Month: March 2021

Source: Nikkei Asia

Asia-Pacific’s 500 fastest-growing companies

Carro’s bigger competitor, Carsome of Malaysia, was 16th in the ranking. Carsome is the largest online used car trading platform in Southeast Asia, with a presence in Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand. Its revenue grew nearly 25 times over the three years through 2019 to $203 million, according to the rankings.

Eric Cheng, the co-founder and CEO of Carsome, told Nikkei in an interview that the company would be hitting $1 billion in revenue this year, given the pent-up demand for used cars during the pandemic. “We have reached an operating profit level, and expect to achieve profitability on the EBITDA level by this year,” he said.

With $1 billion in sales, Cheng believes that Carsome is financially ready to face public investors via an IPO. The company, however, is holding on to 2023 as its target year for a listing.

“Although we are already there financially, I believe that we still have to fine-tune processes such as governance and market reporting,” he said. Carsome intends to list in a financial hub along the lines of New York, London or Hong Kong — where, according to Cheng, “the business model would be appreciated.”

Cheng said Carsome will not be looking at geographical expansion in the medium term, however, wants to strengthen its presence in existing markets with new product offerings. “We are now only 1.5% of the $40 billion used car market in Southeast Asia. There is vast growth potential for us to comfortably aim for a 3% share,” he said.

In addition to enabling consumers to sell their cars via an online platform, Carsome would introduce a car sales function where consumers can purchase their secondhand vehicle from the company itself.

The service has been introduced in Malaysia and will be running in Indonesia and Thailand soon, said Cheng. “We understand the risk involved when we have our own inventories, but we believe in the prospects and demand for used cars,” he said.

Source

Source: Digital News Asia

• Brings 37 years experience in banking, investments and capital markets
• Vynn Capital expecting to make more investments in current half of 2021

Vynn Capital Sdn Bhd, a leading Southeast Asian early-stage venture capital firm, announced yesterday the appointment of Noorazman Abd Aziz (pic), as an advisor.

Noorazman is the Chairman of UEM Sunrise Bhd, a prominent Kuala Lumpur-based property developer, as well as a member of the Investment Panel of Malaysia’s largest public services pension fund Kumpulan Wang Amanah Pekerja (KWAP/EPF). Other advisors of Vynn Capital include entrepreneur and prominent angel investor, Vincent Lee (Chairman of Idea River Run Snd Bhd and founder of Naga DDB), Dr Mario Hardy (CEO of the Pacific Asia Travel Association) and Setyono Djuandi Darmono (Chairman and founder of Jababeka from Indonesia).

Noorazman has over 37 years of exposure and experience in banking and finance, investments and the capital markets. Besides serving as the Chairman of UEM Sunrise, he is also a director of UEM Edgenta Bhd, PLUS Malaysia Bhd, Kumpulan Perangsang Selangor Bhd and Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd.

He also serves as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Yayasan UEM and International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance (INCEIF). He is also a member of the Investment Panel of KWAP, the global advisory board of Creador and the limited partner advisory committee of Ancora Fund Manage[1]ment Co in Indonesia.

Founded by Victor Chua, Vynn Capital is expecting to make more investments in the current half of 2021 despite the on[1]going pandemic and will share details at a later date. The firm will also be announcing several initiatives in the near future.

Source

Source: The Edge Markets

NEWS
CIIF and LeadWomen shine light on diversity and women leadership

The Chartered Institute of Islamic Finance Professionals (CIIF) is teaming up with LeadWomen Sdn Bhd to create a platform for important conversations to help create safe and inclusive workplaces.

CIIF, a professional body for qualified practitioners in the Islamic finance industry, and LeadWomen, a social enterprise focused on increasing the number of women in senior leadership roles in Corporate Malaysia, organised their first brainstorming roundtable session on women leadership and diversity.

Among the high-profile attendees were CIIF members from various financial institutions and related organisations, including heads of corporate strategy, CEOs and country heads, as well as partners of advisory firms.

