Singapore will pick a telco to be the first to mass-market 5G networks by the end of the first quarter of next year, the first step in a broader rollout

Singapore to invest US$30M in 5G tests ahead of 2020 rollout [Reuters]

Singapore on Thursday launched a S$40 million (US$29.5 million) initiative to test applications for 5G networks, the next generation of mobile communications, ahead of a planned rollout next year.

The project, unveiled by Minister for Communications and Information S Iswaran, will test the network in areas such as port management, manufacturing and consumer applications as the city-state looks to be “a global front-runner in impactful 5G use cases”.

Also Read: The 5G bandwagon: legal and regulatory implications

Singapore will pick a telecoms company to be the first to mass-market 5G networks by the end of the first quarter of next year, the first step in a broader rollout, Iswaran told journalists after the announcement.

Fave strengthens appoints Jason Tan as CFO, Jake Abdullah as MD (Malaysia) [press release]

Fave, an online loyalty and payments platform, has appointed Jason Tan has as its new Chief Financial Officer and Jake Abdullah as new Managing Director for Malaysia.

The appointments of both Tan and Abdullah come during a period of accelerated growth for Fave in the areas of growth, merchant acquisition, and new services expansion. In 2018, the loyalty and payments platform raised US$20 million in Series B funding led by investors Sequoia Capital, Venturra Capital and SIG. This was then followed by the acquiring and acqui-hiring of F&B startups, WAAVE, CutQ and FoodTime in Singapore and Malaysia in May 2019.

Fintech startup Recko raises US$1M from Prime Venture Partners [press release]

Recko, a fintech startup that enables AI-powered reconciliation of digital transactions, has raised US$1 million in seed funding from Prime Venture Partners.

The fintech startup has built a SaaS-based reconciliation product that keeps track of the complete transaction lifecycle and commercial contracts for organisations. Emerging out of stealth, Recko also announced that it is at a run rate of reconciling a quarter billion transactions annually.

In the first 12 months since launch, Recko has reconciled transactions worth US$2B and is looking to scale this by 10x in the next year.

Indonesia’s Alami comes in second in the Taqwatech Pitch Pit [DigitalNewsAsia]

Alami Fintek Sharia (Alami) came in as the runner-up position in the TaqwaTech Pitch Pit organised by Gobi Partners Venture Capital.

The competition, which began in May 2019, targeted startups from various Muslim-based industries.

Three companies from Indonesia qualified for the top ten, namely Alami, as well as two marketplace startups for pilgrimage services PergiUmroh.com and Umroh.com.

TaqwaTech is a startup competition that offers products and services for Muslim consumers (B2C), businesses (B2B), or communities around the world. As part of Malaysia Tech Week, this competition presented funding opportunities of up to US$1 million (RM4.14 million) to winning startups.

eziPOD announces partnership with Shoe Mo [press release]

eziPOD, the 24/7 smart locker laundry service, has announced a partnership with shoe and sneaker care Shoe Mo to expand its service to shoe cleaning under one app to offer convenience to Malaysians.

Also Read: eziPOD’s smart laundry locker doubles as your courier delivery point and personal storage

With eziPOD’s recent partnership with Shoe Mo, users can drop their dirty shoes off at the eziPOD smart lockers, where the company would pick them up and deliver them to ShoeMo for processing. eziPOD will then pick the cleaned shoes up and deliver them back to the smart lockers, ready to be picked up by the user.

On top of that, eziPOD is aiming to launch a parcel feature where users can collect their parcels from the eziPOD locker, after courier services drop them off.

 

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Nandoo aims to redefine the wellness to fit into the modern routine of millennials and turn this experience into an actual lifestyle and community

Millennials prefer jobs that help boost their personal and professional skills. But when their work doesn’t allow that, it makes them dissatisfied and leads to stress.

A study by health insurance firm Cigna TKK reveals that nearly 95 per cent of Indian millennials admitted to being stressed primarily due to work. After logging long working hours, they find it hard to juggle work and personal life, finds this study.

“I have two sisters-in-law, one a professional and the other a student. They have no time to take care of their health or well-being when they get home,” says Mihir Shinde. “Their examples triggered me to think of developing a product that could help millennials enhance their mind and soul. This is when my friends and I decided to leverage our combined experiences and expertise in mobile app development and partnerships to create a unique wellness-based app.”

Nandoo, as the app is named, was launched in 2018 by Shinde and Yashika Shah, along with US citizens Han Lin and Jaime Cajamarca. With offices in New York and Mumbai, Nandoo helps Indian professionals enhance their mind, body and soul.

Also Read: Why sexual wellness is the next frontier for entrepreneurs

“All of us have at least once felt left out in a small talk conversation at work or had this like crazy passive aggressive enmity with that one colleague and we want do everything in power to stand out. We decided to create Nandoo to help you beat all such enemies. We help our users in developing an uber-enhanced mind, body and soul in terms of wellness,” says Shinde.

This is how the app works. The Mind Wellness feature on the app gives you a breakdown of what’s going on in the world with a fresh, fun take to strengthen the mind. Articles covered in the past include “Why you can’t listen to Cardi Ben & Bruno bhai on Spotify India” or “Why Norway is the cleanest & dirtiest country in the world”.

On the other hand, Soul Wellness helps in controlling and steadying your breathing to manage stress and strengthen the soul. It is a relaxing feature that helps you guide your breathing in a simplified format.

