Desty, an Indonesia-based e-commerce solution platform, has secured US$5 million in an extended pre-series A round led by East Ventures (Growth fund).

Jungle Ventures and returning investors Fosun RZ and January Capital also joined.

Also Read: Desty raises seed funding to help individuals build an online presence easily

This round comes about four months after Desty obtained US$3.2 million in a pre-series A round led by 5Y Capital in July 2021.

The startup will use the new funds to accelerate the product development and merchant acquisition and to launch innovative products in the next few months.

Desty was started in October 2020 as a digital platform for merchants, influencers, and creators to build a single online destination to promote and sell their products.

With a hyperlocal focus on its business model and product offerings, Desty offers easy-to-use platforms, namely Desty Page and Desty Store, for users to grow in the digital environment. It provides tools, services and applications, most of which are free. The company doesn’t charge a setup fee or monthly subscription.

“Desty was born during COVID-19 when massive digitalisation happened. Merchants, influencers, and creators have resorted to digital platforms to have a digital presence as it has become of utmost importance to thrive. Soon, we would have gathered one million creators and merchants using our platform,” said Mulyono Xu, co-founder and CEO of Desty.

About 50 per cent of Desty’s users are online merchants, while 30 per cent are creators or influencers. Its online merchants include DAMN I Love Indonesia, Luna Habit & Nama Beauty by Luna Maya, Kurumi, Janji Jiwa, Haus. Dagelan, Greysia Polii (Indonesian Olympics Gold Medalist), Choky Sitohang, Tahi Lalats (Mindblowon Studio), Daisuke Botak, Marcella Eteng, Filda Salim, and FootNoteStories are among its creators.

Also Read: A look at the future of social commerce

More digital merchants are getting tech-savvy in Indonesia as they embrace digital tools to engage with their customers. It is not surprising that the country’s e-commerce sector experienced double-digit GMV growth due to the COVID-19 pandemic, hitting US$52 billion, and is projected to grow to US$104 billion in 2025.

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Image Credit: Desty

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The rollout for 5G technology in Malaysia has been a challenging journey for all the industry players involved. The response of welcoming 5G into the country has been thoroughly mixed and inconsistent, ranging from concerns of spectrum price setting to the positive reception of the single wholesale network (SWN) model.

Given Malaysia’s commitment to achieving 80 per cent 5G coverage by 2024, business owners of all market sizes will need to incorporate digitalisation in their strategies should they want to grow (or at least, adapt) to the transformational changes that are yet to come.

Amidst its allure for technological advancement, the full capabilities of 5G have yet to be set, let alone defined. What we do know for now is that the speed of 5G could technically surpass its predecessor by approximately 10 to 100 times faster, support more devices in a given area with a broader bandwidth, and lesser delays in data transfer given the ultra-low latency.

However, there will be a tradeoff between the ranges of bandwidth and network speed. Higher bandwidths will have faster speeds and support more devices but will have a limited coverage area.

5G rollout plans

For the case of Malaysia, the rollout programme has incorporated “pioneer bands” of 700 MHz, 3.5 GHz and 28 GHz. A total of 75 use cases were piloted across Malaysia over the span of October 2019 to June 2020 and showcased feasibility in smart technology solutions for various industrial applications such as tourism, medical, and agricultural activities.

The government aims to achieve 10 per cent 5G coverage in Cyberjaya, Kuala Lumpur, and Putrajaya by the end of 2021, while six other cities will be targeted for 40 per cent coverage by the end of 2022.

Also Read: Here are the most promising startups in the 5G space

Malaysia’s 5G initiative trails behind neighbouring countries such as Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines. It was reported that the 5G rollout in ASEAN has a positive six to nine per cent growth prospect in consumer revenues with an additional 18-22 per cent increase for enterprise revenues.

Therefore, the era of ASEAN’s digital transformation is becoming an economic force that needs to be reckoned with and should not be ignored by Malaysia should it want to capture the market opportunities.

The report also highlights the possibility of two varying outcomes for Malaysia; the first being a “win for some, lose for most” and the second a “win for many situations”. The first describes a more likely outcome as network operators will seek means to capture revenue via value-added services in order to compensate and cover loftier wholesale costs in the future.

Additionally, the long-term implications might fall upon the end-users through either diminishing service quality or elevated prices.

These implications are a concern to operators as financial restrictions for growth can affect consumer loyalty as well as the comparative advantage to distinguish themselves from the other providers.

Another possibility of this predicted outcome is that these service providers will focus on enhancing their revenue-making 4G infrastructures (considering the fact that Malaysia has yet to achieve a full 100 per cent coverage), making the 5G initiative look more costly and redundant to consumers in the upcoming years.

Also read: The proliferation of 5G will transform businesses and societies: Here’s how

Only time will tell on whether or not these predictions will materialise as we wait for the government’s decision on the available spectra prices. However, businesses must be prepared to consolidate digitalisation opportunities once the anticipated rollout becomes concrete.

How can businesses prepare

Market leaders such as the service, manufacturing, and agriculture industries have taken a toll during the pandemic and should look beyond existing business strategies to become resilient against future unprecedented risks.

The implementation of the 5G technology model specifically in their B2B supply chain could be introduced with effective systems like inventory tracking, machinery monitoring, and cloud computing.

Identifying the business activities that can use 5G can be done through a discussion with key players of the supply chain and network operators.

Additionally, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) should also be aware of the transition considering its one-third contribution to the nation’s overall GDP. A smaller entity structure would mean that 5G innovation can be utilised according to its own scale.

