Bukalapak looks to raise up to US$1B in IPO, could be largest in IDX history; The IPO will be conducted from July 28-30, and shares of Bukalapak will start trading on IDX on Aug. 6; Emtek subsidiary KMK holds the biggest stake at 31.9% in Bukalapak, followed by API Holdings that owns 17.4%, followed by GIC through its subsidiary Archipelago Investment (12.6%).

After Gojek, AirAsia close to clinching 2 more in ramp-up of digital business; AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandez hinted at possibility of future partnerships with GoTo as the company could benefit from AirAsia’s existing travel and logistics vertical; ‘If Tokopedia decided to expand outside of Indonesia, we are a very logical company to carry their goods, he says.

AirAsia fintech arm BigPay to enter Thai market after GoPay acquisition; BigPay CEO says its goal in Thailand is to launch all of its core features, from payments to international remittance; In the coming months, BigPay is looking to launch a number of new services including responsible credit, micro-savings and an offering for micro SMEs and freelancers.

Mental health and startups: Report says founders lack practical strategies for managing stress; According to a whitepaper report by ACE and Safe Space, while 78 per cent of founders highly rated the importance of mental health in their teams, there is still plenty of room for improvement; Male founders in Singapore were seen to be twice as likely to experience a toll on mental health, but are also twice as likely to confide in no one.

Temasek, Warburg Pincus pour US$500M into India’s Ola; Ola said that the funding comes ahead of its IPO plans; However, it did not provide details of the IPO’s timeline or size; The company’s EV unit Ola Electric is reportedly in late-stage discussions to raise over US$300M from Temasek, SoftBank, and Tiger Global, among others.

Singapore’s Temasek in for long haul with in-house startups; As an investor, Temasek has full flexibility to either invest in existing solutions or create new ones, depending on the opportunities it has identified, says Chia Song Hwee, deputy CEO of Temasek; According to data platform Global SWF, Temasek was the top tech backer internationally last year among state-owned investors at US$2.3B.

SEA is the fastest-growing mobile wallet market globally, Boku report says; In Philippines, about half of users prefer GCash over others, while GrabPay is the no. 1 mobile wallet in Malaysia and Singapore; Meanwhile, Ovo takes the top spot in Indonesia, with 38% of users opting for the mobile wallet.

Thai central bank BOT warns against using digital assets for payments; BOT has made it clear that digital assets are not legal tender; In using digital assets as a means of payment, both the player and receiver could face risks such as price volatility, cyber theft, and money laundering.

Lithium: the material fueling the EV revolution; Despite the recent investments, lithium production is not increasing fast enough to meet demand of the EV market and, based on current projections, lithium demand is set to outpace supply by 2027/28; Concerned with the supply of lithium, EV makers like Tesla are making moves to safeguard this critical resource.

Singapore and France test cross-border CBDC payments network; The experiment was supported by JP Morgan’s blockchain-focused business unit Onyx and was the first to enhance efficiency through the employment of liquidity management and automated market-making capabilities; A permissioned, Quorum technology-based blockchain was used to transact across borders between a Singapore dollar CBDC and a euro CBDC.

For Stripe, Asia’s fragmented payments landscape is an opportunity; In Southeast Asia, Stripe is making its mark slowly; It entered Singapore in 2016 and Malaysia in 2019, with a Thailand expansion in the works; It has already garnered a good number of partners, which include the likes of GrabPay and notable startups like SOCAR and FashionValet.

Singapore workers less engaged than their managers think: says study; Only 12% of employees surveyed strongly agree that they “feel engaged” in their overall work experience, compared to 19% of management who think their employees will strongly agree; In addition, only 9% of employees strongly agree that they “feel recognised” in their overall work experience, whereas 18% of management thinks their employees will strongly agree.

Why Malaysia is quickly becoming a cybersecurity hub for the rest of the world; Behind its No. 8 power ranking, Malaysia achieved a top score in three of the five categories used by the UN agency International Telecoms Union; They are a legal framework for handling security and crime; capacity measures based on R&D, education and training; and international partnerships and information sharing.

Top 5 cleantech startups in SEA; The top cleantech startups in the region have proven that sustainability in tech is not only possible but beneficial to all, helping families, companies, big and small businesses, the animal kingdom, and the environment; Though there are impressive breakthroughs all across SEA, recently, the most remarkable innovations are seen in Cambodia, Singapore, and Indonesia.

The future of agritech: Inside Singapore’s vision for food security; Singapore aims to produce 30 per cent of local nutritional needs by 2030; To reach the goal, the country will increase local production of commonly consumed food such as fish, eggs and vegetables.

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Image Credit: airasia Digital

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Pride Month and intersectionality: Why I hope that we will no longer need a special event to celebrate it by Simon Hearn from Distellery

Diversity is embedded in my company’s DNA; our founder Steve is part of the LGBTQ+ community, so when the band’s frontman is leading the chant, it’s very easy for the rest of the team to pick up an instrument and play to the beat.

Great leadership means developing a culture that celebrates individuality, and when you have leaders who represent it we can attract diverse talent.

We know that we need role models to help break down the barriers of entry and for people to see leaders with who they can identify with. It’s like a snowball effect as diversity leads to more diversity. Here are three initiatives from my agency that have helped drive great inclusion at distillery.

Foodtech special

TWG Tea’s founder on how a luxury food brand can tap third party digital marketplaces to expand business by Maranda Barnes, co-founder, TWG Tea

Since early 2020, the pandemic has led to major restrictions on personal mobility. Our experience at TWG Tea in the past 18 months has confirmed our belief that customers increasingly expect to access their favourite brands through both brick-and-mortar as well as online retail experiences.

In 2020, TWG Tea saw growth in every market we have an online presence in. Furthermore, we have noticed that this new online shopping trend is remaining consistent even in instances when social distancing measures are lifted, proving that consumer behaviour has evolved.

Can alternative proteins help build a more secure and sustainable food system? by Xin Yi Lim, Sustainability and Agri Impact at Pinduoduo

Advances in foodtech have made it easier and cheaper to produce animal-free meat and many see cultured meat (also referred to as cultivated or cell-based meat) as an opportunity to diversify our food sources and enable food production closer to consumers. Cultured meat is grown from animal cells and uses fewer resources than traditional livestock farming.

