Cultural nuance and understanding can provide an opportunity to stand apart in the mobile app industry

Establishing a mobile presence has become an integral factor for business success in today’s dynamic market. Globally, apps account for over 80 per cent of mobile time and with app downloads predicted to grow to well over 250 billion downloads by 2022, it is clear to see where the opportunity lies for marketers to grow and consolidate their user base, particularly in Southeast Asia where 350 million internet users spend more time on mobile than any other market.

To succeed, businesses and independent app developers should go beyond just launching an app and increasing downloads. They need to own its entire life cycle — including user engagement and retention.

One important aspect of engagement is to seize the opportunities that come once in a year. The festive month of Ramadan, in this sense, is perhaps the ticket to making your app stand out in a crowded marketplace.

Nearly 250 million people will be celebrating Ramadan across Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. The potential impact of Ramadan on businesses is, therefore, undeniable.

As we know, consumers and businesses alike are influenced by their surroundings and habits. It’s no surprise that just like Thanksgiving and Black Friday in the United States, or Boxing Day in England, Ramadan makes a serious impact on Southeast Asian businesses.

Over the past decade, this sacred time of fasting and prayer has called for a shift in the digital realm. Users are increasingly turning to their phones for shopping, information or diversion, profoundly impacting how app marketers are approaching their mobile strategies and campaigns around this festive season.

Ramadan this year, will start on the evening of Sunday, 5 May and end on the evening of Tuesday, 4 June. This leaves businesses with a very short window to further plan their marketing activities for this period.

Also Read: Learn how this Echelon speaker got his startup acquired by Grab

Here are the top three key pointers to ensure that mobile-first businesses reach the right audience with the right messaging this Ramadan season.

Benefiting from the 13th Month Salary Allowance

Businesses should consider allocating more of their Ramadan campaign budget spend to Indonesia, as the largest economy in Southeast Asia has been a top performer over the past few years. Besides the country’s strong economic growth in 2018, smartphone penetration has been steadily on the rise, growing from 24 per cent in 2017 to 26 per cent in 2018.

The most significant opportunity for businesses comes from a steady increase in the purchasing power of their users in Indonesia during this period.

“Tunjangan Hari Raya” (THR) translated to “Religious Holiday Allowance” is commonly known as the 13th salary, and is usually given two weeks before Eid. This additional “month’s salary” provides app users with the additional boost in buying power, which can in many cases translate into more in-app purchases.

While current data shows that Ramadan observers tend to spend this disposable income on new clothes, gadgets grooming and gifting, perhaps there’s more than can be done outside the typical habits.

With so many transactions taking place over this festive period, marketers who get their messaging right will be able to capitalise on this massive opportunity and direct shoppers and browsers alike to their app.

The Right Message at the Right Time of the Day

To campaign more effectively during Ramadan, businesses should take the opportunity to secure a better understanding of the holiday itself. Appreciating the nuances and traditions of different observances can make all the difference.

Whether it’s rising for pre-dawn Sahur, fasting through the lunch hours or winding down after Buka Puasa (breaking the fast), marketers can learn the times of day in which they should avoid pushing alerts for offers and discounts to their audiences, and which other times would boost app opens and revenues.

A recent report from AppsFlyer indicates that for most app categories, the hours between 3 am to 6 am before Sahur are when festival observers tend to be most active online and make the most app purchases. Other peak periods include lunch hours and evenings, after Buka Puasa.

On the other hand, after observers leave work from 4 pm to 8 pm, apps register fewer opens and purchases, compared to other periods in the year. During these hours, in fact, many consumers are commuting in traffic or preparing for Buka Puasa.

Localisation is More Than Just Translation

Localisation does not only refer to the local user interface but also covers marketing content. Advertisements and articles created in one geography can be interpreted differently in another.

Indonesia and Malaysia have many regional dialects and languages, but more importantly, each country has a unique culture that should be respected and reflected in any marketing strategy. Businesses should then ensure that they take into account the cultural differences at the social, organisational, and individual levels.

For instance, Mudik is the tradition of returning home to celebrate with family and is observed across Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. It is also commonly known as ‘Pulang Kampung’ in Indonesia and ‘Balik Kampung’ in Malaysia and Singapore.

