trading of digital securities. Digital securities can also be fractionalised, allowing investors to transact securities at more accessible price points.

The goal of HGX is to provide an equitable trading platform by bringing operational transparency, fair competition, and cost-efficiency to the private capital markets.

India’s hygiene products firm raises funding from SG’s Quadria Capital

The story: Nobel Hygiene, an India-based manufacturer of disposable hygiene products, has raised an undisclosed amount in from Singapore-based PE firm Quadria Capital for a significant minority stake.

Also Read: Forward looking and flexible: How Singapore is setting the stage for digital asset innovation

About Nobel Hygiene: It is a manufacturer of disposable hygiene products in India. It manufactures products across adult (Friends), baby (Teddyy) and feminine disposable hygiene products.

Nobel also offers sanitary pad designed for women with heavy flow (RIO-Heavy Flow Pads).

Nobel Hygiene’s range of products are available on both offline and online platforms and are available across 200,000 retail outlets.

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Image Credit: 3 SQUARE

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Alt.Flex.Eat: Flexitarianism is the flavour of the SEAson; Why is Southeast Asia witnessing great growth? What is attracting global alt food startups and investors into this region?; A deep-dive into the region’s thriving sustainable food industry.

Indonesia e-commerce unicorn Bukalapak plans to go public in July; Bukalapak said it intends to offer “up to 25% of enlarged capital” but did not reveal details; Reuters had previously reported that the company was aiming to raise around US$800M, with a valuation of between US$4B and US$5B, citing sources.

With US$356M in funding so far this year, Indonesia’s wealthtech startups bask in the spotlight; Indonesia has doubled the total number of investors in its capital market since the pandemic began in Jan 2020; However, this is just a beginning; With 5.4M registered investors, its capital market penetration stands at a mere 2%.

Kredivo scores US$100M more in debt funding from Victory Park Capital Advisors; The capital will be used to fund consumer loans for Kredivo’s borrowers in Indonesia; Last November, Kredivo raised US$100M from the US-based firm.

Goldbell Investments in talks to launch US$60M Asia-focused venture fund by next year; Titled Cube3 Ventures, the fund plans to invest mainly in startups operating in smart mobility, automotive, logistics sectors; It plans to pump in capital in the range of US$500K to US$2M in pre-seed to Series A.

Vertex Growth secures US$15M from Korea Venture Investment’s Foreign VC Investment Fund initiative; It will invest in Korea’s home-grown startups, as well as foreign businesses owned by Korean founders with disruptive and scalable products; According to its latest report, Vertex has identified Japan and Korea as key markets that are set to gain global prominence.

Society Pass acquires Leflair to relaunch it in Q3; Leflair was a fashion e-commerce startup, which was closed down last year due to a capital crunch and operational issues despite raising nearly US$12M; When Leflair filed for bankruptcy last year, it was confronted with suppliers who said that the startup still owned them a large sum in unpaid goods.

Circulate Capital hits US$14M first close of new climate-tech fund; Circulate Capital Disrupt will invest in deep technology solutions to combat plastic waste and advance the circular economy; Earlier, Circulate Capital launched a US$106M Ocean Fund.

Justika nets seed funding from East Ventures (lead), Skystar Capital; The platform connects people who need legal services to lawyers and other supporting services, such as company formation agents and translators; It focuses on three legal areas: family law, laws involving SMEs, and property law.

GrowSari raises Series B to help 30K small convenience stores in PH increase their earnings; Investors include Robinsons Retail Holdings, JG Digital Equity Ventures, Tencent, and Wavemaker Partners; GrowSari aims to empower and transform 1M sari-sari stores by providing them with affordable products, e-business and financial assistance.

Gorilla Mobile’s blockchain-powered offerings are giving rival telcos a run for their money; By converting the unused roaming data into digital tokens, users can reuse them to purchase another data plan in a different city or country; The startup has already raised US$3M in seed capital and targets to close a US$5M Series A shortly.

How Doctor Anywhere stepped up to the COVID-19 challenge; During Circuit Breaker, most residents were uncomfortable with visiting the clinic, even if they were feeling unwell; This was an opportunity to demonstrate how Doctor Anywhere’s services complemented Singapore’s existing healthcare infrastructure.

