Every month the team at e27 runs a monthly “startup of the month poll” where we pick the best startup to give it some extra coverage and attention that it deserves. Five startups are selected internally by taking into account idea, team, funding and founders. Three eventually make it to the final round, where we take in votes from our Telegram community.

The winner for January is none other than Singapore’s biotech startup TurtleTree which uses cell-based technology to create milk without requiring animals.

Reducing carbon footprint

At a time when climate change concern is drawing more and more attention –not just from the public but also the governments and businesses– Turtletree aims to make a difference by reducing carbon footprint from greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the dairy sector.

Co-founded in 2019 by Fengru Lin, Rabail Toor and Max Rye, the startup claims to be the “world’s first cell-based milk company that utilises biotechnology to manufacture milk products without any animal needed.”

While the big question remains as to how an industry can balance between reducing its environmental impact and society’s demands for dairy products, the biotech startup aims to make a leap by replicating the full nutritional content of milk using cell-based technology.

The founders also said that they “have been able to replicate the exact full composition of dairy milk,” which erases the concerns of sticking to dairy products due to its high protein content.

Also Read: The raging Amazon forest fires: Why businesses need to step up for climate change

As demand for dairy grows, so does its impact on the environment. Even though dairy is not the number one factor for GHG emissions, it unarguably has a significant impact on the environment.

Not limited to simply milk and milk-based products, the company has targeted to apply their methods into recreating human breast milk, targeting to disrupt the infant milk formula industry that is currently valued at nearly US$45 billion.

The backers

The startup has already attracted global investors to forward its mission and vision which include KBW Ventures, owned by Saudi Prince  Khaled bin Alwaleed.

Also joining the pre-seed funding round was US-Hong Kong venture capital fund which specialised in protein investments Lever VC, and Silicon Valley-based K2 Global. The amount of investment for this round is undisclosed.

“This is long-term investment; we’re not in this for the quick win,” HRH Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud told Entrepreneur, expressing that “investing in the development of alternative protein sources that use less natural resources by biotech startups is one way to play a role in solving what is truly the most pressing issue of our times: the climate crisis.”

Nick Cooney, founder and managing partner at Lever VC also commented on the startup saying that the technology could be a “serious disrupter in the global dairy industry,”.

“They are the first company in the world producing real, whole milk from cell cultivation — which opens the door for safer, healthier and customised dairy products that can be produced with far fewer natural resources,” he continued. 

The fresh capital will be used by the company to make more hires and create additional fresh prototypes.

As it plans to debut its product in Spring this year, whether the company will radically change how milk is recreated, only time will tell.

Also Read: Singaporean biotech startup TurtleTree secures pre-seed from Saudi entrepreneur Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed

The runner-up

In addition to TurtleTree, the e27 community also voted for Lumitics and Gredu as the runner-up for the Startup of the Month title.

Lumitics is a company that tracks the food wasted by Singapore’s F&B outlets and restaurants and Gredu is an edutech startup that enables parents to track their children’s progress.

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Image Credit: Waldemar Brandt

 

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US- and Singapore-based digital identity provider GTRIIP announces today it has secured an undisclosed amount in Series B round of funding from Japanese VC firm GlobalBrain through its KDDI Open Innovation Fund-III (KOIF).

Kepventure, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Singapore’s Keppel Corporation, and Japan’s Accord Ventures also joined the round.

GTRIIP will use the capital for expansion in both hospitality and other commercial properties in the Asia Pacific markets with ageing populations, waning workforces, and high labour costs.

The company believes that technological innovations such as Artificial Intelligence can enable hotels to work around limitations by reducing repetitive, high-volume tasks via automating check-ins and identify verifications, leading to increased productivity.

“The investment aligns with our vision to grow further in the Asia Pacific. It is an ideal opportunity to showcase the value in seamlessly checking in a large number of travelers using their own smartphones,” said Maxim Tint, Founder and CEO of GTRIIP.

Also Read: Following new funding round, PrivyID will integrate its service into Telkomsel’s platform

GTRIIP was founded in 2014 and currently has a 20-staff team. It claims to have completed installations for over 13,000 rooms and access points and facilitated over one million digital identity check-ins.

In Singapore, GTRIIP’s customer hotels are enabled with the E-Visitor Authentication (EVA) system, which the company said to help reducing guest check-in time at the front desk by 70 per cent.