Body Wellness means you consistently walk for 10 minutes every day and compete against other users on leaderboards. The app has small rewards associated to keep the motivation up.

“We are redefining wellness to fit into the modern routine of our Nandoo-ers and turn this experience into an actual lifestyle and community,” he says

But there are quite a few life coaches and motivators around the world. How would you find a space among the crowd?

“Well, we have several features that help us stand out. One is localisation. This means the app is catered to make a typical Indian millennial feel he/she is speaking with a friend. The way we write and present things on our app, it is all in Hinglish (Hindi + English). Our name is extremely Indian. Our competitors are so focused on coming across as a global brand that they lose their Indian essence and thus, connection with the Indian millennial diaspora,” he elaborates.

“Secondly we keep an extremely chill approach and vibe to wellness and health. This can be seen in everything we do — from our UI, UX, voice to even our name. On the other hand, our competitors are focused on the tactic of using shame to making members stick around and use their apps,” he adds.

Nandoo’s goal is to utilise the power of a mobile phone to motivate people to further enhance themselves. “While in the future we are looking into incorporating interesting coaches, right now we want you to get hooked to the idea of it is okay (& not self-indulgent) to think about your wellness first before anything else. This is a tough nut to crack because we have grown up with the mindset of “I will work till I am super tired and rest when I retire”. Well, guess what, if you don’t take care of yourself right now, you are most certainly not going to enjoy life – forget about retirement! If you think about it, we are using the YOLO model but for the good,” he Shinde says.

The app is targeting only individual professionals and has no plans to cater to corporates, he adds. “This is because we have a counter culture persona – as in, we are cutting through the crap to tell you the real deal and motivate you in the same way to become the best you. Partnering and working with corporates dilutes our messaging. This is of course a longer process to get Nandoo-ers hooked, but we are in this for the long run so we are more than happy & patient to play the long game.”

Also Read: Meet Kaede Takenaka, the 10-year-old CEO of Thai blockchain startup KIDLetCoin

According to Shinde, if Nandoo can reach the 50 per cent of the stressed out millennials — which is around 200 million –that itself is a huge market. At the moment, Nandoo has 283,000 users, of which 82 per cent came through word of mouth, he claims.

Self-funded so far, Nandoo will start looking for VC funding once it has hit the internal metrics that it has set internally.

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Electric scooters are not only cheaper but they also are a more environmentally-friendly means of commuting

So you’ve made it in Southeast Asia! Your family is wealthy after years of economic growth and rising incomes! Sitting in your Mercedes S Class, you snap selfies dressed in designer clothes while listening to music on Spotify from your iPhone… life couldn’t be better? But wait, actually there are two big problems. Firstly, your Mercedes is stuck in gridlocked traffic. Secondly, you’re inhaling carcinogenic chemicals daily from polluted city air.

Such an experience represents the unfortunate irony of Southeast Asia’s economic success. While the region’s GDP and income levels have risen dramatically thanks to rapid economic development, it now suffers from crippling traffic congestion and cancer-causing air pollution even the wealthy can’t avoid.

The key culprit? Gasoline-powered transport. As family incomes rise, we all first buy motorcycles which we later upgrade to cars as we become even wealthier. Did you know that most of the Japanese motorcycles sold in Southeast Asia would never be allowed for sale in Europe, the US, or even Japan for that matter? They are too polluting; we get the dirtier motorcycles because emissions standards are much lower in most Southeast Asian countries for motorcycles (except Singapore).

Also, given Southeast Asia’s tendency to develop megacities with high population density, the transport lifestyle that works in less densely populated parts of Europe or the USA just don’t work out here. Everybody can’t own a car in Jakarta, Bangkok, Manila, or Ho Chi Minh without creating snarling traffic and horrendous pollution.

As shown in the tables below, residents of Bangkok, Jakarta, Manila, and Hanoi waste about an hour or more in traffic every day. Even Singaporeans waste 30 minutes per day in traffic. Just searching for parking wastes another 20 minutes or more for most Southeast Asian city dwellers.

 

What’s the point of economic wealth if you have to breathe dirty air and waste hours a day stuck in traffic? It’s a disaster.

Thankfully, a confluence of two technology trends, electric vehicles (EV) and “micromobility”, is emerging to save the day.

Micromobility, a term coined by Apple analyst Horace Dedi, refers to travel of less than eight kilometres. As Uber’s CEO said recently, “During rush hour, it is very inefficient for a one-ton hulk of metal to take one person 10 blocks”. We don’t need to be driving cars designed for high-speed road trips through the Alps every day, because usually we just need to travel short distances to and from work, school, or shopping malls.

According to research by CB Insights, 60 per cent of trips in the USA. are less than five miles in distance and can be replaced by micromobility solutions such as electric bikes and scooters. Within Southeast Asia’s dense megacities, we imagine that this percentage is much higher.

Also Read: Grab launches GrabTukTuk Electric in Chiang Mai for greener transportation

This is why, while electric cars and AI-powered self-driven vehicles make for sexy headlines, it’s actually the humble electric scooter that will create the most meaningful impact for Southeast Asia within the next few years.

Electric scooters are inexpensive and can be easily charged at any electrical socket, or with cheap removable batteries. Falling battery costs and improved charging efficiency means that soon there won’t be any excuse why we can’t replace most gasoline motorcycles with EV, and even replace many of our car trips with an EV 2-wheeler alternative.