Global early-stage VC Antler enters Vietnam; The Vietnam operations will be led by Erik Jonsson, former MD of Lazada; Antler plans to kick off the country’s programme later this year and invest in companies through its SEA fund.

Ex-Honestbee, Foodpanda exec’s new cloud kitchen startup banks 3 Square US$1.2M seed funding; Investors are Taiwanese local department store chain Hanshin and foodtech VC firm Foodland Ventures; 3 Square looks to help F&B operators by providing local businesses with cloud kitchen solutions, including digital food hall networks.

Singapore to increase spending on ICT to US$2.8B; The projected spending will go towards transforming the government’s digital services and digital infrastructure; SMEs will also get more opportunities; They will be able to participate in nearly 83% of these procurement contracts.

APAC businesses worry about slow economic growth, increased competition and employee safety, says study; With remote working likely to stay for now, 78% of those surveyed expected their company to increase reliance on it to meet business goals; Over the next 6 months, the top 3 technologies executives see their companies harnessing are AI and ML (52%), cloud computing (49%), and 5G (38%).

5 hottest healthtech startups in Singapore; They are Doctor Anywhere, Holmusk, EndoMaster, Doc Doc, and Docquity; The COVID-19 pandemic increased the adoption of healthtech in Singapore with limited access to doctors amidst lockdowns and movement restrictions; Experts believe that healthtech will become more relevant during the post-pandemic era because of its transformation to healthcare delivery.

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Do you make full use of the mobile subscription plan that you pay for, or are you simply paying extra for something that you have never used or will never use?

If you are someone who falls under the second category, a new telco startup in Singapore is here to change your ‘destiny’. This blockchain telco is urging you to take a closer look at its unique mobile package subscription model.

The two-year-old startup Gorilla Mobile has rolled out a service-on-demand model, called ‘SwitchBack’, which converts your unused data into redeemable non-expiring ‘Gorilla Go Tokens’. You can use these tokens to redeem other services like international direct dialling calls and travel roaming data.

Founded in 2019, Gorilla Mobile originally started as travel SIM card company that focused on business travellers who had plenty of unused travel roaming data.

The startup has already raised US$3 million in seed capital and targets to close a US$5 million Series A round shortly. The money will be used for developing its product roadmap and expanding into Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam in the first phase.

The telco startup intends to enter Indonesia, the Philippines, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan in the longer term.

In this interview with e27, Gorilla Mobile founder Xanne Leo talks about its business model, its marketing strategy and trends in the telecom sector.

How did you come up with the idea of SwitchBack for users?

The objective was to address the issue of unused travel roaming data for business travellers.

By converting the unused roaming data into digital tokens Gorilla GO, users can reuse them to purchase another data plan in a different city or country. This is perfect for business travellers who may have their trips cut short or those on multi-city business trips.

Also Read: Singapore’s new virtual telco Zero Mobile offers subscribers chance to use service for free

Think of Gorilla GO like a carnival coupon where you can use the coupon universally and interchangeably at any stall in the carnival. In our case, you can use Gorilla GO with any telco service across 61 countries.

What is Gorilla Mobile’s business model? Can you talk about the pricing?

Gorilla Mobile runs on a service-on-demand model, the first in Singapore. This model provides access to a full suite of services anytime without a contract, subscription fees, or activation charges. Users pay only for what they use, when they use it, ensuring a fair and modular way of using and paying for mobile services.

Right now, customers can sign up for Gorilla Mobile’s Switch25 Mobile plan at SG$25 (US$33) through the Gorilla Mobile website.

In the coming months, we will unveil new services including a global roaming travel data SIM Card, digital international direct dialling (IDD), and global office telephonic solutions.

What are the different marketing strategies you have taken to educate the market about your offerings?

We launched our Switch25 Mobile plan on 18 June 2021. In line with the launch, Gorilla Mobile has rolled out the #RethinkMobile campaign on its website, calling on Singaporeans to look at their mobile phone bills and examine their mobile package subscription and actual usage: what they are paying for versus what they actually use.

Low prices have always been the motto of many telco companies. Aside from providing tokens, what are some other reasons that users should subscribe to Gorilla Mobile?

Our service-on-demand model is the first in Singapore. This is one of the reasons why we stand out.