“GTRIIP’s product requires no additional hardware which makes it inherently more scalable and sustainable for properties, allowing them to enjoy the full benefits of automated check-ins without incurring the extra capital expenditure. It also produces less carbon footprint and is more environmentally friendly than physical identity solutions, such as plastic ID and access cards, or hardware kiosks,” Tint added.

The firm is currently looking to diversify its product lines into new verticals beyond hospitality by launching specialised products for other commercial properties, such as tenant access and visitor access.

GTRIIP previously raised US$1 million in Series A funding from connectivity solutions provider M1. The money was used to scale its first product to serve hospitality customers in Singapore and Macau, including the likes of Park Hotel Group, Amara Hotel Group, and other major casino resort brands.

Also Read: 3 companies leveraging the power of blockchain technology in security

KDDI manages the investment portfolios of major Japanese telecommunications operator KDDI Corporation. KOIF’s Singapore office was established in June last year, but the global fund’s investment has been investing in Singapore and Indonesia-based startups since 2018.

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Picture Credit: GTRIIP

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With the acquisition, Bento is set to rebrand itself to GrabInvest, with the product targeted to kick off in the first half of the year

Singapore-based ride-hailing giant Grab announced today that it has acquired local robo-advisory startup Bento to offer retail wealth management solutions to users via the Grab app. The amount for the acquisition was undisclosed.

With the acquisition, Bento is set to rebrand itself to GrabInvest, with the product targeted to kick off in the first half of the year. It will be led by Bento founder and CEO Chandrima Das.

The new product will allow Southeast Asian users to save and invest in “financial products traditionally limited to affluent individuals and institutional investors”, according to the company statement.

GrabInvest has also promised full transparency with their users by having “full disclosures on fees with zero hidden elements.” It has also assured users that it would be adhering to the consumer protection standards outlined by Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) Capital Markets Services (CMS) license.

“In Southeast Asia, there is a lack of accessibility to affordable wealth management products and retirement planning solutions for most people. As we face an increasingly volatile and uncertain economic environment, it is imperative for Southeast Asians to acquire the tools and knowledge to protect their future by sustainably building wealth for themselves and their families,” said Reuben Lai, Senior Managing Director of Grab Financial Group, on the lack of awareness of wealth management products for SEA consumers.

Also Read: Grab, Hyundai launches their first electric vehicle service in Indonesia

“The launch of GrabInvest brings us a step closer to democratising access to affordable financial solutions that will help them achieve the financial stability they need well into their retirement years,” he noted.

GrabInvest will also be the fifth vertical under Grab’s financial services arm. Further verticals include payments (GrabPay), rewards (GrabRewards), lending (GrabFinance), and insurance (GrabInsure).

Bento’s platform has been known as a digital wealth platform that includes client onboarding, portfolio construction, and risk management capabilities. The technology also powers banks, wealth managers, brokers and insurance companies to launch digital wealth solutions.

Grab is also one of the contenders for the Singapore digital banking race, as it partners with Singtel at a stake of 60 per cent.

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Image Credit: Afif Kusuma

 

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The newly added capital will be used by Mortgage Master to drive expansion, specifically product development

Mortgage Master, a one-stop mortgage brokering platform for homeowners, has raised US$522,500 in a seed funding round via crowdfunding platform FundedHere. The participants in this round include former President of Westpac International and Founder of S Cube Capital Bala Swaminathan and Chairman of Tembusu Partners Andy Lim.

The company managed to close their funding in eight days via the FundedHere platform, according to co-founder David Baey in an interview with e27. The newly added capital will be used by the startup to drive expansion, specifically product development, in order to scale the platform better.

“Mortgage Master is effectively looking to overhaul the way homeowners in Asia make the most expensive purchase of their lives, by being the neutral party that offers personalised advice, alongside a faster and more affordable mortgage process,” said Swaminathan, one of the lead investors of the entity.

As a mortgage brokerage company, the startup deeply roots itself in the value it creates for its customers by partnering with banks who give their rates to the company.  It aims to provide the best option taking into consideration individual needs.

Also Read: If you’re thinking about being an entrepreneur, these 6 words had better be true

“Most Singaporeans do not like the jargon, they can put in the effort to filter to understand it, but wouldn’t it be better if someone came in to explain to them in layman terms?” Baey said.

