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As the dreary funding winter continues to soar, at e27, we are kickstarting a new article series Line of Hire to understand an organisation’s culture and hiring philosophies to empower tech workers with the right growth tools and enable business owners to attract talent.

Stephanie Ping is Co-Founder and CEO of WORQ, a hyper-localised community workspace bringing new opportunities to businesses and entrepreneurs by fostering meaningful connections for its members and the surrounding community.

Ping graduated from Stanford University with a BA in Economics and MS in Management Science and Engineering. Her experience with Stanford’s entrepreneurship community significantly shaped her vision for WORQ’s entrepreneurial community.

Ping is the recipient of the Malaysian Venture Capital Association’s Outstanding Female Entrepreneur of 2019. 

Ping discusses her company’s culture and hiring philosophies in this candid interview.

What personality traits/qualities do you look for in potential employees?

We look for passion and grit. We love teammates who are community-minded and are driven to foster connections.

How do they fit into your company culture? Tell us a little more about your company culture.

WORQ is a collaborative community, and we operate on a flat structure that drives high mobility in a fast-growing organisation to embrace the community mindset. At the same time, we strive to have quick feedback turnaround and execution across departments and reporting lines.

At WORQ, our community, which comprises MNCs, freelancers, startups and SMEs from different backgrounds and ethnicities, is at the heart of what we do. Our mission is to create a world where people prosper by working together.

Also Read: Keep learning and building relationships during funding winter: Richard Yan of Airwallex

The design of our co-working space has been carefully thought out to foster collaboration and creativity while providing flexibility in working arrangements, from the layout of the hot desking areas to the private rooms, common areas, pantry and even meeting rooms.

How do you foster transparency and encourage achievement in the workplace?

It is crucial to have a robust work environment with the effectiveness to scale, accountability to progress and adaptability to change to foster a team.

Whether it’s people, process or technology related, identifying and bestowing the necessary resources, policies and tools for our teams is essential to encouraging achievement. Other than planning and setting goals to provide that clarity that our teams need, we encourage everyone to share learnings, celebrate successes and even reflect on failures, which is a crucial process for growth as an absolute unit.

To achieve that, we must allow everyone to share their voices through an open platform (through employee engagements or an open communication channel that provides access to information and ease of communication and feedback).

More importantly, we also found that involving our employees in decision-making creates that creative space and instils the confidence they need to grow.

Do you have a mental health policy? 

We provide safe and open channels for our employees to reach out to us whenever they encounter any challenges. Our co-working spaces are designed with quiet areas and even sleeping pods for the community to recharge and get much-needed peace of mind throughout the day.

WFH or WFO, or hybrid?

Hybrid, hybrid, hybrid.

At WORQ, we believe in the hybrid work model that provides flexible working arrangements and work-life balance. All our outlets are strategically located near public transportation, with high connectivity to major highways and easily accessible to multiple service providers and various food choices.

We understand the need for working parents to be closer to home. We support working mothers by providing mother-friendly facilities (mother’s room) for nursing mothers, a shower room and napping pods.

How should a tech worker prepare for the funding winter?

Profitable scalability. Profitability isn’t the opposite of growth. In fact, it is synonymous with scaling.

Every new site we open makes us more money to grow, and that’s how tech companies should think. Things catch up, and if one isn’t disciplined to withstand the pressure not to be unsustainable, then it is tough to be successful.

Also Read: Innovation, teamwork, open communication are valued in our culture: Farida Charania of Empauwer

Every winter, there is an opportunity. As WORQ was working on sustainability through COVID-19, it emerged as a stronger player. Winters are when the wheat separates from the shaft. Tech companies should prepare well in advance and anticipate winter to use these opportunities to surge ahead, which was WORQ’s strategy.

How do you measure the performance of your employees?

We must ensure that our company goals always reflect our vision to be the best co-working space, which is then translated into key results and action plans across divisions to be measured routinely. We run our appraisal exercise quarterly to provide an active platform where both appraisers and appraisees can tackle challenges, celebrate achievements and grow effectively as a team.