Enhancing e-commerce platforms and client management systems is possible with the use of high-speed networks. Payment methods can be streamlined into a cloud system, enabling efficiency in their order workflow process while product availability could also be updated in real-time to inform the customers.

Just because a particular business is a small entity does not mean that it could not harness the benefits of the 5G technology.

On the contrary, its flexibility in applications allows consumers to make full use of its features according to how they see fit, hence, the only requirement needed from the consumer end to make it work is an innovative mindset to elevate their businesses to the next level.

Also Read: The 5G era is here, and you can be part of the revolution

When it comes to businesses of the future, it is important to consider models that integrate components of sustainability. It is known that entities that embody this concept into their business strategies fare better than their competitors and are more likely to be resilient against unexpected risks in the future.

However, proper implementation is needed and sustainable solutions could mean something as simple as evaluating waste management systems or reviewing monthly energy use.

5G enables devices to be connected into a network to gather crucial information and determine their peak performance use, leakages, and optimal temperature settings required to ensure facilities run smoothly.

Supply chain processes could also be linked into a connected network, enabling traceability features to be adopted which are useful for responsible sourcing efforts.

While focusing on business growth is important, it is worth considering that maintaining businesses at full capacity adds resilience to a company’s viability. Despite common beliefs, the implementation of sustainable strategies can save operating costs by taking note of non-efficient processes to be either replaced or removed entirely.

This handpicking strategy allows business owners to focus on creating maximum value to stakeholders, and in return, contribute back towards the sustainability agenda. This could also align with the growing awareness in consumers who are showing more interest in purchasing sustainability-driven products.

With the commitment of 5G implementation coming near, businesses and consumers alike should aim to have an idea of what it can do for their daily transactions and start planning for the digital transition.

We are venturing into a new era where businesses need to adapt to the needs of the ever-changing economy and reflect long-term value to the end consumers as well as relative stakeholders.

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The Southeast Asia (SEA) startup landscape has witnessed some successful initial public offerings (IPOs) recently, including the Indonesian e-commerce shopping platform Bukalapak, and the Vietnamese data-driven loyalty platform Society Pass. Some are also actively eyeing IPOs, including Traveloka, VNG, Tiki, aCommerce and more. Sizable mergers and acquisitions (M&A) also attract a lot of attention in this space, including Intuit’s acquisition of TradeGecko, and Aviva’s merger with SingLife.

This highlights the potential of high-value exits for investors who are doubling down on the region’s startup development.

But IPO is rare, and it only works for businesses having a proven track record of growth. That’s why it is crucial to understand different types of exits — liquidity events — that investors or founders utilise to liquidate their financial position or assets, raise more capital for business growth, or even limit losses of non-performing investments or unprofitable businesses.

Different types of investors may prefer different methods of payouts.

After deploying an exit strategy successfully, the buyer takes over the business in exchange for cash or stock, and key executives and personnel from the firm frequently remain on for a period of time in order to cash out and vest their shares. In some cases, founders will continue running the company with public status.

For venture capitalists, exits allow them to return the financing to their Limited Partners (LPs) with a much higher return on investment. Seed investments are the riskiest type but the return on investment can even reach 100x for a single deal. Series A investors shoot for a smaller multiple at 10x to 15x, while later-stage investors aim for 3x to 5x in return.

Also Read: Financing your startup: Can a loan be a better alternative to VC funding?

Below is the list of eight ways that current shareholders of private companies can look into for an exit:

1. Merger and Acquisitions
2. Acquihires
3. IPO
4. SPAC
5. Direct listing/Direct public offering
6. Management and employee buyout
7. Selling stake to a partner or investor
8. Family succession
9. Liquidation
10. Bankruptcy

Merger and Acquisitions

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) is an exit strategy for any firm looking to sell its business and especially appealing to startups and entrepreneurs. An acquisition happens when one firm buys most or all of another’s shares or assets; while a merger is the tie-up of two businesses to establish a new legal entity under a single corporate name.

The process of M&A comprises numerous stages and can take anywhere from six months to several years to finalise.

Proper deal structure is considered one of the most difficult aspects of the M&A process. Many factors are taken into account, including antitrust laws, securities rules, corporate law, competing bids, tax ramifications, accounting concerns, and market circumstances.

This leads to a downturn that M&A may be time-consuming and costly, and regularly fail. Whereas, M&A has the advantage that business owners can keep pricing negotiations under their control and establish their own terms.

Acquihires

Acquihires are a type of exit strategy in which a corporation purchases a company in order to acquire its skilled staff.

In contrast to other exit strategies, an acquihire focuses on the founders and their team rather than the startup’s business model or assets. The acquisition price is frequently determined by the worth of the team to the purchaser.

In terms of the company’s employees, they might make use of this exit strategy type to ensure that they will be looked for in the long term. However, this, like other purchases, maybe a difficult and expensive process.

IPO

Initial public offering (IPO), or going public, is known as the process of a private firm offering its shares for sale on a stock exchange. It enables a startup to raise capital from the public and allows current private shareholders to monetise their previous investments.

A private firm seeking an IPO must not only prepare for a massive increase in public scrutiny but also file a mountain of paperwork and financial reports to satisfy the regulatory requirements such as a preliminary prospectus. This is oftentimes a complex, time-consuming process that most businesses find difficult to handle on their own.

Therefore, a company potential for an IPO has to record favourable growth or positive financial results. It will also hire an investment bank to underwrite the IPO as well as perform due diligence before the public listing. The two will then set an initial share price and a date for its securities to be traded publicly on the stock market. Institutional investors such as pension funds, endowments, or foundations can meet with the startup and buy initial blocks of shares prior to the public sale.