Micromobility solutions are magnitudes more efficient than their larger or gas-powered counterparts. Analysis by Wired found that one-kilowatt hour of energy can only get a traditional gas automobile 1.3 kilometres while electric automobiles can achieve a better 6.6 kilometres. E-scooters, however, can travel 133 kilometres on the same amount of energy – approximately 20x more efficient than electric cars and 102x better than traditional gas-powered cars. They also reduce traffic congestion due to their smaller form factor.

According to a recent study by Mckinsey, an electric scooter can make its cost back in just four months and represents the most cost-effective form of transport for short distances.

Micromobility solutions are rapidly being adopted globally. According to Lime public data from the US, 30 per cent of their riders recently replaced an automobile trip with an e-scooter ride, while 27 per cent of their riders in urban cities used an e-scooter to connect to public transportation on their most recent trip.

Countries in Asia are experiencing similar adoption trends. Shared bikes are now the third most popular mode of public transportation in China, while other countries in Asia like Taiwan, Singapore, and South Korea have also seen strong traction, according to CB Insights.

Southeast Asia won’t be excluded from the global EV micromobility trend. We met with China’s Niu Technologies, a NASDAQ-listed producer of electric scooters, a couple of weeks ago to discuss their international ambitions and Southeast Asia in particular. According to data presented by Niu, Southeast Asia’s EV 2-wheeler market is indeed on the cusp of a massive expansion thanks to the factors outlined above. The company expects Southeast Asia’s EV 2-wheeler market size to expand by over 400% from 2017 to US$2.5 billion of annual revenue in 2022.

EV 2-wheelers thus represent a multi-billion dollar new market for Southeast Asian tech companies, and interestingly it’s a unicorn-sized near term revenue opportunity that does not yet have any established players.

Japanese incumbent motorcycle producers are way behind in EV and won’t be ready with anything significant in the next couple years, while Chinese producers have yet to establish a major foothold in the region and are yet to produce a 2-wheeler designed for Southeast Asia’s particular requirements (As compared to China, Southeast Asian consumers need higher speed and range, plus the ability for their vehicle to manage hot climates).

Hence EV micromobility not only represents a solution to Southeast Asia’s traffic congestion and air pollution but also represents a multi-billion dollar revenue opportunity for innovative new companies. In addition to Chinese companies, regional players such as Vinfast in Vietnam, Viar in Indonesia, and Scorpio Electric in Singapore (who we work closely with as an advisor) are all moving full speed to capture this massive revenue opportunity.

Also Read: Dyson confirms to develop electric vehicle in Singapore-based production facility

According to Joel Chang, COO of Scorpio Electric, “Electric two-wheelers in Southeast Asia represent a multi-billion dollar opportunity where EV companies such as ours can not only do good for society but also do well as a business. With our Singapore-made motorcycle designed specifically for Southeast Asia, we aim to be one of the early-movers converting the region towards mobility that’s not only cleaner and greener, but also tech-enabled, fun, and sexy like a Tesla.”

No matter which companies manage to win and capture Southeast Asia’s EV micromobility revolution, their success will not only create new tech unicorns for investors but also cleaner air and less traffic for us all. We see truly healthy profits ahead for the industry.

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Image Credit : Andrew Poplavsky

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The newly minted unicorn from Singapore continues to expand its retail portfolio with this latest addition

Singapore-based unicorn Trax has added another retail company to its portfolio with the acquisition of Shopkick, a California-based shopping rewards app. The value spent on the buyout is not disclosed, Bloomberg reported.

Shopkick will continue to operate as an independent unit.

Shopkick allows its users to shop and earn rewards and gift cards by browsing online offers, watching videos, walking into stores or scanning product barcodes on shelves.

Shopkick is owned by SK Telecom Co. after it acquired the company for US$200 million in 2014.

With its approach, Shopkick provides data and insights into customer behaviour and loyalty for clients such as EBay Inc., General Electric Co., Lego, and Unilever in what the company called “bringing together shelf and shopper data.”

“It will deliver new insights to consumer-packaged-goods brands and retailers,” said Trax CEO Joel Bar-El.

Also Read: P2P lending platform KoinWorks raises US$16.5M in Series B funding round

Trax has just finalised an additional US$100 million at a pre-money valuation of about US$1.1 billion, aiming it at financing acquisitions, including Beijing-based computer vision startup LenzTech Co.

Besides that, Trax is reportedly also in talks to buy a European competitor.

Trax has shared that it plans an initial public offering in 18 to 24 months to come as it is in talks with Singapore Exchange Ltd. for a potential dual listing after the local bourse approached the company.

Co-founded in Singapore by Bar-El and partner Dror Feldheim in 2010, Trax currently operates in more than 50 countries and has shareholders such as private equity firm Warburg Pincus, Chinese private equity firm Boyu Capital, and Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC Pte.

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In the second edition of Xero community, a panel of experts will shine light on the lifeblood of all businesses – funds

When it comes to fundraising, every startup founder has a basic understanding of these realities: the process is not a walk in the park, their impressive idea doesn’t guarantee immediate funding, and repeated rejection by investors is not an uncommon story.

For early stage startups, gaining access to funds is twice as hard. Not only are VCs looking at current trends suitability and several factors, they are also typically considering some 100 other companies at any given period.

So how do early stage startups get the attention of investors?

The first bump on the road: the fundraising pitch

Crucial to any investor meetup is the fundraising pitch. Remember, these investors can only allocate so much time, so they naturally expect your deck to pack a punch.

