Singapore-based early cancer detection startup Endofotonics has raised US$12 million in a new round of funding, the company announced today.

The Series B funding round was led by health tech investors of Singapore Medical Group (SMG); Tony Tan Choon Keat, Chairman of SMG; and Dr Beng Teck Liang, CEO of SMG.

Endofotonics will use the funding to commercialise its early gastric cancer detection system within Asia and grow its cancer detection technology coverage to other organs. It also plans to launch its system in Europe in 2021.

Founded in 2013 with a 12-men core team, the company has since its inception developed the SPECTRA IMDx system which allows early detection of gastric cancer during endoscopy. The company claims that the “addressable market potential of the system is estimated to be more than US$5 billion”.

However, it is important to take note that development for health tech is not a cheap effort; therefore, companies taking on such business need a lot of capital for research.

Also Read: Going big? Then Go e27 Pro.

“Leveraging on Raman spectroscopy, we have developed a platform technology that can be applied to multiple organs, giving clinicians real-time information to make decisions then and there. Not only can this be applied to early cancer detection, but it can also be further developed to identify safety margins for dissections or resections,” said Peter Cheng, CEO of Endofotonics.

Endofotonics had previously raised Series A funding in 2016 from ZIG Ventures and SEEDS Capital, the investment arm of Enterprise Singapore.

The company is supported by its backer’s through access to global engagements with hospitals and enterprises in Europe and China.

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I know these are unique times (to say the least) and I know not everyone is in the same boat. The pandemic has affected each of us in different ways; our context is an individual one, and there’s no need to compare.

Your shit is not better or worse than my shit. It’s just your shit that you need to deal with.

This shift in our community has been an awakening for all — both good and bad; in work, life, love, family, friends, habits, schedules, and ecosystems altogether.

(From) Response to recovery

Community Leaders, at our core, are people-connectors, relationships facilitators, and instigators of unexpected collaborations. We bring magic and engineered serendipity into groups, everywhere.

In this period of crisis, many of us have done what we do best, respond by caring for others, and by always looking for ways to create value for those around us. These are often selfless actions driven by a passion for a larger purpose.

While our agility and speed are essential to the way we work and has given birth to lots of great online content and new ways of interacting with our communities virtually, this blog post is about (the often slower process of) recovery — it is about re-investing in us, and our communities.

Also Read: Eastern Pacific Shipping, Techstars set up Global Maritime Startup Accelerator Class in Singapore, revealing nine startups selected

In these times of uncertainty and isolation, we could all use an authentic connection. Below are some small actionable things we have been doing individually and together that are helping us on day-to-day:

Schedule time (with your best friends and also not)

Schedule time with the people! Quantity is the first filter here. Keep connecting with those you’re already close to, but also build time to connect with those you haven’t had a chance to see, speak, or interact within a while. From our experience, we can tell you that authentic community leaders differ from others because of their appreciation for human connections.

Quantity is the first filter here.

Do the things that don’t scale, talk to individuals — not groups. I’m sure we all have our fair share of group calls and conferences, and the Zoom fatigue is real.

What we are talking about is the willingness to show up, care, listen, and connect. Understand very well where people are and what they are going through. We are not looking for aggregates and averages here, but rather real stories, real people.

See the activities beyond the short term transactional value and for the long term impact they have for growing the community, each other, and serendipity will follow.

Communicate (and then communicate some more!)

Being a good community member, the number one thing you want to invest your time and energy into is being a better communicator. If both words look strangely alike, it is because they are. A well functioning community requires good communication from all its members.

Also Read: Why silence is not golden

Share with people what you’re doing — whether it’s baking bread or taking time to be unproductive or whether it’s a call-to-action to bring folks together for something cool — sharing, helps! Being isolated from each other really exaggerates everyone’s perception of what everyone else is doing.

By sharing the good bits and the not-so-good bits (where you can), you’re helping your community more than you know.