This period sees a substantial rise in travel spending on flight and train tickets, car rentals, and accommodation. Mudik presents an opportunity for marketers to personalise their messages based on their customer profile, which includes information about the user’s hometown and place of work, language and personal preferences.

Also Read: Want free Echelon tickets? Solve this riddle

In conclusion, businesses should be spending substantial portions of their budgets on Ramadan, when supported by strong data recording purchasing and engagement patterns.

As the opportunity to re-plan marketing campaigns within the four weeks of Ramadan is small, marketing campaigns should be devised in a lean way, by testing and iterating efforts throughout this period.

Furthermore, by taking advantage of specific seasonal occasions, such as Indonesia’s 13 Month’s salary and Pulang Kampung, and targeting users with localised content at specific times of the day, app marketers will be able to tap into unexpected revenue sources and boost user retention.

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With the #MeToo campaign turning two years, Echelon is examining whether the tech world done enough to create a safe space for diversity and level the playing field

It has been almost two years since The New York Times published a story detailing decades of allegations of sexual harassment against Hollywood heavyweight Harvey Weinstein. Actresses Rose McGowan and Ashley Judd were among the women who came forward to speak up against him.

This news story opened a Pandora’s box, with hundreds of women across the world coming out to share their sexual assault stories at workplaces, offices, hotels, and even streets and public transports, under the hashtag #MeToo on popular social media platforms, including Facebook.

The #MeToo campaign had massive repercussions not just in the movie world, but the tech world, too. Many high-profile women came forward to narrate the stories of sexual exploitations by widely-admired men in the tech world. The list included Cheryl Yeoh, the Founding CEO of the Malaysian Global Innovation & Creativity Centre (MaGIC), who in a detailed blog post shared the story of sexual assault by Dave McClure, former Head of 500 Startups, at her apartment back in 2015.

Echelon Asia Summit 2019 is just a few days away –and we have more FREE tickets to give!

Now, with #MeToo campaign turning two years, has the tech world done enough to create a safe space for diversity and level the playing field? Echelon 2019 is examining this through a panel discussion.

Titled #Metoo 2 years on: Has the tech world done enough to create a safe space for diversity and level the playing field?, the discussion will be moderated by e27’s Senior Writer Anisa Menur Maulani.

The panelists are:

Gail Wong, Co-founder, Ladies Investment Club

Wong is a champion of women’s causes. She empowers women with their finances/business via proprietary programs, and coaches business leaders to bring their whole selves to work and life, and thrive on their terms. She has compassion for women resigned to fear, overwhelm, or dependence with their money, or those in gender-skewed business. She enjoys connecting with women about money strategies and aspirations.

She also organises and invests financial, human and social capital in women-led companies. Fusing both specialties as a practitioner and coach, she engages in uncommon conversations about what matters most to a person, and guide them through challenges to win in their lives.

Born in Singapore and a mother of two, Wong has worked in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and London. She is also a vocalist, yogi, and a mental wellness advocate.

In Wong’s own words, human beings are the happiest and most productive when all three facets of being — mind, heart and spirit — harmonise. “My own search for higher purpose over a lifetime of academic and professional success propels me to coach talented people, who desire to serve the world to own their unique brilliance, truth and values. Together, we design life on their terms, one that fully expresses and maximises who they are.”

“My passion to forge a new normal – financial zen and mastery for every woman – inspired “Courageous Conversations about Money”. I bring women together in a safe space to demystify money and learn to handle it as naturally as our homes, careers and children.

She also leads investment platforms pairing female capital with women-led ventures. She champions and advises women leaders out to make money meaningfully.

Ling Lin, Head of Product, TransferWise Asia

Lin is all about product and customers. She has 10-plus years of experience in startup, product, general management, people operations, user experience, and international expansion.

As the Head of Product, Lin looks after 15 currencies across three products – send money, borderless, and cards. She has spent her time across North America, Asia, and Europe.

Prior to joining TransferWise, she was Senior Product Manager at Amazon. Previously, she was Chief of staff for OnePlus.

