UOB Venture Management (UOBVM), the private equity arm of UOB and Credit Suisse, has announced that it has closed its second impact fund at over US$60 million.

The Asia Impact Investment Fund (AIIF II) received capital commitments from major institutional and accredited investors, including UOB and several unnamed global family offices and high-net-worth individuals.

The final close of the fund is expected to be completed next year, with a target of US$100 million to be raised in total, as per a press statement.

Also Read: UOB partners cloud accounting firm Xero to ease SMEs; bookkeeping woes

Geared towards making a social impact, AIIF II will look to invest in companies whose business models revolve around improving the livelihoods of underserved communities in Southeast Asia and China.

The fund will make equity investments of about US$1 million to US$15 million into private, high-growth companies in sectors such as agriculture, education, healthcare and logistics, or sectors that focus on improving the accessibility of affordable housing, sanitation, clean water and energy.

Other than its current fund, UOB also has Asia Impact Investment Fund I which invests in similar companies and had raised US$55 million in 2016. Some of its notable investments include agritech company TaniHub, healthcare company Halodoc, and gojek.

Also Read: Ecosystem Roundup: UOB’s VC firm makes 1st close of its impact fund at US$60M; Indonesian startups raise US$1.9B by Q3 2020

To date, the fund claims to have helped more than 15 million low-income individuals to benefit from the efforts of the AIIF I’s portfolio companies, from getting higher income to better access to financing or affordable and quality products and services.

“The success of the AIIF I and the momentum of the AIIF II to date reflect investors’ growing emphasis on sustainability. While we seek to achieve quality financial returns for our investors, we also continue to partner them in generating positive social impact by helping the vulnerable segments of the community across Southeast Asia and China. Our common goal of advancing social development through investments underpins our joint efforts to forge a sustainable future for all,” said Seah Kian Wee, CEO of UOBVM.

COVID-19 has exacerbated global poverty and is estimated to push up to 150 million more people into extreme poverty by 20215, including tens of millions in Southeast Asia.

The unprecedented global pandemic has set back the progress made to alleviate poverty, which was already affected by socioeconomic tensions and climate change.

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Image Credit: UOB

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Deepak Upreti (L), Rohit Upreti (M), Zigyal Tshering (R)

One Click Shop may not be a unicorn but this e-commerce startup from Bhutan understands the industry better than any other tech giants out there.

The two-year-old firm, founded by brothers Deepak Upreti and Rohit Upreti and close family friend Zigyal Tshering, also seeks to stand out from the crowd with its novel business model.

“Unlike the traditional e-commerce marketplaces that allow users to sell their products online, we take the full charge of the entire process,” Rohit Upreti told e27.

This it means is that all the products (primarily FMCG goods) displayed on its platform are imported by the company from outside Bhutan. “A customer visiting our site simply needs to add products in their cart. We will then deliver them at their doorsteps,” he explained.

What makes the service stand out is that the startup has free delivery for all of its products no matter how low the price which even Amazon doesn’t do, Upreti quips.

But the challenges are plenty. One of the major challenges is the slow pace of shift of the customer mindset from the traditional means of shopping towards a more digital experience.

“Unlike people in other countries where tech is widely embraced, Bhutanese are still not willing to make the digital shift. Because of this, foreign as well as home-grown tech companies have failed to make a mark in the Kingdom,” he said.

“There is a push from the government to promote the tech ecosystem but the reality is that tech has not been successful here because it all comes down to how the market responds, the population and what the continuity of services is like. There was a boom of taxi apps like Ola but almost all of them are not functioning at scale because the market is not responding properly,” he said.

Also Read: 7 principles of intelligent personalisation

So how did One Click Shop go from catering to 200 households to 60,000 households within a short period?

Personalising the brand

According to Deepak Upreti, Bhutanese people are a close-knit society which tends to even remember the delivery boys/girls by their names, which is generally unheard of in the fast-paced 21st century.

Since personalisation is such an important part of the culture, One Click Shop decided to pivot its model from an app-based model to a web model and then to social media platforms such as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger.

“Eighty per cent of our customers were ordering online through our website, not on our app. And once we went to meet them, they shifted from website to Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp. Downloading an app and using it is not how customers like to do it here, but they are more comfortable toward using websites or conducting a dialogue through social media,” he said.

Upreti has however added that it is not that people don’t understand tech or that the company is focused on an older population. It is just that people in this market like to do things traditionally and it is essential to establish a very personal relationship with the clients.

Crowdfunding 

Aside from making sure that the company delivers a human touch along every step of the delivery process, One Click Shop managed to raise close to BTN$8.5 million (close to US$1,15,000) from the public population via a crowdfunding platform in Bhutan.

“We were the first startup in the country to put our shares into the market, and that’s how people got more connected to us,” he said.

While startups are not allowed to put their shares for public sales in the Kingdom, One Click Shop was an exception. Because, after its external auditing process, the company showed strong signs of profit after just 18 months of its inception.

Also Read: Meet the 15 Asian startups that will advance to Seedstars World Competition 2020

“We are constantly focused on moving towards the secondary stock market this year so that our share can be traded double the times. Our goal is to go IPO, and at the same time, we are also looking towards moving to export,” Upreti revealed.