At WORQ, our core values are deeply rooted and embedded in our working culture to promote accountability, customer and entrepreneurial mindset. On a day-to-day basis, we encourage collaborative behaviour among team members where they can send their colleagues Qarma Points for any support received, which will be showcased and translated into rewards.

Will you consider a moderately skilled person with great honesty or a highly skilled person with less honesty when hiring?

Yes. Skill is secondary, and we will 100 per cent hire someone who doesn’t have the right skills yet, as long as they have the right attitude.

We do not require a college degree. We can work with anyone as long as they can demonstrate a willingness to learn, curiosity, honesty and integrity! Skills can be acquired, and we are here to help our amazing team acquire them.

Do you encourage ‘intrapreneurship’ in your organisation?

Yes absolutely. We work in a community work style and practice design thinking in how we operate. We encourage our employees to think out of the box to resolve challenges and lead change to improve the current workflow. We have an ‘innovation box’ where employees can submit their ideas anonymously too. At WORQ, every idea is worth exploring.

How do you support upskilling for your employees?

We have crafted a Career Progression Plan (CPP) for all roles to allow all team members to align fairly and have ownership over their career goals, competencies, and timeline. CPP showcases the vertical career ladder each employee can progress into and allows our team to explore various portfolios based on their interests and capabilities.

At WORQ, we are also committed to building practical training and development programs to continuously enhance our team members’ knowledge, skills, leadership and standards. From technical topics like system functional training to soft skill topics like customer relationship management and leadership training, we aim to gradually build up over 15 syllabi of topics under our Centre of Excellence programme.

We provide monthly learning recommendations to our team to promote self-learning from our readily available and easy-to-access platforms, such as Masterclass, SoftBank Operator School and TedTalk.

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Fundraising or preparing your startup for fundraising? Build your investor network, search from 400+ SEA investors on e27, and get connected or get insights regarding fundraising. Try e27 Pro for free today.

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The UN WOMEN announced the theme for International Women’s Day 2023 in December last year. For us in the tech startup ecosystem, it was something that is near and dear to our heart: Innovation and technology for gender equality.

“The United Nations Observance of IWD recognises and celebrates the women and girls who are championing the advancement of transformative technology and digital education. IWD 2023 will explore the impact of the digital gender gap on widening economic and social inequalities. The event will also spotlight the importance of protecting the rights of women and girls in digital spaces and addressing online and ICT-facilitated gender-based violence,” the organisation announced in a statement.

This theme calls for the inclusion of women and other marginalised groups into the digital world. It highlights that their lack of inclusion has shaved US$1 trillion from the gross domestic product of low- and middle-income countries in the last decade, according to the UN Women’s Gender Snapshot 2022 report. This loss is expected to grow to US$1.5 trillion by 2025 without action.

The problem–and the possibility for us to take part in providing the solutions–sounds like an exciting challenge to tackle. But before we go out to try to solve the problem, perhaps we should aim to sit down and reflect: Are we alright?

Because we can never solve a problem when we are still part of that problem itself.

Also Read: Uplifting the underserved and women in fintech: Retail technology on the frontier of equality

Women in the startup ecosystem today

The state of gender equality in the tech startup ecosystem has always been a hot topic. For years, we have touched upon different angles from the lack of women in leadership position, access to funding for women-led companies, to sexual harassment in the workplace.

Today, in 2023, we certainly would like to ask ourselves: How far have we come? What challenges have we managed to tackle? What challenges remain?

There are many ways to answer these questions, depending on which problem you would like to focus on. But I would like to highlight the state of startup funding given to women founders–as funding is the very thing that allows impactful companies to grow and thrive.

“Women are not only raising less funding, but they are also raising it at lower valuations. This has ripple effects throughout the gender ecosystem, from decreased equity to more modest exits than male founders,” Nikkei Asia Review wrote in December 2022.

“And as women amass less personal wealth, fewer become limited partners, venture capitalists, angel investors or serial entrepreneurs – the people providing the investment money for funds, those making the decisions on how that money will be invested, and those allowed to use the funds.”