Prioritise yourself

Whether that’s redecorating your space to find some zen or blocking time out in the day to run or investing in plants, finding time outside of work to bring some normalcy to this increased isolation is more important than you realise.

You don’t have to go into overdrive with hustle-culture or bake so much banana bread you can feed a school or build 30 businesses in 30 days — unless that’s what brings you sanity. It’s really not about how much you do, but about what you do. Find the thing that brings you peace, hold on to that and slowly build a little more of it into your days.

Above all people are people; we need more human connections, listening and consoling than most. If you have the capacity to be there for people, it can literally change someone’s world. And, always remember, that if you need someone to do the same for you — there are more people that you realise in your community who will do the same for you.

Larger than the sum of the elements, yes sure, but right now let’s not neglect the elements. It’s about you and the small things you can do.

Reach out. Talk. Scream. Laugh. Brainstorm. Share. Do whatever you need to do to be okay.

But remember, it’s also okay to not be okay sometimes.

You’ve built incredible communities. They are always going to be there for you. And so are we.

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Ten countries in Southeast Asia have been embracing the digital economy both from the private and public sectors. Each nation has its challenges and unique approaches to technology disruption.

For example, Singapore is considered a financial hub with the majority of people living in the city, while Cambodia or Myanmar are still developing their infrastructure with less than 50 per cent of the population in urban areas.

Regardless of the differences, Southeast Asia has 350 million internet users – more than the entire American population. Have no doubt about it, the digital economy here is set to continue to boom, with Google recently reporting that the internet economy in Southeast Asia would reach $240 billion by 2025. 

With a digital-economy ready landscape, I believe Southeast Asia can take advantage of digital assets in a number of unique ways. Here are just six instances where digital assets can help empower Southeast Asia’s economy. 

Stimulate collaboration between the public and private sectors

Regulation can be seen as a roadblock for digital assets in SEA. It might be true that the government and public sectors are usually slower in adopting new technologies such as digital assets, but changes are unavoidable. Every government knows that the digital economy is the future; thus, the digital asset movement could spark collaboration between the public and private sectors like never before.

The private sector needs government support to unlock investment and infrastructure while the government needs expertise from the private sector. These collaborations are inevitable and could stimulate the growth and development of the digital economy.

Thailand has taken initiatives working with eight banks to test its central bank digital asset, Intanon coin. The Intanon coin is a proof-of-concept that the government’s digital token can be used to facilitate transactions in the private sector.

Workforce skills and education improvement

Digital assets are proving to be a gateway to a full-on digital economy. Technologies are disrupting virtually all sectors. Although digital assets alone might not have a massive impact on the economy yet, they play a key role in showing the people and government how the future will look.

I think the coming of digital assets is changing the skill sets needed, resulting in changes to education systems globally. Knowledge and skills are being developed in a different way to comply with the worldwide digital economy. 

Banks for unbanked

According to a recent World Bank report, half of the population in SE Asia are unbanked, with only 4 per cent of people owning a credit card. The digital asset allows people to catch up with the digital economy, the so-called new world. People can have a credit score, get a loan, and shop online without needing a bank account or credit card.

Also read: Why trust and transparency are the answer to concerns about digital assets

A digital asset ensures no one is left behind when we are moving so fast to the digital world. Being able to access digital payments also means the size of the digital economy is bigger than before. 

Improve the velocity of money

The government has been making more money and injecting them into the system to solve the economic crisis for a long time. After a while, increasing the money supply does not help with GDP much due to the lower money velocity rate.

A low money velocity rate means money is not circulating as fast since people are not spending money. Digital assets make it easier for people to spend money, which, I believe, could increase the velocity of currencies also. 

Take China for example; China just launched a Digital Yuan to be the nation’s stable token. An effort to be a leader in digital transformation is not surprising; Chinese people have bypassed bank accounts and credit cards to mobile for a long time.

It’s estimated that around 80 per cent of Chinese smartphone users use mobile payment via services like Alipay and WeChat Pay. Not only will having a digital currency make it easier for money to circulate in the system but I believe it may also help regulate the debt market across SE Asia more effectively. 