Also Read: Gojek, Tokopedia confirm merger with the launch of GoTo Group

SPAC

Since most companies struggle with the IPO, merging with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) is among the top priorities for a startup looking for an alternate exit strategy. In 2020, gross profits from SPAC deals were roughly six times higher than that of 2019.

SPAC is a publicly listed “blank check” corporation founded for the purpose of merging with or acquiring private firms. Investors, who are also known as sponsors in SPACs, can include a wide spectrum of people, including firm founders, top executives, and venture capitalists.

After the transaction, the target company will be listed on a stock exchange, which transfers the burden of the IPO process to the original SPAC.

Direct listing/Direct public offering

A direct listing, or direct public offering (DPO), is considered a less costly way to raise capital for a company or cash out for a shareholder without the need to create new shares. It also does not require a bank to underwrite the issuing of stock, though the company still has to file a registration statement to the authority.

Instead, existing investors, promoters, and any employees already owning shares of the company directly convert their ownership into stocks that can be traded on a bourse anytime after the launch. Spotify, Slack, or Coinbase are some firms choosing this exit route.

The selling and pricing of shares in a direct listing, though do not suffer from the “lock-up” period as in traditional IPOs, are then subject to the market demand with no guarantee for sale, no promotions, or no safe long-term investors.

Management and employee buyout

A management and employee buyout (MEBO) is a corporate restructuring strategy whereby both a management buyout (MBO) and an employee buyout (EBO) buy out a company in order to consolidate ownership among a small number of shareholders.

MBO is a transaction in which the management team of a firm buys the assets and operations of the company they run. Meanwhile, EBO is a restructuring method in which employees purchase majority ownership of their own company.

MEBOs are typically used to privatise a publicly listed company. Besides, they can also be used as a way for venture capitalists or other shareholders in an existing private company to depart.

This exit strategy often boosts a firm’s productivity since it may provide extra job security for employees, prompting them to put more effort to improve the company’s profitability.

Selling stake to a partner or investor

This type of exit strategy is characterised as a ‘friendly buyer’ since founders are likely to sell their stock to someone they know, trust, or work with.

The buyers are partners or venture capitalists, who will remain the company’s operations as normal even when the previous shareholders are completely out of the business.

However, it is not always an easy feat to find a “buyer” and may deprive you of any involvement within the company’s management or decision-making process afterwards. Moreover, it often causes ripples when the negotiation does not satisfy both ends of the spectrum.

Family succession

The family succession exit plan entails handing over the business to a kid or another relative at a specific time.

Different from other departure strategies, this one does not engage third parties and is said to be one of the easiest and most easy solutions when done correctly.

Though it is a tempting option for individuals who wish to keep their company in their family long term, choosing or qualifying a capable person for the position requires the owner to keep a sharp eye on the successor.

Following the completion of familial succession, ex-founders are able to maintain strong ties to the company as advisors or consultants.

However, during the process, the members may experience emotional, financial, and overall stress.

Also Read: VNG mulling public listing via SPAC merger at US$3B valuation: report

Liquidation

Liquidation is the process of closing a firm by selling all of its assets, especially when it performs poor over a long period of time and could not deploy any other exit strategies. However, this strategy is not preferred in the startup space because most tech companies rely on their software without significant physical assets.

When the company is liquidated, the worth of present clients will not be recognised in its sale. Therefore, to maximise earnings, owners are advised to restructure the business for the acquisition of the entire firm rather than liquidation.

This kind of exit strategy might be easier and quicker to implement than other options. Yet, it is unlikely to be a lucrative exit strategy.

Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy happens when a firm’s business model is proven unprofitable and the debts are significantly more than the assets. It is an extreme exit plan that employs a legal mechanism for liquidating a business and paying off debt.

Declaring bankruptcy does not ensure that all of the company’s obligations will be forgiven. It is, however, takes little paperwork, quick, and helps the company to rebuild its credit.

Alternatives to bankruptcy include debt negotiation, operational improvements, and business turnaround and restructuring.

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Image Credit: 123rf

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Vietnamese renewable energy company CME Solar Investments (CMES) has completed a US$12M debt financing round with Switzerland-headquartered impact investor responsAbility.

CMES will channel the financing to promote green power for Vietnam’s commercial and industrial (C&I) segment. The company plans to deploy many projects to allow its clients to directly consume green energy through the business model “Zero Cost Investment”.

“We are bullish on the potential of Vietnam’s solar sector, especially adoption by C&I off-takers who are keen to minimise operational costs, now more than ever before,” said Sameer Tirkar, principal climate finance APAC for responsAbility.

Also read: Solar energy is no more a novelty, but a necessity

Founded in 2018, CME Group leverages the model of Zero Cost Investment to be fully responsible for investment, installation, operation and maintenance of the solar system for customers.

The solar energy provider claims to have served over 100 clients across 20 industries. It has also installed over 200 million MWp and generated over 2GWh of electricity each year.

“Sustainable growth, decarbonisation, and energy security are key themes for both developed and emerging markets globally. We are on the right path to join other global developers to create a better world,” said Tuan Dieu Chung, CEO of CMES.

The company boasts that its end-to-end solutions covering the whole value chain of design, engineering, procurement and O&M leads can take full control over each project’s quality, timelines, and costs.

According to a press statement, CMES’s clients can use green energy with special prices lower than Vietnam Electricity Group’s price. It counts Tan Son Nhat International Airport, Adidas R&D Center, and Hwaseung Vina among its clientele across the country.