The fast-growing field has attracted some of the world’s biggest companies and top investors. Companies such as Tyson Foods have partnered with cultured meat startup Future Meat, while Mosa Meats counts Google co-founder Sergey Brin among its investors.

New plant-based meats have also become popular with consumers, with startups whipping up new products using anything from soy and pea to jackfruit and algae.

The banking world

Building technology for the AI bank of the future by Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company, Renny Thomas

At many institutions, standard practices now include omni channel engagement, the use of APIs to support increased real-time information exchange across systems, and the use of big data analytics to improve credit underwriting, evaluate product usage, and prioritise opportunities for deepening relationships.

As financial-services organisations continue to mature, the increasing demands on the technology infrastructure to support more complex use cases involving analytics and real-time insights are pushing firms to re-examine their overall technology function.

Once they have committed to modernising the core technology and data infrastructure underpinning the engagement and decision-making layers of the capability stack, banks should organise their transformation around six crucial demands: technology strategy, superior experiences, scalable data and analytics platforms, scalable hybrid infrastructure, configurable product processors, and cybersecurity strategy.

E-commerce for the future: How open banking enables greater security and trust by Diego Rojas, founder and CEO at Finantier

Amidst these eye-boggling statistics, it also means the e-commerce industry would get more competitive as more players enter seeking to get a slice of a growing lucrative market.

Retailers will need to fight harder for loyalty by establishing competitive advantages in user experience. Put simply, the best experience wins.

Besides, the increased adoption of digital services will see e-commerce platforms emphasise fighting online fraud. In 2019, US$260 million was lost to digital fraud in the region, with identity theft (71 per cent) and account fraud (63 per cent) among the leading methods.

This figure, which puts Southeast Asia among the top regions for fraud worldwide, has been largely caused by inefficiencies in identity verification.

The art of blockchain: What is the NFT craze all about? by Rachel Lau, Managing Partner at RHL Ventures

Being one of the most thrown around word of the hour, blockchain, the peer-to-peer network that sits on top of the internet is an open distributed ledger that records transactions between two parties efficiently and can be validated by a selected or public audience.

It features “smart contracts” that are triggered automatically after conditions are met. The advancement of technology has spawned new variations of blockchain technology. Today we explore the latest manifestation of this vanguard, non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

nonfungible.com reported that more than US$2 billion was spent on NFTs in Q121, an increase of 2,100 per cent compared to Q4 2020. Coined as the art of blockchain, NFTs took the blockchain world by storm.

Money matters

How did MoneySmart grow its revenue by 25 per cent amidst a pandemic? by Enricko Lukman, co-founder of ContentGrow

“One of the most effective ways to reach our customers is by making sure that we’re visible with super contextually relevant content based on what they’re looking for at that time,” explains David Harling, CMO of MoneySmart Group. Joining the company in January 2018, David has overseen an in-depth business transformation at MoneySmart, which has helped the company almost quadruple its revenue within three years.

Speaking with ContentGrip, David provides a glimpse into how MoneySmart’s marketing engine operates to drive growth, capitalising specifically on first-party data and original content.

How ByteDance navigates choppy waters as regulatory hurdles delay mammoth IPO by Oleg Spilka, investor, founder and CEO

ByteDance seemingly cemented its intentions by launching a recent share buyback for current and former employees. The buyback comes after the company announced in April that it had no imminent plans for a public listing.

This represents a full reversal after ByteDance had initially planned to list some of its Chinese businesses, including Douyin, a Chinese equivalent to leading social media app TikTok, in Hong Kong, according to Reuters.

To add further uncertainty to the immediate future of ByteDance, the company founder and CEO, Zhang Yiming surprised stakeholders by announcing that he’s stepping down from the company in the wake of increased state scrutiny over China’s leading tech firms.

Can SPACs avoid another reverse merger crisis? by Joseph Hsia, Summer Associate at AppWorks Ventures

SPACs are a form of a reverse merger. Looking at SPACs, It’s difficult not to think of the reverse merger crisis back in the 2000s. The streamlined process of the reverse merger and the access to US capital markets attracted more than 150 Chinese companies to this route from 2007 to early 2010 (PCAOB, 2011).

Many of these target companies were with the quality, but a more relaxed regulatory environment did leave some grey areas for certain issuers to commit fraud. Eventually, dozens of listed companies through reverse merger were either delisted or halted from trading based on claims of fraud or violations of US securities laws, and a number of others were targeted by short-sellers.

10 lessons from building a niche, profitable Shopify app in 12 months by Zenos Schmickrath, entrepreneur and tech enthusiast

Inspired, we decided to build a public Shopify app that levels the playing field for independent eyewear brands, allowing them to compete with larger retailers.

Development began in June 2020, and we launched LensAdvizor on the Shopify App Store three months later. By June 2021, we were profitable with monthly revenues growing over 20 per cent a month.

Here are ten valuable lessons I learned from this experience.

Why Malaysia is quickly becoming a cybersecurity hub for the rest of the world by Andrew Rossow, Attorney

Malaysia’s first cybersecurity policy dates back at least 15 years, giving rise to what is today’s Critical National Information Infrastructure – a portal for sharing information and a coordination and command centre that addresses the nation’s cybersecurity crises, evaluating threat levels on a regular basis.

One of the most appealing aspects of the country’s model is X-Maya, annual drills that are run to test the nation’s readiness and ability to address security incidents.

While this isn’t necessarily unique to the Asian nation, the ongoing assessment and commitment to running these drills demonstrate the nation’s ability to continue growing its position as a cybersecurity leader.

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Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing contributions from the community. This season we are seeking op-eds, analysis and articles on food tech and sustainability. Share your opinion and earn a byline by submitting a post.

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As the app market becomes more saturated, it’s becoming harder and harder for apps to stand out among their competitors. Business of Apps recorded that currently, iOS users can choose from over 1.85 million applications. With 2.56 million apps available through the Google Play Store, Android users have even more options.

App developers spend an average of US$3.52 to acquire app users to register or create an account in an app. However, it is said that not all of these users will stay and use the app.

As much as 25 per cent of users tend to abandon an app after one use, only 32 per cent of users return to an app 11x or more. Why is that so?

While app developers go full throttle on their app user acquisition, they fail to realise that they need to prioritise how they can engage and eventually retain their users in this stiff competition –a concept known as user retention strategy.

