Every fortnight we compile a list of important news updates and events covering Southeast Asia FINTECH, MFGTECH, CLNTECH, and AGRTECH sectors.

For a downloadable copy of Southeast Asia Issue #09

FINTECH

Epost attracts US$1.4M to expand its cross-border delivery, e-commerce fulfilment services in SEA
Malaysian e-commerce logistics company Epost has raised US$1.4 million from Warisan Quantum Management, a Malaysia-based private equity management firm.
Tobin Ng is the CEO at Epost

Vietnamese on-demand e-commerce platform Loship raises $12M at a valuation of $100M
Loship, a one-hour e-commerce delivery startup in Vietnam, announced today it has secured US$12 million in a pre-Series C round of equity financing co-led by BAce Capital, a VC firm backed by Ant Group, and the direct investment unit of Sun Hung Kai & Co., a Hong Kong-listed a leading alternative investment company.
Trung Nguyen is the Co-founder, CEO at Lozi

Kredivo to go public via merger with Victory Park Capital’s SPAC at US$2.5B valuation
Singapore-based credit financing company FinAccel has announced a merger with VPC Impact Acquisition Holdings II (VPCB), a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) sponsored by Victory Park Capital (VPC), to go public in the US. FinAccel is the parent of Kredivo, a buy now, pay later (BNPL) platform in Indonesia.
Akshay Garg is the co-founder and CEO at FinAccel
Gordon Watson is the co-CEO of VPCB and Partner at VPC

Temasek, DBS to launch $500 million debt financing platform
Banking major DBS and Singapore sovereign fund Temasek have signed an agreement to jointly launch EvolutionX Debt Capital, a US$500-million development-stage debt financing platform. 
Rohit Sipahimalani is the Chief Investment Strategist at Temasek

INKR draws in $3.1M to make more comics accessible to worldwide audiences
Singapore-based digital comics platform INKR announced today it has secured US$3.1 million in a pre-Series A round led by Monk’s Hill Ventures.
Khoa Nguyen is the Co-founder, Head of Technology & Innovation at INKR Global

Filipino blockchain gaming startup YGG raises US$12.5M via token sale
Yield Guild Games (YGG), a blockchain gaming startup in the Philippines, said in a blog post that it sold 25 million of its native YGG cryptocurrency tokens in just 31 seconds and raised about US$12.5 million in USD Coin.
Gabby Dizon is the Co-founder at YGG

Singapore’s Nium raises $200m, becomes SE Asia’s first B2B payments unicorn
Singapore-based Nium, which offers cross-border payment services in multiple countries around the world, has become Southeast Asia’s latest tech company to get the unicorn status, following a US$200 million Series D investment round led by US-based Riverwood Capital.
Prajit Nanu is the Co-Founder and CEO at NIUM

Malaysia’s iStore iSend bags funding from Japan’s Yamato Holdings
iStore iSend, a Malaysian logistics and supply chain company, announced today that it has raised a “seven-figure US dollars” financing from Kuroneko Innovation Fund, a Japanese corporate VC firm owned by Yamato Holdings and managed by Global Brain Corporation.
Joe Khoo is the Co-Founder & CEO at iStore iSend

PropertyGuru to go public in merger with Peter Thiel-backed SPAC at US$1.35B valuation
Southeast Asia’s leading digital property marketplace group PropertyGuru has announced that it will merge with Bridgetown 2 Holdings, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) formed by Pacific Century Group and Peter Thiel’s Thiel Capital, to go public
in New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
Hari Krishnan is the CEO at PropertyGuru

Jirnexu partners with over 5 digital banking license contenders in Malaysia
Malaysia-based full-stack fintech solutions provider Jirnexu has signed strategic partnerships with more than five consortia in their bids for a digital banking license.
Siew Yuen Tuck is the CEO at Jirnexu

Philippine payment platform DragonPay receives strategic funding from Xendit
DragonPay, a payments processing company in the Philippines, has received an undisclosed amount in strategic investment from Indonesian payment infrastructure startup Xendit.
Robertson Chiang is the CEO at DragonPay

Andalin in talks for US$3M as it looks to grab a slice of SEA’s US$2.8T international trade market
Andalin, an Indonesian startup providing cross-border shipping solutions, is in talks to raise US$3 million in a new round of funding from both financial and strategic investors, including existing ones.
Ivhan Famly Gunawan is the Co-Founder & CTO at Andalin

Indonesian B2B marketplace GudangAda raises more than $100M in new funding
GudangAda, the Indonesia-based e-commerce startup that works with SMEs, today announced that it has raised US$100 million in a Series B funding round led by Asia Partners and Falcon Edge.
Stevensang is the CEO at GudangAda

Indonesia “sea-to-table” platform Aruna hooks $35M led by Prosus and East Ventures Growth Fund
Aruna, an Indonesia-based fisheries and marine platform, announced that it has raised US$35 million in a Series A funding round led by Prosus Ventures and East Ventures.
Utari Octavianty is the Chief Sustainability Officer at Aruna

AGRTECH

How Thailand’s Ricult uses deep tech to improve the lives of smallholder farmers
Ricult, which uses deep tech, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning to streamline agricultural work. Ricult hopes to help farmers process and manage their work efficiently and accurately. Their solution is straightforward: farmers can use Ricult’s app to obtain useful data and access agriculture-specific services, such as farm-specific weather, rain forecasts, bank loan applications, and remote crop health monitoring, in order to improve their yield and increase profitability.
Aukrit Unahalekhaka is the Co-Founder & CEO at Ricult

The AgriTech Club – Glife Technologies – Creating Southeast Asia’s Largest Seed To Table Digital Fresh Produce Supply Network
Glife Technologies is a Singapore based AgriTech startup that supplies produce to customers in the HORECA sector. The company is popular with over 700 clients in Singapore and has expanding operations in most Southeast Asian Markets.
Justin Chou is the CEO at Glife Technologies

The AgriTech Club – Impact Terra – Offering Mobile Technology For Agriculture In Myanmar
Impact Terra is a social business platform that helps farmers to be more aware and consequently, independent. The company was founded by Erwin Sikma, former McKinsey consultant and Rocket Internet managing director in 2016 and is based out of Yangon, Myanmar. They leverage data to allow farmers access to news and information regarding key factors that affect their work.
Erwin Sikma is the Founder & CEO at Impact Terra