Pakistan: Bridging the South and Southeast Asia startup and innovation ecosystems [BEYOND Virtual Panel recap]
Pakistan is the world’s fifth-largest country with a population of over 225 million. This large population has the advantage of being relatively young. Pakistan has a median age of 22.8 years, which means a large potential workforce to help drive the economy. Internet penetration in the country is also on the rise, with more than 100 million 3G and 4G users. Startups can take advantage of…
ORIGIN Innovation Awards 2021: Movers & Shakers – People’s Choice VC winners
We are thrilled to announce the People's Choice VC winners for the second edition of the ORIGIN Innovation Awards.
The ORIGIN Innovation Awards recognizes outstanding startups, corporate innovators, and movers and shakers in the Asia Pacific region poised for growth. The awards celebrate the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship, and also seek to inspire the dreamer in all of us.
We’d…
India fintech platform Simpl raises $40M Series B funding led by Valar Ventures and IA Ventures
Simpl, an India-based fintech platform, has raised a $40 million Series B round led by Valar Ventures and IA Ventures.
LFH Ventures and other internal investors also joined the round. The investment brings the total capital raised by the company to $83 million.
"Online checkout is built on a fragmented payment value chain that was created 60 years ago and has left the native-to-mobile…
Singapore smart POS provider Qashier raises $4.7M to accelerate regional expansion
Qashier, a Singapore-based smart point-of-sale (POS) system provider, announced Thursday a $4.7 million fundraise from Exor Seeds, the technology-focused venture arm of Exor.
The funding comes a year after the company raising $900,000 from Singapore-based Cocoon Capital and San Francisco-based Hardware Club.
Qashier said in a statement, it will be expanding its presence in Malaysia…
ORIGIN Innovation Awards 2021: Announcing the Movers & Shakers – People’s Choice VC finalists
We are thrilled to announce the People's Choice VC finalists for the second edition of the ORIGIN Innovation Awards.
The ORIGIN Innovation Awards recognizes outstanding startups, corporate innovators, and movers and shakers in the Asia Pacific region poised for growth. The awards celebrate the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship, and also seek to inspire the dreamer in all of us.
We’d…
Malaysia’s Sunway University partners Carsome to set up data innovation lab
Malaysia’s Sunway University, through its innovation arm, Sunway Innovation Labs (Sunway iLabs), and Malaysia-based integrated car e-commerce platform Carsome, have forged a strategic partnership which includes the setting up of a data innovation lab in Sunway University.
To be launched by the end of January 2022, the data innovation lab aims to revolutionise Southeast Asia’s used car industry…
How would the UN leverage technologies for SDGs: Conversations among technology leaders in the UN System [BEYOND Virtual Panel recap]
During the 2015 United Nations General Assembly, 17 interlinked global goals were laid out with the intention of achieving a “better and more sustainable future for all.” These serve as a blueprint for peace and prosperity for everyone throughout the world and into the future. The journey towards achieving these goals is filled with challenges and requires genuine global partnership. Also, it…
Singapore multi-currency wallet YouTrip raises $30M to accelerate growth in B2C and B2B space
YouTrip, Singapore’s neobank offering a multi-currency wallet, announced Tuesday that it has raised $30 million in its latest Series A round.
The round, driven by returning investors from major Asian family offices and prominent financial technology investors, will solidify the fintech firm’s position as the leading neobank in Southeast Asia offering business to business (B2B) and business to…
Striking while the iron is hot: The Philippine venture scene is heating up and getting hotter
TechNode Global’s series on the Philippines will delve into why Filipino entrepreneurs and founders are attracting venture capital (VC) money in droves. In this second part, we explore the rise in Series B (and now, C) fundraising rounds out of the Philippines in 2021, and what it signals for the startup ecosystem as a whole. Seven founders share how much the Philippine venture ecosystem has…
Startups Driving Inclusive Innovation in the Philippines [BEYOND Virtual Panel recap]
The Philippines may not be known as a startup center in the ASEAN region, but it is starting to show signs of becoming more competitive. The country’s startup ecosystem has been growing with more new companies introducing new business models particularly in the areas of e-commerce, financial technology, and the monetization of online content and activities.
Here’s the list of this Beyond…