Category: Startup
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Meet The VCs Series – Quest Ventures
Attended an event hosted by Found8, as part of its fireside chat series with leading VCs in Singapore. Founded in 2011 by James Tan and Yunming Wang in Beijing, Quest Ventures is arguably a well-respected and known seed/series-A VC in Singapore that focuses on technology investments in the Southeast Asia region. Quest has been consistently featured…
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Salutat – AI-powered CRM
As Kuznets (of “Kuznets’ Curve”) would put it, “growth is a rising tide that lifts all boats” – in emerging markets, almost all industries get to benefit from the growth of the economy, enabled through opening up to trade and investments, socio-political reforms, greater transparency and efficiency in the capital markets. A key factor is…
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StoreHub – PoS Solutions
The demise of brick-and-mortar (b&m) retail stores have been so acute and rapid in recent times, a phenomenon that is most common in, and perhaps even originated from, the U.S. that it has been a frequently talked-about topic recently. A testament to how relatable it is, and the potential impact it has on, peoples’ everyday…
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Going Global in South East Asia, Europe + AI Ecosystem Building in SEA
Attended this event hoping to learn more about the challenges, opportunities, and resources of expanding the business operations of a Southeast Asia-founded startup, especially in AI and high-tech, which has at times been claimed to be a comparative advantage of countries like Singapore given the strong technology ecosystem. Some of the key questions the event…
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Akulaku – Buy Now Pay Later SEA
Venture capital has been growing in relevance in Indonesia and in symbiotic fashion, the number of Indonesian startups has been mushrooming, especially with the elevation of multiple startups into “unicorn” status and the population increasingly being optimistic about the future of the country, spurring the business-minded to take hold of the bountiful opportunities there, create both…
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ASEAN FinTech – Development and Trends to look out for in 2019
I had the privilege of attending a talk on ASEAN Fintech organized by technode and Kaishi partners, with below my notes from it. In all, I thought that it was an insightful, objective discussion that covered many of the key trends in FinTech today – payments, lending, insurance and wealth management. In particular, I was…
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Singapore Life – Insurtech
Insurance is a significant part of Singaporean’s lives. From the government-mandated MediShield Life to the more comprehensive Integrated Shield Plan (IP), Life Insurance, Disability Income Insurance and more complex products like Investment-linked policies (which, in my opinion, one should stay far away from), it is a topic that comes up from time to time in…
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Venture Capital in Vietnam
Source: Cathay Pacific Vietnam is an amazing place. From my experience traveling there both for leisure and work to the major cities of Saigon (HCMC) and Hanoi, my breath is always taken away by the intensity of energy that the place exudes. It is a blend of rich culture, new and old, that has been…
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Zalopay – The Vietnamese Super App (?)
One of the hottest phrases to be associated with these days seems to be “Super App”. Behemoth apps like WeChat and AliPay are commonly lauded as examples while others such as Grab and Go-Jek often claim that they are, or aspire to be, one. What is a “Super App”? Simply put, it is an app…
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Venture Capital in Indonesia
Photo credit: Indonesia Travel With a population of ~260M (~40% of SEA) and an economy growing at a clip of ~5%, Indonesia has been touted as one of the next wave of fast growing countries that will contribute significantly to the prosperity of SEA, with some going as far as setting sights on it to…