After all, it takes five times to acquire new customers than to keep one. This number just shows how a clear user retention strategy can be a powerful tool to ensure the success of an application.

User retention is a significant factor in determining the success of an app. If you have an active user base that stays engaged with your product, you are more likely to retain those customers and increase your in-app revenue.

A study found that a five per cent increase in customer retention produces more than a 25 per cent increase in profit. Further, 65 per cent of a company’s business comes from existing customers.

Also Read: Why building user communities is far better than paid advertising

So how can you ensure user retention for your application? Integrating engaging features to help attract and keep users coming back for more might just do the trick.

Social media as the inspiration for your user retention strategy

If we look at today’s most popular applications, there is no doubt that social media platforms dominate the app market — and for the last ten years at that. Based on App Annie, nine out of 10 most downloaded apps have been social media platforms in the past decade.

However, it doesn’t just end there. The prominence of social media continues as more and more people sign up on these platforms. According to Hootsuite’s Digital 2021 Report, social media saw an increase in its users by more than 13 per cent over the past year, bringing the global total to nearly 4.2 billion.

While many social media sites are popping up, users don’t seem to mind signing up on almost all of them. People are comfortable interacting with users from various backgrounds through social media platforms.

The universal desire to socialise, share opinions, and be part of a community where they can be their authentic self is something humans crave — precisely what these social media apps provide.

The innate social nature of humans gives these platform providers a reason to capitalise on this. In a world that is increasingly reliant on digital technology, social media apps have provided a way for people to network and engage on a large scale previously unimaginable offline. By replicating our physical interactions virtually, they allow users to establish connections for socialising anytime and anywhere.

Also Read: How not to build a bot: 3 steps to a cringeworthy chatbot experience

Social will transform your app’s experience

Seeing these results, app developers and companies are catching on. They have noticed the power of social media as a platform and started incorporating social experiences into their apps to increase engagement.

Low-cost airline company AirAsia has launched their super app, a refreshed iteration of their platform travellers worldwide are familiar with. Intending to have an app that users open daily for all their travel and lifestyle needs, AirAsia wanted to connect people to destinations, people to people, and people to all kinds of travel-oriented services.

To increase engagement within their application, they implemented chat features that allowed users to connect while simultaneously fostering communities in-app despite not being able to go on trips due to the pandemic.

It wasn’t long before they saw the results. The number of chat users grew from 2,000 in the first month to over two million by the end of 2020. And new users keep coming every day.

On top of that, AirAsia’s platform became a hub for creating communities, collecting valuable information to improve their services, and offering direct support to their users even when they are not travelling.

Along with AirAsia, there are also numerous successful examples of apps that have integrated social experiences. We see this with GooglePay, which also integrated in-app chat in its platform.

Also Read: 10 lessons from building a niche, profitable Shopify app in 12 months

Beauty giant Sephora also utilised user-generated content (UGC), such as reviews and make-up tips, to empower the communities on their platform.

Instead of hosting their customers on other platforms, where users and communities are spread across different applications, these companies opted for in-app social features to boost their user experience, in-app engagement and stay ahead of their competitors.

Time to integrate social experiences for user retention

How do you then translate this to your app?

If you already have an app and want to make sure that your users keep coming back to your platform, adding these social features to your application might be an untapped solution to help you reach your app’s full potential.

Here are three ways  you can enable social experiences on your app:

• An in-app feed can be a great way to connect users with the most relevant content. The use of app-based algorithms allows you to display the content you and your fellow users create. You can also enable comments, reactions, and the ability to share across your platform to ensure continuous app engagement. Implementing these solutions will keep them interested and scroll endlessly, thus, spending more time on your app.
• Your platform could benefit significantly from features that enable users to stay connected, such as 1-1 and group chats, allowing them to have more efficient and organised conversations. And to provide a better user experience, you can utilise in-app messaging features such as live chat using a chatbot to provide 24/7 support, especially if they need a quick response.
• Turn your app into a community platform for users to connect and share what they’re passionate about using in-app groups. By fostering a sense of community where they can express themselves and share their thoughts with like-minded peers, they’re more likely to keep using your app. Groups also give them a reason to continue returning to your application, increasing app stickiness, user engagement, and retention on your platform.

The future of your app is social

Your app must now start exploring uncharted solutions in the rapidly changing digital landscape to make sure your app survives in this highly saturated app industry. Integrating social experiences similar to those from today’s top social media platforms can help secure you a win in this fierce competition.

Also Read: Why fintech companies should learn about customer retention from e-commerce companies

Integrating social features that enhance in-app connections can replicate their success on your platform. And by adding them, you can create lasting, meaningful relationships with your users, and at the same time, allow them to keep in touch with those with whom they share interests.

Providing social experiences in your app as part of user retention strategy ensures that users return to the platform, drive engagement, increase in-app retention, and open up new revenue streams for your application. And with that, securing an advantage to win your market and stay in the game for years to come.

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Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing contributions from the community. This season we are seeking op-eds, analysis and articles on food tech and sustainability. Share your opinion and earn a byline by submitting a post.

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The world’s most successful and innovative tech startups hail from Asia. Tencent, Alibaba, Taiwan Semiconductor and Grab are just a handful of examples.

However, hidden in the shadows thrown by these brilliant successes is a far larger group of Asian tech startups: those that fail.

In my experience, most investment and industry insiders estimate that about nine out of every 10 Asian startups will fail to reach their fifth birthday.

I have the privilege of examining hundreds of fundraising memorandums from Asian startups each year. I also have extensive experience on the board and in the C-suite of successful technology companies such as the Australian unicorn, the REA Group.

Here, let me walk you through the three most common reasons Asian tech startups fail and how founders can avoid them.

Not solving a real problem

Failure to solve a real problem for other people is also known as a “lack of product-market fit.” That is startup jargon for “no one wants to buy what you are trying to sell.” You don’t need an MBA to understand that your business can only succeed when people are willing to pay you real money.

In Asia, too many technology entrepreneurs rely on imported business models or overemphasise the use of technology. It’s natural to look at other markets such as China or the Western World for inspiration.

Unfortunately, when founders bring ideas into emerging Asia, they are tempted to overlook how different local needs can be. 

Also, while North America or Europe are advanced in some aspects, that is not always the case. Asian companies are on the cutting edge in social commerce, super-apps and 5G.

