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Here are Singapore’s top e-commerce apps for mobile shopping

Mobile is king in Singapore, so who was leading the e-commerce industry as of Q1 2019?

When it comes to smartphones, Singapore is ranked as one of the highest globally for smartphone penetration. Various mobile app continued to rise in popularity – with the usage and need of shopping online that have become ubiquitous.

We can’t deny how essential mobile phone to be used for almost every aspect of our lives. In fact, a report stated that Singaporeans downloaded 245.4 million apps in 2018 spending approximately US$399.3 million on apps alone.

Although mobile apps today play an important role, a number of Singaporeans still prefers to browse for product and conduct purchases on desktops. This was evident in our previous study on theState of E-commerce.

We conducted astudyto portray who were the mobile e-commerce shopping apps with the highest monthly active users in Southeast Asia in Q1 2019 with the help of App Annie Intelligence.

This data comprises combined iPhone and Android phone averaged monthly active users, Q1 2019 in selected countries – Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.

We also analysed the top most visited e-commerce platforms in Southeast Asia in Q1 2019 obtained through SimilarWeb. The companies selected for this study were amongst the top 50 most visited platforms – on desktop and mobile web – in Singapore.

Lazada

Lazada juxtaposed its annual anniversary event to offer a varied range of products and prices that took place from 21 to 27 March 2019. The platform received a tremendous amount of trafficover week-long celebration that came to its peak with a 24-hour shopping extravaganza on 27th March.

Through the app itself, on average shoppers would log on as often as six times a day to play in-app games. On top of that, Lazada live streamed performances artistes on its app to attract consumers.

More importantly, Lazada has strengthened its position as a key e-commerce player in Singapore asRedmartwas integrated into Lazada’s app and website on 15 March 2019. Customers now are able to browse to more than 400,000 retailers in Lazada’s ecosystem – within the same app as what users have been using and at redmart.lazada.sg.

Nonetheless, Lazada requires a series of app updates over the next few months as well as launching the Redmart features and functionalities which is hoped will be ready by end-June 2019. These include; order amend, delivery slot incentives, my list features, search functionality, delivery slot reservation, and order rescheduling.

Furthermore,Chinese New Year 2019that fell on February 4th to 5th – coincides with the February new moon and the year of the pig – was celebrated by people in Southeast Asia countries as a time to honor deities and to be with family.

In conjunction with this Lunar New Year, Lazada Singapore celebrated its CNY campaign with huge promotions, such as 888 flash deals, up to 88 per cent off, and up to $88 vouchers.

It is a celebration sale period as consumers will actively go through the Internet and e-commerce to find what they need for the preparation of the occasion.

Qoo10

Qoo10 remains as a strong competitor in Singapore with the 2nd highest in monthly active users on its mobile app in Singapore in Q1 2019. The Singaporean-based e-commerce company in 2018 stated that the company will continue to focus its progress on the city-state and remains as a strong competitor in the mobile shopping app arena.

Among the possible drivers of its performance in Q1 2019 could be the introduction of its partnership with Grab Pay that provides consumers the option to pay later for rides, food delivery, and for shopping on Qoo10.

Ku Young Bae, the CEO of Qoo10 is optimistic of its company’s future as there is much room for improvements such as in its diverse product selection, more cross-border merchant sources, a predominantly domestic vendor base, self-owned cross-border shipping network, and price competitiveness to drive further growth in Singapore.

Shopee

Shopee – as the third most actively used app – is amongst the fastest growing e-commerce apps as compared to others in the list of the most active users in Singapore.

Shopee was founded in 2015 where the trend in Southeast Asia had a tendency towards users were to purchase through their smartphones. Founded since 2015, the e-commerce company has considered itself as a mobile-first platform, prioritising its developments on the mobile app, which has made them amongst the most actively used apps in Singapore.

In terms of its overall ranking, Shopee’s mobile app was ranked at 2nd place amongst other apps.

Also Read: Our company spent a year pushing for diversity, here is what we learned

In its past months, prioritised a ‘hyper-localised’ user experience approach by having a different app for each country. This was part of their strategy to focus on taking a highly localised approach to each market. Sea – the parent company of Shopee – in March 2019 stated it aims to raiseUS$1.5B in an effort to drive further growth for Shopee.

