Lucy invokes the spirit of the tiger to empower women

More: Crypto finds a place in games and cafes, and Ola is dashing to add dark stores [Read from your browser]( Daily Newsletter Hello {NAME} , Today, over 2 billion people are celebrating the Lunar New Year and welcoming the Year of the Tiger (specifically, the water tiger), as per the Chinese zodiac. While there isn’t a consensus about the traits of the tiger, as the festival is celebrated by many different cultures with varying traditions, ‌there are general principles around its symbolism. The tiger is considered [the king of all animals]( in Chinese mythology and culture and, as a Zodiac sign, it symbolizes passion, power, courage, confidence, leadership, and strength. That’s quite a set of characteristics, enough to make one envious. However, people don’t need to wait for the Year of the Tiger to invoke these traits. The folks at women-focused fintech startup Lucy stopped waiting a long time ago. The company is on a mission to help underserved women by tailoring a range of financial and non-financial services for them and propel women entrepreneurs to the spotlight. Debbie Watkins, CEO and co-founder of Lucy, has worked in over 35 countries in her more than two-decade-long career. While regularly advising banks and other financial institutions on how to expand their outreach programs to underserved groups, Watkins noticed a particular oddity -- something that has become painfully obvious over the years. She observed that the management of these firms was mostly male and, worryingly, the proportion of business loans they were providing was also skewed toward men. With the goal of tackling this issue, Watkins co-founded Lucy with Hal Bosher, ex-CEO of Yoma Bank and head of Wave Money, as well as Luke Janssen, founder and ex-CEO of Tigerspike. And finally, wishing our readers a happy and prosperous Lunar New Year! -- Shravanth  ---------------------------------------------------------------  THE BIG STORY [Women-focused fintech firm eyes $5m series A funding]( Lucy plans to roll its services out in Hong Kong, Indonesia, and the Philippines. ---------------------------------------------------------------  TRENDING NEWS [Ola to set up 300 new dark stores in quick commerce push]( Currently, Ola Dash has as many as 200 dark stores and provides “store to door” delivery within 10 minutes. [Tiger Global leads $15m round of ex-Lazada exec’s fintech firm]( Ayoconnect currently serves more than 100 clients, including Bank Rakyat Indonesia, Dana, and Bukalapak. [Gaming giant Netmarble to issue own crypto token]( The crypto token will act as a key currency for the South Korean firm’s games. [🇸🇬 Vegan ice cream firm scoops up $1.1m in fresh funds]( Kind Kones will transition its business model from retail to consumer packaged goods, where its products will be available in supermarkets by Q2 2022. [Indonesia’s largest private bank to pour $27.8m into VC arm]( Central Capital Ventura had raised US$15 million in 2017 for its maiden fund and has invested in 26 startups so far. [🇮🇳 B2B marketplace picks up $250m in Tiger Global co-led round]( Tiger Global has doubled down on its investment in Moglix over the last three years. --------------------------------------------------------------- EVENTS HAPPENING You can also check out a curated list of trending tech events [over here](. - *Event* [[Workshop] What NFTs mean to startups in Southeast Asia]( on February 10th Curious about NFTs and want to expand your insights about this phenomenon? On February 10, catch our workshop with David Shin, head of global adoption at the Klaytn Foundation, to learn more about the digital asset! Get a single ticket to attend this workshop or subscribe to Tech in Asia Core at just US$0.55/day for unlimited access to all our workshops, signature conferences, and premium content. - [AWS SaaS Forum]( on February 17th Join the AWS SaaS Forum on February 17 to uncover opportunities and insights on SaaS trends, outlook for 2022 and how to build your business playbook. Attendance is complimentary. --------------------------------------------------------------- WHO'S HIRING You can post a job [here]( or search for jobs [here](. - [Senior Product Designer]( at Inspigo Jakarta, Indonesia - [Human Resources Officer]( at Dbrandcom Jakarta, Indonesia - [Backend Developer, Machine Learning IoT Cybersecurity]( at Microsec Singapore, Singapore - [Frontend Engineer]( at PT Tani Hub Indonesia (TaniHub, TaniFund) Jakarta, Indonesia - [Tech Lead]( at Kasual Jakarta, Indonesia - [Marketing Manager]( at GoWork Jakarta, Indonesia [ADVERTISE]( | [SUBSCRIBE]( P.S. 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