Successful Series B

• Hong Kong-based and 500-backed cross-border financial settlement company EMQ has raised US$20 million in Series B funding.
• The round saw participation from new and existing investors that include AppWorks, Abu Dhabi Capital, DG Ventures, Intudo Ventures, VS Partners, January Capital, Hard Yaka, Vectr Fintech Partners, Quest Ventures, and Sparklabs.
• The company will use the investment to further accelerate its international growth, product development, and licensing activities across Asia, Europe, and the Americas.
• At the moment, EMQ’s technologies are being deployed across the Asia-Pacific, Africa, Europe, and North America.

• “As we look to the future, we will continue to invest significantly towards constant innovation of our cross-border solutions and compliance capabilities, to deliver additional value to the global payments ecosystem and capitalise on the explosive growth of the cross-border business-to-business payments market — valued to exceed US$218 trillion by 2020,” says co-founder and CEO of EMQ, Max Liu.
• Congratulations on a successful funding round, team EMQ!

Data against pandemic

• Through data, 500-backed Zenysis and The Global Fund are helping the ministries of health in Zambia and Rwanda counter the adverse implications of the coronavirus pandemic.
• The partnership will see the development of an “innovative platform that aims to harness the power of quality data to strengthen health programs and save lives”.
• The platform will consolidate fragmented health and logistics data in one accessible workplace, allowing government bodies and NGOs to get vital and accurate information without delay.

• Zenysis has been at the frontlines of the fight against widespread pandemics, lending its expertise in data analytics to governments and corporations.
• Jonathan Stambolis, CEO of Zenysis, told Gavi.org that virtual control rooms have been set up in some of the countries they’re working with. These rooms provide decision-makers with real-time analytics on test results coming in from laboratories, supply chain data on the availability of diagnostic kits, personal protective equipment and ventilators, human resources data, population mobility data, and more.
• Last year, Zenysis helped to mitigate the cholera outbreak in Mozambique, proving that efficient data analysis is key to helping governments make informed decisions during a crisis.

Mushrooms FTW

• 500-backed Mycotech makes leather out of fungus. Mushroom, to be specific.
• Under the Mylea brand, the leather — which is essentially mycelium, a fibrous filament derived from the root structure of a mushroom — can be used to make shoes, wallets, watch straps, and more.
• Between 2019 and the first half of 2020, the Indonesia-based startup produced 2,000 sq ft of mycelium leather from its pilot factory.
• Co-founder Adi Reza tells us the factory has helped them generate US$568,000 in total revenue so far.

• Within that period, Mycotech has achieved other significant milestones:
• It was selected as one of the Circular Economy Solvers by MIT SOLVE and granted US$10,000.
• That came around the same time Mycotech was stamped as a B-certified company, becoming one of only three B-corps in Indonesia.
• This year in January, Mycotech was regarded as a low-carbon inclusive enterprise from SEED Awards and awarded €10,000 in grants to implement an integrated energy monitoring system in their eco-factory.
• It’s safe to say Mycotech’s leather is good for the environment as it recorded significantly lower carbon emissions compared to cattle leather production, Adi reveals.

• Adi divulged they’ve secured collaborations with a mix of 21 small-medium and big fashion brands. To meet the demand, Mycotech’s production facility will be at full capacity until 2027, producing 2,000 sqft of mycelium leather per year.
• Although he wasn’t able to provide any names, one furniture retailer recorded over €41. 3 billion in revenue last year.

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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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