It also has become the most visited e-commerce platform (on desktop & mobile web) in Southeast Asia during the quarter, which garnered a total traffic increased by 5% from website and app combined as compared in Q4 2018 to 184.4 million visits.

Taobao

As the fourth most actively used app in Singapore in particular, TaoBao seemed to be performing well in countries where there were more consumers proficient in Mandarin.

As such, Taobao although usable in other countries in Southeast Asia, was most actively used in Singapore and Malaysia. Taobao was actively used in Singapore as most sellers would provide delivery services to Singapore as well as attractive deals and products that are sometimes not available in the country.

Beyond its mobile app, Taobao products are also available to Singaporeans via a Taobao agent or third-party platforms such as EZBuy, SGShop, Peeka, and Oops.

Nevertheless, if users are to prefer Lazada as their platform to shop through Taobao, it is still feasible to purchase the items from there asLazada recently excelled cross-border business across Southeast Asia.

The Most Visited E-commerce Platforms on Desktop & Mobile Web in Singapore and Southeast Asia

Qoo10 remains as the most visited e-commerce platform in Singapore, garnering an average of 7.9 million visits on desktop and mobile web in Q1 2019. Subsequently, Lazada was the second most visited at 7.4 million visitors and Shopee at 2.5 million visitors in the same period.

Totaling the overall traffic garnered in Q1 2019 across Southeast Asia, Shopee is the most visited e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia (six countries – Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, & Singapore) in Q1 2019 with a total average of 184.8 million visitors.

In terms of ranking, Lazada remains as the most visited platform (on desktop and mobile web) in Malaysia, Philippines, and Thailand. Overall, Lazada obtained 179.7 million visitors in Q1 2019 (six countries – Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore).

Also Read: VIISA names 4 startups into the fifth batch of its accelerator programme

Please click on one of the links below to view the data in detail for each country. More findings in the overall Map of E-commerce Report for Q1 2019.

Lazada, Qoo10, Shopee, & Taobao Were The Most Actively Used Apps

The Most Visited E-commerce Platforms on Desktop & Mobile Web in Singapore and Southeast Asia

Photo by ROBIN WORRALL on Unsplash

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Insurtech Maria Health raises additional seed funding from tryb Group

The Philippine-based insurtech aims to “meet the health insurance needs of millions of Filipinos”

tryb Group announced that it has invested an undisclosed amount of seed funding into Phiippine-based insurtech MariaHealth. tryb Group is said to be joining investors like Gobi Partners, Wavemaker, Hustle Fund, and Grand Metro Holdings.

In its statement, Maria Health said it will use the additional funding to scale in the Philippines and to increase their advantage, claiming to be the first-mover in the market.

Maria Health is the digital platform for distribution of health insurance products that aggregate SME, individual, and family health plans. It also provides education and comparison shopping from twenty of the top health insurance providers, primary care clinics, and ambulatory service providers in the Philippines.

The company claims that their digital approach enables sales and account management to scale, which in return helps SMEs and individuals make the right choice in coverage.

On the decision to invest in Maria Health, tryb shared that health expenditures in the Philippines  has grown at almost 12 per cent compound-annual-growth-rate over the last ten years. It expects the trend to accelerate as wellness becomes a more important part of daily life in the Philippines.

Also Read: Row over rental payments leads to fallout between Marvelstone and Hong Leong

“Maria is a great addition to the tryb portfolio. The investment aligns with our thesis that financial services in Southeast Asia need to catch up with technology adoption, digital commerce, and mobile penetration,” said Jason Strimpel, Principal at tryb.

Philippines’ government also reportedly has created a universal insurance plan with the goal of covering all Filipinos. Maria Health is coming in with the hopes to fill this gap in education and access that are still lacking.

“Filipino SMEs are excited to offer group health insurance coverage to their employees. The process to do so is cumbersome, to say the least,” said Vincent Lau, Maria Health Co-founder, and CEO. “Our mission is to provide simple, easy to access health insurance online for the Philippines. Our platform offers the right mix of education and convenience, backed by technology.”

