Update: The previous version of this article stated that DeZy enables users to borrow, save, trade, or invest without intermediaries such as banks or brokerages. The company has clarified that its platform enables users to deposit funds and generate yield.

Singapore-based decentralised finance (DeFi) startup DeZy today announced that the company has raised at least S$3 million (US$2.2 million) in Pre-Series A funding round led by Leo Capital with participation from Iterative Capital.

The company also welcomed angel investors such as Michael Ng of Unagii, Tianwei Liu and Sharon Lourdes Paul of Xfers, Ishan Agrawal as well as Nihit Nirmal and Kelvin Teo of Funding Societies.

Existing investors such as HH Investments, HY Sia, and DeFiance Capital also returned in this funding round.

This funding round followed undisclosed funding from local investors such as DeFiance Capital, HH Investments, Impiro, and angels such as Tranglo founder HY Sia in September 2021.

Also Read: Demystifying NFTs and DeFi

In a press statement, DeZy said that it plans to use the funding to support new product launches, grow its team, and “continue to redefine what finance can be for consumers.”

Launched in 2021, DeZy is a platform that enables users to convert their cash into dollar-denominated stable coins, which are deposited across a range of DeFi protocols. Absorbing both blockchain fees and forex fluctuation, DeZy offers up to 5.65 a year, with a 0 fee and no lock-in product to customers in Singapore.

It was started by four co-founders Eric Dadoun (CEO), Harald Lang (CTO ), Sharmini Ravindran (CMO ), and Simon Landsheer (strategic advisor). The company aims to empower people to “achieve meaningful savings, income growth and wealth accumulation” by simplifying decentralised finance.

This is claimed to enable users to deposit funds and generate yield.

—

Ready to meet new startups to invest in? We have more than hundreds of startups ready to connect with potential investors on our platform. Create or claim your Investor profile today and turn on e27 Connect to receive requests and fundraising information from them.

Image Credit: DeZy

The post DeZy raises US$2.2M in Pre-Series A funding round led by Leo Capital appeared first on e27.

Making a living as a musician is hard. It is estimated that only 0.2 per cent of musicians globally become “successful” while 90.7 per cent remain undiscovered.

The odds are stacked against musicians, but that said, the future of music is brighter than ever with blockchain technology.

Music industry vs musicians

The music industry has been stagnant for decades, and the two major catalysts for change were the various levels of lockdowns across the world and streaming services.

To make a living with music, the bulk of musicians’ income comes from live performance (30 per cent), teaching (18 per cent), salaried playing (12 per cent), composing (11 per cent), session work (10 per cent), sound recordings (7.3 per cent), merchandise (1.9 per cent) and others.

With the pandemic, most of these income channels are down significantly.

Streaming became the only viable way to monetise one’s music. Millions of music lovers can tune in to talented musicians from all over the world who compose music, record songs and get paid for it all in the comfort of their homes.

But the top 3 record labels raked in US$19 million a day from streaming, while eight out of ten music creators earn less than US$200 a year from streaming.

Problems with streaming

All streaming services notoriously underpay content creators.

The largest player in music streaming, Spotify, pays on average US$0.0003 for every stream, and they recently announced that they would lower that even more.

To make the minimum wage of US$20 per hour requires a staggering 67,000 streams per hour.

Just like everyone else, musicians need to pay bills. When live performances and touring were still a thing, they’d be paid in cash after the show. With that option gone, streaming compounds the cash flow problem as their payment terms are 3 to 6 months.

Blockchain, the promising solution

To address the inadequacies of existing streaming services, audio exchange platforms have emerged on the blockchain.

First, there are streaming services that pay US$0.01 to US$0.10 per stream, at least 10 to 40 times more than currently offered by the incumbents.

Second, as the payout is in cryptocurrency, it is instantaneous and can be changed into regular cash (aka fiat).

Third, an additional benefit of being built with smart contracts is that all collaborators on a song will be appropriately accredited and paid fairly.

Also Read: Why brands are seeking micro influencers and where this trend is going

Blockchain as an added layer of technology helps solve the fundamental problems that musicians face. The only thing left to do is to get those streams going.

The keyword is community

To get millions of monthly streams overnight is only achievable with the backing of major record labels and their marketing dollars.

The goal of the average independent musician is to organically build a fanbase or community that supports their endeavours. Kevin Kelly famously stated in 2008 that musicians would need 1,000 true fans to make it.

