Tag: Southeast Asia

Jakarta, Indonesia – Super app Grab in Indonesia has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Indonesia’s primary signal intelligence agency, National Cyber ​​and Crypto Agency (BSSN), to increase knowledge and development of human resources related to cybersecurity, especially for driver-partners and Grab merchants. 

The collaboration will hold various trainings and webinars related to cybersecurity literacy and digital economy security at GrabAcademy. It will also see Grab supporting BSSN for educational activities related to cyber security for the Indonesian people to avoid cyber attacks.

Hinsa Siburian, Republic of Indonesia’s head of the National Cyber ​​and Crypto Agency (BSSN), believes that they must have a strategy in carrying out the task of BSSN.

“And specifically for the problem of protecting national vital information infrastructure, Grab is included here, we must protect this so that business processes at Grab run safely and smoothly. If one day there will be a crisis, then we have also prepared how to manage a national cyber crisis,” said Siburian.

Meanwhile, Ridzki Kramadibrata, Grab’s president for Indonesia, shared that the use of technology also needs to be complemented by an understanding of digital literacy, especially for driver-partners and business partners.

“We hope that through collaboration that carries the GrabForGood spirit to bring positive impact from technology, Grab can continue to increase literacy awareness on cybersecurity so that everyone can participate in digital economy activities more safely,” said Kramadibrata.

Manila, Philippines – As Grab in the Philippines doubles down on its efforts to pave the way for financial inclusion for all Filipinos, especially for its merchant-partners, the super app’s lending arm, Grab Financial Services Philippines, Inc., an SEC-licensed financing company, has launched its new loan service programme called Quick Cash.

With Quick Cash’s fast disbursal and easy application process, merchants can easily acquire a business loan that is tailored to their current needs, with no collateral required, and a flexible repayment term from 6 to 12 months. It is also able to personalise loans for each business to ensure they are able to afford their loan safely. Just as well, daily and automatic micro-deduction are also put in place by the program to help make repayments more convenient and hassle-free.

To avail loans, interested merchants will only have to confirm their merchant details with Grab with no additional requirements needed, and they are already all set to receive their needed capital and financial support – all in less than seven days.

Martha Borja, head for Grab Financial Philippines, shared that many of the budding MSME merchant-partners are in need of access to financial solutions – especially in the first few steps of their business which they have worked very hard to bring into fruition, and Grab is fully-committed to supporting them every step of the way. 

“Our new loan service programme will provide many of our MSME merchant-partners the very push that they need to scale their enterprise and grow their business on the Grab platform,” Borja said.

Jakarta, Indonesia – East Ventures, an Indonesian venture capital firm, has raised US$550 to focus on growing its portfolio by focusing on startups based in Southeast Asia, including locally in Indonesia.

The firm is managing over US$1b in assets under management and attracted US$6.7b in follow-on funding for the portfolio companies. East Ventures recorded more than US$86b of annualised GMV in aggregate by its portfolio. The firm will also ensure the incorporation of sustainability aspects in every practice and usage of the funds.

Willson Cuaca, co-founder and managing partner at East Ventures, said, “We are very bullish about Indonesia yet mindful of the global market condition. We have built a strong return track record for more than a decade and as the ecosystem flywheel effect kicks in. East Ventures is well-positioned to ride on it. We have been transforming ourselves from a seed-stage investor into a multi-stage investor and into becoming an efficient and robust platform to support entrepreneurship. We will allocate US$150m for early-stage deals and US$400m for growth-stage deals.”

Meanwhile, Roderick Purwana, managing partner at East Ventures, commented, “As Indonesia navigates and comes to terms with the post-pandemic era, rising digital adoption has pushed for advances in many sectors in the ecosystem. During this time, thanks to the continuous support from all relevant stakeholders, Indonesia is among the fastest-growing digital economies in Southeast Asia. Digitalization in Indonesia has become more robust, with 73.7% of internet penetration rate in 2021 and more equal digital competitiveness across the regions as shown by the increased EV-DCI score from 2020-2022.” 

He added, “We also saw the IPOs of some of Indonesia’s largest tech companies in recent timesーa significant milestone in paving the way for other startups in the country to follow suit. We believe the strong initiatives made by the relevant stakeholders, such as the government in promoting digitalization through G20 Presidency, will further elevate the tech ecosystem and create even greater investment opportunities in Indonesia. At East Ventures, we will continue to double down our investments in Indonesia.”

