The company is positioning itself as a premier product and is targetting advanced bookings

The Thailand taxi company Howa announced today the launch of a new app called HaHa, meant to provide an alternative to Grab and Go-Jek in the country, according to the Bangkok Post.

The cool part of the app is that it will come with a Digital Metering Terminal, rather than the upfront fee of Grab or Go-Jek. Overcharging is a major problem that drives people towards ride booking apps which makes the the digital metering system a clever idea.

Howa wants to be to go-to app for advanced booking (three or more hours in advance). Thus, it will start by targetting hospitals, 5-star hotels and department stores.

HaHa is positioning itself as a high-class booking service.

Also Read: The e27 Southeast Asia Startup Ecosystem Report 2018 is here

Howa also wants to implement a booking fee to incentivise drivers to pick up passengers. It would have a ceiling of THB100 (US$3.15).

Howa operates about 4,000 taxis and had been an ally of Uber before the American ride-hailing company left Southeast Asia. Howa had built its business on call-in booking and using a radio system for communication. Since the explosion of ride-hailing apps in Southeast Asia, Howa has seen its business model crumble.

4,000 taxis is clearly not sufficient to genuinely challenge Grab. Thus, Howa plans to scale the metering system, which the company hopes to have 20,000 drivers using in the future.

For drivers to get onboard the system, they need to pay a hefty THB30,000 (US$946) one time fee and then a THB3,500 (US$110) annual service fee.

Also Read: Grooves gets US$920K to connect Southeast Asians with jobs opportunities in Japan

Riders can use a debit or credit card to pay and it is the first ride-hailing app in Thailand to use the Mastercard Masterpass digital payments system.

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Photo by Hanny Naibaho on Unsplash

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In a bid to ensure digital inclusion for all, Grab partners with Warung Pintar, connected by ASEAN Impact Challenge

Grab announced yesterday that it has partnered with Indonesia-based Warung Pintar, a micro retail technology startup company. The partnership was made possible by ASEAN Impact Challenge (AIC), and it seeks to empower grassroots community in Indonesia to migrate to the digital economy.

Grab and Warung Pintar formalised their partnership with an MoU signing session.

ASEAN Impact Challenge (AIC) is a regional platform specified to discover innovators and entrepreneurs from Southeast Asia. It follows the mission of United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Also Read: Retrenched and dejected, this entrepreneur proved that a lot can happen over coffee

With Grab, AIC created the inaugural GrabImpact Award in 2018 that supports Southeast Asia’s innovators to help them scale technologies that will solve the challenge of mobility, O2O and payments in the region. It was Warung Pintar that won the award in November last year, beating around 500 other participants.

“Tech innovators have the biggest potential to create social impact at scale. AIC is looking to play a pivotal role in bringing together technology companies such as Grab, with innovators such as Warung Pintar to catalyse partnerships that can bring about greater social impact in the region,” said Era Natasha, Programme Lead of AIC.

Since winning the award and US$10,000 worth of Grab services for a year, Warung Pintar has been brought into the Grab Ventures Velocity accelerator. This is one of the developments of Grab Ventures’ dedicated US$250 million fund for Indonesian tech startups looking to scale business across the region.

Grab Ventures Velocity is a scale-up programme, bringing both public and private sector partner to provide startup partners with regional market access, mentorship, a proof of concept leveraging Grab Platform and where suitable, strategic investments.

Also Read: Indonesian tech media rates top female founders, executives based on their beauty, popularity

“Our goal is to empower 100 million microentrepreneurs in the region by 2020. We look forward to working hand-in-hand with Warung Pintar to uplift those in need, helping them to develop new skill sets and improving their livelihoods,” said Chris Yeo, Head of Grab Ventures.

Warung Pintar recently raised a US$27.5 million financing round.
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Image Credit: AIC

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A series of articles by Teknologi.id put top Indonesian startup founders and executives in a list that judged them based on looks and public persona

Indonesian tech media Teknologi.id landed in hot water when it published a series of articles about Indonesian women in the tech industry that rated them based on factors that included physical looks. These people included startup founders, executives at leading local startups such as Go-Jek, Traveloka and Bukalapak to employees at global tech giants like Tesla and Google.

Published on December 1, 27, and 28, the three-part series included a short biography of the founders and executives, listing their career journey and achievements, before giving them scores on the following factors: Brain, Beauty, Popularity (on social media platforms), and Experience.