Also Read: We need to change the way we talk about sexual harassment, an interview with Cheryl Yeoh

Lin holds an MBA from INSEAD and a Master of Science/Bachelor of Science from Stevens Institute of Technology.

Mike Davie, Founder and CEO, Quadrant

Currently based in Singapore, Davie has been leading the commercialisation of disruptive mobile technology and ICT infrastructure for over a decade with leading global technology firms in Asia, the Middle East and North America.

He parlayed his vision and knowledge of the evolution of ICT into the creation of DataStreamX, a data analysis platform, in 2014. DataStreamX ultimately evolved into Quadrant, a blockchain-based platform that allows organisations to verify and interpret complex datafeeds, with a primary focus on location data. With Quadrant, organisations and individuals can now have full trust in their data and use it to build targeted solutions and allocate resources efficiently to meet the requirements of their customers, citizens, and colleagues.

Prior to founding Quadrant, Davie was a member of the Advanced Mobile Product Strategy Division at Samsung where he developed go-to-market strategies for cutting edge technologies created in the Samsung R&D Labs. He also provided guidance to Asia and Middle East telcos on their 4G/LTE infrastructure data needs and worked closely with them to monetize their M2M and telco analytics data.

Davie is a frequent speaker at ICT and Big Data conferences around the world. Topics of his talks include Monetisation of Data Assets, Data-as-a-Service, the Dichotomy of Real-time vs. Static Data.

In his personal time, Davie maintains a lifelong passion for extreme sports including Xterra, kite boarding, triathlons, snowboarding, and ice and rock climbing. He has participated in Xterra triathlons in places around the world including Malaysia, Thailand, and the APAC Championship in Philippines. He has also run the DMZ Half Marathon along the border between North and South Korea.

Have you booked your ticket yet? Use the code ECHELONFUTURE to secure yours.

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Growth is fantastic, but it needs to managed in such a manner whereby sustainability is not lost

Andreas Ehn was the first hire Spotify ever made back in 2006.

As the tech juggernaut’s first CTO, he was responsible for hiring the engineering team and leading the development of the systems that form the basis of music platform that most of us now use everyday.

Ehn recently made a trip to Sydney, Australia, as part of his role with Antler, a global startup generator and venture capital company which provides exceptional individuals with the opportunity to launch their own business.

Ehn spoke about building and scaling successful startups, sharing his tips and advice for other founders and entrepreneurs.

User Growth Vs Team Growth

“There are two sorts of growth that you battle with, but that also ultimately defines your success as a startup: one is the growth of your user base, and that’s the good side. But then the other side, which should be driven by the growth of your user base, is the team.”

“When I was at Spotify, which was roughly the first three and a half years, we doubled our headcount about every year. I think that’s at the upper limit of sustainable growth. A lot of startups have grown faster than that but I think that’s very difficult while retaining a fairly efficient organisation and culture.”

He went on to warn founders:

“You can have false positives when you try to identify your product market fit. Just because something grows really fast doesn’t necessarily mean that you can sustain it. You have to understand why does it grow and can I keep fuelling the fire in a sustainable way.”

Hiring is Key

Capturing and utilising great people with amazing skills is an important step toward success.

“When you meet exceptional talent I would say bring them on board even if you don’t have a specific job for them because you will find something valuable for them to do,” says Ehn.

“If you can keep the number of people (staff) down and still serve your customers, that’s an extreme benefit because you can keep the organisation much more focused and there’s an enormous overhead to headcount growth.”

Although overall, Ehn identified that hiring is difficult for most organisations across the world, irrelevant of their size or industry.

“Each company has its own problems, but regardless of geography hiring is a constant challenge,” he says.

“Either you’re in a geography where there isn’t much of it, or you are but there’s a lot of other companies competing for it. Regardless of whether your in a place that doesn’t have a lot of great engineers, or if you’re in the middle of Silicon Valley, it’s equally hard because it’s just more competitive where there are large talent pools. Everyone struggles with that.”

Being a Tech Leader

Throughout his career Ehn has been a leader in numerous forms. First as an engineering manager, then a CTO, as well as a board director, founder, advisor and investor. All roles in which he has lead teams or people to achieve better outcomes. From those experiences, Ehn says the most valuable aspect he has learned is to be transparent.

