Grab launches new financial services brand

Grab Financial Group,
 a unit of the Southeast Asian
super app
, will launch a new brand combining its payments and financial services.

Called
GrabFin
, the brand will serve as a single entry point for users to access digital payments, insurance, lending, and wealth management offerings on the Grab app.

Photo credit: Grab

GrabFin will first be launched in Singapore and Malaysia before rolling out in other Southeast Asian markets in the next few months. The integrated platform will simplify access to financial services and ensure multi-layered security features for transactions, said
Kell Jay Lim
, the head of GrabFin.

The new firm will now be the parent brand for all of Grab’s financial services outside of digital banks. As a result, Grab Financial Group will oversee two segments: GrabFin and digibanks.

Alongside GrabFin, the financial services unit also announced its new investment product
Earn+
 for Singapore-based Grab users. The offering, which has no maximum investment limit or lock-in period, has a projected yield of 2% to 2.5% per year.

See also:
Grab’s financial health in 9 charts

“Earn+ provides our users with access to low-risk, investment-grade bond portfolios, which were previously only available to institutional investors,” said
Wenbin Wong
, head of GrabFin Singapore.

The announcement follows Grab reporting a
6% year-over-year growth
 in revenue for the first quarter of 2022. The startup also saw its adjusted
EBITDA
 swing to a loss of US$287 million for the quarter, from US$111 million during the same period a year ago.


His resourcefulness got him a job at Lalamove

In 2018, Aaron Yesudian had his eyes on a driver operations associate role at
Lalamove
, which had just entered the Malaysian market at the time.

However, he had just graduated and obtained a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering the year before, and he had no experience in or knowledge about the logistics industry.

On this episode of
How to Get a Job at a Unicorn
, Yesudian recounts how he had to go the extra mile when he applied for a position with the logistics startup and shares some advice for fresh graduates looking to score a gig with a billion-dollar company.

Timecodes:

00:00 – What did you want to be when you were a kid?

01:34 – How to get a job at a unicorn as a fresh graduate

02:10 – Aaron Yesudian’s days in school

02:47 – Dashed dreams of becoming a pilot

04:16 – Looking for a job in the tech world

05:10 – Applying for a role at Lalamove

06:22 – Going the extra mile to know the ins and outs of the logistics scene

07:54 – Cinching the gig

08:55 – When Covid-19 hit

10:17 – Getting recognition – and a promotion

11:49 – Advice for anyone interested in joining Lalamove

15:30 – Plans for the future of his career

Host:

Peter Bithos
, CEO of Seek Asia, the parent company of JobStreet and JobsDB in Southeast Asia

Featured Interviewee:

Aaron Yesudian
, driver operations manager, Lalamove Malaysia

JobStreet by Seek Asia is Southeast Asia’s leading online jobs portal. Visit
JobStreet
 now to find your dream job.

Episode Transcript:

Peter Bithos (VO):

What did you want to be when you were a kid? Or, if you’re still a kid, what do you want to be when you grow up?

I wanted to be a diplomat, working for the US State Department, traveling from country to country, in exotic places – maybe even an ambassador one day.

For Aaron Yesudian, when he was growing up in Kuala Lumpur, he wanted to be a truck driver.

Aaron Yesudian:

As a kid, around the ages of six to seven, I wanted to actually be a truck driver.

Peter Bithos:

A truck driver?

Aaron Yesudian:

Yeah, yeah.

Peter Bithos:

Like, one of the big, like, 18-wheeler trucks?

Aaron Yesudian:

Yeah, correct. I think that was purely due to my fascination with Optimus Prime at that time, right? And I remember going down to Penang, which is in the North of KL here, and I always used to count how many trucks we used to pass, right? Just due to my fascination with trucks at that time.

Peter Bithos (VO):

But, as most of us know, childhood dreams don’t always come true. So instead of driving a truck today, Aaron manages fleets of delivery truck drivers in Malaysia for Lalamove, one of Asia’s top same-day delivery and courier service providers.

For the uninitiated, Lalamove became one of Hong Kong’s first unicorns in 2019 when its valuation hit the US$1 billion mark. But today, the company’s valuation has grown even further. And Aaron managed to get a job there right after graduating from university.

From JobStreet and
Tech in Asia
, this is
How to Get a Job at a Unicorn
, a podcast where I talk to employees at Asia’s top tech companies to find out exactly how they landed their gigs.

I’m Peter Bithos, the CEO of Seek Asia, the parent company of JobStreet and jobsDB around Southeast Asia, and in this episode, I’m going to tell you the story of how Aaron got to work for Lalamove as a fresh graduate.

Peter Bithos:

So let’s go back, Aaron, way back. What did you do in school? What did you study? And what were you hoping to do when you, like… I don’t think you woke up in the morning and said, “I wanna work for Lalamove.”

Aaron Yesudian:

Haha yeah, true, true. I think, growing up, what career and what profession I wanted to pursue was a lot of things, right?

Peter Bithos (VO):

As we’ve established earlier, Aaron had a fascination with trucks and wanted to become a truck driver as a kid – who doesn’t? Though that affinity for large vehicles evidently remains until today, teenage Aaron had a different idea of who he wanted to be.

Aaron Yesudian:

And then along my teenage years, I decided to pursue a career as a pilot.

Peter Bithos:

A pilot?

Aaron Yesudian:

Yeah, correct. And this was because my dad used to take me for all these air shows that used to be in Langkawi or… back then it was quite a lot of air shows at the Subang Airport.

Peter Bithos:

Oh, yeah?

Aaron Yesudian:

Yeah, so I used to go and I’m very fascinated with airplanes as well, right? Until today, it’s always like I’m seeing it for the first time and it always excites me, and then I’ll just take my phone, open up flight radar, and see what aircraft is flying over, where its destination is.

Peter Bithos (VO):

Aaron was determined to become a pilot – even after finishing his chemical engineering degree at university. But that dream was dashed as well.

Aaron Yesudian:

So when I graduated, I think this was about four years back now, right? And I continued to apply for cadet programs as a pilot as well, and I got through to Singapore Airlines, right? And I went for the interview, right? And it was there that I decided halfway through the application program that I did not want to do this anymore for two reasons.

One was because I didn’t know I had an eye issue until I went for the interview, right? So my right eye is a bit bad and they said, like, “Woah, you might need to consider another career option.” And the second was I decided, like, I wanted to do something more in a leadership role.

Peter Bithos (VO):

With a new goal in mind, Aaron set out to find a job. But the first few months of his job hunt proved challenging.

Aaron Yesudian:

I did consider a lot of companies related to what I studied, right? In fact, I actually sent in my resume in person, right? I go to the company and I send it in. But actually, to be frank with you, what happened was I did not get any response from the industries that I was relevant to at that time.

Peter Bithos (VO):

That’s when Aaron turned his attention to the tech startup world. At the time, the innovation scene was already bustling in Malaysia with several homegrown startups – including yours truly at JobStreet – cropping up and many more startups from overseas setting up operations there.

One of those startups was Lalamove, which had just entered the Malaysian market in 2018. And at first glance, Aaron was sold on working for the company.

Aaron Yesudian:

So I did a bit of homework on them and what Lalamove is and what they stood for. And when I looked up – because it was available on YouTube and there was a lot of articles on Lalamove at that time itself – I think the thing that actually attracted me to Lalamove was the flexibility they provided to the potential delivery partners to choose their own jobs, right? They were flexible to do it at their own time, at their own pace, and they could choose what jobs they wanted.

I sent in my resume, and then I got called up. So they called me and they spoke to me, and they said, like, “Hey, here’s a case study you’ve got to do,” about the local logistics landscape in Kuala Lumpur at that time, right? “You go and just do the pros and cons of local logistics landscape, and then you get back to us.”

Peter Bithos (VO):

Here’s the problem: Aaron had a degree in chemical engineering – not logistics. But rather than be deterred by the challenge, Aaron decided to take that challenge up.

Aaron Yesudian:

They wanted to know the friction points for the local logistics companies right here and what do they face on a day-to-day basis, right? So to be honest, right, when I got the case study, I was, like, “Oh, where am I going to find a driver?”

Peter Bithos:

I was just going to ask you, like, how did you prepare for that case study as a chemical engineer?

Aaron Yesudian:

Correct. I did not know where to begin with, right? So when I saw the email, I was at the gym, right? So I was, like, “Oh, where am I going to find a logistics driver?” So as I was exiting the gym, I saw this truck – it was a logistics company. So I told myself, “OK, I’ll just follow this truck. If he doesn’t stop in 10 minutes, then I will go home.”

So I just followed him and, in three minutes, he stopped at one of the offices nearby, the loading bay. So he stopped and he was doing his thing. Then I approached him and said, “Hey, do you have five minutes? Can I just interview you?” And he was kind enough to actually take time to speak to me very quickly on what friction he faces on a day-to-day basis.

Peter Bithos (VO):

So let’s just take a pause. You know what? Props to Aaron because I love that story. You know, I’ve conducted a few interviews in my time and you have no idea how few candidates actually take the time to do that kind of research when interviewing. Like, it sounds so easy, doesn’t it? But who just thinks to walk up to a stranger and say, “Hey, talk to me for a while, will you?”

And what would you know, it paid off. Just over a week after presenting his case study to Lalamove’s city launcher who came in from Hong Kong, Aaron was hired as a driver operations associate.

Aaron Yesudian:

When I got the job, I was actually really happy, right? Because at that time, I think it was already five months since I finished my studies and – you know, moms being moms – on a day-to-day basis, she never failed to remind me that, “Hey, you’re still not working.” So I was really happy and I couldn’t wait to start.

So what I did was, when I got offered the role by HR at that time, I did ask her, like, “Hey, is there anything I can do? And I can come in earlier to help out as well,” because I know they were already setting up and I wanted to be, like, in the hole from ground zero kind of thing, right, and get the whole experience. But at that time, she said that they had sufficient manpower so I could come in at the start date that they already had communicated to me.

Peter Bithos (VO):

And so Aaron began at his new gig at Lalamove, managing delivery driver partners, taking charge of driver acquisition and training, and helping the team shape the company into the decacorn it is today.

But while he had a great time during his first two years at Lalamove, 2020 was a huge challenge because of a little thing called Covid-19, maybe you’ve heard of it. Despite that, Aaron says that 2020 was when he accomplished his biggest achievement at the company.