East Ventures has launched many strategic initiatives in supporting the overall progress and development of Indonesia, including supporting the digital transformation through its annual East Ventures – Digital Competitiveness Index report; and ensuring the sustainable investment and practices by being the first venture capital in Indonesia to sign the Principle of Responsible Investment (PRI), a UN-supported network of investors, and actively involved in many strategic initiatives to support the stakeholders, including government, business players, and society as a whole.

Indonesia – Indonesia-based crypto assets digital exchange, Tokocrypto, has partnered with the government-owned bank’s corporate venture capital firm, BRI Ventures, for an initiative called ‘Tokocrypto Sembrani Blockchain Accelerator’ (TSBA) powered by TokoLabs, which aims to bring Indonesia’s blockchain startups to the world stage.

TSBA has incubated projects and elevated startups across four primary pillars – branding and marketing, investment strategies, investment landscape tactics, and access to fundraising opportunities. The central nexus of TSBA, which connects the four pillars of the accelerator programme, is the networking and mentoring support of mentors from the local blockchain scene. The programme also initiated the support of over 50 investors including Tokocrypto, Binance Labs, Cydonia, Solana Labs, and Signum Capital, as well as YGGSEA, and Alameda Research, amongst others.

Since the launch of the programme, participants have been connected with global mentors such as Tamar Menteshashvili from Solana Labs and Nicole Zhang for Binance Labs. Investors listed previously were invited to the programme’s Demo Day which took place on 11 April 2022, where participants demonstrated the progress and achievements that have been made to date. According to Tokocrypto, TSBA cohort participants have already raised US$40m.

Pang Xue Kai, Tokocrypto’s CEO, noted that the startups that were selected are a reflection of the flourishing blockchain ecosystem in Indonesia, and this is just the beginning.

“Two years ago, the term blockchain seemed foreign, but today it is a digital powerhouse that comes in the form of NFTs, decentralised finance, and even GameFi. At Tokocrypto, we are proud to be disrupting this industry,” he said. 

Meanwhile, Nicko Widjaja, CEO of BRI Ventures, commented, “We see blockchain as an integral part of the future of the internet, which will be the driving force of the digital economy. We hope that in the future there will be more use cases developed in various sectors using blockchain technology.”

Tokocrypto said that the accelerator programme is part of its multi-dimensional TokoVerse, which has been created to bolster blockchain technology adoption in Indonesia and beyond. Together with TokoLabs, Tokoverse has also developed Asia’s first crypto hub, T-hub, Indonesia’s NFT marketplace, TokoMall, and an educational mobile app, Kriptoversity, amongst others.

Vietnam – Huggies, the diaper brand of baby and child care company Kimberly-Clark, has partnered with INCA, GroupM’s brand-safe influencer and content marketing arm, to launch a new campaign for its latest diaper product in Vietnam – Huggies Thin & Soft. This campaign aims to get Vietnamese moms to talk about diaper ‘quality’, ‘absorbency’ and ‘thinness’, which are unique attributes not typically associated with children’s diapers.

INCA noted that urban Vietnamese mothers place a high value on imported goods, and are excited by innovations hailing from Japan and Korea. This is also where Huggies turned their focus towards mom communities, whose small but powerful word-of-mouth influence could collectively spark powerful conversations.

Through the new campaign, INCA and Huggies have selected two hundred nano and micro-influencers who had a dominant share of voice and strong influence on more than 20 mom communities to incite conversations endorsing the value of thin and soft attributed diapers, before reviewing ‘the thinnest best-selling diaper brands from Korea’. 

The campaign was hinged on the fact that mothers turned to other mothers within their communities for advice and product recommendations. These influencers would then privately share Huggies sale links with other mothers in the communities.

Uyen Nguyen, Huggies’ senior brand manager for Vietnam, commented partnering with INCA was crucial in helping them build relationships with mothers in Vietnam through word-of-mouth, one of the most reliable and trusted channels mothers rely on.

“The campaign demonstrated the immense potential for soft & thin diapers, something unheard of in the Vietnamese market. This campaign exceeded all expectations, and we look forward to partnering with INCA again in the future,” said Nguyen.

Meanwhile, Loan Menuge, INCA’s lead for Vietnam, shared that through their brand-safe technology, they were able to align with Huggies’ campaign goals and forge deep connections with creators and consumers to drive business outcomes for the clients. 

“We are pleased that Huggies is now the top diaper brand known in Vietnam for its thinness, quality, absorbency as well as other interesting attributes and that we are able to bring comfort and innovation for mothers and their children,” said Menuge.