Other than this, telecommunications services are traditionally offered to users in a fragmented way and give a disjointed user experience. For example, we rely on an on-premise office telephony system for calls while at work and we switch to our mobile phones while on the go or at home.

The pandemic situation has changed all that for us; the partial work-from-home and work-from-outside arrangements have dramatically changed the way we communicate.

Many companies are removing on-premise telephony servers and equipment, switching to cloud-based unified communication solutions, and using a mix of communication tools like Zoom and Microsoft Teams with their mobile phones and softphones on laptops.

This change is definitely here to stay.

Also Read: Circles.Life co-founder on expansion, price wars, and learning eight languages

Seeing this shift, Gorilla Mobile will be introducing our Digital Office Telephony services in our mobile app in Q4 this year. We are converging the cellular mobile network services and office telephony capabilities and digital IDD services in the mobile app and offering it as an all-in-one mobile communications solution.

More than an mobile virtual network operator, we see ourselves as a mobile communications service provider offering a full suite of digital mobile services and a unified experience for today’s PMETS and businesses.

What are the key trends you’re identifying in emerging markets around digital transformation and telcos?

Converging trends hold great promise for the next generation of digital financial inclusion.

There are various blockchain technology platforms reinventing finance for the mobile era and have created decentralised financial systems that are fair, safe, and universally accessible. Without mobile data and high-fidelity connectivity, this would not be possible.

Gorilla Mobile recognises data as an enabler for digital financial inclusion. We advocate for affordable seamless global mobile connectivity to drive mobile money access for one and all. It is a right for the common man to access basic financial services.

As of 2019, there were 1.04 billion registered mobile payment accounts and 37.1 billion transactions transacting approximately US$690 billion yearly across the globe. The market grew 20 per cent during 2019, and it is expected to maintain that positive trend over the coming years.

More value is circulating in the mobile money system. The total value in circulation has significantly surpassed the total value of outgoing transactions.

The common users of mobile are using it to make small transactions or just to send money to other users. The ‘micro’ transaction costs and the friendly process of using mobile money between users are some of the key factors that will help to maintain the growing demand for mobile money.

This growth and scale is a positive signal for the industry as it demonstrates higher levels of customer trust, greater relevance for users, and the capacity of mobile money to digitise an increasing amount of capital.

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Image Credit: Gorilla Mobile

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It is no secret that working at a startup means facing new challenges and surprises every day. And yet, nothing could have prepared us for the impact of COVID-19. When the pandemic hit, and Singapore went into a two-month nationwide lockdown, we knew it was the opportunity for us to step up to the challenge and contribute to the national effort.

Scaling up rapidly to deliver telehealth services to workers

Our first challenge came in supporting the health of 300,000 migrant workers, who were locked down in their dormitories during the circuit breaker (CB).

In early 2020, Doctor Anywhere started providing teleconsultation services, inclusive of same-day medication delivery, to migrant workers staying in dormitories. When the service was first introduced, demand was low as workers could visit a physical clinic or an on-site medical centre in their dormitory.

However, this changed when CB began.

“Initially, it had just been two of us doing the consultations on an ad hoc basis,” shares Dr Yang Guirong, Assistant Medical Director at Doctor Anywhere. “With the increased demand, we had to change our processes to sustainably serve all the workers. We assembled a team of 10 doctors to work on this almost full-time, along with a separate administrative team, and had multiple DA clinics to package and deliver their medication.”

Additionally, due to the type of mobile devices workers owned and connectivity issues, we had to tweak our service delivery. Instead of a video call over the Doctor Anywhere app, our doctors conducted their consultations over WhatsApp or phone calls.

Communicating over WhatsApp had a silver lining. Although most workers had a basic grasp of English, there was still a small language barrier between doctor and patient.

With conversations over text, the patients could rely on language translation apps or fellow workers who had a better command of English for translation.

Also Read: Morning News Roundup: Doctor Anywhere raises US$27M Series B funding led by Square Peg

Another group of workers who needed telehealth support were seafarers working onboard ships. Given the international climate then, these seafarers were facing challenges in flying back to their countries after completing their job assignments.

From June 2020, we partnered with MPA to issue “Fit-to-Fly” certificates to facilitate their return home. With these certificates, our seafarer friends were allowed to fly back to their countries and reunite with their family members.

Since this began in June 2020, we have served more than 1,400 seafarers.

Filling in the gaps in Singapore’s healthcare system during Circuit Breaker and beyond

During CB, most residents were uncomfortable with visiting the clinic, even if they were feeling unwell. This was an opportunity to demonstrate how Doctor Anywhere’s services complemented Singapore’s existing healthcare infrastructure.

Since the start of 2020, we started enhancing our service delivery by ensuring tech and security infrastructure were ready to scale. Most crucially, we installed additional safeguards to ensure patient confidentiality and privacy, as we continued to expand our services.

We also moved towards utilising API management software, as our services required us to process more than two million API calls each month. As traffic to the Doctor Anywhere app grew by 70 per cent during COVID-19, this proved key to ensuring a smooth user experience, despite the increased system load. It also freed up time from managing individual APIs so that we could focus on the real work of improving our product.

Doctor Anywhere utilises a multi-cloud data environment for data management. The breadth of our services meant that several data sources, such as physical and virtual consultation databases, had to be integrated for any useful user insights.

With the cloud data warehouse, fragmented data sources were seamlessly combined into a coherent representation of our users.

Harnessing the power of ML and AI, we could then delve deep into this data for an in-depth analysis of user behaviour. This enabled us to quickly identify services that needed to be improved, as well as new pain points that were emerging.

Also Read: Snap yourself using your smartphone, Nervotec app displays all your vital health signs within a minute

These data-driven insights were complemented with qualitative observations – whether through user surveys or conversations with partners. With this foundation, we were thus able to swiftly scale up and develop new features like online clinics, wellness subscription programmes, home-based health screening and vaccination packages, mobile doctor and nursing services, etc.

For example: During CB, we noticed an increase in consultations for stress-related issues, such as insomnia. This was unsurprising, given the intense stress brought on by the pandemic.

To investigate further, we conducted a user survey in June 2020, in which our users (particularly aged 18 to 34) shared that they were receptive to therapy over video-call for conditions such as stress, depression and anxiety.

This prompted us to launch the Mental Wellness module in October 2020, where users could seek support from licensed psychologists and counsellors discretely via video call. We also embarked on a unique marketing campaign, using relatable local anecdotes and engaging visuals to educate the public on mental health.

In addition to video consultations, Doctor Anywhere runs eight clinics around the island. We revamped our clinics for a better customer experience. This included overhauling hiring processes and refreshing operational procedures, such as our courier delivery system.

“A memorable incident was the move of one of our medication operations to a new, more suitable location. It had to be done overnight to avoid impacting existing operations in the day. About 10 of us started at 9 PM and we only finished at 8 AM, the next day. Right after that, we began our 24/7 medication delivery services!” reminisces Dr Yang, who spearheaded this project. “It certainly was challenging but was definitely worth it.”

The result: by early 2021, we could offer round-the-clock telehealth consultations, with a three-hour medication delivery time throughout the year.

In addition to our clinics, we also have a mobile medical team that carries out home-based services. This includes health screenings, vaccinations and home nursing services. Time-saving and convenient, the biggest benefit of these services is that it cuts down on unnecessary trips to the clinic or hospital for our users.

Raising the health literacy of Singaporeans

As we know, the adage “If you build it, they will come” has been disproven many times. Similarly, while our services were ready, we knew it was important to build greater consumer confidence and trust in telehealth.

Also Read: These later stage funding rounds had made March an even more exciting month

Even in early 2020, telehealth was still a new concept to most Singaporeans. As such, alongside the scaling up of our services, we concentrated on specific offline and online marketing campaigns, to highlight conditions and use cases where telemedicine is useful. Most poignantly, the convenience to see a doctor for acute and non-critical conditions without going into a clinic was a key benefit during CB.

This was particularly helpful for patients with stabilised chronic health conditions. These patients required regular doctor consultations to check on their health status and refill their medication prescriptions. Yet, during CB, many were hesitant to physically visit a doctor.

The DA app allowed these patients to fulfil their routine health check-ups with a doctor and refill their medication, with same-day delivery. This empowered patients to remain in control of their medical conditions, while also allaying their fears of physical doctor visits. As a testament to the value of our services, we saw a multiple-times increase in consultations from patients with chronic conditions during this period.

