Quick verification

• MyCash, the 500-backed fintech company designed for migrants in Southeast Asia, has teamed up with Onfido, a global identity verification and authentication company, to provide identity verification to its users.
• Through Onfido’s AI-powered verification service, MyCash Money users are able to sign up by taking a photo of their government-issued identity document (ID) with a matching selfie.
• Onfido first checks the ID’s authenticity and then matches it to the user’s face. This ensures the person presenting the identity is its legitimate owner and is physically present.

• “MyCash Money is a mobile-only remittance service connecting unbanked migrant workers with technology driving true financial inclusion. Through our partnership with Onfido, we are simplifying the KYC process while enabling our users to open an account in just a few quick and easy steps,” said Mehedi Hasan, founder and CEO of MyCash.
• To date, MyCash has facilitated remittance transactions amounting to more than S$1.5 million, for over 5,000 migrant workers in Singapore.

Rent, worry-free

• To address concerns of fraudulent tenants in Malaysia, 500-backed property platform Speedhome is launching an insurance package that provides landlords with cashback guarantees when dealing with a tenant that overstays.
• Called the Overstay Cash Defender (OCD), landlords who source for tenants through Speedhome and opt-in for the cash guarantee package are protected.

• “Speedhome will pay the rent to the landlord during the tenant’s overstay period in the house and bear the legal fees for evicting out the bad tenant. In addition, after successfully evicting the tenant, the landlord can also claim their loss for the theft and damage from the insurance company,” said Wong Whei Meng, CEO and founder of Speedhome.
• Whei Meng says OCD gives landlords peace of mind and can help to eradicate racial discrimination in the rental market.
• “Malaysia often sees racial discrimination in the rental market. It may be due to bad experiences in the past, many homeowners have their own ethnic preferences during the process of choosing tenants. Rent discrimination should not continue to occur in Malaysia,” Whei Meng added.
• Speedhome offers a detailed explanation of OCD in this video.

Drone tech lands in Mexico

• 500-backed drone tech company Aerodyne’s US outpost is partnering with Mexico’s leading renewable energy provider, Ecopulse, to utilize drone tech for the management of clean energy assets in the country.
• “Mexico is an important piece of the puzzle for us to solidify, consolidate, and accelerate our market position in North America.
• With the country targeting 30% renewable energy generation by 2021, and 35% by 2024, joining forces with a renewables major made absolute business sense,” Kamarul A Muhamed, founder and Group CEO, Aerodyne Group said of the partnership.

• Founded in 2012, Ecopulse specializes in providing, managing, and supporting renewable energy solutions.
• To date, the company has installed more than 150,000 solar panels throughout Mexico.
• The Ecopulse partnership is the latest in Aerodyne’s aggressive expansion plans. In July, the company announced a collaboration with Associated British Ports (ABP), a leading port owner and operator in the UK.

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500 Startups is a venture capital firm on a mission to discover and back the world’s most talented entrepreneurs, help them create successful companies at scale, and build thriving global ecosystems. In Southeast Asia, 500 Startups invests through the pioneering 500 Southeast Asia family of funds. The 500 Southeast Asia funds have backed over 240 companies across multiple sectors from internet to consumer to deep technology. It continues to connect founders with capital, expertise and powerful regional and global networks to help them succeed.

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