Indonesia’s instant credit financing platform Kredivo bags US$100M credit line from Victory Park Capital; It will accelerate business scalability and realise Kredivo’s target of serving up to 10M new users in the next few years; Kredivo is operated by Singapore-based FinAccel. e27
Applications open for Singapore’s US$37M fund to spur sustainability efforts; The government-backed fund will support ground-up projects that aim to build a more sustainable future; Applicants will be expected to co-fund their projects; They may receive funding of up to 80%, subject to a cap of US$747K. The Straits Times
HH Investments VC Founder Maarten Hemmes on why the entrepreneurial journey is more important than the end result; He says the firm’s goal is to support 100 companies in the next 10 years; Distraction is the enemy of any thought leader as you will never be able to get to the bottom of a problem and simply end up with a lot of unrefined thoughts and little execution. e27
Enterprise investor Jason Green on SPAC hopefuls versus startups bound for traditional IPOs; “I would say in H1 of next year, I could easily see SPACs being the more likely go-to-market for a public company, then the latter half of next year, once the vaccines have kicked in and people feel like we’re returning to somewhat normal, I could see the traditional IPO coming back’. TechCrunch
The Elon Musk of Singapore looks to engineer the next deep tech unicorn; Peter Ho, CEO of engineering firm Hope Technik, is like the Elon Musk or Tony Stark of Singapore; The company’s products are diverse, ranging from robots to sensors to vehicles. TechInAsia
Investors pledge US$815M for Vietnamese startups through the next 5 years; Investors include CyberAgent Capital, AlphaJWC, Monk’s Hill, 500 Startups, Beenext, VinaCapital Ventures, Do Ventures; Vietnam has been identified as the next growth market for tech investment after Indonesia. TechInAsia
Why neobanks are better than digital banks; Fully-licensed digital banks undoubtedly have the opportunity to become strong challengers to traditional banks and deliver delightful service to customers; However, less publicised neobank business models could prove to be more nimble and innovative. e27
theAsianparent closes Series C round with an investment from SCB 10X; This deal follows an 8-figure fundraise in an oversubscribed Series C round in 2019, led by Fosun; The two firms will work together to provide curated financial info and analysis that will assist Thai parents to make informed decisions concerning household financial matters. e27
SEA will make US$205B each year if it builds sustainable agrifood system, says Bain & Co; The region lags other global regions in with regards to the development and implementation of ‘green’ initiatives; At current levels, SEA is expected to account for more than half of the world’s ‘mismanaged’ plastic waste by 2025; it also treats the least wastewater of any region, and suffers the highest deforestation rate in the tropics. AFN
Philippines’s New Wave joins hands with Emissary Capital to launch US$50M fund for ASEAN startups; The 2 firms will form a JV to serve as the new fund’s General Partners; The fund’s key focus market will be Malaysia and Philippine; New Wave will invest up to US$7.5M in the new fund as an LP. e27
MDI Ventures, Finch Capital join hands to launch new US$40M fund Arise to plug ASEAN’s pre-Series A gap; Arise seeks to invest in Indonesia-focused startups in SEA and the average ticket size will be US$250K-US$3M; A recent report shows local tech investing fell to US$5.6B in 2020, a 13% drop compared to the same period in 2019. e27
BRI Ventures’s Sembrani Nusantara fund hits first close at US$10M; Grab and Celebes Capital are among the investors; The fund, which targets US$21M in the final close, aims to build a pipeline for Indonesian startups to grow and find good exits; The fund aims to look beyond typical investment areas like fintech and focus on MSMEs. e27
Conversational AI and NLP startup Kata.ai raises Series B led by TPTF and MDI Ventures; It has also unveiled a social commerce platform QIOS, which allows SMEs to use and integrate AI in their sales process through chat-based apps such as WhatsApp, Instagram. e27
Filipino proptech platform AQWIRE raises US$2.1M Series A; Investors include Spiral Ventures (lead), Gentree, Vulpes, Steve Melhuish; It expects another US$2M in venture loans; AQWIRE helps developers and brokers access foreign property investors including the 12M overseas Filipinos; Its services include listing, mortgage loans, property management, payments processing. e27
