Vertical

Babydash is now doubling down on key targeted activities to aggressively expand its customer and product base. The company aims to drive up revenue per transaction while expanding its footprint in ASEAN targeting to double the size of the company in the next 12 to 18 months.

The development comes at a time when more global PE firms are looking for investment opportunities in the tech sector in Southeast Asia.

Agung discusses how the pandemic accelerated digital transformation in Indonesia, and how MSMEs–or warungs in particular–are able to benefit with the aim to “accelerate Indonesia’s growth in the midst of a post-pandemic economic boom by empowering micro-retail businesses.”

In the TechNode Global Q&A, Amra Naidoo shared her story of how she started the early stage VC firm Accelerating Asia and her journey working in the male-dominated VC industry. She also shared the challenges she met working with startups and how Accelerating Asia is positioning itself to tap into opportunities that are overlooked by others.

In face of adversity, that’s when the DNA of entrepreneurs comes into play. And the resurgence of COVID-19 is another opportunity for entrepreneurs to display their grit, tenacity, and flexibility to adapt to an evolving situation. For some high-potential Vietnamese startups, this is not the time to stand still and just plan for survival.

The company was established amid the pandemic by its founder Bela Gupta D’Souza, who saw the pain points of mothers as consumers when purchasing online. She said that it is common for mothers to spend many hours in search of the best products for their children only to end up with inferior quality products from untrusted sources.

The funds raised will be used to expand into new markets in Asia, invest in top talent and develop more high-quality investment products and services. Syfe has also pledged that everyone in the firm will become a shareholder, allowing all employees to benefit from future growth in the company.

Speedhome aims to expand regionally to 10 other metropolitan cities in the next five years, namely Bangkok, Manila, Jakarta, Taipei, Ho Chi Minh, Hanoi, Melbourne, Sydney, Hong Kong, and Singapore, to emerge as Southeast Asia’s PropTech unicorn.

Catcha Group will become a shareholder of the Carsome Group in exchange for the sale of its shares in iCar Asia to Carsome.

Singapore-based FinTech UNObank was granted the first new digital banking license under the Digital Banking License framework of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. Manish Bhai shares insights on how digital-native banks can provide faster and more innovative services to address the needs of the underbanked and unbanked.