Connecting the dots in a world reimagined

We live in a world reimagined.

That the Covid-19 pandemic has drastically changed the way we work and the way we think about life, no one can deny that, ever. 

Priorities have changed for millions and millions of people across the world. Health, mental well-being, family, work-life balance, and flexibility to pursue your interests have become more important than ever. 

Money is no longer the sole make-or-break criterion for taking up a role. What people seek at their workplace is more than just money and the title. They are looking for personal purpose—meaning in work—which is fundamentally figuring out what they value.

According to Rachel Botsman, Oxford-based author of the acclaimed book Who You Can Trust, these values are tied to people’s personal beliefs such as the belief in the importance of family, giving back to society, financial security, or lifelong learning. And that the “purpose is the time we give to the core values that are important to us.” 

Finding meaning in work inevitably means finding a workplace where the company’s purpose and your role allow you to prioritize what you value.

We at Hyphen Partners understand that it is not about just the role, responsibilities, and money anymore—it is about whether the purpose of a company resonates with employees’ personal purpose and beliefs.

The signs of this shift have begun to emerge. People are now more open to working with early-stage tech startups that are contributing positively to the changing world and that have an open, collaborative, empathetic, and hybrid work culture, as opposed to a few years back when the lack of stability in startups was the main reason for shunning them.

Undeniably, the pandemic has changed people’s attitudes and readjusted their priorities. This means acquiring talent also needs a new strategic approach, which is where we come in. 

We believe in enabling employees to connect the dots between their personal purpose, their role, and the organization’s purpose and vision, while helping organizations get the best talent that can find the role meaningful.

Talking about connecting the dots, we would like to introduce our weekly newsletter #ICYMI - In Case You Missed It. Here we intend to keep track of developments in the Asian tech ecosystem and make sense of it for those who don’t want to miss the buzz. Asia, after all, is the shining star in the global economy.

Let’s dive in for this week’s recap.

A quest to create an interlinked payment system among ASEAN countries

Indonesia has recently implemented an integrated QR code payment system QRIS (Quick Response Code Indonesian Standard) with Thailand. This will enable consumers in both countries to make cross-border payments using QR codes, without having to worry about currency conversion. The move is expected to boost tourism and trade between the two countries and benefit micro-businesses which will now be able to tap international consumers. Indonesia is running similar trials with Malaysia and Singapore.

In fact, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines are also working toward creating interlinked cross-border, QR code payment systems that will allow residents of these countries to use their local currency while paying for their transactions abroad.

GoTo Group’s crypto bet versus Grab’s digital banking debut

Indonesia’s GoTo Group has acquired local crypto exchange company Kripto Maksima Koin for US$8.4 million. The country's biggest tech firm seems to be prepping up to become a diverse money management hub as cryptocurrencies become more entrenched in the Southeast Asian economy, despite the volatile market and governments world over escalating efforts to regulate digital tokens. Interestingly, it is not the first time the company has taken an interest in the crypto sector. Back in 2019, Gojek had bought Philippines-based Coins.ph for around US$95 million but sold it to former Binance CFO Wei Zhou earlier this year for nearly US$200 million. 

On the other hand, Grab, in partnership with Singtel, has finally launched GXS Bank, Singapore’s first digital bank. GXS Bank aims to improve financial inclusion through tech and data for consumers who are underserved like self-employed entrepreneurs and gig economy workers as well as for small businesses.

Buzzworthy funding deals 

While the Asian tech ecosystem kept buzzing with early-stage deals, the talk of the town was probably the news that Temasek will be leading a US$100 million round in Animoca Brands, the gaming company behind titles like The Sandbox, Crazy Kings, and REVV token, which is also an investor in over 150 NFT-related companies and decentralized projects including Axie Infinity and OpenSea. In the hindsight, this doesn’t come as a surprise since Temasek is already a major investor in the crypto and blockchain space, having backed Binance crypto exchange, crypto finance service provider Amber Group,  and the Australian NFT platform Immutable. 

Other notable funding deals this week included China-based e-commerce enabler Jet Commerce raising a US$60 million series B round led by Jinqiu Capital, Hidden Capital, and Zhejiang SilkRoad Fund; Singapore-based careers platform Glints’ US$50 million series D funding by DCM Ventures, Lavender Hill Capital, and Persol Holdings; and Indonesian restaurant management platform ESB landing US$29 million series B check from Northstar Group, Alpha JWC Ventures, Beenext, Vulcan Capital, and AC Ventures.

Southeast Asian super apps boost revenues, narrow losses 

 Indonesia’s GoTo Group, the new entity that emerged with the merger of ride-hailing and food delivery giant Gojek and e-commerce behemoth Tokopedia in May 2021, posted a 45% surge in gross revenues to approximately US$370 million for the June quarter, over a year ago period. Although its gross operating losses went up by 12% quarter-on-quarter, its EBITDA losses narrowed by 13% as the company cut down expenses for promotions, sales, and marketing in the second quarter of the year compared to the first quarter.

Meanwhile, its Singapore-based rival Grab’s revenue rose 79% to US$321 million in the June quarter, compared to the same period last year. As the company tapered its Q2 losses year-on-year by 29% to US$572 million by shutting down unprofitable businesses and slashing incentives, it moved forward its timeline to break even by six months to the June quarter of 2023.

And that’s the wrap for our first edition of #ICYMI. We will continue to curate the weekly highlights of the Asian tech ecosystem in case you missed what made the buzz in the week that just went by. You can subscribe to #ICYMI to get it every Friday to stay abreast of noteworthy tech developments.