At the end, the article ranked the founders and executives based on who had the highest scores.

Each article contained profiles of five to six founders or executives.

By the time this article was published, the second part of the series had reached the top of the site’s trending articles.

Also Read: The startup world’s moments of ignominy; chronicling the sexual harassment cases that shamed the industry in 2017

Aulia “Llia” Halimatussadiah, the Storial.co and NulisBuku.com co-founder who was listed in the article, commented,

“For a tech media like Teknologi.id, I think there is no context of beauty rating in their article about women in technology.”

She had also shared the link to the article to encourage discussion about it.

The article had also received comments from Facebook users on her page, who are calling it “inappropriate” and “the lowest.”

e27 has reached out to Teknologi.id for their comments on the issue and will update accordingly.

Basically everywhere in the world, women face discrimination, harassment, and objectification when working in the tech industry.

As recent as October 2018, the New York Times published a report on how the tech giant Google covered up sexual harassment cases by its executives.

The case led to a global walk-out by Google employees around the world, demanding for better ways to handle harassment cases.

In Southeast Asia, Cheryl Yeoh, Founding CEO of the Malaysian Global Innovation & Creativity Centre (MaGIC), had also spoken up about being assaulted by 500 Startups Founder Dave McClure.

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Image Credit: Vlad Tchompalov on Unsplash

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HACKBDGWEATHER is a hackathon that challenges participants to build solutions that require the use of weather data

On January 24, Indonesian internet service provider PT Cyberindo Aditama (CBN) and infrastructure service provider PT Mega Akses Persada (FiberStar) named the three winners of its hackathon event HACKBDGWEATHER in Bandung, Indonesia.

The hackathon challenges participants to build solutions that require the use of weather data, which includes temperature, humidity, rain precipitation, wind speed, sunlight and UV ray radiation.

Held at coworking space chain Block71 Bandung, the event was the result of the two companies’ partnership with the Communications and Informatics Agency of Bandung and West Java.

The winners are:

1. Permanent BetaDev
The team built a platform called Seedplan, which recommends the best time to start farming based on weather data.

2. NaviCuaca
The team built a platform of the same name that combined Google Maps with weather data.

3. NiteLogin
The team built KUSMANA, a traffic congestion control system based on weather monitoring.

Also Read: With latest AI hackathon by Girls in Tech Singapore and Citi, we take a peek into the bank’s corporate innovation journey

Winners of the competition received awards given by Semuel Abrijani Pangerapan, Director General of Informatics Application, Ministry of Communications and Informatics.

A total of 38 teams from all over Indonesia applied to join the hackathon, with 15 teams being shortlisted as finalists. The teams were being given 10 hours to develop their tech solutions, followed by a presentation and live demo sessions.

According to Budi Rahardjo, INDO CISC CIO and head of the panel of judges, the winners are being chosen based on originality, coherence between the solutions and the categories that the participants have chosen, benefits, UI and UX experience, presentation skills, and use of API.

The hackathon itself is part of a CSR programme by CBN and FiberStar, who had donated several Weather IP tools to the government agency, in order to support Bandung’s smart city plan.

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Image Credit: HACKBDGWEATHER

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It is all part of our plan to get the best startups at #Echelon2019

Don’t need to be convinced? Apply to TOP100 here for your chance to be crowned the top startup at #Echelon2019

Pitching competitions tend to be different feathers from the same bird. The host gathers an audience of community members, investors are nominated as judges and about a dozen companies take turns pitching their companies.

The problem with this setup is two-fold.

First, a lot of people are just politely waiting for the after-event networking. Phones are open, gazes are long and sometimes eyes are drooping. It is not the ideal environment to spark inspiration.

More importantly, this is not how the industry works. There is no audience when pitching for real investment, real customers and real partnerships. Public pitching is conveying the marketing strategy of the company, which is fine, but it never gets beyond the PR-approved angle.

We want the TOP100 startups to get the most out of their pitches, and this means revealing crucial company information, answering probing questions from investors and breaking down the math behind the thesis.

This is why we are making our TOP100 pitching competitions a private affair

We hope private pitching allows startups to get the most out of their TOP100 experience. They get to meet valuable stakeholders, but then while waiting they can chat with other startups and get work done.

The other hope is that, by not seeing the other pitches, startups get less caught-up in what the other people are doing and can focus on themselves.

This year, THE TOP100 pitching competition will be a no-distraction affair where the region’s best young Founders make their case to the people who matter most.