“Women are still chronically underfunded in comparison to male founders even though they are at the command of start-ups. As we examine to understand why women aren’t making bigger leadership strides, both in corporations and in the small business sector, it has a great deal to do with women not having diverse enough networks to support their advancement,” says CIIF CEO Dr Azura Othman.

“Employing the term ‘women and diversity issues’ to address the uneven playing field can give visibility to the particular difficulties faced by a specific group of people, as opposed to other groups. While these rights fall under human rights, using specificity to define them brings visibility to a population whose voice has been silenced,” adds Anne Abraham, executive co-founder of the Malaysian Chapter of 30% Club, a global business campaign lobbying for increased representation of women on the boards of Malaysian public limited companies.

myTukar launches apprentice programme

The used-car e-commerce platform, myTukar Sdn Bhd, has launched the myTukar Apprentice Programme in collaboration with Malaysia’s leading automotive college, TOC Automotive College (TOC), in March.

With four intakes in a year, the apprentice programme is expected to produce 100 to 120 successful apprentices every year. Upon completing the three-month Automotive Assistant Technician Course at TOC, the apprentices will continue with a nine-month internship at myTukar and also inspection centres under CARRO Group, a Singapore-based Southeast Asian technology-enabled automotive marketplace.

During the internship, apprentices will receive a monthly allowance of RM1,200. Successful apprentices are guaranteed a career within myTukar in Malaysia and even regional roles within CARRO Group at a minimum salary of RM1,800. The next intake is in April.

TOC’s role in the programme comprises developing and delivering course modules, enrolling students, interviewing, shortlisting and monitoring students, facilitating apprentices’ placement and managing their performance during the internship.

PEOPLE MOVES
Aiza Azreen Ahmad is MDEC’s new chief digital business officer

Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) has appointed Aiza Azreen Ahmad as its chief digital business officer. A member of the MDEC operating coutncil, she will be responsible for steering the digital adoption ecosystem in the areas of e-commerce, business digital adoption and data ecosystem development, as well as the digital infrastructure departments.

She brings more than 20 years of international working experience across multiple industries in strategy development and execution of large-scale business transformation. Previously, she held leadership positions at Pertama Digital, Axiata Digital Services, Axiata eCode, Bank Rakyat, Sime Darby Group, Media Prima and AmBank. During her time at these companies, she pioneered Malaysia’s cashless ecosystem with Boost eWallet, deployed frontier technologies, innovated on operating models, commercialised businesses through mergers and acquisitions, worked on venture building and collaborated with strategic partners.

Tim Castle is Foursquare’s new regional head of Southeast Asia and Hong Kong

Global location technology platform Foursquare has appointed Tim Castle as regional head of Southeast Asia and Hong Kong. In this new role, he will be responsible for furthering the expansion of Foursquare across Southeast Asia.

Castle’s career has spanned multiple regional hubs in the media industry across the UK and Australia. He was head of sales at Playground XYZ, a marketing technology company, where he was responsible for expanding the company’s products into new markets in Asia. In earlier years, he also led new business initiatives at Group M and AOL (later Verizon Media). Castle’s appointment in Asia follows Foursquare’s recent rebranding and a series of strategic moves over the last two years, including the acquisition of Placed in 2019 and the merger with Factual in 2020.

Foursquare is the leading independent location technology company, powered by its deep understanding of how people move throughout the world. Foursquare’s platform includes Attribution, Audience, Proximity, Places, Pilgrim SDK and Visits. It is also the industry’s first and only accredited company for location data from the Media Rating Council (MRC), a US-based non-profit organisation that manages accreditation for media research and rating purposes.

Singapore is moving full speed ahead in its adoption of electric vehicles (EVs), with Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung saying in parliament recently that there is a net carbon positive impact in switching from gas guzzlers to EVs. The city state has pledged S$30 million over the next five years to EV-related initiatives.

It has come a long way since Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk tweeted in 2018 that the island was “unwelcome” and “not supportive” of EVs.

Malaysia, in the meantime, is still testing out the technology. High-tech start-up eMooVit has been conducting open-road testing since the launch of MyAV, which was established by the Ministry of Transport to oversee the testing of autonomous vehicles (AVs) in Malaysia, and is working with Futurise Malaysia and other authorities to launch more AV test beds.

PICTURE OF THE WEEK

Singapore is moving full speed ahead in its adoption of electric vehicles (EVs), with Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung saying in parliament recently that there is a net carbon positive impact in switching from gas guzzlers to EVs. The city state has pledged S$30 million over the next five years to EV-related initiatives.

It has come a long way since Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk tweeted in 2018 that the island was “unwelcome” and “not supportive” of EVs.

Malaysia, in the meantime, is still testing out the technology. High-tech start-up eMooVit has been conducting open-road testing since the launch of MyAV, which was established by the Ministry of Transport to oversee the testing of autonomous vehicles (AVs) in Malaysia, and is working with Futurise Malaysia and other authorities to launch more AV test beds.

TECH BOOKS
If Then by Jill Lepore

The Simulmatics Corporation, launched during the Cold War, mined data, targeted voters, manipulated consumers, destabilised politics and disordered knowledge — decades before Facebook, Google and Cambridge Analytica came into existence. Jill Lepore came across the company’s papers in Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s archives and set out to tell this forgotten history, the long-lost back story to the methods, and the arrogance, of Silicon Valley.

Founded in 1959 by some of the nation’s leading social scientists, Simulmatics proposed to predict and manipulate the future by way of the computer simulation of human behaviour. In the summers, with their wives and children in tow, the company’s scientists met on the beach in Long Island under a geodesic, honeycombed dome, where they built a “People Machine” that aimed to model everything, from buying a dishwasher to counterinsurgency to casting a vote.

Deploying their “People Machine” from New York, Washington, Cambridge and even Saigon, Simulmatics’ clients included the John F Kennedy presidential campaign, The New York Times, the Department of Defence, and dozens of major manufacturers. Simulmatics had a hand in everything from political races to the Vietnam War to the Johnson administration’s ill-fated attempt to predict race riots.

The company’s collapse was almost as rapid as its ascent, a collapse that involved failed marriages, a suspicious death and bankruptcy. Exposed for false claims, and even accused of war crimes, it closed its doors in 1970 and all but vanished.

The scientists of Simulmatics believed they had invented “the A-bomb of the social sciences”. They did not predict that it would take decades to detonate, like a long-buried grenade. But, in the early years of the 21st century, that bomb did detonate, creating a world in which corporations collect data and model behaviour and target messages about the most ordinary of decisions, leaving people all over the world, long before the global pandemic, crushed by feelings of helplessness. — Amazon

HACKATHON
Vynn Capital launches virtual hackathon

Vynn Capital, supported by the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst Association (CAIA), Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), Malaysian Global Innovation & Creative Centre (MaGIC), Fundnel and Malaysian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (MVCA), is organising a portfolio-focused virtual hackathon, #VynnHack. The hackathon is also a result of participation by Vynn Capital’s portfolio companies, namely Carsome, Dropee and Travelio.

The themes of #VynnHack are provided in the form of opportunities identified by the three companies, where the winners will be the individuals, teams or start-ups that are able to propose solutions that complement the said opportunities. Participants can be from any country within Southeast Asia.

Winners will have the opportunity to be hired by the companies or work on building the proposed solution or product together with the firms. On top of that, two of the winners will be picked by Vynn Capital to be placed under its mentorship programme. The winner will also be considered as a potential investee.

For more information about #VynnHack, please visit Vynn Capital’s website or contact the firm at vynnhack@vynncapital.com.

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Source: Digital News Asia

• Funding to be used to improve platform, service; roll out more features and upgrades
• Planning ‘big app revamp’ in early April; pre-Series A funding later in 2021

MALAYSIA-based insur-tech player, Ouch!, has announced a successful US$364,600 (RM1.5 million) seed funding round from Vynn Capital and Temokin, along with a few unnamed angel investors.

With the funding, the Ouch! team will focus on further product and business development and “to prepare a stronger foundation for growth”, the company said in a statement.

Its efforts going forward will be directed towards improving the platform and service for users, as well as rolling out more features and upgrades to the platform across 2021, it added.

