Nurture for nurses

• PC Gan, Country Manager of 500-backed Homage Malaysia shared her thoughts with BusinessToday on the importance of embracing ESG (environmental, social, and governance) values.
• When PC first started with Homage, she realized that nurses in Malaysia were classified as blue-collar workers. Hence, they are undervalued both financially and professionally. She believes this is a misperception as nurses need to be well-versed in medical skills and human psychology.

• The startup was founded with the intention of changing the conversation around healthcare access and the treatment of healthcare professionals. According to PC, Homage pays their Care Professionals above the market rate in order to reflect their expertise.
• “Adopting ESG values is a reflection of our continued commitment towards that goal and to inspire others to do the same,” she said. “We believe in more recognition for our frontliners and we all have a responsibility to better protect them.”
• Read the full article on BusinessToday here.

Leading by example

• Sharon Lourdes Paul, Head of Regional Payments at 500-backed Xfers appeared on an International Women’s Day panel discussion on women’s leadership in the fintech space.

• In the session, she shared her experience and views on the environment in which women in Asia work and how women in Asian fintech can build their careers to become better leaders in the market.
• According to Sharon, female representation at the startup is currently at an estimated 20%, adding that over the years she is seeing more women in engineering and product roles.
• She has also seen a silver lining over the year of the pandemic with the ubiquitousness of virtual meetings. This new practice has leveled the playing field by forcing everyone to be more mindful about letting others have a say in discussions — even those who traditionally have dominated conversations.
• On creating an environment where she can work effectively, she said that while she expects others to treat her as an equal, she does the same in return, eschewing different or favourable treatment just because of her gender.
• Watch the video on YouTube.

Road to recovery

• 500-backed Grab has partnered with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for a special #GrabConversations session at their upcoming Southeast Asia Development Symposium (SEADS) 2021.

• Titled ‘Road to Recovery with Tech: Building the Foundation for Resilient Growth’, this session will look at the roles of government, institutions, and tech platforms in creating economic empowerment and resilient revenue streams for businesses, among other topics.
• To register for the 17 March session, click 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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