Aaron Yesudian:

There was a lot of people getting retrenched and whatsoever so here in Lalamove, we were a source of replacement income, right? Because if you work in a company for six to 10 years or for a long period of time, I think if you suddenly get retrenched, the first thing is you’re not sure of what to do. You don’t even know where your resume is, you don’t know how to… and you’re all over the place, right? So Lalamove was a platform for them to find replacement income until they could find something maybe more stable or they’re more inclined to. Because as soon as that happens, you’re all over the place and you need something just to go, like, on a day-to-day kind of thing. So the biggest milestone, I think, the biggest achievement here will be providing a platform for these partners, right, when the pandemic hit.

Peter Bithos (VO):

Heart of gold, this one. You just want to give him a hug, don’t you? Actually, you probably want to get a hug from him. And I’m sure his bosses recognized his passion because in 2021, Aaron got promoted to the role of driver operations manager – well deserved – attaining the leadership role that he’d sought when he graduated from school all those years ago.

Peter Bithos:

Do you have a team now reporting to you? Are there little “Aarons” going around?

Aaron Yesudian:

Yeah, I have a number of colleagues now reporting to me on a day-to-day basis, weekly basis, you would say.

Peter Bithos:

How do you like that jump? Because you mentioned earlier you were thinking about being a pilot, which is a very solo kind of career.

Aaron Yesudian:

Yeah, correct, right, right.

Peter Bithos:

Now you’re managing people. So now you’re doing the thing that you didn’t become a pilot because you wanted to do. What does it feel like to lead people? How are you finding it?

Aaron Yesudian:

Yeah, actually, I find it quite interesting because I’m still learning too, right? I have a long way to go for that and speaking to them and seeing what actually motivates them.

I think that the hardest thing, I’d say, is finding the time to actually speak one-on-one, right? To speak to them and getting them to see what motivates them, where they see themselves maybe in three to five years’ time, and how I can help them achieve their intended goals, right, based on what they set out to do.

Peter Bithos (VO):

On top of that, Aaron is now in a position of hiring people to join his team. Having been with the company since it first launched in Malaysia and helping build that company to the logistics giant that it is today, his advice for anyone – anyone – who might be interested in joining him is to be a little bit like he was just four years ago.

Aaron Yesudian:

The two words that come up straight to my mind is proactiveness and hard work, right? But it’s a bit hard to gauge, right, during an interview –

Peter Bithos:

Right, how do you… what do you ask or what do you do to help suss that out?

Aaron Yesudian:

So when we speak to them first, of course, there is the whole onboarding process that we follow, right? And when we first speak to the potential candidate as well, what we do is we give them a case study to do. And of course, the case study covers quite a big range of things that they need to do. And when they come to us, they will need to present. So they need to be able to have and hold a conversation.

And it’s not about the case study that they actually prepared, right? Because most of the time, we already have the information that they are going to bring to us. But it’s more to how they actually carry out the case study.

When going for an interview, I think the candidate has to do their own homework, right? They need to actually read up more on the company itself and know what the company stands for and what they are potentially going to do. Don’t come to an interview not prepared. I mean, being nervous is one thing, right? It’s OK. It’s part of it. They just need to come in and have a conversation, right? Hold the conversation, speak. So for them to know, before coming for an interview is always to do their homework.

I think what fresh grads can actually do is to always be better prepared, right? I mean, sometimes we do have people with experience, and based on what we are hiring for. But I think what’s very important coming into the job is the soft skills, right? The communication aspect, the teamwork aspect, because everything else can be taught, we can learn together, and we can grow into it, right? Of course, if there is a sudden business need for a certain role, of course, we might need to hire someone with a little bit more experience, right? But I think, of course, fresh grads will always be given the chance. And if they can come in during the interview and prove themselves to us, then, hey, why not, right?

Peter Bithos (VO):

Honestly, that might sound like overly simplistic advice, but even at my level, while I’m interviewing, you’d be surprised at the number of senior tech execs who come in without doing any homework on the company or the job that they’re applying for. So for all you fresh grads out there, mid-career, great managers, or even execs or people listening for whatever set of reasons: Do your homework.

Anyway, back to Aaron, who’ll now be celebrating four years at Lalamove this year, I wondered whether he had any new plans for his career, but he told me he’s not going anywhere – at least not for now.

Peter Bithos:

So just, you know, just to close out with a last couple of questions: Lalamove in general, you still love it?

Aaron Yesudian:

Oh, I’ve loved it from day one, right? I think Lalamove is kind of my home.

Peter Bithos:

Aw, that’s very nice. And what makes it… you mentioned the people earlier and the mission in terms of giving people opportunity to make income. So is there anything else that, like, makes you stay there and be such a good ambassador for Lalamove?

Aaron Yesudian:

I think it’s as you mentioned, Peter, the people and the culture that we have here, right? It’s constantly helping one another whether it’s in day-to-day tasks, whether it’s something else outside of work as well. It’s a cohesive unit here, right? Everyone looks out for one another, everyone is ever willing to help, they’re always learning together.

Peter Bithos:

That’s fantastic, yeah. So what are the plans? You still want to be a pilot one day, far-off in the future, you think?

Aaron Yesudian:

I think I’ll pass on that, actually, Peter.

Peter Bithos:

So what’s the future of Aaron’s tech career? What’s it look like? Like, if you fast forward five, 10 years, do you have an idea of what you’d like to do? Or what you see yourself doing?

Aaron Yesudian:

Actually, I do. I’ve actually told myself that, maybe in five years, I want to start my own business.

Peter Bithos:

Really?

Aaron Yesudian:

Yeah.

Peter Bithos:

A young and aspiring entrepreneur. What would you… do you have a concept you’re working up in your head or…?

Aaron Yesudian:

Actually, I want to do something that’s easily available in everybody’s homes, right? Something… because it’s always about selling, right? Whether it’s a product or a service. So something that’s available in everybody’s homes and in terms of… I’ll get recurring orders as well.

Peter Bithos:

Yeah, yeah, a good business model is important.

Aaron Yesudian:

Yeah.

Peter Bithos:

So in between now and then… so let’s say you start a business five years from now, right? You come up with your great idea and you’re off and running. Are there additional skills or do you think about what skills you need prior to doing it?

Aaron Yesudian:

Yeah, actually, I’ve thought about it. And whatever decision that… I’ve told myself, whatever decision that I have to make, to achieve that goal in five years is to build towards that. Maybe now, in Lalamove, I already know how to operationally run a company, right? And see if the next decision I make is to go somewhere fresh again, completely new, right? Maybe before even raising capital or something, right?

Peter Bithos:

Fantastic.

Peter Bithos (VO):

You know, I get the fortunate opportunity to interact with so many people across industries, and it was so fascinating hearing Aaron’s story. He’s got a great career, and the best part is that he’s only just getting started. Who knows? We could someday hear about Aaron Yesudian, the entrepreneur, in a few years.

But until then, that’s all the time we have for today. Thank you so much for listening. How to Get a Job at a Unicorn is a podcast by Tech in Asia, produced in partnership with us over here at JobStreet. If you’re looking for a job, find us at jobstreet.com and, hopefully, we’ll get you started at your own dream job real soon.

Special thanks, of course, to Aaron Yesudian for sharing his amazing story. If you wanna find him, we’ll include some links to his LinkedIn profile in the show notes down below.

Don’t forget to give us a follow and, if you’re feeling up to it, why not give us five stars on whatever app you’re listening on? Make sure to check out our other episodes too – we’ve got people from Grab and GoTo Group talking about how they landed their jobs and sharing tips for anyone who wants to join them.

That’s it for this episode. My name’s Peter Bithos. Thanks for joining, and I hope you join us again soon.


Grab vies for AmBank despite tricky nature of deal

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Get the newsletter in your inbox everyday with a Premium subscription
.

Hi readers,

Grab’s offline-online strategy is back in vogue after the ride-hailing giant was said to be
negotiating a majority stake
 in AMMB Holdings (AmBank), Malaysia’s fourth-largest bank by assets.

Grab is looking to acquire the stakes of AmBank’s two largest shareholders: the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) and Azman Hashim, the Malaysian bank’s former chairperson. ANZ owns a 21.68% stake in the bank while Azman, a veteran banker who led AmBank from 1982 to January 2022, holds 11.83%.

The last time we read about this potential acquisition was when Grab bought Malaysian grocery chain Jaya Grocer early this year.

However, there are two differences this time: First, the AmBank acquisition hasn’t been confirmed. Grab didn’t comment when we asked to verify the news. Second, AmBank is a traditional institution, meaning it is tightly regulated by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), which makes this possible purchase even trickier.

Now, Grab, together with Singtel, has snagged a digital banking license in the country. And what’s interesting here is that BNM has liberalized the space, allowing foreign entities to hold a majority stake in and ultimately own a digital bank.

According to BNM, three out of the five license winners are Malaysian-owned in that Malaysian entities hold a majority stake in their respective consortia. Grab-Singtel is considered foreign despite having Kuok Brothers, controlled by Malaysian tycoon Robert Kuok, as a partner.

All these digital banks need to do moving forward is adhere to the central bank’s guidelines and cross the required hurdles as agreed by all stakeholders.

These are all well and good. But, owning an incumbent like AmBank is a different ball game. BNM wields huge clout over who sits on the boards of these banks, and it also determines who can own a substantial stake in them.

These laws came into effect after the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis when BNM mandated mergers between a handful of large-cap banks in the country.

AmBank is a good example of these laws taking effect. Back in 2017, US-based private equity firm TPG Newbridge was reported to be negotiating with then AmBank chairperson Azman to purchase ANZ’s stake in the bank.

However, BNM
did not green light
 the deal because the move went against the central bank’s policy of not having a private equity firm as a substantial shareholder of a bank. So it’s clear that banks can’t simply sell their strategic stake to the highest bidder.

Also, legislation dictates that no individual is allowed to hold more than a 10% interest in shares in any local financial institution.

Now here’s the fun part: There’s a so-called grandfather rule in the banking scene that only allows three seasoned bankers in the country to own more than 10% in their respective banks. In AmBank’s case, these bankers would be Azman, Quek Leng Chan of Hong Leong Financial Group, and Public Bank’s Teh Hong Piow.

The reason for the trio’s exemption is that their personal stakes in the respective banks were acquired before Malaysia’s banking and financial institution act was enforced in 1989.

Industry stalwarts and observers have expected this unwritten rule to be challenged
since 2016
.

There are practical reasons for such a challenge, especially now: AmBank is looking to put its checkered past behind it after settling claims for being involved with the 1MDB scandal. Azman, who turns 83 this year, has retired from the banking group. ANZ is still keen on selling its stake.

