💳🏦 Is This Malaysian Fintech Company The Stripe of SEA?

Hey folk, Happy Monday!

This is micro digest. Instead of a cold plunge and 2 cups of coffee to start the week, we wake you up with 5 minutes of SEA tech news. Safer and less painful 😉

Here’s what we got for you:

• 🌊 The SEA - Soft Space - The Malaysian fintech company that makes card readers

• ⛵ SEAppets - TikTok to face probe in Vietnam over ‘harmful content’

• 💰 SEA Deals

• 🖼️ AI Image of the day

• 🐣 Tweet of the day

Markets 📈

The SEA 🌊

Stripe empowers people by creating APIs, this Malaysian company empowers merchants with a mobile card reader.

Sounds very common now right? It wasn’t a decade ago in SEA.

I’m talking about Soft Space.

🤷‍♂️ Who is Soft Space?

• Founded in 2012 by Chang Chew Soon, Soft Space simplifies financial infrastructures and enables frictionless payments for customers in a simple yet cost-effective manner

• They make those little cute card readers that you see merchants are using

• The idea came about when Chang’s dad’s business got embezzled with RM1000,000 by an employee because the business relied on sales personnel to collect cash payments

• Chang wanted to make collecting payments easier and more secure for his dad so he came up with the idea of building a mobile card reader that could be plugged into the audio jack of a mobile phone

The biggest hurdle was getting a Europay, MasterCard and Visa (EMV) certification from EMVCo which facilitates worldwide interoperability and acceptance of secure payment transactions. Without that, no bank would even glance at the company, let alone adopt it

After three months of sleepless nights, the team managed to receive the certificate in August 2012 and was the first fintech company in Asia to receive it!

Fast forward a decade later, Soft Space is now used by over 70 financial institutions in various regions and offers other solutions like AI analytics, e-wallets and blockchain solution

💰 Funding

• The company raised recently USD 31.5 million in a funding round led by Singapore-based private equity firm Southern Capital

• The round was joined by transcosmos Inc., JCB and venture capital Hibiscus Fund

• The funds will be used to expand the company's customer base and global footprint, as well as accelerate the innovation of its full-stack payments platform

SEAppets ⛵

1. 5 Southeast Asia-focused private equity funds raised USD 1.96 billion in the second half of 2022, a billion dollars short of 2021's USD 2.97 billion. Despite macroeconomic challenges and heightened geopolitical risks, there is optimism for the region's potential for growth. 43 SE Asia-focused funds are currently in the market to raise at least USD 11.47 billion, with Singapore-based PE firms dominating fundraising for the last five years.

2. Vietnam's government plans to inspect TikTok's operations in the country to make sure it follows regulations on content management, tax payments and commercial policies. The popular video platform has recently allowed "toxic, offensive, false and superstitious" content, so the government is taking action. TikTok has also removed 1.7 million videos at the government's request and has upgraded its guidelines. It currently has nearly 50 million users in Vietnam.

3. Archisen is a Singapore-based agritech firm that designs, builds and operates solutions to grow ultra-fresh, ultra-local produce in cities. They are in the process of building a fully automated indoor farm that is able to produce up to 300 tons of Asian greens per annum and is looking to expand to cities in the Asia Pacific and the Middle East. They are also launching a major project in partnership with a multinational corporation and are aiming to meet 30% of Singapore's 2030 Green Plan's emphasis on sustainable development through the fusion of agriculture and technology.

4. Saison Capital, a Singapore-based early-stage VC firm has launched a token fund to invest in Web3 startups in Southeast Asia and India. Saison Crypto is supported by its parent, Credit Saison, and has a total of USD 150 million to deploy with additional support from Credit Saison's USD 30 billion AUM. Saison Capital's investments focus on embedded finance and Web3 technologies and the fund is participating in the Echelon Asia Summit 2023, featuring TOP100 startups.

5. Oracle has announced plans to open a second cloud region in Singapore to meet the rising demand for its cloud services in South East Asia. The region will offer customers a wide range of cloud services to modernize applications, innovate with data and migrate mission-critical workloads. Oracle is also committed to matching all worldwide Oracle Cloud Regions with 100% renewable energy by 2025. Additionally, Amazon Web Services has recently announced plans to invest USD 5 billion in the Indonesia cloud region over the next 15 years.

SEA Deals 💰

1. Toku, a Singapore-based cloud communications provider has acquired Activeo Singapore, a customer experience consulting firm, as part of its regional expansion strategy. This acquisition will allow Toku to grow rapidly in 2023 and increase the size of its team to more than 110 employees. They will also expand their presence in Malaysia and enhance their channel program to empower partners. The addition of Activeo Singapore will help Toku provide regulatory compliance and data residency requirements in the region. The acquisition is a natural next step for both parties to benefit from their partnership.

2. SUSI Partners has agreed to invest in Asia Clean Capital Vietnam, a solar PV project developer, through its Asia Energy Transition Fund. The investment is structured as a convertible loan with a sustainability-linked mechanism. ACCV has a strong near-term project pipeline and has partnered with multinationals to develop 165MW of rooftop solar projects. SEACEF has also recently invested in Singapore-based solar developer Skye Renewables.

🤝 Collaboration with The All-In Newsletter & The MFM Newsletter

The All-In Newsletter is a free weekly newsletter that provides an in-depth recap of The All-In Podcast.

By giving you supporting links, key-topic material, and additional analysis, you'll have all the business, tech, venture capital, and policy information you need to stay up-to-date and informed.

The All-In Newsletter goes hand-in-hand with the subject matter covered by Jason Calacanis, Chamath Palihapitiya, David Sacks, and David Friedberg (all of whom are successful business leaders and investors).

Subscribe here!

The MFM Newsletter is a free weekly newsletter that provides an in-depth recap of The MFM Podcast.

By giving you supporting links, key-topic material, and additional analysis, you'll have all the start-up analysis and business information you need to make your first million.

The MFM Newsletter goes hand-in-hand with the subject matter covered by Sam Parr and Shaan Puri.

Subscribe here!

AI Image of The Day 🖼️

Where’s Waldo?

Tweet of The Day 🐣

On my way to getting a full-sleeve tattoo so that I could get a job at Google :)

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

If you like micro digest and want to support our work: