Ecosystem Roundup: eFishery in talks for US$100M funding; Jokowi calls for EV push in Indonesia

At a trade fair in Germany, Joko Widodo urged investors to invest in Indonesia’s electric vehicles sector, according to a Nikkei Asia report. 

The call comes at a time Indonesia plans to become a major player in the global EV market. To attract investments, the government recently reduced the value-added tax on sales of battery-based EVs from 11 per cent to 1 per cent. Last month, the government also introduced a US$110 million subsidy programme to increase EVS’ sales and usage.

The archipelago has an advantage: it has the world’s largest reserves of nickel, which is used in EV batteries. In 2022, US car-maker Tesla signed a US$5 billion contract to buy materials for their batteries from nickel processing companies in Indonesia.

EV makers from neighbouring Singapore, such as ION Mobility and Oyika, have already established a presence in Indonesia.

Overall, Indonesia has making great strides in the EV space. This is the highlight of this week’s Ecosystem Roundup.

Let’s also look at the other major developments in the region.

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eFishery in talks to raise US$100M led by UAE’s 42XFund
The aquatech firm is exploring markets outside Indonesia; eFishery’s last major round was closed in January 2022 when it raised US$90M in Series C co-led by Temasek, SoftBank, and Sequoia India.

Indonesia’s Jokowi urges investors to join EV push
To promote EV adoption, Indonesia recently reduced the value-added tax on sales of battery-based EVs from 11% to 1%, focusing on vehicles whose components are at least 40% locally manufactured.

SG’s Cosmose AI raises funding at US$500M valuation
The investos is Near Foundation; Using smartphone data, Cosmose AI analyses foot traffic and engages consumers online, providing insights into offline shopping habits and driving footfall across 20M venues in Asia.

Vietnamese EV maker Selex Motors raises US$3M funding
The investors are ADB Ventures and Touchstone Partners; Selex Motors produces electric two-wheelers and swappable battery packs that are purpose-built for last-mile cargo delivery; Its clients include regional delivery aggregators such as Lazada and Grab.

Battery swapping service for EVs Oyika scores Series B financing
BPIN Investment is the lead investor; Oyika works with existing e-motorbike/scooter manufacturers and transforms their ICE models into smart bikes by bundling them with its portable swap batteries, network of swap stations and mobile app.

Programmable synthetic data company Betterdata raises US$1.65M
The investors are Investible, Franklin Templeton, Xcel Next, Plug and Play, and Entrepreneur First; Betterdata makes data sharing instant with Generative AI and Privacy Engineering by converting real data into limitless synthetic data that looks, feels, and behaves just like your real datasets.

Global Brain invests in biodiversity monitoring, conservation app
Biome aims to build a platform for environmental conservation using big data on the distribution of organisms worldwide; The company has developed AI that identifies plant and animal species from images.

SG launches new initiative to support Asia’s net-zero transition
The Finance for Net Zero Action Plan by the MAS covers transition finance, which funds projects or activities that reduce carbon emissions in sectors such as power generation, buildings, and transportation.

Validate the problem before building a solution: Surasit Sachdev of Hungry Hub
‘A lot of startups go to friends for feedback on their product rather than potential target customers about the problem,’ says Hungry Hub CEO.

After growth and profitability, this is what Beam is looking to achieve in 2023
Co-Founder and CEO Alan Jiang says the micro-mobility company focuses on continuing its profitable growth trajectory in 2023 by investing in more vehicle deployments into all eight of our markets in APAC.

How to out-position the competition in a downturn
In an economic downturn, pressures will mount on your customers to do more with less or to cut costs in your category of goods or services.

Should people be more wary of AI or is AI more threatened by human misuse?
This article explores whether people should fear AI or if AI is at greater risk from human misuse, discussing the potential threats posed by both.

ASEAN explores dropping US dollar: A shift towards CBDC and blockchain technology
By adopting blockchain-based systems, ASEAN countries can enhance the efficiency and security of their financial transactions.

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