Managing finances responsibly

The startup also raised an undisclosed amount of loan from the government which currently makes up 10 per cent of the entire business.

“We are strictly focused on doing business where we can get low investment and high returns. And that’s primarily how we increase our capital,” he said.

They were also the regional winners of Seedstars World Competition and will be entering its next phase where 10 startups will receive US$50,000 in the growth program investment as well as the chance to compete at the Grand Finale for a shot at the “Global Winner prize of US$500,000 in equity investment”.

Ramping up marketing strategies

As with any other country, savings are a big deal in any household, therefore the company regularly tends to provide people with savings deals, cashback policies and loyalty points that they would generally not find anywhere.

The company has also come up with several policies over the time being to get customers to shop with them.

For example, the company has a green policy, where they urge their customers to store their plastics until the next delivery after which the company helps them dump the plastic effectively.

Other than that the brand also has partnerships with many local influencers and celebrities to attract more clients.

“But even after everything we still see that there is another 50 per cent of the market yet to be captured but the rise in the growth of consumer is still going strong,” he shared.

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Image Credit: One Click Shop

The post How Bhutan’s One Click Shop built a thriving business in a land where foreign tech companies failed appeared first on e27.

In this day and age, where do you go when you want to learn more about the investors who are active in the region AND connect with them directly?

That’s a question we wanted to be answered by e27 Pro Connect. It launched at 300 investors on board the Connect feature and now, a few months after launching, we’ve added more active investors to Connect.

So, here’s the third batch of investors joining Connect (see first and second batches).

Agaeti Ventures
Stages: Angel/Pre-Seed, Seed, Pre-Series A/Bridge, Series A
Verticals: All
Investment range: Not specified
Straight from Agaeti Ventures: Agaeti Venture Capital is an early-stage venture capital firm founded by seasoned entrepreneurs and investors who have extensive industry experiences in Southeast Asia. We believe in bringing strategic value and partnership beyond capital contribution to optimize synergic growth and impact.
Connect with them

Do Ventures
Stages: Seed, Pre-Series A/Bridge, Series A, Series B
Verticals: E-commerce, Education, Enterprise Solution, Healthtech, ICT, Insurtech, Mobile, Transportation, Travel
Investment range: Not specified
Straight from Do Ventures: Our philosophy is Growing by Doing. We believe that entrepreneurs who are willing to do more tend to make more right decisions. Luck originates from resilience and persistence. Those who work harder will have more chances to encounter luck in their career path. At Do Ventures, we believe that failing is equally important to do the right things. Success can frequently be taken for granted, but failure is a remarkable opportunity to learn.
Connect with them

DSG Consumer Partners
Stages: Seed, Series A, Series B
Verticals: Consumer, Finance, Food & Beverage, Internet of Things
Investment range: USD 100K to USD 2M
Straight from DSG Consumer Partners: DSG Consumer Partners is an investment company focusing on identifying, investing in, and growing consumer businesses in India & Southeast Asia. Since its launch, DSGCP has backed and partnered with leading consumer brands and businesses in the region.
Connect with them

Also read: Appboxo snags US$1.1M seed funding from Founders Fund, 500 Startups to expand app integration platform

ISIF Asia
Stages: All
Verticals: Agency & Consulting, Agritech, Blockchain, Cybersecurity, Education, Energy, Hardware, Healthtech, and various more
Investment range: USD 4K to USD 56K
Straight from ISIF Asia: ISIF Asia offers grants and awards to innovative Internet development solutions from the Asia Pacific. Selected grantees receive capacity-building support to scale-up their solutions and grow. Objectives include supporting research on Internet operations, infrastructure, technologies and protocols, conducted within the Asia Pacific region, and supporting implementation and refinement of digital solutions that make strategic use of Internet technologies in an innovative way, responding to the needs and challenges that different communities face, among others.
Connect with them

Krungsri Finnovate
Stages: Series A, Series B, Series C and above
Verticals: Finance, Consumer, Big Data, Insurtech, Internet of Things, Mobile, Enterprise Solution, Real Estate, Retail
Investment range: USD 1M to USD 10M
Straight from Krungsri Finnovate: Krungsri Finnovate aims to be a fully strategic investor who helps start-up grow to reach its goal through Krungsri RISE Accelerator and our support and synergy from our Bank’s valuable assets.
Connect with them

Next 100
Stages: Seed, Pre-Series A / Bridge
Verticals: FInance, ICT, Productivity & CRM, Social Enterprise
Investment range: USD 100K to USD 1M
Straight from Next 100: Stated as a Group of Companies operating in the USA and six South East Asia markets including Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam; NextTech Group’s subsidiaries and affiliates are dedicated to digitisation and facilitation of people’s lives in the real world, non-stop.
Connect with them

Also read: How investors are adapting to effective due diligence practices in the new normal