Also Read: How fintech startups can fast forward their growth

There are also gaps among the various Asian markets themselves. Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand have much in common but offer very distinct challenges for any business. 

If you hope to import a business model or a technology, do your homework to make sure it can succeed before you tie the success of your entire enterprise to it.

At Juwai IQI, for example, we discovered that there is no common and established platform that enables real estate agents to do their business in Asia’s developing markets.

This kind of enterprise resource planning and customer relationship management software is easy to find in nearby Australia and New Zealand or the US. Still, we decided not to import a solution developed elsewhere.

Instead, we have created a proprietary platform for our more than 21,000 agents. Each of them literally carries an entire real estate office in their mobile phone.

The functionality may not be as deep as in more mature markets, but it is very wide and solves a real problem for our agents. It also makes them more productive as a result, and we can improve the offering over time.

Obsolescence before launch

As risky as it is to import a business model from another place, it can be just as dangerous to adopt one whose time has passed. Although startup founders are supposed to be the most forward-looking of businesspeople, they regularly create online businesses that are already out of date before they even launch.

In most of Asia today, any new business that depends on reaching users via the web —rather than through social media or super-apps — is probably obsolete.

Older technology such as websites, standalone apps or messaging via SMS are still widely used in many Western markets, but life in Asia has moved on.

Also read: e27 Discussions, my first startup was a failure but I want to start another one, how can I do better this time round?

Today, most consumers are not surfing the web in the same way we did 10 or 20 years ago but are scrolling through social media. They are not downloading apps from every company with which they have a relationship. Instead, they are connecting within the supportive environments of super-apps such as WeChat and Grab.

Social commerce is a combination of social networking and live streaming. It took Alibaba’s Taobao Live just 30 minutes last year to transact US$7.5 billion in sales during pre-sales for Singles Day. 

Super-luxury brand Louis Vuitton is famous for controlling its image and every aspect of the consumer’s experience of its brand. Yet, it was the first large luxury brand to cede a measure of control by marketing its wares in the free-for-all of Xiaohongshu, the word-of-mouth community shopping forum also known as Little Red Book.

Very few products cannot be sold via these new channels. Automobiles are significant purchases that consumers have traditionally wanted to experience in person. Yet, even car buyers now start their search on social media.

At Mobil123.com’s virtual car expo in August of 2020, consumers bought cars online from BMW, Honda, Mazda and MG. (Full disclosure, I am Chairman of iCar Asia, Mobil123.com’s parent company.)

If you want your business to succeed, go to the consumers on the platforms where they already spend their time.

Tech startups failing to be sustainable 

The next failing that leads many Asian tech startups to crash and burn is a failure to build a sustainable enterprise. Your solution must be profitable —or at least offer the potential of attaining profitability at scale. Otherwise, you are solving a problem but not creating a business.

Even startups losing billions and having no short-term plan for profitability are only viable because of their future potential. Chinese ride-sharing giant Didi lost US$1.6 billion last year. But Didi has already shown that it does solve a problem.

Moreover, consumers are willing to pay for this solution – to the sum of more than US$21 billion last year. Investors know Didi is invests every dollar it can into additional growth, and that will likely pay off in greater profitability later.

Also read: From Archives: Why do startups fail: Part 1

Your business, too, must be sustainable to succeed.

These problems are not unique to Asia. In fact, they are the same challenges that cause so many tech startups to fail all over the world. Asian markets, however, are particularly competitive and fast-moving, and that leaves founders and investors here even less room for error.

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Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing contributions from the community. This season we are seeking op-eds, analysis and articles on food tech and sustainability. Share your opinion and earn a byline by submitting a post.

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Seventy-five per cent.

According to the survey by The Hartford, that is the rate of workplace millennials will occupy by 2025. They are tech-savvy and self-expressive team players unwilling to follow the “boss-subordinate” algorithm. Striving for constant improvement, they need a leader who could motivate and be a role model for them.

And while it’s common to see 23 to 30-year-old entrepreneurs and startup-ers who are millennials themselves and supposed to set the corresponding leadership style, some aren’t yet emotionally intelligent enough to deal with their ambitious and mindful mentees on the way to business success.

In the post-COVID-19 world, when so many people became more self-aware and revised their life and career goals, emotional intelligence turns to be even more essential in the workplace.

With remote work from homes, the ability to recognise, evaluate, and control mentees’ sentiments is critical for responsible leaders to master.

Here’s what young entrepreneurs and team leads can do to get the ball rolling:

Practicing correct emotions in team communication

Good and bad leaders alike use their emotions to control mentees. The difference lies in harnessing them. Yelling at team members can instill fear or annoyance while motivating and inspirational words can turn them in your favour. 

Communicating with the workforce, leaders need to pay attention to emotional words they use in both oral and written language. Some can tear away your sensitive mentees, while others make them want to complete a task and excel.

Just compare:

“Jack, complete this report by Friday so I wouldn’t have to rewrite everything. You don’t want to get penalised for a failure, do you?”

With:

“Jack, could you help us, please? The manager asks for a stellar report with no weak spots. As far as you’re our best analyst, I decided to ask you. Would you complete it by Friday?”

Also Read: How early-stage startups can build a thought leadership strategy

Using emotional arguments

Given that it’s emotions rather than logic that rule our decisions, leaders who try persistently to persuade mentees with nothing but solid arguments may often fail. The team will listen to you, nod their heads, but yet adhere to their own opinions.

Take iPhone sales, for example. While Apple releases their new products long after Android, their sales exceed others so far. It happens because customers have gained an emotional attachment to Apple’s products.

The same is true for leadership:

If willing to persuade their workforce, partners, or clients to follow and advocate their brands, a leader needs to draw them emotionally. With lockdowns from the pandemic, it’s pretty challenging to instill a sense of purpose and drive people to reach outside their comfort zones.

Cultivating the traits like motivating, teaching, and trust in others can help modern business people become emotional leaders everyone wants to work for.

Resonating with others in a leadership

Outstanding leaders are those able to resonate with mentees. The business word “synergy” fits here best: A leader needs to become one unit with their workforce on the emotional level, which leads to more efficient collaboration and coordination.

Good leaders ask themselves, “What do my mentees feel when leaving the office or the work chat after the talk with me?” No inspiration, motivation, or at least mirth is a bad sign.

