One major point is a move beyond the tier-1 markets

In the midst of the new year settling in, we can take some time to reflect on 2018 and anticipate what 2019 might bring. After a month of observation, I am sharing what we might expect to see from this exciting industry, in an equally thrilling and promising region.

E-commerce in Southeast Asia – a global growth bright spot

Broad-based economic growth may become a scarce commodity in 2019, owing to near term macro-factors such as global trade tensions and rising interest rate environment. But in a potentially challenging year ahead, Southeast Asia’s digital economy is likely to become one of the globe’s bright spots.

A number of structural drivers and strong fundamentals contribute to this optimism.

E-commerce in the region has grown by more than 62 per cent Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) over the past 3 years, according to the Google-Temasek e-Conomy SEA 2018 report. The report also estimates that e-commerce will exceed US$100 billion in Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV) by 2025, from US$23 billion in 2018.

Despite such astonishing numbers, online commerce remains hugely unchanged, at around 2 -3 per cent of total retail sales. This pales in comparison to around 20 and 10 per cent in China and US respectively.

As such, we expect that the digital economy – and e-commerce in particular – will continue to shine in 2019.

The emergence of experiential e-commerce – discovery, entertainment and social engagement

At a time when consumers are spoilt for shopping choices, both offline and online, experiences are the new currency. Consumers want more than just to shop for what they need – they want to discover new products, be entertained, and even engage with the online community.

As a result, online shopping in Southeast Asia is becoming an increasingly social and immersive experience.

A rising number of e-commerce apps in our region have evolved from in-and-out transactional platforms for consumers. Consumers may dip into the app without a prior desire to buy specific items and instead simply browse through products and deals curated by e-commerce platforms.

Consumers may also want to chat with sellers to learn more about different products, or catch up on the social feeds of their friends or family.

They may even come to e-commerce apps to consume content. For example, one of Shopee’s most popular new features is an interactive in-app quiz that you can play with family and friends, hosted by celebrities.

As the boundaries between shopping, socialising and entertainment fade, time spent on apps and the ability to retain users attention will likely become more important performance metrics for e-commerce platforms.

Offline retailers and e-commerce platforms build non-zero sum partnerships

Some observers have long assumed that offline retailers and e-commerce platforms are locked in a zero-sum rivalry – for one to succeed, they must take a consumer away from the other.

2019 will see that paradigm challenged more than ever before, as more offline retailers engage e-commerce platforms as trusted partners… even the brands who already have an online presence.

Beyond just transacting online (listing and selling, processing payments and arranging necessary logistics, etc.), more and more traditional brick-and-mortar stores are looking towards e-commerce platforms to manage their overall online strategy and offline logistics needs.

This signals a shift in the role e-commerce platforms play towards becoming trusted e-commerce partners.

Also Read: The e27 Southeast Asia Startup Ecosystem Report 2018 is here

Stores coming online and placing their trust in e-commerce platforms could potentially reap the many benefits that the partnership offers, from data utilisation and predictive technology, to more effective advertising and promotion and fulfilment services

In other words, the offline-online retail industry is not a zero-sum game; offline stores and large online platforms have become complementary players. We are already witnessing a rising number of large retail chains and consumer goods company partnering with e-commerce platforms in the region (Miniso in Singapore, Nestle in Malaysia, and BigC in Thailand) and we expect this trend to continue in 2019.

Unlocking hidden assets in Southeast Asia

As a digital platform, e-commerce marketplaces empower entrepreneurs and brands of all sizes to reach beyond their local markets and beyond the well-penetrated Tier 1 cities.

In places like Indonesia, the growth of the mobile generation of middle class consumers and rapidly improving smartphone penetration indicate that the importance of consumers outside the capital regions is constantly rising.

This group accounts for approximately 90 per cent of the total population of Indonesia, yet has traditionally been an afterthought in many brands’ retail strategies.

This afterthought might soon be the centre of focus for many bands this year.

Also Read: “General awareness about entrepreneurship in Malaysia needs to go beyond selling food at stalls”

But this isn’t a one-way flow of goods. In fact, budding entrepreneurs and SMEs from beyond the Tier 1 areas are also finding that e-commerce enables them to tap onto new market opportunities.

Take the example of Ibu Vina from Bali in Indonesia. She produces high-quality, false eyelashes and began with a small store. But selling offline was difficult given her harsh living expenses and relying on foot traffic and door-to-door neighbourhood salons for scaling quantities. At first, she only sold 100 pairs of eyelashes per month.

However, in April 2017, Ibu made the decision to shift her business online. By opening an online store with her husband, she immediately accessed a huge market for her high-quality but affordable products far beyond her home province of Bali.

They can now sell up to 10,000 pairs of eyelashes per month, a 100-fold increase. Today, her little online business venture has more than 50 employees working with them to process all the orders.

2019 will be a promising year of change and growth for the e-commerce industry; from the emergence of new ways to experience commerce to platforms playing a central role for brands coming online.

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Photo by mahda doglek on Unsplash

 

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In a heartfelt post on LinkedIn, Neal Cross said goodbye to DBS Bank, and welcomes new adventure

After almost five years heading DBS Bank’s innovation initiatives, Neal Cross has announced his departure from the bank. Cross mentioned that saying goodbye to his team has been the hardest part.

Cross announced the promotion of Bidyut Dumra as the new Chief Innovation Officer, followed by Mark Evans to run the experience strategy team.

Also Read: Southeast Asia e-commerce themes to look out for in 2019

Cross is known for his candidness in sharing his journey in articles and talks. He also shared his leadership journey and gave his two cents about what he has learned during his time with DBS. He prides himself on setting ambitious goals and working towards accomplishing the tasks. He also believes innovation is about creating innovators instead of things.

“If you can create, inspire and educate the entire workforce to do their career’s best work and to constantly strive to create the amazing then the company is unstoppable,” quoted Cross.