In addition, CMES owns warehouses with ready inventories, eliminating the lead time of delivery to secure on-time completion of projects.

The company is backed by Vietnam Oman Investment Fund, a sovereign fund established by Oman Investment Authority and State Capital Investment Corporation of Vietnam.

Meanwhile, responsAbility manages US$3.5 billion of assets to invest in over 250 fully ESG-managed (Environmental, Social, and Governance) companies across 68 emerging economies.

So far, responsAbility has disbursed more than US$10 billion in private debt and private equity to companies in the financial inclusion, sustainable food and climate finance sectors whose business models directly support the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals.

The renewable energy sector has gained momentum with wide adoption globally. In Vietnam, as of December 2020, the total installed capacity of solar power across the country touched around 19,400 MWp, according to Vietnam Electricity.

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Image Credit: CMES

 

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#MeToo in startups in SEA and the silence surrounding it is deafening
Sexual abuses often go unreported because many victims choose silence to avoid possible backlash and retribution from the harassers.

Indonesian courier startup J&T raises US$2.5B ahead of Hong Kong IPO: Reuters
Boyu Capital, Hillhouse Capital, Sequoia China, and Tencent Holdings also participated; This brings its valuation to US$20B; The fundraising by J&T comes as it seeks to expand in China and Latin America.

Robert Downey Jr.-backed RWDC Industries completes US$95.1M Series B2 round
The biodegradable alternative to plastic firm will use the funding to expand its PHA production capacity in its plant located in Athens in the US state of Georgia to 50 kiloton per year and develop a production facility in Singapore.

Grab injects Series C funding into Indonesia’s e-investment platform Bareksa
Through this partnership, Bareksa will gain access to Grab users and partners, offering them investment opportunities with payments handled by OVO; In 2019, Bareksa had raised Series B funding from OVO.

Indonesian stock trading platform Stockbit to acquire local brokerage firm Mahakarya Artha Sekuritas
The acquisition will enable Mahakarya’s users to open stock accounts and trade in the Indonesian Stock Exchange via the Stockbit app; Mahakarya Artha Sekuritas has been Stockbit’s brocking partner since September and will now be rebranded to Stockbit Sekuritas.

Singapore’s Hepmil Media secures US$10M to expand e-sports, gaming network
Investors include Quest Ventures, Pavilion Capital and Bent Pixels; Hepmil, which owns SGAG, MGAG, PGAG and a digital creator agency, also plans to expand into Thailand and Vietnam in 2022.

Pintek raises US$7M Series A to provide financial services to Indonesia’s education community
Investors include Kaizenvest, Heritas Capital, Blue7, and Earlsfield Capital; To date, Pintek claims to have supported 2,750+ education institutions, 100 education MSMEs to reach more than 650,000 students.

Social commerce startup Desty adds US$5M to pre-series A kitty led by East Ventures
Other backers are Jungle Ventures, Fosun RZ and January Capital; Desty, founded by ex-BAce Capital managing partner Mulyono Xu, is a digital platform for merchants, influencers, and creators to build a single online destination to promote and sell their products.

Ex-YG Entertainment execs’ Indonesian home care services firm OKHOME raises US$3M
Investors include POSCO Venture Capital, A Ventures, ES Investor, Honest Ventures, and Enlight Ventures; OKHOME provides services such as general cleaning, disinfection, and air conditioner management across Jakarta and Surabaya.

Plot of digital land sold for US$2.3M in Axie Infinity
According to the company, it’s the largest amount of money ever paid for a single piece of digital real estate; The amount surpasses the US$1.5M deal for nine plots of digital land in the play-to-earn game, which happened in February.

SG businessman-led SPAC 8i Acquisition 2 nets US$86M in US listing
This is over US$10M more than what it initially planned to raise on the US exchange; James Tan Meng Dong is the CEO and director of the blank-cheque firm; Incorporated as a British Virgin Islands business company, 8i Acquisition will invest in Asian companies with enough foothold to scale across multiple countries.

Binance eyes funding from sovereign wealth funds
The stake sale comes after Binance was issued a warning by the MAS in September for providing payment services and soliciting business from Singaporeans without having a license to do so; Since then, the crypto exchange has restricted its services in Singapore.

SG autonomous vehicle startup MooVita bags Series A funding
Investors include Yinson Holdings, SMRT Ventures, 1Derlife Growth and SEEDS Capital; MooVita is currently developing a component-based driverless software solution, which can transform various vehicle types into autonomous vehicles.

Indonesian mobile coffee firm Jago Coffee bags US$250K
Investors are Beenext, Prasetia Dwidharma, and Hidenori Izaki; The company plans to use the fresh funds to increase its number of mobile carts from 20 to 280 by next year; It also wants to pilot new product categories outside coffee with other food and beverage brands.

Vietnam’s internet economy to hit US$220B by 2030
Since COVID-19 reappeared in the first half of this year, the country has added 8 million digital consumers, of whom more than half come from non-metro areas; It is forecasted that the country’s digital economy will see a growth rate of 31% this year over the same period last year, reaching US$21B.

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The business events sector leverages SaaS technologies to overcome pandemic limitations and foster human connection. It is estimated that the share of digital offerings in companies’ portfolios has accelerated by a staggering seven years.

Until the pandemic, the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE) sector, which supported more than 34,000 direct and indirect jobs, had been deeply dependent on face-to-face meetings.

With new COVID-19 restrictions in place, event organisers had to search for creative avenues to overcome these COVID-19 challenges in a brief time or risk losing S$3.8 billion, or close to one per cent of Singapore’s GDP.

