Finance
e-Commerce ecosystem startup Commerce.Asia invests in Malaysian rural social commerce platform BizApp
Commerce.Asia announced that it has made an investment in BizApp, Malaysian rural social commerce platform, with the aim to “overcome the disparity between urban and rural entrepreneurs through social commerce”.
BizApp was founded in 2017 by Hasnol Mizam Hashim and Mohd Taib Pardi who recognised the need for a systematic, technological solution to serve agent-based businesses in Malaysia. The platform allows users to manage their daily business operations including order and fulfilment management, facilitating users from the suburban and rural areas to engage in e-commerce.
BizApp currently has over 200,000 agents with a gross merchandise volume (GMV) of over MYR600 million (US$144 million) transacted in 2019. With the investment, the startup will complement with Commerce.Asia’s ecosystem to better bridge the urban-rural entrepreneurial divide in Malaysia.
Business
gojek buys 4.3 per cent stake at local taxi operator Blue Bird for US$30M
Ride-hailing and food delivery unicorn gojek confirms that it has bought 4.3 per cent stake at Blue Bird, the notable Indonesian taxi operator for US$30 million, Bloomberg has reported. An earlier report which was published in December 2019 has circulated the now-confirmed news that gojek is buying a minority stake in the company.
Also Read: Morning News Roundup: gojek’s accelerator program introduces 3rd batch of retail startups
Blue Bird’s parent company PT Pusaka Citra Djokosoetono announced in a stock exchange filing on February 14 that it sold more than 108 million shares at IDR3,800 (US$0.27) apiece to an unidentified buyer.
When gojek rose to fame, it was met with protests by taxi drivers who believed that the service threatened their livelihood. But since March 2017, gojek and Blue Bird partnered to have the Blue Bird taxi service available on the gojek platform.
Retail analytics unicorn Trax acquires AI-based in-store tech provider Qopius, to further digitise physical retail
Trax, Singapore-based retail computer vision and analytics startup, announces that it has bought Europe-based Qopius, a provider of AI-based in-store technology solutions.
The acquisition will allow Trax to realise real-time store monitoring and autonomous inventory management into mainstream adoption. With the combined platforms, Trax intends to better serve grocery retailers by offering them a holistic, closed-loop approach to improving store operations efficiency through always-on shelf monitoring.
Trax’s in-store execution and retail analytics seek to better manage on-shelf availability and optimise merchandising powered by proprietary image recognition algorithms that convert photos of retail shelves into a granular, actionable shelf, and store-level insights.
On the other hand, Qopius’ hardware-agnostic computer vision platform helps retailers monitor in real-time on-shelf inventory. It leverages on data integration and analytics to empower store managers and staff to take the right action, at the right time for streamlined store operations and higher sales.
Also Read: Opinion: Should Singaporeans celebrate its newly minted startup unicorn, Trax?
Trax CEO and co-founder Joel Bar-El said, “The key to retail success in the new decade is using technology to support employees. This means capturing critical shelf data in real-time to enable employees to fix merchandising and availability issues faster than ever before. Qopius’ proven expertise in digitizing supermarket shelves across Europe and phenomenal talent make it a strategic fit for Trax.”
People
Malaysian actor, former 500 Startups Venture Partner Ashraf Sinclair passes away, aged 40
Malaysian actor and former Venture Partner at 500 Startups Ashraf Sinclair had passed away in Jakarta at 4AM local time, various media reported. The actor and investor was 40 years old.
According to a report by Kompas, the cause of death was a heart attack.
Sinclair has built a successful acting career in Malaysia and Indonesia that spans for more than a decade before joining 500 Startups in 2017.
Prior to joining 500 Startups, Sinclair took part in a pre-seed investment in concert crowdfunding platform Konsaato together with his wife, singer Bunga Citra Lestari, in a round led by Jakarta-based Grupara Inc.
Sinclair had also invested in restaurant chain TGIF Indonesia and has started restaurants, gyms, content, and production agencies. He had also produced a sold-out solo concert for his wife, which is said to have been attended by 35,000 people.
Growth-stage accelerator ScaleUp Malaysia welcomes Xelia Tong as Managing Partner
ScaleUp Malaysia has announced the appointment of Xelia Tong as Managing Partner today. Tong will join ScaleUp Malaysia’s partner team of Managing Partners Tay Shan Li and Andre Sequerah; Senior Partners Dr. V. Sivapalan and Renuka Sena; as well as General Partner Aaron Sarma.
Tong will be responsible for heading up investor relations for ScaleUp Malaysia and will focus on helping companies in the cohort secure investments and strategic partnerships. She will also develop and execute commercial strategies for ScaleUp Malaysia and its cohort of companies.
Also Read: ScaleUp Malaysia kickstarts 3-month programme with 20 companies in first cohort
For the last five years, Tong has served as Vice President, Investment and Head of Angel Tax Incentive for Cradle Fund, viewing more than 4,000 pitches and facilitated the funding of 185 entrepreneurs.
Prior to that, she served as Vice President at Bank Simpanan National to oversee the Creative Industry Fund. She has also been a part of Malaysian Debt Ventures and KPMG.
“I truly love the vision of ScaleUp Malaysia in how it aims to find and develop outstanding ‘pegasus’ companies. I’m really excited to have the opportunity to be a part of the ScaleUp Malaysia team and to work with some truly remarkable entrepreneurs,” said Tong.
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