Building on our growth for the future

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to challenge us to be more agile and adaptable in our operations while keeping our users at the heart of what we do. What has been key to our efforts is the selflessness of our team, who step in to cover for each other whenever we need an extra pair of hands.

Since 2020, we have seen a five times growth in the usage of Doctor Anywhere’s services. We expect that as more Singaporeans grow accustomed to telehealth services and recognise the convenience that it brings, the usage of digital healthcare platforms will gradually become a more ingrained lifestyle habit.

Beyond Singapore, Doctor Anywhere also has a regional presence in Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines. COVID-19 has accelerated the adoption of telehealth in the healthcare ecosystem, by about five years by our estimate.

Also Read: How technology can influence the beauty and cosmetics industry

As each market faces its own unique challenges in navigating through the pandemic, it is critical that our teams keep a close ear on the ground, and continue to innovate and refine our products to meet each market’s needs. Establishing regional tech hubs in Singapore, Vietnam, and India in early 2021 is one strategic move to ensure that DA continues to scale and develop innovative solutions effectively.

“Our mission is to be the largest tech-enabled omnichannel healthcare provider in Southeast Asia,” says Wai Mun Lim, founder and CEO of Doctor Anywhere. “Tech-enabling offline businesses are also a key component of our strategy. This is also how we differentiate ourselves from competitors, and one of the key reasons our investors invested in us.”

More than just a medical app that connects patients to doctors, Doctor Anywhere is evolving to become an integral lifestyle platform. We blur the lines between traditional healthcare and alternative wellness solutions, to offer holistic, 360-degree health and wellness support to our users at every stage of their lives.

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Image Credit: Doctor Anywhere

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GrowSari, a tech-enabled B2B platform that helps small convenient stores (known as ‘sari-sari-stores’ in the Philippines, has raised an undisclosed amount in Series B financing round from a group of existing and new investors.

They include Robinsons Retail Holdings, JG Digital Equity Ventures, and Wavemaker Partners, besides Tencent, Pavilion Capital, International Finance Corporation, ICCP SBI Venture Partners, and Saison Capital.

This round brings GrowSari’s total funds raised to date to over US$30 million.

With the fresh capital, the company plans to bankroll its geographical expansion plans to reach 300,000 stores across the Philippines.

Unlike Singapore and the US, where there are fully air-conditioned round-the-clock departmental stores like 7-Eleven, the Philippines has sari-sari stores.

Sari-sari stores occupy an important economic and social location in the Filipino community. They are small convenience stores that are generally either family-run or privately-owned, operating within the shopkeeper’s residence.

Founded in 2016, GrowSari is on a mission to help sari-sari store owners transform into comprehensive service hubs for the nation’s grassroots communities.

Also Read: B2B e-commerce in Asia is increasingly successful. Here’s what we can learn from them

GrowSari aims to tap into the sari-sari stores’ potential to be the biggest and most accessible distribution channel in the Philippines by driving efficiencies in route planning while collecting valuable insights on store behavior.

Through its app, sari-sari stores can access better pricing for more than a thousand fast-moving sari-sari store stock-keeping units (SKUs) from the largest brands across all the major FMCG categories.

This is in addition to microfinancing support and assistance, and multiple e-services including telco, bills payment, and remittance.

“GrowSari aims to empower and significantly increase the earnings of sari-sari stores in the Philippines by providing direct access to a wide assortment of affordable products, e-businesses, and financial assistance,” GrowSari co-founder ER Rollan said.

“Through GrowSari, we want to use proprietary technology to accelerate financial health for Filipino sari-sari store owners, helping them to use, protect, and grow their business in the long run and transforming sari-sari stores into comprehensive service hubs for the Philippines’ grassroots communities,” added CTO Siddhartha Kongara.

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Image Credit: Lance Lozano

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Flexitarianism is becoming the new buzzword, globally.

The world is undergoing a food revolution. Many consumers are consciously cutting down on meat consumption and are turning ‘flexitarians’.

Sustainable food products such as plant/cell-based meat, egg, milk and fish are now increasingly finding a place in consumers’ food menus.