Saathi Ventures
Stages: Angel, Pre-Seed, Venture Debt
Verticals: All
Investment range: Not specified
Straight from Saathi Ventures: Saathi Ventures exists to identify and catalyze the best solutions to address social, environmental, and economic challenges across emerging markets. We’re an ecosystem builder, but we deliver support different from incubators/accelerators and investors that enables us to identify “overlooked” entrepreneurs/innovators and help them build functions, increase revenue, and scale as needed.
Connect with them

SeedPlus
Stages: Seed
Verticals: Enterprise Solution, Mobile
Investment range: USD 500K to USD 1M
Straight from SeedPlus: Singapore-­based seed-stage venture firm that invests S$500k to 1M in early-stage companies on market terms. Once the investment is in place, they’ll help you to grow to profit or the next round of funding through their network and their full­-time operating partners. SeedPlus is a network of networks. Between Jungle Ventures, PwC, Google, Accel Partners and Infocomm Investments, there are few questions they can’t answer and little support they can’t give.
Connect with them

TinkBig Ventures
Stages: Seed, Series A
Verticals: E-Commerce, Retail, Sports
Investment range: USD 250K to USD 3M
Straight from TinkBig Ventures: We partner early. We are comfortable with the rough imperfection of a new venture. We help founders from day zero, when the DNA of their business first take shape. Our team partners both with young companies finding their stride and established ones looking for step-function growth. We help organizations become enduring businesses.
Connect with them

Also read: (Exclusive) Palexy picks US$1M funding to help offline stores achieve e-commerce-like success through real-time consumer data

Woori BMO Group
Stages: Private Equity
Verticals: Finance
Investment range: USD 1M to USD 35M
Straight from Woori BMO Group: At Woori BMO Group we aim to protect and grow the wealth of our clients through tailored financial planning solutions and discretionary investment management.

Our investment managers at Woori BMO Group guarantee to generate impressive returns for all of our clients, however, the multiplications are directly related to your risk profile and availability to progress on the more volatile products that we offer.
Connect with them

Watch out for more announcements of new investors (yes, there is more!) that you can directly connect with through e27 Pro Connect.

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Photo by krakenimages on Unsplash

The post Meet ten investors from the new batch of our active investors list in SEA appeared first on e27.

The Carsome senior management team

Carsome, a leading integrated car e-commerce platform in Malaysia, announced today it has raised US$30 million in Series D funding.

The round was led by Asia Partners, with participation from existing investors Burda Principal Investments and Ondine Capital.

As per a press note, the fresh funds will be utilised to strengthen Carsome’s consumer-to-business (C2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) offerings.

Also Read: Digitalisation is driving the new normal for Southeast Asia’s automotive sector

Besides, the money will also be used to support Carsome’s potential M&A opportunities in acquiring ancillary capabilities and consolidating their supply chain.

Founded in 2015, Carsome provides end-to-end solutions to consumers and used car dealers — from car inspection to ownership transfer to financing.

Every car that transacts on the platform goes through a comprehensive 175-point inspection, and every car purchase is backed up with an extended warranty and a money-back guarantee, it said in a statement.

With operations across Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore, besides Malaysia, the firm claims currently it is transacting an annualised 70,000 cars totalling US$600 million in transacted value.

Also Read: Carsome closes US$50M Series C; aims to be operationally profitable by end-2020

It has more than to 1,000 employees across all its offices.

The company further claimed that it doubled its Q3 2020 revenues from the pre-pandemic period, and achieved operational profitability as of October.

Eric Cheng, Co-founder and Group CEO of Carsome said: “Over the past six months, we have doubled our monthly revenue compared to pre-pandemic levels, a dramatic acceleration due to the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on consumer behaviour across our region.”

“Consumers across our core markets of Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Singapore are increasingly purchasing cars to keep their families safe and adapt their businesses,” he added.

“Carsome’s integrated approach offering a one-stop solution to used-car buyers and sellers is genuinely impressive. We see that this will be the way forward for the used car industry, and we look forward to working closely with Eric and his capable team in further scaling the business across the region,” said Oliver M. Rippel of Asia Partners.

“We have built a defensible, scalable, and profitable business with very healthy unit economics attributed to both growth in gross margin and steady improvements in productivity and conversion metrics,” said Juliet Zhu, Carsome Group CFO.

While the platform flourishes from digitalisation tailwinds, Carsome said it remains focused on supporting its partners to navigate new challenges brought about by the pandemic.

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Image Credit: Carsome

The post Carsome snags US$30M Series D to strengthen its C2B and B2C offerings appeared first on e27.

Along with Airbnb, DoorDash is planning one of the most anticipated IPOs of 2020. Its anticipated valuation is also similar to Airbnb’s at around US$32 billion. While we have a positive outlook for Airbnb, our evaluation of DoorDash is more negative.

In short, DoorDash’s tremendous growth and market share gains, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, don’t seem defensible in the long run.

A closer look at the facts and similar industries around the globe actually just makes Uber look more attractive as an investment since there’s nothing structurally that prevents Uber from making DoorDash into a Lyft of food delivery industry.

DoorDash’s growth is purely due to suburban focus

The most prominent bull thesis on DoorDash is that it is, and will continue to be the market leader in a growing market. For instance, its market share in meal delivery has reached 51 per cent as of October 2020, a very impressive feat for a company that has been competing against giants such as GrubHub and Uber Eats.