Training social intelligence

Social intelligence, aka empathy, is our ability to listen and understand others. A “father” the emotional intelligence concept, Dr. Daniel Goleman describes it as “the ability to build relationships and navigate social environments successfully.” It includes teamwork, conflict resolution, coaching, training, and enthusiastic leadership, influencing our business and personal relationships.

To develop it, leaders should, first of all, find out if their current levels of social intelligence need further training and improvement. Psychological tests and corresponding online quizzes can help here.

Also read: Why we should embrace a startup mindset in today’s volatile economic climate

The first step to better empathy is learning the psychology behind body language to “read” dialog partners and practicing good eye contact when speaking and listening to team members.

Then, leaders need to try developing so-called proto-conversation skills. It refers to the ability to read between the lines and understand a person’s mood by their gestures, voice intonations, and micro-expressions.

Avoiding the carrot and stick approach in leadership

For entrepreneurs and leaders who haven’t yet read Paul L. Marciano’s Carrots and Sticks Don’t Work, it’s high time to start. This approach refers to the belief that proper and productive behaviour is possible to induce through sequencing reward and punishment. 

As far as you understand, it doesn’t work. In his above-mentioned book, Dr. Marciano proves that hair-raising tactics can’t motivate us to change habits, behaviours, and attitudes towards something.

For modern leaders to win respect and motivate mentees, it’s critical to know each team member individually and how best to encourage them. Creating an atmosphere of open, honest, and positive communication would be a great start.

This atmosphere includes unconditional acceptance, trust, constructiveness, confidentiality, and equality.

Getting ready for own transformation

Good leaders are those open to transformation and aren’t afraid of getting new traits. Asking themselves what kind of emotional leaders they want to be would help decide on characteristics to develop.

Some leaders may be practicing flexibility or sympathy; others will train the ability to listen and hear their team members; some may decide to develop traits like coaching, motivating, and inspiring others through vision and mission.

What we all need to remember is that changes happen to those who do, not those reading tons of blog posts and promising to try described tactics “one day.”

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Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing contributions from the community. This season we are seeking op-eds, analysis and articles on food tech and sustainability. Share your opinion and earn a byline by submitting a post.

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

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Digest this: in South Sudan, Chad, Burundi, Malawi, and Liberia, the per cent of the population with access to electricity is in the single digits!

The lack of access to electricity primarily constrains modern economic activities, provisions of public services, and quality of life. In addition, it slows down the growth of banking, education, agriculture, and finance that could otherwise alleviate some of the core challenges facing Africans, such as low productive employment opportunities and limited healthcare.

Certainly, it will take years for these African countries to bring in electricity to each and every household because, for their respective governments, poverty elimination takes precedence over providing electricity, which requires massive investments and infrastructure.

“According to a World Bank report, the micro-grid solar solution is going to play a pivotal role in providing energy to millions of people living in remote and rural areas, especially in Africa and Southeast Asia, where a high quality and affordable electricity is still a distant dream,” says Singapore-based entrepreneur Dr Avishek Kumar.

Also Read: RESC: Promoting sustainability with an IoT battery platform for e-mobility and smart grid

The micro-grid market accounted for about US$28.6 billion in 2020, as per a report, and it is estimated to grow to US$47.4 billion by 2025 at a CAGR of 10.6 per cent. However, micro-grid developers are facing certain challenges such as unreliable storage solutions, and high operational and maintenance costs with respect to diesel generator sets.

“Existing battery technologies like lead-acid and lithium-ion are mature in the market. However, they are not suitable for long-duration energy storage. They suffer from performance degradation and thermal run-away and pose a serious safety issue. Our startup V-Flow Technologies aims to address these issues with new technology,” says Kumar.

V-Flow was established in 2018 by Kumar (CEO) and Dr Arjun Bhattarai (CTO, in collaboration with Entrepreneur First, with generous support from SG Innovate and the Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

With a PhD in solar technology, Kumar has a deep background in manufacturing and domain knowledge of the renewable energy industry. Bhattarai also has a background in renewable energy technologies and holds a PhD in improving vanadium redox flow (VRF) battery performance.

According to the co-founder-duo, the previous decades belonged to solar energy because it is the cheapest and cleanest source of energy. However, its growth is unsustainable because existing storage solutions are insufficient to support them. There is a need for a low cost, reliable, and long-duration energy storage solution. This is where VRF battery becomes important.

“Our mission is to develop the cheapest and most efficient modular VRF batteries, which deliver long-lasting reliable energy storage solutions for renewable integration at an affordable price. Our long-term vision is to drive the world towards energy equity,” Kumar states.

Also Read: How SolarLux helps solar producers get a fair share of their good deeds

Globally, the renewable energy market has grown exponentially over the last decade. Today, the cost of energy generated by renewable sources is less than that of conventional energy.

“There is no denying that renewable energy is the future but its continuous growth may be disrupted without a reliable storage solution, which is critical to unlocking the further potential of renewables,” says Kumar.

How VRF battery works

According to Kumar, VRF battery works through the continuous reduction and oxidation reaction between the vanadium redox couples with no detrimental issues and with the cross-mixing of the redox couples. Due to this unique setup, the electrolyte has no degradation and the battery provides stable performance over 20 years.

V-Flow’s storage solution has an expected life span of 25 years, boasts Kumar, and is safe and environmentally friendly battery technology.

“Our system is unique due to its low-cost innovation, saving some upfront investments for clients. Its compact and modular design makes the system easily scalable to any size,” he notes. “The novel chemistry with improved thermal stability ensures that the battery can operate at temperatures up to 55o degrees Celcius. Finally, the system has a performance guarantee of 25 years operating at an efficiency of 85 per cent throughout the term.”

Typical stationary energy storage projects vary from a few kWh to MWh depending on the size and application. However, V-Flow has introduced a twin approach of product and project to capture the market.

It is developing three key modular products for three market segments. The base product is 5 kW/30kWh which can be linearly scaled to 150 kW/600 kWh product. V-Flow has already built 5 kW and 10 kW systems and is now building a 150 kW system.

The CEO says that VRF batteries are ideal for micro-grid applications (for solving intermittency, reducing/eliminating diesel generator use), grid balancing applications (peak shifting and frequency regulation), and EV charging. It is a US$40-billion opportunity in Southeast Asia alone.

