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Tag: startup

  • Cosmetics startup La Bouche Rouge makes Hong Kong its trial market

    Cosmetics startup La Bouche Rouge makes Hong Kong its trial market

    French cosmetics startup La Bouche Rouge has chosen Hong Kong as its first Asian market ahead of a regional rollout.

    Founder Nicolas Gerlier introduced the firm’s eco-friendly lipstick line in an interview with the Hong Kong Trade Development Council.

    The concept of the brand came about when Gerlier realized that up to 1 billion used lipstick tubes are thrown away every year, contributing to plastic pollution.

    “I believe that it is impossible to create a new beauty house today without thinking of the environment, without giving meaning, without becoming part of a socially responsible project,” said Gerlier. The idea developed in his mind “until the day I decided to launch my own model”.

    Gerlier was inspired to develop an eco-friendly brand based on his work under Ezra Petronio at L’Oreal Luxe, who is now the firm’s co-founder and creative director.

    La Bouche Rouge lines include the Metiers d’Art Collection – personalizable artisan-crafted lipstick cases – and products in leather pouches which customers refill by purchasing more lipstick at the outlet or online. There is no need to discard cases.

    “At La Bouche Rouge we talk about being ‘beautifully sustainable’,” said Gerlier. “We believe in creating the desire to consume differently and we are convinced that this is achievable through designing beautiful and easy objects. There should not be any compromise between sexiness and sustainability.”

    The firm also has a line of vegan products, which do not use beeswax or any other animal-derived material, soon to be made available in Hong Kong.

    Gerlier says Hong Kong was a natural choice when La Bouche Rouge decided to expand beyond Europe and the US. “Hong Kong is a living and dynamic economy, with the whole aura of Asia in its globality,” Gerlier said. “I am convinced that sustainability combined with luxury in makeup is our future and we are very proud to be launching so far from France just a year and a half after our launch.”

    At present, La Bouche Rouge sells at Lane Crawford in Hong Kong, its first Asian outlet. The firm plans to develop other points of sale in Hong Kong as well as in Japan and Korea.

    With its strong international connections and large French community, La Bouche Rouge finds Hong Kong a good base for its move into Asia. “Our team here is made up of French people who have lived in Hong Kong for a long time. The cosmopolitan city lets us connect with a lot of different nationalities and customers.”

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  • UOB Boosts Property Valuation Speed

    UOB co-launched a one-stop commercial property solution that includes instant valuation capabilities that can improve speeds by over 10,000 times compared to traditional means.

    The digital solution «RealCommerical», co-launched with property tech firm SoReal Prop, allows users to acquire a bank-backed valuation in less than one minute. This is a more than 10,000 times improvement compared to conventional processes which can take up to seven days.

    In addition, the new solution also allows SME users to see the immediate loan amount their firm qualifies for based on average monthly cash flow or affordability.

    From our experience in helping SMEs purchase their ideal commercial property, we know they want certainty and speed in the process, said Mervyn Koh, Singapore country head of business banking at UOB.

    This means not having mismatched expectations in the property’s valuation or the loan quantum, both of which could lead to the SME not being able to secure their desired property.

    According to the bank, one in two SMEs plan to invest in fixed assets including buildings and factory premises. But momentum has been building as of late with regards to fintech developments in property-related areas.

    In addition to commercial property, UOB launched a digital loan solution for homebuyers in August 2018 that reduced application duration from two and a half days to just 15 minutes. Singaporean rival DBS also recently launched a tech-enabled solution linked with payments for property management fees in Hong Kong with a subsidiary of real estate giant Sun Hung Kai.

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  • AIA Group Joins Big Boys to Fuel Gojek

    AIA Group Joins Big Boys to Fuel Gojek

    AIA Group joins a club of high-profile investors to participate in the ride-hailing and payments company’s latest funding round.

    The Indonesian unit of AIA Group, AIA Financial, has invested in Indonesia’s Gojek as part of the latter’s Series F fundraising round. There was no mention of how much money AIA was investing in Gojek or how big a stake it would acquire.