“A homeowner typically conducts 10 hours of research, assesses 15 banks – with each touting the ‘best’ offering, and then spends two hours on paperwork, but often still ends up with buyer’s remorse. A home is the most meaningful purchase you will make in your lifetime, and we believe the process of financing it with a mortgage must be better. Having observed this broken system first-hand, we started Mortgage Master to empower banks to behave the way they should – in homeowners’ best interests,” he continued.

While there are other players in the market, Baey believes that the difference in values is what sets Mortgage Master apart from its competitors.

“While Redbrick Mortgage has been around longer for a longer time, their business model is actually different from us,” says the banker-turned-entrepreneur. According to him, the company focuses on fastest fingers first and hires employees as freelancers, while Mortgage Masters prefers to have fulltime employees to maintain quality control.

Housing is a big market in Singapore, and the region’s homeownership rate is estimated to be around 91 per cent with continual expectations to rise, making owning a home one of the top local millennials aspirations.

Also Read: How do I create a memorable promotional brand or product video?

“This differentiated model, a team with deep industry know-how, and impressive first-year revenue momentum is a sign of even better things to come. I am thrilled to come on board as Mortgage Master continues its journey toward becoming the preferred platform for all Singaporeans buying or refinancing a home,” said another investor of the startup, Andy Lim, Chairman of Tembusu Partners.

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Image Credit:  Brandon Griggs

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Myanmar-based e-commerce startup Get All Myanmar has acquired Burmese fintech firm Daung Capital in a mission to come up with a unified solution provider for micro-entrepreneurs in the country, says a DealStreetAsia report.

The acquisition covers all of the fintech firm’s assets, including employees and business contracts.

Other financial details were not disclosed.

Moving forward, the combined entity will operate under the ‘Get’ brand, with Daung Capital providing credit solutions to Myanmar’s working class and small businesses. The solutions include education loans, rent-to-own agreements, and cash advance programmes for businesses.

With this acquisition, Get’s services will expand to over 100 businesses and 19,000 mom-and-pop shops across Myanmar.

Last year, Daung Capital raised an undisclosed amount in its Series A round from investors such as Myanmar’s BOD Tech Ventures led by Mike Than Tun Win, that has also invested in Get and Singapore-based early-stage VC firm Majuven.

Also Read: This company is on a mission to make Myanmar more economically inclusive

With the acquisition, Than Tun Win will join Get as Executive Chairman. “Financial exclusion remains a key reason for income inequality in Myanmar. We want financially excluded Burmese to embrace opportunities through technological innovation,” Tun Win commented.

Leon Qiu, Founder of Daung Capital and CEO-designate of Get, said: “Daung Capital offers an exciting opportunity for Get to strengthen and expand its digital service offerings, bridging the divide between rich and poor.”

Get’s services include ticketing, travel booking, online shopping, and financial services, as well as a ride-hailing service called Get Ride, which was launched in 2018 after securing nearly eight-digit US dollars in investment.

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Picture Credit: Daung Capital

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WeWork picks property veteran Sandeep Mathrani as new CEO in an attempt to stabilise losses [The Straits Times]

WeWork has chosen property industry veteran Sandeep Mathrani to be the new CEO, as Softbank seeks to sustain the lossmaking office space provider after it came close to bankruptcy, according to The Straits Times.

Mathrani will replace Artie Minson and Sebastian Gunningham, WeWork said in a statement. He was previously global head of retail estate for Brookfield Property Partners, a commercial real estate company whose parent company is Brookfield Asset Management.

According to Bloomberg, Mathrani already has a considerable amount of experience in companies dealing with the crisis. He had previously helped GGP, a mall operator, rise from bankruptcy in 2010.

Also Read: WeWork Labs launches foodtech startup accelerator in Thailand

Many companies compelled to begin the ‘work from home experiment’ after the coronavirus outbreak [Bloomberg]

Co-working is out and video chat apps are in as offices shut down due to the coronavirus outbreak. Working from home is no longer an option but it is now a choice, according to reports by Bloomberg.

“It’s a good opportunity for us to test working from home at scale,” said Alvin Foo, MD of Reprise Digital, a Shanghai ad agency with 400 people that’s part of Interpublic Group. “Obviously, not easy for a creative ad agency that brainstorms a lot in person.”