The solution was SaaS virtual events platforms that mirrored in-person interactions by creating immersive and exciting event experiences.

SaaS businesses transforming the events industry

Many businesses were already on a digital transformation journey before the pandemic. Still, the pandemic has highlighted the merits of SaaS platforms and the value of SaaS businesses to a more resilient industry sector.

At Hubilo, we were quick to recognise the opportunity of SaaS solutions, in part because we had already spent five years in the event technologies space, which allowed us to develop an innovative platform to bring people together when social distancing was/is a norm.

In this complex landscape of COVID-19 regulations and critical industry shifts, Hubilo pivoted to the SaaS model to aid digital transformation in the events industry in the region.

Also Read: Synqa acquires SaaS platform for event creators Eventpop in an “8-digit USD” deal

Not only did we demonstrate flexibility, agility, and scalability through our innovative virtual-hybrid events platform service, we showed this in equal measure through the SaaS model, which informed our approach in designing our products and services.

Virtual and hybrid event platforms now integrate various technology stacks, ensuring participants’ excellent and holistic top-tier event experience.

These technology solutions can also bring event-specific data from registrations and ticketing to create a seamless event experience. One-way integrations with CRM platforms also enables organisers and sponsors to leverage event data and reap measurable ROI.

Additionally, martech technologies generate insights that can increase the quality of business leads and effectively drive marketing conversions.

All of this is supported by a base of customer technology platforms at the core of a virtual event platform, guaranteeing always-on support for participants before, during, and after the event.

During the COVID-19 crisis, we saw how enterprise applications helped overcome the limitations of physical distance while driving meaningful engagements during a virtual event.

Now, both exhibitors and participants can easily engage with each other in virtual booths and lounges outside live sessions on our platform, offering multiple touchpoints for everyone to make meaningful connections.

An AI matchmaking algorithm was also built into our platform to connect the right set of buyers, sellers, and attendees amongst each other that help drives meaningful engagements.

With digitalisation at the core of our business model, our team also built gamification features inclusive of polls, Q&As, contests, and more segregation on leaderboards to encourage greater engagement across all participants at an event.

All of this is supported by closed caption support for sessions in English in our effort to promote inclusiveness and more accessible comprehension of content during an event.

Hubilo’s entire event can easily be streamed through a mobile app, exactly as you would with your laptop. This includes all activities, entering a session or an exhibitor’s booth, securing a seat in the networking lounge, participating in the polls, games, Q&As, or simply engaging with a fellow attendee.

Also Read: Meet the startups from the latest batch of Singapore Tourism Board accelerator programme

In a hybrid format, the app will act as a critical enabler connecting offline and online attendees.

These are but a few of our features that make for an immersive and personalised event experience possible. All this is thanks to SaaS enterprise solutions that have transformed our business and are transforming the overall industry sector more broadly.

Eliminating the roadblocks to digital transformation

For many in the industry, costs and concerns around the complexity of integration continue to be common barriers to digital transformation. However, we are seeing a trend where enterprises are overcoming these challenges with the help of a series of SaaS solutions.

A significant advantage of SaaS platforms is that most can be set up for rapid integration, which means enterprises can start getting value from them instantly.

There is, therefore, an incentive for businesses to seamlessly digitalise their processes by replacing outdated legacy systems in IT infrastructure with enterprise SaaS products.

Increasing cloud migration and integrations between SaaS platforms has made it easier to build or pivot entire businesses using SaaS platforms. ​The exceptionality of the SaaS market is that numerous providers are offering similar tools, allowing enterprises to trial new agencies without financial and technological obligations.

​Furthermore, a good SaaS provider will offer enterprises their platform on a pay-as-you-go or usage-based model, which means there is no significant investment required at the outset, and enterprises can pay a fair and manageable amount commensurate with the value they’re getting from the platform.

Events of tomorrow

The unpredictability of the Covid-19 situation makes the business events industry vulnerable. Still, it also presents an opportunity for event organisers to pivot towards virtual and hybrid events creatively, and more significantly, rethink their business model with digitalisation, personalisation, and technology at its core.

Other industries have found themselves at similar crossroads and have thrived despite the challenges. Think of Netflix, for instance, when confronting movie rentals. Ultimately, the shift to a completely digital offering, personalised and tailored to the viewers’ desired content experience, helped scale the business to today.

Events are no different but may have the advantage that Netflix never had at the beginning of its journey–an entirely digitally transformed audience. No convincing is needed that the things we have traditionally done in-person can be done online.

Also Read: The future is hybrid: What will events look like post-COVID-19?

People buy their groceries online. They exercise and find love online. They visit their doctors online. Do we believe that events will be any different? 

We have managed, despite the pandemic’s best efforts, to continue to connect and be productive.

I firmly believe our ability to adapt and innovate technologies will lead not only to the survival of many industry sectors, businesses, and our communities through this crisis but create new opportunities for connection and knowledge sharing than we ever had before.

–

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

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Far from appealing and trendy projects like carbon exchange or offsetting, sustainability is also a matter of under-looked and partly ignored things. To my dismay, e-waste is one of them. Why

Because dealing with trash is not noble? Because it asks us to choose between consumerism and sobriety? Because finding value in waste is never considered by companies (let’s debunk this later). Well, hard to say.

What is 100 per cent sure, though, is that e-waste is going to be one of the biggest challenges of our century … and no one knows it.

Eco-Business wrote a couple of years ago about “Defusing the e-waste bomb in Asia”. Nothing much has changed, so I guess it’s time to put this topic in the spotlight again.