“Ouch! is very honoured to have gained support from such prestigious investors who have placed their immense trust in us,” said Shazy Noorazman (pic), chief executive officer (CEO) of Ouch!.

“This funding will allow us to build upon our current infrastructure and roll out more features to our customers for an even more holistic experience.”

Shazy said with Ouch!, insurance can be more accessible now and customers can gain more confidence in insurance to protect their assets and their future instead of being intimidated by it.

Founded in September 2019, Ouch! is aimed at making insurance purchasing process simpler and fuss-free.

Shazy noted that its research has shown that many people, especially youth and fresh graduates, are intimidated by the complicated terms and policies when purchasing insurance.

“Something as essential as insurance should not be confusing and should be as simple and straightforward as possible lest we turn off customers from one of the most necessary purchases in life.

“The experience should be as pain-free as possible, which also happens to be our tagline,” he said.

According to Shazy, the platform features a simple interface, allowing customers to easily choose from five insurance categories, namely medical, life, travel, motor and home.

The insurance options come from Allianz, AXA and Etiqa. Getting a quote for their insurance plans can be done within five minutes, the startup claimed.

Ouch! also pointed out that the platform deliberately utilises simple, easy-to-understand language to reduce confusion and to make things easier for first-time purchasers and those unfamiliar with insurance terms.

The insurance platform also features a comprehensive policy vault for easy referencing and safekeeping.

The company is slated to revamp its app in April and have plans to introduce “something big in the future.” It also has plans to raise a pre-Series A funding later in 2021, noted Shazy.

Source

Source: Digital News Asia

• Tap wisdom of crowds around challenges Carsome, Dropee and Travelio face
• Creativity and the free flow of thoughts will be the name of the day

#VynnHack is a virtual hackathon by Kuala Lumpur based, Southeast Asian venture firm, Vynn Capital to provide an opportunity for promising talent in the region to work with three of the top startups in its portfolio.

The unique approach to the hackathon sees the participation of three startups from Vynn Capital’s portfolio, namely Carsome, Dropee and Travelio. Because each of the startups are from different verticals, the competition does not have an overiding theme.

Neither is there a technology theme. Instead, each of the three startups will be sharing two business opportunities that they see, which hackathon participants have to help them tap by proposing solutions. Winners will be the ones (be they individuals/teams/startups) who come up with the best ideas/proposals to help Dropee, Carsome or Travelio.

“We are not looking at a full MVP (minimum viable product). Just ideas and proposals. But of course, if they already have a real product, that will be a real bonus,” says Victor Chua (pic, top), founding and managing partner of Vynn Capital.

He explains that #VynnHack, is his firm’s attempt to look at encouraging more talent to be interested in the New Economy. “We are providing a platform for people to work with promising startups that could be the success stories that the next few generations will talk about,” he explains

Creativity and the free flow of thoughts will be the name of the day, says Victor. Only the finalists identified by the three companies get to engage with them.

Participants can be from any country within Southeast Asia. #VynnHack welcomes youths and entrepreneurs, from university students to working professionals or startups and companies, to pitch their best ideas. From solo participants upwards, Vynn Capital is opting for a very light touch with regards to who is eligible with the goal of encouraging participation.

Winners will have the opportunity to be hired by the companies or to work on building the proposed solutions/product together with the companies.

Above that, two of the winners will also be picked by Vynn Capital to be placed under its mentorship program, with the further possibility that one will also be considered as a potential investee which would entail a US$250,000 (RM1.03 million) investment.

Offering some advice, Eric Cheng, CEO and cofounder of Carsome highlights that “It is important to be in the right ecosystem or partnership environment as you will gain valuable insights and learnings, which is crucial for growing or scaling one’s business. I urge Southeast Asia’s young entrepreneurs to be very clear of the solutions they are building or offering, gather a capable team who believe in the same vision right from the start, set realistic goals and pace everyone.”

