🪲🗑️ One Company’s Food Waste is Another’s Treasure

GM. This is micro digest, we’re the Taylor Swift of SEA tech newsletter but unlike her sold-out concerts, we're pretty sure that everyone will be able to get their ticket to tech happiness with us.

Btw good luck to those who are trying to get the tickets tomorrow 😉

It’s Taco Tuesday. Here’s what we got for you:

• 🌊 The SEA - Ento Industries - The Singaporean startup that wants to turn food waste into gold

• ⛵ SEAppets - Co-founders Hann Liew and Lucas Ooi of Malaysia-based fintech firm Jirnexu are leaving their executive roles

• 💰 SEA Deals

• 🖼️ AI Image of the day

• 🐣 Tweet of the day

Markets 📈

The SEA 🌊

Singapore’s food waste accounts for 12% of total waste which is roughly 817,000 tonnes but this bug man wants to turn that food waste into gold 🤑

I’m talking about Ento Industries.

🤷‍♂️ Who is Ento Industries?

• Founded in 2020 by Nathaniel Pua, Ento Industries is a yellow biotech startup that uses black soldier flies to convert food waste into sustainable protein for animal feed

• What's more, the process yields a nutrient-rich organic fertilizer known as insect frass, which can be used in gardening and crop farming.

🪲 How it works?

• The product is simple, the startup uses technology and insect biology to turn food waste into:

  • Ecogrub - highly nutritious animal feed for agricultural use

  • Eco Boost - insect frass, which contains lots of nutrients, to use as a natural fertilizer to help plants grow

💰 Funding

• The startup has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from two ESG-focused private investors: Tak Wai Chung and Te-Ling Nai 

• With the fresh funding, Ento intends to move to a larger facility and increase its production capabilities

• In addition, the startup has previously received accolades and financial support from organisations and formed strategic alliances with educational institutions and Singapore Agrotechnologies

SEAppets ⛵

1. Co-founders Hann Liew and Lucas Ooi of Malaysia-based fintech firm Jirnexu are leaving their executive roles, but will remain as shareholders and board members. Jirnexu was founded in 2012 and provides online tools and advice for banks and insurance companies. They have raised at least US$37 million in funding and are now "profitable" with 1.5 million customers and an annual recurring revenue of over 50 million ringgit (US$10.7 million).

2. A recent report by DealStreetAsia - DATA VANTAGE has found that only 17.4% of decision-makers at venture investors in Southeast Asia are women. Additionally, 66% of these investors lack a single female chequewriter, although this has improved from 77% the year before. The report suggests that gender diversity in venture investors is a contributing factor to the gender funding gap in the region and that much work needs to be done to address the issue. Vietnam has a higher proportion of female chequewriters than other SE Asian markets, and while the US has a slightly better ratio of female to male decision-makers, this is still lower than SE Asia-headquartered investors.

3. Nium, a Singapore-based fintech company, has launched a new headquarters in Singapore, officiated by the Deputy Prime Minister. The hub will act as a strategic base for clients across the Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa, and will provide a centre for the hiring, training, and development of "BizTech" talent. Nium is also expanding its fintech accelerator Bolt and has raised over $200 million in a Series D fundraising round.

4. VinFast, a Vietnamese EV manufacturer, has opened a showroom in Berlin to increase its presence in Europe. The space takes design cues from Vietnam's natural beauty and showcases the brand's range of electric SUVs. VinFast also has stores in other European countries and is expanding with more locations to come. The company, a member of Vingroup, is focused on driving the global smart electric vehicle revolution. Additionally, VinFast has partnered with BCA Europe to provide a trade-in solution across three European markets.

5. A new study has found that there has been a 28% growth in the market share of Indonesian peer-to-peer (P2P) lending in 6 months. Nearly half of Indonesia's population has used P2P lending and the assets amount to IDR 5.51 trillion. ALAMI, the largest Sharia-based P2P lending platform, has experienced an 11% increase in brand awareness and doubled its usage in 6 months. ALAMI has provided financing to over 12,000 strategic MSME projects in Indonesia.

SEA Deals 💰

1. ZALORA, an online fashion retailer in Southeast Asia, has raised 30 million euros ($32.6 million) from parent company Global Fashion Group. ZALORA offers apparel, shoes, accessories, and beauty products and has raised a total of $112 million from investors since its founding in 2012. Recently, Thai online fashion platform Pomelo has upsized its Series D round fundraising target to $50 million, and Southeast Asia's e-commerce gross merchandise value in 2022 was $99.5 billion.

2. Thai insurtech Roojai has agreed to acquire FWD General Insurance. Following the acquisition, FWD will be rebranded under the Roojai brand. This acquisition will increase Roojai's market share and allow them to offer a full-stack digital insurance journey. It will also have no impact on existing policies, claims processes or customer services.

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AI Images of The Day 🖼️

Movies as 16-bit Video Games

Tweet of The Day 🐣

“Just invest in the S&P and forget about it,” they say.

But the question is, can the S&P still yield 8%pa?

Can passive investing still work for the next decade and more?

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

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