The results may surprise you.

Covid-19 and early-stage investing

• To understand how the Covid-19 outbreak is impacting early-stage investing, 500 Startups conducted a survey with over 130 investors.
• In it, you’ll find important insights into the current VC landscape, including the industries currently drawing the most eyeballs due to the coronavirus.

• The report can be downloaded in full here.

MDEC champions fundraising efforts

• To protect frontliners against the spread of the coronavirus, the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) has partnered with three crowdfunding platforms, according to The Edge Markets.

• The funds raised will be funneled to distribute essentials like facemasks and medical equipment to hospitals and clinics nationwide.
• MDEC CEO Surina Shukhir said while medical staff is regarded as frontliners, they’re actually “the last line of defense to stop the spread of the virus and provide professional care for the infected to recover.”

Homage and how it cares for the elderly

• On-demand, Singapore-based caregiving service Homage, which raised a $1.2 million seed round in 2017 from 500 Durians and other backers, has sights on expanding its footprint into more parts in Southeast Asia with funds from a successful Series B run earlier this year.
• In an interview with TechCrunch, founder Gillian Tee elaborates on the inspiration behind Homage’s inception, the matching of its pool of caretakers with the elderly, and how caregiving is a business that transcends profit.

• “It’s not the easiest space to be in, and I would say that you do need to want to be intentionally working in this space, rather than just falling into it. It goes hand in hand,” Gillian says.

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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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