If BNM approaches Grab’s AmBank acquisition in the same spirit as it did with the digital banks, then maybe times are truly changing in the Malaysian banking space. However, this doesn’t mean negotiations will be easy for Grab, more so because it is a foreign company.

But if the ride-hailing giant emerges as AmBank’s major shareholder, then it can definitely unlock synergies between its digital and traditional banking arms. The other side of the coin is BNM’s ability to regulate newer owners of these banks. It’s a pressing matter, but that’s a story for another day.

Somewhere along these lines is the revival of another grapevine favorite: the merger between AmBank and RHB Bank, Malaysia’s third-largest financial services group and a digital banking consortium partner of Boost. But, that, too, is for another day.

—
Emmanuel Samarathisa
, journalist at
Tech in Asia

Top stories this week

Image credit: Timmy Loen

1.
Grab eyes majority stake in Malaysia’s 4th largest bank: sources

AmBank is on investors’ radars after the settlement of claims linked to the 1MDB con, insiders say.

2.
After GoTo IPO, Tokopedia eyes Indonesia’s lower-tier cities

With a regional expansion not in the cards for now, Tokopedia eyes lower-tier cities in Indonesia as prime growth areas. But so are its competitors.

3.
Org chart: The C-suites powering Capital A

We look at the captains steering Capital A as it pivots from being a discount airline to a diversified tech group.

4.
Lazada gets $378m boost from Alibaba, filings show

The capital is under the form of new shares issued by Lazada to the Singapore-based entity of Alibaba Group.

5.
Meet the growing ranks of the Grab mafia

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6.
The key players in Indonesia’s credit-scoring space

Ecommerce companies like Tokopedia and Blibli have also dipped their toes into the industry.

7.
Pleasant surprise in Malaysia’s digibank race

The five chosen consortia will be expected to meet the central bank’s stringent guidelines within the next two years.

8.
Capital SEA: Southeast Asia’s funding landscape (updated 11 May 2022)

Who are the new active investors on the block? Which funding rounds look like outliers? This visual story answers all this and more.

9.
How an Animoca game lost 70% of its users after adding KYC

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10.
Org Chart: The people leading Carousell

We look at the team behind Carousell as the firm diversifies its business while eyeing a potential IPO.


Org Chart: The C-suites powering Capital A

Org Chart
 maps out the people at the top of Asia’s most prominent tech companies. Who are the key decision-makers? How are the teams organized? What does it tell us about the company’s priorities? We continue this series with Malaysian diversified group Capital A.

Capital A was born out of necessity. The global aviation industry ground to a halt amid Covid-19 as pandemic-induced measures clipped the wings of major airlines, including AirAsia.

In 2020, the Kuala Lumpur-based budget airline had to let go off staff, seek government aid, and restructure its debt to survive.

But the most important move by Tony Fernandes, AirAsia’s co-founder and CEO, was to change the company’s name to Capital A, marking its diversification into tech.

The pivot was easy: AirAsia already had a tech arm that managed its digital services, including its website. Scaling up involved reorganization at the group level, which Fernandes executed. With shareholders support, Capital A was born on March 13 this year and its new ticker went up on the Bursa Malaysia stock exchange.

The group’s structure has been simplified into two main arms: aviation (AirAsia) and digital (AirAsia Digital).

Major responsibilities have been assigned to Fernandes’ three generals or presidents: Tharumalingam Kanagalingam (aviation), Aireen Omar (digital), and Collin Currie (digital business).

Among the three, Aireen and Tharumalingam have worked with Fernandes the longest. Aireen joined AirAsia in 2006 after a three-year stint at New York’s Deutsche Bank as her first job.

Tharumalingam, meanwhile, worked at EMI Music Malaysia and Warner Music Malaysia before joining AirAsia as ground operations manager in 2001, the year the firm was founded.

Currie joined AirAsia in 2021 after working as the managing director for Adidas Group’s Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Greater China businesses from 2005 onwards. Before this, he was Sony Music Entertainment Malaysia’s managing director from 2003 to 2005.

When Capital A was known as AirAsia Group, many of its tech businesses such as Airasia.com were grouped under the airline arm. But after restructuring the group into Capital A, there’s a clear division between aviation, tech, and other services.

Tharumalingam and Currie have similar backgrounds as Fernandes: All three have worked in the music business. Prior to founding AirAsia, Fernandes was vice-president at Warner Music Southeast Asia, which he left after it announced its merger with America Online in 2001.

Aireen heads AirAsia Digital, focusing on the ventures such as AirAsia Super App and Teleport, while Currie handles the digital aspects of the business, from communications to marketing.

Here are a few more observations:

Kamaruddin Meranun is a co-founder of AirAsia and a close associate of Fernandes but doesn’t get involved in the day-to-day running of the group. He is the non-executive non-independent chairman of Capital A and also one of the group’s controlling shareholders.

Among the three presidents, Aireen not only leads the most important business unit, but also one that houses the greatest number of departments and subsidiaries. She oversees Teleport, BigPay, and the AirAsia Super App, among others.

There’s some upward mobility within Capital A. Tharumalingam, for example, climbed up the ranks to become president. Tharumalingam joined the firm as a ground operations manager in 2001 and worked his way up to deputy CEO by 2017 before being promoted to CEO in 2021.

Khairie Hisyam Aliman was a business journalist with
The Edge
 before joining AirAsia as its “futurist.” He became chief of staff following the restructuring.

Tan Suan Sear who is AirAsia Food CEO was the founder of DeliverEat, which AirAsia acquired in 2021.

A majority of Capital A staff are Malaysians. There are country heads who are also corporate veterans. For example, AirAsia Philippines CEO Ricardo Isla had worked with PLDT Global Corporation, a major Philippines telco provider, before joining the airline.

AirAsia X remains a wholly owned listed subsidiary that’s outside Capital A. Fernandes and Meranun are major shareholders of AirAsia X through their investment vehicle, Tune Group but AirAsia X has its own board and is not a wholly owned subsidiary of Capital A. In 2020, there were
plans
 to merge AirAsia X and AirAsia, but that plan has yet to materialize under Capital A.

Capital A did not participate in this article.
Tech in Asia
 has verified the chart with company insiders.

You can also check out coverage of
Capital A
 here. If you find any missing or inaccurate data, do reach out to tianwen@techinasia.com so we can fill in the gaps.

Credits
Graphics:
 Timmy Loen
Editing:
 Tay Tian Wen, Collin Furtado, and Arpit Nayak


Malaysia’s 1337 Ventures launches fundraising bootcamp for SMEs

Malaysia-based
1337 Ventures
, a VC firm focusing on early-stage startups, has launched a fundraising bootcamp as part of an equity crowdfunding (ECF) accelerator program to help local SMEs.

The launch followed 1337 Ventures’ demo day, during which companies pitched to investment firms such as The Hive SEA, Tenggara Capital, Gobi Partners, Malaysia Debt Ventures, Kairous Capital, and Rosewood Capital.

The 1337 Ventures ECF accelerator team / Photo credit: 1337 Ventures

The participants included used goods and idle asset marketplace
Unearth
 and healthtech startup
QueueMed Asia
. They will be raising funds via ECF through 1337 Ventures’ sister company,
Leet Capital
.

Suresh Thiru
, an angel investor and former CEO of Seek Asia who participated in the demo day, said the ECF accelerator program saw “a great mix of participation” from different industry players and would “play a critical role” for Malaysian entrepreneurs.

See also:
YC-like Indian accelerator eyes $500m second fund

The four-week program provided learning materials that focused on how to conduct a business valuation, the types of legal instruments required for an ECF raise, the types of grants currently available, and what constitutes a good media story.

ECF has been increasingly popular in Malaysia as a new and viable way for local businesses to raise funds. The Securities Commission Malaysia
reported
 that the total ECF funds raised increased to 221.63 million ringgit (US$50.6 million) in 2021 from 127.73 million ringgit (US$29.1 million) in 2020.

Currency converted from Malaysian ringgit to US dollar: US$1 = 4.38 ringgit.


Grab eyes majority stake in Malaysia’s 4th largest bank: sources

Ride-hailing giant Grab is in talks to buy a majority stake in Malaysian banking group AMMB Holdings (AmBank), people familiar with the matter told
Tech in Asia
.

Pic: Ambank

Two industry insiders said talks were still in preliminary stages but that Grab is among the names seeking to snap up a stake in Malaysia’s fourth-largest bank by assets. AmBank, which is listed on Bursa Malaysia, has a market value of 12 billion ringgit (US$2.74 billion).

Tech in Asia
 understands that investors have their sights on AmBank’s banking and asset management arms, following the bank’s settlement of claims linked to the multibillion-dollar 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal.

Business publication
The Edge
 first reported the deal on May 7, saying Grab was looking to take over the stakes of AmBank’s two largest shareholders: Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) and Azman Hashim, the Malaysian bank’s former chairman.

ANZ owns a 21.68% stake in the bank while Azman, a veteran banker who led AmBank from 1982 to January 2022, holds 11.83%.

In response to an enquiry by
Tech in Asia
, A Grab spokesperson told
Tech in Asia
 the super app would not comment on “rumors or speculation” while ANZ did not respond to queries from
The Edge
. We have also reached out to AmBank for comment.

The industry insider
Tech in Asia
 spoke to didn’t divulge how much Grab was willing to fork out for the deal, but added that the Singapore-headquartered firm’s physical banking strategy in Malaysia appears to be in line with a move the ride-hailing giant recently made in Indonesia by purchasing a 16.3% stake in Bank Fama International.

Grab’s interest in traditional banking and AmBank’s search for investors come on the heels of a few recent developments.

Firstly, GXS Bank, a joint venture between Grab and Signtel, recently snagged a digital banking license from Bank Negara Malaysia. GXS has formed a consortium with Kuok Brothers, the investment vehicle of Malaysia’s wealthiest tycoon, Robert Kuok. Grab said in an April 29 press statement that GXS would own 55.45% of the proposed digital bank, subject to regulatory approval.

Secondly, AmBank has meanwhile reached a settlement with the Malaysian government on all outstanding claims and actions regarding transactions around 1MDB. The bank had to pay 2.83 billion ringgit (US$645 million) as part of the settlement despite denying wrongdoing on its part in 2017.

AmBank’s settlement is linked to the bank’s handling of 5 billion-ringgit (US$1.14 billion) bonds issued by 1MDB in May 2009. The 30-year government-guaranteed bonds, which pay an interest rate of 5.75%, were almost stolen and flipped by fugitive financier Low Taek Jho – known as Jho Low – and collaborators.

