Grab puts partnership with scandal-hit German firm Wirecard on hold
Grab said it has put a partnership with German payments company Wirecard on hold, days after it disclosed a US$2.1 billion financial hole, says a Reuters report.
The two companies had signed an agreement in March under which Wirecard was to process transactions made via the GrabPay e-wallet, starting with markets in Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore.
Wirecard had not begun processing payments or signing up merchants on behalf of Grab, whose e-wallet is accepted by more than 600,000 merchants and small businesses in the region.
Singapore’s cell-based meats startup Shiok Meats raises bridge funding
Singapore-based foodtech startup Shiok Meats has raised US$3 million in bridge funding ahead of its Series A round, says a TechInAsia report.
Investors are Agronomics, US-based VegInvest, UK-based Impact Venture, and UAE-headquartered Mindshift Capital Fund.
The startup will use the capital to set up its first manufacturing plant in the island state.
With this, the total funds secured so far by the company has touched US$7.6 million.
Established in 2018, Shiok is a cell-based clean meat company, arguably the first of its kind in Singapore and Southeast Asia. The firm aims to bring clean and healthy seafood and meats by harvesting from cells instead of animals.
Shiok Meats produces cell-based crustacean meats (shrimp, crab, lobster), and its meats are animal-, health- and environment-friendly.
Early backers of Beyond Meat, Impossible Foods launch China investment fund and accelerator
Lever VC, a global alternative protein VC fund whose partners were early investors in Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods, and Brinc, a global venture accelerator firm, have launched a joint investment fund and accelerator to back plant-based and cell-cultivated meat and dairy companies across China.
The fund is supported by Lever Foods, a Shanghai-based consultancy that advises on the alternative protein space.
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Corporate partners include the VC arms of food and beverage leaders COFCO, and Yili; national industry trade group the China Plant-Based Foods Alliance; and top global alternative protein ingredient and services companies Givaudan, Cremer, and others.
The Lever China Alternative Protein Fund will invest RMB40 million (US$5.7 million) over the next four years in entrepreneurs and early-stage alternative protein companies focusing on the burgeoning mainland Chinese market, with Brinc providing a comprehensive three-month accelerator programme on a rolling basis for interested portfolio companies.
Up to RMB160 million is available in potential follow-on funding from the Lever VC Fund, for a total available investment pool of RMB200 million.
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Image Credit: Shiok Meats
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