“We can completely replace diesel generator set through our low-cost energy storage solutions, coupled with solar. Our technology has proven to be economical and more reliable for applications that require backup for more than three hours. Our target installation for such an application is over 6 GWh of battery storage in the next five years valued at over US$2 billion,” he elaborates.

V-Flow’s storage solution has an application in green charging stations as well. The electric vehicle (EV) market is growing at an exponential rate. Sustainable growth of EV requires easy availability of EV charging stations. Several agencies are now rolling out plans for the installations of hundreds of thousands of EV charging stations.

“These EV charging solutions will cause stress to the existing grids, thus requiring a reliable battery solution to mitigate these risks. V-Flow’s technological solution can meet the requirements of EV charging and target to supply the solution to ~10,000 charging stations in Southeast Asia valued at over U$3 billion,” says Kumar.

Also Read: ‘Singapore isn’t ready for mass adoption of EVs yet; hybrid may be better for the present’

Another application is in the powering of buildings and datacentres, where batteries are designed for long hours of backups. The VRF battery is also useful for grid stabilisation and renewable peak shifting.

The containerised solutions are fit to match any power requirement of our customers. Our products are designed to resist harsh environments and can be installed in remote locations, Kumar claims.

The energy startup has already raised US$1.5 million in grants and equity funding from undisclosed investors. It is now out in the market for US$5 million to scale the business.

Asia has over 950 GW of renewable energy already installed, and this number is expected to double by the end of this decade. India alone aims to install over 175 GW of renewables in the next five years. Peak load demand (power arbitrage), frequency regulation and solving intermittency problem with renewable integration requires utility-scale reliable energy storage project.

“Government agencies are now rolling out policies to promote energy storage at the grid level and giving price-based incentives. India requires the need of over 100 GWh of stationary energy storage over the next five years, which is valued at over US$40 billion,” Kumar concludes.

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Image Credit: V-Flow Technologies

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Data is the currency in the digital marketplace. The pandemic has accelerated the adoption of online business, and companies are consequently collecting more data than ever. Advances in technology have enabled companies to harvest vast amounts of personal data from consumers without their full awareness.

Big Data sets can be used to track and predict consumer behaviour and analyse group psyche to influencing and nudging political and social views as well as buying habits.

At the other end of the spectrum, data breaches and compromised data security have continued to hit news headlines. According to a report by Risk Based Security (RSB), cited by TechRepublic, the number of breached records jumped 141 per cent in 2020 to 37 billion.

Regulators are doing their part. But regulatory pressure alone has not prevented violations because in most cases, it appears that companies are trying to satisfy the minimum regulatory requirements. Some may even risk ignoring the rules because of cost.

The plethora of corporate data breaches has human consequences, with ordinary people falling victim to scams and online fraud. No consumer wants their private data falling into the wrong hands.

According to a PwC Consumer Intelligence Series survey, 76 per cent of global consumers think that “sharing my personal information with companies is a necessary evil”, but  60 per cent expect the companies with whom they do business to suffer a data breach someday.

Also read: Blockchain is the future of data privacy

Business leaders seem oblivious of such perceptions. In the same survey, 55 per cent of businesses feel that consumer trust in their technology is growing. However, only 21 per cent of consumers report such growing trust.

There is clearly a trust gap. Now more than ever, consumers are demanding the right to privacy, and they want to work with and for companies they trust.

How can organisations bridge that trust gap? For starters, take proactive steps to avoid becoming a victim of cyber-attacks. If they are collecting customer data, they need to manage and safeguard it responsibly. In other words, they need to practice Data Stewardship.

In recent years a new industry of privacy-tech has emerged, with purpose-led startups such as OneTrust and BigID responding to the complex cybersecurity needs. These two startups gained unicorn status in 2020.

The dilemma for business leaders is that data security costs money but is largely invisible to the consumer. However, a data breach is potentially catastrophic.

Stewardship is the mindset and practice of creating long-term economic value by addressing the needs of a wide range of stakeholders, not just shareholders.

Business leaders who adopt this mindset and practice are Steward Leaders. They do make money for their shareholders, they do have commercial and financial ambitions, but they further challenge themselves to achieve superior returns by doing good and doing right for society at large.

So how does one become a steward leader? Three steps:

• Adopt four stewardship values: Ownership Mentality, Interdependence, Long-term View, and Creative Resilience
• Articulate a purpose that is larger than just generating shareholder returns at any cost.
• Consistently use the stewardship values as a purpose to guide all actions and decisions.

Steward leadership and data (Cyber) security

Ownership mentality: Operating with an ownership mentality requires business leaders to be transparent about their data collection, usage and management practices. Leaders need to acknowledge the trust gap, understand what counter-parties expect and implement it. Training, insurance, server redundancy, and many other items, unseen but important, need to be acquired.

Also Read: Data breaches are inevitable. This is how you can protect your startup

Interdependence: Steward leaders see the world as an integrated and interconnected web in which the success of each constituent is coupled with that of other constituents. They understand that any data breach will not only lead to potential harm for consumers but also the loss of credibility and reputation for the company.

So they take it upon themselves to address the needs of all related stakeholders and do what is needed to protect data. The duty of care extends beyond that of box-ticking efforts.

Long-term thinking: Consumers’ attitudes are changing. Countries and governments around the world are also responding with stronger laws that emphasise data privacy and protection. Steward leaders go beyond short-term gains and superficial adherence to regulations, to delivering durable and safe products and services that provide value over the long term.

They also proactively build trust with their customers to ensure the long-term viability of their business models.

Creative resilience: Steward leaders understand that they need to have a blueprint for data security that matches today’s challenges. The status quo may not be good enough. If this means re-engineering the entire existing IT infrastructure at great cost to shareholders to meaningfully improve customer data security, so be it.

Steward leaders manage the tough decisions. A steward leader would not think of doing the regulatory minimum. Instead, he or she would ask, “Have I protected customers to a degree that is adequate?”

The four values and purpose together form a company’s Stewardship Core Compass. But simply developing the Compass and printing colourful posters will not do the job. Steward leaders must make the Compass a way of life (step 3) within their organisations. This is hard work, but in today’s transparent world, it is perhaps the only way to safeguard long-term success.

As we rebuild from the pandemic, there is a window of opportunity to create a strong win-win-win culture of stewardship, because it is good for the employee, the company, and the consumer.