Malaysian enforcement agencies investigated the issuance of the bonds, including the involvement of AmBank’s senior staff in facilitating the flipping of the bonds. Investigators found that Jho Low and his co-conspirators had made a profit of 600 million ringgit (US$136 million) at 1MDB’s expense.

Thirdly, since 2016, ANZ’s has looked to lessen its exposure to Asia, closing down businesses in several countries in the region, including Singapore, and announcing that it was considering the sale of minority stakes in banks across Malaysia, Indonesia, and China.

Grab listed on the Nasdaq five months ago and raised fresh capital. Despite reporting a loss of US$3.4 billion for the financial year ended December 31, 2021, the ride-hailing giant is sitting on US$9 billion in cash, with a net cash position of US$6.8 billion.

Grab’s maiden purchase post-IPO was Malaysian grocery store chain Jaya Grocer, which it bought for an undisclosed sum in January this year.

Currency converted from Malaysian ringgit to US dollar: US$1 = 4.38 ringgit

See also:
Making sense of Grab’s Jaya Grocer acquisition


US-based Swimlane to set up regional headquarters in Malaysia

US-based
Swimlane
 will set up its headquarters for the Asia Pacific in Kuala Lumpur as part of a tie-up with
CyberSecurity Malaysia
 to improve cybersecurity analytics and automation in the region, reported
Digital News Asia
.

As part of the alliance, the two parties have also identified three key initiatives for improving cybersecurity in the region: fostering awareness about the value of automating security operations for organizations, driving up in-country development of talent and skills, and introducing security operations automation to existing and new partners to develop solutions and services for the regional market.

The low-code security automation provider believes the Asia Pacific faces a significant shortage in talent when it comes to cybersecurity. The region currently has over 2 million cybersecurity roles open for hire – which makes up 66% of the total global talent shortage in the field.

See also:
The tech mogul backing Binance’s Malaysia breakthrough


Crossing the first milestone in Malaysia’s digibank race

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Hello reader,

When was the last time you physically stepped into a bank branch?

Aside from having to deposit the money I received from relatives during the recent Lunar New Year festivities, I actually haven’t had to go down to the bank in nearly two years. While that’s partially due to Covid-19, it’s primarily because almost everything I need to do with my bank can now be done online.

Digital banking has made accessing financial services easier than ever, and it has created opportunities to close the gaps when it comes to financial inclusion.

Countries all over the globe are looking into issuing digital banking licenses, hoping to leverage tech in order to make financial services accessible to underserved and underbanked people. Malaysia is no exception.

The Southeast Asian nation has just taken its first step towards making digital banks a reality with its announcement of the successful applicants for its digital banking license last week.

Today we look at:

The
latest updates
 from Malaysia’s digital banking race

The mental health startup that’s Meta’s first investment in Southeast Asia

Other newsy highlights such as the latest in Didi’s woes and JD.com’s special cash dividend

Premium summary

The state of Malaysia’s digital banking race

Image credit: Timmy Loen

Last week, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), the nation’s central bank, announced the five successful applicants for its maiden digital banking license.

The results were somewhat surprising, but at least on paper, featured a good mix of Malaysian- and foreign-controlled entities, allaying concerns of political interference that had dogged the central bank ever since its open tender call for the licenses.

A motley crew:
 Out of the five chosen consortia, three were majority-owned by Malaysians, namely Boost-RHB Bank, YTL Digital Capital-Sea, and the KAF consortium. The other two are the partnership between GSX Bank (the Grab and Singtel digital bank) and Kuok Brothers, and the Aeon consortium.

Didn’t make the cut:
  Falling out of the digital banking race were a consortium led by local conglomerate Sunway and another led by BigPay, the e-wallet arm of AirAsia parent firm Capital A. Neither of them received licenses from BNM.

What’s next?:
 Winning the license is just the beginning of Malaysia’s digital banking race. The country has a banking penetration rate of 96.1%, and many traditional banks have already moved into the digital space.

Digital banks will face challenges with getting customers on board and will need to manage the risks involved with collecting deposits and loan defaults, as Malaysia’s underserved and unserved segment is made up of customers with inconsistent cash flow.

Read more:
Pleasant surprise in Malaysia’s digibank race

Startup spotlight

Meta for mental health

Just last week, I was talking about the rise of mental health startups in Asia. It seems pretty timely then that this week, mental wellness firm Ami
has raised US$3 million
 in a seed round joined by Meta’s New Product Experimentation Team. It is Meta’s first early-stage investment in Asia.

Founded earlier this year
, Ami offers private and accessible health care support for employees. Its system pairs users with coaches by analyzing their answers as they sign up for the service.

The startup
, which is based in Singapore and Indonesia, maximizes messaging platforms like WhatsApp for communication between users and support providers. Its coaches are available at all times with no appointment needed.

The fresh funding
 will go toward Ami’s expansion plans within Asia.

Quick bytes

1⃣
Shareholders rejoice

Chinese ecommerce titan JD.com
has approved a special cash dividend
 of US$0.63 per ordinary share and US$1.26 per American depositary share to shareholders. In total, the dividend will amount to nearly US$2 billion.

The ecommerce giant swung to a net loss of US$800 million in the fourth quarter of 2021 from a net profit of US$3.8 billion a year ago.

2⃣
This peppermint isn’t for eating

Australia-based Peppermint Innovation said its unit, Peppermint Bizmoto,
has been licensed
 to offer app-based e-wallet services to users in the Philippines, allowing users in the country to receive digital money and access digital services via its platform.

Previously, Peppermint Bizmoto only offered financial services such as remittance, bill payments, cash transfers, and e-loads or mobile phone top-ups through its network of direct-selling agents.

3⃣
Didi’s woes continue

In a regulatory filing, Didi Global revealed that it is
facing a probe
 by the US Securities and Exchange Commission over its US$4.4 billion IPO at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

This comes after Didi announced that it would be delisting from the NYSE in the wake of Chinese authorities opening an investigation into its customer data collection practices and cybersecurity risks shortly after the company went public.

4⃣
A public market debut in the works

Mamaearth, an India-based beauty and baby care brand, is
planning an IPO
 by mid-2023, sooner than the previous two- to three-year plan. Its parent company Honasa Consumer raised US$52 million in a funding round led by Sequoia in January, reaching unicorn status with a valuation of US$1.2 billion.

5⃣
Accelerating Asia’s startups

Singapore-based Accelerating Asia, an early-stage VC firm and startup accelerator,
has backed nine new startups
 across Asia and poured additional capital into four companies that are part of its existing portfolio.

With the investment into the new startups, which are part of the VC firm’s sixth cohort, Accelerating Asia now has 52 companies in its portfolio that have raised a combined total of over US$42 million.

6⃣
Go with the motion

LottieFiles, an animation workflow platform based in Malaysia,
has raised US$37 million
 in a series B funding round led by Square Peg Capital. Investors including 500 Global and Microsoft’s venture fund, M12, joined the round.

Founded in 2019, LottieFiles enables animators to streamline their work, offering over 50,000 free and premium animations.


Microsoft backs $37m round of US-, Malaysia-based motion graphics firm

LottieFiles
, an animation workflow platform, has raised US$37 million in a series B funding round led by Square Peg Capital. Investors including 500 Global and Microsoft’s venture fund, M12, joined the round.

LottieFiles CEO Kshitij Minglani (left) and chief technical officer Nattu Adnan / Photo credit: LottieFiles

LottieFiles is a motion graphics platform that allows animators to streamline their work, offering over 50,000 free and premium animations. It also plans to launch a workflow and collaboration solution later this year, according to a statement.

Additionally, LottieFiles will use the funding to further its product roadmap and expand its operations.

LottieFiles was founded in 2019 by
Kshitij Minglani
 (CEO) and
Nattu Adnan
 (chief technology officer). Since then, the company has onboarded users from over 135,000 companies globally, including animation designers and motion designers for Google, TikTok, Disney, Uber, Airbnb, and Netflix.

LottieFiles is based in the US, with offices in Seoul and Kuala Lumpur. In January 2021, the company raised
US$9 million
 in a round led by M12. LottieFiles then followed up in February with its acquisition of Indian design asset marketplace
Iconscout
for an undisclosed sum.

See Also:
Are Malaysia’s startup efforts finally paying off?

Other investors in its latest round include:

XYZ Venture Capital

GreatPoint Ventures


Grab-Singtel, others win Malaysia digital bank license

Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), the country’s central bank, has awarded digital banking licenses to five applicants, including a consortium led by Sea Group and YTL Digital Capital.

A consortium comprising Boost Holdings and RHB Bank plus another led by GXS Bank and Kuok Brothers have  also received licenses under the Financial Services Act 2013.

Photo credit: 123RF

GXS Bank, a joint venture between Grab and Singtel, will hold a 55.45% stake in the proposed Malaysia digital bank. The group will hire more than 200 people across verticals, including product and design, data, technology, risk, and compliance.

Meanwhile, two consortiums – one involving Aeon Financial Service, Aeon Credit Service, and MoneyLion; the other led by KAF Investment Bank – have received licenses under the Islamic Financial Services Act 2013.

The new license holders were chosen from 29 applications. Three of the five consortiums are majority-owned by Malaysians, according to a
BNM statement
.

See also:
How Gojek-backed Bank Jago is taking on Sea, Akulaku’s digibanks

Before they start operations, the successful applicants will undergo a period of operational readiness, which will be vetted by BNM through an audit. The process may take between 12 months to 24 months.

“By adopting digital technology more widely for everyday transactions, we can significantly increase opportunities for our society to participate in the economy – by overcoming geographical barriers, reducing transaction costs, and promoting better financial management,” Tan Sri Nor Shamsiah, BNM’s governor, said in the statement.


Dickheads NFT gets the snip from Malaysia’s censors

Sign up for the Daily Newsletter, sent exclusively to our Premium subscribers. We break down the big and messy topics of Asia’s tech and startup community.
Get the newsletter in your inbox everyday with a Premium subscription
.

Hello reader,

I never thought I’d be writing about how images of anthropomorphic penises are getting censored, but here we are.

Censorship’s a funny thing. As writers, we learn about the different rules we need to follow – both said and unsaid. But I believe that it would be better if censorship is mostly left up to the individual. After all, we do have control over the type of content we consume, and self-regulation is the key factor. If you don’t like it, then avoid it.

Today’s story takes a look at censorship from the perspective of Malaysia’s government, which recently banned the Dickheads NFT project. The move has raised some concerns within the NFT artist community, especially following other instances of potential legal violations.

