A fruitful venture

• Singapore has awarded its first digital banking licenses, with one going to 500-backed Grab’s venture with Singtel.

• According to the country’s central bank, Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), 21 firms applied for the license and 14 were shortlisted.
• With a digital banking license, super app Grab can expand its financial services in the island nation to offer those of a traditional bank such as banking accounts, debit and credit cards, and others.
• Last year, the startup teamed up with telecom operator Singtel for the application. The two companies will draw on their respective experiences to offer transparent digital financial services across payments, insurance, lending and investing products with the goal of serving consumers and small businesses.
• According to a report, 40% of Singaporeans are underbanked, with young Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians (PMETs), gig workers with flexible incomes, and micro-SMEs facing limited access to financing.
• Anthony Tan, Group CEO & co-founder of Grab said, “With Grab and Singtel’s combined experience in meeting the everyday needs of Singaporeans, as well as our deep tech expertise and data-driven insights, the digital bank will further our goal to empower more people to gain better control of their money and achieve better economic outcomes for themselves, their businesses and families.”
• MAS expects the digital banks to start operating from early 2022 after meeting the “necessary pre-conditions of Singapore”.

An advanced solution

• 500-backed Krosslinker was named e27’s startup of the month. The Singapore-based startup is a developer of advanced materials — materials specifically engineered to “provide a distinct advantage in (physical or functional) performance when compared to conventional materials”.

• Krosslinker aims to disrupt the pharma industry by making insulation material known as ‘aerogel’ available at a commercial price.
• Fireproof, strong, and absorbing oil and water, aerogel is considered to be an effective insulation material and is widely used across various industries.
• Invented in the 1930s, aerogel is not a new material but generally requires “a substantial amount of energy, time and capital”, driving up its price significantly.
• According to co-founder and Director of Innovation and Engineering Dr. Mahesh Sachithanadam, the process of creating an aerogel typically takes about 60 percent of the overall cost of the project, and the startup’s goal is to reduce the process cost significantly.
• The inception of Krosslinker and its focus on aerogels was not planned for the Covid-19 pandemic, but an opportunity has arisen for the startup.
• With vaccines due to be deployed, logistics and storage remain a challenge. Some vaccines need to be stored in temperatures as low as -90°C to remain effective.
• Co-founder and CEO Dr. Gayathri Natarajan shared, “Aerogel is a material that can withstand temperatures starting from -200°C to all the way up till 600°C, so for both cold and high ventilation. Currently, there are also very few options to transport vaccines in order to distribute it effectively worldwide.”
• Krosslinker’s aerogels are not out in the market yet, but they are currently conducting trials with pharma distributors and logistics companies. Once commercially available, the startup could potentially help in reducing vaccine prices by transporting them at a cheaper rate.
• Read the full feature here.

Making cents of data

• 500-backed Artificial Intelligence (AI) analytics startup, AiSensum, is looking to raise US$1 million in a pre-series A round by Q1 2021.
• Founded in 2018, the Jakarta-based startup uses AI and machine learning to help companies leverage the data they possess to drive effective digital marketing.
• This concept is not new to larger corporations, which is why AiSensum’s target market is medium-sized companies — with a specific goal of 100,000 out of Indonesia’s 60 million small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

• According to Vivek Thomas, founder and managing partner at the startup, entrepreneurs running these companies rely mainly on existing e-commerce platforms and have “limited working knowledge” on monetizing data and increasing sales via social media, using “guesswork” and “luck”.
• In February 2020, AiSensum launched LuckyLaku Lab, a performance marketing software-as-a-service platform for SMEs in Indonesia. The platform is based on a subscription model helping clients reach new customers and creates media plans for shopping days such as Singles’ Day and Christmas.
• The pandemic hit not long after, and Vivek revealed that many businesses were pushed online, leading to a 5x growth in customer acquisition quarter on quarter. The growth is expected to drive the startup’s order bookings to US$300,000 by the end of 2020.
• The startup claims LuckyLaku Lab will increase a company’s average return on ad spend (ROAS) by 13.1x, with the highest achieved so far being 46.2x.
• Since the launch of the platform, it has secured over 100 customers and a monthly order booking of US$50,000.
• The startup’s goal is to capture 10% of the estimated US$225 million performance marketing software market in Indonesia and Southeast Asia, and ultimately, to be a US$100 million company in five years.

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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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