Manila, Philippines – PDAX, the digital asset exchange in the Philippines, has expanded its portfolio in the country, as it starts offering four new additional coins that Filipino crypto enthusiasts can buy, sell and trade via the platform’s mobile app. The new coins—Solana, SUSHI, XLM, and BNB—are now available to all members beginning this month. 

Each of the four new coins brings unique qualities. Solana, for one, is considered a more viable alternative to Ethereum due to its high speed and low transaction fees, while SUSHI is an Ethereum-based token that runs Sushi, a decentralized exchange platform where people can trade unique and hard-to-find cryptocurrencies that aren’t yet listed in major coin exchanges.

Meanwhile, XLM, otherwise known as Stellar Lumens, was designed to make transferring money as simple and affordable as possible. As for BNB, it is used to avail discounts on trading fees, pay for transaction fees, and invest in other cryptocurrency projects.

With the launch of these four new coins, PDAX mobile app now offers a total of 26 coins, the most out of all the licensed local exchanges.

Nichel Gaba, PDAX’s founder and CEO, said, “As the leading digital exchange in the country, we are constantly finding ways to expand our crypto offerings and address the needs and pain points of our users. With these new coins, we hope to encourage more Filipinos to start trading crypto.”

Before this month’s rollout, PDAX made some of the coins available for early access to members of PDAX Prime, a new exclusive service that provides high-volume Filipino crypto investors full access to even more tokens. PDAX Prime gives clients access to 50 tokens, including 30 exclusive over-the-counter (OTC) digital assets.

Aside from trading crypto on the exchange app, PDAX also offers easy transfer methods to private wallets so clients can use their assets for investing in DeFi, NFTs, and yield farming, amongst others.

Bangkok, Thailand – Thailand-based innovation centre, KX Knowledge Xchange, has partnered with TechNode Global, a tech platform that offers tech news, events, and tailor-made marketing solutions, aimed at building a thriving startup ecosystem in Thailand.

The partnership will support Thai startups by offering them access to funding opportunities, networks, technology, knowledge sharing, and resource exchanges. It will also help promote and upgrade the innovation ecosystem in the country to expand into APAC.

Moreover, the partnership will support the Innovation Ecosystem of KX Knowledge Xchange. This will be achieved through the exchange of valuable information, promotion of cooperation in innovation and entrepreneurial activities, and public relations campaigns, as well as joint planning, to support startups through an efficient innovation ecosystem, amongst others.

Dr. Gang Lu, TechNode Group’s founder and CEO, noted that TechNode Global’s partnership with KX Knowledge Xchange seeks to build a stronger and wider startup ecosystem with the support of the Techbite incubator program starting from the early stage of entrepreneurship.

“Serving as the connector between the Chinese startup ecosystem with the rest of Asia, we look forward to working with more institutes of higher learning to equip a new generation of entrepreneurs and innovators, offering them access to real-time market knowledge, industry-leading international events and conferences. Be it serving entrepreneurs, investors, corporates, or other partners, we hope to be part of this exciting journey,” said Lu.

Meanwhile, Dr. Booncharoen Sirinaovakul, KX Knowledge Xchange’s CEO, said, “This year, we are so grateful to have meaningful collaboration with TechNode Global. This will be a springboard for entrepreneurs and startups in our ecosystem to have more international exposure and experience necessary for expanding their business.”

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Global consumer goods firm Reckitt has partnered with e-commerce platform Shopee to launch its ‘Complete #TheMissingHalf’ campaign in Malaysia, aimed at enhancing the protection of health, hygiene, and nutrition of consumers by relying on its trusted brands including Enfagrow A+ MindPro, Dettol, and Vanish.

As part of this ‘Super Brand Day’ campaign, which will be on 19 May, Reckitt will be providing shoppers with exclusive deals on Shopee Mall from Enfagrow, Dettol, and Vanish, including educational tips, coins, and product giveaways on Shopee Live, up to 4.5 million coins cashback, and buy 1, free 1 deals, as well as exclusive bundles, where Reckitt is offering special vouchers up to RM200 off, gifts with purchase, specially curated bundle sets including Enfagrow A+ MindPro IQ+ EQ bundle, complete Dettol Protection Kit, and complete Reckitt Household Cleaning kit.

