Investors are cautious but confident and optimistic about SEA; The Google e-Conomy SEA 2020 report says although unicorns are now refocusing on their basic services, most areas of investment, particularly sectors that sowed the opportunities afforded by COVID-19, will be likely to produce a healthy investment ecosystem for the region. More here
How 5-year-old live-streaming app 17LIVE acquired 60M users globally; It runs customised loyalty programmes for our customers; It has an in-house merchandise team who designs exclusive merchandise that can be used in reward programmes. More here
4 non-pandemic-related trends in 2020 that will shape the SEA startup ecosystem next year; The rise of SPAC as an alternative route to public listing and the proliferation of digital banking are among them; The proliferation of digital banking is another trend. More here
AI in the smart retail era; The tech has the capability not just to analyse numeric and text data, but also what we might call ‘sensory’ data, such as visual cues from customers as they browse products; Al can aggregate online and offline data for a holistic view of the customer and use it to find people with the intent to interact with a product. More here
Investors say these enterprise software sectors will likely remain hot in 2021; Companies that can solve the multitude of issues caused by WFH –including collaboration, security and productivity — will continue to be attractive. More here
Korean agritech startup E Green Global bags US$9.2M from YD-SK-KDB Social Value Fund; EGG plans to use the capital to expand its production facility to supply seed potatoes to its US and Chinese clients, with whom it has signed a contract worth US$92M. More here
New health app HeatraX receives funding from Indonesian government; It is an upgraded variant of thermal scanners; One of the app’s primary features is a contactless thermal screening that runs on an on-device AI; It also comes equipped with face recognition and a real-time warning feature that measures a person’s temperature. More here
What the Tech.Pass scheme means for startups and the rise of Singapore as a thriving centre of innovation; Within one to two-hour flight distance from other emerging tech cities such as Jakarta, Bangkok, Penang and HCMC, Singapore makes a strategic regional tech node; At the height of US-China trade tensions this year, Singapore continued to see increased investments from US MNCs and unicorns and Chinese tech titans alike. More here
Why the buy-now-pay-later concept makes sense for SEA; The concept is becoming increasingly popular due to a combination of factors; These include changes in human behaviour caused by COVID-19-imposed restrictions — we have more spare time but are unable to go out shopping which we compensate by shopping online. More here
This self-learning crib with a built-in monitor can spot your baby’s wake-up signs and put it back to sleep; Along with the natural-soothing-noiseless bounce, Cradlewise also plays curated music and prevents the baby from reaching the crying stage; It also enables parents to connect their phones to the cradle using an app to get a live video of the baby or listen to the baby anywhere, any time. More here
Bambooloo raises US$250K+ via ECF to expand its plastic-free home goods into UK; Bambooloo’s main goal is to provide cost-effective, safer, healthier daily essential products that help reduce water usage, carbon impact and slow deforestation; The brand recently added a bamboo-based personal safety mask-line to its products. More here
How startups can improve customer engagement and grow LTV ratio; There are many strategies but the linchpin is a deep understanding of who your customers are and what problem they come to have solved; The first thing you can do to increase customer engagement is to segment your leads and customers. More here
How hoolah aims to tackle the misconceptions of BNPL; Research detailing the impact of BNPL services in Singapore by financial comparison platform Finder showed that 27% of a thousand Singaporeans surveyed admit to being financially worse off when using a BNPL service, with impulse buying being the most common mistake. More here
Want to be an entrepreneur? Here’s why 2021 is a better year than 2020 to start a biz; The number of people around the world using the internet has grown to 4.54B in Jan 2020, an increase of 7% compared to Jan 2019; It has now become easier and more accessible for everyday people to start businesses such as e-commerce, virtual assistant work or coaching. More here
How can blockchain and other emerging technologies transform supply chains?; Blockchain adoption is slighted to dramatically improve the efficiency of cross-border transportation flows by democratising access to data and seamlessly connecting cross enterprise processes between different collaborating parties – essentially building a digital network of trust amongst stakeholders. More here
Is your product suffering from service design issues?; Service design is “the activity of planning and organising a business’s resources in order to directly improve the employee’s experience, and indirectly, the customer’s experience; The discord between product design and service design can lead to some baffling trends in user behaviours. More here
4 cloud and data trends to look for in 2021; Gartner is forecasting global public cloud revenue to grow by 19% from US$258M in 2020 to US$307M by 2021; Creating a cloud-based culture and democratising data will receive a lot of focus in 2021. More here
Grab releases statistics to boost Myanmar’s digital economy; Between March and November 2020, GrabFood’s daily order volume increased by approximately 470%; During the same period, GrabFood saw an 80% increase in the number of merchant-partners using the platform to serve their customers. More here
“Innovation can no longer be delayed”, says Connie Leung, Business Lead (Financial Services in Asia), Microsoft; There is a move toward a super-app for financial services, where customers can access multiple touchpoints across branch, call centre and mobile app services, for ease of access. More here
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