Ecomobi, which offers a social selling platform, has won the second prize

Singapore-based H3 Dynamics, which offers a digital platform that fully automates and simplifies the use of security and industrial asset inspection drone operations, has been announced the winner of Echelon Asia Summit 2019.

Ecomobi, another Singapore company which provides a social selling platform, has won the second prize.

Both the winners will receive S$50,000 each in grants from Enterprise SG.

H3 Dynamics has also been awarded with the “Unicorn” chalice made by SIEGE. The startup will also be fast-tracked to the SLINGSHOT. Powered by Startup SG, SLINGSHOT is a startup competition launched by Enterprise Singapore in 2017.

SLINGSHOT will provide H3 Dynamics an opportunity to pitch in front of Southeast Asia’s dynamic tech ecosystem and win additional prizes. The event will take place from 11-13 November 2019.

Other TOP100 finalists were earlier awarded with mini chalices by e27 CEO Mohan Belani.

Founded in 2013, H3 Dynamics is a digital platform that fully automates and simplifies the use of security and industrial asset inspection drone operations, enabled by cutting-edge AI, robotics and energy storage technologies.

Ecomobi seeks to help e-commerce companies direct sales towards social networks. Its algorithm allows social influencers to monetise their traffic via access to e-commerce inventories and connect with brands instantaneously, optimising both cost-per-acquisition and revenue.

The post Singapore startup H3 Dynamics wins Echelon Asia Summit 2019 appeared first on e27.

The cross-border QR payments would link Singapore and Hong Kong through apps

Singapore’s Liquid Group has expanded its cross-border QR payment partnerships to Hong Kong through a collaboration with Joint Electronic Teller Services Limited (JETCO), which operates one of the largest bank consortiums in Asia.

The partnership will see the adoption of cross-border QR payments by enabling the QR payment apps of both Liquid Group and JETCO’s partner banks to be used in both markets.

Moreover, the initiative will also enhance the payment journey for travellers across Hong Kong and Singapore, providing a payment option with participating merchants in Hong Kong, and likewise, without having to hold physical foreign currencies.

Liquid Group will also work with JETCO to provide additional value-added services to help member banks in delivering innovative services to their customers. The platform will also enable merchants in both Hong Kong and Singapore to launch multiple marketing campaigns with participating payment apps without the need for additional cashier training or verification during checkout.

“We are excited to be moving at pace to advance cross-border QR payments, for which the travellers segment is a key driver. We will continue to partner with various e-wallets and expand the network across the region to enable cross-border payment transactions and facilitate large-scale adoption of QR payment apps,” said Jeremy Tan, Founder, and CEO of Liquid Group.

Also Read: Travel accommodation Luxstay secures funding from GS Shop & Bon Angels

“Our common goal is to enlarge the mobile payments ecosystem as a whole, accelerating the ‘cashless’ transition of these two societies and yielding benefits to everyone,” said Angus Choi, CEO of JETCO.
–

The post Liquid Group partners JETCO, facilitates cross-border QR payments appeared first on e27.

The initiative is updated with the agenda to bring entrepreneurship programs to five more cities

The IT ministry of Indonesia and several ecosystem stakeholders in the country’s digital sector has reportedly launched the “1001 Digital Startup Movement”, as reported by KrAsia.

The “1001 Digital Startup Movement” is a continuation of the “1000 Startups” program that was initiated in 2016. It was a coordinated effort by multiple public and private sector stakeholders to boost entrepreneurship across the country.

In its first installment, the program was conducted in ten major cities; Jakarta, Bandung, Surabaya, Yogyakarta, Semarang, Malang, Medan, Bali, Makassar, and Pontianak, having participants underwent meet-ups, workshops, hackathons, to boot camps and incubation programs.

For three and a half years of its implementation, the program hasn’t successfully given birth to 1,000 startups. It says that only 525 digital startups with promising business were formed as a result.