He continued adding that being unreasonable is necessary. “I am not a big believer in the mantra of “Don’t change the world, change yourself”. This world was created by people and people can change it again, highly relevant for these disruptive times,” said Cross.

Finally, he reminded his avid followers to focus on needs, not desires. “Try to focus on what the company needs rather than what the company wants and put the company’s future above your own career or bonus expectations. That’s not to say you never do what is expected but sometimes the company just knows what they want next and your role as an innovator is to think two or three steps ahead,” he said, emphasising fellow innovators.

After stepping down from DBS, Cross now is the Chairman of Perth-based fintech Picture Wealth, the neo-wealth startup that Cross and his partner David Pettit started in Australia several years ago. He also shared that he plans on continuing to work on his passion for Orangutans and conservation through his two hotels in Indonesia, Hotel Orangutan, and Pulau Weh Paradise,

People can also expect Cross’ book about building Hotel Orangutan and the philosophies he learned from the jungle and how this was applied to his corporate innovation journey. He managed to merge the seemingly two worlds apart passion for jungle and corporate innovation, all to be seen on his YouTube talk.

Also Read: Indonesian government chooses Mobile Legends for country’s first e-sports tournament

“Everything I have learned while at DBS is not only valuable but also transportable to completely different industries,” said Cross.

Cross’ final word in his note is a firm belief that DBS will continue to be an innovation powerhouse.
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The Fit Company focuses on active and healthy lifestyle products, including healthy restaurants and even micro gyms

East Ventures announces today the investment into The Fit Company, a holding company that focuses on active and healthy lifestyle products. The amount invested is not disclosed.

The Fit Company plans to use the seed funding to accelerate its mission to build a technology-enabled ecosystem consisting of wellness-oriented products and services to promote a more active and health-conscious lifestyle.

Also Read: DBS Bank’s Neal Cross steps down

“We are really excited to receive the support from East Ventures, who is known for growing and expanding a company and we cannot wait to start,” said Jeff Budiman, CEO of The Fit Company in a press conference at Fitstop Kuningan.

Willson Cuaca, East Ventures’ Managing Partner shared that young consumers below 30-years-old are the main target of The Fit Company. “Indonesia has big potential through its young consumer population – close to 60% is below 30 years old, and they increasingly spend on discretionary items. This new consumption behavior presents a huge opportunity for a new ecosystem, especially in the health and wellness category,” explained Cuaca.

The lifestyle is further supported by the recent rise of on-demand and O2O platforms in the country.

The Fit Company captures the holistic products and services market; offering activities, tools and equipment and ready to eat F&B.

“People today demand everything to be fast and instant, but at the same time, the awareness of health investment is increasing too. We realise that the whole pipeline of the so-called ‘wellness economy’ is there for the taking,” Budiman added.

The company that was started in 2014 by Budiman, Prianka Bukit, and Bambang Bukit. It has 5 business lines consisting of Kredoaum (Fitness tech distributor), 20Fit (MicroGym), Fitstop (Gym), Fit Lokal (healthy food), and Fitmee (Healthy Instant Noodles made from konjac).

Also Read: OYO to put US$100M more in Indonesia market

The Indonesian public knows The Fit Company best from its viral, personalized training method using Electro Muscle Stimulation (EMS) technology called 20Fit, that’s able to cut training time down to only 20 minutes with the same impact as 3 hours conventional gym session.

To date, The Fit Company claimed that it managed to open its restaurant’s arm Fit Lokal in three locations. It just opened its first conventional gym, Fitstop, last year.
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Image Credit: The Fit Company

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Coming home after a study abroad, Thiha Nyunt found himself struggling to find appropriate classes with the right timing and location in Myanmar

How often do you find yourself having difficulties in accessing language learning that works with your schedule? It’s hard to believe that in this digital, on-demand era this situation can still occur.

Thiha Nyunt, a Co-founder of MyanLearn, had a friend experience this problem when he was simply looking for suitable classes of Mandarin course in his area in Yangon, Myanmar.

“We experienced first-hand how difficult it was to find appropriate classes in Yangon. My friend, who’s now one of the co-founders, actually gave up learning Mandarin because he was not able to find the class with the suitable timing and location,” Thiha explained.

Also Read: Aiming to add 4 new startups, Mandiri Capital Indonesia targets insurtech, investment management sectors

Thiha, along with his two co-founders, then created MyanLearn app. “It was born out of our frustrating experience in finding appropriate classes. We believe finding the right class for education shouldn’t be this difficult in the modern world,” said Thiha.

Education in Myanmar

According to The Myanmar Times, Myanmar’s basic education curriculum is about 30 years old, with the last amendment made in 1985. Widely considered to be out-of-date, Myanmar’s education system is left behind compared with the international community.

Simply put, education in the country no longer fits in with this age of technology.

It was only in 2012 when the Department of Education Research Bureau started drawing up a new curriculum that is in accordance with the National Education Law. A new syllabus was introduced just two years ago for its academic year.

A teacher named Kyaw Wai Phyo was recorded in the article saying that the current education system in Myanmar needs lots of work. The fact that it takes 13 years to change the system if the curricula is changed gradually, year after year, reflects that the education in the country is still lacking access and efficiency.

How to use Myanlearn

“Myanlearn app was born with the intention of tackling disorganized information of fragmented private education market in Myanmar. We want to make learning simple, easy and accessible,” Thiha added.

Thiha then continued, “I would say that it is a classified platform for private education market.” He explained about the private tutor practice that we all have known and certainly have benefitted from with the change of technology.

With Myanlearn, students are able to search and discover classes from nine categories. In each category, they can find detailed information of all classes, accessible though Myanlearn’s app.

Besides options for private classes, students are free to utilise the app to facilitate learnings. The app also provides articles related to a student’s field of interest.