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(Exclusive) Merkle Science raises US$804K in seed funding round led by LuneX, SGInnovate

Merkle Science works with government agencies and blockchain companies in detecting and preventing illegal use of digital assets

merkle_science_funding

Singapore-based blockchain monitoring startup Merkle Science today announced a S$1.1 million (US$804,000) seed funding round led by LuneX Ventures and SGInnovate.

Digital Currency Group, Kenetic, and Entrepreneur First also participated in the funding round.

For LuneX, which is a dedicated fund for blockchain investments by Golden Gate Ventures, the funding round is the first lead investment it concluded since its appointment to SGInnovate’s panel of co-investors, under the Startup SG Equity scheme.

For Merkle Science, the funding will be used to build their technology and expand their sales team across Asia.

“We believe that the co-investment by LuneX and SGInnovate would be synergistic for our growth and development, as we look to build Merkle Science as a global brand from Singapore. Kenetic, DCG and Entrepreneur First would further help us establish ourselves as a trust provider globally,” said Merkle Science Co-Founder and CEO Mriganka Pattnaik in a press statement.

Also Read: Blockchain-powered ride-hailing app TADA officially launches in Cambodia

Merkle Science works with law enforcement agencies and blockchain companies to provide a risk-monitoring solution to detect and prevent the illegal use of digital assets.

The company combines both off-chain and on-chain data with the goal to provide for better analysis, and said to be the one of the first players to apply fraud sciences to analyse blockchain data.

Its co-founders have combined previous experience from Naspers-backed crypto exchange Luno, Paypal, Bank of America, and Instamojo.

“This space is quite attractive due to the increasing cryptocurrency AML regulations coming about worldwide. Due to this, new compliance tools for blockchain monitoring would be required not just by digital currency companies but also regulated financial institutions entering the space,” LuneX Ventures Partner Kenrick Drijkoningen commented on the investment.

LuneX Ventures’s partnership with SGInnovate was announced in late April. The partnership aimed to invest in early stage deep tech startups.

Also Read: 10 crazy blockchain ideas for Facebook

A recent Global Startup Ecosystem Report by Startup Genome has revealed deep tech as the fastest growing category in the global startup industry.

“Nearly half (45 per cent) of startups being created globally now are in deep tech-related sub-sectors -twice the share they made up in 2010-20115. Moreover, the four fastest growing startup sub-sectors are all deep tech-related,” the report stated.

Singapore itself has become an attractive hub for corporate R&D and PhD research students, which has led to an abundance of deep tech talent.

Image Credit: Merkle Science

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Lattice80 founder sued in Korea for non-payments of returns to investors

The legal charges against Joe Cho Seunghyun were filed by Chun Yong Beom, who had invested US$183K in his firm Marvelstone Partners in 2015

Joe Cho Seunghyun, Chairman of Singapore-based Marvelstone Group and Founder of now-defunct fintech hub Lattice80, is facing legal suit in his home country South Korea for allegedly failing to pay promised returns to investors, says a The Business Times report.

The legal charge were filed by South Korean investor Chun Yong Beom, who had invested S$250,000 (US$183,000) in Marvelstone Partners in 2015. As per the documents reviewed by BT, Marvelstone Partners had guaranteed a 33 per cent interest per annum on the capital, with the funds meant to go into another project that was later listed. The contract further guaranteed a profit on exit.

According to Beom, this guaranteed return due end-March 2018 never arrived, and he questioned fund redemptions from Marvelstone Partners since 2017. Boem had also filed a police report against Seunghyun in South Korea in 2018.

Also Read: 6 Echelon Asia Summit 2019 exclusives the investor community can look forward to

The case has however been temporarily put on hold, with Beom saying that it is because Seunghyun has not filed a counterclaim with the South Korean court.

The Business Times claims that it reviewed the documents filed in South Korea and Singapore relating to the Marvelstone Group.

Marvelstone Group have told BT that the claims are “untrue”.

Seunghyun, who is a Singapore permanent resident, is also involved in a legal dispute with Hong Leong Holdings over the breach of a licence agreement. The property group accuses that Seunghyun and Lattice80 failed to deposit revenue receipts that should have gone into designated bank accounts.

In November 2017, e27 reported that Marvelstone neglected to pay Hong Leong the utility bills, internet services and other rental fees, leading to a major fallout between the two firms. Following this, Seunghyun had been dropped as a brand ambassador for the Singapore Tourism Board’s (STB) ‘Passion Made Possible’ campaign.