It’s going to mean a lot of video chats and phone calls, he said.

Also Read: Grab, Hyundai launches their first electric vehicle service in Indonesia

While the virus may test that theory on a wider scale, it poses an existential threat to the whole business model of co-working spaces, which has managed to multiply around big Chinese cities in recent years as property rents skyrocketed.

Indian adtech company Adonmo scores US$3M from Ant Financial’s BAce Capital [Tech In Asia]

Adonmo, an adtech company in India, announced that it has raised US$3 million in a pre-Series A round led by BAce Capital, with participation from Astarc Ventures and Mumbai Angels Network, as reported by Tech In Asia.

The proceeds will be used for local operations expansion, to further develop the product, and for hiring.

Founded in 2017 by Sandeep Bommireddi and Sravanth Gajula, the company currently operates in New Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru. The company aims to digitise outdoor advertising media across the country primarily through digital car toppers.

Myanmar’s Get expands portfolio by buying  local fintech startup Daung Capital [Tech In Asia]

Myanmar’s digital commerce platform Get has acquired local lending platform Daung Capital in order to expand its portfolio service over 100 businesses across Myanmar, according to Tech In Asia. The company refused to comment on the financial details for this deal.

“Get’s acquisition of Daung will provide a major growth opportunity for both businesses. Financial exclusion remains a key reason for income inequality in Myanmar,” said Mike Than Tun Win, a serial entrepreneur who will be joining Get Myanmar as executive chairman.

The merged company has will be operating under the name of the Get brand, according to a statement.

Altair announces winners of its startup contest in India

Altair, a global technology company providing solutions in product development, high-performance computing and data analytics, has announced the Altair Start-up Challenge 2020.

Besides, Altair has also announced the winners of its inaugural competition, held in Bangalore in December 2019. The winners are First place, BlinkEYELABS Electronics, IndusTill FarmTech, and Saif Automation.

Altair partnered with Startup India, a government initiative, to build an inclusive ecosystem for innovation and entrepreneurship in India across all industry segments. Its objective is to identify, support, mentor and reward budding startups with its simulation, optimisation and machine learning technologies, in addition to providing a dedicated team of mentors with extensive experience and knowledge.

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Image Credit: Eloise Ambursley

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iSTOX, a one-stop digitised securities issuance, custody, and trading capital markets platform, announced today it graduated from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)’s Fintech Regulatory Sandbox on February 1, 2020.

ICHX Tech Pte Ltd (ICHX), which is the Singapore-based operator of the iSTOX platform, has earned the recognised market operator (RMO) and a capital markets services (CMS) licences from the MAS.

ICHX is a capital markets infrastructure and technology company that was previously the incubatee of ICH Group, a Singapore-based investment firm.

The license, iSTOX claims, makes it the first capital markets platform using distributed ledger technology (DLT) to feature integrated issuance, custody, and training of digitised securities to be approved and licensed by a major regulator.

Furthermore, iSTOX said that graduating from the MAS sandbox means the removal of restrictions for iSTOX, including limitations on the size of issuance that it can host and a number of investors that can be onboarded.

“We started this just over two years ago as a vision of how investing could be done better. This is a big milestone both for iSTOX and for the financial industry as a whole,” said Danny Toe, Founder and CEO of ICHX.

Also Read: Digital securities trading platform iSTOX raises Series A round

“While capital markets have seen many changes and innovations over the years, the underlying core infrastructure hasn’t really changed since the advent of electronic trading decades ago,” said iSTOX Chief Operating Officer Darius Liu. “We are proud to deliver an operational platform that can address market demand while meeting the regulatory standards and licensing conditions set by MAS.”

MAS Chief fintech Officer Sopnendu Mohanty commented. “This has again demonstrated that proportional regulations through sandbox experimentation can foster innovation and bring new benefits to consumers and the financial industry. We look forward to furthering our collaboration with innovators as we build a smart financial centre.”

iSTOX draws on advanced smart contracts and DLT to streamline the issuance and trading process. By allowing buyers and sellers to connect directly, iSTOX removes long-standing barriers that have prevented a far greater pool of investors from access to private market opportunities with a more flexible, affordable, and inclusive alternative.