Tackling a specific management issue

As a platform for schools as much as it is for students, schools are able to update and make changes to class information in real time.

“We think it is very important as changes of class timing is a common thing in Myanmar,” said Thiha.

Another localised feature made available given the current class management in the country is the review system.

“Myanlearn has review systems for these classes. From them, students can make a more informed decision before choosing a suitable class tailored to their needs to avoid unnecessary and costly schedule changing that often become a nuisance of a set daily schedule,” he explained.

The same management issues are also faced by students from rural areas, and it is even more challenging for them.

“Finding classes information easily for students living in the rural areas are not easy. With Myanlearn, we hope these students can use it so they’re encouraged to make the trip to study in big cities. They are no longer hindered by information scarcity,” said Thiha.

Thiha highlighted that for students in the rural area, Myanlearn’s transparency is especially helpful. “They know exactly how much a class will cost using Myanlearn, and how long will a class take so that they are able to plan their trip accordingly,” said Thiha.

“It is really heartwarming to hear stories from our students that have benefited from using Myanlearn,” he added.

A fight for education

For Thiha, education has always been a critical tool to help people in Myanmar and in the rest of Southeast Asia to improve their living standard.

“We’ve seen the boom of startup innovations in e-commerce and service industries for the past decade. Now, I think it is edu startup’s turn to innovate and disrupt education sector in Myanmar. It is definitely a good trend to have,” Thiha shared.

He added that with the emerging trend for edu startup, the whole country will start to pick up technology as an enabler for education.

“We are optimistic that Myanmar will definitely catch up and even leapfrog, if possible, in some areas of education with the help of technology,” said Thiha.

As for Myanlearn, being a new edu app in the market, the next immediate plan would be improving the information organisation for the private education market and expanding to all major cities in Myanmar.

“We’re at the stage of releasing one additional feature at a time. At the same time, we are striving to make our current features more efficient and effective for our users,” said Thiha about the focus.

Myanlearn’s students’ app was first launched three months ago with the intention to understand how our early users would adopt.

All three of its founders are graduates of Singapore Management University and two of them majored in Information Systems Management while the other majored in Finance and Economic.

Also Read: Singapore’s GBCI Ventures launches US$100M fund for Smart City development

“All three of us believe that education is the most important tool to bring Myanmar people to prosperity. We were lucky enough to be educated abroad. We returned to our home country to give back to the community and when we looked at where to start, we thought of our belief and decided to tackle information scarcity for a start,” Thiha continued.

“We sure hope that we can bring meaningful impact to Myanmar people using technology, closing the gap in education.”
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Image Credit: Myanlearn

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CyberAgent (CA) Capital is joined by Korean VC Ncore for TheBank.vn’s first round of funding

TheBank.vn, the Vietnam-based fintech from SAMO company, has announced the completion its first round of funding from CyberAgent Capital and Ncore. The amount of the investment is undisclosed.

With this investment capital, TheBank.vn plans to improve customer experiences. This means launching registration forms for each loan service, improving the card opening process, helping people with insurance and selecting of financial products closest to their current needs. The company also seeks to improve the system to become a full stack solution provider of bid data, eKYC, chatbots, and credit scoring.

Also Read: Aiming to add 4 new startups, Mandiri Capital Indonesia targets insurtech, investment management sectors

TheBank.vn is a financial comparison app that was established in 2014, and it claimed to own the largest number of traffic, partners and consultants in the country. Using the platform, customers can compare and evaluate products such as credit cards, unsecured loans, mortgage loans, savings interest rates and insurance products.

The company also provides advice, connections, and a package of financial product distribution packages for banks and insurance companies using its technology.

Four years into operation, TheBank.vn claimed to have served more than 1 million customers. It says it has 1,300 financial products and 24,000 active financial experts registered on the website to interact with customers.

“We strive to understand the nature of customers to achieve the effectiveness of the service, so a quality connection is critical,” said SAMO’s General Director Nguyen Dat.

With 41 per cent of Vietnamese adults not yet using banking services and only 8 per cent of the population participating in life insurance, TheBank.vn is hoping to serve this emerging middle class; not only in Vietnam’s main cities but also in the key provinces.

Also Read: Singapore’s GBCI Ventures launches US$100M fund for Smart City development

Dzung Nguyen, Head of Vietnam and Thailand Office of CyberAgent Capital highlighted the untapped potentials. “With the spread of consumer behavior based on technology and interest in experiential consumption in recent years, potentials of services in fintech companies are enormous. The key now is an extensive investment and right implementation,” said Dzung.
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Image Credit: CA Capital

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GCash and Qwikwire want to work together to bring the payments process into the digital age

Philippine-based mobile wallet GCash has announced that it has signed a deal with Qwikwire,  a Philippines’ cross-border payments platform to innovate the local real estate payments transaction process.

Also Read: Google, Tencent, JD.com to inject more than US$900M in Go-Jek

In the Philippines, there has been a boom in the real estate industry over the last 5 years, but the problem is that people still pay their real estate dues through the traditional Post-dated checks (PDCs), Bank Deposits and over the counter payments directly to property developers or to their brokers.

The time-consuming methods also impose risks of fraud because of the lack of security in the payment.

With GCash, users can leverage on a mobile money service from the smartphones. The partnership has brought aboard clients of property developers — including DMCI, Century Properties, Double Dragon, Revolution Precrafted and more.

“In the next 2-3 years, I firmly believe that there will be a significant change in how we do payments here in the Philippines. In the same way that most Filipinos skipped having a landline in their households and went straight to owning mobile phones, I think we can go from a society where most doesn’t have a bank account to turn their smartphones into a mobile wallet,” said Ray Refundo, CEO of Qwikwire.

The partnership will also let transactions from Qwikwire’s clients to be handled and processed by GCash. For the first month, the facility is available only for association dues but later will be adding with the handling of reservation fees and payments for the monthly repayment process of the loan principal.