 

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Blockchain-powered ride-hailing app TADA officially launches in Cambodia

MVL Foundation is behind the launch of Singapore-based ride-hailing application TADA In Phnom Penh

The ride-hailing company TADA, a product of MLV Foundation, announced that it has entered Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

TADA claims to be one of the first consumer applications in the world to utilise blockchain technology. It promises zero commission taken from the drivers. The app was launched in Singapore last July.

“Our purpose has always been to improve the lives of drivers, create a better experience for riders and deliver a trusted ride-hailing application through innovation for all our users,” said Kay Woo, Founder and CEO of MVL.

TADA also collaborated with Pi Pay and Alipay to facilitate digital payments.

According to Tomas Pokorny, CEO of Pi Pay, the collaboration marked another step forward to encourage more Cambodians to adopt cashless payments in the digital era.

Also Read: AI company Pencil secures US$1.1M seed funding led by Wavemaker

Representatives from the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce (CCC) and TADA’s driver partners were also present to witness the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between MVL and Pi Pay.

To date, TADA said it has operated in Singapore, Vietnam, and Cambodia with more than 30,000 drivers and 230,000 users.

The official launch and partnerships are also celebrated with TADA announcing a Free Rides Day, where riders will get to enjoy free rides on May 10 from 6 am to 11.59 pm (Capped at $3 and limited to the first 2,000 redemptions) by using the promo code TADANOW. Driver incentives would also be offered to commemorate the TADA launch during its beta-test phase.

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AI company Pencil secures US$1.1M seed funding led by Wavemaker

Pencil is a creative AI company that seeks to automate creativity but “without killing it”

Singapore-based creative AI company Pencil announced that it has secured US$1.1 million (S$ 1.5 million) seed funding led by Singapore and US-based VC Wavemaker Partners along with SGInnovate and Entrepreneur First.

It also launched its first enterprise product called Studio, a creative platform for advertisers.

Investor-advisors for this seed round include NUS Associate Professor Min-Yen Kan and members of Xoogler Angels, a leading angel network of Google executives in Southeast Asia.

The money will be used on Studio and company expansion.

The company said that the funding will be used to hiring engineering and customer success talent, grow proprietary datasets, and extend patent-pending technology.

Studio seeks to take advantage of recent advancements in AI to enable creative and media teams to generate personalised advertising content, both language and visuals with more speed and scale.

Pencil said that Studio’s technology works by first using computational power to experiment, then AI pattern detection proceeds to spot the best ideas. This approach ensures divergence and surprise in creative outputs, while at the same time also applying historical learnings to improve campaign performance, provides predictive feedback to users that suggests whether generated content is likely to be effective, differentiated, and “on brand”.

Also Read: Skillenza, India’s answer to Triplebyte, raises US$1M in Pre-Series A funding round

Generating AI content using Studio is collaborative, with the human user firmly in control. It lets creatives brief the platform and then review generated content, providing feedback in the form of approvals or edits which in turn train and refine the AI.

Pencil claims that its mission is to address the problem with advertising today, in which many creative teams get overwhelmed by the volume of content that modern digital advertising requires, resulting in the inability to focus on ideas which reach consumers creatively and effectively.

“The number one pain point of marketing teams is increasing their ROI. Almost every solution in the market proposes doing so through greater targeting or better customer profiling. But these approaches are fundamentally limited by the amount of content, be it visuals or text, that one can humanly produce. Pencil takes a new and complementary approach, allowing teams to generate and distribute personalised content at scale using AI,” said Paul Santos, Managing Partner of Wavemaker Partners.

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Meet Titip Doa, the app that will get strangers to pray for you during Hajj pilgrimage

Titip Doa was inspired by a common habit among Indonesian Muslims of asking pilgrims to pray for them as they depart to Saudi Arabia for pilgrimage

titip_doa_profile-1

A common habit among Indonesian Muslims during the Hajj pilgrimage season, which peaked on the Idul Adha celebration, is to ask departing pilgrims to pray for those left in the home country –a practice known as “menitip doa”.