The report further highlighted that in Southeast Asia, startups founded solely by women accounted for only 0.6 per cent of capital invested in the region in 2021.

Also Read: Uplifting the underserved and women in fintech: Retail technology on the frontier of equality

One might say that “Hey, back in 2021, nobody raised any funding. Everyone suffered.” Sure.

That is why mainstreaming the discussion on gender equality is even more urgent.

Last year, I attended a debate at the She Loves Tech conference in Singapore which pointed out the harm in treating women as an impact investment. This meant that when a crisis happens, investment in women and other minorities will usually be the first to go. So, investors need to put investing in women as part of their core agenda–not a charity or a CSR.

This is by no means stating that the tech startup ecosystem should not be involved in the general movement for gender equality in society. After all, the tech industry does not stand in a silo. We are the society itself. Whatever is going on within the tech startup ecosystem is a reflection of the society it lives in.

But perhaps the way for us to make a change is by looking at how operate as an ecosystem and see how we can continue to improve. To allow talents to thrive regardless of gender, race, sexuality, and economic background. To give room for every entrepreneur to build and grow their companies.

Once we were able to get there, then perhaps that is where true disruption can happen.

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Echelon Asia Summit 2023 is bringing together APAC’s leading startups, corporates, policymakers, industry leaders, and investors to Singapore this June 14-15. Learn more and get tickets here. Echelon also features the TOP100 stage, where startups get the chance to pitch to 5000+ delegates, among other benefits like a chance to connect with investors, visibility through e27 platform, and other prizes. Join TOP100 here.

Image Credit: ThisisEngineering RAEng on Unsplash

The post This year, International Women’s Day calls for the tech startup ecosystem to look within appeared first on e27.

The start of 2023 has been interesting and dynamic, with most conversations revolving around volatile markets. Now, companies are turning to the next pressing topic of the year: how to protect their revenues. The challenging part about recessions is that they are out of our control, and the best way to navigate them is to manage our own businesses effectively.

This article will dive into how startups and SMEs can assess their current situation, reduce expenses and expand their reach to stabilise or increase revenue while traditional funding methods are slowly drying up.

Reducing expenses and streamlining the business

Reducing expenses is a key strategy to consider when navigating a recession. Companies should cut back on unnecessary expenses, streamline business development spending, and, in the worst case, trim headcount. Reflecting on the successes, failures, and strategies implemented from the previous year is key to identifying what worked, what didn’t, and what needs improvement.

Companies can use these findings to streamline their operations using technology solutions and identify areas that can be expanded to increase revenue. With the rise of ChatGPT and other AI solutions, companies can experiment with these tools to speed up and automate manual processes within their team. This enables them to focus on tasks that drive impact and revenue.

Also Read: A tech worker should be all about improving customer experience: Kim Nguyen of Recruitery

Exploring expanding revenue streams

After refining spending and streamlining business processes, companies should consider their next steps. One key strategy we see businesses using to navigate a recession is exploring new markets. Although not immediately obvious to many startups and SMEs, expanding a business’s reach can improve its chances of surviving a recession. It allows companies to tap into new revenue streams and access more potential clients.

Startups and SMEs interested in exploring new markets should first evaluate whether they are truly ready for such a step, and identify any potential red flags they need to address beforehand. If they identify an opportunity, the next step would be to refine which markets to target and how to adapt their messaging to accommodate different communities and countries.

Companies with an English foundation can usually find their initial stepping stones in other English-speaking markets (Explore the Rainmaking Expand: United Kingdom programme). However, those looking to expand closer to home can explore how to translate and adapt their product to a new language and culture.

Identifying potential in new markets

When a company is ready to expand, it is important to dive into the potential capability and opportunities available in the new market. By utilising expansion frameworks such as the PESTLE Framework and Capability Mapping Framework, companies can identify how viable the new market is for them, as well as identify where they need to invest to make a new market a success further.

By leveraging these frameworks, founders can identify gaps in their own capabilities, focus on the improvements or refines that need to be made and make informed decisions on how they are to invest in the new market and set themselves up for success.