The primary reasons for this are the growing sense of sustainability, awareness about unhealthy dietary habits, climate crisis, unsustainable farming and agriculture methods, and a new awakening to clean label foods.

What makes alternative protein substitutes even more attractive is that they offer the same taste and texture as meat products.

With about a 15-17 per cent growth rate, Asia is the fastest-growing alternative food market in the world. Its global market share is projected to grow by 10 per cent by 2029.

Of the US$3.1 billion capital invested to date into the alt food industry globally, about US$230 million went into Asian startups.

In Asia, Southeast Asia has been leading this food revolution. The region has one of the highest economic growth rates in the world, with a very high animal protein consumption. This is where sustainable food companies sniff a tremendous opportunity.

The region indeed is already home to numerous sustainable food startups. 

But why is Southeast Asia witnessing great growth? What is attracting global alt food startups and investors into this region?

Let’s start with Singapore.

Singapore

Of all the countries in SEA, Singapore is witnessing the fastest growth. There are already over a dozen big and small alternative food companies, besides a couple of VCs and accelerators. 

The names include renowned foreign brands like Beyond Meat, Impossible Foods, and Quorn; homegrown ones such as Shiok Meats, TurtleTree Labs, Next Gen, Float Foods, OmniMeat, Karana, and Tindle; and accelerator Big Idea Ventures

Also Read: Shiok Meats wants to bring cruelty-free shrimp products to your dining table with its US$12.6M Series A

“Singapore has long been known as a unique global business hub, and it is now becoming more relevant in the foodtech space, too,” says Andre Menezes, co-founder and COO of Next Gen, a plant-based meat startup.

“In setting up in Singapore, we were attracted by the strong infrastructure to support food technology innovations, especially plant-based foods. We have established our research and development (R&D) centre here. We have access to high-profile investors, multinational partners, and world-class chefs, which enable us to serve the multicultural palates here in Asia and around the globe,” adds Menezes, who started the company in October 2020, along with fellow German Timo Recker. 

In February this year, Next Gen closed a US$10 million seed round from a clutch of investors, including Temasek and K3 Ventures.

As he rightly points out, food security, government support for innovative technologies, and highly skilled human resources are some of the major factors drawing alt food startups into the island state.

From a food security standpoint, Singapore’s “30 by 30 goal” highlights the government’s focus on food security and self-sufficiency. The ultimate goal is to produce 30 percent of local nutritional needs locally by 2030.

As for government support, agencies such as the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) and A*STAR have been actively promoting R&D in sustainable food production and future foods.

In 2020, the government launched the Singapore Institute of Food and Biotechnology Innovation (SIFBI) research institute to facilitate R&D and food safety in alternative proteins. It also committed S$144 (US$107) million to invest in alternative protein investment.

“Singapore’s highly skilled human resources and R&D centres help lighten the burden of big capex investment and innovation cost,” says Fengru Lin, co-founder and CEO of TurtleTree Labs. A biotech startup producing milk using cell-based technology, TurtleTree in 2020 raised US$6.2 million from the likes of Green Monday Ventures, Eat Beyond Global, KBW Ventures, and Verso Capital.

The onset of COVID-19 pandemic has also resulted in a major shift in the way we eat.

“Recent and frequent spikes in animal disease transmission have shown that these are no longer one-off occurrences. Current global animal and poultry farming practices are not sustainable. I believe this wave of consciousness for a better solution will drive the industry forward to bigger, brighter outcomes,” according to Vinita Choolani, CEO and founder of Float Foods. A plant-based egg venture, Float Foods last week scored US$1.7 million in an oversubscribed seed funding round, led by Insignia Ventures Partners and DSG Consumer Partners.

“Alternative protein companies will play an important role in Singapore and wider global pursuit for food security, as these novel food solutions are projected to be less resource-consumptive than traditional protein production,”  TurtleTree’s Lin goes on.

Thailand

Thailand, a food manufacturing country, has seen an uptick in terms of alternative food products in the recent past. 

According to Smith Taweelerdniti, founder of Bangkok-based Let’s Plant Meat, the adoption of plant-based meat products is primarily driven by a belief among Thais that refraining from harming animals is a boon for this life and hereafter.