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Blockchain technology has completely revolutionised the way we think about money. Thanks to solutions such as cryptocurrencies and smart contracts, millions of people around the world have been empowered to take control over their financial future.

Investing is no longer something reserved for Wall Street brokers, thanks to blockchain, anyone can massively improve their finances, but how can you be sure that you are trading crypto in a safe way?

Using credible exchange platforms

Crypto exchanges play a crucial role in determining your trading experience. Other than being the medium to purchase, sell and trade crypto assets, crypto exchanges also act as a convenient vessel to store funds.

Choosing a crypto exchange platform is fundamental to have a safe trading experience. A secured exchange that complies with the regulatory requirements and ensures protection for all users and projects onboard is necessary to ensure user protection.

When choosing a platform, new traders have to look beyond fee structure and token pairs, rather they should ensure to read into the security and safety processes of these exchanges to protect themselves from being easy victims of fraud.

Platforms like ABCC Exchange, allow for their users to securely trade through their unique multi-layered security infrastructure. An exchange with such a user-centric layout allows current users and other crypto-enthusiasts to feel safe diving into the world of cryptocurrency.

Also Read: Fluctuating fortunes: The changing fate of digital assets

Keeping your account protected

Similar to a bank account, it is also important to keep your trading account secured. Although it is an added step that extends the log-in process, enabling at least one secondary authentication (two-factor authentication) will act as additional security that verifies your identity and protects your account and information from any cybercriminal activities.

With recent increase in phishing attacks, traders are also encouraged to have some additional care to not be vulnerable to such scams. A few good practices includes:

• Not having the same or similar account name and passwords on multiple sites.
• Double checking the domain name before logging in, or when depositing and withdrawing funds.
• Using reliable and updated antivirus software to protect the device.
• Avoiding any suspicious emails, message links and attachments.
• Not using unknown and untrusted public networks

Doing your own research is necessary

If you look up the name of any crypto project on the market, you will find a plethora of results convincing you that this particular project will “go to the moon”. Nonetheless, is it really plausible for every crypto on the market to grow exponentially?

In short, even if there are analysts online promoting a certain project, it is always beneficial to do your own research before delving into considering this as an investment option.

When planning to take the leap into crypto, you should always know all the necessary details about the coin you want to purchase. Who is behind it? What use cases does it fulfil?

How long has it been around? Is it decentralised, or fully controlled by someone? Asking these questions prior to making an investment places you in a much more secure position than to wonder why this “hidden gem” has yet to “skyrocket”.

Also Read: Singapore’s stock and crypto trading app Spiking closes pre-Series A round at US$1.63M

Ultimately, the best way to trade crypto securely and to mitigate the chances of any risks involved in trading cryptocurrency is simple: do your own research and only invest as much as you can afford to lose. Sometimes our emotions may get the better of us, making us prone to indulge in impulse-driven decision-making acts.

Given the volatility of the market, rather than going all-in when particular crypto or a certain trade looks attractive on paper, remember to make well-informed decisions through trusted platforms before investing your hard-earned money.

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As we’ve got used to everyone being able to crunch numbers using a computer, we are now rapidly entering an era when computers can see, hear, and make decisions on humans’ behalf with the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Democratisation of AI-based tech is now leading to even the least tech-savvy companies using this technology to their advantage. Companies operating in healthcare, travel, insurance, retail, education, and many other industries now embrace AI software development to streamline their decision-making and make workflows more efficient.

For example, Johnson & Johnson uses AI to discover new drugs and make vaccines. Bloomberg uses AI to automatically generate financial news articles based on companies’ financial reports. Costco has managed to attract millions of new customers by utilising AI to detect the most effective locations for their new store locations.

Other uses of AI firmly resemble decades-old sci-fi movie scenarios. For example, Ping An, a Chinese insurance company, uses facial recognition to detect dishonest clients. Potential borrowers can now apply for loans through an app by answering questions about their finances using a mobile camera.

An embedded AI algorithm monitors facial expressions to spot lies and figure out whether a prospective borrower needs to be further interviewed by a human professional.

Common AI adoption pitfalls

While tools that incorporate AI have become as accessible as never before, the lack of AI understanding hinders the realisation of the full potential of this technology.

Furthermore, non-tech organisations often have a completely different set of conditions that call for unconventional strategies for AI deployment. This is why non-digital companies often struggle with AI implementation.

Also Read: Edamama, an e-commerce platform for moms in Philippines, raises US$5M

Here are the main challenges that these companies face and ways to overcome them:

Small data

Unlike tech giants who have access to inordinate amounts of data to train their AI algorithms, smaller non-tech companies often have not enough data for powering their models. Unfortunately, there is no one-size-fits-all solution to this problem. Given that data is the bread and butter of any successful AI model, it’s critical for non-digital companies to turn to consultants on the matter.

For example, let’s say there is a bicycle manufacturing company, which is looking to implement AI to detect bike frame scratches and defects. It’s highly unlikely that such a company would have millions of dented bike frame photos lying around.

However, new sophisticated AI algorithms can generate artificial images based on a very small number of similar images, which would then be used again for algorithm training. Alternatively, companies can feed algorithms with relevant data gathered from external datasets, but it would take significant input from data scientists to make it work.

Lack of change management 

AI deployment often has much more impact on an organisation than it’s expected. When employees, stakeholders, or customers are not ready for AI implementation, workflows often get disrupted in a negative way. To overcome this, companies need to think about their change management strategies in advance and ensure that everyone is on the same page regarding AI implementation.

People need to be informed how exactly AI will influence day-to-day operations and educated about the basics of the technology. Workflows need to be adjusted, retraining initiated and stakeholders notified. Non-tech companies have to deal with much more uncertainty and reluctance to change than other companies that have technological innovation at the top of their agenda.

Unrealistic expectations of AI and what it can do

Far too often, non-tech businesses struggle to achieve the same model accuracy as they expect. This is especially relevant when AI feasibility is justified based on research, where experiments were likely conducted in perfect environments that are hard to replicate in the real world.

For example, our imaginary bicycle manufacturer can be convinced about AI viability based on comprehensive research about automated AI-based scratch detection software. However, it rarely becomes apparent that such type of research is often conducted in closely controlled environments with high-quality images. However, when it comes to deployment, it becomes apparent that a manufacturer’s image quality is not sufficient, and the production environment requires dramatic adjustments to become appropriate for AI.