Prior to departure, family and friends would gather at the pilgrims’ residence to send them off. Often these visitors would also convey their requests for prayers during the visit, inspired by the belief that a prayer read during the pilgrimage will have a greater likelihood to be answered.

Often the requests can get very specific and elaborate, and one pilgrim can receive a great number of them.

When Muhammad Senoyodha Brennaf went on a pilgrimage in 2016, to keep things easier, he and his wife created a simple survey form for family and friends to list down their prayers requests. They ended up receiving 190 entries, with topic ranging from curing illnesses such as cancer, success in education and marriage, to being given the opportunity to go on a pilgrimage themselves.

“When we read these prayer request [during the pilgrimage], the more we read these prayers, the deeper we felt their hopes and struggles … We would like for others to be able to feel the same sense of empathy,” Brennaf explained in an email to e27.

“Hopefully this will get people to start thinking and caring for each other, at least by praying for each other,” he added.

Brennaf, who is the CEO of local startup Astrajingga, then built a mobile app called Titip Doa.

Through the mobile app, users are able to submit their prayers request to be read by other users. Users are able to monitor the progress of their requests; once the prayer request has been read by other users, there will be information on the identity, location, and how many times the prayer has been read.

Prayer request going into the Titip Doa database will not be edited or curated, though users can report any request that is deemed in appropriate.

The app is set to be launched in mid-January for Android devices.

The Titip Doa mobile app

Also Read: How AyoPoligami app becomes the most hated app among Indonesian women today

The rise of halal-tech

 

Being the biggest Muslim population in the world, Indonesia provides a great potential for businesses working to provide halal services to the market, from food, clothing, to travel and tourism. Several startups in the Southeast Asian region has built platforms that cater to needs of the Muslim audiences.

Astrajingga itself has built online travel agency Halal Local and personal finance management platform Monicca.

Despite the great market potential, Brennaf said that his intention in building the app is purely for charity. The service will continue to be provided for free; he will not even put advertisements on the platform.

“Even if, in the future, there will be any intention to commercialise it, then the Titip Doa app will utilise big data to process Sentiment Analysis. This market sentiment analysis will be useful for many things, such as understanding the most common aspiration [of citizens] in a city, who is the leader that many people are expecting for, public opinion on certain issues, and many more,” he explained.

He also has no specific target with the launch of the app.

“But seeing the response towards the prayer request form that my wife and I created in 2016, hopefully it will gain the attention of many users. Hopefully, if God willing, we can get 10,000 downloads within six months,” he said.

Brennaf is also working on the app all by himself; he has just begun to recruit volunteers to help on the project.

“For the future, I already have a clear picture on the upgrades that we are going to implement, and the stages in doing it. But it will adjust the market validation process following the launch,” he said.

“If we are talking about a more serious process such as expansion, diversification, or even pitching [the product] to venture capital firms, then there is such possibility. As the Titip Doa app begin to grow significantly and have a good potential, then we will certainly need external support for this project to grow bigger and give greater impact,” he closed.

Image Credit: pansiriphoto / 123RF Stock Photo

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Everything you need to know about #Echelon2019

From speaker breakdowns, attendee numbers and exhibitor stats, here is what you can expect at #Echelon2019

Get insights from the best of the best at Echelon Asia Summit 2019. Happening on May 23-24 at the Singapore Expo. Enter promo code ECHELONFUTURE for free tickets!

It’s the time of the year again as we’re building up toward Echelon Asia Summit 2019, and here’s a multitude of reasons why you should be excited for the event on 23-24 May in Singapore!

3 stages, 65 sessions, 150 speakers

Our line-up celebrates the best of Southeast Asia’s startup ecosystem with household names such as James Chang, CEO of Lazada Singapore; Chris Yeo, Head of Grab Ventures; Blake Larson, Managing Director, Lalamove.

Hearing personally from the very people who headline the trends and happenings you’ve been reading about will be a strong indication of where the ecosystem’s headed next.

While Echelon veterans would already be familiar with the Future stage and Founder stage, this year’s conference will introduce a brand new Capital Stage.

For the ecosystem to continue growing sustainably, we will also address key issues to ensure inclusivity and accountability, discussing topics such as “#MeToo two years on; Has the tech world done enough to create a safe space for diversity and level the playing field?”.