GCash is owned by corporate giants Globa, Ant Financial, and Ayala Corp. Qwikwire is a Philippines-based cross-border billing and invoicing startup for enterprises. Back in February last year, it secured funding from local VC firm First Asia Venture Capital and incubator Cerebro Labs.

Also Read: CyberAgent Capital invests in Vietnam fintech TheBank.vn

A signing ceremony was held at the Mynt office in Taguig last December 6, 2018 with Mynt’s VP of Merchant Solutions, JM Ajuero, and Head for Online Acquisition, Ferdie Perez, and Ray Refundo, CEO of Qwikwire, along with the rest of the Qwikwire team to officially launch the partnership.
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Plus, Didi makes electric vehicle push and TheBank.vn raises fresh funding

Singapore ride-hailing drivers may soon need licenses — [Land Transport Authority]

The Singapore government wants Grab and Go-Jek drivers to be licensed under a separate entity than traditional taxis, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) has proposed.

The proposal would split taxis into a street-hail license while ride hailing drivers would be under a Ride-Hail Service Operator Licence. Theoretically, it would allow the LTA to be more nimble in updating licensing rules for companies like Grab and Go-Jek.

Part of the motivation for the move may have something to do with rider safety. A couple of weeks ago, Yoolim Lee of Bloomberg published a long essay describing the time she almost died in a Grab-ride accident. It drew a lot of attention to the fact that there is not a ton of oversight over who can become a Grab or Go-Jek driver.

On the flip side, forcing people to get licenses may reduce the supply of drivers and make it more challenging for users to book a ride.

Vietnamese fintech nabs funding from CyberAgent Capital — [e27]

TheBank.vn, the Vietnam-based fintech from SAMO company, has announced the completion its first round of funding from CyberAgent Capital and Ncore. The amount of the investment is undisclosed.

With this investment capital, TheBank.vn plans to improve customer experiences. This means launching registration forms for each loan service, improving the card opening process, helping people with insurance and selecting of financial products closest to their current needs. The company also seeks to improve the system to become a full stack solution provider of bid data, eKYC, chatbots, and credit scoring.

Didi Chuxing continues electric vehicle push — [TechCrunch]

Didi Chuxing, the Chinese ride-hailing giant, has partnered with BAIC, a state-owned car maker, to pursue electric vehicles in China, according to TechCrunch.

The deal is meant to develop a “next generation” fleet of vehicles, but it was a vague announcement so further details are pending.

Both companies have placed a lot of priority on becoming environmentally friendly so the partnership makes sense.

GCash and Qwikwire partner to innovate real estate industry payment process — [e27]

Philippine-based mobile wallet GCash has announced that it has signed a deal with Qwikwire, a Philippines’ cross-border payments platform to innovate the local real estate payments transaction process.

In the Philippines, there has been a boom in the real estate industry over the last 5 years, but the problem is that people still pay their real estate dues through the traditional Post-dated checks (PDCs), Bank Deposits and over the counter payments directly to property developers or to their brokers.

The time-consuming methods also impose risks of fraud because of the lack of security in the payment.

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In this Q&A, Ashran Ghazi talks about his journey as the former CEO of MaGIC, the confusion over the agency’s disbanding, and the entrepreneurship scene in Malaysia

Since its launch in 2014, Malaysian Global Innovation & Creativity Centre (MaGIC) has been the backbone of the country’s startup ecosystem, and has been aggressively encouraging and promoting entrepreneurship in the country by way of launching new initiatives. Ashran Ghazi, who held the CEO’s position from early 2016 to December 2018, played a vital role in making the organisation more popular among young entrepreneurs.

In a free-wheeling chat with e27, Ghazi shared his experience as MaGIC’s CEO, his new initiatives, views on the Malaysian startups ecosystem, and his new role as the chief of Dattel.

Edited excerpts from the interview below:

The common trend is that serial entrepreneurs turn venture capitalists after gaining good experience building ventures. However you, despite being a serial entrepreneur, took a different route by taking on the role of CEO of MaGIC. Any reasons for this?

MaGIC is not like any usual organisation. It’s a government agency that has a mandate in building the ecosystem within the country and beyond. You would also know that while I am a serial entrepreneur, I have also been a community person leading many NGOs that relates to entrepreneurship.

When the opportunity at MaGIC presented itself, I took it as an  opportunity to be part of a system that is attempting to make a difference. It had been an awesome journey for me, and now I am back in the entrepreneurial path with Dattel Asia.

Who knows, maybe somewhere down the line, there will be Dattel Ventures — a VC fund that is data-centric.

You took over the CEO’s role in April 2016 after its founding CEO Cheryl Yeoh stepped down in January that year. What are your contributions to the organisation, and the startup industry as a whole, as its CEO? 

As the head of the organisation, I took a few new initiatives. They are

1. Corporate Entrepreneurship Responsibility Programme — A programme designed to bring startups and corporates for mutual benefits. Fundamentally it’s a corporate innovation programme.
2. Impact-Driven Enterprise — Reframed the landscape of social entrepreneurship for impact-driven enterprises to ensure a more holistic way of creating more impact. It allowed and gave opportunity for even existing business to shift in order to create societal or environmental impact.
3. Global Entrepreneurship Community Summit — A summit that would position Malaysia as the centre for creativity and innovation towards entrepreneurship.
4. PUSH (Great Social Entrepreneurship Programme) — This is a systemising and scaling programme for social enterprises/impact-driven enterprises via a micro franchising model.
5. Corporate Open Innovation Programme — A platform to allow corporates to crowdsource solutions from startups.
6. Mentorship Platform — A pilot programme for entrepreneurs to get access to mentors.

You stayed in MaGIC only for less than 18 months, which is a relatively short period for bringing in any significant changes. Why did you move out very soon?

