A Recap On What Happened This Week: Asian Startup News Overview (May 7th - May 12th)

The Asian startups had a good week, as evidenced by the numerous fundings and investments they received. Some startups launched their products, while others raised funds to expand their businesses. Today, Asian startups are thriving forward & making a global impact by influencing new business models or addressing global challenges by investigating in new technologies in order to meet the changing needs of the region's online population.

This week, an Indonesia-based fintech firm Komunal, which focuses on serving rural community banks, saw a 3.5x year-on-year increase in MSME deposits and loan transactions, reaching 1.75 trillion rupiah in the first quarter of 2023, while an Indian startup RACEnergy, which provides battery-swapping services, raised US$3 million in a round led by GrowX Ventures. 

Here are the list of 5 startups that excelled this week.

Komunal

Komunal, an Indonesia-based fintech firm that focuses on serving rural community banks, recorded a 3.5x year-on-year growth in MSME deposits and loan transactions, reaching 1.75 trillion rupiah (US$118.6 million) in the first quarter of 2023.

The firm has also partnered with around 250 out of nearly 1,500 rural banks in Indonesia for its DepositoBPR product, Komunal co-founder and CEO Hendry Lieviant said in a recent presentation.

In 2021, Komunal launched DepositoBPR, which allows customers to place their funds in rural bank deposits while simultaneously enabling these banks to allocate capital towards MSMEs.

So far, the rural banks that Komunal works with have provided financial access to 11,500 MSMEs, and 30% of them are women-owned enterprises.

Buyo 

Hanh Do believes this is the “golden time” to start a company to fight plastic pollution, which has become one of the biggest global crises.

“Governments around the world are issuing bans on single-use plastics and mandating a shift to bioplastics and recycled plastics,” she told. “Most major corporates are also phasing out plastics in their supply chains.”

Last year, Do left her corporate job to found Buyo, which aims to convert biowaste and plant-based materials into biodegradable plastics.

While most bioplastic firms use starch, Buyo said its proprietary tech converts biowaste from agriculture and food materials into bioplastic, which simultaneously helps eliminate greenhouse gas emissions and water contamination.

The startup has recently raised an undisclosed amount of pre-seed funding in a round led by Singapore-based family office Aldebaran Capital.

Finhay

Finhay, one of the earliest microinvesting apps in Vietnam, has officially pivoted its platform to focus on stocks and investment certificates.

The new smart investment platform, called VNSC by Finhay, wants to target “semi-pro” investors who lack the time and knowledge to invest effectively, according to the company.

The platform aims to leverage product offerings from VinaSecurities, a local stock brokerage company that Finhay acquired last year.

SquareX 

In today’s internet era, where web browsers have become the primary tool for online activities, attackers have shifted their focus toward exploiting browser vulnerabilities. This has introduced new threats such as phishing, identity theft, and browser-based attacks.

Singapore-based SquareX is addressing this gap by building a cybersecurity product designed to tackle the current generation of threats.

Launched by cybersecurity veteran Vivek Ramachandran, the company recently raised US$6 million in a seed funding round led by Sequoia Capital Southeast Asia.

RACEnergy

India-based RACEnergy, a startup providing battery-swapping services, has raised US$3 million in a round led by GrowX Ventures and joined by Micelio Mobility, Huddle, and a group of angel investors.

The fresh fundraise, which was a mix of debt and equity, brings the total funds raised by RACEnergy to US$6 million, according to the company. It will use the funds to develop its battery-swapping tech and expand its operations.