On the path to recovery: Lessons learned from Asia on how to return to work; The period following a severe downturn is always one of growth and prosperity; Determine what will change and what will stay the same in the new world; A 100-day plan will help leaders to focus people on a new way of doing things post the COVID-19 period. More here
Small businesses in ASEAN prioritising tech investments for 2020: survey; Technology (64%) was ranked the top investment priority, followed by investments in developing employees’ skills (51%); Thailand had the highest proportion (71%) of respondents prioritising tech investments this year, followed by Indonesia (65%), Vietnam (63%), Singapore (60%), Malaysia (59%). More here
Do you have a burgeoning startup trying to attract investor capital?; VC money typically comes with strings attached; Some VCs seek to have control over the governance processes, while others want to take an active role in growing the company; Whether you seek a partner to help grow your business or simply a hands-off investor only interested in stake is a consideration you must have. More here
Eduardo Saverin’s B Capital hits final close of US$820M Fund II; This brings its total AUM to US$1.44B; To date, the VC firm has invested in 30 firms including Ninja Van, CXA in S’pore; The Fund II is over 2X what it raised for its US$360M debut fund in 2016. More here
Climate fund targets US$2.5B in clean energy investment for SEA; Singapore-based Clime Capital has an initial investment of US$10M; It’ll look to invest in wind and solar power, mains grid infra, energy efficiency in buildings, electronic mobility and storage; Primary target markets are Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines. More here
Taiwan’s AppWorks joins Indonesian edutech startup InfraDigital’s Series A round; The startup enables schools to digitise their student & financial data, automates back office processes, facilitates online tuition payments; It had raised seed funding last year; InfraDigital is active in 13 provinces and its platform is deployed in 350+ schools serving over 165K students. More here
Singapore’s heavy-duty autonomous mobile robot solutions startup Botsync closes seed funding; Lead investors are Wong Fong Industries, SEEDS Capital, Angelhub, Artesian Venture; Its robots can transport payloads between 500kg and 1,000kg; The startup was incubated at EcoLabs. More here
Why humanising e-commerce will be the game changer for direct-to-consumer brands; Brands need to adopt a new mindset about how to connect with consumers online by offering new ways to help them navigate the e-commerce experience; Research shows that people’s behaviours are functionally the same when they shop online and in-store. More here
As IDX commissioner, this is how Pandu Sjahrir aims to help more Indonesian startups go public; By having more younger investors, local unicorns are expected to consider listing in Indonesia; He says the country needs to prevent tech giants from leaving to other capital markets. More here
NextBillion.ai, a 6-month-old startup founded by the brains behind Grab Maps, raises US$7M Series A; Lead investors are Lightspeed, Falcon Edge; The startup’s product nextbillionmaps provides customisable features, such as routing and navigation, matrix calculation, map data curation. More here
Ackcio raises pre-Series A co-led by Wavemaker; Ackcio helps contractors monitor their projects to manage risks and increase safety; It has offices in 15 countries; The company was recently awarded a large contract to supply its equipment to a new infra development project at the Changi Airport. More here
Singapore’s customisable employee on-boarding startup Qualee raises US$1M; The startup’s self-service, digital platform enables clients to create employee experiences that measurably improve employer familiarisation and engagement; Its cloud platform features AI and Machine Learning. More here
Work from home set to be mandatory in Philippines; A new bill proposes WFH arrangements be offered to employees “whose physical presence in the workplace is not necessary for the completion of his/her job, and who has been with the company for at least one year; The bill aims to strengthen the telecommuting law by making it mandatory, and not merely optional. More here
The status of e-commerce within manufacturing; Manufacturers seem to act very protectively in the after-sales business; They use tech to boost customer satisfaction, increasing sales to the installed base, reducing cost per transaction; Attracting new customers online is priority only for 40% manufacturers. More here
Philippine government launches digital bank; OFBank allows clients to complete bank transactions anytime and anywhere across the globe; It utilises digital on-boarding system with AI to facilitate digital account opening via its mobile banking app. More here
How to emerge stronger in a post COVID-19 world; Antler CEO Magnus Grimeland shares his advice for startups to tide through the crisis; When growth has stalled, turn your focus to improving and building a killer product in preparation for the recovery, he says. More here
Mastercard supports digital bank platform in APAC, partners with EedenBull; Building on a partnership in Europe, the partnership will support the rollout of Eedenbull’s new commercial cards platform to banks looking to tap into vast opportunities in APAC’s B2B payments market. More here
Matchmove, JustLogin to drive financial wellness for Malaysian’s SMEs; The two firms will launch JustLogin-branded payment solution which encompasses an e-wallet with a prepaid card and remittance capabilities; This aims at helping SMEs across the region on JustLogin’s platform digitise and enable their employees to adopt digital payments. More here
Electric motors and industrial efficiency: Innovation is key for EVs; Improving power-to-weight ratio while maintaining high efficiency is important for endurance in electric aircraft and vehicles if they are to reduce the size of the battery needed.More here
S Korea moves forward with blockchain-based realty transactions platform; Currently, transactions are conducted by first checking goods, signing of contracts, applying for loans, then finally transferring registrations; The government plans to increase the safety and convenience of transactions through the platform. More here
What is a digital currency and why they are the real revolution?; Digital currencies have been at the centre of attention for their potential to improve efficiency and reduce costs; As of Jan, globally 80% of central banks were engaging in some sort of work-related to central bank digital currency. More here
Investment opportunities in Thailand post-COVID-19; The first six months of the pandemic impacted pre-Series A, Series A startups in travel and events; Experts believe seed startups (which account for 30% of startups) will shut down unless they pivot. More here
Wirecard fraud could trigger claims in Asia; The German payment provider admitted last week that US$2.1B supposedly sitting in escrow in 2 Philippines banks probably “does not exist”; In Asia, the firm has been extremely acquisitive; A subsequent rise in late payments and unpaid invoices could trigger claims in the trade credit insurance market. More here
Insurtech picking up steam in Asia; Swiss Re estimates that by 2029, APAC will account for 42% of global insurance premiums with China forecast to hold a 20% market share; Governments across APAC are passing favourable policies to support insurtech. More here
Lazada reinvents online shopping through LazLive; It’s an in-app live streaming feature to allow users to interact in real time; In April, LazLive has 27M viewers and total GMV generated through the feature increased by 45% m-o-m; In Singapore, over 4.5K businesses and entrepreneurs signed up as new sellers over the period. More here
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The post Ecosystem Roundup: B Capital’s US$820M Fund II hits final close; SEA’s agri, food startups raised US$423M last year; NextBillion.ai secures US$7M Series A appeared first on e27.