So what’s the situation now in Southeast Asia? Is it the same everywhere? Are there model students in the classroom?

Is Singapore paving the way as they do in other fields (agritech, new sustainable tech, food waste)? And most importantly, what’s the risk of e-waste in the end?

To reply to these questions, I felt the need to write this mini-series to explore the situation —and possible future(s)— about e-waste in Southeast Asia, with a strong focus on three significant countries: Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.

This first article is just playing the role of an appetiser to help you understand what the problem is and why a portion of Asia’s future is at stake here. Okay, no more time to (e-)waste! (Sorry, I had to do it!)

Also Read: Throwaway gold: How data can tap into the unrealised potential in plastic waste

So, let’s set the scenery first. According to the Global E-waste Monitor 2020:

• A record 53.6 million metric tonnes of e-waste was generated worldwide in 2019, and it is expected to reach 74 metric tonnes by 2030.
• Asia generated the highest quantity of e-waste in 2019 at 24.9 million metric tonnes, and the region shows the fastest growth in e-waste trends.

• While developed nations are now taking e-waste seriously by ensuring proper disposal, most middle and low-income countries do not have an adequate e-waste infrastructure. In some countries, e-waste management is even totally absent. It should not come as a surprise as e-waste management requires processes and players —thus, money— to thrive.

A vast definition …

Electronic waste or e-waste describes all discarded electronic equipment and devices. It’s not only laptops and smartphones; e-waste also includes TV, DVD players (feel old yet?), printers, machinery.

Also Read: Waste Labs raises pre-seed money to digitise, plan, improve waste collection processes using AI

They can either be:

• Refurbished/Reused after being repaired
• Resold on secondhand platform
• Recycled through material recovery
• Disposed of, purely

The 3R covers these different end-of-life scenarios (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle), a key concept about waste and circularity. NEA’s section is available here in case you want to read more about it.

E-waste isn’t always easy and convenient to recycle. Local governments sometimes have e-waste collection days a few times a year, but that means that homeowners have to store the unwanted items in the meantime.

Several electronic stores will accept electronics for recycling at no cost (Best Buy and Staples). And several electronics companies take their products for recycling, including Apple, Samsung, Microsoft, and Dell.

New usages for consumers (streaming, video content-based social networks) and corporations (5G, IoT, new wave of tech) are also massively contributing to increase e-waste “mathematically”.

Indeed, new usages mostly imply better performance and up-to-date equipment, meaning the lifespan of connected devices dropped. To show this phenomenon, we can have a look at the average lifespan of the equipment.

In the 1990s, devices were supposed to live for 20–25 years; today, the average is around four to five years. With substantial gaps between consumer goods (under three years for some smartphones, for instance) and company machinery (about seven to eight years).

The growing trends of the new tech will probably make this lifespan shorter shortly, hence the need to take action now, especially in Asia, where digitisation and middle-class development is growing way faster than in other areas of the world.

More sophisticated tech also implies devices that are harder to recycle. Nano alloys, the blending of tiny portions of minerals on some motherboards, make recycling very hard (and costly!), even if you have the entire process.

You have 0.4g of gold in a random smartphone, but is it worth getting it back as you will need a tremendous amount of energy to recover it? Hmm, food for thought for you to think about the vicious link between mineral resources depletion and energy consumption.

Also Read: Go smart or go waste? Smart construction in Asia is up for grabs

… for a vast problem!

E-waste comes with a whole bunch of nasty consequences. It is tough to be exhaustive in a one-shot article, but the main issues revolve around the environment, human health and social trouble.

Environmental problem

There along comes the elephant in the Room! I guess I do not have to mention this one extensively, don’t I? You guess that dumping e-waste in the wild is not great for the planet? You guessed it right.

Examples to show the impact of e-waste on the planet;

• Improper management of e-waste contributes to global warming; A total of 98 Mt of CO2-equivalents were released into the atmosphere from discarded fridges and air-conditioners that were not managed sustainably.
• For pollution, let’s sum it up by saying that e-waste is mostly burned or buried, leading to toxic gas emissions (made of Mercury, Lead or CFCs, for instance). This causes tremendous problems for biodiversity. E-waste causes air pollution, water and soil pollution as well. For example, heavy metals and flame retardants due to e-waste burning can infiltrate soils and cause contamination of underlying groundwater or crops. When heavy metals contaminate the soil, the crops become vulnerable to absorbing these toxins, which can cause disease and drops in agricultural yields.
• The vicious part about this consequence is that — just like Cloud-based infrastructures — this footprint is outsourced somehow. Few countries take care of e-waste, so we do not see the impact. In Southeast Asia, a lot of e-waste is sent to be “processed” by Indonesia. But outsourcing e-waste management to countries that are not prepared to take care of it sustainably is a huge mistake and lead to terrible consequences (see the example of Ghana below).

In future articles, we will talk about the iconic example of Yogyakarta, Indonesia, to explain how critical e-waste is for this country. Mentioning the situation in Phnom Penh is also worth, even though less heard of.

Human health problems

As mentioned earlier, toxic gas emissions are harmful to our health. Especially, mercury, lead, cadmium or polybrominated flame retardants can induce adverse health effects on human health (brain, heart, skeleton).

It can also considerably affect the nervous and reproductive systems of the human body, leading to disease and congenital disabilities. Plastic burnt in the process won’t make it better for sure either.

I don’t have the time to list all human health problems due to e-waste but if you want to know more,  check out the “disaster in the making” of e-waste-induced illnesses in China.