Also Read: A tech worker’s 2023 recession game plan

At Rainmaking Expand, we have also recognised an increasing trend for startups and SMEs to improve and protect their revenues by collaborating with other companies in new markets. This has helped them to accelerate their market entry and reduce the risk.

As a venture development firm, we are able to provide hands-on support from the idea stage to scale, helping companies manage their growth in a smart way and making limited resources go as far as possible.

By understanding the needs of different communities and countries and leveraging our network to secure and leverage potential commercial partnerships, we are able to help startups identify and capitalise on emerging trends in order to achieve success in the new economy.

In order to stay ahead of the competition and remain relevant, startups should be willing to take risks, embrace change, and think outside the box. By utilising the right combination of people, resources, and technology, startups can gain a competitive advantage and increase their chances of success in the new economy. With the right strategies in place, startups can continue to grow, despite the current economic challenges and position themselves for long-term success.

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Betterhalf, a Bengaluru-based AI-powered matchmaking platform targetting urban Indians, has secured US$8.5 million in a Series A funding round.

FinSight Ventures (which has previously invested in dating app Bumble), besides marquee investors, such as Instagram Co-Founder Mike Krieger and Dropbox Co-Founder Arash Ferdowsi, participated.

Rebel Fund, Nurture Ventures, Leonis Investissement, Derek Callow (ex-CMO of Bumble), Scott Belsky (Founder of Behance), Brendan O’Driscoll (ex-Product Head of Spotify), Manik Gupta (ex-CPO of Uber), Punit Soni (ex-CPO of Flipkart), and Ravish Naresh (Co-Founder & CEO of Khatabook) also joined the investor list.

Launched in 2019, Betterhalf describes itself as a new-age matrimony platform aiming to provide full-stack tech-enabled wedding planning services in India.

The startup recently launched the astrology service AstroZodiac.

Also Read: AI has the potential to perpetuate harmful biases, says Inmagine CEO

Betterhalf claims it recorded a 17 per cent m-o-m growth, recording US$2.5 million annualised revenue. The growth is further fuelled by a ~3x surge in users in nine months.

The company further said it has achieved over one million monthly active users. In addition, Betterhalf also announced its 2nd ESOP buyback. Its first ESOP buyback was done 15 months ago, in December 2021.

Pawan Gupta, Co-Founder and CEO of Betterhalf, said: “Our razor focus on becoming the super app of matrimony and full stack tech-enabled wedding services will drive our next set of growth.”

“Betterhalf represents a breakthrough technology in matrimony space. The platform knows how to leverage technology to break the large problem and build robust solutions for scale, especially full-stack tech-enabled wedding services makes us immensely confident,” said Alexey Garyunov, General Partner, FinSight Ventures.

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Echelon Asia Summit 2023 brings together APAC’s leading startups, corporates, policymakers, industry leaders, and investors to Singapore this June 14-15. Learn more and get tickets here. Echelon also features the TOP100 stage, where startups can pitch to 5000+ delegates, among other benefits like a chance to connect with investors, visibility through e27 platform, and other prizes. Join TOP100 here.

The post Betterhalf nets US$8.5M Series A from Finsight Ventures, Instagram and Dropbox co-founders, others appeared first on e27.

Registration for TOP100 is now open and we are looking forward to seeing your startup on the list!

TOP100 Program gives you the one golden chance to connect with hundreds of investors, showcase your startup at Echelon, pitch on the TOP100 stage, and access special programs. Find out what’s new in TOP100 and join here: https://bit.ly/TOP100_2023
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Now that Echelon Asia Summit is coming back in full swing, e27 is determined to make one of its key features, the TOP100, one of the best yet!

TOP100 program is an annual initiative organised by e27 to showcase and recognise the top most promising startups in the Asia-Pacific region.

The program is open to exciting new startups from the Asia-Pacific region with innovative ideas that break barriers across different industries. The selection of the TOP100 involves a rigorous screening process, including an evaluation of the startup’s product or service, team, market potential, and traction.