To be frank, it was a tough decision on my end. But the opportunity that Dattel presented was too tempting to resist. Firstly, Dattel’s idea of a holistic consumer intelligence platform for Southeast Asia was intriguing enough. Secondly, it was exciting to be a partner and CEO of a regional firm that has immense potential. Thirdly, the Dattel Vision to be the standard for consumer data in Southeast Asia is challenging.

MaGIC has been the backbone of the Malaysian startup industry. But immediately after Mahathir Mohamad came back to power in 2018, there was a controversy and confusion over the winding up of the organisation. Would you mind sharing with our readers what actually happened behind the scenes? 

Yea. MaGIC, like many other agencies, was in a pretty unique situation then. True there was some intent as a whole to tighten the ship within the government. In most conversations happened around that time, there was a sentiment that many agencies were overlapping. This seemed to be the case at a macro level, but if you closely analysed things, you will get a different picture. Indeed, all these organisations are doing different activities.

Also Read: Malaysia has all ingredients to be a startup hub, but lacks ‘Michelin Star Chefs’ to mix them well: Ashran Ghazi

There were naturally many views during that time. So, before MaGIC stabilised and landed as an agency under the Ministry of Entrepreneur Development (MED), I had to educate and inform relevant stakeholders about the work MaGIC has done, its impact, as well as its future aspirations. We were meeting with different people in the new government.

Finally, we got an audience in the form of the MED. He immediately saw the value of the organisation and thought about how MaGIC fits in his aspirations in driving the entrepreneurial community to be future ready.

As soon as the Minister got convinced and appreciated the context, he decided to move MaGIC to the MED family. It was indeed an exciting time for the agency. So it wasn’t so much about the government changing mind but, from my perspective, various ministries needed to get clarity on what they wanted to do and ensure that they had the right agencies under them. I must say that we had a nerve-wrecking experience during those four to five months due to the uncertainties.

But all is well now and the team, as I know, is getting ready to execute big things in 2019.

Do you think a lot of politics are gone into the administrations of MaGIC. A section of the believes that MaGIC has not done much to promote local entrepreneurship. What is your view?

Actually, on the contrary, unlike some other agencies, MaGIC has been sheltered from politics. And I must say that its Chairman then did a pretty good job of ensuring MaGIC focuses on what is needed to be done. This has definitely made my journey in MaGIC more bearable.

I cannot agree with the opinion of several people that MaGIC has not done much. I think we have done quite a bit, but I wish I could do more. I feel there are naturally certain things that the agency can be done well, but there are certain things that can be done better as a private entity. MaGIC is in a transition to scale its impact, and this is what I have been instilling since day one of joining MaGIC. I think MaGIC under the new leadership will be able to see the results of this as the seeds of scale has been planted over the last 2.5 years.

Malaysian startup scene has registered a tremendous growth in the past 3-4 years. Do you think it has the potential to grow as big as Singapore or Silicon Valley? What are the key strengths of the Malaysian startup industry?

Thank you for acknowledging the tremendous growth that we have been experiencing. Malaysia has always had the potential. One can even say that the country is quite ripe for huge growth within the region.

However, it needs to still churn new ways of thinking from the bottom up. We need to have raw entrepreneurial spirit that is resilient in the open market and also need to build more creative and innovative thinking people. People who cannot stand status quo. We have the ingredients, but sometimes what we lack is enough “Michelin Star Chefs” who can mix these ingredients in right proportion.

As per our research, fintech and e-commerce are the two sectors that recorded higher number of VC deals in 2018. What other sectors do you think will accelerate the growth of the ecosystem? Do you think new-age tech like AI, IoT, robotics, blockchain etc. have the potential to contribute to the future growth of Malaysia?

There are definitely lots of conversation around new-age technologies for Malaysia. You literally hear the conversation of Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR4.0) everywhere. But if you observe, the conversation of IR4.0 in Malaysia stems a lot from the manufacturing sector, meaning it is more for encouraging existing technologies in manufacturing plants.

But I feel there are not enough conversations or initiatives that look into catalysing new businesses that leverage IR4.0 in their service delivery. Not many people grasp the concept of IR4.0. The MED’s National Entrepreneur Framework has an element of developing entrepreneurs towards future industries. While this is awesome, the ministry cannot work alone. I think the Ministry of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change (MESTECC), and Ministry of Agriculture, amongst others, work together towards this goal.

Personally, I hope they can form a cross-ministerial council for future industries. Only then can the country be navigated to contribute to the future growth of Malaysia. Otherwise, Malaysia will always remain a country that could have been.

What, according to you, are the key qualities and limitations of Malaysian entrepreneurs? Do you think the fear of failure is still a major issue?

Generally, there is a lack of exposure for entrepreneurs, and most of them still want to be “me-too” (copy-cat products). There is no self-confidence in them. I think self-confidence and exposure are two of the few ingredients required for entrepreneurs to go farther.

If they get a good exposure, they can connect the dots and make new innovations more effectively. If they have self-confidence, they would be able to articulate things better with clarity and conviction. They will go out and seek information and not complain that they did not get the information.

Also Read: MaGIC or no MaGIC, Malaysia’s startup ecosystem is bound to flourish!

This is why I feel the general awareness about entrepreneurship needs to go beyond selling food at stalls. In Malaysia, entrepreneurship is often confused with self-employment. In reality, these are two different things. Entrepreneurship needs to be framed from a problem-solving point of view. One needs to possess creative thinking skills to be a good entrepreneur. Without this, we will not see a game-changing Malaysia in future. We need the masses in Malaysia to also think that way.

The government has taken a lot of initiatives for the startup community. Do you think it has a much bigger role to play to accelerate the growth of the ecosystem?

