Support for startups

• At the launch of the Infobip Startup Tribe program, a community for startup support, a webinar titled ‘Bringing Next-Gen Customer Engagement to Startups’ was hosted. It featured Vishal Harnal, managing partner of 500 Southeast Asia, and Richard Ker, VP, Global Partnerships and Ecosystem Development of Aerodyne Group, among others.
• The session discussed customer-centric solutions for startups and the kind of challenges and opportunities encountered. The speakers also shared insights on how to grow and move forward in the new normal.
• Vishal spoke about APAC’s startup ecosystem advancement, highlighting that there are over 30 startup unicorns in the region, with 500-backed household names such as Bukalapak, Carsome, and Grab. He also said that a strong communications support system is necessary if they want to stand out among the competitive crowd.
• Richard shared, “Over the years at Aerodyne, we have managed to build a great brand value by being customer-centric, gaining their loyalty, and leveraging on organic marketing where we try to educate our internal staff to be more customer-centric, so they are able to understand their customers better.”
• Read the full event recap on Yahoo! Finance here.

Reeling in a win

• 500-backed startup Jala Tech is one of eight finalists at Yield Lab’s inaugural Global Aquaculture Challenge to win at a pitching event.
• The program invests and scales sustainable and impactful innovations across the Asia Pacific region and globally.
• Finalists were selected from 180 entries and the event was the culmination of a six-month non-equity aquaculture accelerator program.
• Jala Tech took home the Aqua Bridge (Middle East and North Africa) Prize for Innovation. The prize is worth US$50,000 and grants the startup access to key players in the Middle East’s aquaculture sector, including governmental and regulatory agencies, as well as investors.
• Read the full article here.

Space for people

• 500-backed rocket startup Gilmour Space has been selected as a finalist at The 2021 InnovationAus Space and Remote Automation award.
• Sponsored by Microsoft, the award aims to recognize ambitious entrepreneurs in the space sector. A representative from the company said, “Microsoft is developing the tools and capabilities that allow any organization to rapidly gather data from space, gain unique insights, and achieve more.”
• Gilmour Space, based in Australia, is on a mission to become a global provider of affordable and reliable satellite launches.
• CEO Adam Gilmour recently told 9News that the startup has set its sights on a 2030 launch date for human space flight.
• More on the award here.