‘Indonesia-only’ VC firm Intudo Ventures closes $115M Fund III
Intudo Ventures, an “Indonesia-only” venture capital firm, announced on Wednesday the closing of Intudo Ventures Fund III, a $115 million venture fund dedicated to investing in Indonesian homegrown companies capitalizing on the rapid growth of private consumption and rising middle class in the country.
The fund was oversubscribed and raised in less than three months, Intudo Ventures said in a…
Pakistan logistics startup Truck It In extends pre-seed round to $4.5M
Pakistan-based road freight tech platform Truck It In announced on Tuesday a $3 million extension to its pre-seed round, taking the cumulative raise to over $4.5 million in just over four months.
The extension will power the national expansion of Truck It In as it is poised to become the largest trucking platform in Pakistan, the company said in a statement.
The extended round was again led…
Global SWF: Temasek becomes Singapore ‘super-incubator’ with a suite of in-house startups
Singapore's state investor Temasek is establishing a suite of its own in-house startups that are bolstering the city state’s tech ecosystem and point to a new strategy that will be keenly studied by other state-owned investors (SOIs), according to data platform Global SWF.
In August, the Singaporean investor has launched Aicadium, an AI tech and solutions operation based in Singapore and San…
The future of MSME financing will be collaborative, says IFS Capital’s Renchun Zeng [Q&A]
Micro, small, and medium enterprises or MSMEs are the backbones of economies in the Asia Pacific. An ADB whitepaper, Asia Small and Medium Enterprise Monitor 2020, states that small to medium enterprises comprise a majority of enterprises and workforce in the region, as well as a big part of the respective national economies. "Based on national classifications, during 2010–2019, MSMEs in the…
Southeast Asia’s top 50 rising women in tech 2021 [Updated]
Southeast Asia has seen its fair share of unicorns--23 at last count if we include startups that have already gone public like Sea and Razer. A quick scan of these billion-dollar startups reveals that only three of the region’s unicorns have female founders or are led by women.
The three are Grab Co-Founder Tan Hooi Ling, JustCo Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer Lu Liu, and PatSnap…
Hong Kong’s Pickupp expands Malaysian footprint with first regional hub in Penang
Pickupp Malaysia, the Malaysia unit of Hong Kong-based logistics startup Pickupp, announced on Monday its expansion beyond the Klang Valley through its first regional hub in Penang.
Pickupp will service the northern region with one warehouse, with plans to expand its warehouse footprint in the coming years to fulfill the demand for last-mile delivery to support the soaring growth of e-commerce…
SGX-listed iFAST Corp to continue digital bank ambition in Malaysia [Q&A]
Editor’s note: This interview is part of a Q&A series with some of the contenders vying for a digital banking license in Malaysia.
Losing out the bid for a digital wholesale bank license in Singapore last year has not stopped Singapore-listed wealth management firm iFast Corp Ltd to continue its digital bank ambition.
The company announced on June 30 that it has submitted an…
Starting up? Here’s why you need contingency funds planning
You may have often been advised by your financial planners to invest a certain portion of your capital in emergency funds that enable you to meet unexpected monetary emergencies.
Emergency funds (also known as contingency funds) are that portion of your money that is useful at any given time when you are faced with sudden financial emergencies like medical expenses, travel plans, or temporary…
Vietnam healthcare marketplace Thuocsi.vn raises $9M in Series A funding round led by Smilegate Investment
BuyMed, the operator of Thuocsi.vn, the largest online pharma distribution marketplace in Vietnam, announced on Friday a $9 million Series A financing round led by Korean venture capital fund Smilegate Investment.
The financing round also saw participation from B Capital Group and existing investors Cocoon Capital, Genesia Ventures, Sequoia Capital India’s Surge, and Nextrans, Thuocsi.vn said…
Facebook, Bain & Co Report: Southeast Asia’s digital consumer population to reach 380M by 2026
Southeast Asia’s digital retail share grew 85 percent year-on-year, outpacing China (5 percent), Brazil (14 percent) and India (10 percent), according to social media giant Facebook and consultant firm Bain & Company’s recently published annual SYNC Southeast Asia report.
According to Bain & Company, there will be 350 million digital consumers in Southeast Asia at the end of 2021…