DoorDash’s secret sauce has mostly been its focus on suburban areas. While GrubHub, Uber Eats and Postmates have been competing fiercely for market share in urban markets, DoorDash simply casted a wider net on areas that its competitors weren’t paying much attention to.

And the COVID-19 pandemic boosted its market share even further as consumers and their wallets moved away from cities to suburbs. Competitors such as GrubHub and Uber Eats that had a much bigger exposure to markets such as New York City (NYC) suffered due to this transition.

Also Read: Ecosystem Roundup: Govt. pushes for LinkAja IPO within the next year and a half; What SEA can learn from Pinduoduo’s success in China

Certainly, DoorDash and its management team deserve all the credit for making such a strategic decision and successfully executing on their plan. Even in NYC, where GrubHub has enjoyed a massive market share, we actually see more restaurants on DoorDash in suburban areas outside of Manhattan such as Queens and Brooklyn. However, their success doesn’t seem defensible for a few reasons.

First, aside from their geographic focus, their product isn’t inherently different from those of competitors. They all offer deliveries from restaurants, and charge similar levels of fees. And more importantly, the global travel industry, food delivery industry in China and global ride hailing industry have all proven that merchants who are already using an online marketplace want to be on others in order to maximise their business.

Just like hotels and airlines, most restaurants and drivers that are already on DoorDash are highly motivated to get on Uber Eats and Grubhub to get more business as long as these platforms provide similar treatments, especially during a pandemic driven recession.

Uber Eats had thus far chosen not to focus on suburbs because it was prioritising bigger markets while controlling their cost. Now that DoorDash has proven how attractive suburban markets have become due to COVID-19, there’s nothing structural that prevents Uber Eats from aggressively expanding in DoorDash’s home turf.

Uber’s structural advantage

And Uber has every motivation to grow its delivery business aggressively because its main ride-sharing business has been suffering due to the pandemic. This is where Uber’s structural advantage comes into play. First, unlike its rivals, Uber can make money from the same user and rider in two different ways, rides and food delivery.

Also Read: Meet these 22 under-the-radar ride-hailing startups catering to Southeast Asia’s hustle and bustle

This means that Uber could potentially acquire customers more efficiently, shown by its lower S&M marketing expense historically (prior to COVID-19). This also means that Uber could potentially afford to spend more than its competitors to acquire customers (i.e. marketing and promotions) to or to simply charge them slightly less. Secondly, Uber’s war chest of US$8 billion of cash sitting in its bank account (compared to roughly US$4.5 billion DoorDash is about to have after its IPO) means it can indeed do exactly this.

Uber already has drivers and riders in many suburban markets. All it has to do is to call restaurants that are already on DoorDash in those areas, and spend some money on marketing and promotions to get consumers to use Uber Eats in those areas.

When DoorDash was private, it could afford to spend aggressively because it didn’t have investors who care about profit. Now that it’s publicly listed, it will be playing on the same field as Uber under public scrutiny. With a smaller war chest, and a structural disadvantage of just playing in food delivery (as opposed to delivery and rides), DoorDash starts to look a lot like Lyft. On the flip side, Uber starts to look more attractive because its potential to grow its food delivery business seems more sure than ever.

A tale of two IPOs

Airbnb and DoorDash may seem similar at first glance. Both are hot consumer technology companies valued at around US$30 billion, competing against larger companies valued at around US$85 billion.

However, there’s a big difference between the two companies. Airbnb has a distinctive competitive advantage in being the trusted network of travellers and single-home owners who aren’t motivated solely by money. The travel leader Booking.com has been trying to compete against it for several years with limited success.

This doesn’t bode well for pure online delivery companies in Asia such as Foodpanda and Deliveroo that have to compete with rides + delivery companies such as Grab, even more so if the rumoured merger between Grab and Gojek actually occurs.

Structurally, pure delivery companies with smaller budgets are disadvantaged against bundlers who not only can monetise their users and riders more efficiently, but also tend to have a bigger war chest to spend on marketing. And given that Asian markets tend to be a lot more urban than suburban, the geographic distinction and advantage DoorDash has been enjoying will be even less available in Asia as well.

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Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing contributions from the community. Become a thought leader in the community and share your opinions or ideas and earn a byline by submitting a post.

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The impact of COVID-19 on the hiring plans of fintech firms is negligible, with the overwhelming majority of firms still looking to expand their headcount in the coming months, finds a survey.

For firms which are not looking to hire more staff, the pandemic was cited as a reason by half of respondents surveyed.

The survey, titled FinTech Talent Report 2020, was conducted jointly by the Singapore FinTech Association (SFA) and PwC Singapore. It explored the impact of the pandemic on the attraction, recruitment and retention of talent among fintech firms in Singapore.

Also Read:  From 30 to 400: TNG Fintech Group founder and CEO Alex Kong shares how to grow your human capital

As per this survey, talent gaps exist across the various identified job functions. But for the most part, these are manageable with firms generally reporting no shortfalls or a shortfall of 0-25 per cent in their desired headcounts.