Well, it’s a bit unfair for me to make a statement about new key initiatives, as I am no longer part of the government. Having said that I think the government does have a bigger role to be more catalytic. The government is doing many right things for sure, but it needs to quickly translate them into something that reach the beneficiary. I mean entrepreneurs.

If I may refer to the National Entrepreneur Framework, the National Open Innovation Platform, coupled with the Regulatory Sandbox will be able to bring in a revolutionary change. Based on my understanding, it is designed to be a platform for the government, corporates, universities and startups to solve and deploy challenges in innovative ways. Imagine a situation where the government doesn’t specify how things are done as per its tender specifications, or imagine the government only expresses its desired outcome and intent and the parameters that become guiding principles. Open it up and let the public find creative ways to solve it with new business models.

Also Read: Registration is now open for Echelon Asia Summit 2019

Public private partnerships are no longer the game of big boys, it can also be done with startups. The government needs to walk the talk and embrace this. Such an initiative will definitely be catalysing and will strengthen the Malaysian startup ecosystem and perhaps even attract foreign firms to join because the framework creates equal opportunities.

Most of Malaysia’s startup activities are centred around Kuala Lumpur. Do you see other cities and regions catching up fast?

Well, Penang via @acat and Johor via StartupJohor are making waves in their respective states. I see lots of other states cashing up, but I do hope they do it for the right reasons and not because it is deemed sexy, so to speak. The intent must be very clear and it needs to be a partnership with the community, and not state-led.

In your view, what role should the private/corporate sector play in order to promote entrepreneurship? Are they doing enough? Do you believe there should be more corporate VCs to speed up the growth?

I think the private sector has a huge role to play. I spoke about corporate entrepreneur responsibility earlier. We are still in the infancy with regards to this, although it is very heartwarming to see efforts being done by corporates.

But if it progresses in the current pace, this kind of thinking will only be mainstream in three years. Education and some government intervention are needed to accelerate this. We don’t have time. Things are moving fast. CVCs and family funds are coming into the scene quite a bit too.

There is a need to capture this information and aggregate them, so that we know what impact it does to the economy. And from a government lens, if there is better visibility of private funding, it can create better policies to support more players onboard.

You quit MaGIC to join Dattel Asia. What is your mandate at Dattel? Do you have plans to return to the startup scene and start a new company in the recent future?

Dattel is in a very unique position if you ask me. While it is a 4-year-old data services company, it is currently embarking on a new business that will be looking at disrupting how consumer behaviour research is done. It wants to democratise consumer behaviour data, so that everyone can make meaningful decisions based on data.

I keep telling Dattelites that Dattel is as a matured company with a startup philosophy — and that we have got to leverage this as a strength. We may be only 120-man strength, but have aspirations to be the standard of consumer behaviour data for Southeast Asia.

We now have three offices in the region and by mid this year, we will be releasing a platform that would give business a new way of handling consumer data. A new way of driving innovations that is data driven. A new way for the government to create data driven policies. A new way of driving marketing and communications that is data driven.

I believe that its aspirations will create an impact to societies and countries. That is why with a heavy heart I decided to leave MaGIC to assist Dattel in achieving its mission. If it wasn’t for the aspirations of Dattel, I wouldn’t have left MaGIC. I think I can do more and use this as a platform to do more.

You asked me earlier why I didn’t go and create a VC firm. My simple answer is keep an eye on Dattel, as it will be the platform for many things including the one that you asked me earlier. Data is a means to an end. In short, I consider Dattel as a player in the startup scene, and I am not looking at any other new ventures at the moment, but only expanding those via Dattel.

Grab took birth in Malaysia and later moved to Singapore, and is now a Unicorn. Do you see any companies in the country which could emulate Grab’s success?

Dattel (laughs)

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App Annie, the global provider for mobile data and analytics has released the annual report aimed to guide business for upcoming mobile transformation

San Fransisco-headquartered mobile data and analytics provider, App Annie, has released a full-fledged report on how mobile transformation will be for the year of 2019. According to App Annie, app stores consumption will surpass more than US$120 billion in 2019, making mobile penetration the key for businesses to thrive.

Mobile domination

App Annie’s report says there were a total of 194 billion apps downloaded in 2018 — with China occupying 50 per cent of the downloads — amassing a US$101 billion spending in app stores. Apps other than games accounted for 65 per cent of the global downloads, a number that has been consistent since 2016. These numbers account for the three hours per day mobile usage in average.

As for the spending on app purchase that includes paid downloads (in-app purchases and in-app subscriptions) there was an increase for 75 per cent since 2016. 74 per cent  of these purchases were in gaming. Non-gaming apps accounted for 26 per cent this year, showing an 18 per cent increase for the last two years.

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Time spent on apps focussed on five categories for the fastest growing global market share — an indicator of growing faster than the overall market — these were Video Players & Editors, Entertainment, Photography, Tools and Finance respectively.

Social and Communications apps made up 50 per cent of total time spent globally in apps in 2018, followed by Video Players and Editors at 15 per cent and Games at 10 per cent.

In Indonesia, the report said, mobile users spent over 4 hours a day in apps — 17 per cent of users’ entire day. In mature markets like the US and Canada, the average user spent nearly 3 hours a day on mobile apps in 2018.

In the report, App Annie suggested the increase in mobile maturity, meaning the markets has evolved through mobiles into three stages: Experimentation, Adoption, and Ubiquity phase. New mobile device owners fall into the first stage, followed by the forming of a mobile habits and eventually settling down into go-to apps. This results in a climb in engagement rate, known as then adoption phase. Engagement then intensifies and enters spending, called the Ubiquity phase.

Monetisation on mobile

The report shared that over 50 per cent of the world’s population — 3.9 billion people — are estimated to be online in 2018, and 96 per cent of the world’s population lives within range of a mobile network. In 2018, there were over 4 billion mobile devices — inclusive of tablets and phones — with many people in mature markets having multiple devices.

