Of diversity and adversity

• From April 8 to 9, 500 Startups is hosting the Unity and Inclusion Summit, with ticket prices starting at US$15 (early bird).

• Launched in 2016, the summit seeks to empower, uplift, and create better opportunities for diverse founders and VC investors. This year, the summit focuses on how to create diverse startup ecosystems.
• Events in the summit include a fireside chat with CEO and founding partner of 500 Startups Christine Tsai, a panel discussion on fundraising amid the pandemic, and a networking session.
• Get your tickets here.

Flocking of feathers

• Recently, 500-backed microblogging app Koo has seen a surge in user base as Indian ministers and government departments endorse the platform. Downloads have surged 10x in the last few days, and the app has crossed the three-million user mark.

• How did Koo come about? Founders Aprameya Radhakrishna and Mayank Bidawatka have been working towards enabling non-English users in India since 2017 with Vokal. They observed that local language internet users do not have an exclusive platform to express themselves on the internet.
• Users can express their thoughts in Indian languages like Hindi, Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Bengali, Gujarati, and Marathi. The app offers a “Twitter-like experience”, allowing users to post in text, audio, video, or a combination of the modes.
• The app will be made available in 25+ other Indian languages by next year and will soon launch in English.

Diagnosing delivery delays

• While the pandemic fueled a surge in the e-commerce sector, this posed a challenge for logistics, according to a report by 500-backed startups iPrice and Parcel Monitor.

• Shorter operating hours, bulkier parcels, limited flights and shipments, and increased logistics cost led to Southeast Asian countries seeing an increase in delivery time. Malaysia experienced a 119% increase at its peak.
• Parcel Monitor noted hikes in customer complaints, missing parcels, and customer service calls during this period. The logistics startup then discovered a potential solution — parcel locker networks.
• These lockers help to ensure fast and flexible delivery services while minimizing direct contact between delivery personnel and customers. “This will be a delivery trend that will continue to grow in ASEAN as e-commerce logistics in the region continues to mature,” concluded Dr. Arne Jeroschewski, founder and CEO of Parcel Monitor & Parcel Perform.

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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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