Towards Industry 4.0

• 500-backed digital manufacturing startup Arcstone has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indonesian Ministry of Industry.
• Under this collaboration, together with Indonesia’s Digital Innovation Center, the key objective is to advocate and execute educational programs on digitalization.
• Arcstone will partner with academic institutions to train the next generation of digital manufacturing experts with classroom learning to shop floor experience. The startup will also be dedicating its solutions and toolsets to aid small and medium enterprises go digital.
• Read the full announcement by Arcstone here.

A real estate solution

• Cha-Ly Koh, founder and CEO of 500-backed property data startup Urbanmetry spoke on BFM 89.9, a business radio station, on the issue of property overhang in Malaysia.
• What is property overhang? In Malaysia, it is defined as residential units which have been completed but remained unsold for more than nine months after its launch. According to BFM, property overhang has been a long-standing issue in the country.
• Cha-Ly believes that COVID-19 has given the real estate industry some breathing room — there has been a slowdown of construction and property launches. So, demand can catch up to the supply.
• Listen to the full interview on BFM 89.9 here.

Adapting to the times

• “I want to be continuously learning. I want to learn to unlearn, unlearn to learn. So when you take that mindset, no day is the same, right?” That’s how Zac Liew runs award-winning, 500-backed fintech startup Curlec with a modest team of 25.
• Curlec sees payment as just an entry point. Zac shared in an interview on Prestige that it is about building systems to serve clients and businesses better in the subscription economy.
• From struggling to convince stakeholders and potential customers about a product that has never been seen before in the market to winning awards, Curlec has since processed close to US$250 million on its platform.
• Read the full interview on Prestige 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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