In an official statement, the ministry’s official Lis Sutjiati said that this time, “1001 Startups” will focus on expanding the scale of coverage and improving the quality of its startup development activities. It will revise the program curriculum to focus more on incubation activity.

Also Read: Liquid Group partners JETCO, facilitates cross-border QR payments

The program will also expand to five new cities, namely Batam, Lombok, Padang, Balikpapan, and  Manado. It will target to have 5000 startups in the next five years.

The Indonesian government is doing its part to give its startup’s ecosystem a leg up. In April, IT minister Rudiantara inaugurated the NextICorn Foundation that aims to provide opportunities for more mature startups to get access to growth capital and technology and marketing support. With it, the minister targets to have at least 20 new unicorns in Indonesia by 2025.

Right now, the country counts four tech companies valued at over US$ 1 billion now,
–

The post Indonesian “1000 Startups” initiative being renewed by the government appeared first on e27.

According to Kudo Co-Founder Agung Nugroho, the acquisition process by Grab was “coincidental”

In 2017, Indonesian O2O e-commerce platform Kudo made headlines when it was acquired by Southeast Asian ride-hailing giant Grab to strengthen its foray into the fintech sector.

On the first day of Echelon Asia Summit 2019 at Singapore Expo on Thursday, May 23, Kudo Co-Founder Agung Nugroho revealed that the acquisition process can be considered “coincidental.”

Three years after founding the company in 2014, Kudo sent its engineers to Singapore to learn from bigger startups such as Grab.

Due to a miscommunication, the team of engineers ended up meeting Grab’s corporate finance team instead.

“We [ended up] pitching about Kudo without any intention to raise any fund,” Nugroho said in a fireside chat with Business Times Deputy News Editor Kenneth Lim.

“Grab saw a good value in Kudo, and Kudo realised that in order to grow across Southeast Asia, the best thing is to be part of the winning horse,” he continued.

Also Read: Agung Nugroho on Kudo’s latest innovation, and keeping tabs on financial inclusion for all

Is there any difference in the way Nugroho run the company following the acquisition? More importantly, how does he feel about being an employee again after years of being an entrepreneur?

“To me, being an entrepreneur is not a title. It’s a mindset. Even when I was working at Boston Consulting Group (BCG), I was already quite entrepreneurial,” he answered.

“Grab is a big company and I do not see myself as an employee,” he continued.

Nugroho stressed that Kudo operates as an independent subsidiary with enough freedom to grow and innovate within their own corridor.

A strong support system

 

Nugroho’s enterpreneurial journey itself began when he was studying for an MBA programme in the US. His study was sponsored by his former employer BCG; despite the privilege, he felt reluctant about returning to work in the company again.

“Seeing all the cool, tech things in Silicon Valley, we felt like doing something,” he said.

Also Read: Former Kudo exec Sukan Makmuri joins P2P lending startup UangTeman as CTO, COO

Together with co-founder Albert Lucius, he developed a concept of using individual, offline agents to facilitate underserved communities in using digital services.

By the time, the co-founders promised that if by the time they had to return to Indonesia they had not secure any investment, then they are going to let go of the idea.

“No investors in the US were familiar with the model that we were trying to implement,” Nugroho explained.

Five days before their flight to Indonesia, the co-founders attended a dinner party where they met East Ventures Co-Founder & Managing Partner Willson Cuaca. Even after the restaurant was closed, they had a conversation that ended with the firm investing in the idea.

Nugroho then decided not to return to BCG –which led to him being indebted with the company.

“When you are a founder of a company, you need to have a good support system. By the time, my wife was a very good support system. She told me, ‘Agung, the debt [that you acquired from your former employer] is very big. But believe that you worth more than that. You can have bigger impact, beyond this IDR2 billion (US$138,000) loan,’” he said.

Also Read: Grab opens R&D centre in Indonesia, reveals more details about Kudo partnership

“It gave me the confidence I needed to start the company. Thank God, three years down the road, I can finally pay back that loan … I learned that becoming an entrepreneur is a life choice. It requires full support from those around you,” the co-founder stressed.