“Make sure everyone in the organisation has all the information,” he says.

“Part of that is just how you communicate and document that in a way that is accessible.”

Also Read: Jungle Ventures closes US$175M of third fund, targets US$220M

He said this is increasingly important that leaders of digital teams who may be dispersed across the globe.

Government Assistance

This needs no explanation:

“I get this question a lot: what can we do as a government for startups. There’s a lot of things you can do but most of them involve not getting in the way.”

Winning Founders

When asked what he thinks founders ought to be or possess in order to be successful in the future, Ehn said:

“Someone that has insight that is not commonly understood yet, something new that people in general haven’t thought of or definitely think can’t work  and has the ability, skillset, but perhaps most importantly, the tenacity and drive to pursue that and fight off all the obstacles that will be in his or her way along the road. And when everyone thinks you’re going to lose, you still think you’re going to win.”

Scratch Your Own Itch

Knowing how to start or what to focus on when launching a business can seem daunting. Instead, Ehn suggests entrepreneurs should simply “scratch your own itch”.

“What you need to think about it is how common a problem is it, how big of a problem is it?” he says.

“If you really want to turn it (your idea) into a startup then you need to be confident that the business solves a big enough of a problem for a big enough of a market that is willing to pay to get this problem solved.”

Also Read: AsiaIOA teams up with e27 at Echelon Asia Summit to raise international awareness for Taiwan startups

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Photo by Heidi Sandstrom. on Unsplash

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The funding round for Triplogic is the latest in the Indonesian logistics tech sector in the past few months

Indonesian logistics startup Triplogic today announced an undisclosed seed funding round from venture capital firm East Ventures.

The Bandung-based startup plans to use new funding to support product and tech development.

It will also use the funding to expand its logistics network by partnering with small- and medium-sized entrepreneurs (SMEs) to become their drop shipping points.

The startup is currently working with over 1,600 SMEs and aim to add more than 15,000 drop points in 2019.

Triplogic itself is currently operating in 61 cities across Indonesia, including Jakarta, Bandung, Surabaya, Jogjakarta, and Palembang.

“Triplogic is not just an ordinary logistics company that only does parcel delivery. We are an end-to-end partner that provides logistics, parcel delivery, fulfillment, and distribution services for SMEs. As a Logistics-as-a-Service (LAAS) company, we focus on creating a strong supply chain ecosystem,” explained Triplogic CEO and Co-Founder Oki Earlivan in a press statement.

Also Read: Fore Coffee secures US$8.5M funding from East Ventures

Co-founded by Earlivan, Rowdy Fatha, and Krisna Adiarini, Triplogic’s services included instant delivery by setting up drop shipping points in SMEs and local shops that feature smart lockers and drop boxes.

The funding round for Triplogic is the latest in the series of funding for Indonesia-based logistics and warehousing startups, such as Kargo and the fourth batch participants of GK-Plug and Play Indonesia.

For East Ventures, the investment is part of its effort to build an ecosystem of startups in Indonesia.

“East Ventures has invested in a wide range of companies within the commerce and supply chain ecosystem, and we are extremely excited about how our ecosystem is starting to take shape,” said East Ventures Partner Melisa Irene.

“All the e-commerce platforms we have invested in creating value by helping customers obtain their products easily, creating a seamless online-to-offline experience; the recent example, Fore Coffee. We realised that Triplogic, as the last mile player, is the missing piece in the puzzle of our core supply chain ecosystem, and it fits perfectly,” she added.

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Image Credit: Triplogic

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The company is experiencing a crisis and is trying to raise enough money to get through the year

Honestbee, the grocery-delivery startup that is navigating choppy waters, has fired CEO Joel Sng, as reported by TechCrunch.

The exit of Sng means the only remaining Co-founder is Jonathan Low, who is in the engineering department. It is not immediately clear who will take over from Sng.

A strange quirk of Honestbee was that Joel Sng was also a Partner at Formation8, the company that lead its US$15 million investment from a few years ago.

The Co-founder was let go amidst a full-blown crisis whereby they company shut down their operations in the Philippines, Indonesia and Hong Kong operations. They have also suspended food-delivery in Thailand.