Due diligence is the key to your fundraising experience. In preparing for your pitch, you should do your homework on the ins and outs of your product and team. Also, know your numbers like the back of your hand and be sure to give accurate reports pertaining to your cash flow, financial plans, assumptions, and sales projections.

Also read: How to win on Shark Tank and survive the ‘Valley of Death’ 

At the end of the day, potential investors would like to know where their money is going, how it will be utilised, and who will take responsibility for its growth.

Beyond the pitch: other key factors investors weigh in on

It goes without saying that investors will first consider what business problem you’re solving and who your target market is. These two factors encapsulate the existence of every startup.

Next, investors would want to know more about your team. Who is making important decisions alongside you? Who is handling the books? Who is steering the ship? How is your team moving in terms of your initial vision as the founder? These questions may vary with each investor, but the underlying fact is the same: team dynamics is highly considered in every funding evaluation.

Furthermore, investors would scrutinise the financial aspect of your early stage startup. While their methods may vary, it’s apparent that how they value your startup has a major impact on your funding round.

In a nutshell, know your numbers, learn how to determine your valuation, and study how you can strengthen and communicate your value proposition.

Selecting the best fit for your team: not all investors are created equal

On the one hand, investors can catalyse a startup’s growth by providing much-needed funds and sharing their network and experience. On the other, they can destroy a founder’s dream. Getting access to cash isn’t the entire picture in one’s fundraising process. Founders must consider potential consequences that may arise as a result of their investor choice. For instance, expectations between founders and investors could be mismatched, or their core values differ from each other.

Startup founders should do their homework before getting an investor on-board their journey. As others have put it, signing an agreement with an investor is akin to getting married.

Also read: Digitalising cashflow management and what it means for businesses

Be equipped with the right knowledge by hearing from the experts

Learning about the entire fundraising process is important to every startup founder, especially when the startup is in its early stages.

On 23 July, in the second edition of Xero Community, a panel of experts will shine light on the lifeblood of all businesses – funds, and decipher the ins and outs of fundraising to help SMEs and startups build a successful and sustainable business amidst economic uncertainties.

Check out the panel highlights:

• Fundraising dos and don’ts
• Is money the answer to scale your business? What else should you look for in a potential investor?
• Post fund-raise – What’s next?
• Beyond fundraising – Building a culture that withstands the test of time

Learn from these distinguished panellists:

• Graham Brown – Founder, Pitch Media Asia
• Sam Gibb – Partner, Endeavour Ventures
• Junxian Lee – CEO & Co-Founder, Moovaz
• Kevin Fitzgerald – Managing Director Asia, Xero

The Xero Community – Startup Fundraising Edition is happening on 23 July from 9:30 am to 12 pm. Don’t miss this exclusive opportunity to network with fellow entrepreneurs and gain insights into fundraising strategies. RSVP today! https://www.eventbrite.sg/e/xero-community-startup-fundraising-edition-tickets-63464621391

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image credit: 123rf.com / ID 22105594

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These five startups have proved to the world  growth-stage funding can still be accessed with strong fundamentals and long-term plans

A major challenge facing growth-stage startups in Malaysia is lack of funding. While there are quite a few early-stage venue funds to cut cheques for startups in the seed stage, there are not many who are willing to inject money in their growth stages. This often discourages startups from aggressively pursuing scaling and expansion plans.

In a recent interview with e27, Raja Hamzah, Managing Partner of RHL Ventures, an active VC in Malaysia, admitted that there is still a big funding gap in the growth-stage startup space. Even though the previous government had set up a RM 1 billion fund to bridge this gap, it failed to materialise. The good thing is that many VCs including RHL Ventures are now seriously considering to launch funds to invest in growth-stage firms.

While many tech companies are struggling to raise growth funding, there’re a few who have bucked the trend and weathered all the odds to become a brand name in their respective industries.

Below is the list of five such startups in Malaysia.

Jirnexu

Founded in 2012, Jirnexu is a fintech startup that enables banks, insurance companies, and service providers to think mobile-first and innovate the way they generate leads online, turn those leads into customers, handle their fulfilment and keep them loyal. Jirnexu’s financial comparison tools enable consumers to save money and make better decisions.

The company was started in Kuala Lumpur when its co-founders met and realised that they share a mutual passion for giving individuals the financial advice and tools they needed to spend money wisely. In the Malaysian market, more and more people were applying for credit cards and loans than ever before, which was a boon for the financial services industry (FSI). What was missing for the banks and insurance companies was a way to move this application process online to expand the reach of their campaigns, reduce high acquisition costs, and differentiate themselves by offering customers a brand new level of convenience. Security was a concern and very few banks had a digital strategy at that point.

The Jirnexu co-founders identified this gap in the online market and set about creating a solution that would allow financial services providers to leverage the power of a digital acquisition channel, while simultaneously giving consumers an accessible system for keeping more money for themselves from each online financial service transaction they make.

Since inception, the startup has raised US$48 million over multiple rounds of funding, which include a US$11 million in Series B in December 2018 led by Experian and Japan-based SBI Group. Its other backers are Gobi Partners, Cento Ventures, SIG China, and Celebes Capital, among others.

Kaodim

Founded in November 2014 by Cheong and Choong Fui-Yu (Group CEO), Kaodim is an online platform to hire local services professionals such as house cleaners, home renovators and photographers. The firm operates as Kaodim in Malaysia and Singapore, Gawin in the Philippines, and Beres in Indonesia. It is currently operating in Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Johor Bahru, Metro Manila, Singapore and Jakarta.