Increase wealth especially for millennials

With half of Southeast Asia’s population being millennials, they are the first generation to see technology disruption for themselves. The millennial generation grows up with the digital transformation, and they believe that this is the future. Interesting research shows that 43 per cent of millennials online traders have more faith in digital assets more than the stock market. 71 per cent of the survey respondents said they would trade digital assets if traditional institutions offer it.

I think we will see a pattern emerging where tech-savvy millennials with investment power are more willing to invest in digital assets. Digital assets provide stronger methods for millennials to increase their wealth, which, I believe in turn will result in a better economic wealth of the country. 

Empower SMEs

It is of common belief that wealth has always been limited to people who already have it. The barrier to raising funds or entering a new market for people with fewer resources such as small to medium businesses have always been higher than big corporations.

Digital assets allow anyone to have their online payment option, which melts the wall between SMEs and the potential market anywhere in the world. They fuel success, helping provide entrepreneurs of all gravities to have an opportunity like any other big player. 

While I don’t believe digital assets are the key to solving all problems in SE Asia, they will certainly empower the economy in a way that no other technology can. I think digital assets can be credited with providing everyone, everywhere, with a chance to enter the new digital economy. They also play an essential role in shaping a future that everyone can be excited about.

From my experience, most of the countries in Southeast Asia are ready to adopt digital assets, and, interestingly some governments are taking initiatives to explore this new technology. You can trade digital assets legally in countries like Singapore, Thailand, and Indonesia. The market is only getting bigger, and it seems unavoidable for each country to ride the digital transformation wave, which is starting today.

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In the last decade, the world has witnessed a paradigm shift in grocery shopping, with a big push on digital engagement. In 2010, there was hardly an online grocery startup, and even, the customers won’t place their trust in buying groceries digitally.

With increasing mobile penetration, trust in e-commerce, and improved comfort needs, online grocery shopping picked up the speed steadily, and its market value gets doubled from 2016 to 2018.

Now, online grocery startups account for 40 per cent of total e-commerce funding in India that amounts to nearly US$665.70 million.

The research has projected that India’s online food and grocery retail is likely to touch US$10.5 billion by 2023.

The recent corona outbreak has made it come true with the tremendous growth in mobile grocery apps download such as Instacart, Walmart, Shipt, and others, and the sales.

There is a sad story behind e-grocery shopping

The people who are sitting at home and trying to buy the grocery online, they are constantly struggling to find a delivery slot even for the essential items. That’s why people resorted to the Kirana store (mom-and-pop shops) in the next lane to meet the grocery needs. This time the power of small stores is realised, and established players started making the mom and pop stores a part of the digital network.

However, the commercial biggie Reliance identified the opportunity in 2017 and piloted the Jiomart project. The new venture lies at the intersection of data and technology capabilities of telecom business Jio and B2B cash-and-carry infrastructure.

Harnessing the power of Reliance’s two consumer-facing businesses, the new grocery shopping e-commerce platform was launched in the suburbs of Mumbai in January 2019.

The POS machines with integrated billing applications are provided to the registered small stores that enable transactions, promotions, and supply chain management.

Also Read: E-commerce trends: What to expect in 2020

As Asia’s richest man and owner of Jio, Mukesh Ambani’s strategy is to build a new homegrown venture that helps small retailers to grow and increase sales while maintaining social distancing. After a couple of days, when Reliance allowed the Kirana stores to sign up and started taking orders on WhatsApp, Amazon plunges into the race with a plan of partnering with Kirana stores and allowed them to register and start selling the products through Amazon.

The attempt of grabbing a pie of Kirana shops has brought gala changes in the online grocery shopping space. With continuous changes, post-COVID-19 outbreak, a lot is expected to come with breaking news. Meanwhile, take a glance at how daily grocery shopping habits will get transformed.