12,000 attendees, 250 exhibitors, 10 government delegations

This year’s event is expected to comprise of 45 per cent tech startups, 25 per cent corporates and 12 per cent investors, with incubators & accelerators, SMEs, developers, students, media organizations and regulators making up the rest of the demographic.

The 50 per cent growth from last year’s 8,000 is a result of our decision to subsidize ticket prices at US$10, as we continue championing startups and inclusivity, especially for the overseas delegation who make up slightly less than half of the total attendee size.

Also Read: Meet 6 of our corporate partners who will FORGE their corporate-startup innovation at Echelon

250 exhibitors is a new record for Echelon, and we have a diverse group of companies with SaaS, Fintech and AI forming the top representation in this year’s cohort.

Echelon will also host 10 government agencies – from Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Korea, Taiwan, Kazakhstan, – who will each bring a delegation of startups to Singapore, and also attend a 5-hour closed door forum.

4,000 minutes, 320 meetings, 45 investors

Echelon Connect will continue to catalyze the region’s fundraising and deal flow activity through 15min speed-dating sessions between startups and investors in-attendance.

This programme boasts a track-record of 15% startups raising follow-on funding post-event, and participating VCs this year include the likes of Monk’s Hill Ventures, Jungle Ventures and Quest Ventures to name a few.

6,000 minutes, 200 meetings, 20 corporate partners

The newly introduced FORGE aims to drive towards tangible value and outcomes by matching startups who wish to explore business opportunities with the bigger boys, as well as organizations who are serious about their corporate innovation ambitions.

Also Read: Don’t tell anybody, but this riddle can help you get to #Echelon2019

To illustrate a few business cases – NEC Asia Pacific wants to partner startups to co-develop and go-to-market with a complete solution for “payment by facial recognition”, Dentsu Aegis Network is looking to acquire adtech and martech solutions, while PT Sampoerna is looking adopt HR tech to support 20,000 staff for payroll, leave application and other employee matters.

600 applications, 20 countries, 110 startups, 1 judges choice 

Echelon is proud to be hosting the region’s largest startup Demo Day annually on the TOP100 stage. This year, we’re showcasing 110 promising companies curated from over 20 countries and 2-months worth of qualifiers across the continent.

This programme will culminate in the TOP100 finals featuring 10 startups who will vye for EnterpriseSG’s S$50,000 StartupSG grant. Other prizes include return flights and access to Web in Travel’s boot camp later this year, day passes to Greenhouse Co-working, as well as complimentary lifetime subscription to AntiHack.me’s email spoofing solutions.

300 premier tickets, 1 seamless experience

If you can’t contain your excitement already, engage us on social media at #Echelon2019, and we’ll see you there 🙂

Get insights from the best of the best at Echelon Asia Summit 2019. Happening on May 23-24 at the Singapore Expo. Enter promo code ECHELONFUTURE for free tickets!

Photo by Ambreen Hasan on Unsplash

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6 Echelon Asia Summit 2019 exclusives the investor community can look forward to

Looking to grow your portfolio or find the next big venture to support?

Looking to grow your portfolio or find the next big venture to support? Echelon Asia Summit 2019 gives you unprecedented access to the cream of Southeast Asia’s tech startup ecosystem for two whole days. Here are some highlights of activities targeted toward investors.

Showcase: Korea Startups Spotlight Hour

  • What: 7 Startups from South Korea curated by Korea Mobile Internet Association (MOIBA)  will be pitching
  • When: Day 2, May 2 at 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM
  • Where: TOP100 Fight Club stage
  • Featured startups: Daliworks, Ideaconcert, PayRaiz, Unidocs, LiveK, Toy’s Myth, and Smart Study

Showcase: Taiwan Spotlight in collaboration with e27 Echelon Roadshow and TOP100 brought to you by AsiaIOA

Founded in Taiwan, AsiaIOA is a service provider for IHLs, corporate accelerators and government innovation agencies, focused on connecting startup ecosystem between East Asia and Southeast Asia through offline event management, and program curation.