This requires musicians to be proactive, not just to make music and tour but to foster genuine community engagement.

Social media outlets (Facebook, Discord, Reddit) are not just promotional pits to share announcements and sell merchandise. It should be a two-way relationship where you answer the queries of your fans. Lil Nas X’s social media game is an excellent example of how one should invest time and energy to engage fans.

Looking forward to music rights

No matter how you look at it, music is about ownership rights. In the past, music was all about selling records and signing deals, where the record label owned everything.

Nowadays, with streaming services, music rights are shared. Acts like Chance The Rapper, one of the pioneers in being a successful independent musician, is the epitome of what it can be in the present.

Today, the earning split is better, but the lion’s share is still not sitting with the creators. Streaming services are still centralised platforms with complete control.

Hence, the future of music will be one where musicians are fully independent, owning the rights to their creations and how it is distributed, and hence being able to dictate their earnings.

This can be achieved by making songs into Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), where the digital file can be kept on the blockchain as a one-of-a-kind collectible item.

For the Gen Z of creators and fans, who are savvier than those who came before them, this could be the one way that they can live their lives making music.

–

Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing views from the community. Share your opinion by submitting an article, video, podcast, or infographic

Join our e27 Telegram group, FB community, or like the e27 Facebook page

Image Credit: dolgachov

The post How blockchain is giving a bigger boost to musicians than streaming startups appeared first on e27.

Indonesia-based property tech platform Jendela360 announced an undisclosed strategic investment round from an entity affiliated to local conglomerate group Sinar Mas Group.

This investment followed a US$1 million funding round led by BEENEXT that the company announced in June 2020.

Jendela360 plans to use the new funding to accelerate its business growth, extend the rental and sales operation and aim to be the number one player in the industry by continuing to expand its products and services, invest in its technology and, naturally, toward hiring. The startup also wants to scale into new markets and go deeper into existing markets.

In an email to e27, Daniel Rannu, co-founder and CEO of Jendela360, gave a further explanation about the company’s plan with the funding.

“Before the pandemic, we only focused on long-term rental. But because of the pandemic, we have to enter the shorter-term rental market and property sales market sooner than we expected. This turns out to be a blessing in disguise … as now, more than ever, people are willing to try on a digital solution to find their desired properties. We’ve experienced tremendous (four times) growth as a property tech in the past 18 months,” he wrote.

Also Read: Sustainability starts at home: How I aim to tackle climate change as PropertyGuru CEO

“Since the Indonesian property market is a HUGE market. Our strategy for the next few years is to simply expand nationwide. Lucky for us, we founded Jendela360 to serve the Indonesian market where we have 270 million people living here, and there are still large parts of the pie that we can take on.”

In addition to its four-times growth, the startup also claimed to be operationally profitable.

Founded in 2017, Jendela360 aims to streamline the process of property transactions in Indonesia with its O2O approach. It offers data-driven apps powered by machine learning engines to generate leads and pair them with the right agents efficiently.

Rannu believes that the key factor to help the property industry digitalisation is by utilising the right technology, combined with the wisdom on how-to-do interaction, instead of replacing agents.

—

Ready to meet new startups to invest in? We have more than hundreds of startups ready to connect with potential investors on our platform. Create or claim your Investor profile today and turn on e27 Connect to receive requests and fundraising information from them.

Image Credit: Jendela360

The post Jendela360 raises funding from a Sinar Mas Group affiliate to expand in Indonesia appeared first on e27.

Japan’s Arkray launches US$87M VC arm to back healthcare startups in Asia
It will invest up to US$2.6M each in startups across Japan, SEA, India and Israel; Focus sectors are digital healthcare, medtech, biotech, AI, IoT medical devices, cloud pharmacies, medical diagnostics, personal wellness & self-care, pet-tech, medical and functional foodtech.

Hyperlocal mapping: a solution for real-world interactions in retail metaverse
Hyperlocal mapping allows mobility companies to engage their workforce, vehicles, customers and products by validating pick-up locations on private maps with high precision.

Tinder founder’s JAM Fund invests in PayMongo’s US$31M Series B financing round
Other backers are ICCP-SBI Venture Partners, Kaya Founders, GFC, SOMA Capital, and angels; The B2B payments firm will venture into more financial products involving disbursements, capital lending, “buy now, pay later,” subscriptions and recurring payments.