The company plans to lay off about 10 per cent of its staff and was reportedly being pursued for a purchase by Grab. Honestbee had held acquisition talks with Grab, Go-Jek, and others in recent weeks.

Honestbee has had no issues raising money, having nabbed US$46 million over the past three years. But, TechCrunch reported a burn rate of US$6.5 million per month that appears to have come to a head this week.

The startup seems to be trying to raise enough money to get it through the year.

The future of Honestbee seems to be an offline supermarket, a futuristic store that integrates technology into an offline grocery experience.

Also Read: Honestbee halts local operation in the Philippines

TechCrunch previously reported that Honestbee was struggling to pay suppliers and was experiencing payroll delays. The article also stated that executives within the company were leaving.

Honestbee released a generic statement about their current struggles but has mostly refused to comment to media questions about the company’s future.

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Krungsri Finnovate, Thailand-based Krungsri Bank’s venture capital arm injects an undisclosed amount into the startup’s Series A+

Krungsri Finnovate, a VC arm under Krungsri Bank, announced that it has invested into the extended Series A round of Thai customer relations management (CRM) startup Choco CRM, as reported by DealStreetAsia. Besides CRM, Choco CRM also offers point of sales (POS) services.

Prior to investing the undisclosed amount into Choco CRM, Krungsri Finnovate has invested in four startups. It previously funded blockchain and online payment unicorn Omise, fintech company Finnomena, proptech startup Baania, and AI-based banking system developer Silot.

Choco CRM targets small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with its CRM and POS solutions that offer personalised rewards and promotions. It claimed to be able to connect with the end-users through a physical card, mobile phone number, and a mobile application.

“The goal of this investment is to facilitate SMEs operators to be able to deliver financial services and to achieve business management efficiency and to have access to enhanced financial services, including Information-based Lending platform of Krungsri,” said Krungsri Finnovate managing director Sam Tanskul.

As for Choco CRM, its founder and CEO Sirasit Suriyapattanapong stated that this partnership has helped paving way for Choco CRM to access the financial services market, in addition to its current customers such as restaurants, gadgets, and fashion stores.

Also Read: Jungle Ventures closes US$175M of third fund, targets US$220M

Krungsri will be a key driver in the development of a payment gateway for Choco CRM’s POS users.

Before securing this investment, Choco CRM had secured US$1.25 million in funding from InVent back in September 2018. InVent is the corporate venture capital arm of Thailand’s telecommunication firm INTOUCH Holdings.

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Helping businesses transact faster as part of Singapore’s move towards a Smart Nation

Extensive paperwork and lengthy application processes are two major pain points cited by business owners when transacting with government agencies.

Administering a business is hard work all on its own, and business owners need to feel supported when dealing with government transactions.

Solutions for this and many other everyday issues are continually being looked at by the Government Technology Agency of Singapore (GovTech), the government’s digital transformation arm. GovTech harnesses the power of digital technologies to strengthen Singapore’s tech capability and interconnectedness within government networks, in an endeavour to improve the quality of life in the island nation.

In an effort to enable faster, fuss-free and more secure digital transactions, and as part of a greater framework to foster a Smart Nation, GovTech spearheaded MyInfo Business in 2019.

 

Bringing it up a notch with MyInfo Business

 

This digital service is an extension of the existing MyInfo platform. Personal data services found in MyInfo have now been expanded to include corporate data with MyInfo Business. Since January 2019, MyInfo Business has been in a pilot with three local banks – Development Bank of Singapore (DBS), Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC) and United Overseas Bank (UOB) – to facilitate speedier credit assessments for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

With the consent of the SME business owner, MyInfo Business automatically populates bank forms with business data including the basic profile of the owner, business address, UENs and names, shareholders, capital, financial highlights, grants and more. Banks retrieve the information digitally from government agencies in a secure manner, which effectively eliminates the need for paper documentation and verification, thus saving precious time for business owners.

Also read: Singapore’s GovTech agency aims to make e-gov services user friendly

Through MyInfo Business, banks were able to process account openings and loan applications faster, cutting down transaction time by 60 to 70 percent on average.