When hiring talent, fintech companies are likely to draw on their own personal networks and connections, in addition to job portals, to find the right talent for their needs — a trend similar to findings from the 2019 Talent Survey.

Compared to the 2019 findings, more Singaporean fintech firms are focussing on hiring local talent, though the majority of respondents were in favour of hiring both foreign and domestic talent.

This could be due to a combination of factors like increased capabilities of domestic talent and greater challenges in hiring foreign talent.

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) recently raised the minimum salary required for new Employment Pass (EP) and S Pass (SP) applicants in early August to encourage firms to hire more local talent.

Challenges persist for startups as local talent is more likely to be attracted to larger, more established firms and many applicants have unrealistic salary expectations.

The survey further reveals that many fintech businesses feel that the current situation is an opportune time to upskill their staff so resources and grants may be applied for in order to achieve this.

Despite a growing number of training partnerships and fintech qualifications, many fintech companies in Singapore are unaware of them and those that are aware remain generally neutral in their assessment on material coverage.

The majority of the 1,491 respondents agreed that increased dialogue between industry, academia, and regulators was beneficial in ensuring local talent could be developed to meet the needs of fintech firms.

The imminent launch of digital banks in Singapore is largely perceived to be a boon for the talent pipeline, with the combination of banking and fintech seen as offering the best of both worlds and driving interest in people to learn the necessary skills to work in such institutions, says the report.

Also Read: Why fintechs and banks have a bright future together

Such a result would likely have spill-over benefits to the wider fintech community, increasing the availability of local talent across the industry.

Patrick Tay, Assistant Secretary-General of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), said: “It is encouraging to note that Singapore’s fintech sector has stayed resilient despite the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and hiring sentiment for local talent remains strong. With fintech companies looking to expand their workforce, workers must keep an open mind and explore picking up new skills to stay relevant or secure employment in this growing sector.”

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Image Credit: Unsplash

The post COVID-19 has little impact on hiring in fintech sector, says report appeared first on e27.

2020 reflections are pouring. Thanks for sharing your perspectives on what the years meant for startups, tech and business in SEA.

This week our contributors throw some light on the emerging investment areas and nuances like how will investor actually go about due diligence ‘virtually’; the big talk on AirBnB’s highly subscribed IPO and how it compares to others like Uber, DoorDash etc.; seeking help in the infamous Maslow’s theory (bring out those textbooks) for remote team management (this is here to stay) and much more.

Enjoy your weekend read and if any of these inspire you to share your thoughts, just go ahead and submit it.

How content platforms can work with the community to make online spaces safer for all by Arjun Narayan, Director, Trust & Safety TikTok APAC

“In today’s world, there’s no question that digital platforms play an extremely influential role when it comes to inspiring creativity, enabling freedom of expression and building a strong community. While the internet provides us with many opportunities to freely exchange ideas and connect with others, the principle of freedom of expression is under intense scrutiny as platforms look to ensure they remain an inclusive and safe space for their users.

This industry faces an increasing responsibility to ensure the right voices and content is being spread and heard, and it’s not one that should fall on content platforms alone.

Leading digital platforms have begun creating third-party councils to develop forward-looking policies that not only address the challenges of today but also help plan ahead for the next set of issues the industry will face.”

From IPOs to VC funding

How investors are adapting to effective due diligence practices in the new normal by founder of Capria and Unitus Ventures, Dave Richards

“The financial sector has stumbled upon a hitch, as fund managers find it difficult to raise money for a first or final fund close. For those with dry powder, the challenge to wisely allocate funds, appoint a new team or go with an existing team is seen rising.

Investors across the globe share the belief that due diligence (DD) forms the most critical component of an investment process. Agnostic of the type of financial organisation– VC or PE fund managers, family offices or institutional ones, DD is a key process followed before investing in a fund or company.”

A tale of two IPOs: How DoorDash’s IPO makes Uber and Airbnb’s look better by Duckju Kang, CEO of ValueChampion

“DoorDash’s tremendous growth and market share gains, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, don’t seem defensible in the long run.

A closer look at the facts and similar industries around the globe actually just makes Uber look more attractive as an investment since there’s nothing structurally that prevents Uber from making DoorDash into a Lyft of food delivery industry.”

Why the VCs in Southeast Asia should shift their attention to niche sectors and supporting industries by VC at HH Investments, Maarten Hemmes

“SEA is now in a golden era for tech startup growth as people’s livelihoods improve. In 2018, the average per capita income of SEA countries reached US$4,600, similar to that of China in 2007 when the country started its tech boom.

New venture capital has to be smarter, carve out niche sectors and identify supporting industries where they can find value and success.”

Managing your team

How to use Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to drive resilient leadership in 2021 by Chuan Zhen Ko, CEO and cofounder of Plus Solar Systems

“How does a leader focus on staying afloat whilst keeping the team motivated under such extreme pressure? Here are four lessons that I have learned in reflection from the pandemic and each other which we hope will also see us through as we brave through uncertainties leading into 2021.”

Why the future of work in Singapore is remote by Yuying Deng, founder and CEO at Esevel

“While there will be a shift towards remote, we believe the office will not disappear completely. Not every job is suitable for remote work. And physical meetings are still ideal for tasks like creative brainstorming, on-boarding new joiners and relationship-building between colleagues.