StockViva closes US$5M Series A funding
Backers are Farquhar VC, Kharis Capital, Hong Huan Group, and Angelhub; StockViva’s mobile app provides real-time online education services by financial key opinion leaders, and online trading connection with different financial institutions in Asia.

Singapore AI startup 6Estates raises US$6.2M Series B+ round
Investors are Sinar Mas, Seeds Capital, and Farquhar VC; 6Estates is an AI fintech platform that specialises in multilingual natural language processing and machine reading comprehension technologies.

Singapore AR startup BuzzAR bags US$3.8M funding
Investors are F50 Elevate, Ian Wilson of Marina Bay Sands, and Peter Hlavnicka of SenzeCare; BuzzAR helps retail and commerce firms create personalized and location-based AR experiences for their customers; it has also acquired a mobile game called The Cooking Game VR.

Jendela360 raises funding from Sinar Mas affiliate to expand in Indonesia
Jendela360 aims to streamline the process of property transactions in Indonesia with its O2O approach; It offers data-driven apps powered by ML engines to generate leads and pair them with the right agents efficiently.

Animoca Brands acquires motorsports game developer Grease Monkey Games
The deal will allow Animoca Brands to benefit from Grease Monkey’s significant game development capabilities and expertise; So far, Grease Monkey has logged 45M downloads across both mobile and PC worldwide.

Malaysia city and property data company Urbanmetry raises US$2M pre-Series A
Lead investor is Monk’s Hill; Urbanmetry is a property data company that harvests, cleans, and analyses large amounts of city data, through AI and proprietary algorithms to extract trends and patterns in the built environment.

PRIMO gets pre-Series A funding to expand its omnichannel marketing platform
Investors are Fuchsia VC, Beacon VC, SOSV, and Infinity Technologies VC; PRIMO claimed 2x growth y-o-y on average over the past three years; It’s working with retail, FMCG, banking, finance, and insurance firms.

Chillchat closes US$1.85M seed funding
Investors include Solana Ventures, FTX Ventures, Animoca Brands, and Griffin Gaming Partners; Chillchat builds the pocket metaverse: a Create2Earn virtual world focused on user-generated content where players can quickly and easily create NFTs in the form of characters, pets, and worlds.

SOSV names 13 startups for 12th consumer tech cohort
SOSV has more than US$1.2 billion in assets under management from 1,120 companies in its portfolio; It said that tech firms in its portfolio raised a total of US$215 million in 2021.

US adds e-commerce sites operated by Tencent, Alibaba to ‘notorious markets’ list
They reportedly facilitated substantial trademark counterfeiting; The US Trade Representative identifies 42 online markets and 35 physical markets that are reported to engage in or facilitate substantial trademark counterfeiting or copyright piracy.

Sequoia to raise up to US$600M for new crypto fund
Sequoia partner Shaun Maguire said that the VC firm views cryptocurrency as a megatrend that would carry on over the next two decades; The cryptocurrency fund will be one of three new sub-funds under Sequoia Capital Fund.

—

Ready to meet new startups to invest in? We have more than hundreds of startups ready to connect with potential investors on our platform. Create or claim your Investor profile today and turn on e27 Connect to receive requests and fundraising information from them.

The post Ecosystem Roundup: Arkray launches US$87M CVC arm, Justin Mateen’s fund invests in PayMongo appeared first on e27.

As we set out on the Agile journey, picking Kanban seemed like a no-brainer. It is visual, easy to use, and a perfect fit for the PM tool we have been developing. However, after a short few months, we realised scrum was indeed a better fit and switched. 

Here is our story. Hopefully, it will give you some insights. 

Why did we choose Kanban? 

As a small engineering team with a new product (we developed a project management tool called Teamhood), we had no strict timeliness or process to follow.

Thus, Kanban seemed like a perfect fit. It allowed us to visualise what was happening, prioritise the most necessary items and track their progress.

The team would meet for a daily standup to discuss progress, and monthly retrospectives would be held to see what could be improved. All of this was great until the product beta went live, and the engineering team’s focus had to shift. 

Why did it not work? 

With the launch of our beta version, we got the first paying customers. Yay! But with that came customer expectation management and a need to provide reliable forecasts for the new features.  

With the engineering team working in Kanban, the sales and marketing teams had issues in knowing when to expect new features. As a result, they could not plan timely marketing and sales actions to promote the new features coming out.  