Also Read: No animals were harmed in the making of this ‘meat’ burger

Let’s Plant Meat offers alternative meat products made out of four plants: soy, rice, coconut and beetroot. The company, founded in 2020, is already selling its products in more than 120 outlets of a major supermarket in the country. This signals a growing demand for alt food products in the local market.

According to Krungthai Research (in Siamese), Thailand’s plant-based food market will grow from THB28 billion (US$880 million) in 2019 to about THB45 billion (US$1.4 billion) in 2024. This growth will primarily be driven by major companies like CPF, Thai Union, Nestle, Unilever, which have already entered the market with a lot of fanfare.

Having said that, the industry needs to overcome several challenges to further accelerate growth. Prices of plant-based meat are higher compared to traditional animal meat. Retailers charge a high margin for plant-based meat. They, however, charge almost nothing to sell animal meat because of the government price control.

“More price reduction from big companies will make plant-based meat products more affordable and easy to find. CPF launched the brand called Meat Zero and offers its ready-to-eat, no-meat burger with bun for THB35 at 7-Eleven stores,” he adds.

Alongside plant-based meat products, seed-based milk products are also gaining traction in Thailand. Sesamilk, which offers an alternative to dairy milk, is already a hit. The product is available in about 500 stores (online and offline) across Thailand. The product is also exported to Japan, Macau, Hongkong and Vietnam.

“The domestic market is interesting. People are more concerned about health than ever before. With the growth of social media and small influencers, people are now more open to accepting better options that make sense for them,” Taweelerdniti notes.

Indonesia

Indonesia’s alt protein industry is still in its infancy. The archipelago is far behind Singapore where 39 per cent of the population are flexitarians and most people are aware of the environmental costs of animal-based meat production.

In Indonesia, the intake of animal-based meat products is still on the rise. There is little awareness about the alt food industry in the country. The environmental awareness and related actions mainly revolve around the harms of plastic usage.

“In weddings with 200-plus attendees, there are usually only three vegans (myself and my husband, and another person). The mainstream crowd cannot even tell the difference between vegans, vegetarians, and pescatarians,” says Helga Angelina, co-founder of Burgreens, a plant-based eatery chain.

“We need aggressive market education to create awareness that animal-based meat consumption is neither healthy nor sustainable and that consumers can still enjoy the sensory pleasure of eating meat with alternative/plant-based proteins,” adds Angelina, whose startup raised US$2 million from Teja Ventures and Unovis Asset Management early this year.

Other than Burgreens, there are no alt food companies in Indonesia. This is mainly due to poor infrastructure. “We don’t have the infrastructure in place to support startups in the alt protein industry. Investments in this area mostly come from abroad,” she says.

The future indeed is bright. But the players need to invest in significant market education, she remarks. “We should collaborate to enlarge the market pie and accelerate plant-based eating adoption; not compete with each other but together disrupt the conventional meat industry,” Angelina shares.

Rest of Southeast Asia

Other economies like Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam are also slowly waking up to the reality that sustainable food is the way forward. Consumers in these markets have started showing interests in safe, organic- and plant-based foods in recent years.

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

According to global data and consulting company Kantar Worldpanel, consumers in Vietnam are eating and drinking plant-based alternatives that are perceived to be natural and healthier. 

There are several companies such as Phuture Foods (Malaysia), WTH Foods (Philippines), and Bewina Company (Vietnam) operating in these economies. They are slowly gaining traction in their respective markets.

However, regulatory hurdles, inadequate infrastructure, and the lack of awareness among consumers are some of the major issues these companies need to tackle in order to tap this lucrative market.

The future

Overall, the outlook for Southeast Asia’s alt food industry is more optimistic than ever. In 2020, Euromonitor reported 226.900 tonnes in meat substitute was consumed in Southeast Asia, demonstrating a growing appetite and demand for plant-based meat within the region.

According to ADM’s consumer research study, this surge could be due to a variety of factors, including the potential health benefits derived from a meat-free diet, consumers’ conscious intent to reduce their impact on the planet, as well as the good taste of plant protein sources.

“What we can say from this point is that, as consumers become more conscious of their dietary intake and impact on the environment, the industry will continue to grow rapidly,” says Next Gen’s Menezes.

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Lead image credit: Burgreens

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