But don’t think we forgot about the networking and evening activities!

Echelon Roadshow will happen a few hours after the pitches in every city. During this event, we will bring together the local community, engage in fantastic conversation with thought leaders and create a friendly environment to meet peers (and hopefully future business partners).

Excited to see your company as a TOP100 startup at #Echelon2019? Apply here!

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This marks the first close of a US$2 billion round, valuing the Indonesian unicorn at US$9.5 billion

Go-Jek, the ride-sharing startup from Indonesia has reportedly continued its fundraising push, setting its goal at raising US$2 billion. Techcrunch reported that its existing investors like Google, Tencent, and JD.com all have agreed to invest around US$920 million into the latest round.

The company hasn’t released any official statement yet regarding the fundraising, which reportedly will put the company’s valuation at around US$9.5 billion. e27 has reached out for comment.

Also Read: Grab partners with micro retail tech startup Warung Pintar to champion digital inclusion

The funding is said to be directed towards regional expansion that was kickstarted last year. It will also be used to push fintech development.

Just last year, Go-Jek closed a US$1.4 billion round with valuation at US$5 billion.

The deal is said to also feature the acquisition of JD.com’s Indonesian counterpart, JD.id. e27 has reached out to JD.id to confirm the news.

If the acquisition is to take place, Go-Jek would have a solid position among the country’s infamous e-commerces unicorns like Tokopedia and Bukalapak.

Last year Go-Jek expanded into to Vietnam, Thailand, and Singapore. It recently acquired Coins.ph as a bid to enter the Philippines. It is claiming a record of 125 million downloads with over a million drivers.

Also Read: Singapore AI framework is a good start but will not make impact

Kevin Aluwi, Go-Jek’s co-founder, told Reuters that total transactions on its platforms crossed $12.5 billion last year.

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Singularity might be closer than we think

It was in 2009, when the first cryptocurrency made its debut. The Bitcoin proof of concept and specifications was first published by Satoshi Nakamoto – the anonymous developer of the blockchain technology that would soon be a game changer for the world.

Although starting as the only cryptocurrency, thousands of other cryptocurrencies soon joined the Bitcoin in the crypto ecosystem. Today there are over 2000 cryptocurrencies, according to CoinMarketCap as of the time of this writing, with many more still to be joining the list, through STOs in form of securities tokens.

The crypto market has grown to attract the attention of investors globally. This is largely understandable as the market currently stands at a value of over $100 billion. However, while these developments are remarkable, the point of focus is the technology behind the cryptocurrencies – the Blockchain. The utilities tokens are only the tip of the iceberg compared to the securities tokens that will securitize all assets on earth, both tangible and intangible.

Blockchain Reshaping the Future

Blockchain technology has continued to garner an unprecedented level of attention. This is owing to the distributed ledger framework of the technology, which provides a completely decentralized transaction process thus, making all activities carried out on the platform free from external control.

Also read: A quick guide to digital marketing a blockchain project

The traditional system requires the need for arbitrators or central authorities to validate transactions. However, blockchain provides a trustless platform that allows parties to store information and transact without external interference.

The distributed ledger makes it almost impossible to manipulate or change information that has been stored on the blockchain, whilst also providing transparency as transactions are visible to all on the platform. Blockchain technology eliminates the need for middlemen or bureaucracy via the use of smart contracts.

The remarkable features of this technology is what has won it attractions and interests from business players in different fields. Although blockchain technology itself has shown its capacity to be applied universally, i.e. across all different fields and sectors. It has changed the way funds can be sent abroad, eliminating the need for middlemen or exorbitant bank charges. The secure framework for storing information is also of great benefit to the health sector, as patients’ information can be securely stored on the blockchain.

Blockchain also paved way for digitalizing assets. Assets are now digitally represented on the blockchain with all relevant information including, history, origin, and ownership, among others. This system makes it easier to exchange value and provide a more secure means of verification of product originality.

The world is yearning to be free from undue centralized control and free to create their own experiences. Blockchain technology has offered this opportunity, and we are gradually seeing a paradigm shift towards a decentralized, blockchain world.

 

AI Integration and the future of blockchain projects

Another development that’s also changing the world is artificial intelligence. Although its wave of development can be traced back to the 1950s, rigorous research and its rapid development only began a little over a decade ago. AI, which involves the process of computers learning and solving problems with little or no supervision from humans, has literally become an integral part of our daily lives.