Chief Commercial Officer Oi Yee Choo said: “In addition to opening registration for accredited and institutional investors, we’re working hard on a pipeline of exciting issuance across different asset classes.”

Also Read: Capital markets platform iSTOX raises US$5M from Korea’s Hanhwa

Key investors of ICHX include Singapore Exchange (SGX), Asia’s international multi-asset exchange; Heliconia, a subsidiary of Temasek Holdings focussed on investing in fast-growing companies; Japan’s Tokai Tokyo Financial Holdings (via subsidiary Tokai Tokyo Global Investments); Thailand’s Kiatnakin Phatra Financial Group; and South Korea’s Hanwha Asset Management.

Meanwhile, to further strengthening its digitised security ecosystem, ICHX has also partnered with law firms Allen & Overy, Allen & Gledhill, Rajah & Tann, and Dentons Rodyk; with corporate finance advisors SAC Capital and RHT Capital; and with services firms PwC Singapore and audit firm Deloitte.
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Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash

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In order to use this feature, users will have to add their Revolut card to their Google Account and simply choose to Google Pay at checkout

Fintech startup Revolut today announced the launch of its latest feature which will allow customers to add their Revolut cards to Google Pay in a company statement.

By integrating the Revolut Visa Card on Google Pay, the company aims to create a more seamless and easy method of transaction for its users. Since Google Pay is one of the most popular methods of payment on sites, apps, stores, and even public transportation network in Singapore for Android phone users, this will also widen Revolut’s reach in the market.

“We know our customers are fast moving away from cash in the majority of the markets we operate in, so integrating with Google Pay is a very positive step forward in enabling our customers to use their money in the way that they want to,” said Lim Wei Han, Global Operations for Card Payments at Revolut.

“Our ultimate goal is to give users a tool to manage every aspect of their financial lives, and the ability to make payments quickly, conveniently and securely is vital to achieving this. We’re excited to offer this feature to our customers in Singapore,” he continued.

In order to use this feature, users will have to add their Revolut card to their Google Account and simply choose to Google Pay at checkout, without having to repeatedly enter the payment information again.

Also Read: Following its recent debut in Singapore, Revolut launches Metal Visa card in the market

The UK-based company has been launching a variety of different features ever since it has made a debut entry into Singapore.

The most recent one being the Revolut metal card, which is crafted from a single sheet of steel, making it weigh three times more than a regular card, creating a sleek and premium finish for its users.

Some of the other benefits also include one per cent cashback on international spend in 28 currencies, free international ATM withdrawals up to S$1,050 (US$774) per month, and a dedicated concierge service for booking everything from flights to festival tickets.

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Image Credit:  Kay

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Let’s get the decade started on a great note

There are reasons why the year 2019 was an important one for the Southeast Asian startup ecosystem.

In addition to the inherent excitement of preparing for a new decade, throughout 2019, we had also witnessed monumental moves made by startup ecosystem players –both in the region and beyond.

Funding continued to pour into the region, breaking new records and giving birth to new unicorns. Investors are also beginning to look into new territories, both in terms of geography and industry sectors.

On a global level, we saw companies such as WeWork facing public scrutiny with their strenuous journey towards IPO. Much closer to home, we saw Honestbee facing their own troubles.

Ecosystem players had also made head-turning comments; a great example would Lippo Group founder Mochtar Riady’s statement on cash-burning. While they might have a negative tonality to it, these updates had triggered discussions about fostering sustainability and building a stronger ecosystem.

Also Read: Mark your calendars: Echelon Asia Summit happens 14th and 15th of May

Lastly, we saw how different ecosystem players –from startups to government to corporates– are working closer than ever to achieve a common goal.

This is why as we, at e27, prepare for the next Echelon Asia Summit, we realise that the event is going to happen at a unique timing.

Whatever steps you are taking in this critical moment will either make or break your next decade. There are opportunities to seize and challenges to face; people who have made their marks and the lessons that they carry.

It has always been our mission to empower entrepreneurs with tools to build and grow their companies. With that in mind, we identified the three pillars that will support the foundation of the next decade for Southeast Asian startup ecosystem.

