Venture Building

In the interview, Glenn Estrella also shared how 917 Ventures seeks to enter into more strategic partnerships in its home country - the Philippines - and across Southeast Asia. He also shared the challenges within the startup/VC ecosystem in the country and suggestions for the ecosystem, among others.

The Board of Cradle Fund Sdn Bhd (Cradle), Malaysia’s focal point agency for Malaysian startup ecosystem under the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI), has announced the appointment of Norman Matthieu Vanhaecke as the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), effective November 23, 2023.

Terratai, an Indonesia-based venture builder dedicated to driving investment into scalable nature-based companies, has announced a new partnership with UBS Optimus Foundation and SwissRe Foundation, backed by an initial funding of over $2 million to launch programs in Indonesia, with the potential to expand to South East Asia in future years.

In the interview, 917Venture Head of Ideation and Acceleration Glenn Estrella also shared PetPal’s short-term and long-term plans, the potential and opportunities the company sees in the pet care market in the Philippines and the rest of Southeast Asia, among others.

It was reported that the government plans to make Kuala Lumpur a regional hub for startup companies and the digital industry to attract investments and digital talents, with the goal of positioning Malaysia among the top 20 countries in the global startup ecosystem by 2030, the report added.

PetPal Club subscription service provides users unlimited teleconsultations for up to two pets annually, along with discounts on pet services. A mobile app version is expected to launch later this year.

Topics discussed at the forum included Chinese e-commerce market, social media marketing trends, and the Sands Innovation Challenge.

We envision Seedstars to be at the forefront of driving entrepreneurship and investment in emerging markets. We aim to expand our footprint, invest in more startups, and empower more entrepreneurs through our educational programs.

Currently there are around 1,000 Thai startups with the VC landscape in Thailand being dominated by corporate venture capitals (CVCs). Surprisingly during the height of the covid-19 pandemic three unicorn startups have emerged from Thailand being Bitkub, Ascend and Flash Express.