“Young entrepreneurs should start normalising failure, view them as a form of feedback, and indoctrinate the growth mindset. Incorporating a business and calling yourself as an entrepreneur is easy. But when your business starts scaling fast, you are no longer just an entrepreneur – you’re now a leader. And being a leader in a scale-up means you have to scale as fast (if not faster) than your company. That way, you have earned the right to lead the said company,” said Lennise Ng, CEO and cofounder of Dropee.

Beyond Malaysia, Hendry Rusli, CEO and cofounder of Travelio, comments “Southeast Asia has a lot of potential and young entrepreneurs have numerous opportunities in identifying pain points in the markets. With perseverance and staying on the forefront in adapting to new changes, young entrepreneurs will be able to grow and stay nimble in a competitive market.”

With no limit to the number of submissions, Victor is expecting more people talking to the companies. “This will lead to more ideas more creativity,” he explains.

Vynn Capital is organizing its inaugural portfolio focused virtual hackathon with support from the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst Association, Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation, Malaysian Global Innovation & Creative Centre, Fundnel and Malaysian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association.

For more information about #VynnHack, please visit Vynn Capital’s website or contact the firm at vynnhack@vynncapital.com

Source

Source: PATA

#VynnHack is a virtual hackathon by Vynn Capital to provide a platform for next generation entrepreneurs to work with validated businesses. It is also the venture capital firm’s answer to providing a sustainable value-add to its portfolio companies.

Vynn Capital, supported by the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst Association (CAIA), Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), Malaysian Global Innovation & Creative Centre (MaGIC), Fundnel and Malaysian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (MVCA), is organizing a portfolio – focused virtual hackathon – #VynnHack. The hackathon is also a result of participation by Vynn Capital’s portfolio companies, namely Carsome, Dropee and Travelio. The themes of #VynnHack is provided in the form of opportunities identified by the three companies, where the winners will be the individuals, teams or startups who are able to propose solutions that complement said opportunities. Participants can be from any country within Southeast Asia.

#VynnHack welcomes youths and entrepreneurs, from university students to working professionals or startups and companies, to pitch their best ideas to the three companies and Vynn Capital. Winners will have the opportunity to be hired by the companies or work on building the proposed solution or product together with the companies. On top of that, 2 of the winners will also be picked by Vynn Capital to be placed under its mentorship program. The venture capital firm is also putting out there that the winner will also be considered as a potential investee.

“As industries continue to evolve, it is a good time to upskill our workforce. As such it is also important for us to provide opportunities to the youth and talented individuals. With #VynnHack, we are looking to encourage more talent to be interested in the new economy and be a part of it. We are providing a platform for people to work with startups which we recognize to be the potential success stories that the next few generations of the busines world would talk about.” said Victor Chua, the Founding & Managing Partner of Vynn Capital.

Eric Cheng, CEO and Co-Founder of Carsome highlights that “It is important to be in the right ecosystem or partnership environment as you will gain valuable insights and learnings, which is crucial for growing or scaling one’s business. I urge Southeast Asia’s young entrepreneurs to be very clear of the solutions they are building or offering, gather a capable team who believe in the same vision right from the start, set realistic goals and pace everyone towards the ultimate goal together.”, as he encourages greater participation in #VynnHack and establishes the goals of the event.

“Young entrepreneurs should start normalising failure, view them as a form of feedback, and indoctrinate the growth mindset. Incorporating a business and calling yourself as an entrepreneur is easy. But when your business starts scaling fast, you are no longer just an entrepreneur – you’re now a leader. And being a leader in a scale-up company means you have to scale as fast (if not faster) than your company. That way, you have earned the rights to lead the said company.” said Lennise Ng, CEO and Co-Founder of Dropee, in support of developing future generations of entrepreneurs.

Beyond Malaysia, Hendry Rusli, CEO and Co-Founder of Travelio, comments “Southeast Asia has a lot of potential due to its developing economy and young entrepreneurs have numerous opportunities in identifying the existing pain points in the markets. With perseverance and staying on the forefront in adapting to new changes, young entrepreneurs will be able to grow and stay nimble in a competitive market.” when inquired about the ASEAN startup scene and the opportunities it presents.

For more information about #VynnHack, please visit Vynn Capital’s website or contact the firm at vynnhack@vynncapital.com.

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