  • What: 3 Startups from Taiwan curated by AsiaIOA will be pitching
  • When: Day 2, May 2 at 11:000 AM – 11:20 AM
  • Where: TOP100 Fight Club stage

Showcase: Kazakhstan Startups Pitching

  • What: 2 Startups from Kazakhstan curated by Astana Hub will be pitching
  • When: Day 2, May 2 at 11:20 AM – 11:30 AM
  • Where: TOP100 Fight Club stage
  • Featured startups: Clockster and ISSU

Showcase: K-Pitch Demo Day

  • What: Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA)  Demo Day — 9 startups from South Korea and curated by KOICA will be pitching
  • When: Day 2, May 24 11:30 AM – 1:00PM
  • Where: TOP100 Fight Club stage
  • Featured startups: Glory & Tech, ShareLight, PiQuant, NEO TOP, VUNO, Flint Lab, TreePlanet, MoreDream, K.O.A.
  • RSVP here.

NEXTICORN – Next Indonesian Unicorn 2019

The NextICorn (Next Indonesian Unicorns) platform streamlines and promotes Indonesia’s most investable startups to the most capable investors domestically, and across the globe. Backed by the ICT Ministry, BKPM, AMVESINDO and EY Indonesia, NEXTICORN promotes the growth of Indonesia’s digital sector – which has attracted over USD 4 billion in Foreign Direct Investments in 2017, resulting in over $24B digital economy and directly empowered millions of SMEs in 2018.

  • What: Networking and lunch
  • When: Day 1, May 23 at 12:00 to 2:00 PM
  • Where: Conference Room J, Singapore Expo Hall 3A
  • RSVP here.

Korea Mobile Internet Business Association (MOIBA) Networking Dinner at Echelon After Party

  • What: Dinner and Networking with startups from South Korea, exhibiting under MOIBA pavilion
  • When: Day 2, May 24, 2019 at 7:00 PM
  • Where: Canvas, 20 Upper Circular Rd, #B1-01/06, The Riverwalk, Singapore
  • Featured startups: Daliworks, Ideaconcert, PayRaiz, Unidocs, LiveK, Toy’s Myth, and Smart Study
  • RSVP here.

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Get insights from the best of the best at Echelon Asia Summit 2019, happening on May 23-24 at the Singapore Expo. Get your free Starter tickets here.

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(In photos) A stroll around STATION F, one of the biggest startup campuses in the world

The US$281-million startup facility was built in 2017 by Xavier Niel, a serial entrepreneur and founder of Kima Ventures

With an aim to attract international startups into Paris and make entrepreneurship more accessible, serial entrepreneur and investor Xavier Niel built STATION F in Paris in 2017.

Niel — the founder of telecom operator Free Mobile, tuition-free coding school 42 in France and California, and hyper-active early-stage VC firm Kima Ventures — also wanted to add more coherence and unity to the fragmented startup ecosystem.

Located in central Paris, the 34,000 sq meter building hosts an entire startup ecosystem under one roof.  The facility hosts not just local startups but startups from across the world, including Asia, such as Wishupon (South Korea).

At STATION F, you can find a startup zone with 3,000 startup desks divided into 30 different startup programmes — including Facebook’s Startup Garage, vente-privee’s Impulse and its own Founders Program. STATION F also has event spaces, offices for investors and tech companies, a makerspace, a co-working coffee-shop, and a giant food market.

A co-living space for 600 entrepreneurs is also under construction 15 minutes away from STATION F.

So far EUR250 million (US$281 million) has been invested in STATION F.

STATION F campus is divided into three zones: SHARE, CREATE, CHILL. The SHARE zone provides a variety of event spaces and services for entrepreneurs. In this space, two areas are open to the public: an Anticafé (a co-working coffee shop where you can pay by the hour) and an innovative Post office.

The SHARE zone also includes six of the eight events spaces available on campus, including a 370-seat auditorium and a ‘creativity room’ built for brainstorming sessions. All events happening on campus revolve around entrepreneurship and creativity.

There are numerous startup services in the SHARE zone, like a French Tech area that provides direct access to 35 key administrations and experts.

There is also a Tech Lab, managed by Techshop Ateliers Leroy Merlin, with 3D printers, laser cutters, and workshops.

In addition, several private offices host major tech companies like Amazon Web Services and Zendesk, and a VC areas with members like Balderton Capital, Index Ventures, Accel Partners, Alven, Ventech, Kima Ventures, and more.

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