Also read: Get to know the first two sponsors who will be at Echelon 2023

The selected startups are given the opportunity to pitch their business ideas at the Echelon Asia Summit this June 14-15, 2023, at the Singapore Expo. The program also provides exposure to investors, mentors, and potential partners, enabling growth among participating startups and helping them expand their networks across the larger global tech ecosystem.

The TOP100 program has become one of the most prestigious startup competitions in the region, attracting thousands of applicants each year and providing valuable visibility and support to the most promising startups in the region.

The first 10 frontrunners for this year’s TOP100

Being a frontrunner refers to startups who are close to making it to this year’s TOP100 program.

With all the amazing startups sprouting across the Asia-Pacific region’s vibrant tech startup ecosystem, we now present you with the first batch of frontrunners. Get to know the 10 startups that are one step closer to competing in this year’s prestigious program!

24 Solution Group (Thailand)

24 FIX is an end-to-end maintenance service platform that combines expertise in construction with a computerised maintenance management system to deliver solutions for all types and sizes of users.

24 FIX is an investor-backed one-stop maintenance service platform based in Bangkok. Especially for business accounts, their service extends to areas such as material marketplace, inventory management, and predictive and preventive maintenance with the integration of their computerised maintenance management system.

Filmplace

Filmplace is a marketplace that helps connect brands with creatives where brands can hire locations, cast, talent, crew, equipment, props, and others — all at Filmplace.

The company is the first full-fledged content creator marketplace. They are headquartered in Singapore with branch offices and teams in South Korea and India. Their platform is solving problems commonly faced throughout the entire industry worldwide, which ranges from securing a film location to hiring talents within the shortest time while lowering their cost and reducing resources.

myFirst

myFirst is the safe and suitable kids’ tech ecosystem with fun devices, safe apps, connected services, and the world’s first kids’ social circle, myFirst Circle, for kids and families to stay connected!

myFirst Circle is the world’s first kids’ social circle with a slew of features including safe calls, messaging, location, and a social sharing ecosystem specially designed for kids, their friends and family to stay connected. All the good from staying connected, with no ads, no strangers, only real connections.

Devices include smartwatches, cameras, headphones, smart sketch boards, 3D pens, and more to enable kids to do whatever grown-ups do with technology, but with safety and suitability for them.

Kitcod

Kitcod is a suite of APIs powering communication and social engagement through — Newsfeeds, groups, profiles, chat, voice, and video within any app. They are a social-as-a-service platform that enables an in-app social community for consumer apps across industries globally.

They make high-quality social features integration easy so developers can focus on building their core product with a few lines of code. A fully managed Social infrastructure, API, with a fully customisable UI-Kit to build deep and meaningful consumer experiences for their brand. Even a junior developer can effortlessly add all the most loved social features to your app or website in hours.

startup oi

startup oi was founded with the aim of building a professional and social tech community around the world by redefining the future of work.

Startup oi, a global Singapore-based social media and talent matching platform built for engineers, was built to connect engineers around the world through the first global work-and-play network for engineers. Startup oi is focusing on connecting engineers and companies for the future of remote work. There is an emergence of pure-play code repositories or general social networking sites, but until startup oi, no platform has emerged with a focus on building a global engineering community.

Also read: Fundraising? Here are 3 reasons why should join the 2023 TOP100

Soft Solvers Solutions

Agiliux is on a mission to digitalise and transform Insurance distribution, by offering software solutions to Insurance companies, brokers, agencies and banks to improve distribution efficiencies.

While still at their earlier startup, they worked with a former Insurtech for over six years and developed multiple applications to support their operations in 5 Southeast Asian countries, namely Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam and India.

Howuku

Howuku is an all-in-one behaviour analytics platform with a powerful and user-friendly tool to help SMBs improve user experience and drive conversion rates.

The company provides a full-package suite that is intuitive and easy to use so you can make informed UX improvements, and in turn, help you increase your business revenue and create lasting relationships with customers for life.

Boost Capital

Boost is an award-winning B2B2C SAAS platform that allows Financial Institutions to onboard loan and savings account applicants digitally in 5-10 minutes without any app download.