    AIA Financial will work with Gojek to provide life and health insurance services and wellness propositions to its users, drivers, and merchants across Indonesia, the insurer said in a statement on Wednesday.

    According to Crunchbase, Gojek has raised a total of $3.1 billion in funding over 12 rounds. High profile investors in the company include Tencent Holdings and Temasek Holdings.

    Launched in 2011, Gojek has evolved from ride-sharing to allowing its customers to make online payments and order everything from food to groceries and massage services.

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  • Ex-GIC Head Joins Fintech Arm of Razer

    Ex-GIC Head Joins Fintech Arm of Razer

    The fintech arm of gaming hardware manufacturer Razer has appointed the former group president of Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC as an advisory board member.

    Lim Siong Guan joins Razer Fintech as an advisory board member as the firm enters its next growth phase to expand regionally and globally.

    Lim currently is a professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy; a senior fell at the Singapore Civil Service College; and chairs the board of directors of Swiss Re Asia. Previously, he was the group president of GIC Private Limited from 2007 to 2016 before subsequently acting as its advisor until March 2019.

    With Mr. Lim coming on board, we will be able to leverage on his extensive experience and network in the global financial markets to scale up and successfully execute on our strategic roadmap,” said Tan Min-Liang, co-founder and CEO of Razer.

    I am a firm believer in Razer Fintech’s strategy and vision of addressing the unmet needs of underserved people, particularly the youth and the millennials who are the future consumers of the world, through technology and product innovation, Lim added.

  • Saado eyes US expansion after Southeast Asian success

    Saado eyes US expansion after Southeast Asian success

    Vietnamese startup footwear brand Saado plans to expand its retail network into the US after successful launch in Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar within just a year – all without a single store.

    Last month, Saado launched its products on Amazon in the US, using the tagline “US Brand, Vietnam Soul”.

    “By applying for a US trademark, our brand is able to protect our products while enabling us to sell the sandals at more competitive prices” said Le Lam Hai Phung, CEO at Saado.

    Despite successful growth in four countries, Phung added he had no intention to set up physical outlets and planned to focus on a direct-to-consumer “Uber in Retail” business model instead.

    Founded in January last year, Saado has partnered with 40 stores throughout Vietnam as well as selling direct online and through marketplace platforms like Shopee. The company plans to enter three other Asian markets by the end of next year.

  • Indonesian Regulators Makes Fintech Startup Push

    Indonesian Regulators Makes Fintech Startup Push

    A new online registration system has been introduced by Indonesia’s financial regulator to monitor and further encourage the growth of fintech development in the country.

    The Financial Services Authority (OJK) launched the «Electronic Gateway for Digital Finance Systems» (Gesit) which allows fintech industry stakeholders to gain fintech news access and, more importantly, consult about OJK Infinity.

    OJK Inifinty is a platform the regulator created last year to act as an innovation hub, business incubator and education center for fintech startups. It currently has 121 fintech firms registered, 48 of which are ready for operation.

    Aside from leveraging domestic resources, OJK chairman Wimboh Santoso said there were plans to partner with other Southeast Asian countries to further stimulate fintech development in Indonesia.

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  • Deliveroo Announces First Rider Awards to Acknowledge the Incredible Work of Riders in Hong Kong

    Deliveroo Announces First Rider Awards to Acknowledge the Incredible Work of Riders in Hong Kong

    Deliveroo today hosted Hong Kong’s first Deliveroo Rider Awards, a new program to recognize the hard work of riders across Hong Kong, and to instill a sense of pride to the riders who make the biggest difference for customers, partner restaurants and the Hong Kong community.

    Restaurants and riders are invited to nominate and vote on the Deliveroo riders they feel go above and beyond to deliver great service. The winners are awarded a certificate, a medal, a polo shirt, a sports waist bag sponsored by Shell and vouchers from Pizza Express and Golden Prince Thai Restaurant during the Rider Awards ceremony today. The criteria for nominations include maintaining a positive attitude in all forms of interactions and upholding road safety guidelines. Riders are at the heart of Deliveroo’s mission in Hong Kong to bring the best selection of local restaurants direct to people’s doors. New technology and functionality from Deliveroo are further supporting riders to deliver the best service to customers.