Creating and managing the Kirana store’s chain

At RIL’s 42nd Annual General Meeting Ambani said that 30 million neighbourhood stores, which are nearly 90 per cent of India’s retail sector are unorganised, which will be connected through technology. It will empower and enrich the small retailers who have suffered a ton post-online purchase has become a norm. The Kirana store already has an army of loyal customers in the vicinity, which alleviates the need to build a network of courier services from scratch.

Connecting Kirana store’s to customers

The COVID-19 crisis has helped people testing the power of small stores when the commercial biggies are not able to deliver the essentials on-time even after investing billions of dollars to ramp up the e-grocery strategy.

This opportunity is spotted by reliance quite earlier, the Facebook deal has not only helped in creating a digital platform, and making the partnership with India’s largest retailers but getting access to a large user base of WhatsApp, that’s around 400 million users.

When the customers sign up with Jiomart, they need to add WhatsApp number on the Jiomart platform from where they can order through WhatsApp chat. Once, the order is placed, it’s redirected to local Kirana stores to complete the order as last-mile delivery.

Grocery shopping through WhatsApp

The orders which can be collected by the customers or delivered by the Kirana shops are not restricted to cash payment; instead POS machines are provided to encourage Kirana stores to manage the inventory and payment.

However, WhatsApp is also testing its payment service. WhatsApp Pay in India and waiting for the approval from the government to roll out the payment system, which will benefit Jiomart as ordering and payment system will be taken care of by WhatsApp.

Track customer’s behaviour

It’s expected that a mini-app concept will exist under the Jiomart platform where both Reliance and Facebook will have access to the customer’s data, which can be utilised to target the users accordingly. Facebook giant already had rich experience in monetising the data through advertising, which will help Jiomart in targeted advertising and grow the revenue by manifolds.

Furthermore, Credit Suisse said, the partnership between Reliance and Facebook that begins with grocery will later extend to medicine, fashion, food delivery, and lifestyle, which will further improve the chances of cross-targeting and selling.

On an ending note, the Jiomart initiative will bring local stores to the fore, reinvent the grocery shopping with WhatsApp, and targeted advertising will change the way people shop online and offline. The online to offline model is projected to gain momentum, but quality lapse and lower prices may pops-up the issues in the future, which Reliance should take care of proactively.

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Wiz.ai, a Singapore-based Artificial Intelligence startup, announced today the closing of its pre-Series A funding worth US$6 million, led by GGV Capital.

Wavemaker Partners, ZWC partner, Insignia Ventures, and Orion Fund (managed by K3 Ventures) also joined the round.

The money will be used to expand Wiz.ai’s product offerings and grow its team in Southeast Asia. It also plans to expand its geographical coverage globally.

Also Read: Payment network Thunes closes US$10M Series A led by GGV Capital

Established in 2019, Wiz.ai is focussed on facilitating conversational AI for ASEAN languages. The firm has deployed its in-house, proprietary, conversational AI technologies into large corporations throughout Southeast Asia.

According to Wiz.ai CEO and Co-founder Jennifer Zhang, through improved AI chatbot technologies, conversational AI will revolutionise call centre functions and improve customer engagements cost-effectively.

“Deploying these technologies in businesses across Southeast Asia requires a deep understanding of the local culture and business landscape, so we continue to bring in talents from the region to our diverse team of experts in conversational AI,” said Zhang.

Besides Singapore, the startup also has offices in China and Jakarta with a team of scientists, researchers, linguists, and dialogue designers.

How Wiz.ai overcomes the challenges of enterprise digitisation in customer engagement

According to Wiz.ai, the key challenge of enterprise digitisation is effectively capturing and processing insights from tele-conversation interactions with customers. Wiz seeks to help its customers cut costs while improving service levels with personalised inbound and outbound calls.

The human-like front-end of Wiz.ai’s proprietary talkbot encourages customers to convey more in conversations.

At the same time, the back-end sifts through the data in real-time and stores insights from the conversations into the enterprises’ existing CRM to enable analysis at both the granular and aggregated level.

