Developing quick and easy solutions

• 500-backed Appboxo has raised US$7 million in a Series A funding round led by RTP Global. The startup levels the playing field for developers by helping them build super apps without requiring extensive resources.
• The startup has two main products: Miniapp, a platform for building and launching mini-apps, and Shopboxo, which lets businesses set up customizable online stores through mobile devices in less than 30 seconds.
• Co-founder and CEO Kaniyet Rayev said that the fresh funding will be used to further develop Shopboxo, expand its merchant ecosystem, and build its international presence.
• Appboxo stated they are used by 10 super apps across Southeast Asia, India, and South Africa. It added that it powers more than 400 mini-app integrations and has a combined base of more than 500 million users. While it is focusing on the Asia-Pacific region, it also plans to enter Europe and the United States.
• Read the full story on TechCrunch.

Convenience at your fingertips

• 500-backed e-grocery startup HappyFresh has rolled out HappyFresh Supermarket in a move to extend the accessibility of groceries and simplify the lives of consumers.
• Already launched in Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, and Bangkok, it expects to grow to more than 100 ‘dark’ stores – retail outlets built exclusively for delivery – in the coming years.
• With this, HappyFresh also aims to offer competitive pricing without any out-of-stock moments. “We remain focused on serving all families in Southeast Asia who are constantly improving the efficiency of managing their households while managing their busy lives,” said David Lim, HappyFresh’s VP, marketing and MD of Thailand.
• According to CEO Guillem Segarra, the startup saw ‘tremendous interest’ with a 300% growth in month-on-month users just a couple of months after launching.
• Read the full article on Marketing-Interactive.

Delivering better healthcare

• “Accessibility to medicine – these are the things we take for granted in the West, but here, no one was doing anything about it,” explained Furquan Kidwai, founder and CEO of 500-backed Dawaai.
• Dawaai is essentially an e-pharmacy that connects consumers directly to manufacturers. On ‘Rise of the Next’ a podcast by 500 Global, he talks about building a digital health company that also provides telehealth services and at-home lab testing.
• Furquan launched Dawaai to address two major pain points: (1) Pakistan’s broken and fragmented pharmaceutical supply chain that leads to (2) counterfeits running rampant in the market, with an estimated 30-40% of medications assumed to be fake.
• The startup currently serves three market segments: those with chronic illnesses who need prescriptions filled regularly, those with acute illnesses who need one-off medications, and those taking vitamins and supplements. Dawaai can arrange for orders to be delivered within one to two hours, depending on the consumer’s location.
• Listen to the full podcast here.