SMEs would also enjoy the benefit of streamlined operations, shortened application times, reduced reliance on hard copy submissions, and improved access to commercial services.

“It’s a hassle-free experience with MyInfo Business. All we have to do is login and submit already-verified information to the bank. This would have taken us days to complete in the past, but now it only requires a streamlined eight minutes to process,” said Mr Eric Chua, Chief Executive Officer at Rocket Buzzer.

 

A springboard for business management

 

Beyond the pilot, MyInfo Business APIs are scheduled for release in the second half of 2019. This would further promote the development of intuitive and convenient digital commercial services for SMEs, and is part of the Singapore government’s efforts to co-create a Smart Nation with the private sector. It is expected that around 220,000 SMEs would gain from this initiative.

Enterprises looking to offer B2B digital services via MyInfo Business can visit https://business.myinfo.gov.sg to find out more, and subscribe to the mailing list to receive updates on the service.

 

A national digital identity in a Smart Nation: the future and beyond

 

MyInfo Business is a vital component of Singapore’s National Digital Identity (NDI) platform, which also encompasses SingPass, CorpPass, and MyInfo. With NDI as a key enabler for Singapore’s Smart Nation vision, citizens and businesses alike will benefit from the growth of seamless and secure digital transactions. The NDI platform will also be a core infrastructure which industry partners can utilise to build innovative services. As Singapore gears to accelerate adoption of technology, services like MyInfo Business will contribute greatly towards a vibrant Digital Economy.

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e27 TOP100 winners will be awarded a fast-track pass to compete at SLINGSHOT!

Every major city in Southeast Asia has a goal to become the major startup hub in the region. They all have their own unique characteristics — be it market size, specific industry or gaps that have not been filled by a competitor.

For Singapore, its advantage is access to capital and corporates. According to Enterprise Singapore, the city-state is home to 150 VCs that facilitated 353 deals worth US$10.5 billion. Furthermore, many corporates like Google, Facebook and Microsoft have made Singapore their APAC headquarters.

This has helped create a honeypot effect that has resulted in the city hosting over 4,000 startups employing 22,000 people.

It is in this context that Enterprise Singapore is officially opening its SLINGSHOT 2019 programme. The international pitching competition is part of the agency’s mission to “deepen efforts with global and local partners to strengthen the startup ecosystem in Singapore”.

It has also partnered with e27‘s TOP100 programme. The winning startups at Echelon Asia Summit 2019 will be fast-tracked to pitch at SLINGSHOT.

Also Read: Indonesian logistics tech startup Triplogic raises seed funding round

This year, the competition is introducing a few new programmes. They are as follows:

Dealmaking: The startups will be selected according to investment and co-innovation interests from judges and corporates. This means that startups can feel confident at least a portion of the prizes up for grabs. This includes S$25,000 (US$18,300) in cash and an investment opportunity from ST Engineering. FundedHere is also offering a S$200,000 (US$147,000) investment opportunity.

Also Read: AsiaIOA teams up with e27 at Echelon Asia Summit to raise international awareness for Taiwan startups

Startups will also have an opportunity at S$25,000 (US$18,300) from Danone, L’Oréal and Rolls-Royce.

Other non-financial prizes include 18 months of workspace at JTC LaunchPad, 3-months access to Found8 community programmes and hot-desking space and cooperation possibilities with Ascott, Philips and WeAre Group. The startups will also receive a free booth at the tech conference SWITCH.

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The sale includes ownership stake in some notable businesses

Axiata Digital Sdn. Bhd. (AD), the digital services arm of Axiata Group Berhad (Axiata), announced that it has agreed to sell its Digital Ventures portfolio at a valuation of USD 140 million.

It will sell its portfolio to Pegasus 7 Ventures Pte Ltd (Pegasus) managed by Gordian Capital, a Singapore-based investment fund.

The portfolio companies currently under management are StoreKing, BIMA, FreedomPop, 11street and etobee. Co-investors that include Allianz X, Kinnevik, Millicom, LetterOne, Intel Capital, Atomico, Mangrove Capital Partners, LeapFrog Investments, and Kejora Ventures.

