📚✏️ SEA + Test Prep Startup = Sure Win?

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Here’s what we got for you:

• 🌊 The SEA - Prep - The Vietnamese edtech startup that wants to make standardized language test prep accessible to everyone

• ⛵ SEAppets

• 💰 SEA Deals

• 🖼️ AI Image of the day

• 🐣 Tweet of the day

Markets 📈

The SEA 🌊

If there’s one thing Asian parents won’t compromise on, it’s education.

So you’re already halfway there if you’re launching an edtech startup in Asia, the rest is on execution and good execution is what this Vietnamese startup did.

I’m talking about Prep.

🤷‍♂️ Who is Prep?

• Founded in 2020 by Tu Pham and Tran Hoai Nam, Prep is an online educational platform that helps students with standardized language tests like IELTS, TOEFL and Vietnam’s High School Graduation Exam

• As the owner of IPP Education, a language centre chain in Vietnam, Tu Pham wanted to make quality test preparation accessible to everyone 

• In Vietnam, the best teachers are mainly in the major cities, leaving students in smaller cities without access to the same quality of education

• There is a large market for language learning in Vietnam worth USD 2.1 billion, with most of that going to English language learning.

📚 How it works?

• The platform provides a personalized learning experience with high-quality video lectures and exercises that let students go at their own pace

• It also simulates a real-test environment and tailors the learning journey to each student's learning style

• They also use AI to test students’ pronunciation

To be fair, if you’re a test prep edtech startup and you offer anything less, sad to say you’re not going to make it my friend. But Prep’s biggest differentiator is that the founder owns a chain of offline language centres so he definitely has what it takes

💰 Funding

• Prep has just raised USD 1 million in funding from East Ventures and Cercano Management to increase the adoption of its product and accelerate product development

• The company has gained over 100,000 users since its launch in 2020

• This investment will help Prep reach its goal of 500,000 users and offer other standardized language tests like Japanese (JLPT), Chinese (HSK) and Korean (TOPIK).

SEAppets ⛵

1. Funding Societies, Food Market Hub and Supply Bunny have partnered to launch a new business-to-business (B2B) embedded financing program in Malaysia. This program allows F&B operators to defer payment up to 30 days, while suppliers receive payment upon delivery. With cash flow management being essential for SMEs, the initiative will help restaurant operators better manage their cash flow. The program also offers up to MYR50,000 ($11372) in financing for eligible restaurant and F&B outlet operators.

2. Malaysia and China are exploring blockchain technology to support mutual recognition of digital certificates of origin under the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). This system aims to reduce technical barriers and improve trade facilitation. The cooperation is also expected to benefit businesses and provide knowledge-sharing opportunities. During a visit from Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysia secured potential exports from China worth USD 550 million. China has been Malaysia’s largest trading partner for 14 years, securing USD 38.4 billion worth of investment commitments from China.

SEA Deals 💰

1. Fresh Factory, an Indonesian cold chain fulfilment startup has announced a USD 4.15 million pre-Series A funding round led by SBI Ven Capital. The investment will be used for expansion, hiring and improving service offerings. The sector is insulated from the current funding slowdown and has seen players such as Waresix, Shipper, McEasy, Deliveree and Paxel collectively raise nearly USD 150 million in 2022.

2. Dozer, a Singapore-based open-source data infrastructure platform has raised USD 3 million in seed funding from investors to scale their product and engineering teams. Dozer's platform makes it easy to connect with any data source and create real-time APIs to build applications. The founders have extensive experience in software and data engineering and the platform is built in Rust. Dozer plays in a potentially large market as companies invest in real-time, data-driven products.

3. Indonesian e-commerce giant Bukalapak has taken a majority stake in the price comparison platform iPrice, which helps over 100 million consumers across seven countries in Southeast Asia. The investment will enable iPrice to expand its services and leverage the synergies between the two groups. Bukalapak is also creating or acquiring more niche marketplaces and focusing on individual verticals to accelerate growth. They have invested USD 1.5 million in an Indonesian micro-warehousing startup.

4. Malaysian online doctor consultation startup Qmed Asia has raised USD 1.2 million in equity crowdfunding (ECF). They offer two products: Qmed GO, a telehealth kiosk for workplaces and Qmed Copilot, an AI-powered clinical assistant. They won the 1337 Ventures ECF Accelerator and are now looking to expand into Indonesia and Saudi Arabia.

5. Singapore-based payment solutions provider Alchemy Pay has partnered with DWF Labs to secure USD 10 million in funding to expand its payment services in South Korea. Alchemy Pay supports payments from 173 countries and has recently introduced its NFT checkout service, which allows customers to purchase NFTs using their domestic currency. DWF Labs said this partnership will help Alchemy Pay grow in the Korean market and provide more opportunities for businesses and consumers to use digital assets and Web3 technologies.

AI Image of The Day 🖼️

Lofi girl in real life

Tweet of The Day 🐣

The TL;DR is platforms > social apps > creators.

Attention is the new oil.

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

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