Boost transforms financial institutions, expanding their client reach through smartphone-delivered financial services. Boost adds a digital application channel that complements their partners’ current operations — clients apply through Facebook Messenger, Telegram, and Whatsapp. Real-time applications and credit checks are 100x faster than traditional processes. Financial Institutions can launch with Boost in only a few weeks because their integrations are simple and enable immediate access to a larger client base that can apply 24×7 from anywhere.

GuruInovatif.id

GuruInovatif.id presents as a Learning Management System that becomes a source of information in the world of education. They provide information on teaching and learning that can serve as a source of data sharing for schools, local government, and central government for continuous development. GuruInovatif.id is also connected to various schools throughout Indonesia to provide the best experience in teaching and learning. They always work to improve literacy and numeracy scores as learning outcomes, provide motivation and encouragement in teaching, and build structured relationships and communication with all education stakeholders.

HeyHi Pte Ltd

HeyHi is a K-12 AI-enabled assessment & personalised learning system, in a collaborative learning space.

HeyHi offers a unique AI-enabled assessment and personalised learning system that empowers educators to teach and personalise education efficiently and seamlessly in a highly collaborative learning environment. With teaching versatility for both live and self-paced instructions in a flexible learning environment — online, on-site, and hybrid, HeyHi magnifies learners’ opportunities and enhances their borderless learning journey.

A step closer to the 2023 TOP100

After a rigorous screening process, these startups are a step closer to qualifying for this year’s TOP100.

If you are one of the founders of the startups above, a representative from e27 will be reaching out to you soon to discuss with you the next step in your application process. Feel free to get in touch with us for any inquiries.

Also read: We know fundraising sucks, so e27 Connect is here to help you

If you have an exciting startup with innovative ideas that can eclipse the best and the brightest in the region, join the 2023 TOP100 and stand a chance to pitch your ideas to some of the top investors in the Asia-Pacific at this year’s Echelon Asia Summit. Register for TOP100 here.

The post The first 10 frontrunners closer to competing in the 2023 TOP100 appeared first on e27.

Global multi-stage investment firm B Capital has closed its inaugural healthcare fund.

In conjunction with the VC firm’s third fund, B Capital Healthcare Fund I allocates over US$500 million to opportunities across the healthcare sector, from digital health to biotech.

The fund will target category-defining companies building breakthrough products and solutions and shaping the future of healthcare.

Also Read: B Capital launches US$415M fund; to expand investment activity in India, Indonesia

“We are witnessing unprecedented innovation across the healthcare landscape,” said Robert Mittendorff, MD, General Partner and Head of Healthcare at B Capital. “Technological advancements in biology, AI, and automation are transforming the industry, with business models seeing the convergence of traditional players in novel ways. This moment presents a unique opportunity for the fund to leverage our dedicated healthcare capital and active investment strategy to find and support companies advancing the healthcare sector.”

The current B Capital global healthcare portfolio includes over 20 companies in the US, Asia and Europe, spanning early venture to late growth venture across healthtech, digital health, biotech, and medtech.

In January 2023, the VC firm announced the close of Growth Fund III and affiliated funds with aggregate capital commitments of approximately US$2.1 billion. With these closes, B Capital’s total assets under management are approximately US$6.3 billion.

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Echelon Asia Summit 2023 brings together APAC’s leading startups, corporates, policymakers, industry leaders, and investors to Singapore this June 14-15. Learn more and get tickets here. Echelon also features the TOP100 stage, where startups can pitch to 5000+ delegates, among other benefits like a chance to connect with investors, visibility through e27 platform, and other prizes. Join TOP100 here.

The post B Capital closes inaugural US$500M healthcare fund appeared first on e27.

A recent report on Singapore venture funding landscape by DealStreetAsia and Enterprise SG declared that Singapore continued to dominate equity funding in Southeast Asia (SEA) throughout 2022, despite the slowdown caused by back-to-back global crises.

In 2022, equity funding deal volume and value by Singapore-headquartered firms peaked in Q2 at US$3.19 billion and 176 deals. As a comparison, the peak number in 2021 was US$4.12 billion and 120 deals. Compared with 2020 numbers, the deal and volume in 2022 was still relatively higher at US$10.9 billion with 651 deals, though it did not match the level that the ecosystem reached in 2021 at US$11.1 billion with 730 deals.