Today we look at:

Non-fungible tokens, part 1: Malaysia
puts a stop
 to an “inappropriate and indecent” NFT project

NFTs, part 2: Adgorithmics incorporates them as loyalty rewards

Other newsy highlights such as TikTok Shop’s Malaysia rollout and Revolut getting the green light for crypto services in Singapore.

Premium summary

Getting the cut

Image credit: Timmy Loen

Art getting censored is a tale as old as time. In this case, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) didn’t take too kindly to digital images of anthropomorphic penises being sold online and has banned the Dickheads NFT project from being minted locally. Whether this is just the beginning of further censorship within the space, only time will tell.

Drop it like it’s banned:

Tech In Asia
 understands the censorship comes after complaints were filed with the MCMC. In response, the agency ordered Malaysia-based marketplace NFT Pangolin to delist the project. According to the MCMC, the complaints stated that the content in question is “inappropriate and indecent in nature.”

After the cock-up:
 An NFT Pangolin spokesperson told us that the company was “working closely” with MCMC and the Dickheads NFT artist to address the matter. As for the unamed artist, they’re now looking to host the project on OpenSea, the world’s largest NFT marketplace, or SuperRare, an Ethereum-based digital art market.

Chilling effect:
 This isn’t the first time an NFT artist has gotten into trouble in the country. Fahmi Reza recently landed himself in hot water because of his Monyet Istana (Palace Monkey) NFT. He was arrested by police last week and detained under Malaysia’s sedition laws. He was released the next day but has since been barred from leaving the country.

Read more:
Malaysia bans Dickheads NFT

Startup spotlight

Get rewarded with… NFTs?

Photo credit: MetaGacha

I’m not really big on loyalty rewards as I often don’t think they’re worth it (though they do come in handy sometimes). But if I were a customer of Adgorithmics, an ecommerce-focused AI company,
its loyalty program
 could possibly change my mind.

The company is rewarding customers with NFTs. To do this, it partnered with blockchain firm Klaytn Foundation, with the NFTs being issued through the MetaGachas platform.

Not just a gacha game:
 MetaGachas is a smart contract that specializes in creating customer loyalty programs. Each MetaGachas NFT has a different value and allows users to claim discounts and membership privileges from different shops. This will encourage them to make more transactions and collect more NFTs.

You get a reward, you get a reward, everyone gets a reward:
 The initiative will allow both sellers and buyers to earn NFTs from transactions. They can then collect the NFTs, exchange them for vouchers to make other purchases, or redeem prizes such as smartphones, game consoles, and laptops.

First come, first served:
 Social commerce platform Tapao is the first to join the initiative, and it has already registered more than 3,000 people since the NFT program was launched. According to Adgorithmics, Klaytn, and MetaGacha, Tapao is already seeing several thousand purchases through the NFTs, with holders also getting a 5% discount on the platform.

In partnership with

A peek into the future of sports technology

For football fans, you’d probably remember a time before matches were broadcast in ultra-high-definition quality.

Much has changed since then, not only in football broadcasting, but in the rest of the sporting world as well.

As technology makes its way into the sports industry, advancements like interactive streaming offers, smart stadiums, wearables, and other sportstech innovations have helped the sector progress to an unprecedented level of sophistication – allowing everyone to enjoy their sporting experience even more.

If you’re keen on learning about the future of sportstech development, keep an eye out for the Deutsche Fussball Liga’s SportsInnovation trade fair in May. During the fair, you’ll be able to check out a unique event: a series of innovation games where new sportstech solutions will be tested and showcased in a live environment.

To learn more about SportsInnovation, visit
its website
.

Quick bytes

1⃣
A nervous sort of optimism

Neuron Mobility, a Singapore-based e-scooter startup, has raised
US$43.5 million
 in a series B round. This brings the company’s total funding to US$77.7 million, with the capital going toward developing its tech, manufacturing more e-scooters, and driving its global expansion plans.

Outside of Singapore, the firm has a presence in Australia, the UK, and South Korea, as well as a permit to operate in over 30% of all cities in Canada.

2⃣
Joining the fray

Social media giant TikTok is
entering Malaysia’s online shopping market
 through its ecommerce arm, TikTok Shop. Business owners can start signing up to sell goods through their TikTok accounts and will be charged a 1% payment service fee. According to a company statement, TikTok Shop aims to support small businesses that have not yet set up physical stores due to high investment costs.

3⃣
Big backers

Indonesia-based BintanGo has
raised US$2.1 million
 in a seed round led by Investible and eWTP Tech Innovation Fund, with participation from current and former executives of YouTube, Facebook, and Google. The firm provides productivity and monetization tools as well as financial solutions for digital content creators to help them manage, simplify, and grow their businesses.

4⃣
Revolut gets crypto go-ahead

The UK-based fintech unicorn can now operate a fully regulated cryptocurrency service after
getting approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore
. According to a report by
Fintechnews Singapore
, the Revolut app will now support the buying, selling, and holding of cryptocurrencies.

5⃣
Enough with the puns

Spenmo Financial Technology Corporation, a Singapore-based payments software startup,
has been licensed to operate in the Philippines
. The firm can now operate payment systems in the country through a license issued by the central bank of the Philippines. According to the firm, this will help it tap into the increasing volume of digital business transactions in the country.

6⃣
Is this an offer Sea can’t refuse?

State-owned Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) has
offered Singapore-based Sea Group a 10% stake in Bank Mayora
. BNI currently holds a 63.9% stake in Bank Mayora following its acquisition of 1 billion new shares.

Reports of Sea and BNI’s partnership surfaced last December, with BNI president director Royke Tumilaar saying that the internet giant helped BNI transform Bank Mayora into a digital bank by providing services to develop its tech and business model.


New ecommerce firm launches in Malaysia, plans regional expansion

Malaysia-based
Shoppymore
, a new ecommerce platform, has joined the crowded market, aiming to hit 10 million ringgit (US$2.3 million) in revenue by the end of the year.

Shoppymore founder and group CEO Datuk Seri Dr Barani Karuna Karan / Photo credit: Shoppymore

Shoppymore has onboarded 100 sellers in its first year of operations and aims to increase this number tenfold in 2022 to hit its US$2.3 million revenue target.

The company claims to currently have a daily transaction value of about US$11,460.

Shoppymore founder
Datuk Seri Dr Barani Karuna Karan
 said that the firm plans to expand to India, Indonesia, and the Philippines, with a focus on exporting Malaysia-made products.

Among the sellers listed on the platform was direct selling company Destina 1 International Sdn Bhd, where the Shoppymore founder serves as group executive chairperson.

The region’s ecommerce space has gotten increasingly crowded, with TikTok Shop
officially entering
 Thailand, Vietnam, and Malaysia in February. TikTok is reportedly working on functions
to enable cross-border ecommerce
 for merchants in selected Southeast Asian countries.

Currency converted from Malaysian ringgit to US dollar: US$1 = 4.36 ringgit.

See also: Explaining TikTok’s ecommerce bet in Southeast Asia


TikTok’s ecommerce arm sets up shop in Malaysia

TikTok
 Shop, the ecommerce arm of the global short-video app, has rolled out its online shopping platform in Malaysia.

Photo credit: Unsplash

Business owners in the country can start signing up to sell goods using their TikTok accounts. The platform, which can recommend products to its mobile app users, charges a 1% payment service fee to merchants.

TikTok Shop aims to support small businesses that have not yet set up physical stores due to high investment costs, the company said in a statement.

Ecommerce income in Malaysia jumped 17.1% in the third quarter of 2021 compared to the same three-month period in 2020, said Darren Quek, TikTok Malaysia’s strategy operations manager, citing government statistics.

“This shows that more Malaysians are shopping online, and we want to tap into this market to make it more convenient for our creators to reach their buyers, and vice versa,” he added.

See also:
Explaining TikTok’s ecommerce bet in Southeast Asia

TikTok Shop officially
entered
 Thailand, Vietnam, and Malaysia in February, where it has been hiring local teams.

Following its Malaysia launch, the company has been rolling out sales campaigns for local shoppers.


Malaysia bans Dickheads NFT

The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has banned the Dickheads NFT project, which features anthropomorphic penises, from being minted on local
NFT
 marketplaces.

Image credit: Dickheads NFT

Tech in Asia
 understands that a complaint was filed with the MCMC, which led the agency on March 30 to order NFT Pangolin, a newly launched Malaysia-based marketplace, to delist the project.

MCMC told us that the agency requested NFT Pangolin to remove the NFTs after receiving “complaints that the content is deemed to be inappropriate and indecent in nature.”

Meanwhile, an NFT Pangolin spokesperson told us that the company was “working closely” with MCMC and the Dickheads NFT artist to address the matter.

The Dickheads NFT artist, who is based in Malaysia, told
Tech in Asia
 that the project will be hosted on OpenSea, the world’s largest NFT marketplace, or SuperRare, an Ethereum-based digital art market.

The artist also alleged that MCMC suspended its Twitter account but MCMC told us that it did not submit such a request.

NFTs are neither digital currencies nor securities and are not regulated by the country’s financial regulators, including Bank Negara Malaysia and Securities Commission Malaysia. But MCMC’s powers include monitoring social media and censoring content deemed inappropriate, “which raises the issue of freedom of expression because in many ways an NFT is art,” a Kuala Lumpur-based artist tells us.

They add that this may not bode well for local NFT marketplaces as artists and issuers “will risk having their work censored by MCMC.”

The regulator’s move to censor Dickheads NFT is a first in Muslim-majority Malaysia, where its government as well as aristocracy adopt a conservative stance toward the freedom of expression.

Some Malaysian artists, such as Visithra Manikam, have successfully minted NFTs. She is believed to be Malaysia’s
biggest-selling artist
 on OpenSea, with some of her work being purchased by rapper Snoop Dogg.

But projects such as artist Fahmi Reza’s Monyet Istana (Palace Monkey) NFT are expected to test the country’s censorship limits.

Fahmi, known for his satirical take on Malaysian affairs, will be minting the piece on Pentas.io, a local NFT marketplace. The money he raises from the sale will go to the Freedom of Expression Legal Defense Fund, which is managed by activists and lawyers.

Monyet Istana is a satirical graphic featuring Mojo Jojo, the main villain in the popular ‘90s cartoon
The Powerpuff Girls
, in traditional royal attire. The artwork is a jibe toward a sultan’s purchase of a painting, which itself was a satirical piece portraying lawmakers from Malaysia’s parliament as apes and frogs.

Fahmi was arrested by police last Thursday – just 15 hours after he shared his work – and detained under Malaysia’s sedition laws. He was released the next day but has been barred from leaving the country.

Update (Apr. 26, 4:00 p.m. SGT): This article was updated to add responses from MCMC.