However, what these past six months have shown us is that a strict 9-to-5 work arrangement in a single physical premise is irrelevant and unnecessary. In the future, companies will have to be more thoughtful on what they want their employees to achieve and the best ways to achieve that.”

Don’t break the bank: Enabling financial inclusion and equity through tech by Phil Davis, Managing Director APJ, Amazon Web Services

“The good news is that technology has been a driving force behind significant changes in the financial services industry. One instance of such change is in how banks and fintech startups are now empowered to service these previously excluded groups of people, while maintaining industry-leading standards of security and regulatory compliance.

With large investments being made in the region, a figure KPMG estimates at US$8.1 billion in the first half of 2020 alone, there are more opportunities and possibilities than ever before to ensure financial inclusion. All this bodes well for the region: empowering wider swathes of the population to participate in greater levels of economic activity will bring about long-term benefits for economies.”

Emerging sectors to watch for

How smart technology can improve the post-pandemic public life by founder and CEO at Habitap, Franklin Tang

“Smart technology promises greater peace of mind and autonomy for users. Not only will it provide greater convenience, it also facilitates better connectivity and control of their home and office environments and through automation allows people to spend more time and energy on the things that matter to them.

When I started Habitap in 2016, I built it on the premise of bringing technology seamlessly into our homes to empower our vision of a smart nation. We created a seamless user experience around three key pillars: Smart controls, smart community and as a lifestyle gateway, into an integrated mobile app.”

It’s about time: Why global trade will sink without maritime innovation by Shaun Hon, Director at Rainmaking, a corporate innovation venture studio

“Singapore’s port and maritime industry was once the beating heart of its economic progress. But in recent years this has slowed down significantly. Over the last decade, the maritime industry turnover has seen a drop of S$7 billion (US$5.2 billion) from its peak in 2014; a decrease of more than 40 per cent.

Just as the ocean was once the frontier of discovering new continents, so too can it be a site for innovation in supply chains.

Maritime logistics could be the most exciting new innovation opportunity – backed by a trusted legacy. To get there, we must first overcome three major hurdles.”

Legaltech on blockchain is set to be the next hot investment sector. Here’s why by Nikos Kostopoulos, blockchain advisor

“Legaltechs leverage technology to deliver more efficient and lower-cost legal services to lawyers, businesses, and consumers. Their goal is to make legal services accessible to everyone.

The legal and judiciary systems have well-earned their reputations as stodgy. They have traditionally been complex and expensive to use. Facing these barriers, many businesses and individuals have not had fair access to the legal system. Large enterprises pay through the wallet for legal services, while smaller businesses often have no legal recourse if a business partner fails to fulfill their half of the contract.”

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Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing contributions from the community. Become a thought leader in the community and share your opinions or ideas and earn a byline by submitting a post.

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

The post From our community: Making the internet safer by TikTok’s Director of Safety, lessons on financial inclusion by APAC head of AWS and more… appeared first on e27.

gnômadic founder Jonathan Schiff

“Is this even real? Is everyone going to be talking about something else next year again?”

That was Jonathan Schiff’s response when a group of co-living firms approached him in late 2018 to seek investment and advisory opportunities.

Keen to find out more about the emerging vertical within the real estate industry, the industry veteran set out to travel across the world to experience it for himself. After speaking to several management teams, staying in co-living spaces and interacting with residents themselves, Schiff was won over.

“I was like wow! This does seem to be a secular shift in the way that people are looking at housing,” he shared in an interview with e27.

However, a problem arose. When sharing the idea of co-living with his acquaintances, a recurring theme emerged. “Isn’t that a bunch of 20-year-olds having keg parties on the rooftop every night?” he shared candidly of the encounter.

Thereafter, he realised he had to focus on a niche market to alter these perceptions and do well, especially in the rapidly expanding co-living market, where startups such as hmlet and Cove have emerged in Singapore recently.

Niche market

Seeking to dip his toes into what remains a nascent industry, Schiff founded gnômadic in January 2020. Based out of Singapore, the startup curates luxuriously furnished co-living homes with events to build a community for residents to unwind and connect. Prices start at S$2,500 (US$1,870) per month, with a strong focus on working professionals and expat community.

Also Read: How Rukita turned the pandemic into an opportunity to grow its co-living business

Schiff shares that while majority of gnômadic’s customers are in their mid-30s, it has a diverse range of clients residing in its four properties islandwide.

But the beginning of the company was not easy; within just months of starting, COVID-19 broke out and altered perceptions towards housing. There was a shift towards flexibility amidst the pandemic as uncertainty grew and locals started delaying big-ticket purchases, including property.

However, the movement restrictions imposed within the city-state did not result in an entirely negative outcome, he said.

“The pandemic was a great opportunity for us to learn more about our residents and how to serve them better,” he noted, as we settled in at gnômadic’s latest property Meadow, located conveniently off the bustling Orchard Road.