Social problems

These problems mentioned earlier lead conclusively to social trouble; fight for money made of illegal recycling and resources recovering. In some countries, you have parallel economies out of any government control that is thriving.

Add the tensions on markets and supply chain disruption— that is not due to e-waste management — and you have a dangerous cocktail ready to explode.

Also Read: Fixing food waste problem means less hungry people and a great economy

The situation in Agbogbloshie, Ghana, speaks for itself, with kids being intoxicated and stolen from their families to take care of dumped e-waste.

To finalise this explanation of issues due to improper e-waste management, I wanted to add one last thing. It’s not a problem per se, though, and it might even be part of the solution. Indeed, I wanted to focus on the $$$ value lost in e-waste.

If I told you that the value of raw materials in the global e-waste generated in 2019 is equal to approximately US$57 billion, would you believe it?

Then, you should, because that’s the number stated in the 2020 Global e-waste monitor report.

Another number to understand why we do not bother yet. Statista estimated that a single metric ton of circuit boards usually includes 40–800 times the gold ore concentrations mined in the US. The number is 30 to 40 times for copper.

All this give perspective, right?

Need to rethink an entire model

Today, we are not here to discuss the solutions to reduce e-waste— that’s for another day! But this article’s just an intro for you to understand what’s at stake. However, we can briefly mention some solutions (Note this order is on purpose!).

• Sobriety: Decrease our consumption of electronic devices — Companies and consumers alike
• Sustainable design: Design devices and software that are more flexible and easier to maintain/recycle (all hail Fairphone)
• More transparency: Increase consumer pressure on hardware manufacturers to get more clarity in manufacturing processes and recycling.
• Government intervention: To lead the way, Governments must provide processes, infrastructures and a legal framework to make things possible. Some countries (Japan, Taiwan) are pretty advanced on such topics today. But countries that rely on entire underground activities cannot just kiss them goodbye. E-waste regulations must be national and regional to be fruitful. We will start to look at this in the following articles, taking Singapore’s case as an example.
• Innovation; Recycling e-waste today is not a piece of cake. Innovation can help us get more value from our e-waste, but it’s the ultimate solution that should not be mentioned; first, it will not save us by itself.

I will take time in the future to explain in-depth these possible solutions — and others — but it seems pretty apparent that decreasing e-waste will ultimately lead to the necessity of rethinking an entire model and a change of mindset overall. Quick fix measures won’t be the long-term solution!

Also Read: How this Singaporean AI startup makes waste collection and recycling easy for cities, organisations

Hope to see you for the following article about Singapore coming out in December. So wait before you buy the new iPhone for your sister, please.

In the meantime, stay safe and join the #ReuseRevolution.

Sustainably yours …

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Singapore-based technology-driven media company Hepmil Media Group has secured US$10 million in a Series A round of financing led by Quest Ventures, Pavilion Capital and Bent Pixels.

Hepmil own the media companies SGAG, MGAG and PGAG, besides the digital creator agency Hepmil Creators’ Network.

This round marks Hepmil Media’s first fund-raise from institutional investors since its inception in 2015.

The group will use the funds to grow its content and creators’ platform and capabilities and expand its e-sports and gaming network. The group also has plans to grow more revenue streams, particularly in developing content capabilities to serve regional commerce players in their direct-to-consumer efforts.

Must Read: #MeToo in startups in SEA and the silence surrounding it is deafening

It will also expand into Thailand and Vietnam in 2022.

Karl Mak, CEO and co-founder of Hepmil Media, said: “The digital media space in Singapore and Southeast Asia has transformed rapidly over the last decade. More people are spending their time online for entertainment and fulfilling their everyday needs. We also see more brands looking for an integrated digital media solution capable of reaching and engaging an exponentially growing audience in a compelling manner to drive conversion. Through expansion and investing in capabilities building to push new, innovative solutions for brands, we hope to be able to redefine Southeast Asia’s digital media and entertainment sector and to remain the preferred platform for brands to work with.”

Hepmil Media’s original content arm produces content that reaches over 30 million Gen Zs and millennials across the region weekly. At the same time, its creator network partners with over 300 of the region’s top digital content creators who generate over 3 billion monthly views.

Hepmil Media Group has offices in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta and Manila with over 100 employees.

The firm entered Indonesia early this year via a partnership with EVOS Esports, which aims to address the expanding e-sports market across the region and give brands and talents an additional platform to connect with a highly engaged audience.

The funding will also be used to support the group’s strategic expansion plans in the coming months, including the creation of Bent Pixels Asia Private Limited, a joint venture between Hepmil Media and Bent Pixels in Asia Pacific.

Also Read: Pivots are hard, but worth it: Here are the life lessons we gained

Headquartered in Singapore, Bent Pixels Asia will enable Hepmil Media to expand its influence and reach within the e-sports community in Southeast Asia by being the preferred provider for YouTube reserved media in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore.

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When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the Philippines, the economy became vulnerable, and millions of Filipinos were put out of work. With mobility restrictions putting physical transactions on hold, digital solutions swept in to save the day.

The need to digitise everything became the catalyst for cashless transactions and, eventually, the rapid rise of crypto adoption. This is a massive development, considering that cash is still king in the Philippines, and around 70 per cent of the population remains unbanked and underserved.

But digital solutions still triumphed amidst the pandemic, especially those that were accessible via mobile phones because around 79 million Filipinos relied on their smartphones for their day-to-day activities. 

