Vietnam’s NextPay aims to raise US$60-100M in pre-IPO private placement; The e-payments firm is in talks with 5 investors in from the US, Japan, Korea; It plans to use the money to expand locally and also to Indonesia, Myanmar; NextPay is the result of a merger between VIMO and mPOS. DealStreetAsia
Indonesia’s business packaging specialist Tjetak raises Series A led by Vertex; The startup uses tech to bring specialisation into the US$6B plastics and paper packaging market; Clients can track their real-time production progress on the Tjetak.com platform. e27
Indonesian social commerce startup KitaBeli raises seed funding from East Ventures, AC Ventures; It plans to expand into 2-4 cities; KitaBeli is a social commerce platform where users can invite their friends to form groups to receive discounts from suppliers of FMCG products. e27
VNG sues TikTok over alleged copyright infringement in Vietnam; The local tech giant accuses the Chinese app of using audio tracks owned by its subsidiary Zing without its consent; The lawsuit wants TikTok to remove all the songs taken from Zing records and seeks for damages of over US$9.5M; As of August TikTok has 10M users in Vietnam. e27
Expect more investments and good jobs despite COVID-19, says S’pore minister; The minister for Trade and Industry (MTI) says the government will implement new programmes to bring in investments, support local entrepreneurship; MTI will help firms in biomedical sciences and electronics to invest and expand. Channel News Asia
Insurtech startup Waterdrop raises US$230M Series D led by Swiss Re Group, Tencent; Waterdrop distributes insurance policies online, provides crowdfunding to fund illness treatment, and operates mutual funds; The firm claims that the insurance mall has enrolled 100M users and its crowdfunding service has raised US$4.6B from 320M users. e27
The Alliance to End Plastic Waste, Plug and Play announce 11 finalists inducted to their startup programme; They are from Australia, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, UAE; The programme is designed to focus on collecting, managing, and sorting plastic waste; recycling and processing technologies; and creating value from post-recycled plastics. e27
One size doesn’t fit all: Why consumer personalisation is a must for all businesses; There is no longer a lineage to a transaction alone; It’s personalised scalable options that are the new norm and is being largely driven by the customer’s need for instant gratification. e27
The changing face of healthcare in a post-pandemic world; With COVID-19 halting physical consultations, the point of care for most consumers has shifted to the digital realm; Digital health tools are enabling physicians to treat patients from safe distances while providing new efficiencies to the healthcare system. e27
SEA leads fintech funding in APAC in Q2; Fintech investments in APAC grew 9.1% to US$1.4B in Q2 2020 v/s Q1, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence; Of this, SEA and Australia drew in US$455M and US$369M, respectively. Fintech News
Malaysia’s B2B fintech firm JurisTech acquires financial products comparison platform iMoney; This announcement follows reports of iMoney’s largest shareholder iSelect exiting the company by selling its investment back to one of the founders for a “nominal value” due to uncertainties caused by the pandemic. e27
How Ant Group turned into the Alibaba of Chinese finance; Ant’s evolution into the Alibaba of finance has been fuelled by a desire to claw back customers who began using WeChat more as it broadened out from a messaging service to an online platform for services of all sorts. Nikkei Asia Review
The DNA of a successful early-stage entrepreneur; Entrepreneurs are made as opposed to born; They do depend on the socioeconomic status of the family they were born in; However, if one is intelligent and hardworking it is likely that they will eventually acquire knowledge and build a network through their education and work experience. e27
Finding love in the pandemic-stricken world: How online dating has changed for the better; Video-based dating sees a rise in SEA; There was a slow-down in the number of paid users for dating apps but new sign-ups for premium membership picked up as the life is returning to normal. e27
How 5G will empower startups and SMEs in the new normal; At a basic level, 5G offers lightning-fast speeds, low latency, and the capacity to carry a massive number of connections simultaneously; One area that holds tremendous promise is healthcare, specifically patient applications that are traditionally performed in hospital settings by health specialists. e27
SEA firms looking to biometric tech to be more secure; Fingerprint recognition is currently the most common type of biometric tech with many people accessing their mobile phone, banking apps, unlocking doors; Facial recognition, palm-vein detection solutions are also being explored. Tech Collective
Venturing into China: The challenges and key success factors of localisation; Besides standard market segmentation and targeting activities, cultural differences is another dimension that needs to be considered; China’s complex cultural landscape proved to be a challenge for foreign entrants; Different cities need to be treated differently. e27
What innovation looks like in a pandemic; UNDP’s Global Strategy Lead Giulio Quaggiotto says governments are focused on building high-profile tech startups rather than achieving economic or social benefits through innovation; They should look at overall societal outcomes, which is not simply saying we generated 20 unicorns, but to actually say we reduced inequality. GovInsider
Eduardo Saverin on the world of innovation past Silicon Valley; As for whether companies think about creating offices in Silicon Valley, absolutely if it fits the requirements of that particular business; The Valley is a tremendous enabler, but it’s also challenging because for talent, you’re in competition with a wide array of heavily funded companies. TechCrunch
Global spending on AI expected to double in 4 years: IDC; The CAGR for the 2019-2024 period will be 20%; Two of the leading drivers for AI adoption are delivering a better customer experience and helping employees to get better at their jobs. Newsbytes.Ph
MDEC launches initiative for youths in digital economy; #YoungCreators will provide an opportunity for young and budding content creators to learn how to leverage digital platforms as a means to upskill, empower creativity and generate income. HRAsia
Investment tech won’t solve systemic wealth gaps, but it’s a good start; Exposure to new wealth-building tools and financial literacy — in a tech-powered, millennial-friendly way — can help solve the barrier-to-entry problem and open up access to more stable investments. TechCrunch
Malaysia’s Securities Commission inks fintech co-operation agreement with OJK Indonesia; It is aimed at facilitating info sharing on emerging trends and regulatory developments in fintech, provide joint innovation project opportunities and facilitate referrals of fintech businesses seeking to operate in each other’s jurisdiction. Fintech News
Vietnam aims for 100K digital tech firms by 2030; By 2025, the nation hopes to achieve 70K-mark with a workforce of 1.2 million; Digital tech companies are expected to have revenue growth 1.5-2 times higher than the country’s GDP expansion rate and export growth at 10-20% per year. OpenGov
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