Since launch, the group has focused on expanding its presence in the Southeast Asian region. On the product front, the group introduced a new product called Kaodim Direct, which is aimed at providing an enhanced experience for selected services such as cleaning or air-condition servicing. Users are matched instantly to a highly rated service provider at a competitive fixed packaged price.

To date, the group has raised a total of US$11.6 million in funding over three rounds, including a US$7 million led by Square Peg Capital and an affiliate of SIG Asia Investment in November 2017. Its other invests include Venturra Capital, Beenext, 500 Startups, East Ventures and KK Fund.

Carsome

Established in 2015 by Eric Cheng and Jiun Ee Teoh, Carsome enables customers to sell their vehicles directly to dealers nationwide through an online bidding portal. It facilitates the car-selling process from inspection, valuation, bidding, payment and logistics, allowing customers to sell their cars within 24 hours. The company claims that a user can potentially get up to 20 per cent higher than average trade-in price via its proprietary nationwide bidding platform.

Since January 2017, Carsome claims to have experienced more than four-fold growth in total transaction value, with the number of car sales facilitated on the platform grew more than quadrupled with more than 70 per cent of the transactions being done inter-city.

In addition to Malaysia, it has operations in Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand.

So far, Carsome has raised US$27.4 million in funding over several rounds. This includes a US$19 million Series B funding round led by Burda Principal Investments in March 2018. Its other investors are Indogen Capital, InnoVen Capital, Lumia Capital, Burda Principal Investments, Gobi Partners and 500 Startups.

iflix

In 2014, Catcha Group and Evolution Media Capital joined together to launch iflix, an entertainment service for emerging markets. The firm offers a wide selection of TV shows, movies, hyper local originals, premium live sports and up-to-the-minute news from around the world, to stream or download, on any internet connected device.

Created specifically for the more than one billion consumers in emerging markets, iflix now offers users two experiences through its iflixFREE and iflixVIP offerings.

iflix is currently available to consumers in Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Brunei, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Myanmar, Vietnam, the Maldives, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt, Sudan, Cambodia, Nigeria, Nepal, Bangladesh and Morocco.

To date, the company has raised US$298 million over several rounds, including an undisclosed sum in corporate round from Yoshimoto Kogyo in April this year. Its other investors include Hearst Communications, Kwese, Jungle Ventures and K3 Ventures.

TheLorry

Founded in September 2014, The Lorry focusses offers a logistics platform that connects both individuals and corporate clients to lorry, truck, and van owners in their database across Southeast Asia.

Using the platform, individual customers can do, what it claims to be a house moving and furniture transport. TheLorry highlights that it also serves multinational corporations in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), retail, industrial, and e-commerce sectors with technology-enabled distribution and long haul transport solutions.

The company has raised US$7.4 million over several rounds, including a US$5.85 million Series B led by FirstFloor Capital in April this year.

Its other investors include Unilever Ventures, Cradle Ventures, SPH Ventures, Axiata, KK Fund.

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Photo by Deva Darshan on Unsplash

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In Taiwan, Uber hasn’t been able to make themselves indispensable enough to get by local regulators.

I’ve just finished the second week of my summer internship at AppWorks in Taipei and I’m loving it so far! Living in Taipei has been just as I imagined and I’m really going to enjoy it before going back to New York in the fall.

One of the biggest lifestyle differences I’ve noticed between being in New York City and Taipei is: I’ve found myself using traditional taxis in Taipei, yet I can’t think of a single time I’ve hailed a cab in New York, instead opting for ride-hailing services like Uber or Via.

In fact, Taipei is probably the only place I’ve used a traditional taxi in the last five years (except in Mainland China, where I wasn’t able to use Didi without a Chinese bank account).

And it just so happens that Taiwan has been a giant headache for Uber, who will have to rethink its operations in Taiwan entirely after the Ministry of Transportation and Communications re-affirmed that Uber, as it is currently licensed, must operate as a rental car company and charge passengers by the hour (or day), regardless of the length of their trip.

Furthermore, as rental car drivers, Uber drivers would not be allowed to drive around waiting for the next ride — they would have to drive back to the rental car lot before initiating another ride. This, clearly, would render Uber’s business model inoperable. Uber has four months to comply before the fines start rolling in.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Taiwan has been a place where I haven’t missed ride-hailing apps at all and is also a place where Uber is having such difficulty.

Also Read: Today’s top tech news, May 10: Uber sets IPO at US$45 per share

In other markets, Uber and other ride-hailing apps went in and became essential before local regulators could react. By the time regulators wanted to step in, ride-hailing companies had mobilized users into their own political base, making it politically difficult for regulators to protect local taxi companies and stamp out ride-hailing companies.

Why hasn’t the same thing happened in Taiwan? I’ll make some observations and compare them to the US:

1. Public transportation is convenient, non-stigmatized, and pleasant.

This is not the case in many US cities. Where I spent most of my life in Columbus, Ohio, public buses were avoided as dangerous and “for poor people”. I would say at least 95 per cent of my college classmates had never ridden the bus before, despite it being free for students.

The same applies for my classmates at Columbia (which is in Harlem), where in my experience the buses are mostly used by low-income, African-American riders. The New York subway, while used by most, is dirty, old, and unpleasant compared to most other subway systems. Some of my classmates avoid it at night for safety reasons.

2. Cabs are plentiful.

It has been so easy to find an empty cab at all times of the day and night in Taipei that I was actually concerned about their occupancy rates (it’s a decent 68.4 per cent). Contrast this with pre-Uber New York, where illegal “gypsy cabs” were rampant because traditional cabs were often frustratingly hard to get.