In the tradition of Echelon Asia Summit, we divided these pillars into three different stages, providing curated content to help you prepare for the next decade:

Apex

Two major reports —Asia Partners 2019 Internet Report and the e-Conomy SEA Report 2019 by Google, Temasek, and Bain&Company— have identified the next decade as the Golden Age of Southeast Asian startup ecosystem. In this period, not only will the region to experience growth, but it will also see new territories to explore.

Also Read: In photos: 5 moments you missed if you skipped Echelon Asia Summit 2019

Through this stage, we will learn from those who had successfully navigated this treacherous water –and those who had failed to do so. Because both failures and successes are great teachers in their own right.

To get to the peak of the mountain –the apex– you will need all the equipment you can get. In this stage, we will learn about those tools and how to use it.

Infinity

Sustainability comes in every form, from financial to environmental. For members of the startup community like us, having sustainability as a goal encourages us to rethink our moves and renew our thought patterns.

Hopefully, we will come out stronger as we discover improved ways of doing things, from acquiring customers, managing our finances, to maintaining healthy company culture.

We are not here to become a firework –exciting as it happens but slowly fades into silence. We are here to work towards infinity.

Alliance

The tech industry does not stand in a silo, and this notion becomes more apparent as the years go by.

Gone are the days when regulators are seen as the enemy to innovation, as startups and governments fostered a stronger collaboration than before. Also, every business is basically a tech business now, as we begin to see the addition of digital elements to non-tech businesses such as hospitality and lifestyle.

In the end, we are all after the same goal. This is why, instead of waging war against each other, we decide to build an alliance.

Also Read: Photos from Echelon Asia Summit 2019 grand finale

So, do you find yourself prepared for the new decade? What are the lessons that you need to learn, and the ones you are prepared to share? Are you ready to build connections that will take you places?

If you do, then we are looking forward to seeing you at Hall 7, Singapore Expo, on May 14-15.

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Hundreds have already gotten their passes for Echelon Asia Summit 2020. Do you have yours? Get them today and don’t miss out on a great start to an exhilarating new decade for the startup ecosystem. Register today >>>

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There has never been a better time than now to be a tech investor in Southeast Asia.

The region’s tech companies saw investments worth US$5.99 billion in just the first half of 2019, with early-stage investments rising sharply. Tech companies, many of them just a few years old, are transforming traditional industries today.

Take Tokopedia for instance. The first Indonesian unicorn dreamt of uniting buyers and sellers dispersed across the country’s 17,000 islands through an online marketplace. The company had to reimagine online payments, with seven out of 10 people in Indonesia not having access to banking services.

It is astonishing to think that more than a decade ago, it took Tokopedia two years to raise the initial capital to start the business, as its e-commerce model was new to the region then.

But times have changed. Southeast Asia’s emerging tech space is drawing attention — and investment — globally, from Silicon Valley to Shenzhen and Tokyo. Of Southeast Asia’s 11 tech unicorns five of them attained that status in just the last two years.

An exciting phenomenon is powering the rise of such transformational tech companies today. I call it technification.

Also Read: Fitness marketplace ClassPass becomes Unicorn with its latest US$285M fundraise

Technification is transformation done right

Technification is not just about using tech in your business operations, it is the use of technology to transform industry verticals — education, finance, healthcare, retail, and anything in between.

It is about completely changing the way that business is done, and creating new business models. Importantly, it is not about opportunistic productivity gains or simple digitalisation of real-world goods and services.

For instance, a logistics company using data analytics and Internet-of-Things (IoT) sensors to increase digital traceability of delivered goods is not technification. That is just making services digital rather than analogue.

A company that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to strategically optimise third-party logistics assets across an entire service vertical — from deciding where logistics assets should be built, to optimising delivery routes and customising users’ experiences — now that is technification.

A first mover in China: Cainiao

I first witnessed the raw power of technification in China. During my four years as a Venture Partner at GSR Ventures, I saw multi-billion-dollar tech companies that did not exist ten years ago dominating industries across the board.

Cainiao is one first-mover that has transformed the face of logistics in China.

In 2010, the logistics market in China was fragmented and inefficient. The norm then was for firms to contract separate carriers for asset-based logistics, storage and warehousing, and independent service providers in supply chain and inventory management.

