A blooming region

• According to this article(Wayback machine archive) on Forbes, despite the Covid-19 pandemic and the gloomy global market, the e-commerce and fintech industries in Southeast Asia are leading in attracting investment capital.

• In the first quarter of 2020, two ride-hailing startups — one of which was 500-backed Grab — successfully raised more than US$2 billion, accounting for about 70% of total investment in the region.
• In the second quarter of 2020, e-commerce led in attracting investment capital. According to the article, e-commerce companies attracted US$691 million in new investments.
• Compared to the same period last year, the value of investment transactions in Southeast Asia increased by 91% to reach US$2.7 billion, while the number of transactions increased from 116 to 184.
• This success is attributed to Southeast Asian governments creating favorable conditions to welcome investors.
• Indonesia plans to establish 19 industrial zones between now and 2024. It has also reduced the corporate tax from 25% to 22% this year, further reducing to 20% by 2022.
• Last year, the Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) approved investment incentives in the agricultural sector, targeting foreign companies moving their operations away from China.
• In the same year, Malaysia proposed a zero percent tax rate for 15 years for companies in the manufacturing sector with new investments exceeding US$116 million in the country.
• Myanmar will prioritize the selection of planned investments by financially strong international firms, while Vietnam aims to attract more European businesses under the European Union Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).

Closing gaps and opening opportunities

• 500-backed iPrice gathered data to determine gender diversity and job satisfaction rates among the top three e-commerce companies in 7 countries in Asia.
• The results? Overall, the gender ratio in positions of power is 60–40 between men and women, a disparity that is not as wide as assumed, according to the report.

• The gap is greater at certain top-level roles, while it narrows when it comes to positions such as Senior Vice President (44% women, 56% men) and department head (41% women, 59% men).
• The top 3 Asia companies with gender diversity are Hong Kong (55%), Vietnam (46%), and Thailand (44%).
• On the employee side of things, satisfaction rates average to above average in all 7 countries. Half or more of these employees would recommend e-commerce companies as a workplace to their friends, while e-commerce CEOs have high approval ratings (66–97%).
• Indonesians are the happiest in e-commerce, with a 4.3-star rating of their companies, followed by the Filipinos, with 3.8 stars.
• Read the full report here.

Success in safety

• 500-backed digital health company Naluri has tips for returning to the workplace safely this year.
• Tip #1: prepare the team mentally. Review past progress and reprioritize long- and short-term goals to prepare for the new year.

• Tip #2: commit to promoting workplace health and safety. Wear a mask, practice physical distancing, provide sanitation supplies, and most importantly, lead by example.
• Tip #3: create opportunities to stay connected. A closely-knit team is always more productive and efficient and can help identify employees in need of support better.
• Tip #4: stay flexible. Some employees may be comfortable working from home, while others prefer to be in an office environment.
• Tip #5: support your staff. Pre-pandemic times, 43% of employees already expressed wanting more support from management and HR. What more during these difficult times?
• It may not be business as usual, but managers and employers can prepare their teams for safety and success.

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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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