    Brian Lo, General Manager of Deliveroo Hong Kong and Taiwan, said, “Deliveroo puts enormous value on our team of self-employed riders, who ensure that Deliveroo can bring fantastic meals from a huge variety of restaurants to people across Hong Kong with speed and efficiency. They are critical to our success and in the ecosystem. Congratulations to all of our riders recognized in the Deliveroo Riders Awards and we look forward to more opportunities to publicly acknowledge and encourage the fantastic work of the team!”

    Roy Ng, Director of Golden Prince Thai Restaurant, said, “It is inspiring to see how Deliveroo is setting the standards for the food industry and honouring the riders who consistently perform to the best of their abilities — no matter the condition. We highly value and appreciate the hard work of all the riders. We deliberately chose convenient locations for our restaurant where the riders are able to pick up the food without any hassle. When we see riders arriving at our restaurants with big smiles on their faces, it cements the confidence we have in Deliveroo being able to always safely deliver our food to the customers. Well done to all the riders! Hopefully our vouchers can serve as some encouragement for them.”

    One rider recognised in the Deliveroo Rider Awards is Mr. Lam, who commented, “It is such an honour to be nominated and win at the Deliveroo Rider Awards. Being a rider is a wonderful opportunity to enjoy flexible, well-paid work and bring delicious meals to the Hong Kong

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  • Online fashion-tech startup Salt Attire launches its offline retail experience

    Online fashion-tech startup Salt Attire launches its offline retail experience

    Online fashion tech startup for women’s workwear Salt Attire has launched its first offline experience store in Gurgaon.

    Located at Galleria Market in Gurgaon, the store will feature premium collections of workwear apparel, jewellery and accessories.

    Apart from ready-to-pick garments, Salt Attire offers bespoke clothing, tailored to customer measurements, based on an on-demand manufacturing model at no additional cost. The store helps customers tailor the items to their body measurements and get hands-on help and guidance to attain the perfect fit.

    After realising the gap in India when it comes to high-quality formals, business casuals and workwear for women, and understanding that the demand for such clothing is only going to increase as more women are entering the workforce, founder Dipti Tolani conceptualised a one-stop store for 9 am–9 pm clothing needs, where any piece of clothing that selected could be worn both to work and after.

    “The store has been a need at multiple levels,” said Tolani. “Firstly, we had a lot of requests to come and visit us in person and inquiries for a store visit. Until now, we had been hosting some of our existing customers in our office itself. Customers now have a lot more freedom to customise as per their preferences in-store; styles, fabric, etc,” she said.

    “Also, given our price points, which are relatively in the premium range compared to the other fast fashion e-commerce websites, the offline, in-store experience is a better offering for customers who want to touch-feel the fabric and try on the garments first.”

    The growth trajectory of the company is not limited to apparel but also involves finely crafted minimalistic jewelry suited to the working professional. By next month, the brand will also launch a formal handbags category.

    Planning to launch multiple offline stores in major cities by next year, the firm aims to offer other verticals as well to capture a larger section of urban consumers.

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  • Salt Attire Startup launches its offline retail experience

    Salt Attire Startup launches its offline retail experience

    Online fashion tech startup for women’s workwear Salt Attire has launched its first offline experience store in Gurgaon.

    Located at Galleria Market in Gurgaon, the store will feature premium collections of workwear apparel, jewellery and accessories.

    Apart from ready-to-pick garments, Salt Attire offers bespoke clothing, tailored to customer measurements, based on an on-demand manufacturing model at no additional cost. The store helps customers tailor the items to their body measurements and get hands-on help and guidance to attain the perfect fit.

    After realising the gap in India when it comes to high-quality formals, business casuals and workwear for women, and understanding that the demand for such clothing is only going to increase as more women are entering the workforce, founder Dipti Tolani conceptualised a one-stop store for 9 am–9 pm clothing needs, where any piece of clothing that selected could be worn both to work and after.