Moreover, the clients needed to know when specific features would be live, and the engineering team could not provide those answers. As such, we knew it was time to change. 

How Scrum improved our process 

Thus, instead of Kanban, we switched to Scrum and introduced new practices to improve the process. 

First, we have chosen 2-week iterations to ease estimation and feature predictability. We had to think about which features could be delivered in two weeks and commit to them. This was especially useful for the sales and marketing teams that were communicating with existing and potential customers. 

Also Read: How can you build a living, thriving community around your SaaS product?

We have also divided the work into several boards to better separate different processes. Design, roadmap planning, backlog, UI/UK, and development are all done on different boards, thus better categorising all work items.

We have introduced various new ceremonies to ensure all the processes are under control. Roadmap planning and prioritisations, backlog review, backlog planning, backlog refinement, backlog planning, and others were added to ensure we deliver value to our customers and work on the most important features.

Lastly, we have started using T-shirt sizes to estimate the features. This helps us ensure each feature we commit to can be delivered during one iteration. Otherwise, we rework the feature to make sure it can fit the iteration or push it back to the drawing board. 

What’s next? 

We have successfully moved away from Kanban and into Scrum territory. However, the Scrum application is far from the textbook. Some could argue that it is far more resembling Scrumban. I don’t disagree. 

Will we move towards full Scrum in the future? No one knows. However, we will not do it just for the name. Instead of applying any of the practises blindly, we tend to look and see what works best for the process and our needs now.  

Have you changed Agile practices with your team? I would love to hear your comments. 

–

Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing views from the community. Share your opinion by submitting an article, video, podcast, or infographic

Join our e27 Telegram group, FB community, or like the e27 Facebook page

Image Credit: nicoelnino

The post Going from Kanban to Scrum: Why we chose this path? appeared first on e27.

Singapore-based climate-tech venture firm Aera VC has announced the US$30 million first close of its new fund.

The fund, backed by families investing in climate solutions, will support startups accelerating the planet toward a sustainable future, the firm said in a statement.

Aera VC has already backed Houston-based chemical decarbonisation firm Solugen (valued at US$1.8 billion), Shiok Meats (Singapore), Carbon Chain (London), Noya and Twelve (San Francisco), and Fable Foods (Australia).

Separately, the VC firm has also launched an investment DAO (distributed autonomous organisation) called Aera Force, with 2000 ETH (approx US$6 million). It has been earmarked for pre-seed projects harnessing the power of blockchain to conquer climate and carbon-related challenges.

Established in partnership with the creators of Dream DAO, Aera Force will expand the global community of innovators, scientists and founders formed in the past five years by Aera VC.

Also Read: Investible launches new US$72M fund to invest in seed-stage climate tech startups

“The entire world needs to be rebuilt and decarbonised,” said Aera VC Founding Partner Derek Handley. “At Aera VC, our long-term vision is about investing across the sustainability spectrum by backing breakthrough technologies that reverse climate change, whether they spawn from blockchain innovations or through scientific discoveries. Every industry needs to be reimagined, from finance, food, and fashion to chemicals, cement, and construction.”

The new Aera fund expects to make up to 30 new seed investments over the next two years and contribute to follow-on rounds. The fund is continuing to accept further subscriptions up to US$100 million from institutional investors in 2022 who will join the international community of family offices.

The company’s new headquarters in Singapore positions Aera VC as one of the first global climate funds in the Asia-Pacific region. Aera VC portfolio companies have raised over a billion dollars since receiving Aera’s backing.

Aera VC was formed in 2016 by Handley, who was joined by fellow New Zealander Nick Winstone to launch the VC firm from their bases in New Zealand and New York. Handley has been investing in environmental and social-impact ventures since serving as the founding CEO of Richard Branson’s B Team sustainability collective in 2013.

In October 2021, Wavemaker Partners, an active Singapore-based VC firm, launched a US$25 million climate-tech venture builder in Southeast Asia.

—

The post Shiok Meats backer Aera VC hits US$30M first close for climate-tech investments appeared first on e27.

Indonesian edutech startup Zenius acquired local offline cram school chain Primagama. According to a source, this acquisition includes all offline branches of the institution in the country. According to a statement on Primagama’s site, the company currently operates more than 250 branches in various provinces in Indonesia, serving four million students with 3,000 employees. It operates using the franchise model.

By the time this article was published, DailySocial has reached out to a Zenius representation.

