🛒 The Filipino Startup that Wants to Make Selling Online Super Simple

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Here’s what we got for you:

• 🌊 The SEA - Enstack - The superapp that makes selling online super easy

• ⛵ SEAppets - Vietnam is expected to be the second-largest e-commerce market in Southeast Asia by 2025

• 💰 SEA Deals

• 🖼️ AI Image of the day

• 🐣 Tweet of the day

Markets 📈

The SEA 🌊

I realized that I always cover startups from Vietnam, Indonesia or Singapore because they’re really killing it in the region.

But not today.

Today I’m going to talk about a Filipino startup.

Today I’m talking about Enstack.

🤷‍♂️ Who is Enstack?

• Founded by ex-Shopee Philippines head Macy Castillo and Skype co-founder Geoffrey Prentice, Enstack provides SMEs with an end-to-end app to manage their businesses, including multiple storefronts, inventory and integrated payment & shipping solutions.

• “Sell Whenever, Wherever” (not exactly original), their mission is to make it super simple for businesses to digitize and sell online

🛒 How it works?

• I browsed through the website and the UI seems to be very user-friendly

• All you need to do is create an account and you can start taking orders from customers

• You could do it on their preferred channel - web, chat or even over the phone

• Get paid in your preferred options

• Enable the integrated shipping options

• Track your inventory and analyze your business all in one app

🔬 They have something going for them

• SEA are starting to see the progression of its own 'Commercial 3.0' in which merchants require more customized solutions to their expanding enterprises on the web and in the real world

• Equipped with expertise and experience from the last decade in the SEA e-commerce space, the female-led startup is seeing some impressive growth

• After coming out of beta last October, Enstack saw 5x growth in Q4 of 2022 and is expected to grow by another 10x by year-end

💰 Funding

• Enstack has recently raised USD $3 million in a Series A funding round led by Skype investor Mangrove Capital Partners

• Payments unicorn Xendit and William Kim of Shinsegae International also participated in the round

• The investment will be used to optimize the startup's digital commerce tools and partner integrations and to create tailor-made, localised features

• The funding comes as the Philippines is still behind its Southeast Asian neighbours in terms of digital transformation.

SEAppets ⛵

1. Police raided the office of F88 Investment JSC, Vietnam's biggest pawn shop operator, following complaints of administrative violations. Allegedly, the company was overcharging customers and using extortion in debt collection. Private equity fund Mekong Capital, which is among F88's shareholders, is working with the authorities to investigate the case.

2. NusaTrip, an online travel agency and vertical of Society Pass Incorporated, has opened an office in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. This is their third Southeast Asian regional office, following the opening of offices in Singapore and Manila earlier this year. Vietnam has seen a strong recovery in tourism since reopening its doors to international travellers in March 2022 and is projected to receive around 34 million passengers from 2023-2026. Society Pass hopes to increase its service portfolio and capitalize on the market potential of Vietnam. They also plan to open more offices throughout SEA.

3. Vietnam is expected to be the second-largest e-commerce market in Southeast Asia by 2025. A large number of young people are being impacted by this industry, as they enjoy experimenting with new things and are happy to share goods with friends. It is predicted that 57-60 million people will purchase online, worth USD $12.42 billion in 2022. By 2025, Vietnam’s digital economy is estimated to be worth USD $52 billion and ranked third in the ASEAN region. Online shopping has become popular among the young generations and offers a wide range of opportunities.

4. Indonesia is introducing an incentive program for electric vehicles in March to attract companies like Tesla to invest in the country. The program will cover 200,000 electric motorcycles, 35,900 electric cars and 50,000 converted combustion engine motorcycles. Officials from Indonesia and other Asian countries are trying to attract EV makers from China and South Korea, with companies like LG and Hyundai already constructing plants. Companies eligible for the incentive program must have a plant in Indonesia and meet certain local content requirements.

Now this is how it should be done. Unlike Malaysia which is just happy with Tesla coming in and selling their cars to the people who could barely afford them.

SEA Deals 💰

1. Weploy, an Australian HRtech startup has announced its expansion into the Vietnamese market with a USD $5 million investment from an international investor. The digital application allows seasonal workers to find job opportunities and businesses to quickly find suitable candidates. Weploy aims to revolutionize the seasonal staffing market and offer a professional and systematic approach to recruitment and training.

2. The Rise Fund, TPG Inc., and Hong Leong Group have been given approval to purchase the International Medical University in Kuala Lumpur for USD $306 million. The divestment is part of IHH's portfolio review and capital deployment strategy. TPG has invested in several education businesses in Malaysia, and recently raised USD $30 billion in capital.

3. KKR & Co Inc has sold its 21% stake in Weststar Aviation, a Malaysian helicopter service company, to the company's parent Weststar Group. KKR initially invested USD $200 million in 2013 and was looking to partially exit with a 40% sale in 2019. Last May, Weststar Group considered an IPO and pre-IPO round to raise funds. KKR has had a successful year in the Asia-Pacific region, raising nearly USD $6 billion for its second Asia-Pacific infrastructure fund and closing a USD $4.8 billion deal for Japan's Hitachi Transport System.

AI Image of The Day 🖼️

"You're probably wondering what we planned for next quarter."

Tweet of The Day 🐣

Ok, that’s smart. Gonna try it out myself.

That’s a wrap for today. See you all tomorrow! 👋

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