The-Wolfpack debuts with US$5M fund targeting D2C startups in SEA; The ‘Wolfpack Pioneer VCC’ will look to invest in startups in the consumer goods, leisure and media sectors; The VC firm is now looking to raise a second fund targeted at more than US$15M. e27
Vietnam’s Lozi bags a bridge round to expand its B2B services; Investors include Vulpes Investment; Daal Ventures, Wealth Well; Lozi currently offers services such as food, grocery, medicine, package, flower, and B2B supply delivery, as well as ride-hailing and laundry services. TechInAsia
HR-tech startup Pulsifi bags US$1.8M to expand to Europe; Investors include Kairous Capital; Founder of KVC group; RedMart co-founder Rajesh Lingappa; Pulsifi’s platform unifies multiple hard skills and soft traits data on each candidate or employee, and accurately predicts each person’s work styles, role fit, culture fit and other outcomes. e27
Jakarta, Singapore named as top global fintech ecosystems in a new report; Europe and North America no longer dominate the top 20 global fintech ecosystems as Asia Pacific continues to contribute emerging global hubs; Jakarta’s entry to the list was pushed by the number of exits and funding round that the city has experienced. e27
TNG Fintech Group founder and CEO Alex Kong shares how to grow your human capital; There are a lot of things that you need to build a successful team, but one thing that has always stuck his my mind is people that are part of the solution; ‘When they come to me with a problem, I want them to think about solutions. You don’t come to me with just a problem’. e27
Why only regulation can solve cryptocurrency’s perception problem; Cryptocurrency has the potential to be an evolved form of money; It has features that existing forms of money do not have; Access to global liquidity, transparent and detailed tracking, and asset tokenisation are to name but a few. e27
Fintech Thailand Startup Map 2020 showcases growing industry; The map showcases the domestic fintech startup ecosystem which includes startups operating in payments sector (20), blockchain (20), financial comparison (10), insurtech (9), retail investment (9), P2P lending (8), personal finance (6); As of July 2020, the Thailand SEC had so far approved 13 crypto businesses the license to operate which includes cryptocurrency exchanges, brokers and dealers. Fintech News
Meet the 15 Asian startups that will advance to Seedstars World Competition 2020; Startups from Maldives, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bhutan have made to the list; These firms stand to win the Global Winner prize of US$500K in equity investment in the Grand Finale. e27
Exploring Singapore’s thriving e-sports startups scene; With the rise of online gaming in the region, eSports startups in Singapore are establishing themselves as key players in the industry; Research from Newzoo found that Singapore is going to see a considerable surge in investors and players; The region is now the fastest-growing in the world for e-sports. Tech Collective
Meet the 4 SEA startups that have made it to Sequoia Surge’s new batch; They are Tazapay, Aampe, Otoklix, Epsilo; In total, 17 early-stage startups have been selected selected; The batch-4 startups have collectively raised US$45.35M in funding from both Surge and other investors. e27
How data can help the global fight against COVID-19; A singular platform and marketplace solution to load, store, integrate, and securely share any amount or type of data is needed to prevent future outbreaks of COVID-19 as communities around the world relax social distancing policies. e27
Five startups win Grab Ventures Ignite accelerator in Vietnam; Winners are bePOS, Stringee, GoDee, Papaya, Vbee; Grab Ventures Ignite helps Grab realise its aim to accelerate tech entrepreneurship and grow a thriving tech startup ecosystem in Vietnam. Vietnam News
Making Malaysia an attractive investment destination; After a sharp contraction in the second quarter of 2020 due to the Covid-19 containment measures, private investments in Malaysia have shown signs of gradual recovery; However, while business sentiment has begun to pick up steam, domestic investment remains below pre-pandemic levels. The Star
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