Emerging markets such as India and the Philippines are mobile-first with consumers using mobile as their primary access point to the internet.

Moreover, 80 per cent of the companies that have gone public on NYSE and NASDAQ in 2018 had a mobile focus, either for a primary point of interaction with the target market or a secondary presence. These companies contributed to over 95 per cent of aggregate valuations (USD) in 2018.

The total consumer spend recorded in the reports further highlighted the technological race between US and China in mobile as it accounted for more than half of total consumer spend in the top 300 parent companies in 2018. China came out ahead with companies contributing to 32 per cent of total consumer spend globally accounting for US$19.6 billion. The top 5 parent companies for global consumer spend in 2018 were all gaming companies, which are Tencent, NetEase, Activision Blizzard, BANDAI NAMCO, and Netmarble.

As for mobile advertising, the ad spend had 12 per cent increase in 2018 from the previous year and 60 per cent more companies are expected to leverage in-app advertising in 2019.

“Mobile is no longer an add-on channel—it is the engine fueling digital transformation,” said Theodore Krantz, CEO, App Annie.

Global consumer spend in non-gaming apps grew 120 per cent from 2016, fueled by in-app subscriptions.

Gen Z is the Beyonce of mobile

App Annie concluded that mobile is “non-negotiable” for Gen Z, short for people aged 16 to 24. This age group apparently spent 20 per cent more time in apps than the rest of the population.

Gen Z used mobile across nearly all aspects of life, from communication, socializing, shopping, banking, and others. However, this didn’t apply for gaming, in which those 25 years and older accessed them 50 per cent more often.

Mobile gaming

In 2018, games accounted for 74 per cent of consumer spend in the app stores. Mobile games was the fastest growing sector of the overall gaming market, beating consoles, PC/Mac, and handheld gaming.

Mobile gaming will reach 60 per cent market share of consumer spend in 2019, up 35 percentage points from 2013. China, the US, and Japan are the top markets for mobile gaming consumer spend and accounted for 75 per cent of spend in 2018.

New height of popularity was reached by the battle royal gaming category, notably PUBG Mobile, Fortnite, Rules of Survival, and Free Fire. Simple gameplay mechanics that makes for a hyper-casual gaming category also dominated the top downloads charts with Voodoo, Helix Jump, and Hole.io.

All in all, mobile games are expected to reach 60% market share in game spend across all platforms in 2019.

2019 predictions

App Annie then continued to break down mobile penetration in sectors ranging from gaming, retail, food delivery and restaurant, banking and finance, video streaming, social networking and messaging, travel, dating, and fitness apps in the full report here.

The report proceeds to forecast the mobile transformation for 2019, which is summarised as follows:

• In 2019, worldwide app store consumer spend will grow five times as fast as the overall global economy, surpassing US$120 billion.
• Consumer spend in mobile gaming will reach 60 per cent market share among all gaming platforms: PC/Mac, console, handheld and mobile. With the aftermath of China’s game licensing freeze continuing into 2019, Chinese firms will push harder for international expansion and mergers and acquisitions could become more common.
• In 2019, 10 minutes of every hour spent consuming media across TV and internet will come from individuals streaming video on mobile. Global consumer spend in Entertainment apps will grow 46 per cent, fueled largely from in-app subscriptions in video streaming apps.
• In 2019, 60 per cent more apps will monetise through in-app ads. This will increase competition among advertisers. With more consumers than ever using mobile, and more time being spent on these devices, it is expected for advertising dollars to follow.

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“Consumers spent $101 billion on apps globally in 2018. This is larger than the global live and recorded music industry, double the size of the global sneaker market, and nearly three times the size of the oral care industry,” said Danielle Levitas, EVP, Global Marketing & Insights, App Annie.

“Mobile experiences are so central to how we live, work and play and with consumers spending 3 hours a day on mobile, it’s clear how vital this platform is for all businesses in 2019 and beyond.”
–

Photo by Benjamin Sow on Unsplash

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These deep tech technologies could soon see widespread, mainstream adoption

The Singapore government has committed S$19 billion (US$14 billion) in deep tech commercialisation in its RIE2020 plan, and with friendly Smart Nation policies, Singapore is becoming a haven for the development of deep tech startups.

But what exactly is deep science or deep technology? Startup Business defines deep tech as a “set of cutting-edge and disruptive technologies based on scientific discoveries, engineering, mathematics, physics and medicine. New technological applications that can have a profound impact on people’s and society’s lives.”

So what exactly has Singapore startups been up to in the areas of deep tech? And how do these technologies affect Singapore and the rest of the world?

Below is a glossary of deep technologies that Singapore has focused on and the applications behind them. It is not exhaustive but still a good start to give readers a simple introduction.

Artificial intelligence (AI)

The Oxford definition of Artificial intelligence is that it is “the theory and development of computer systems able to perform tasks normally requiring human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition, decision-making, and translation between languages.”

AI has been used across many various industries, from finance trading, hospital imaging systems, media, education, HR and such.

AI Singapore is a national program to anchor deep national capabilities in AI, thereby creating social and economic impacts, grow local talent, build an AI ecosystem and put Singapore on the world map.

A list of 14 AI startups in Singapore have been highlighted and their impact in various industries.

Agricultural technology (Agritech)

Agricultural technology is the use of technology in that improves various processes in agriculture, horticulture, and aquacultue. Agritech can be products, services or applications derived from agriculture that improve various input/output processes.”

Singapore imports 90 per cent of the food it eats due to land scarcity. This has led to the rise of vertical farming and improvements to the efficiency of farming practices.

Some Singapore startups include Susentir Agriculture, which uses controlled environment agriculture that uses 95 per cent less water than traditional farming; and Packet Greens, which uses hydroponics with automation to make urban farming more efficient.

Blockchain

People tend to shy away when they hear blockchain. This is due to the association to cryptocurrencies, which blockchain is the underlying technology.