3. The lack of competition in ride-hailing services led to higher fares.

Interestingly,  Uber is the only major ride-hailing company operating in Taiwan. Didi made an attempt before leaving last year after being deemed an illegal service. I conjecture that the price wars and driver/rider subsidies which had produced artificially low fares in other cities did not materialize in Taipei, so ride-hailing fares were not so low that enough people developed the habit of calling an Uber instead of looking for a cab. I still remember five years ago when Uber and Lyft were giving away ride credits left and right, on top of already-low fares.

4. Taiwan cabbies have more integrity compared to cabbies in other countries.

The last time I took a cab in the US was in Las Vegas, getting from the airport to our hotel. The conversation was pleasant, and the car was clean enough, but unfortunately, the driver took the “scenic route”. After I declined to tip the driver, the driver called me out and I told him I didn’t appreciate being long-hauled. He could only look down in shame.

Also Read: Will Uber’s global alliances help or hurt its future as a public company?

This is, of course, common treatment towards outsiders in many places. Most cabbies are not like this, but one experience had me swear off traditional cabs and made me a loyal Uber user. Before starting my internship I spent a week as a tourist in Taipei with family and we took plenty of cabs and this never happened. Drivers were pleasant, helpful, considerate, and honest. In other words, how Uber drivers behave in the US.

5. Tipping is not part of the culture in Taiwan.

Honestly, tipping is my least favorite thing about America. It is mostly uncomfortable, forced, and insincere. Although ride-hailing apps have now added tipping functionality, the experience is cashless and tipping happens through the app after the ride ends. No awkward face-to-face tipping. This has never been an issue in Taiwan, where you only might be inclined to round up to the nearest NT$10 (US$0.30) as a form of appreciation.

Conclusion

So although Uber in Taiwan has offered a useful service at a cheaper price, I believe the factors above have contributed to the political feasibility of Taiwanese regulators blocking Uber from operating as they do in other countries. The Taiwanese people haven’t protested regulations to the same degree as other countries because a life in Taiwan without Uber is still pretty convenient, which is something you can’t say about the US.

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Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) freelancers can work up to 12 months in the country

The government’s digital arm Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) announced that it has partnered with the Singapore blockchain-based non-profit organisation NEM Foundation and the Estonian cross-border job marketplace Jobbatical. The partnership will set up an up to 12-months work visa programme for tech and distributed ledger technology (DLT) talents, as reported by The Star Online.

Malaysia has seen a growing demand for blockchain technology talents, which prompted MDEC to launch mentioned programme.

MDEC’s collaborators, NEM Foundation, is a Singapore-based non-profit organization in charge of the NEM (XEM) blockchain project, and Jobbatical is an Estonian startup that connects tech professionals around the globe with firms in need of their services.

The roles of the collaborators will be NEM Foundation to specify the type of talents needed, and Jobbatical on scouting for them via its platform.

According to the vice president of MDEC growth ecosystem, Norhizam Abdul Kadir, proposals have already been sent to the country’s Immigration Department and the Home Ministry, to support the Digital Freelancer Programme and approve the selected talents.

Also Read: Funding news is not public relations: Building your startup’s story world

The program, Kadir said, will ride on the existing Professional Visit Pass, which enables foreign workers with the relevant professional qualification or skills to migrate to Malaysia to work as expatriates for up to 12 months. Besides working, the ones qualified can also undergo practical training with a local company on behalf of an overseas firm.

As of now, MDEC confirms that the programme will be focussed mainly on blockchain experts, even with the country’s interest in attracting talents with skills in new technologies such as AI and IoT.

“The number of Visas to be issued depends on the projects that will be run by DLT companies in Malaysia,“ said Kadir.

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With devices such as Amazon Alexa and Google Home seeing widespread adoption, more customers are relying on voice commands to purchase items online

Voice recognition devices are quickly becoming the driving force behind a shift in consumer behaviour. People no longer want to waste time typing out a query into Google, they want to simply be able to speak it aloud and find the answers they’re looking for.

In fact, according to a recent survey, around 71 per cent of smart technology users would prefer to use a voice search assistant than actually types out their search. Given that just five years ago this technology was still in its infancy, it’s incredible to see how far it’s come in such a short space of time. It’s already the norm in many people’s lives.

Thanks to the developments in technology pioneered by the major players like Apple and Google, it is now easier than ever to ask a question from the comfort of your own sofa or while you’re in the car.

Because of this dramatic shift in the way we use the internet, it’s only wise for businesses to adapt in order to keep up. Brands need to take voice search into consideration when preparing content for their website. So, what do you need to do to meet such requirements? And who is leading the way when it comes to voice search?

Where did it all begin?

In the beginning, voice search used to consist of calling a number from your phone and speaking your search term down the phone. And for much time, that seemed to be what voice search was going to be. In 2011, Google announced it would be rolling out voice search through Google.com. At first, it was only accessible in English, and now it’s available in 60 different languages. However, since then, it’s come on leaps and bounds.

Also Read: Why we need to rethink how we measure SEO

The hummingbird update came in 2013, changing the concept of what it means to search via your voice through your phone. What if you didn’t need to call a number or search a site just to ask your query? What if you could simply speak to your phone and it could search instantly? This updated algorithm focused on natural language, taking the user’s way of speaking into consideration, as well as the context of the question being asked.