When quizzed on whether the increased rental demand would remain when the economy recovers, Schiff replied that demand would remain high within the professional community that gnômadic targets, as “highly qualified and compensated people” would continue coming into Singapore.

gnômadic seeks to target working professionals and the expat community

Community building

Throughout our hour-long chat, it was noticeable that building a community around co-living (through events) was important to Schiff.

Also Read: Why mixed-use is the future of real estate in a socially distanced world

Did the pandemic alter your plans? “Before the restrictions, we would have larger events such as rooftop parties with 20 to 30 people. During the lockdown, we were organising virtual events and that wasn’t a big challenge. The hard part was when physical events were reintroduced with restrictions on the size of the gatherings.”

“People wanted to get out of the house and physically interact with each other. However, there are restrictions still in place and residents are mindful of that,” he elaborated, adding that gnômadic is constantly innovating to come up with new solutions to bring residents together while adhering to the pandemic-induced restrictions.

Besides running gnômadic, Schiff is also Managing Director of a family office and a Director of a private equity (PE) fund. Having both founded and invested in startups across a variety of sectors, Schiff has a few words of advice for entrepreneurs.

“You have to focus on a particular niche. A lot of startups get into trouble because when you’re sitting down with a piece of paper, you can go any direction and could soon lose your direction,” he emphasised.

“Building a team is always important. At the moment, there’s an incredible pool of talent that’s out there in the hospitality sector looking for jobs right now. We are in the process of recruiting and the quality of people coming in is amazing,” he revealed.

Sharing his personal experience as he faced restrictions in purchasing property due to his non-citizen status, Schiff encouraged founders to be adaptable and resourceful to overcome any obstacles when starting up.

Also Read: Why startup founders should be open to pivoting anytime

Future plans

The co-living venture is currently looking to expand its operations into Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City.

Schiff hopes gnômadic can help foreign professionals acclimatise into the local culture to ease their transition into a foreign land.

Revealing his thoughts on what the future entails for the co-living industry, Schiff remarked while it is still early days and co-living firms are in “unchartered territory”, he believes there would be an increased focus on community building in the years to come.

“The whole community aspect is very fascinating. And it is the thing that’s attracted a lot of people. People are asking ‘who am I going to live with?’ Therefore, we spend a lot of time curating our community,” he remarked.

“Before anybody moves in with us, we get to know their needs and desires so we can best serve those needs,” he said.

Schiff also shared that gnômadic, unlike conventional startups, has an asset-heavy model. Therefore, the business consists of a property management arm running alongside an operations one.

Though the firm has been self-funded till date, he shares it is seeking investments from real estate investment firms and private equity firms. However, he stressed funding remains a desire rather than a need.

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Image Credit: gnômadic

The post How gnômadic is making its mark on the crowded co-living space by focusing on expats appeared first on e27.

In today’s world, there’s no question that digital platforms play an extremely influential role when it comes to inspiring creativity, enabling freedom of expression and building a strong community. While the internet provides us with many opportunities to freely exchange ideas and connect with others, the principle of freedom of expression is under intense scrutiny as platforms look to ensure they remain an inclusive and safe space for their users.

This industry faces an increasing responsibility to ensure the right voices and content is being spread and heard, and it’s not one that should fall on content platforms alone.

Leading digital platforms have begun creating third-party councils to develop forward-looking policies that not only address the challenges of today but also help plan ahead for the next set of issues the industry will face.

TikTok, for instance, has created an APAC Safety and Advisory Council which I sit on, alongside other leading legal, regulatory, and academic experts to provide advice on content moderation policies and trust and safety issues specific to the APAC region. The Council will provide subject matter expertise and advise on TikTok’s content moderation policies and practices to help shape regional and global guidelines.

Policies related to free speech and censorship

While today’s leading digital platforms all take a different approach to democratising content, allowing it to be developed, shared and consumed more easily, not all online content is appropriate or safe. For this reason, platforms must establish clear community guidelines and create forward-looking policies that will mitigate the spread of harmful content.

Most platforms agree that dangerous individuals and organisations should not be allowed to spread hateful ideologies or illegal activities, as well as violent and graphic content, content related to self-harm and dangerous acts, hate speech, harassment, sexually explicit, or misleading content. However, addressing these existing and emerging issues can be difficult as platforms are scrutinised for their moderation guidelines.

Also Read: Cybersecurity threats on the rise as companies shift to the WFH model

To provide more transparency into how platforms are keeping users safe through moderation practices, platforms such as TikTok have begun to develop Transparency Reports providing insight into how it responsibly responds to data requests and protects intellectual property. The Council’s mission moving forward is to help outline TikTok’s approach to policies to protect the safety of its community members across the APAC region, while maintaining full transparency to its users.

As a diverse group of legal, regulatory, and academic experts, we believe one of the best ways a platform can keep its users safe is by empowering the community with tools and education.

Policies related to online safety

The most important commitment the industry faces is to keep its community members safe. This is a challenging but critically important area for the industry to get right, and platforms should look to approach the protection and safety of their users through policies, product, people, and partners.

From a policy perspective, platforms should be steadfast in their commitment to immediately remove content, terminate accounts, and report harmful cases to law enforcement as appropriate. They should also build strong safety controls, and invest heavily in human and machine-based moderation tools, as well as work with third parties to identify and remove hateful content accordingly.