Founded by Sabda PS and Medy Suharta, Zenius is known as one of the pioneers of online tutoring services in Indonesia. They debuted with offline tutoring and packaged material on DVD before becoming a fully online service.

Primagama itself was founded in 1982. The collaboration between the two organisations will allow the integration of online-to-offline learning models or blended learning, utilising their infrastructure and capabilities.

Previously, in the early 2010s, Primagama has developed an online service called PrimagamaPlus. However, due to a premature market, the service did not manage to gain traction as direct (offline) tutoring remained the primadonna of the time. Currently, the applications are available to support the learning process, but there has not been much traction.

Zenius’ corporate action was held amidst the collapse of many offline tutoring businesses due to the pandemic. The school-from-home scheme as introduced by the authority throughout the pandemic has caused declining demand for offline tutoring, especially when edutech services are gaining popularity.

On the other hand, Zenius’s collaboration with Primagama has the potential to provide a more engaging learning experience, especially once offline learning activities resume.

Also Read: The 27 Indonesian startups that have taken the ecosystem to next level this year

According to the 2021 KPAI survey, 78 per cent of students demand to return to class. Virtual spaces are considered less effective. Fifty-seven per cent of students find it difficult to follow the subject matter and conduct practicum.

Zenius growth

Zenius currently has several products with the best-selling being its online tutoring service. Throughout the 2019/2020 school year, the Zenius tutoring application was accessed by more than 20 million users. It contains around 100,000 learning videos and practise questions that are accessible for free. In addition to that, Zenius also provides Live Class services for direct guidance with selected teachers; there is also a written national exam simulation and several other learning products.

Apart from formal learning, the company also provides Zenius Land app for toddlers, ZenPro for professional learning with more general subjects, and teaching management platform ZenRu, in addition to its focus on students.

In early 2021, Zenius secured a Pre-Series B round backed by a number of investors, including Alpha JWC Ventures, Openspace Ventures, Northstar, Kinesys, and BeeNext. Earlier, they announced an investment of US$20 million in a Series A round. Zenius’s valuation is currently estimated at over US$100 million.

Market competition and value proposition

Indonesian edutech sector is growing rapidly. The two head-to-head players in the market are Ruangguru and Zenius – statistically, Ruangguru’s site visits and application downloads are far more superior. In addition to that, the two companies owned similar sub-product variants.

Zenius puts a strong emphasis on providing quality learning materials. Instead of driving students to simply memorise information, the materials by Zenius stresses the importance of understanding fundamental concepts and critical thinking through various case studies.

Apart from Zenius and Ruangguru, a number of edutech startups are performing a manoeuvre in the market. Recently, CoLearn secured a Series A funding of IDR244 billion (US$16 million). The app heavily focused on math and science subjects, helping students complete homework independently. Other than that, there are also Pahamify, Squline, and others.

Also Read: How edutech is solving the global teacher’s crisis

The presence of Primagama in Zenius’ line of business has the potential to strengthen its value proposition once it succeeds in wrapping up a hybrid learning experience – this could also be the first in Indonesia.

—

The article was written by Randi Eka Yonida in Bahasa Indonesia for DailySocial.

Image Credit: torwai

The post End of an era: Zenius acquires Indonesian cram school giant Primagama appeared first on e27.

Vietnam-focused accelerator-cum-VC fund ThinkZone Ventures recently hit the final close of Fund II at US$60 million, dedicated to startups from pre-seed to Series A with cheque sizes up to US$3 million. With this, it joins a small number of local VCs established based on a government Decree of 2018 (concerning investments in local startups).

“This is a typical example for other local VCs to follow suit,” said Dung Tri Tran, Programme Manager in Hanoi & Central Region at Swiss Entrepreneurship Programme (Swiss EP) Vietnam, a partner of ThinkZone since its early days. “The ThinkZone team showed a strong focus and resilience in the lengthy but noteworthy one-year fundraising process of Fund II amid the devastating pandemic.”

Fully backed by Vietnamese investors

Against the pandemic headwinds, ThinkZone Ventures Founding Partner and CEO Do Bui admitted that his team had to tweak strategies several times before officially securing funding from all Vietnamese Limited Partners (LPs). “We first tapped into the abundant funding sources outside of Vietnam,” said Bui. “However, persuading foreign investors, who have limited hands-on experience of the local startup ecosystem, to inject millions of US dollars into a far-away fund wasn’t easy, especially only through Zoom calls and online discussions.”