The post How does it feel to be acquired by Grab? Kudo Co-Founder spills the beans appeared first on e27.

The definitions of these technologies are no longer important; what is important is their applications in the common man’s life

The definitions of enterprise technologies like IoT, Artificial Intelligence, Cloud and Big Data have mostly been out of the common man’s knowledge and understanding. The common man is more interested in the applications of these technologies in their daily lives, rather than their definitions.

A panel session held on the ‘FUTURE’ stage on the first day of Echelon Asia Summit 2019 made an attempt to explain these things in simple terms for the masses to understand. Aptly titled “The ABCs of Enterprise Tech: Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, Cloud, Cybersecurity and IoT”, the discussion focused on decoding and busting myths around these technologies.

The panelists comprised Weldon Fung, Social Director, Meltwater for Southeast Asia; Andri Yadi, Co-founder and CEO, DycodeX; Michelle Yeo, Executive Co-founder, DATAVLT; and Dr. Keiji Yamada, Senior VP and Head of NEC Labs Singapore. The session was moderated by Tinmen Capital Co-founder Murli Ravi.

Sharing his thoughts, Meltwater’s Fung said Big Data has become a throw-away term these days, adding that the billions of megabytes of data being generated on a daily basis is useless unless there is value. “There are five ‘V’s of Big Data: velocity, veracity, variety, volume and value. Among these, ‘variety’ is especially interesting. The amount of data we collect from things like IoT and internal system means there is a huge variety of data.”

Also Read: What will the third-wave of artificial intelligence look like?

“About 2.5 quintillion bytes of data get generated a day now. All this data is useless unless there is value. We have already moved away from the contextual application of Big Data. The term ‘Big Data’ is no more important. What is more important is the applications of these technologies in enterprises,” he added.

DATAVLT’s Yeoh agreed with him, and raised doubt about the readiness of the world to analyse the massive amount of data generated each day. “The amount of data we generate, read, put out and receive is huge and exponential. About 3.5 billion IoTs will be flushed out into the market in the next three years. What worries me is that who is going to do the analysis of all this data and how many countries around the world are actually digitised enough to make use of this data for their benefits, as well as for the benefits of consumers.”

She also talked about the Cloud applications. To a question of the moderator, she said people nowadays have taken Cloud for granted without fully unlocking its potential. “Back in the 90’s, enterprises had to lay their own infrastructure and had to hire IT guys and engineers to manage and maintain this, but now you don’t need any of them anymore. Cloud has replaced all these things.”

The panelists also discussed IoT. According to DycodeX’s Yadi, IoT is not just about the technology but is about scale. “It is about massive scale. IoT is all about automating and collecting data in order to make sense of it.” He also said convergence of IoT and AI is the future and has huge potential. “AI and IoT are not something that can be separated. When you put AI into IoT, you will have privacy, you will get the decision or even suggestion and recommendations right at the device itself.”

All the panelists agreed on a point that that technologies and its applications need to be explained better for the layman to understand. In their opinion, enterprises should be willing to allow their clients (retailers, merchants, etc.) to “taste” their products. “Don’t be afraid to give a taste of your product to your potential customers. You should show them a little bit of the taste of your product and its features. It is good to showcase. The client can then differentiate between your product and your competitors’, and can make an informed choice,” said Yeo.

Also Read: Hard for VCs to influence the success of B2C startups beyond capital, advice: Murli Ravi of Tin Men Capital

Talking about the challenges faced by enterprise-tech providers, the panelists agreed that they find it hard hiring talent and building trust. “Hiring talent is the most difficult part for an enterprise tech company. Other than this, the market is not yet grown. Then there is lack of trust and lack of urgency among clients,” said Yadi, who is based in Indonesia.

The post Busting the myths around AI, IoT, Big Data and Cloud at Echelon 2019 appeared first on e27.

On the first day of Echelon Asia Summit 2019, these startup founders share their insights and experiences

The first day of Echelon Asia Summit 2019 ended on Thursday, May 23, with four stages, hundreds of exhibitors, and thousands of attendants gathering at Singapore Expo to meet and exchange ideas.