Behind the growth of Malaysia’s digital creative content startups

Many things come to mind when one thinks about Malaysia. The country is a key producer of rubber and palm oil, an industrial powerhouse, and a popular tourist destination. But it is also the home of a booming digital creative content scene.

Photo credit: pat138241 /
123RF

In 2020, Malaysia’s gaming market
stood at US$786 million
, which made it the third largest in Southeast Asia. Its animation industry was
valued at over US$1.6 billion
 in the same year, with exports in the sector standing at over US$285 million, doubling from 2014. Local animation studios also produced more than 65 original pieces of intellectual property, creating nearly US$40.5 million in export value and expanding its presence to more than 120 countries.

The products of Malaysia’s digital creative industry have also received recognition around the world. Programs such as
Upin and Ipin
, which explores the adventures of two twin brothers, and
Mechamato
, which revolves around a boy and his robot companion, have reached global audiences. Meanwhile, games like multiplayer arena brawler
GigaBash
 and action-adventure title
No Straight Roads
 have won accolades at international competitions.

It’s no surprise that the industry plays a key role in Malaysia’s growing digital economy.

The value of digital creative content

“Digital content has great potential in driving the growth of Malaysia’s digital economy, making it an area of great interest for us,” says Mahadhir Aziz, CEO of the
Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC)
, a government agency supporting the country’s digital industries.

In his perspective, there are several reasons why this is the case.

Mahadhir Aziz, CEO of MDEC / Photo credit: MDEC

First, the digital creative industry has been put forward
as a key driver
 of the post-pandemic economy in Southeast Asia. This is a result of rapid digitalization and a growing generation of millennials and Gen-Z consumers who value experiences and entertainment, alongside an
even greater demand
 for digital content globally.

Second, digital creative content provides a way for many key skills in tech to be utilized.

“Digital content is based on established digital creative skills and tech, such as programming, design, art, and narrative construction,” explains Aziz. “Not only does it help train essential base skills, it also allows room for innovation and creates opportunities to explore use cases for new tech, such as virtual reality, augmented reality, and blockchain.”

There is also a significant growth opportunity for Malaysian startups in the digital content market for Islamic entertainment.

In 2019, Muslim consumers globally
spent US$222 billion
 on media and recreation, up from US$214 billion in the year before. The pandemic saw the consumption of Islamic content rise to unprecedented levels, and Muslim consumer spending on media is expected to reach US$270 billion by 2024, although the market remains largely underserved on the content front.

Building up a digital creative economy

Given the potential of the digital creative content industry to drive Malaysia’s digital economy, the nation has rolled out several initiatives to help support its growth.

MDEC is leading the Malaysian government’s efforts through the Digital Content Ecosystem (DICE) policy under the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia, which focuses on attracting investments, building up local talent and companies, and strengthening the ecosystem through government and private sector partnerships.

According to Aziz, MDEC’s support of the government’s DICE policy will take form across four areas, namely business development, creative skills and talent, digitalization, and research and partnerships. These include competitions and business-matching opportunities, as well as access to a number of strategic investments and grants to help fuel the growth of local companies.

One Malaysian startup that has benefited from MDEC’s support is content development firm
The R&D Studio
.

In 2017, the startup participated in MDEC’s Intellectual Property Creators Challenge (now known as the
Digital Content Creators Challenge
) and won the competition, receiving a 75,000 ringgit (US$17,800) grant to produce its short film
Batik Girl
. The movie went on to premiere in 17 countries, receive official selections in 28 international film festivals, and win awards in Chile, Japan, and the US.

Poster for Batik Girl / Photo credit: The R&D Studio

Aside from the support available in its home turf, The R&D Studio was also able to take advantage of opportunities that MDEC offers to local animation companies that aim to go abroad and tap into new markets.

Alongside two other startups
Zappy
 and
Durioo
, The R&D Studio exhibited at the
Malaysia Pavilion
 during
Expo 2020 Dubai
, which was held in January this year. Through the event, the firm was able to exhibit
Batik Girl
 to an even broader audience while connecting to potential clients in the Middle East.

Expo 2020 Dubai also opened up opportunities for Zappy and Durioo. Zappy has worked with a local government in the Middle East on an animation project and is in talks with several companies in Dubai. Meanwhile, Durioo has connected with broadcasters in the Middle East and North Africa to bring its Islamic children’s content to wider audiences.

“[Having these startups participate] in Expo 2020 Dubai allows us to give them exposure to global markets, as well as bring the brand name of Malaysian digital content space to the wider audience,” says Aziz.

From Malaysia to the world

The CEO is bullish about the future of Malaysia’s digital creative content economy.

“The future looks good, as is evident by the success seen by startups in the space,” shares Aziz. “These startups represent the funnel of new creators entering the space and are the lifeblood of creativity, and earlier studios have paved the way for other entrants to enter the field.”

MDEC will continue to fuel the growth of the country’s digital creative industry, both through supporting startups and developing the necessary talent for keeping the sector going.

“These initiatives will help provide a strong foundation for our growing industry and ensure that there isn’t a lack of talent,” Aziz explains. “With steady flow of talent, infrastructure, and consistent government grants and initiatives, the gaming and animation industry will be able to not just profit, but also fuel the growth of Malaysia’s digital economy.”

As Malaysian content continues to cross borders, the CEO is confident that the country’s startups will be able to reach consumers all over the world.

“As the global audience expands their taste for diverse content, Malaysia with its culture-rich and diverse population would be able to deliver content that is different and unique,” he says.

Currency converted from Malaysian ringgit to US dollar: US$1 = 4.23 ringgit.

Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) is the agency under the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia Malaysia leading the digital transformation of the country’s economy for 25 years. It aims to enable a progressive, innovation-led digital economy.

Learn more about MDEC on its website
here
.

This content was produced by Tech in Asia Studios, which connects brands with Asia’s tech community.
Learn more
 about partnering with Tech in Asia Studios.


Al Rajhi Malaysia-Moneythor partnership brings PFM to boost upcoming digital services

Al Rajhi Bank Malaysia
, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia-based Al Rajhi Bank, has inked a strategic partnership with Singapore digibank solutions provider
Moneythor
 to implement personal finance management (PFM) features in its upcoming digital banking services in Malaysia.

Image credit: Timmy Loen

The partnership is part of Al Rajhi Malaysia’s commitment to digital transformation. This includes integrating Moneythor’s PFM solution, which uses real-time data, machine learning, and behavioral science to offer personalized digital finance management. The tech will also complement the bank’s plans for a full spectrum of Shariah-compliant products as part of its digital banking services this year.

Al Rajhi Malaysia established a new
office
 in February that will house its digital bank team, along with several other divisions. The bank also
appointed
 Ikram Khaliq as its head of digital bank.

See also:
As digibanks rise, will Indonesia’s online lenders become obsolete?


Capital A partners with Google for super-app ambitions

Capital A’s digital business,
Airasia
 Super App
, has partnered with Google Cloud to co-create software tools, nurture tech talent, and provide more data-driven intelligence for MSMEs.

Photo credit: Capital A

AirAsia’s app offers services such as flight and hotel bookings, ecommerce, food and parcel delivery, ride-hailing, financial and health services, and on-demand education. It operates in Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines, with a total of 51 million users since its establishment in 2020.

Its partnership with Google Cloud will encompass four pillars, including building a Cloud Center of Excellence (CCoE) consisting of experts from both AirAsia and Google Cloud. Another pillar involves AirAsia tapping into Google Cloud’s infrastructure to bolster its app’s reliability as more features and services are added.

The partnership will also see the two firms provide data-driven insights for MSMEs on AirAsia’s platform and develop a suite of software development kits for ecosystem partners.

“With Google’s help, our ecosystem will not only be transactional but be about building community and enriching that community – not just the customers but partners like restaurants, airlines, hotels, and drivers,” said
Tony Fernandes
, CEO of Capital A.

See Also:
Capital A faces funding setback in super-app push


SG agritech firm enters Indonesia, Malaysia

Singapore-based
Glife Technologies
, a food and agritech firm, has acquired controlling stakes in startups
PanenID
 and
Yolek
. Financial details on the deals were not disclosed.

PanenID is a farm-to-table startup in Indonesia, while Yolek is a plant-based food distributor in Malaysia.

Gilfe co-founder and deputy CEO Caleb Wu / Photo credit: Gilfe

Established in 2018, Glife addresses the supply chain pain points of food businesses by linking these companies to farmers and providing them digital tools.

PanenID and Yolek will use
Glife’s proprietary food and beverage solutions to boost their operation efficiency by up to 50%.

“
Both Indonesia and Malaysia are vibrant communities within the food and agriculture space. We recognize the immense potential for us to tap on given the large agriculture market,” said
Caleb Wu,
 co-Founder and deputy CEO of Glife.

This deal is Glife’s first step outside Singapore as it eyes expansion within the region. Last year, it
raised US$8 million
 in a series A round led by Temasek’s Heliconia.

See also:
The key players in Indonesia’s promising agritech space


The fintech opportunity in Pakistan’s breakout funding year

Welcome to The Top Up! Delivered every Wednesday via email and through the Tech in Asia website, this free newsletter breaks down the biggest stories and trends in fintech. If you’re not a subscriber, get access by
registering here
.

Hello there,

I remember watching the travels of an ex-colleague’s trip to the
Hopar glacier
 and
Hunza valley
 in Pakistan’s Gilgit-Baltistan region unfold on Instagram a few years ago. At the time, I made a mental note to visit someday.

Though Pakistan is known for many things, its picturesque sights are rarely mentioned. That narrative, however, has changed slightly in recent times.
Social media influencers flock to the region
, promoting a different side to the country away from the corruption, political instability, and fears of terrorism that often dominate headlines.

These days, it’s not just travelers who’re drawn to the country. Investors last year injected a record US$350 million into Pakistani startups – more than 5x the amount raised in 2020. Several deals saw foreign VCs like Tiger Global and Kleiner Perkins back startups in the country for the first time.

This week’s big story details the surge in funding that Pakistani startups saw last year, how fintech became a particular bright spot among them, and what it’ll take to keep the momentum going in the years ahead.

Over in Malaysia, the wait for the results of successful digital banking licensees awardees got extended indefinitely after months of anticipation because Bank Negara Malaysia said its decision would be announced “upon completion of the legal process.” My colleague, Emmanuel, has more in this week’s Hot Take.

— Melissa

THE BIG STORY

1⃣
Fintech a bright spot in Pakistan’s breakout year

Image credit: Timmy Loen

Pakistani startups are attracting more international VC funding than ever before. But will that momentum continue?