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Picture Credit: GGV Capital

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Singapore’s heartland shops launch new initiatives to go digital

Government agency Enterprise Singapore has joined hands with the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IDMA) and the Heartland Enterprise Centre, Singapore (HECS), to launch an initiative to ‘digitise’ mom-and-pop stores in the city-state.

Ten precincts in the country will be a testbed for the initiative, which was rolled out this week.

The initiative will partner local “mom and pop” stores with tech firms ConntectUpz, Dei, and Fave to help them get online as soon as possible.

Starting with Ang Mo Kio, Bedok, and Clementi in Singapore, the initiative aims to reach around 400 merchants, as reported by The Straits Times.

The initiative will implement a range of ready-to-use solutions, including loyalty programmes and payment methods, as well as online sales channels, depending on their stage of digitisation.

Element AI launched two AI collaborations in Asia Pacific

Element AI has launched new Artificial Intelligence collaborations with a South Korean investment advisory company and a Veritas consortium based in Singapore.

Element will integrate its AI tech with the investment advisory firm Shinhan AI’s platform Neo. It is aimed at simplifying and accelerating application and forecasting decisions for its index tracker with a new market prediction model.

Also Read: Canadian startup Element AI to support AI Singapore in its Smart Nation initiatives

According to a report by Beta Kit, Shinhan Financial Group was one of Element AI’s first partners and that the two had signed a memorandum of understanding in May 2019.

Element AI’s second collaboration is with the Veritas Consortium led by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), which will look at Element AI assisting in developing a framework for driving the responsible adoption of AI in the financial services industry.

Element AI will take part in research and development activities aimed to support the consortium’s mandate for AI adoption.

Two traditional kiosks empowerment initiatives join forces to help guard Indonesia’s micro-economy

Mitra Bukalapak and GrabKios, two of the largest digital platforms that empower traditional kiosks/stalls in Indonesia, have announced a strategic partnership for provisioning and distribution of digital products in more than 5 million kiosks and agents located throughout Indonesia.

Through this collaboration, GrabKios will provide digital products on the Mitra Bukalapak platform, which can be sold by kiosk owners and agents to their customers to continue earning income amidst the pandemic.

By helping them sustain their incomes as demand for other products drops, both companies hope to safeguard economic stability at grassroots level, especially for warung kiosk owners whose income is affected during the implementation of Large Scale Social Restrictions (PSBB) in several regions.

Teddy Oetomo, Chief Strategy Officer Bukalapak, explained, “Strengthening economy at kiosk level has a fairly extensive ripple effect. Warung’s presence in the society is deemed essential to help fulfill the needs of the local residence, while the revenue generated would be used to meet their own family’s basic necessities. At the same time, stabilising the economy at micro-level also means contributing to the country’s economic resilience. So, increasing their productivity and well- being can go a long way.”

Also Read: Kudo becomes GrabKios, marking new offers aimed at larger kiosk’s digitisation

The strategic collaboration is expected to increase the capability of nearly 5 million traditional kiosks and Bukalapak agents as well as bringing impacts to the society.

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Voiz FM, an audiobook and podcast startup, announced today that it raised an undisclosed seed funding from 500 Startups Vietnam.

The Vietnamese startup will spend the money on product development and market expansion.

“Our product roadmap includes the launch of a recommendation algorithm in early July and an AI Voice functionality, which will allow users to choose their preferred voices for all titles, in October this year,” said Thai Tran, Co-founder and CEO of Voiz FM.

Voiz FM was launched in late 2019 by three entrepreneurs with the goal of capitalising on opportunities in the emerging audio media space.

Starting off with an audiobook, Voiz FM ensures that it has attained legitimate copyrights for the published contents and filter the noise in the country’s online piracy industry.

In recent months globally, the platform has seen twice the growth in its user base, as there’s a surge in demand due to coronavirus quarantine.

Taking a long-term approach has resulted in exclusive publishing rights for more than 1,000 best-selling titles on the platform in the 6-month span.