The unfavourable prospects urged ThinkZone to pivot and tap into the local resources. Vietnam’s conglomerates, especially those who have been its long-term partners, turned out to be the silver lining.

“Every investor, be it foreign or local, has money. They all expect high returns,” Bui said. “But Vietnamese startups, most of them are solving local problems, will benefit from business synergies with local LPs.”

For instance, Phu Thai Holdings Group, whose Chairman Doan Pham has also been serving as Chairman of local VC fund BK Fund (a partner of ThinkZone Ventures) since 2020, joined ThinkZone Fund II as an LP. The group owns more than 30 businesses across distribution, retail, logistics, investment, and education. 

In combination with other LPs’ businesses in F&B, medicine, finance, and foreign trade, these diverse ecosystems provide ThinkZone’s portfolio startups with headroom to validate business models and scale across the country. Moreover, with the support of IPA Investments, an experienced player in the Vietnamese public market, ThinkZone Fund II can foster startups from seed through to exits with larger M&As and IPOs. 

“What I have always been contemplating is how to leverage my company’s resources. Learning from startups is one prominent pathway,” said IPA Investments CEO and VNDIRECT Chairwoman Huong Pham. “As Vietnam is developing exponentially, our next-gen founders are having the upper hand to startup and enjoy greater opportunities in the market.”

Fund II even hit the jackpot by partnering with corporations in traditional sectors such as plastic and packaging. They include Stavian Group, owner of Vietnam’s top polymers distributor Stavian Chemical.

“Venturing into tech startup investments serves as an extended arm for traditional businesses without hefty in-house R&D while still leveraging lucrative exit opportunities,” Bui explained. “By putting money in a reliable local fund, they can also optimise portfolio management cost and efficiency, enjoy larger cross-industry support for their startups from a group of different LPs, and then exert a larger impact on society.”

With this, ThinkZone Ventures believes it is primed to provide significant added value for local startups, making it an ideal addition to any potential investment deals joined by other foreign VCs.  In addition, by utilising Vietnam dong (VND) as the sole investment currency, a local VC firm can deploy its funds with better timings and flexible investment structures.

From an accelerator to a top-notch VC firm

Launched in February 2019 by Do Bui, a serial entrepreneur, ThinkZone has grown from an accelerator to become a prominent VC firm with an impressive portfolio of high-growth startups. Its investments include earned-wage-access (EWA) startup GIMO, fresh food-to-table platform FoodHub, online ride-hailing platform EMDDI, English teaching startup Educa, and social commerce platform OnGroup. ThinkZone also runs Innovation Lab, a training programme for startups and corpoprations.

With 13 deals in 2021, ThinkZone Ventures is one of the most active investors in Vietnam, as per data compiled by Tech In Asia. The firm has consistently formed partnerships with international partners, including AWS, Hubspot, Deloitte., and especially the Swiss Entrepreneurship Program (EP). Funded by the Swiss government, Swiss EP provides the accelerator with capacity-building support through international entrepreneurs-in-residence (EIRs) and experts.

“Swiss EP’s support left its mark on our accelerator development as it connected us with an experienced head of accelerator, international business lawyers, and startup mentors throughout the years,” Bui stated. “This enables meaningful networks within the local and regional ecosystems, especially in terms of public-private partnerships pilot programmes to boost local innovative businesses and technologies.”

This year, ThinkZone Fund II plans to invest up to US$200,000 each in companies at the idea stage. It also has the resources to join their follow-on rounds,

In a bid to arm its portfolio startups with the necessary networking opportunities, product and business development mindsets and financial management capabilities, Fund II will allocate 20-30 per cent of its total capital to the accelerator programme. 

Its investee GIMO, for instance, presents ThinkZone’s typical well-rounded support for a portfolio company. Having joined ThinkZone Accelerator Batch 3 in 2020, GIMO managed to fulfil its co-founding team, receive initial capital and seed funding in 2021, and access important resources, including lending capital.

“GIMO aims to make digital financial services accessible for underserved blue-collar workers in Vietnam through EWA model. Sustainable and low-cost sources of funds will help us to realise our vision better,” said its Co-Founder and CEO Quan Anh Nguyen. “ThinkZone Ventures has made this possible with support from its network of investors and partners.”