    “The store has been a need at multiple levels,” said Tolani. “Firstly, we had a lot of requests to come and visit us in person and inquiries for a store visit. Until now, we had been hosting some of our existing customers in our office itself. Customers now have a lot more freedom to customise as per their preferences in-store; styles, fabric, etc,” she said.

    “Also, given our price points, which are relatively in the premium range compared to the other fast fashion e-commerce websites, the offline, in-store experience is a better offering for customers who want to touch-feel the fabric and try on the garments first.”

    The growth trajectory of the company is not limited to apparel but also involves finely crafted minimalistic jewelry suited to the working professional. By next month, the brand will also launch a formal handbags category.

    Planning to launch multiple offline stores in major cities by next year, the firm aims to offer other verticals as well to capture a larger section of urban consumers.

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  • Habitat by Honestbee stores planned for more Asian locations

    Habitat by Honestbee stores planned for more Asian locations

    The futuristic Habitat by Honestbee grocery retail format is set for expansion across Asia provided Honestbee can secure court protection from its creditors.

    Honestbee, which has debts estimated in the range of US$180 million, is awaiting a court decision on an application for a six-month reprieve from enforcement actions and legal proceedings from creditors.

    In an interview with Yahoo Finance Singapore, incoming CEO Ong Lay Ann says if the decision goes in the company’s favor a core plank of the restructuring program will be focusing on the high-tech Habitat by Honestbee concept, which has one outlet trading in suburban Singapore. The concept merges cashless grocery store with a restaurant and a testbed for new retail technologies. Customers can shop for groceries and have them home delivered, dine in-store or order food to go.

    “Once we do the restructuring and clean up, the prognosis for the business is actually good, and parts of the business have tremendous potential, like Habitat” Ong Lay Ann told Yahoo Finance.

    “There are plans to open Habitat around the region and we have partners that are working with us to develop in other countries.”

    Ong said the company is in “advanced discussions” with prospective partners in South Korea, Taiwan, and Malaysia and expects stores to begin trading there “within a couple of months”.

    “We will adopt a partnership model, so we will collaborate with potential operators and work with them to develop Habitat in its current form or Habitat 2.0.”

    The 5000sqm Habitat by Honestbee store opened last November in an industrial building in Pasir Panjang.

    “The Singapore store is a proof of concept. It is where we will actually test the technology and make sure the kinks are ironed out before we roll out in other countries,” Ong said.

    Future locations are more likely to be in shopping complexes rather than industrial estates.

  • DBS Inks India Startup Partnership

    DBS Inks India Startup Partnership

    DBS has established a partnership with tech business incubator Social Alpha to mentor enterprises that focus on socially impactful deliverables such as inclusion, healthcare or environmental solutions.

    As part of the partnership, DBS will mentor and support three firms focused on the aforementioned areas over the next 18 months in addition to an annual grant of one crore rupee ($141,000).

    The three firms include women-focused e-commerce firm Even Cargo; mental healthcare startup Trust Circle, which leverages mobile AI tech for emotional resilience; and affordable medical device startup Incredible Devices.

    We have been working with social enterprises for several years. But our experience showed that some of these entrepreneurs could not scale their businesses or remained somewhat sub-optimal in their ability to grow, said Surojit Shome, CEO of DBS Bank India.

    So, we want to encourage social entrepreneurs who are sustainable by generating enough returns to build scale, and we decided to look for a partnership with somebody who was working with scaled or scaleable social entrepreneurs.

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  • PayPal-Backed Korean Fintech Raises $64 Million

    PayPal-Backed Korean Fintech Raises $64 Million

    South Korean fintech unicorn, Viva Republica, raised $64 million for its financial service platform Toss pushing the firm’s total value to $2.2 billion.

    The Seoul-based fintech has raised a total of $250 million, including $80 million in the December round, and new funding joins prominent existing investors such Singapore’s GIC and Sequoia Capital.

    Viva Republic was founded in 2013 and launched Toss in 2015 as a P2P money transfer service. It has since grown the platform to include various other financial services including banker, money transfer, credit score management and more. It currently boasts 13 million registered users with more than $42 billion of translation processed.