THE HOT TAKE

Malaysia’s digital banking hiccup

Image credit: Timmy Loen

Here’s what happened:

Bank Negara Malaysia was supposed to announce five digital banking licenses by March 31 this year but said in a recent press conference that the announcement would come only after the completion of the legal process.

29 applicants from various backgrounds bid to offer services to the country’s underserved and unserved segments.

The central bank said applicants that meet the criteria of providing greater financial inclusion would be awarded licenses.

Here’s our take:

By the time you read this, you were supposed to know the five digital banking license holders in Malaysia – but you don’t.

Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus, the governor of Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), said in
a March 30 presser
 that the announcement would be made in the near future, upon completion of the legal processes.

She didn’t elaborate on what these legal processes were, but the central bank’s move has effectively delayed the award of the licenses. BNM had said that it expected to announce the five successful applicants by the end of the first quarter of this year, i.e., by March 31.

But the delay came as a surprise. BNM has been on the ball since 2020. After a six-month consultation period, the central bank issued a policy document on December 31, 2020 dealing with the licensing framework for digital banks.

It then issued a tender call for applications wanting to conduct digital banking or Islamic digital banking – the deadline for which was June 30, 2021. In February this year, BNM told the media that it was in the advanced stages of assessing applications and that it would announce the winners by March-end, along with the publication of its annual report.

The policy document is comprehensive, requiring applicants to have a five-year business plan, including a market study of underserved and unserved segments and an analysis of the gap in the market.

BNM has chosen to use the terms “underserved” and “unserved” as opposed to “unbanked,” indicating that while the unbanked population in the country is small, banks are not adequately serving the needs of certain segments in terms of products, services and pricing.

Photo credit:
Kaihsu Tai
.

Digital banking hopefuls have indicated that they want to reach the country’s poor households, SMEs, and micro firms.

The potential is huge: In Malaysia, SME gross domestic product (GDP) usually outpaces that of the country’s as a whole — except in 2020, when SME growth came in at negative 7.3%, which was lower than the national GDP for the first time since 2003. That was ostensibly due to Covid-19 and subsequent restrictions on movement.

That’s why the chatter on the street is that intense lobbying from certain quarters may have led to the delay in the central bank’s announcement.

This isn’t unfounded: Suhaimi Ali, BNM’s innovation and development director, told
Fintech Malaysia
 in
a June 17 interview
 that the bank had seen a number of applicants using political connections to lobby and get a head start in the digital-banking license process.

He said the bank adhered to a strict governance process in assessing applicants and wanted all parties to respect that process.

Suhaimi’s remarks are best read as aspirational. While the bank touts good governance, it is also under the control of the Ministry of Finance, which is a political entity.

It’s worth noting that among the 29 applicants are politically controlled entities, state governments, government-linked companies, and firms led by founders with deep political ties. But there are also applicants without hefty political clout that might competently run a digital bank.

Each of them has various reasons to apply. For those looking at this from a purely business perspective – such as Grab, with its nationwide database of delivery riders and customers – snagging a license provides a moat in the country’s competitive tech landscape.

In an ideal world, the central bank should award the five licenses to the consortiums with the best business plans.

—
Emmanuel

NEWS YOU SHOULD KNOW

Check out
Tech in Asia’s
 coverage of the fintech scene
here
.

1⃣
Indonesia’s FinAccel acquires majority stake in local bank (Updated)
: FinAccel, the parent company of Kredivo, an Indonesia-based buy now, pay later service, has obtained all the necessary regulatory approvals for the acquisition of Bank Bisnis Internasional, which it plans to transform into a digital bank.

2⃣
SBI Ventures Singapore joins Philippine startup’s $6m round
: Wealth management startup Seedbox Technologies, which lets users invest in funds online at low cost, says it has over 1 million users.

3⃣
Gojek sells Coins.ph to ex-Binance CFO for almost $200m
: Coins.ph, which started as a digital wallet that can be used to buy and sell crypto assets, announced its integration with Ronin last month.

4⃣
Akulaku gets $10m funding for SEA push
: The debt funding comes after the Indonesian fintech firm raised US$100 million in a series E round from Thailand’s Siam Commercial Bank in February, turning the former into a unicorn.

5⃣
Pace acquires Rely for BNPL boost
: The acquisition of Singapore’s first BNPL player will extend Pace’s reach in Singapore and Malaysia.

FYI

Apple working to bring more financial services in house

These include payment processing, risk assessment for lending services, and credit checks. The move would reduce its reliance on third-party providers for future products.

That’s it for this edition – we hope you liked it! Do also check out previous issues of the newsletter
here
.

Not your cup of tea? You can unsubscribe from this newsletter by going to your “edit profile” page and choosing that option in our preferences center.

In the meantime, if you have any feedback or ideas, feel free to get in touch with Terence, our editor-in-chief, at terence@techinasia.com.

See you next week!


Malaysian fintech app nets $15.5m in series A money

Gotrade
, a Malaysia-based investing app, has raised US$15.5 million in a series A round led by Velocity Capital Fintech Ventures.

Team Gotrade / Photo credit: Gotrade

The funding will be used to grow Gotrade’s team and launch localized versions of its product in various markets, starting with Southeast Asia.

The startup also said it is rolling out its services in Indonesia, allowing users to invest as little as US$1 in the likes of Tesla, Apple, and Netflix on its commission-free platform.

It has partnered with Valbury Asia Futures, the Jakarta Futures Exchange, and the Futures Clearing House of Indonesia – all regulated by the country’s derivatives regulator Bappebti – to design a derivative that gives the end users market access to US stocks. As part of the deal, Valbury Group owner
Andrew Haryono
 has been recognized as a co-founder of Gotrade.

Gotrade also announced two senior executive hires:
Tan Hui Lynn
 and
Jeremy Ng
, joining the startup as general counsel and chief financial officer, respectively.

Founded in 2019 by
Rohit Mulani
,
Norman Wanto
, and
David Grant
 with the mission to make investing accessible to everyone, Gotrade allows users to buy fractional shares in global giants on the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq. It claims to now have
500,000
users from over
140
countries.

Last year, the fintech platform raised
US$7 million
 in a seed round.

The series A round also saw participation from:

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group

Beenext

Kibo Ventures

Picus Capital

LocalGlobe

Social Leverage

Raptor

See also:
Exclusive: Bukalapak co-founders back 🇮🇩 B2B fintech startup amid funding spree


Turbulence ahead for AirAsia parent as it chases super-app dreams

Sign up for the Daily Newsletter, sent exclusively to our Premium subscribers. We break down the big and messy topics of Asia’s tech and startup community.
Get the newsletter in your inbox everyday with a Premium subscription
.

Hello reader,

I’m really thrilled by the prospect of being able to travel again. With most of the population fully vaccinated, Singapore recently simplified its protocols for travelers entering the country. Many other countries are opening their borders to tourists as well and streamlining their processes.

As such, I’ve been spending a lot of my spare time looking up flights and hotels, making plans for my next holiday.

I’m not the only one who’s excited about travel and tourism picking up again. Capital A, the parent company of Malaysian carrier AirAsia, pivoted towards
being a super app
 amid the pandemic, rolling out a multitude of digital businesses beyond its airline offering.

As Capital A pursues its goal of becoming a tech company, the return of travel will likely put some cash in its pockets – which it certainly needs more of.

Today we look at:

Capital A’s
funding setback
 and what it means for the business

A Singaporean fintech startup focused on domestic workers

Other newsy highlights such as Grab’s head of tech’s new venture and the aftermath of Shopee India’s closure

Premium summary

The road ahead for Capital A

Image credit: Timmy Loen

Capital A – formerly known as AirAsia Group – has been making a concerted push towards becoming a super app, adding logistics, fintech, and other digital services to its AirAsia business. But as it moves towards becoming a tech company, it faces a bumpy road ahead.

A question of funding
: Capital A embarked on a major fundraising push, aiming to collect US$592 million. However, negotiations for one of the main funding sources for the tranche – a US$118 million club facility backed by state-owned financial insurer Danajamin – broke down. Without the Danajamin guarantee, Capital A would be pressured to raise funds to expand operations and diversify.

The challenges are many
: Earlier this year, Capital A dropped to PN17 status, a tag given by the Malaysian stock exchange for financially distressed firms, putting it at risk of being delisted. Additionally, Capital A’s airline and digital businesses are still in the red, with the latter likely to face stiff competition from the likes of Grab and Foodpanda.

Hopes for the future
: Many of the developments that could act as positive catalysts for Capital A are still up in the air, such as the group’s application for a digital banking license in Malaysia and the potential uptick for AirAsia as Malaysia opens its borders and travel resumes. Only time will tell what’s in store for Capital A.

Read more:
Capital A faces funding setback in super-app push

Startup spotlight

Payments please

JiPay executives (from left) tech lead Chin Rui Chew, product operations manager May Thu Lwin, CEO Dayana Yermolayeva, and growth lead Shiva Raju / Photo credit: JiPay

My family had a domestic helper when I was growing up, and I have vague memories of my mother withdrawing cash so that our helper could do the groceries. The ways people pay and transact have changed tremendously since then – and Singapore-based JiPay
has raised US$1.3 million
 in a seed round led by East Ventures to help facilitate this shift.

Founded in 2020
, JiPay offers a prepaid Mastercard service that can be used by domestic helpers to buy groceries and supplies for their employers. The company also provides an app that allows domestic helpers to pay through Singapore’s PayNow service and lets employers monitor the spending of their helpers via the same app.

So far,
 JiPay has hit US$1 million in card spending and saw transaction volumes grow by more than 10x in the past six months.

The fresh funding
 will be used for hiring and product development. JiPay also plans to offer personal accounts for domestic helpers – many of whom come from other countries – that can help them receive, save, and send their salaries to their families back home.

In partnership with

All about edtech in one place

Edtech is on the rise around the world, and it’s revolutionizing the way we learn and work.

If you want to know how edtech can make a difference, join the annual ASU+GSV Summit. Held from April 4 to 6, the event is a collaboration between Arizona State University and Global Silicon Valley.

The summit will cover everything edtech, from the GSV Cup Pitch Competition spotlighting “Pre-K to Gray” edtech startups to in-depth discussions on the future of education and workforce skills. There will also be panels that explore the ways in which edtech has helped democratize education and the role of the metaverse in learning, as well as how edtech can drive greater awareness of climate action and other social issues.

Keynote speakers such as renowned author Margaret Atwood, metaverse expert Cathay Hackl, and US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy will be in attendance. Their talks will be streamed live and available on demand, alongside pitches from the top 20 startups in the GSV Cup competition, which will award the winner with US$1 million in cash and credits.