It also partners with top tier publishers in Vietnam, including First News, Kim Dong, and Tre Publishers.

According to Deloitte, the global audiobook and podcasting markets are set to grow to US$3.5 and US$1.1 billion in 2020, which reflects an annual growth of 25 per cent and 30 per cent, respectively, compared to that of the broader global media and entertainment sector at 4 per cent.

Also Read: Glee Trees raises funding from 500 Startups to take its robotic process automation tech to Indonesia, Vietnam

Binh Tran, General Partner of 500 Startups Vietnam, said: “In Vietnam, the on-demand audiobook and podcast market is young but we believe it will grow tremendously over the next few years as more quality content is made available to listeners. The Voiz FM team quickly shipped a polished product that allowed listeners to discover and consume high quality exclusively licensed audiobook content. This combined with their dedication to customers and broader vision to tackle the growing podcasting market gave us confidence that this team will lead this market.”
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Picture Credit: Voiz FM

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Xeraya Capital invests in US-based biotech firm Greenlight

American biotech company Greenlight Biosciences, which focuses on the sustainable production of chemicals and fuels, has raised US$17 million from Malaysia’s PE firm Xeraya Capital, Baird Capital and Flu Lab, according to DealstreetAsia.

Also Read: Going big? Then Go e27 Pro.

The startup will use the new capital to enable the production of COVID-19 vaccine using bioprocessing technology.

“It’s an investment towards the world having access to an affordable Covid-19 vaccine. A bet that mRNA will play an important part in human vaccines,” said Fares Zahir CEO of Xeraya Capital.

FairPrice, WhyQ launch food delivery platform at zero commission to support smaller F&B biz

FairPrice Group and food delivery startup WhyQ have partnered to launch a commission-free food delivery platform for vendors, according to ChannelNewsAsia.

Members who sign up on the platform will not be required to pay any commission or set up fee. However, there will be a “6 per cent markup on food price will be used to offset payment gateway and server costs for the platform”, the company said.

“While larger and more tech-savvy food businesses transited to delivery platforms, smaller food establishments struggled to keep up,” FairPrice and WhyQ said in a joint statement.

“These smaller food establishments faced more difficulties in accessing digital platforms due to high commission fees, manpower considerations, and a perception that it is difficult to incorporate technology into their business,” read the statement.

MDEC predicts online business trend will continue post-COVID-19

The Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) has predicted that changes in the behaviour of consumers and local traders from traditional to digital mediums will continue after COVID-19, according to MalayMail.

“The main players in the e-commerce sector would leverage on the digital capability to increase their presence offline, and thereby further expanding their e-commerce ecosystem,” said MDEC CEO Surina Shukri.

“Digital transformation will move fast. Businesses, meanwhile, have taken proactive steps to participate in e-commerce to survive,” she added.

MDEC has also started the eUsahawan programme, which trains SMEs to grow and improve their digital skills. The agency claims that it has trained more than 330,000 micro-entrepreneurs till 2019.

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Image Credit: Getty Images

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Technology in education has followed two main trajectories in recent years. One revolves around digitalising the classroom (projection, laptops, touch screens, and VR in some cases), the other around bringing content and user-experiences online (apps to help teachers, parents and student connect and track, numerous subscription-based websites offering content).

While these are all important in moving education up the technology ladder, the Holy Grail perhaps is, one day, technology will help us reproduce the classroom and teacher to pupil experience seamlessly.

When news of COVID-19 started to blanket the media in January 2020, we at The Brainery Code immediately implemented precautionary measures such as travel declarations, LOA (Leave-Of-Absence), and classroom safe distancing. In addition, we were also concern about business continuity.

The Brainery Code started in 2015 and currently has two centre locations in Singapore with almost 300 active students. We believe that the one thing that sets us apart is our readiness for future challenges.

Our company has always planned ahead, as we first broached the possibility of conducting online lessons two years ago. We would do a rudimentary exploration of platform options and brainstorm on how we would deliver without compromising lesson quality.