Also Read: Today’s top tech news: Zhiyun Health nets US$144M, progressing towards China’s “healthcare unicorn” status

Saddled with poor service standards, ineffective package tracking methods, and dismal delivery timeliness, it is no wonder that the top 20 logistics companies controlled only 5.5 per cent of the market.

When Cainiao came along, it used technology to reimagine every part of the logistics value chain — from automating entire warehouses to crowdsourcing last-mile delivery partners, and even plans to use unmanned helicopters for inter-city deliveries.

How successful is it? Cainiao is now valued at RMB 100 billion (US$20 billion) and processes 70 per cent of all packages in China.

Companies such as Cainiao, Alibaba, Didi Chuxing, and Liepin.com harnessed tech to provide cheaper, more efficient, and seamless services, and in doing so, won over consumers and the market.

Alibaba, which invested in Cainiao and Didi Chuxing, is the world’s fourth-largest internet company specialising in retail and e-commerce, while Didi Chuxing is China’s leading ride-hailing provider and Liepin.com is the country’s largest e-recruitment portal by revenue.

First-movers in Southeast Asia: Ninja Van and Glints

While technification is in full swing in China, it is just starting in Southeast Asia. Like China in the mid-2000s, Southeast Asia is in the midst of modernising its infrastructure, meaning its industry verticals still consist mostly of traditional, brick-and-mortar business models. Also like China, Southeast Asia has a mobile-first population with a growing middle class — in other words, a tech-savvy consumer base ready to pay for tech-enabled services.

I work at Monk’s Hill Ventures, that spends time looking for entrepreneurs who will go after big chunks of the economy and who use technification to make a real difference. One of the first companies we invested in is Ninja Van, a last-mile logistics company that is changing the logistics landscape in the region.

Also Read: Southeast Asia is the promised land for tech startups. Here’s what we need to make that a reality

Ninja Van is laser-focused on getting a package to your doorstep — a critical issue in Southeast Asia. Also known as last-mile logistics, this stage of the shipping process has always been an issue because of the inefficiency and cost of delivering small volumes of packages to distant, and often inaccessible, locations.

While there are already three million e-commerce deliveries executed daily in Southeast Asia, e-commerce is expected to account for almost 40 per cent of the region’s US$300 billion internet economy by 2025.

Yet, according to the Google,Temasek and Bain e-Conomy SEA 2019 report, logistics infrastructure in Southeast Asia is still underdeveloped and large numbers of people live in remote, suburban areas – this is where Ninja Van sees opportunity.

Logistics is not the only sector in the region ripe for technification.

The nature of recruitment industry requires a human touch, and this is what differentiates Glints’ business model. As opposed to purely online recruitment platforms, Glints enables real recruiters to leverage data and recruitment process automation, making Glints’ recruiters far more efficient than traditional ones.

Clients of Glints today — which include Go-Jek, FWD Insurance and UOB Bank — make successful hires much faster at 28 days on average, compared to industry standards of 40–50 days. Furthermore, they do this at recruitment costs that are 40 to 100 percent cheaper to boot.

Roughly half of Southeast Asia’s US$3 trillion GDP is driven by the service sector, and yet inefficiencies exist in all of its industry verticals. This gap is where entrepreneurs are using technified business models to create value.

Building tomorrow’s iconic companies

As Southeast Asia’s tech entrepreneurs disrupt retail, transportation, logistics, supply chain, recruitment, insurance, and even financial services, investment opportunities are opening up. VC investment in Southeast Asian tech companies hit US$3.4 billion in the first half of 2019, a threefold increase from the same period in 2018. And with so much capital pouring in, you have to be strategic about where you invest it.

My advice for prospective investors? Take time to understand the region. More important than just following trends, you need to know the local scene. Know the people and sectors you are investing in and build networks. Work with your founders on building a regional strategy that can effectively scale their business.

Also Read: Disrupting venture capital in Southeast Asia and the competition around it

For entrepreneurs building companies in Southeast Asia, reimagine the sector you operate in and think hard about transformation through technification. You might be helming the region’s next unicorn — or who knows, you might just be in a class of your own.

When technification took China by storm, it created new multibillion-dollar companies that became major players in the global economy. Southeast Asian unicorns are already gaining traction as the region gets more international interest. There is no better time to look towards Southeast Asia — you might just stand to gain from the rising tide of technification in the region.

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Image credits: Franck V. on Unsplash

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