How are voice recognition devices currently being used?

Now, over tens of millions of Amazon Echo devices have been sold, with app developersintroducing a staggering 70,000 skills for Alexa. Having a personal assistant in the home is a completely common occurrence in many countries around the world.

It’s only natural that consumers are curious, as they always are when it comes to innovative, potentially life-changing technology. This curiosity has led to sales, and consequently, a change in the way we do things. Because where more devices are being sold, it’s an indication that consumers are also searching the internet in a new way.

Businesses are being thrown in the deep end when it comes to meeting consumer demand, having to create suitable content that’s going to be easy to find when they search with their voice.

Gearing content towards voice search

Currently, a great deal of content available on the web is keyword-focused, meaning that it’s aiming to target customers through the keywords that they’re searching Google for. This could be anything from ‘printed t-shirts’ to ‘best restaurants in Shoreditch’. However, when a user starts asking Google a question using their voice instead of typing it into the search bar, the way it’s worded will inevitably be different.

To try and target their audience asking such questions, businesses may try adding more FAQ’s to their website. That way, they can word them using LSI keywords which will seem more natural, emulating the way a person may actually ask the question. The idea is that this will capture both long-tail and voice search traffic, effectively preparing for the switch in searching methods before it’s begun.

Another way businesses may try to tailor their content towards voice search is to have clear, concise content that’ll serve as a rich snippet for when consumers ask questions. This will mean there is a short, effective reply for any query.

Furthermore, page speed is also a big factor when it comes to voice search. This also influences whether or not your page will appear in the voice search results.

Considering the person using voice search is likely to be on-the-go or in a hurry, your page speed optimisation should be a high priority. If you fail to ensure your page loads quickly, you risk losing out on a potential customer if they visit a competitor instead.

It’s crucial that companies stay ahead of the game when it comes to this shift in voice search. If they don’t, they risk losing out to competitors who were quick to roll out these changes to the content.

Setbacks with voice search

One of the main things holding voice search back is people’s lack of willingness to do it public. At home, searching via your voice on a device is fine, nobody’s around to hear you talking to a device. But in public, people are still little reserved when it comes to voice recognition helpers like Siri or Cortana. Over time, as the popularity of this way of searching grows, the hope is it will become more normalised.

With increased use should come increased accuracy, a problem that users have recently been experiencing with their voice recognition devices. Often, their queries are met with an ‘I’m sorry, I do not understand the question’ response.

In addition to this, people do still needa physical search result in some cases where the information simply can’t be digested. For example, if you’re looking for things to do in London, seeing a block of information is a lot more helpful than information being read out to you. As a reader, you’re a lot more in control.

Voice search and the IoT

Another element to voice search is the Internet of Things (IoT). Voice search is superior now, capable of doing more things far beyond just answering your search queries. The IoT refers to smart appliances and machines, geared to work with voice recognition devices. These smart devices aim to help people with tasks all around the home, such as controlling the heating, turning on the lights, picking a TV programme and using entertainment systems.

Also Read: What role does big data play in the insurance industry?

The smart sensors in the devices gather information from the user, before actioning it into a task. When it comes to voice recognition ready appliances, all commands can be done via the voice. This isn’t just for use around the home, either. It can be used across a number of industries such as healthcare, agriculture and retail.

What the future of voice search could bring

It’s predicted that by 2020, around 30 per cent of web browsing sessions will be done without a screen. At the rate that Amazon’s Alexa devices are flying off the shelves, it’s not hard to imagine this prediction becoming a reality.

It’s likely that it will become even more seamlessly integrated with the Internet of Things, meaning the whole home will become voice-recognition ready. It’s an exciting time for both voice search developers and the public alike, as we look forward to a futuristic world.

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Image Credit : Karsten Neglia

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All startups had received funding in the past year and have been hailed as one of the respective country’s achievements

When it comes to funding, these startups and their countries are on a fast-track and catching up to its neighboring countries like Singapore and Indonesia. Remember their names because it might be the next big thing coming out of the frontier market tech ecosystem.

Groupin, Cambodia: The Buzzfeed of Cambodia and Myanmar

Based in Cambodia, Groupin is the holding company of e-commerce Little Fashion and digital media firm Mediaload. It has raised a Series A funding of US$5 million from Mekong-focused private equity firm Belt Road Capital Management (BRCM).

The company can lay claim to have raised the largest public funding round in the Cambodian tech startup scene. Groupin is set to expand its footprints by investing in mobile technology, logistics chains, product vertical expansion, and customer support.

Groupin was founded by siblings Vichet In, Vichea In, Visal In, and Mayan In. Managing companies from two vastly different sectors seems to be working in their favor.

Little Fashion, its fashion and lifestyle brand, was launched as an informal Facebook retailer distributing fashion apparel from China/Thailand into Cambodia in late 2010. It slowly grew into a low-cost online fashion platform called L192.

Mediaload, on the other hand, is a digital media firm boasting 8 million monthly users and 20 million social media followers.  It focusses on a content generation of local information with topics ranging from entertainment to sports. It is best known under the brands Khmerload in Cambodia and Myanmarload in Myanmar.

2019 is showing some signs that the Cambodian startup scene is beginning to burgeon. The country saw its first startup conference called Cambodia Outlook conference being held in March and the launch of a US$5 million USD startup fund by Smart Axiata.

Cambodia is sprinting, and Groupin is its first of many success stories.