On the Founders Stage, e27 noted down five of the most mind-blowing quotes said by startup founders when they talked about building their companies.

Some of them might surprise you.

Lingga Madu, Co-Founder & CEO, Sorabel

“The name Sale Stock worked for a certain time but then you started to face wider market … That’s when it became a problem.” — On the company’s recent rebranding.

“Don’t tell my wife, but I don’t recommend you to work with your spouse. [However,] there is a spectrum of personal relationship that only a spouse can address.” — On founding a company with his wife.

Also Read: 24 game-changers in Echelon Asia Summit 2019’s final batch of exhibitors

Agung Bezharie, Co-Founder, Warung Pintar

“Everybody in the startup community talks about the number of users that they have acquired. They should have talked about how many of these users are actively using the platform.” — On user acquisition

Samantha Soh, Co-Founder and UX Designer, Shopback

“Despite bad experiences [when using our platform in its early days], customers remain persistent in using it. They even used an Excel sheet to compare existing offers.” — On developing Shopback’s UX.

Fajrin Rasyid, President and Co-Founder, Bukalapak

“It was very difficult, to say the least. There was no ecosystem … There was even no ‘startup’ as a terminology. We only raised US$10,000. We even had to do side projects to grow the company.” — On fundraising in 2010.

Also Read: Echelon Asia Summit 2019’s 10th set of exhibitors to showcase 25 trailblazing products

Agung Nugroho, Co-Founder, Kudo

“At an entrepreneurial dinner in the US, we met with Willson Cuaca from East Ventures. We talked until the restaurant was closed, and we sealed the deal right away. It was five days before I was due to return to Indonesia [after studying for an MBA there]. It was injury time.” — On raising the company’s seed funding

“When you are a founder of a company, you need to have a good support system. By the time, my wife was a very good support system. She told me, ‘Agung, the debt [that you acquired from your former employer] is very big. But believe that you worth more than that. You can have bigger impact, beyond this IDR2 billion (US$138,000) loan.’”

The post 5 mind-blowing quotes by startup founders at Echelon Asia Summit 2019 appeared first on e27.

Investree also plans to start fundraising for their Series C, if their expansion plan goes well

Indonesian fintech startup Investree is aiming for the Philippines to become its third market next year. Apart from that, the startup is also preparing a strategy of setting up several subsidiaries to accelerate the SME financing.

Investree Co-Founder and CEO Adrian A. Gunadi explained that the company’s Southeast Asian expansion move had revealed that SME across the region are facing a similar issue. A great number of underserved communities in these markets are providing an opportunity for Investree to seize.

“The problem [that they are facing] is the same: Many SMEs are still untouched by banks. This provides a unique case study, that Indonesian fintech companies have the opportunity to expand region-wide. Many of these markets ended up copying what has been done in Indonesia, from products to regulation,” he told the press on Thursday, May 21.

The expansion to the Philippines will begin next year, but the company has found a potential partner to help with the operations. The potential partner has even visited Indonesia to see how things are being run in the field.

Earlier this year, Investree has named Thailand as its first international expansion location. Together with eLoan, the company has worked with local partners and conducted a soft launch in April.

Also Read: Indonesian P2P lending startup Investree raises Series B funding, expands to Thailand

In the meantime, it is actively building connections with several ecosystems to accelerate their expansion plan. However, the company has not begun any business activities as they are required to enter a regulatory sandbox programme by the authority in Thailand.

“This month we are going to register ourselves to a regulatory sandbox so that we can start channeling financing,” Gunadi said.

He further explained that Vietnam was the second country that the company has expanded to. But since the regulation in the market has not accommodate the business model that Investree is implementing, they are operating manually there. Despite the challenge, Investree claimed to have channeled up to IDR144 billion (US$10 million) of financing in the market.