    This funding round was led by newly established Aspex Management (founded in 2018) which specializes in Asian equity investments in industries and firms with long-term structural tailwinds.

    We like the large addressable market financial services offer and the unique leading position Toss occupies amongst mobile consumers, said Hermes Li, founder and CIO of Aspex Management.

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  • Honestbee seeks court protection in order to survive

    Honestbee seeks court protection in order to survive

    Sinking in debts of around US$180 million, Singapore grocery retailer Honestbee is seeking court protection from creditors to allow it to restructure.

    The company has applied to the High Court to commence a process which reportedly would give it six months protection from creditors lodging winding up procedures or other legal attempts to recover what they are owed.

    News of the move surfaced late Friday at the same time the company confirmed it was laying off 38 staff in Singapore.

    “As a result of our reduced operations globally, the company has made a decision to rightsize the company in order to cut costs and streamline its business,” a spokesman said in a  statement to the Straits Times.

    “The move is necessary to ensure that the company has the right structure in place for long-term stability and success.”

    Friday’s news came one week after the company announced the appointment of a new CEO, Ong Lay Ann, who has actually been in the role since July 15, atkin over from interim CEO and investor Brian Koo, who remains chairman. That followed the resignation of CTO and co-founder Jonathan Low four days earlier.

    Koo is also a founding partner in Formation Group, one of Honestbee’s largest creditors. Koo is part of the family which owns South Korean industrial giant LG. Parties associated with the Koo family are said to be owed as much as $50 million by Honestbee.

    In a statement, Honestbee said a court-supervised restructuring would allow management to focus on re-evaluating the business free from interference, to streamline operations, improve efficiencies and reduce overheads.

    “As part of the restructuring process, Honestbee will work closely with their advisers, creditors and stakeholders to achieve the best possible outcome for all interested parties,” the company said.

  • Fashion tech startup MadThread raised US$500,000

    Fashion tech startup MadThread raised US$500,000

    Singapore fashion tech startup MadThread has raised US$500,000 in seed funding. The deal was managed by AngelCentral, an angel investment community that supports startups in Southeast Asia, and Phey Teck Moh. Eleven other investors also participated.

    Founded in 2018, MadThread offers rental fashion via a subscription model. It aims to build a one-stop online platform for consumers to experience and experiment with various fashion brands on demand.

    “We’re on a mission to curate and partner with the very best of emerging and established fashion labels to give our customers access to an unlimited ‘closet in the cloud’ at a monthly flat fee,” said Nicole Hu, founder and CEO of MadThread.

    Before the seeding round, Madthread had received a six-figure investment.

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  • Honestbee back on track with new CEO

    Honestbee back on track with new CEO

    Struggling grocery delivery company and grocer Honestbee has won another new lease on life with the appointment of a new CEO who has promised to revive the business with the support of investors.

    Details of the additional investment were not immediately clear.

    Ong Lay Ann took up the role without fanfare on July 15 from interim CEO and investor Brian Koo, who remains chairman. That followed the resignation of CTO and co-founder Jonathan Low four days earlier.

    Koo had taken over from Honestbee former CEO and cofounder Joel Sng in early May, clearing the way for fresh funding to be injected into the company by Koo’s investment vehicle.

    New appointee Ong has almost 20 years experience in IT, infrastructure, commodities and real estate. He has experience turning around failing companies, including Perth Precast in Australia which he rebuilt and listed via a reverse takeover.

    Low cofounded Honestbee in 2015 with partners Sng and Isaac Tay.

    “It is my privilege to have worked with some of the best talents during my time here,” he said in a statement confirming his departure.

    “The decision to leave Honestbee was made before Lay Ann had come on board. However, I have full confidence that Lay Ann will help Honestbee enter its next phase and recover from its recent setbacks,” Low said.

    So far this year, Honestbee has curtailed services, suspended operations or exited altogether markets including Thailand, Hong Kong, Japan, Indonesia, Taiwan and the Philippines.