Also Read: Why a Singapore coding school founder is funding a startup in Kazakhstan

Thus, when the situation presented itself, we were able to rapidly roll out home base learning (HBL) in early February.

Fail to plan? Plan to fail

In early February, we started offering HBL, even though we were still allowed to run onsite lessons then. We were anticipating the needs of a small group of students who may be placed on LOA, or parents who might want to keep their kids at home if the situation did not get better.

Many enrichment centres did not take this step at the early stage of the outbreak, which highlighted the fact that many in the industry have yet to take the steps to go digital.

This reluctance is perhaps buttress by the parent’s demand for onsite facetime as a non-negotiable in deciding the efficacy of an enrichment lesson.

While our initial sign-up for HBL was modest (about 10 students –a mere four per cent of our students), it did allow us to fine-tune and improve after each lesson, which was invaluable. Delivering coding lessons such as our Python Coder programme online was relatively straightforward, but when we figured out how to move our Robo Coder robotics programme online utilising the Remote Access Control feature on our conferencing platform, we realised that we have accomplished something significant. Students could now programme their robots remotely.

When the government announced on March 25 that all onsite enrichment lessons will be suspended, we kicked our HBL sign up into full gear. By April 4, we had about 100 of our students on HBL. As of May 19, this number was 150 or about 55 per cent of our students and still growing.

Also Read: Singapore-based coding school for children Saturday Kids raises US$1M seed funding round

While our teachers were still able to teach HBL lessons from our centre, we started preparing them to conduct lessons from home instead.

When the government eventually announced that all (except essential services) would have to work from home effective April 7, we were ready. In fact, parents did not notice any difference when our instructors transitioned to “teach from home”.

As we’ve also moved our business processes such as invoicing into the cloud, we were not tied down to the traditional location bound Point-of-Sales (POS) system, and as such, adopting these technologies has enabled us to continue operating virtually out of our homes.

At The Brainery Code, we aim to constantly innovate to enhance our students’ learning experience. The enrichment industry needs to embrace new technologies and perhaps go out on a limb to change perception and expectation.

This is important, not just for situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic, but as a way of sustaining students’ interest for technology and the benefits it can bring to their learning. It is my belief that many in the industry will emerge out of COVID-19 better prepared and more resilient.

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Asia’s digital health company Hello Health launches in the Philippines under Hello Doctor

Hello Health, a digital health company in Asia which focusses on the development of educational healthcare information platforms in local languages, has officially launched its ninth platform in the Philippines – Hello Doctor.

Hello Health dubbed itself as the developer and distributor of digital health information to patients and consumers, with the goal to empower them to make more informed decisions. It also aims to enable health and wellness brands to connect to a highly engaged audience.

In the Philippines, Hello Doctor aims to empower a potential audience of over 100 million Filipinos with medically verified, relevant, and useful health information via its website and social channels.

Hello Doctor works with a network of local and international healthcare professionals to ensure the content is thoroughly researched and medically accurate. The platform has launched initially in English but is also localised for Filipino audiences.

Plug and Play partners with Filipino conglomerate Filinvest to accelerate digital adoption in different industries

Philippine conglomerate Filinvest Development Corporation has partnered Plug and Play in an effort to fuel innovations in property and real estate technology, as well as in adjacent sectors in energy and sustainability, mobility, property tech, smart living, and IoT.

The agreement signing was to symbolise both parties’ commitment to collaborate on programs with global startups.

Also Read: These 20 startups are joining the 4th batch of Plug and Play Indonesia

Filinvest will work with Plug and Play to access pioneering tech-driven businesses across 20 verticals.

Josephine Gotianun-Yap, President and CEO of Filinvest Development Corporation said, “We see that smart, digital technologies will drive the future of the property industry. We want to leverage tech as much as possible to transform our business, engage our customers and locators, as well as help make a lasting positive impact on the local communities.”

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Image Credit: Plug and Play

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