Also, Malaysia’s HelloGold steps foot in Africa, Temasek invests in US startup DoorDash

First legal tech startup accelerator to launch in Singapore [KrAsia]

Singapore is said to be getting ready to launch Asia’s first legal technology startup accelerator in April this year, according to the Singapore Academy of Law (SAL). This would be the second attempt of the accelerator, named the Future Law Innovation Program (FLIP), which is a two-year pilot program by SAL that was started with the initial title Accelerator!, but has now been halted.

The program will be three to six months long, with experts in innovation and entrepreneurship joining as mentors that’ll give advice on business strategies and management.

Also Read: Thailand now has six digital bills welcoming Thailand 4.0

With the legal sector in the country being regarded as lagging behind in tech innovation, this would be a significant upgrade that can provide help for the legal industry.

Malaysia’s fintech HelloGold steps foot in Africa [Press Release]

Malaysia-based fintech savings platform HelloGold has officially expanded to Africa in partnership with Baobab, a digital financial inclusion group. With the partnership, HelloGold will provide gold savings and loans to 800,000 Baobab’s customers, who can access HelloGold’s products through Baobab’s new mobile app.

Using the app that will be launched this year, Baobab’s users will be able to buy, save, and invest in gold on the integrated mobile application instantly and securely.

“The possibility to easily save and invest in gold is an additional key offered to our clients to unleash their potential. This collaboration with HelloGold will allow us to integrate this saving offers in the nine African countries we are working with,” said Arnaud Ventura, CEO, and founder of Baobab Group.

Baobab provides digital and mobile solutions for customers in Africa at its 1140 service points as well as in China to help to manage their finances.

HelloGold uses blockchain technology to enable customers to access affordable financial products and services, starting with gold.

Singapore welcomes People Matters TechHR Conference this month [Press Release]

People Matters TechHR, Asia’s HR tech conference will launch in Singapore on February 28, 2019, at the Marina Bay Sands Expo & Convention Centre. The conference is the two-day program organized by People Matters, the HR community and HR media brand focussing on work, talent & tech.

Key speakers at the conference include Dr. Robert Hogan, Founder & President at Hogan Assessments; Jason Averbook, CEO & Co-Founder at Leapgen; Goh Swee Chen, Chairman Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF); Nora A Manaf, Group Chief Human Capital Officer at Maybank, and Aileen Tan, Group Chief HR Officer, Singtel.

The conference will highlight topics like tech for productivity and efficiency for employees and the process of deploying technology in the organizations.

The conference also will facilitate about 50 HR tech startups that will showcase their companies at the Startup Zone, meet investors one-on-one, and attend exclusive masterclasses. Investors that will be zooming in as mentors are Singapore Press Holdings, Golden Gate Ventures, SeedPlus, TRIVE, Cento Ventures, Accenture Ventures, TNF Ventures, Monk’s Hill Ventures, ENRG Hong Kong Limited, and Omidyar Network.

The conference also includes a study tour segment which will take place on March 1, 2019, bringing in companies such as Netflix, Singapore University of Technology & Design, 3M, P&G, Google, TCS, Workplace by Facebook, Singapore Management University, and the National University of Singapore that will be hosting delegates as part of this exclusive program.

Register for People Matters TechHR Singapore and take the next leap! Click here to register.
Click here to know more about the conference.

Temasek to invest US$500M in US food delivery startup DoorDash [Deal Street Asia]

Singapore-based investment firm Temasek is said to be in a discussion for a US$500 million funding round for DoorDash, food delivery startup in the US. DoorDash has been backed by SoftBank, CRV, Khosla Ventures, Kleiner Perkins and Sequoia Capital.

Should this round comes through, the San Fransisco-based company will be valued at over US$ 6 billion.

DoorDash was founded in 2013 by Stanford University students and does business by hiring contractors to pick up and deliver orders from food and beverage outlets. Currently, it serves in over 1,000 cities across the US and Canada.

Just last year, the company signed a partnership with US retail behemoth Walmart and has been testing autonomous car deliveries via General Motors-owned, Cruise Automation.

Philippines inch away to approve a startup-friendly bill [KrAsia]

Philippines’ Innovative Startup Act, a bill that is designed to support startups in the Philippines is now just waiting for President Rodrigo Duterte’s approval for it to become a law. The country’s Senate has ratified the bill last week.

Also Read: Horangi Cyber Security: Southeast Asia is still vulnerable to cybercrime

Senate Bill 1532, or the Innovative Startup Act, was authored by Senator Bam Aquino. In the to-be-enacted as law, startups will be provided with financial subsidies such as tax breaks and grants, especially for tech startups whose platforms address the country’s problems in transportation, healthcare, financing, and other areas.

The Innovative Startup Act will also give founders access to a PHP 10 billion (US$191.6 million) Innovative Startup Venture Fund that they can use to finance their businesses. The fund will be managed by the Department of Science and Technology.
–

Photo by Sebastian Pichler on Unsplash

The post Today’s top tech news, February 13: First legal tech startup accelerator to launch in Singapore appeared first on e27.