Honorable mention: Food delivery Meal Temple, edutech SALA, mobile gaming GoGames, and more here

Leflair, Vietnam: The flash-sale model, branded goods e-commerce platform

Leflair is a Vietnam-based e-commerce platform that sources branded goods and becomes the official distributors to Vietnamese customers. In January, it raised a total of US$7 million in series B funding, with US$3 million from South Korean TV home shopping company GS Shop, and US$4 million from Cambodia-based Belt Road Capital Management, as reported by Tuoi Tre News.

Just a year before that, the startup raised US$3 million in series A fundin.  In total the company has raised almost US$12 million.

Loic Gautier, the co-founder, and CEO at Leflair, said that the company is optimistic that cross-border is the future of e-commerce in Southeast Asia. Founded in December 2015, Leflair follows the flash-sales model that has proven successful in Europe.

Also Read: This co-working space tackles the number one problem working moms face: Guilt

In a recent development, Vietnam has seen multiple deals from prominent investors that have committed to bankrolling the country’s startup industry.

Just a week ago, an agreement at the Vietnam Venture Summit that saw Golden Gate Ventures, Access Ventures, Burda Principal Investments, 500 Startups, Jungle Ventures, and Cyberagent Ventures, among others will see them committed VND10 trillion (US$425 million) investment in Vietnamese startups for the next three years.

The country’s top VC Vina Capital also entered into an agreement with Mirae-Naver Asia Growth Fund in which Mirae Asset invested an undisclosed amount in VinaCapital Ventures. Naver will provide access to its portfolio companies to facilitate their expansion plans.

Honorable mentions: e-Wallet service startup MoMo, travel accommodation platform Luxstay

Rent 2 Own Myanmar: Motorcycle access for the rural population

Launched in January 2016, Rent to Own (R2O) provides an affordable motorcycle contract for rural users. R2O managed to cover a massive portion of central Myanmar — spanning the Ayerwaddy delta area to Shan State mountains. The startup says it means they are serving 70,000 clients.

Last year in November, it received a US$6 million investment from Germany’s development finance institution DEG and agRIF, an impact focused fund which provides funding to financial intermediaries targeting farmers and the rural population.

Joining the German investors was Daiwa PI Partners, an investment arm of a major Japanese securities firm who purchased shares from one of the existing shareholders, as reported by The Myanmar Times.

This move signified the growing attention towards Myanmar as an emerging startup scene by the international investors. Interest in Myanmar’s startups has been on the rise as investors scour the region for potential returns.

Partnering over 400 motorcycle dealers in the country, R2O allows their clients access to a fully insured bike, as well as maintenance, for a monthly fee, said R2O CEO Philippe Lenain.

Looking at what R2O does, Myanmar has been showing time and time again the knack for having fully-adjusted, innovative startups that provide the very solution for the country and its population. Myanmar recorded an 80 percent smartphone penetration rate that leaves room for similar startups to catch up.

Honorable mentions: Logistic tech Kargo, fintech Daung Capital.

First Circle, Philippines: Tapping into the GDP’s main contributor with friendly loan terms

First Circle was founded by CEO Patrick Lynch and CTO Tony Ennis with the goal of offering short-term, friendly loan for small businesses to scale. SMEs account for 99.6 percent in the country’s business, and First Circle provides a formal credit scoring system and reliable loan coverage.

In the investment led by Venturra Capital, with participation from Insignia Ventures Partners, Hong Kong’s Silverhorn Investment Advisors, and Tryb Group, Philippine-based SME-lending service First Circle raised US$26 million just nine months ago, as reported by TechCrunch.

Realising that emerging markets are not capital-developed, First Circle’s business model is to use third parties for capital-sourcing, including asset managers and family offices, who take half of the loan book.

From the Philippines, the most recent game-changing fund would be the one by JG Summit Holdings, a conglomerate in the Philippines. The conglomerate launched a US$50 million fund to back startups in Series A or Series B rounds that either supplement or disrupt its current holdings — such as real estate, retail, and airlines as well as targeting finance, consumer services, new media, logistics, and healthcare.

Honorable mentions: Healthtech startup MariaHealth, edutech Edukasyon, trucking logistic tech Inteluck, insurtech Saphron.

Sindabad, Bangladesh: a B2B, direct-to-office e-commerce service

Sindabad.com provides a B2B e-commerce service that supplements businesses like offices and factories with a platform for manufacturing and consumption purchases, all direct-to-office deliveries.

Just last month, Dhaka-based e-commerce company Sindabad.com raised a US$4.15 million in a Series A funding round from Aavishkaar Frontier Fund, which is managed by impact investment firm Aavishkaar, as reported by Business Standard.

Also Read: 5 growth stage startups that are leaders in Thailand’s ecosystem

Before this funding, Sindabad had received investment from Frontier Fund – a Bangladesh-focussed private equity fund managed by Brummer & Partners Bangladesh.

In one of our contributor pieces, it is stated that Bangladesh has around 90.501 million internet users, as of August 2018, which creates a huge opportunity for e-Commerce to grow. The startup environment in Bangladesh is nascent but very active, with 200 startups slated to launch every year, most of which are in e-commerce and software development, in a country of 170 million people.

Bangladesh’s tech scene is opening up, with a few local accelerators springing up training first-time founders, and the government set to add three more high-tech parks by 2020.

Honorable mentions: Ride-sharing platform Shohoz, P2P solar electricity trading SOLShare, Facebook shop platform ShopUp.

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Photo by Peter Hershey on Unsplash

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