As external Council members, our primary focus is to identify and solve challenges related to children/underage kids, digital literacy, mental health and human rights. We are a diverse group of experts comprising of backgrounds in IT, digital safety and literacy, intellectual property and internet law, and advocates of child safety, women and other marginalised groups, who are committed to addressing these challenges.

Community effort to make digital platforms a safe space for all

If we exclusively put the onus on platforms to keep communities safe, we will fail. Policymakers, regulators, the platform and its users all have a stake in making digital platforms a safe space for all. Though we all come from different cultural and professional backgrounds and may provide differing opinions on how to keep the community safe, we will work together to spot gaps in content moderation policies and provide advice on the best path forward.

Also Read: VNG sues TikTok over alleged copyright infringement in Vietnam: Reuters

The road ahead isn’t going to be an easy one, per se, but it will be worthwhile as we collectively work together to tackle industry-wide issues. Our Council has long been committed to serving the online community in our own individual capacities.

Now, we’re looking forward to uniting in this endeavour to make the internet safer for users all across the APAC region, taking diverse cultural, religious, and other social nuances into account.

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Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing contributions from the community. Become a thought leader in the community and share your opinions or ideas and earn a byline by submitting a post.

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Image Credit: Jon Tyson on Unsplash

The post How content platforms can work with the community to make online spaces safer for all appeared first on e27.

Magorium co-founder Chu Xian

Soon after being announced as the winner of Singapore’s waste-tech startup competition WASTE 20/20, organised by StartupX in partnership with Enterprise Singapore and The Incubation Network, e27 decided to interview Magorium co-founder Chu Xian to find out more about its vision.

The startup recently received prize money of approximately US$19,000 and managed to outshine over 100 waste-tech startups that had applied for the competition from over 32 countries globally.

The issues of plastic waste have been prevalent throughout the world but have mostly been a major social issue in Southeast Asia, excluding Singapore. Without a viable recycling solution, plastic waste is indiscriminately burned releasing cancerous and pollutive emissions.

While many companies are striving to solve this issue, the lack of strict protocols on plastic production and consumption, coupled with lack of public awareness has led to an increased level of pollution.

Founded last year by Xian and Adriel Ng, Magorium aims to solve the converts plastic into polymers, which are then used to produce high-quality bitumen used for road construction.

Here’s an excerpt from the interview:

How did you come up with the idea of Magorium?

Having experience in the construction industry, the technology was initially an attempt to create more sustainable construction material.

Through years of R&D, we found ourselves not only a better performing alternative material but also an effective plastic waste recycling solution.

Also Read: How Maeko aims to reduce communal food waste through composting

What makes Magorium different from others who are already in the business?

Our technology can recycle a wider range of plastic types and incorporate a higher percentage of it into the roads. Hence, we believe that ours is a more effective recycling solution.

Can you share with us a story about the hard times that you faced when you first started your startup? Where did you get the drive to continue even though things were so hard?

When we first started, we approached different stakeholders essential to the success of our technology – the waste management companies, construction companies and the relevant authorities regarding commercialisation and adoption of our technology. There were substantial pushbacks from all the stakeholders as everyone was waiting for the first party to come onboard before following.

It was really frustrating trying to navigate the whole chicken and egg situation. We did not consider giving up, but it did feel quite helpless and we considered commercialising this technology outside Singapore instead. The drive to not give up stemmed from my team’s belief that our technology is one of the most viable and effective plastic waste solutions to date. If we held that belief and still gave up, I suppose you could say that we would truly feel to some degree responsible for the worsening plastic waste crisis.

What are the industry challenges you have observed that concerned you to jump into this space?

The largest challenge is the underlying problem: lack of market/ demand for recycled plastic. The common perception is attributing the plastic recycling problem to “people do not recycle properly or don’t want to recycle”. But the truth is that even if people were recycling properly, there is no technology to convert all these recycled plastic into a product which has a market. The properly recycled plastics would have nowhere to go.

Upon identifying the true problem, we realised that our technology could potentially be the solution to this problem as road infrastructure is a necessity worldwide. In converting it into a material to build roads, we are giving plastic waste a new lease of life as valuable feedstock with stable demand.

What is the roadmap for your company going forward?

We want to be able to further our R&D to increase the efficacy of our technology as a recycling solution and continue forming more partnerships with relevant stakeholders.

Also Read: Getting smarter with tech: How will smart cities look like 10 years from now? 

We are also planning on scaling into the Southeast Asia market where plastic waste is one of the largest problems.

How has COVID-19 affected your startup?

Our startup is reliant on the demand for road infrastructure materials. In Singapore, there were a few months where the majority of construction works stopped. This significantly slowed down our progress.

During the circuit breaker, an additional 1,334 tonnes of plastic waste was generated from takeaways or online shopping. These habits which developed during circuit breaker emphasises our reliance on plastic and the urgency to find a viable solution.

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Image Credit: Magorium

The post WASTE 20/20 winner Magorium shares how it intends to save SEA with its plastic recycling solution appeared first on e27.