Ready to find out more about what edtech can do? Sign up to attend the summit virtually
here
.

Quick bytes

1⃣
Gaming your way to unicorn status

Games24x7
has secured US$75 million
 in a round led by Malabar Investment. According to sources, the India-based multigame platform’s valuation now stands at US$2.5 billion, making it the country’s newest unicorn. Founded in 2006, Games24x7 offers titles like RummyCircle, My11Circle, and U Games and says it has over 100 million users.

2⃣
From Grab to gaming

Wui Ngiap Foo, Grab‘s head of tech,
is leaving
 the Southeast Asian super app after seven years to lead a crypto gaming venture. He is reportedly set to join Ethlas as the company’s co-founder and CEO. Ethlas is a gaming platform built on the blockchain that allows players to amass tradeable crypto coins.

3⃣
The aftermath of Shopee’s failed venture into India

Shopee India will
lay off over 300 staff
 after it decided to shut down operations in the country. The news came as a shock to employees, who were unaware about the closure until Monday. Shopee will offer severance pay for three months – April, May, and June – to all employees, with March salaries will be credited as per usual. Meanwhile, competitor firms are already eyeing these employees to fill their ranks.

4⃣
More bucks for this blockchain-focused fund

Gumi Cryptos Capital (GCC), a blockchain-focused VC firm that has backed startups like OpenSea and Yield Guild Games, has raised US$110 million
for its second fund
. GCC will invest in early-stage companies that build solutions in blockchain infrastructure, developer tools, gaming, decentralized finance, metaverse, decentralized autonomous organizations, and Web3 applications.

5⃣
GoTo’s IPO plans get going

Indonesia’s GoTo Group, the combined entity of Gojek and Tokopedia, is
set to raise
 around US$1.1 billion in a local listing slated for April 11. It is expected to be the third-largest IPO in Asia and fifth-largest in the world this year, according to a company statement. However, the target amount is lower than GoTo’s initial plan to raise a maximum of US$1.4 billion.

6⃣
No code? No problem

UK-based Builder.AI
has received US$100 million
 in a series C funding led by Insight Ventures. Established in 2016, the firm offers a no-code development platform powered by AI for faster software and app building. It is also working on knowledge graph-powered code synthesis and hopes to use the latest fundraise to fuel AI-related investments and develop its conversational AI product.


Fintech unicorn Airwallex launches in Malaysia

Airwallex
, a Hong Kong-based fintech platform, has launched its cross-border payment services in Malaysia, after
scoring a money services license
 from Bank Negara Malaysia in August last year.

Airwallex CEO and co-founder Jack Zhang / Photo credit: Airwallex

With the launch, the company said that “qualified businesses” will be given access to its foreign exchange conversions and payouts services in more than 130 countries. In the next few months, these services will be available to more businesses across Malaysia.

Airwallex was founded in 2015 by
Jack Zhang
 and
Max Li
. Launched in Melbourne, the firm has raised more than US$800 million and is currently valued at around US$5.5 billion. The company has onboarded more than 1,000 employees and tens of thousands of customers to date.

Earlier this year, the unicorn startup
expanded to Singapore
 after acquiring a Major Payment Institution License from the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

See Also:
Series SEA: Who’s investing in the region’s fintech startups?


YC doubles the number of SEA startups in latest cohort

Startup enabler
Y Combinator
 has unveiled the 33 Southeast Asian startups that have been included in its latest winter 2022 cohort. The number is almost doubled from the last batch and amounted to around 8% of the 414 startups that were funded by the accelerator in this cohort.

As part of the accelerator program, Y Combinator will invest US$125,000 in seed capital for a 7% stake in each startup. It will also give them access to company-building workshops, a global curriculum, and support from a community of mentors.

From those 33 startups, around half of them come from Indonesia, while another 10 are headquartered in Singapore. Five startups originate from Vietnam while two others hail from Malaysia. These 33 startups offer solutions for industry verticals such as fintech, quick commerce,
SaaS
, recruitment, and blockchain, among others.

Here’s a list of startups from Southeast Asia that have made it to the YC W22 program:

Indonesia

CrediBook

Founders:

Gabriel Frans
,
Christian Lee
, and
Dekha Anggareska
Launch:
 2020

CrediBook digitizes the SME supply chain, from wholesale to retail, through an online wholesale and bookkeeping operation system.

Fresh Factory

Founders:

Widijastoro Nugroho
,
Larry Ridwan
, and
Andre Septiano
Launch:
 2020

Fresh Factory provides a network of hyperlocal cold chain fulfillment centers and have equipped them with fulfillment management systems.

Dropezy

Founders:

Chandni Chainani
 and
Nitesh Chellaram
Launch:
 2021

Dropezy is a startup that delivers groceries in under 15 minutes.

Bananas

Founders:

Mario Gaw
 and
Kristian F. H. Sinaulan
Launch:
 2021

Bananas enables users to order groceries and get them delivered in 10 minutes.

Radius

Founders:

Ivan Darmawan
,
Chryssia Natalia
, and
Stephanie Wongsoredjo
Launch:
 2021

Radius offers 15-minute grocery deliveries in Indonesia’s Tier 2 cities.

Aigis

Founders:

Reinhart Hermanus
,
Philip Moniaga
, and
Sebastian Yaphy
Launch:
 2021

Aigis is a digital health insurance provider for the Indonesian market.

Deall SejutaCita

Founders:

Andhika Sudarman
Launch:
 2020

Deal SejutaCita helps companies hire college students and recent graduates by promoting their career events and vacancies.

Lumina

Founders:

Aswin Andrison
 and
Tri Ahmad Irfan
Launch:
 2021

Lumina is a job platform for blue-collar workers in Southeast Asia.

Finku

Founders:

Shyam Kalairajah
,
Reinaldo Tendean
, and
Shylla Pramadhani
Launch:
 2021

Finku is a personal finance platform for Indonesians.

Pina

Founders:

Christian Hermawan
,
Fajar Kuntoro
,
Daniel van Leeuwen
, and
Hendry Chou
Launch:
 2020

Pina is a personal money management app for Indonesians.

Sribuu

Founders:

Nadia Amalia
,
Nadia Fadhila
, and
Fransisca Susan
Launch:
 2021

Sribuu is a wealth management platform for Indonesians.

Rocket Pocket

Founders:

Agnes Lie
,
Dominic Sumarli
, and
Frederick Widjaja
Launch:
 2022

Rocket Pocket is a fintech app for teenagers in Indonesia.

UpBanx

Founders:

Wafa Taftazani
,
Alif Jafar Fatkhurrohman
, and
Hendri Wijaya
Launch:
 2021

UpBanx is a financial app for direct-to-consumer brands and content creators.

Transfez

Founders:

Bondan Herumurti
 and
Edo Windratno
Launch:
 2020

Transfez is a financial app for small businesses in Indonesia.

Bipi

Founders:

David Chew
 and
Yih Lin Teh
Launch:
 2021

Bipi is a mobile point-of-sale system for corner stores.

Blocknom

Founders:

Ghuniyu Fattah Rozaq
 and
Fransiskus Raymond
Launch:
 2021

Blocknom is a crypto investment platform for Southeast Asia.

See also:
These are the most active investors in Indonesia’s startups

Singapore

Poko

Founders:

Sean Ang
,
Geoffrey See
, and
Van Tran
Launch:
 2021

Poko is a collaboration platform for the Web3 sector.

Circular

Founders:

Yaniv Bernstein
,
George Oliver
,
Nick Ramsay
, and
Pantha Roy
Launch:
 2021

Circular offers subscriptions for users to access and experience tech products such as smartphones, laptops, headphones, wearables, and virtual reality devices.

Syncware

Founders:

Dirk Jan van Veen
 and
Walter Pintor
Launch:
 2021

Syncware is helping factories save power and reduce carbon emissions via sensors.

Powerhouse AI

Founders:

Kushal Pillay
 and
Ivo Verhaegh
Launch:
 2021

Powerhouse AI is a solution that automates warehouse inventory checks with mobile devices.

Unravel Carbon

Founders:

Marc Allen
,
Simon Christofides
, and
Grace Sai
Launch:
 2021

Unravel Carbon is an enterprise software that helps companies track and reduce their carbon emissions.

Take App

Founders:

Youmin Kim
Launch:
 2021

Take App is an ecommerce enabler platform that allows online sellers in Southeast Asia to take orders via WhatsApp messages.

Suggestr

Founders:

Aditya Mehta
 and
Oleksii Sidorov
Launch:
 2021

Suggestr’s solution helps online sellers to increase their sales through various personalized efforts.

Peakflo

Founders:

Saurabh Chauhan
 and
Dmitry Vedenyapin
Launch:
 2021

Peakflo is a platform that enables SMEs to collect payments from customers and vendors.

Power to the Brand

Founders:

Rasmus Chow
 and
Yee Meng Chua
Launch:
 2021

Power to the Brand is a marketing and distribution-as-a-service firm in Southeast Asia.

Cherry Recommends

Founders:

Isaac Donnelly
 and
Rian Finnegan
Launch:
 2020

Cherry Recommends is an AI-powered promotion management platform.

See also:
These are the most active investors in Singapore’s startups

Vietnam

Gimo

Founders:

Ngoc Nguyen
 and
Quan Nguyen
Launch:
 2019

Gimo is an earned-wage access platform from Vietnam.

Marathon Education

Founders:
Duc Pham
 and
Tran Viet Tung

Launch: 2021

Marathon Education provides live interactive tutoring classes to K-12 students in Vietnam.

Tradezi

Founders:

Phil Dang
 and
Jasmine Huynh
Launch:
 2022

Tradezi is an investment app for Southeast Asia that offer stocks, crypto, and other alternative assets.

Anfin

Founders:

Michael Do
 and
Phuoc Tran
Launch:
 2021

Anfin is an investment app in Vietnam.

Nook

Founders:

Robert Huynh
 and
Nathaniel Ricca
Launch:
 2021

Nook is a platform to redesign and remodel homes in Southeast Asia.

See also:
These are the most active investors in Vietnam’s startups

Malaysia

Durioo

Founders:

Sinan Ismail
Launch:
 2021

Durioo creates and licenses high quality Islamic cartoons and shows for kids that are available on its subscription app.

Yezza

Founders:

Wan Aizuddin
 and
Ammar Roslizar
Launch:
 2020

Yezza is an ecommerce enabler that helps small businesses in Southeast Asia to create online stores on WhatsApp.