However, amidst this slowdown, Singapore continued to dominate the share of equity funding in SEA with 56.3 per cent of deal volume, followed by Indonesia at 22.4 per cent and Vietnam at seven per cent.

Of these numbers, early-stage funding in Singapore maintains its upward trajectory at 568 deals in 2022.

“Seed and Series A deals see median value rise across the region,” the report highlighted. “Seed rounds get bigger as investor appetite grows for early stage deals.”

Navigating a recession: How founders can protect revenue as funding dries up

Of the top 20 equity funding deals in SEA in 2022, the top spot was secured by Lazada Group’s US$1.6 billion corporate funding round by Alibaba Group, followed by Coda Payments’s US$690 million Series C funding round.

Smart nation, digital economy dominate

The report divided the categories of investment in Singapore into four categories: Smart Nation and Digital Economy, Human Health and Potential, Urban Solutions and Sustainability, and Manufacturing, Trade, and Connectivity.

Despite peaking in 2020-2021, investment into Human Health and Potential dropped to 45 deals in 2022. Investments into Urban Solutions and Sustainability also dropped from 60 deals in 2020 to 53 deals in 2021, until it finally reached 21 deals in 2022.

The segment that enjoyed an increase in 2022 was Smart Nation and Digital Economy which reached 524 deals, only slightly decreasing from the 2021 number of 532. In SEA in general, Singapore also outraced this category with US$9 billion raised in total.

Under the Urban Solutions and Sustainability category, we saw an increase in the Greentech segment with 10 deals in 2022.

Despite the promises that the year 2022 brought, the report notes reasons to be cautious in 2023.

“Singapore venture capital market will face testing times in 2023 as a global recession seems likely. High prices are set to hit consumption and, in turn, impact business growth, while investors are likely to tighten their purse things as they prioritise robust unit economics and profitability,” the report writes.

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Echelon Asia Summit 2023 is bringing together APAC’s leading startups, corporates, policymakers, industry leaders, and investors to Singapore this June 14-15. Learn more and get tickets here. Echelon also features the TOP100 stage, where startups get the chance to pitch to 5000+ delegates, among other benefits like a chance to connect with investors, visibility through e27 platform, and other prizes. Join TOP100 here.

Image Credit: S O C I A L . C U T on Unsplash

The post Report: Despite slowdown, Singapore continues to dominate equity funding in SEA appeared first on e27.

Adrian Chng is the Founder and Chairman of Fintonia Group, an entrepreneurial financial services firm licensed in Singapore and Dubai. It provides funds, wealth management, and merchant banking solutions for technology and digital assets companies and entrepreneurs.

Chng was previously CEO of GoBear and jobsDB.com, which had a US$1 billion merger and exit in 2014. He has completed over U$10 billion of investments and transactions from US$20 million to US$2 billion.

He is also a Web3 subcommittee committee of the Singapore Fintech Association.

He regularly contributes articles for e27 (you can read his thought leadership articles here).

In this candid interview, he talks about his personal and professional life.

How would you explain what you do to a five-year-old?

Adrian is like a grown-up who helps other grown-ups make good choices with their money. He runs a business that helps people invest their money in other companies or projects, particularly those working with technology and digital things like computers and the internet.

He has a lot of experience doing this and has helped make many deals, like when two companies join, or one company sells its shares to others.

And he is also a part of a group of people who work together to ensure that people who use technology and the internet to do things with money are doing it reasonably and safely.

What has been the biggest highlight/challenge of your career so far?

We have successfully obtained the Capital Markets Service (CMS) License upgrade from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) amidst the crypto winter and the collapse of many crypto giants (FTX, Luna/Terra, 3AC). This further reinforces Fintonia’s position as a trusted and licensed player in the industry as we expand and provide innovative investment solutions and products to our clients.

It’s rewarding to see year on year growth for Fintonia. In 2021, we launched two institutional-grade Bitcoin funds, and in 2022, we were rewarded with the provisional Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) license in Dubai.