“The partners in Pegasus 7 understand our vision, our markets and our portfolio companies which we’ve built to focus on our ecosystem of telco and digital assets. We strongly believe this handover will ensure the assets continue to thrive through access to our customer base, joint marketing, and other synergistic activities,” said Mohd Khairil Abdullah, CEO, Axiata Digital.

Under Gautam Saxena’s leadership, founder and CEO of Pegasus 7 Ventures, Pegasus said that it will drive the growth of the portfolio. Saxena is a senior investment banker and former Head of Asia Telecom and Media with Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

“The addition of these assets to the Pegasus 7 portfolio is synergistic with our thematic focus and will serve as an enabler for our future growth path,” said Saxena.

Currently, the existing portfolio is largely focussed on companies that address the needs of underserved consumers and encompass services such as micro-insurance, online to offline (O2O)/rural commerce, e-commerce, last mile solutions for banks, and e-mobile virtual network operator (e-MVNO) segments.

Also Read: Indonesian logistics tech startup Triplogic raises seed funding round

Pegasus has stated that it plans to accelerate value creation by scaling these companies and enhancing their access to global financial, strategic, and operational partners.

In the meantime, Axiata Digital said that it will continue to focus on its three core verticals which include digital financial services (Boost), digital advertising (ada), and digital platform (Apigate).
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Image Credit: Axiata Digital

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Maybe it was the youthful nature, but all 10 companies had some sort of altruistic mission

An entrepreneur pitched a product that helped deaf people with day-to-day communications. One company was educating young people about technology and another was trying to radically alter how cafes approach interior design.

At the inaugural *SCAPE HubQuarters Fellowship Demo Day, young companies spent the evening pitching to a host of judges, mentors and audience members to further validate whether or not their idea can grow into the next sexy startup story.

A major reason why these companies were in their infancy has to do with the mis-sion of *SCAPE, which is a platform designed to empower people in Singapore’s un-der the age of 35. For a lot of participants, *SCAPE became the necessary support group to give them confidence to chase their startup dreams.

The *SCAPE event was the conclusion of a 6-month-long fellowship programme that hosted 21 qualifying teams across 22 sessions to help them get their business off the ground. 10 of them were pitching at the Demo Day.

“This space is really meant for the youth. Last year, we curated 5,000 square feet ofspace to turn it into a co-working space for our young entrepreneurs to incubate. My congratulations again to our 10 teams that [pitched] today,” said Goh Kok Wee, the Executive Director of *SCAPE.

The jury present for the pitches were as follows:

• David Ding, Head of Fintech (Regional), DBS Innovation Group
• Timothy Tay, Assistant Manager,raiSE Singapore
• Brian Liu, Co-Chair, Young ChangeMakers
• Felix Tang, Associate Director, NUS Enterprise
• Yoav Elgrichi, Founder, ImpacTech
• Khor Qianyi, Senior Analyst & Head, Quest Ventures
• Alex Ng, Managing Director, Spaze Ventures
• Lavanya Karthikeyan, Business Development & Legal, PBA Group
• Ori Takemura, Assistant Vice President, Design Director, Singapore Press Holdings
• Low Jian Liang, Co-Founder, Reactor Ventures

For StaffAny, a *SCAPE participant and a winner of the 2019 e27 TOP100 Singapore regional qualifiers, the biggest value-add from the programme was access to mentors and connections.

“They introduced us to good mentors from the F&B industry. Through their experiences, we are able to identify potential pitfalls we might have because they are in the F&B industry. They know their stuff the best; inside-out,” said Eugene Ng, a Co-founder of StaffAny.

StaffAny was approaching the pitching competition as a BD lead generation exercise, hoping that a few of the tenants of the *SCAPE space (a mall-type building in Singapore’s Orchard neighborhood) could become future clients.

For Lena Toh, the Founder of goodgoblins, a recycling company, *SCAPE provided her an opportunity to take an idea that was not yet a company and transform it into a concrete startup.

“I had a normal job and just an idea. It helped me bring the idea to the stage where I have validated and [built a] prototype. We did a month-long pilot so that validated my idea about goodgoblins,” she said.

