Empowering Cambodian entrepreneurs

• 500 Startups announced a two-year partnership with Khmer Enterprise, a unit under the Cambodian Ministry of Economy and Finance, to launch a series of programs dedicated to the development of the Cambodian startup ecosystem.
• Dubbed Angkor 500, the partnership seeks to “support entrepreneurs in their efforts to establish startups and aid in their regional expansion plans.”

• Cited as “one of the fastest-growing economies in the world”, World Bank statistics showed the country’s economy grew at an average GDP rate of 8% between 1998 and 2018, bringing the kingdom to a lower-middle-income status in 2015. The government aspires to attain upper-middle-income status by 2030.
• “With the support of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Khmer Enterprise and 500 Startups will work together to build featuring programmes from ideation to investment readiness,” said Chhieng Vanmunin, CEO of Khmer Enterprise.
• According to Christine Tsai, CEO and Founding Partner of 500 Startups, “Cambodia’s economy and talent are at an inflexion point for rapid growth, and we are confident that this programme will help local founders build strong companies that will push the boundaries of what is possible.”
• How will it work? The partnership will bring together entrepreneurs from across the kingdom to participate in bootcamps to improve the readiness of local startups for international markets and investors.
• There will also be showcases to raise the profile of the Cambodian ecosystem to the global stage by connecting startups with key industry stakeholders and corporate partners.

e-cycling for sustainability

• 500-backed startup Neuron Mobility announced it will soon launch its first ever e-bike program in Darwin, Australia, adding to its current offering of e-scooters.

• A fleet of 150 e-bikes will be available for hire across the city starting early December.
• This program complements their existing e-scooter program with the city which has been extended for a further 12 months, with an expanded riding area and 150 additional e-scooters.
• With the introduction of e-bikes, riders will be able to go on longer journeys as they can “travel faster on bike paths, footpaths, and low-speed roads.”
• The program will launch with over 30 parking stations and a 15-square kilometer riding area covering the central business district, and more.
• Safety features from the startup’s e-scooters will be available on the e-bikes, including the app-controlled helmet lock, a 000 emergency button, voice guidance, topple detection and a “Follow my Ride” function enabling users to share their real-time location with friends and family.
• Geofencing — a virtual perimeter set up within the app — will ensure the e-bikes are being used in the riding areas and parked at designated stations.
• The e-bikes will be available at the same price as the e-scooters.
• This news comes after an announcement in September where Neuron Mobility partnered with Australian councils to operate across 8 locations, with plans to expand to “at least five new cities”. This will lead to the creation of approximately 400 new jobs split between Australia and New Zealand.

A force in healthtech

• This year, 500-backed healthcare solutions provider Vault Dragon celebrates 7 years in the industry. In an article, the startup looked back at its journey from inception till date, and shared future goals — driven by the vision to become “Asia’s Google Maps for healthcare data”.
• Founded in July 2013 in Singapore, the startup built systems to digitize the nation’s healthcare industry by helping clinics transition away from hard copy medical records. Over the years, these systems were introduced in China, Indonesia, Thailand, and Cambodia.
• It also offers a tablet-based system for doctors to create and manage medical records on the go.

• Its healthcare software has since been used by 650 healthcare providers and it “effectively manages more than 1,200,000 records for over 37 hospitals and medical groups in five countries.”
• When the pandemic hit, the startup saw “a steady rise in revenue growth in its existing and new markets with positive projections going into 2021”, and has set a target of ~US$3.3 million in revenue for the next 18 months.
• Future plans? “Building an online marketplace for medical supplies and consumables, and linking medical suppliers to the system,”. By the end of 2020, the startup will enter the Malaysia and Vietnam markets.
• It also plans to apply Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms on “over 10 years of actual medical transactions” in its database to provide real-time predictive insights.
• Get the full story here.

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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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