EDBI doubles down on SCI Ecommerce and other updates

Southeast Asia’s cross border e-commerce enabler SCI Ecommerce on Monday issued additional preference shares worth $5 million to EDBI, the investment arm of the Singapore Economic Development Board.

The new shares were priced twice as much as those allotted last year when the company bagged $65.4 million from a group of investors that also included EDBI.

With the latest capital injection, SCI Ecommerce has received $76 million in total paid-up capital and is valued at more than $600 million.

Top shareholders in SCI Ecommerce 

In another development, the Singapore entity of Indonesian wealthtech startup Pluang on Monday issued preference shares to accommodate 15 entities as shareholders. These include Mantis, the venture fund of music band Chainsmokers that invested $200,000 in Pluang; FalconX Limited ($200,000); and Goldhouse ($100,000).

Announcing a $55 million financing led by US venture capital firm Accel in January, the fintech company had said it will use proceeds from the round to strengthen tech capabilities and expand asset classes as it considers international expansion.

Through the gender lens

As private capital funding into Southeast Asian startups reached record highs in 2021, investments into women-founded companies also appeared to have shown noticeable improvement, our latest report shows.

Discounting Grab, which bagged $2.3 billion in equity and debt financing last year before its IPO, the share of funding for startups with at least one female co-founder stood at 8.9% last year, up from 4.7% in 2020.

Meanwhile, startups founded solely by women contributed only 0.6% of total funding bagged by private companies in 2021. In comparison, companies founded solely by women in the US received 2% of all capital secured by VC-backed startups last year, according to PitchBook.

While Singapore accounted for the lion’s share of the total capital raised and deals bagged by female (co)founded companies, the number of deals in the Philippines and Vietnam, albeit smaller in terms of funding volume, shows that female entrepreneurs are emerging across the region.

Other updates from DATA VANTAGE

Wagely, an earned wage access (EWA) platform based in Jakarta and Dhaka, allotted more shares to the Asian Development Bank worth $350,000. Wagely, which closed an $8.3 million Series A funding last month, has raised more than $13 million since its inception.

Hanoi-based healthtech startup Med247 issued new shares on Monday after a $4.5 million Series A round led by Singapore-based VC firm Altara Ventures. The round was backed by Pavilion Capital, East Ventures, KK Fund and biotech firm MiRXES.

Singapore-based digital asset trading platform Zipmex on Monday issued new shares worth a combined $2.4 million to Thailand-based outdoor ad solution provider Master Ad, venture capital firm V Ventures, and Chalermchai Mahagitsiri, a general partner at V Ventures. The share allotment is part of the company’s Series B round.

Financial indices and analytics provider Scientific Beta managed to double its revenue for the financial year ended June 30, 2021. As a result of the revenue growth, the company, which was acquired by Singapore Exchange in Jan 2020, saw its net profit more than double during the period.

Singapore-headquartered Quadrant, an online platform that helps users find and share financial data, recorded a nearly 85% year-on-year jump in revenue for the financial year ended August 31, 2021. Quadrant, which is wholly owned by ASX-listed Appen, also grew its net profit nearly 13 times.