In a dynamic week for Southeast Asia’s startup scene, a range of innovative ventures secured notable funding from regional investors and venture capital firms. Among them are ByHours (Spain), edamame (the Philippines, VAMA (India), Lendela (Singapore), Climate Alpha (Singapore), JALA (Indonesia), Inflow (Vietnam), Fr8Labs (Singapore).
These investments highlight the diverse and thriving entrepreneurial landscape in Southeast Asia.
ByHours
Funding: Undisclosed.
Investors: Velocity Ventures (lead) and others.
Short bio: ByHours offers users a global platform to book short stays in over 4,000 partner hotels for 3, 6, and 12 hours. It offers a flexible ‘pay-per-use’ model with a 24-hour check-in option. This model accommodates travellers who only pay for the required hours, making it suitable for those seeking a brief rest or experiencing a short layover without an overnight stay.
edamama
Funding: Not disclosed
Investors: ACTIVE Fund, Kickstart Ventures, Gentree Fund, Innoven Capital, GS Group.
Short bio: edamama is an O2O parenting platform in the Philippines. It provides parents with essential resources, products, and community support. Its mission is to empower parents and caregivers by offering a wide range of curated products and services that cater to the unique needs of families. Since its launch in 2020, the platform claims to have delivered over 3.5 million products to families across the Philippines.
VAMA
Funding: US$1.5M
Investors: Wavemaker Partners (lead) and others.
Short bio: Established in late 2020, VAMA.app is a virtual platform serving as a one-stop destination for easy access to e-pujas, e-darshans, and astrology services for devotees across India. The platform offers virtual puja remedies in temples to devotees and customers from all over the world. It has partnered with over 250 temples throughout India and built a network of more than 300 astrologers on its platform.
Lendela
Funding: US$5M
Investors: Chocolate Ventures, Cocoon Capital, Phillip PE, Genting Ventures
Short bio: Founded in 2018, Lendela is a digital loan matchmaker connecting borrowers with loan options. The platform provides borrowers with transparent and personalised loan options. Since its inception, the startup claims to have connected over 100,000 consumers with more than 100 lending partners. Today, it serves customers in three markets with offices in Singapore, Hong Kong, Sydney and Kuala Lumpur.
Climate Alpha
Funding: US$5M
Investors: First Cheque@Jungle and others.
Short bio: Founded in 2022 by Parag Khanna, Climate Alpha fuses data science, climate modelling and finance to promote sustainable investment. The company uses geographic information system (GIS) data and economic modelling to deliver a solution for navigating accelerating climate volatility and forecasting the financial impact of climate risks. Climate Alpha distinguishes itself from other climate tech companies tracking and mitigating greenhouse gas emissions by offering data-driven roadmaps to construct more resilient portfolios.
JALA
Funding: US$13.1M
Investors: Intudo Ventures, SMDV, Mirova, Meloy Fund
Short bio: JALA is an Indonesian digital enabler for the shrimp industry. Founded in 2017 by Aryo Wiryawan (Chairman) and Maduningtyas, JALA provides shrimp farmers with advanced technology services, including in-depth aquaculture analysis built on real-time data and connected equipment, farm assistance, farm financing, supplies and inputs and marketplace services to bring harvest to market.
Inflow
Funding: US$2M
Investors: AppWorks, 500 Global, January Capital, Spiral Ventures, Saison Capital
Short bio: Inflow is a Vietnam-based fashion supply chain platform. It taps into the garment production advantages of Vietnam and Southeast Asia while solving critical supply chain challenges in the fashion industry, such as opaque supplier networks and inefficient project management of the design-to-production cycle.
According to the company, the platform offers full visibility into the supply chain, from inventory forecasts to data-driven factory matching to merchandise management, all accessible through a user-friendly dashboard with real-time tracking. Its production network includes over 150 pre-vetted and ethical manufacturers and suppliers in Vietnam.
Fr8Labs
Funding: US$1.5M
Investors: East Ventures, FEBE Ventures, Kaya Founders, Mulia Sky Capital, Seedstars International Ventures, Venturra, angels
Short bio: Fr8Labs develops multiple innovative solutions for freight forwarders in Asia, including a cloud Operating System and a Generative AI assistant bot that aims to serve as an AI co-pilot for forwarders. These functions aim to solve pain points by streamlining operations, including integrating shipment job processes and integrating various internal and external stakeholders’ functions, such as between sales and operations (CRM and Accounting), and linking platforms like emails and chat platforms.
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