From self-driving cars, smartphones, digital assistants to the new wave of smart home devices, Amazon Alexa and many others, AI is no longer a futuristic hope, it’s already our reality.

However, with these two groundbreaking technologies integrated, according to Aaron Tsai, Founder and Chief Capitalist of MAS Capital Inc. and MAS Capital Universal Exchange Inc. (MASEx), we can see the beginning of a new future. “Decentralized media and social media – AI media – will completely open the flow of information globally with as little government influence as possible,”writes Tsai in the bluepaper, Blockchain & Artificial Intelligence – Today and the Future he published on December 2, 2018 on LinkedIn. “The big-node alliances and high-computational AI groups will have the agenda-setting and governing power in the new era. Government controlled, centralized monitoring, video surveillance eyes-in-the-sky and cyber police will be counter-balanced with the individuals and groups of the decentralized era. The new world order, including the definition of a nation, the nature of institutions, the tribe, social interaction and economic trading systems are all changing!”

A statement of truth cannot be denied. We are witnessing a paradigm shift in global operations, as we gradually embrace the developments in AI and decentralized technology. This is a future that has already begun and the best we can do at this point is see to it that these developments are effectively managed for the benefit of humanity. The last thing we need is create a world that would be disastrous for future generations.

This is a vision also shared by Tsai: “As we move into the age of the Singularity, a new human species is been created with superintelligence, as man and machine become one to co-exist with the help of human-controlled or out-of-control AI.” The great importance here is that we embrace the reality, the future we now see and the need for everyone to work together for a future that is better and brighter for all humankind!

Tsai founded and launched MASEx, which is designed for the New Space Age, where people can trade Securities Tokens and transfer funds — not only on Earth, but the vision is that such transactions can also be done once we get to Mars, the moon, spaceships and space stations, etc. According to Tsai MASEx aims to be “The First and the Leading Exchange in the Universe!” MASEx will trade equity securities tokens, commodities tokens and stable coins. The platform aims to launch its Stock Listing Board for companies’ equity securities tokens in Q1 this year. There are plans to adopt AI based continuous due diligence on listed companies, with a monthly reporting standards, to move the stock exchange industry to a new and a higher standard.

The fate of our future largely relies on how well we manage what’s in our hands today. Artificial intelligence has come to stay, and blockchain keeps making its rapid advancements. If we are to make these worthwhile and sustainable for humanity then, a synergy is of great essence – a mentality of collaboration. The future can only be bright for us all when all parties involved put hands on deck in unison.

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e27 publishes relevant guest contributions from the community. Share your honest opinions and expert knowledge by submitting your content here.

Photo by Federico Lancellotti on Unsplash

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Outside of China, we also have updates from Indonesia, India, and the Southeast Asian region in general

China to target apps that obtain personal information illegally – SCMP

Chinese cyberspace authority announced on Friday a joint campaign with three regulatory agencies to vet the privacy policies of “some of the country’s most popular apps”, as part of a campaign to crack down illegal gathering of personal information.

According to South China Morning Post, the one-year campaign will start this month, with the goal to protect the security of personal information.

This new campaign followed a previous six-month crackdown that aims to eradicate “vulgarity” in internet content.

Tencent shares jump three per cent after games approval – Reuters

Tencent Holdings saw its shares jump more than three per cent on Friday, following regulators’ approval of the company’s mobile games titles, Reuters reported.

The Chinese government froze approvals for new game titles in March last year, which had costed the firm roughly 20 per cent of their market value since.

But in December, the government began to approve new game titles in batches, in which Tencent’s are coming in the fourth batch. The fourth batch included 95 titles, with two of them belonging to Tencent.

Also Read: Grab joins China’s ZhongAn Insurance to build digital insurance marketplace

Sequoia launches accelerator programme in India, Southeast Asia – Dealstreet Asia

Venture capital firm Sequoia launched its new accelerator programme for startups in India and Southeast Asia, called Surge, Dealstreet Asia wrote.

The programme planned to invest US$1.5 million in each participating startups and aimed to have around 10-20 companies in each cohort.

Selected companies will have the opportunity to be mentored by prominent names in the Indian and Southeast Asian startup communities.

The programme will also include five modules hosted in China, India, Silicon Valley and Singapore in order to provide global exposure.

Indonesian gaming startup Agate acquires Ekuador Games – Hybrid

Indonesian game developer and publisher Agate announced that it has acquired fellow gaming company Ekuador Games for IDR5 billion (US$355,000), Hybrid reported.