“Vietnam does not implement the host-to-host system as the regulation is yet to accommodate the system. We are operating the way we did in Indonesia four years ago in the market; the data are being uploaded manually. But regulators in the country plans to accelerate the implementation of sandbox in the second semester as they are trying to catch up with Indonesia,” Gunadi said.

According to Gunadi, once the expansion plans has been finalised, the company plans to start fundraising for their Series C funding round. The early stages of their expansion plan is being supported by the funds from their Series B round last year, led by SBI Holdings.

Also Read: Indonesian P2P lending site Investree to enter Vietnam, launches sharia-based service

Setting up subsidiaries

 

In order to further develop Investree’s business in Indonesia, the company plans to launch new subsidiaries by setting up joint ventures with partners in the logistics, supply chain, and other sectors with strong relations to SME financing.

Gunadi did not mention specific details on the number of subsidiaries that they are planning to set up, which may go beyond two companies. He assured that the announcement will be made after June.

“It will be in the form of a strategic partnership. So that we are going to have a captive market,” he said.

Through the subsidiaries, the company will be able to acquire SMEs more effectively as there will be no need for them to approach the SMEs one-by-one. When entering a new ecosystem, this can serve as an added value.

Gunadi also stated that from the point of view of capital expenditure in setting up a new business, the company will be able to manage their budget more effectively as the company that they plan to work together with are already working in the tech sector. They only need to integrate their existing systems.

Accumulatively, by April, Investree has channeled up to IDR2.1 trillion (US$144 million) in financing and grew 82 per cent YOY. Its sharia-based service Investree Syariah has channeled IDR69 billion (US$4.7 million) and grew 311 per cent since it was first launched eight months ago.

The number of retail lenders on Investree has reached 14,375 individuals; there are also institutions such as BRI and Credit Saison while the number of loan receivers has reached 1,084 businesses. Seventy per cent of them are repeat customers.

—

The article Investree Segera Rambah Filipina dan Buat Beberapa Anak Usaha Baru was written by Marsya Nabila in Bahasa Indonesia for DailySocial. English translation and editing by e27.

The post Indonesia’s Investree to launch in the Philippines, set up new subsidiaries appeared first on e27.

The social media blockade was meant to prevent the spreading of fake news and provocative posts that may trigger further escalation of the situation

Indonesia’s minister of security Wiranto today announced that the authorities will limit access to several features on social media platforms in certain areas in Jakarta, following the post-election riots that have been going on in the city since yesterday.

The blockade was meant to prevent the spreading of fake news and provocative posts that may trigger further escalation of the situation.

The minister did not provide further detail on which feature on social media platforms that are being blocked.

However, several users on Twitter have reported being unable to upload videos and pictures to their Whatsapp and Instagram accounts.

Also Read: Today’s top news, May 15: Singaporean AI company AIQ partners Russian social media VK.com

The blockade followed a riot that has been going on since Tuesday evening, May 21.

Starting off in the Tanah Abang area in Central Jakarta, by this afternoon (local time) the riot has spread to Slipi in West Jakarta.

According to a report by The Jakarta Post, the riot has caused six deaths and 200 injuries.

The riot began when thousands rally to protest the announcement of the recent presidential election results, which revealed incumbent President Joko Widodo as the winner.

More on this story as it develops.

—

Image Credit: Sara Kurfeß on Unsplash

The post Indonesia partially blocks social media following post-election riots appeared first on e27.

The Indonesian serial entrepreneur and mentor reportedly started recruiting on LinkedIn

Former co-founder and CTO of Indonesian online travel startup Tiket, Natali Ardianto reportedly began recruiting people on LinkedIn for a healthtech startup he’s about to start. As reported by KrAsia, so far there’s been no name associated with said healthtech startup.

Tiket was acquired back in 2017, but Ardianto has since started multiple tech ventures, and has arrived in the healthtech sector.

Looking into Ardianto’s LinkedIn page, the man has started recruiting an IT team for the health tech venture with no further details about the company’s name, product, or services. Ardianto only mentioned that this new venture will start operations after June 17 with secured initial funding.