Toh ended up jumping into the deep end by quitting her job to pursue the company full-time. One takeaway of the event was a sense that the companies all had an altruistic mis-sion. Maybe it is the youthful energy, but the startups were more consistently trying to solve societal problems than other Demo Days. Let’s have a look!

Telelay

Telelay wants to make the day-to-day communication for deaf people more convenient. The strategy is to integrate video calls and a translator into the phone call process. Think about booking a restaurant, which can be challenging for a person with hear-ing impairments.

In Telelay, the user will use video chat to call an online interpreter, who would then facilitate the call with the recipient. The company wants to charge a small fee per call.

Shift

Shift wants to make cafes more flexible and dynamic with customisable furniture. The idea is to use magnetic blocks to allow people to “build what they need” in an open space.

For example, if you want to pop-in for a quick break, then placing two blocks on top of one another to create a standing table. Or for meetings, you can put 4-5 next to each other to create a table. The company wants to bring people in by making it a space for workshops and advocacy groups.

The idea is that the space will be free for these groups and their “fee” will be the price of coffee/food.

goodgoblins

goodgoblins is a home recyclables collection service that wants to help Singaporeans build the habit of recycling.

The company allows people to sign-up for a subscription service that pays for people come to their apartments on a regular basis and pick-up the recycling to take to the plants. The company will also generate revenue by selling the waste back to recycling companies.

What is interesting about the service is that it wants to measure trow-away habits and give feedback to users to help motivate them to reduce their consumption. For example, if a person recycles 5kg of waste one week, and then 7kg the next, the app will let them know so that they need to be more mindful about how they buy goods.

Successpedia Asia

This media company wants to help people find motivation by publishing the “journey behind successful people”. It also wants to “empower Asians for Asia”. The company’s main service is as a content creator but it also wants to get into events, live sessions and more complicated production services.

BoomX

BoomX wants to ‘skill up’ older folks to help them take advantage of their experience and make money either freelancing or starting small businesses. While there are a lot of support networks aimed towards the silver generation, some of the jobs offered to elderly people lack dignity (think of the typical hawker center cleaning auntie/uncle).

BoomX wants to figure out what skills these people have and teach them how to leverage it to make money in a more meaningful avenue. The Founder also runs a company called Boomercise, which is an exercise pro-gramme to help older folks stay healthy.

Omnitree

Omnitree has built an app for collaborative education in the classroom. It wants to be a one-stop-shop for in-classroom lessons. For example, it is building products that facilitate Q&A with the classroom, trivia questions/answers and other collaborative projects.

It wants to stop teachers from having to flip through multiple apps while going through a lesson. The company wants to target teachers and administrators and charge them for a subscription.

Increa

Increa tries to understand individual learning needs to provide customisable lessons and help people adapt to how they learn. The company offers workshops, activities like nature walks and even a variety of spaces to be able to adapt to the best learning environment.

It has hired a group of trainers who are experienced educators and know how to engage individual students.

Crop

Crop is an independent design studio that tries to stand apart by not following de-sign trends, finding alternative perspectives and being a craft-centric agency. It wants to build a culture whereby the craftsmen are valued as part of the design process.

The company approached the Demo Day as a means to find long-term collaborators.

Innovation Garage

A company that hopes to inspire the next generation, Innovation Garage is a STEM education service for kids between the ages of 8-12. So far, the team has taught in 5 schools and over 600 students. It charges various prices based on the complexity of a 10-hour course.

The goal is to build a company that can consistently lead these classes across the entirety of Singapore.

StaffAny

Easily the most mature of the companies, StaffAny is an hourly-worker staff management platform. StaffAny is really growing, having enjoyed a 25 per cent month-on-month expansion rate. Actually, when asked by the judges, the startup said navigating this growth is the current top challenge for the startup.

The service is used by 51 companies and has a projected 6x LTV:CAC ratio. A number that allows new clients to essentially pay for their acquisition cost. In the near future, the company sees itself as a solution to unsolvable problems like payday loans, shift-based hiring, performance-based resumes and part-timer insurance.

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The inaugural *SCAPE fellowship is in the books! Make sure to keep an eye out for announcements, calls for applications and updates from the next cohort of fellows!

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