Moreover, free shipping deals are also included on the campaign’s exclusive deals, as well as ‘Spend, Spin, and Win’, where shoppers will be given a chance to win a Toshiba dishwasher, Samsung Tablet, and Shopee Coins.

Muksitul Islam, the ASEAN e-commerce director at Reckitt, commented that Reckitt is proud to partner with Shopee in the regional ‘Super Brand Day’ to connect ASEAN consumers to their beloved and trusted brands like Enfagrow A+, Dettol, and Vanish. 

“Through Shopee’s impressive engagement tools, our consumers can not only look forward to choices tailored to their needs but also an enjoyable shopping experience from our diverse nutrition, health, and hygiene portfolio. We wish our consumers a wonderful Super Brand Day experience,” said Islam.

Meanwhile, Pavan Challa, Shopee’s director of regional brand partnerships, shared that consumers are shopping more frequently online for household and healthcare needs, and they are glad to partner with Reckitt to provide parents and families with a wide variety of trusted brands that gives them the assurance they need when it comes to enhancing family health and nutrition. 

“We will continue partnering with brands to offer shoppers access to greater convenience, variety and value all year round through Shopee Mall,” said Challa.

Manila, Philippines – Automobile manufacturer Nissan in the Philippines has appointed Juan Manuel Hoyos, former general manager of global brand and engagement at Nissan, to be its new president during the handover ceremony held last 11 May 2022 at Okada Manila.

In his new role as president, Hoyos will be responsible for steering the company’s direction to drive product innovation and business improvements. During the event, he shared his plans to strengthen the Nissan brand in the country to improve its competitiveness and to continue to provide excellent aftersales service to its customers.

Hoyos joined Nissan in 2017 as marketing director for the Latin America region, where he later took on the role of general manager of global engagement brand, based in Nissan’s global headquarters in Yokohama. Before Nissan, Hoyos has also held various management positions at Renault and General Motors.

The event also celebrated the achievements of the outgoing president, Atsushi Najima, as he begins his new role as the chief financial officer at Nissan India.

Recounting his achievements and challenges during his term, Najima commented that he is excited for Nissan in the Philippines as it charts a new chapter with Hoyos at the helm, as his vast experience in the automotive industry will help him sustain the growth that they have established in the last three years, as the country steadily recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic

“It is a bittersweet moment for me as I move to my new assignment. My family and I will definitely miss the warmth and hospitality of our colleagues and partners. At the same time, I am proud of the company Nissan Philippines has become through the hard work, passion, and perseverance of its people,” said Najima.

Meanwhile, Hoyos noted that they will continue to focus on their highly dedicated people, excellent products and service, and exceptional customer experience so they can sustain the company’s growth trajectory through this management transition. 

“I look forward to further growing the Nissan brand in the Philippines, building upon the solid foundation of trust it has laid over the years,” he said.

Malaysia – Ramping up Wavemaker Malaysia’s capability to take advantage of the huge growth opportunities in the market, the media agency has announced new leadership appointments. This includes the elevation of Sheley Lim, former head of digital at Wavemaker Malaysia, to step into the new role of general manager. 

Lim has been in the industry for 18 years, 14 of which have been with GroupM. She has been instrumental in Wavemaker Malaysia’s own digital transformation journey, and her connectedness to the Wavemaker network and personal contribution to the incredible work created in the region makes her qualified to drive the agency’s growth ambition and clients.

Commenting on her elevation, Lim said, “I am excited about unleashing the full potential of Wavemaker Malaysia. My vision for the agency is to focus on a people-first company by creating an open and inclusive culture where everyone can have their voices heard and share ownership for the direction and future of the company, create and deliver fantastic, meaningful work for our clients and inspire and excite talent with our Wavemaker Provocative Planning mantra.”

Aside from Lim’s elevation, Wavemaker Malaysia has also announced the appointment of Usman Bin Tahir as the new senior business director, Ryan Foo as the new business director, and Aw Wai Choong as the new regional planning director, as well as Chua Shu Jien as the new business director. They will be joining Brandon Chang, Ravi Singh, Eldon D’Cruz, and Cindy Chia as the executive leadership of Wavemaker Malaysia.

Gordon Domlija, Wavemaker’s CEO for APAC, commented that he is filled with genuine excitement and expectation at what they can achieve together.

“Effective leadership is increasingly a collective effort, bringing together exceptional talent, and combining their experiences and expertise to create a whole agency which is far greater than the sum of its individual parts. The future is bright and full of opportunity for Wavemaker in Malaysia,” said Domlija.