Merriam Webster defines Blockchain as “a digital database containing information (such as records of financial transactions) that can be simultaneously used and shared within a large decentralized, publicly accessible network.”

Also Read: Indonesia’s startup ecosystem will be richer if unicorns begin to go public, says Takahiro Suzuki of Genesia Ventures

But Blockchain has its positive benefits when removing the cryptocurrency feature. According to a CIO report, Singapore companies have implemented blockchain technologies across the airline, food, government, education, real estate, healthcare, energy and supply chain industries.

The Singapore government has been open to the application of the technology. It has backed Tribe Accelerator, a blockchain accelerator (a unit of TRIVE), to promote further development and usage of blockchain technologies.

Cybersecurity

According to Cisco, Cybersecurity is “the practice of protecting systems, networks, and programs from digital attacks. These cyber attacks are usually aimed at accessing, changing, or destroying sensitive information; extorting money from users; or interrupting normal business processes.”

We can all recall Singapore’s worst cybersecurity attack in 2018, where 1.5 million Singapore patients health records were assessed by cyberhackers. Data is the new oil in the Internet age, and it becomes vital to have measures to protect data from falling into wrong hands.

The Singapore government has a cybersecurity agency known as the Cybersecurity Agency of Singapore. And The Singapore Cybersecurity Consortium has been set up to promote the engagement of cybersecurity ecosystem players.

Singapore cybersecurity startups include Horangi and Centurion Information Security.

Data science

According to Technopedia, Data science is “a broad field that refers to the collective processes, theories, concepts, tools and technologies that enable the review, analysis and extraction of valuable knowledge and information from raw data. It is geared toward helping individuals and organizations make better decisions from stored, consumed and managed data.”

In 2016, Singapore’s Circle Line Mass Rapid Transit was hit by a spate of unexplained breakdowns. But through the use of data science, 3 government data scientists discovered the cause: one faulty train that was sending errant signals which confused other trains.

Data science training is a key priority of the Singapore government, where it will send 20,000 officials to be trained in data science. A Singapore Data Science Consortium has also been set up to enable Singapore to fully harness the power of data science and technology.

In anticipation of the demand for data science skills, TRIVE has invested in Upcode Academy, a training school which trains Singaporeans to learn data science. A National Data Science competition is currently ongoing.

TRIVE also invested in NeuroTrend, a data science company that analyzes neuro-data to provide 10x the accuracy of marketing analysis of respondents. Companies like GoJek have set up a data science team in Singapore.

Energy tech

Energy efficiency tech is basically to improve on the efficiency of energy usage in products and services.

Energy usage in Singapore households have increased by 17 per cent in the last decade, due to the adoption of more household appliances. And while education is needed to change mindsets, the rising affluence of society will likely see further increases in consumption.

Beyond just household energy usage, there are many new innovative ways to improve energy efficiency. Shell IdeaRefinery, an accelerator focused on energy efficient, announced 10 startups participating in their first cohort in November 2018.

Energy tech startups are also helping to improve the environment by tackling pollution and reducing carbon emissions.

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While Singapore may not have significant pollution and environment damages, it still wants to maintain its focus on energy security and lowering carbon emissions. As urbanization and population increases in Asia, there would be no doubt pollution and environmental damage comes along, and Singapore will be poised to solve these issues.

Business Times reported in 2016 that there are 50 homegrown firms that have developed expertise in renewable energy and pursuing overseas projects. One such company is WEnergy Global, that provides services on renewable energy solutions.

Food science

Singapore is known to be a foodie nation, with various bubble tea and famous food joints across the world descending onto crazy Singaporeans who willingly line up to try new varieties of cuisines and food products.

The great varieties of food, given the multi-cultural landscape the country has, has turned into an advantage for food science.

According to the Institute of Food Technologies, Food science is “an attempt to better understand food processes and ultimately improve food products for the general public…food scientists study the physical, microbiological, and chemical makeup of food. By applying their findings, they are responsible for developing the safe, nutritious foods and innovative packaging that line supermarket shelves everywhere.”

An example of food tech company is Hoow Foods which created low-calorie Callerys ice-cream. Their food science tech platform addresses the missing link between the novel food ingredient industry and the consumers. Using their deep understanding of food science, they brought down the calorie intake of ice cream from 250g to 59g for a serving of vanilla ice-cream.

Recycle tech 

Singapore throws out tonnes of garbage, around 7.7 million tonnes of it in 2017. While good pre-consumer materials are well recycled, much can be improved on the recycling rates of food, plastics, textiles, which hovers around 6-17 per cent.

It is a serious concern for Singapore, as the only landfill at Semakau will be filled up by 2035. And given the 676k tonnes of unrecycled food waste, it will not be long before Singapore drowns in garbage.

But fret not. Recycling technology startups are responding to the call of improving recycling rates.

Insectta is a food waste tech company that rears Black Soldier Fly larvae. These larvae feed on food wastes to convert them into compost for plants and animal feed.

GoodforFood is another tech startup that uses a proprietary smart detection device that collects real-time, granular data on food wastage. This helps commercial kitchens to reduce their food waste, cost and environment imprint.

Plastics is another major unrecycled waste, with 763,000 tonnes in 2017. Other than banning straws at food eateries, a team of NUS scientists have converted polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles into a highly insulating and absorbent material called aerogel. Aerogel uses include a lining for fire-retardant coats and better heat and insulation in buildings.

Though it will be another few years before commercialization, it gives hope that such techniques will solve the world’s problem of waste pollution.

—

Christopher Quek is Managing Partner of TRIVE, which consists of a MAS-licensed Venture Capital, a pay-it-forward incubator and a government-backed blockchain accelerator.

Disclaimer: Tribe Accelerator is a unit of TRIVE. Upcode Academy, NeuroTrend are investee portfolios.

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