Play-to-earn games like Axie Infinity and accessible mobile apps like Coins.ph enabled Filipinos to dabble into crypto to earn extra income amidst the pandemic. MetaMask, the non-custodial crypto wallet primarily used by Axie Infinity players, reported that its monthly active users over the past year grew by 1,800 per cent, with around 2 million users coming from the Philippines alone.

As of October 2021, the Philippines currently ranks 15th in Chainalysis’ global cryptocurrency adoption list. It won’t be long for the country to rise in rank as crypto adoption continues to grow.

It’s important to note that the pandemic wasn’t the only driver of crypto adoption in the Philippines—hundreds of Filipinos have been investing and trading in virtual currencies since the early years of crypto.

Also Read: Go-Jek acquires majority stake in Philippines’s blockchain fintech company Coins.ph

Financial institutions and regulatory bodies have also been studying the benefits that decentralised solutions bring to the financial sector and gradually integrating them into their operations over the years. 

Let’s take a deeper look into how blockchain and crypto adoption evolved in the Philippines.

Crypto milestones in the Philippines

Investing in virtual currencies was undoubtedly difficult in the early years of crypto. Early crypto adopters in the Philippines shared that they had to buy and sell crypto using foreign crypto exchanges such as Mt. Gox and Bitstamp and claim free Bitcoins through faucet websites. 

It wasn’t until Coins.ph entered the scene in 2014, providing new vehicles for Filipinos to make everyday financial transactions such as payments, remittances, and online shopping using crypto.

It also allows Filipinos to quickly make cross-border payments, which are often challenging to accomplish traditionally due to tax implications, complicated processes, and high fees.

Fintech company Satoshi Citadel Industries (SCI) also forged its ground within the same year to build the blockchain ecosystem in the Philippines.

Upon seeing the growth of crypto adoption in the Philippines, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) issued an advisory informing Filipinos of the features, benefits, and attendant risks when dealing with VCs.

Crypto adoption in the country increased over the years, albeit slow as crypto was still considered a risky investment and existing regulations did not cover virtual currencies.

By 2017, Bitcoin quickly rose in popularity when its value intensely increased from US$1,000 to over US$19,000 within a few months.

Also Read: Blockchain Space launches in the Philippines to help the industry grow

The BSP at the time began to require crypto exchanges to register with them as remittance and transfer companies and put adequate safeguards to address the risks associated with crypto.

Many local financial institutions made more mainstream crypto solutions for Filipinos in 2019. UnionBank and Coins.ph, for instance, rolled out the first crypto ATM in the Philippines to help their customers exchange their virtual currencies for cash and buy and sell crypto on the spot.

The bank also introduced its stablecoin called PHX to help rural banks access remittance and payments under its blockchain-based i2i network. 

In the same year, Filipino crypto holders were permitted to sell crypto for cash through all 7-Eleven stores across the Philippines as part of an initiative by crypto investment app Abra and payment processor ECPay. 

By 2020, Filipinos can finally access 16 cryptocurrency exchange service providers approved by the BSP, including PDAX, which has been making waves in the crypto scene in the country since 2017.

More than just a provider of crypto trading services, PDAX has also been collaborating with industry leaders further to foster the blockchain and crypto community in the Philippines.

Also Read: PDAX raises US$12.5M to take advantage of the popularity of cryptocurrencies in Philippines

We partnered with UnionBank and the Bureau of the Treasury to launch a blockchain app called Bonds.ph.

The app is designed to allow Filipinos, especially those unbanked, to invest in the government’s new retail treasury bond and help the country raise funds to recover the economy amidst the pandemic. Within its first month, the app was downloaded almost 25,000 times from 85 countries.

Crypto adoption increased even more in 2021 when Axie Infinity rose in popularity, enabling Filipinos to earn crypto just by completing quests in a game. Some players can even earn as much as P25,000 per month just by playing the blockchain game.

As we near the end of 2021, it’s safe to say that crypto will remain in the Philippines, especially as it’s given Filipinos a new way to weather the pandemic.

More importantly, crypto allows Filipinos to enter the formal financial system and build their wealth, which millions have always struggled to achieve over the past few years.

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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

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Image credit: mehaniq

The post Why the Philippines is set to become the crypto capital in Southeast Asia appeared first on e27.

Indonesian courier startup J&T Express has secured US$2.5 billion from Boyu Capital, Hillhouse Capital Group and Sequoia Capital China, Reuters has reported.

Chinese internet and gaming powerhouse Tencent and VC firm SIG China also joined.

The round brings the unicorn’s valuation to US$20 billion, second only to Indonesia’s most valuable startup GoTo.

The proceeds of the round will be utilised to support J&T Express’s expansion plan in China and Latin America. J&T also looks to raise US$1 billion in a listing in the Hong Kong stock market as early as Q1 2022, according to a Reuters source.

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

Launched in 2015 by ex-Oppo executives Jet Lee and Tony Chen, J&T Express engages in the delivery of goods, both shipping by land, sea or air. The firm owns automated sorting warehouse networks in Singapore and Indonesia.

Since its inception, J&T has made inroads into Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia and China, besides Indonesia. The foreign markets are said to make up 70 per cent of J&T’s business.

Driven by the pandemic-fulled boom in the e-commerce sector, J&T has witnessed healthy growth across all markets. In Indonesia alone, the startup delivers around 2.5 million parcels each day, up 40 per cent from the pre-pandemic level.

J&T also serves as the delivery partner of brands, such as Bukalapak, Tokopedia and Shopee, which cover two-thirds of its service orders in the archipelago.

Last month, the firm acquired its Chinese competitor Best’s logistics business Best Express for US$1 billion.

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Image Credit: J&T Express

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