With four partners, Ardianto built Tiket in 2011 after bagging funds from angel investors. The platform was in a tight race with online travel unicorn Traveloka until it was acquired by e-commerce platform Blibli in June 2017.

Just six months after the acquisition, Ardianto resigned from Tiket.

Also Read: Home design and renovation platform Livspace raises funding from IKEA

Ardianto’s track records include co-founding Urbanesia and Golfnesia, and being involved in launching EmasDigi, a fintech platform for gold investment, as CTO.

Healthcare applications in Indonesia are still at an early development stage with one success story, which is HaloDoc, a local startup that secured a US$65 million round of funding from Go-Jek and other major investors.
–

The post Ex-Tiket co-founder Natali Ardianto to open new healthtech startup appeared first on e27.

A one-stop-shop for cleaning and household repair services, Clean on Demand now eyes regional expansion

Cars. Food. CPU cycles. Almost everything today can be ordered on-demand. As long as there is a market for it, many services now can be booked through the use of an app. This enables service providers to give you the best possible rate at your best time of availability.

Southeast Asia is considered to be the bastion of on-demand services. While Uber left the region a couple years back, there is no lack of services here, from basic needs like groceries, to niche and luxury items like helicopter rides.

Cleaning services are no different. Yes, such chores can be basic enough for anyone to accomplish. However, the reality of life is that not everyone has the time nor energy to clean one’s own premises. In some cases, the job might not just involve basic cleaning but other miscellany as well – minor repairs, deep-cleaning jobs, and the like.

In Singapore, one company has learned to adjust with the market’s demands. “We clean everything – except money,” says Ben Xavier, Founder of Clean on-Demand. The Singapore-based company caters to a wide array of customers, from individuals to businesses in need of cleaning and related services.

“Most of our customers are professional expats who are renting apartments,” he says. “As part of their tenancy agreement contract, tenants are supposed to return the apartment in good standing order, which includes professional cleaning.”

Xavier shares that this particular service is the one most ordered by customers. “The most popular is our end of tenancy cleaning service, and it is profitable.”

A one-stop shop

Clean on Demand’s services go beyond cleaning only. The team discovered that there is value in providing additional household services related to cleaning the premises, and here is where their competitive advantage lies.

“Most cleaning companies focus only on one cleaning category, which is end of tenancy or general cleaning,” Xavier shares with e27. “However, the feedback from most of our customers is that they have to search more than one company to get the job done, such as air conditioner cleaning, marble polishing, etc.”

Also read: How the on-demand economy is finding its niche in Malaysia

By engaging Clean on Demand, the customer is able to get everything solved in a matter of a few clicks on the mobile app: marble, mattress, and upholstery cleaning are available. Basic handyman tasks, such as fixing loose or broken handles, and lighting, are also done by its capable staff. The company also services air conditioning units. “Users are able to track their cleaners and chat with our admins via app,” says Xavier.

Engaging the ecosystem

An on-demand service will not work without suppliers, after all. Thus, aside from customers, this is another area where Clean on-Demand is putting focus on. The company assures customers of top-quality service by being hiring only competent cleaners. “We are very selective in getting them on board, and we ensure they are competent enough,” says Xavier.

The company also partners with other professionals, such as licensed property agents. They earn a 15 per cent referral fee for clients’ end-of-tenancy cleaning services.

The future of on-demand includes automation

While cleaning services are a highly-localised affair, there is benefit to market expansion, especially when deep tech is involved. According to Xavier, the company has plans to grow beyond Singapore and possibly expand across Southeast Asia.

An even bigger plan is to go deeper into the technology aspects of household cleaning. “We will be going toward commercial and robotics, with advanced technology,” says the founder.

As a parting word, Xavier shares something that fellow entrepreneurs might find useful in their journey: “Never, ever procrastinate. It’s just suicide on instalment plan.”

—-

 

The post This on-demand cleaning startup adjusts with the needs of Singapore’s market appeared first on e27.