Following the acquisition, Ekuator Games Cipto Diguno will hold the position of Vice President of Consumer Games at Agate. Ekuator will also become its own unique division within the company.

Rumours about the two Bandung-based companies have spreaded since the end of 2018, as they had often collaborated together.

The majority of Ekuator Games founders were former employees of Agate.

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Image Credit: Yiran Ding on Unsplash

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GBCI pursue mergers and acquisitions to put together the smart city initiative 

Singapore-based GBCI Ventures (GBCI) has announced a USD$100 million smart city development fund, which will be directed towards a variation of technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, big data, IoT and virtual reality (VR).

GBCI will take an active role to provide these startups with know-how, access to technology, financial investment, mentorship, and go-to-market support.

Also Read: Indonesian tech media rates top female founders, executives based on their beauty, popularity

What differentiates this fund, the company claimed, is the formation of mutually beneficial strategic alliances through mergers and acquisitions and the development of a smart metropolis for the future.

The fund aims to move beyond technology and finance and engage with governments, organisations, and businesses that come together to develop smart cities.

“The dawn of smart city evolution brings economic progress and people are able to enjoy a higher quality of life and better urban services in the ecosystem. This is our vision, especially for companies that can contribute to the development and building of sustainable smart cities for future generations,” said Douglas Gan, CEO and Co-founder of GBCI.

The concept of the smart city is to allow citizens to access real infrastructure services like parking, traffic conditions, electricity, and water, all in real time. The goal is develop intelligent systems in the area of safety, transport, environmental cleanliness, utilities management, and disaster management.

Also Read: Google, Tencent, JD.com to inject around US$920M investment in Go-Jek

“GBCI strives to give city dwellers a futuristic and an eco-friendly urban lifestyle using AI as the core framework for building smart cities.GBCI invests in AI, robotics, big data, IoT and VR with the plan to be at the forefront to roll out smart cities,” said Lee Changjin, General Partner and Co-founder of GBCI Ventures.

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Called Alluva, it is both a digital asset and an ICO-rating platform where users can make predictions, acquire followers, and be compensated for their contributions and expertise

For his second appearance on the Jay Kim Show, James gives an update on Oddup and its newest business lines, Unicorn Hunt and Alluva. Unicorn Hunt is Oddup’s media outlet, which includes a blog and even an upcoming TV show covering startup cultures all over the world.

Alluva is both a digital asset and an ICO-rating platform where users can make predictions, acquire followers, and be compensated for their contributions and expertise.

In today’s episode you’ll learn:

• Why James left banking to found Oddup
• About Oddup, Unicorn Hunt, and Alluva
• James’s outlook for Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in general
• Why James has been spending more time in the gym lately
• James’s advice for bankers who are considering entering the crypto space

Listen to this episode on iTunes

What was your biggest insight from this week’s episode? Let Jay know in the comments or on Twitter: @jaykimmer.

Also Read: Ecosystm names ex-Frost & Sullivan MD APAC as Principal Advisor

LINKS FROM TODAY’S EPISODE

• Read the full transcript from James’s interview
• Episode 38, James’s first appearance on the Jay Kim Show
• Find James on Twitter and LinkedIn
• Oddup
• Unicorn Hunt
• Alluva

DETAILED SHOW NOTES

• (1:49) James explains why he decided to leave investment banking and start Oddup
• (4:24) An overview of Oddup
• (6:48) James explains Oddup’s relationship with other large media companies and services
• (10:14) How Oddup’s different business lines came about
• (12:27) James gives an overview of Unicorn Hunt
• (14:03) An overview of Alluva
• (15:01) Jay gives an recap of the crypto space in 2018
• (16:59) Why cryptocurrencies as a viable asset class
• (21:17) How Alluva aims to reward users for making the right calls in the crypto space
• (25:06) James describes the Alluva user experience
• (28:42) How Alluva users can earn and spend rewards
• (31:25) James’s outlook for crypto and Bitcoin
• (37:33) Which ICOs will be on Alluva?
• (38:55) James gives a timeline for Unicorn Hunt
• (39:30) The upcoming TV show about startups around the world
• (43:15) James shares his goals for Alluva
• (44:48) James’s advice for those considering entering the blockchain space

Also Read: Howa taxi company launches app to challenge Grab and Go-Jek in Thailand
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