Xeraya Capital invests in US-based biotech firm Greenlight

American biotech company Greenlight Biosciences, which focuses on the sustainable production of chemicals and fuels, has raised US$17 million from Malaysia’s PE firm Xeraya Capital, Baird Capital and Flu Lab, according to DealstreetAsia.

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The startup will use the new capital to enable the production of COVID-19 vaccine using bioprocessing technology.

“It’s an investment towards the world having access to an affordable Covid-19 vaccine. A bet that mRNA will play an important part in human vaccines,” said Fares Zahir CEO of Xeraya Capital.

FairPrice, WhyQ launch food delivery platform at zero commission to support smaller F&B biz

FairPrice Group and food delivery startup WhyQ have partnered to launch a commission-free food delivery platform for vendors, according to ChannelNewsAsia.

Members who sign up on the platform will not be required to pay any commission or set up fee. However, there will be a “6 per cent markup on food price will be used to offset payment gateway and server costs for the platform”, the company said.

“While larger and more tech-savvy food businesses transited to delivery platforms, smaller food establishments struggled to keep up,” FairPrice and WhyQ said in a joint statement.

“These smaller food establishments faced more difficulties in accessing digital platforms due to high commission fees, manpower considerations, and a perception that it is difficult to incorporate technology into their business,” read the statement.

MDEC predicts online business trend will continue post-COVID-19

The Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) has predicted that changes in the behaviour of consumers and local traders from traditional to digital mediums will continue after COVID-19, according to MalayMail.

“The main players in the e-commerce sector would leverage on the digital capability to increase their presence offline, and thereby further expanding their e-commerce ecosystem,” said MDEC CEO Surina Shukri.

“Digital transformation will move fast. Businesses, meanwhile, have taken proactive steps to participate in e-commerce to survive,” she added.

MDEC has also started the eUsahawan programme, which trains SMEs to grow and improve their digital skills. The agency claims that it has trained more than 330,000 micro-entrepreneurs till 2019.

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