To date, GIMO claims to have provided on-demand pay to nearly 100,000 workers, primarily in the manufacturing and retail sectors. The number of beneficiaries has also grown 130 per cent monthly, the company claimed when it raised US$1.9-million seed funding. The startup has also been accepted to Silicon Valley-based Y Combinator Winter 2022 Batch.

Also read: Startup funding rounds: A handbook from seed to exit 

To put regulations into practice

Since 2019, ThinkZone has taken the plunge to join various formal and informal platforms to help improve Vietnamese regulations, including the revision of Decree 38 — the legal framework behind establishing local VC funds, such as ThinkZone Ventures’s Fund II and BK Fund.  

“This February, ThinkZone and Swiss EP joined a discussion with Enterprise Development Agency and National Innovation Center [both under the Ministry of Planning and Investment of Vietnam] to identify 15 points of adjustments in Decree 38,” said Tran of Swiss EP. “We need more time and effort, but this is a change for the better.”

Despite paperwork hurdles, ThinkZone managed to break the mould and launch Fund II according to local regulations and international standards. Bui added that ThinkZone professionally formulated the fund structure with a limited partnership agreement (LPA), even when it is not required in the registration documents addressed in the Decree. 

The agreement has clauses such as management fee, profit margin, promised performance, the commitment of General Partners, and decision-making processes for each investment level.

However, Bui expressed his concerns over the true USP of the Decree. “There are still unanswered questions down the road, and we haven’t seen a clear competitive advantage of forming a VC fund under the new regulation compared to that of our previous Fund I, which was run as an investment company,” said Bui. “However, ThinkZone is confident with what we have learned from international VC models’ best practices to apply it into the Vietnamese market.”

Also read: 2021 policy and initiative highlights: A foundation for SEA startup funding

In the past, it was common knowledge that most new-formed VC funds chose an easier path of establishing their entities outside of Vietnam, mainly in Singapore, to enjoy favourable investment incentives and avoid regulatory roadblocks.

“We notice that there are plenty of veteran investors in the local startup ecosystem, but they are hesitant to communicate with policymakers to transform the present-day local investment landscape,” Bui added. “The responsibility doesn’t lie solely on the government. Private sector players also have a role and should be willing to invest money, understand regulations, give feedback, and in the end, contribute to the long-term development of the society.”

—

Ready to meet new startups to invest in? We have more than hundreds of startups ready to connect with potential investors on our platform. Create or claim your Investor profile today and turn on e27 Connect to receive requests and fundraising information from them.

Image Credit: ThinkZone

The post The inside story: How ThinkZone Ventures created a ‘pureblood’ US$60M Fund II by tapping into local resources appeared first on e27.

3D food printing, restaurant tech, blockchain, virtual kitchen, functional food and drinks are at the forefront of the food industry that will impact us in 2022.

Southeast Asia is a region that is intensely passionate about food. Every country in this part of the world has a long and proud culinary tradition that inspires great pride. But when it comes to innovations in the foodtech industry, Southeast Asia is still lagging behind the US, Europe, Israel, and other western countries.

Yet several foodtech companies in this region are working hard to catch up, building on trends that look likely to grow even more significant in the years to come.

Here are five such trends we’ve identified and the homegrown Southeast Asian entrepreneurs spearheading them:

Food delivery

Food-obsessed Southeast Asia had been one of the earliest adopters of food delivery services even before the COVID-19 pandemic, in which lockdowns increased the demand for such services exponentially.

Grab Food, by Singapore-based ride-hailing app Grab, is a leader in the region, but FoodPanda and Gojek have significant market shares too. With a compound annual growth rate of 11 per cent, competition in this sector is heating up, leading to further innovations, including financial products and possible mergers with other e-commerce players.

Having firmly entrenched themselves among the region’s most well-known – and well-used – brands, food delivery services, and apps look to grow from strength to strength.

Plant-based and cell-based meat

The meat industry has been identified as one of the biggest causes of climate change, producing 60 per cent of greenhouse gases from food production and 35 per cent of all global emissions.

This is one of the driving factors behind the rise of plant-based meat products, an industry that is estimated to be worth US$85 billion in 2030.

Popular brands such as Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat have developed plant-based meat that meets the standards of consumers who are health and environmentally conscious but reluctant to give up meat.

Also Read: The spotlight on foodtech: Why we believe that what we put on our plate will determine the future

Both brands have had high-profile launches in Singapore and Thailand, partnering with major fast-food brands like McDonald’s and Burger King. This will only raise awareness, interest, and ultimately, demand for more plant-based food products.

