Global recognition for an inclusive solution

• The World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Technology Pioneers of 2022 has been revealed, and 500-backed global payments network EMQ made it on the prestigious list!
• What does it take to be a Technology Pioneer? The WEF selects companies that are at the forefront of their industries around the world; firms using their tech capabilities to focus on solving some of the world’s most pressing issues such as climate change, healthcare, and more.
• “EMQ’s mission is to increase the accessibility and affordability of financial services globally, and we are honored to be recognized as a pioneer by the World Economic Forum,” said Co-founder & CEO, Max Liu.
• “At EMQ, our strategy remains focused on building payments infrastructure that simplifies and lowers the cost of making everyday payments, in addition to fostering more inclusive and sustainable economies,” he added.
• Congratulations to the EMQ team!
• Read the full announcement here.

Ramping up on recommerce

• The Carousell family continues to grow! The 500-backed recommerce company signed a deal to acquire Refash, a secondhand clothing website.
• Carousell will leverage Refash’s network of 10 physical thrift stores across Singapore to help users sell their secondhand products quicker.
• To date, Refash has processed over 5 million pieces of clothing, and resold pre-loved clothing from over 305 international and local fashion labels.
• “We see immense opportunity in teaming up to make selling even simpler for anyone time-starved who has underused clothes in their wardrobes,” said Siu Rui Quek, Co-founder & CEO of Carousell.
• Read the full article on Tech in Asia.

Data that makes a difference

• “We have seen clients changing their entire product because of what the numbers say. We’ve also had clients pull the brakes and not launch a product or buy land because the numbers that we laid out for them are insane,” revealed Cha-Ly Koh, Founder & CEO of 500-backed property data company Urbanmetry.
• When she launched the company over 7 years ago, many in the real estate sector were skeptical. Eventually though, Cha-Ly won them over by showing them supply and demand data gathered using artificial intelligence (AI) and big data analysis, among other things.
• That’s not all. Urbanmetry also obtains data from unconventional sources like blogs and social media. And becoming increasingly important, climate change data. The company is currently working with a few international organizations to incorporate climate models into their system, she added.
• All in all, Urbanmetry is focused on a single mission: helping developers, governments, banks, and consumers make better decisions and better cities.
• Read the full feature story on The Edge Markets.