In this particular example, it could be possible to rely on human employees to double-check the AI system output. In essence, though, it’s paramount to conduct rigorous pre-deployment tests in an environment that would resemble real-life conditions as much as possible.

Also Read: Building technology for the AI bank of the future

As AI goes beyond the tech industries, it becomes increasingly important for companies to start considering the technology. It will inevitably be the X-factor in reshaping how business functions like HR, finance, and customer service will work in the future.

With media often portraying AI as a Swiss Army Knife that can solve any possible business issue, some business owners are still uncertain about the technology and struggle to separate hype from reality.

In a nutshell, the technology’s most disrupting feature is its ability to make predictions way cheaper and faster than it was possible ever before. Similar to the democratisation of electricity fuelling economic growth in the 19th century, we can expect AI to have a dramatic impact on business by lowering the cost of making predictions.

With forecasting becoming a readily available business instrument, those who won’t learn how to make use of it will most certainly fall behind.

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From sanitisers in hotels to transport crew with masks, movement restrictions, to tracing apps, the coronavirus pandemic has changed the tourism world and travel.

This piece will examine how travel bookings have evolved over the years, especially between the early 2000s and late 2019. We will also consider the future of travel bookings after the pandemic. Grab a cup of smoothie and read along.

Evolution of travel booking

The early 2000s marked the beginning of technological advancement, particularly the internet. The popularity of the internet saw many internet-based companies spring up as well as travel companies. However, many travellers made their bookings manually through travelling agents during early 2000. These agents would book your hotels, cruises, flights, honeymoon locations, etc.

They are there to plan your arrangement and be the middlemen between you and the service providers. Travel agents are your go-to guys when things go wrong with travelling. They give you better deals that you could not have known because they had access to restricted resources.

It took a while before people started using the internet to book hotels and flights. AirAsia launched the online booking trend in Malaysia in 2003.

It offered free seats to make more travellers learn how to book and pay online. Since then, the travelling industry in the region has hit a new horizon as more and more people started booking online.

Also Read: Guiddoo allows Indians to book in-destination activities while travelling abroad; raises US$300K pre-Series A

The rise of internet bookings before pandemic (2010-2019)

According to Condor Ferries statistics, the value of online bookings increased significantly by over 70 per cent between 2010 and 2019, and this shows that the internet has become very vital to the travel industry.

The internet has also become the hub for all information. Thus, it is not far-fetched that websites like TripAdvisor, Agoda, Booking.com, blogs, and other internet sources are now the first-place travellers explore whenever they want more information about a country, city, hotel, or a point of interest they wish to visit. People now read the reviews of other travellers and judge from their views.

It’s no longer news that the internet has taken over. As much as 60 per cent of bookings are now taking place online and these bookings occur majorly through online travel agencies (OTAs) followed by hotel or airline websites.

With the growth of social media and more affordable advertising channels, this takes us to another phase in the travel sector which is direct booking. OTAs growing to become more important in recent years by building the customer base from their website with various options.

Airlines and hotels want direct bookings too, due to the customer service and distribution cost factors. It has brought a tricky situation between the OTAs and service providers to compete for direct bookings from the same pool of customers.

Also Read: How Singapore is working with startups to prepare local travel and tourism industry for its comeback

With the growth of mobile technology, OTAs, airlines, and hotel groups are also investing in technology to serve their customers more directly.

The last two decades have brought numerous changes to the travel industry. Travellers can now book hotels, flights, read reviews, and gather information about where they are visiting from the comfort of their homes or anywhere they are.

Travel after the pandemic

The travel industry will never remain the same again after the pandemic, at least for the first couple of years. Henceforth, here are some of the travelling trends you should expect;

Domestic travels

There will be a surge in domestic travel as the international borders will not be the first to open for most of the countries. And people will prefer domestic destinations that they are familiar with immigration rules and government restrictions, rather than the hassle of dealing with the quarantine rules and vaccine passports.

People will visit places closer to home, eat out at local eateries, or travel for a domestic weekend getaway before the usual demand for international trips returns.

Forward bookings remain low

Travellers used to make way forward bookings as further as one year to enjoy free flights or cheap stays. Many countries have no choice but to change movement restrictions at the very last minute to deal with the different COVID-19 cases movement in different places.

With the uncertainties happening in foreign countries and even within own country, for the near-term travellers will be sceptical in making forward bookings to avoid the hassle of making changes in the later stage.

Booking and travelling will require more than your passport

The pandemic has heightened the observation level of many countries. Travellers will need to do more research about the travel restrictions and requirements before making their plans. There are countries that deny travellers who are coming from a high-risk nation entry into their country.

Also Read: Building a startup is just like travelling, except it lasts longer

However, there are some countries that will only request a vaccination or COVID-19 negative certificate before travel. Monitoring the changes of the information is a must-do to ensure the travel is well-prepared.

Travel agents will become more important

Travellers may tilt to booking travels through established travel agents being it online or offline, noting their industry connections and invaluable knowledge, especially in handling the pandemic and SOS situation. The travel agents’ service will come in handy when the traveller is stranded in a foreign country due to unforeseen situations.

Boom in the short-term rental industry

According to a recent survey, there is a proposed boom in the short-term rental industry as many travellers prefer to stay longer in one destination rather than moving around.

Hence traditional hotel booking will become less popular for these travellers compare to short term rental properties, which means that hoteliers should be ready to meet the competition from these properties in terms of pricing and experience.

You will tick all the boxes

Travel bookings usually come with many add-ons. It is a fact that many travellers skip the parts that deal with car rentals, extra luggage, speedy boarding, seat selection, and even some of the important notices.

But with the potential mess of handling travels due to the restrictions, many travellers are starting to have a habit of thoroughly reading the booking instructions and plan the whole trip in more advance to ensure their safety and a pleasant journey.

Traveling will become joyful again

Many people made the best out of staying at home during the pandemic while missing their favourite trips browsing through Facebook and Instagram. That period showed them how important travelling is, particularly on health grounds—travelling boosts personal growth and mental health. It also improves focus, attention, energy, and empathy.

As soon as travel is possible, many people will definitely utilise their accumulated annual leave and airline credits to make their first travel plan of the century.

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