Urban or vertical farming

Most Southeast Asian countries have been traditionally agrarian societies. The agricultural sector in this region has been facing numerous problems, amongst which are climate change, water access, urban expansion, and rising consumer demand.

There is also a growing demand for transparency over where food comes from and what pesticides were used. Using the latest aquaponic or aeroponic techniques, vertical farms in urban areas offer an exciting solution.

It’s probably no surprise that Singapore – being a tiny island where land is precious – is leading the way with companies such as Comcrops and Sky Greens, but the Philippines has also introduced new laws to promote urban farming, and there are homegrown efforts in Malaysia and Thailand as well. Such efforts are likely to grow in profile in the coming year.

Next-gen functional food and drinks

Southeast Asians have long practised traditional methods of wellness and nutrition, such as TCM (traditional Chinese medicine) and Ayurveda. Hence, it’s perhaps ironic that when these ancient practises become trendy in the West, they become popular all over again in their native countries.

Recent research has found real health benefits in foods and ingredients such as tempeh, green tea, turmeric, and ginger, all of which have been traditionally prescribed as health boosters.

Known as functional foods, these ingredients reflect growing demand from consumers who want to eat healthy, prevent disease, and strengthen their immunity.

Startups such as Bangkok-based Jamulogy, which produces nutritionally dense functional drinks based on the Indonesian tradition of jamu, are meeting this demand.

Also Read: How COVID-19 accelerated digitalisation in the F&B industry in Malaysia

3D food printing

3D-printed food sounds like something out of Star Trek, but this promising new technology is estimated to hit over US$432 million in market value by 2025.

The main challenge for 3D food printing is incorporating a variety of ingredients, tastes, and textures. The many enterprising startups in this field are hard at work tackling this challenge; some have even managed to include regular ground beef.

The most exciting application, however, is providing personalised meals with precise amounts of ingredients for optimal nutrition, serving the needs of everyone from hospital patients to malnourished communities.

Singapore-based Anrich3D, a spinoff of Nanyang Technological University, is one such startup that is planning to go commercial within the year.

An emerging industrial trend too exciting to be ignored

Although Southeast Asia still has a lot of catching up to do in the foodtech scene, the region’s longstanding passion for food makes it a place to watch for some of the more exciting innovations to come.

With rising foodtech accelerator programmes in the region, such as Space-F and Big Idea Ventures stepping in to drive the growth of the region’s promising foodtech startups, we will indeed witness a variety of innovations disrupting the way we enjoy our food.

2022 will be the year that homegrown foodtech startups in this region see rapid growth and perhaps even make a few international headlines.

Having been long overlooked by the West, it’s about time Southeast Asian food culture gets its time in the spotlight.

–

Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing views from the community. Share your opinion by submitting an article, video, podcast, or infographic

Join our e27 Telegram group, FB community, or like the e27 Facebook page

Image Credit: stokkete

The post 5 foodtech trends that will reshape Southeast Asia in 2022 appeared first on e27.

Singapore-based mobile gaming startup Potato Play announced today that it has raised US$5 million in a new financing round from investors, including Everblue Management, Play Ventures, Atlas Ventures and Beenext.

The startup intends to grow aggressively with new hires and scale its hit casual puzzle game Merge Restaurant globally with the latest infusion.

The round comes one and a half years after Potato Play raised US$1.75 million in a seed funding round led by Beenext.

Founded in 2018, Potato Play uses data-informed rapid-iteration to create and publish casual games.

Also read: Mobile, e-sports, live streaming shaping SEA’s gaming startup landscape in 2021

The startup claims its games clocked 18.2 million downloads, including popular titles such as Merge Restaurant, Merge Rush Z, Sword Hunter, Merge Quest, Crossing Gaps and Pocket Racing.

Potato Play has witnessed multiple recent successes in the merge category — a subgenre of puzzle games wherein users combine/merge objects of similar type within the game to create new and improved items. 

This category is slated to grow 19 per cent YoY within the US$93.2 billion mobile gaming market, per a Newzoo report.

—

Ready to meet new startups to invest in? We have more than hundreds of startups ready to connect with potential investors on our platform. Create or claim your Investor profile today and turn on e27 Connect to receive requests and fundraising information from them.

Image Credit: Potato Play

The post Potato Play rakes in US$5M to scale casual puzzle games globally appeared first on e27.