Also Read: Continue to push boundaries and create value: Jolene Lum of Nurasa

How do you envision the next five years of your career?

Helping Fintonia become a trusted financial services firm in the digital assets space. As a licensed player in two countries, we have a great opportunity and responsibility to help the industry grow. Investors earn attractive risk-adjusted returns within a trusted and safe, regulated environment.

What are some of your favourite work tools?

• Asana: It keeps my daily tasks organised
• My notebook: It helps me remember key points from meetings
• Zoom: I have to work with clients in various countries, and Zoom helps to keep us connected regardless of the time zones

What’s something about you or your job that would surprise us?

I was a chess player and state representative, and I had almost pursued this professionally.

Do you prefer WFH or WFO, or hybrid?

I prefer working from the office as it helps collaborate with colleagues and brainstorm new ideas.

What would you tell your younger self?

The journey is as enjoyable as the destination.

Can you describe yourself in three words?

Entrepreneurial, experienced, connected.

What are you most likely to be doing if not working?

Doing crossfit or yoga.

What are you currently reading/listening to/watching?

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck and Ego Is The Enemy

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Join the e27 contributor community of thought leaders and share your opinion by submitting an article, video, podcast, or infographic.

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In recent years, we have seen a rise in the popularity of embedded finance. This not-entirely-new form of lending has the potential to revolutionise the way we access credit and drive healthy growth in the Indonesian economy.

For a long time, we’ve seen HomeCredit master this type of lending by financing offline consumer purchases. Nowadays, more advanced embedded lending models involve integrating financial services directly into online platforms, such as e-commerce, ride-sharing, and supply chain management. This trend is not new, with companies like Apple, Amazon, and Ant Group already offering embedded lending services to their users.

One example of embedded lending that’s already well-known in Indonesia is GoPay Later. It allows GoJek to drive volume on its platform by offering accessible credit to its users. This allows leveraging the data of GoJek to make better lending decisions.

Similarly, in China, Ant Group provides small loans to merchants on the Alipay platform, allowing them to grow their businesses. Similar, more productive lending-focused use cases are expected to become more popular in Indonesia as well.

Embedded finance is revolutionising lending

There are several benefits to embedded lending, and it has the potential to significantly impact the Indonesian economy. First and foremost, it allows lenders to use platform data sources to provide cheaper credit to the right borrowers. By integrating financial services directly into other products, lenders can access a wealth of data on user behaviour and spending habits.

This allows them to better assess risk and provide credit to those who are likely to pay it back. This benefits both lenders and borrowers, as lenders can offer lower interest rates while still maintaining profitability, and borrowers can access affordable credit they may not have been able to before.

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However, there are challenges to implementing embedded lending in Indonesia. Many lenders and platforms lack the technological infrastructure needed to effectively integrate financial services into their products.

While many of Indonesia’s fintech lenders claim to be doing exactly this – it is mostly operated via excels, taking days to approve the credit and not utilising the value of platform data. This will be developing rapidly as the lenders that can handle the technological challenge to integrate with various platforms, utilise unique data sources, and make smart decisions fast – will define the market.

Another benefit of embedded lending is that it improves lenders’ unit economics, as they don’t need to acquire each user separately. By integrating financial services directly into other products, lenders can access a large customer base without having to spend as much on marketing and user acquisition.

This can lead to greater profitability and stability for lenders, which in turn can lead to more affordable credit for borrowers with smaller fees that need to cover operational costs.

Final thoughts

Embedded lending has the potential to drive healthy growth in credit in Indonesia by improving lender unit economics and gradual improvement in technology. With the rising popularity of embedded finance globally and a growing digital economy in Indonesia, we can expect to see substantial growth in embedded credit in the coming years.

While challenges remain, the benefits of embedded lending are significant, including cheaper credit for the right borrowers and a larger potential customer base for lenders. As technology improves and more use cases appear, embedded lending could have a major impact on the Indonesian economy, paving the way for a more financially inclusive and robust future.

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The post How embedded lending will drive healthy growth in credit in Indonesia appeared first on e27.