Fintech goes big this week

Impresario Entertainment and Hospitality, Lentra, F88, and more companies raised funding this week. [Read from your browser]( FOMO Saturday Welcome to Tech in Asia's free Saturday VC newsletter! Get full access to our subscribers-only premium content and other insightful analysis on the big and messy topics of Asia’s tech and startup community by [registering here](. --------------------------------------------------------------- Hello {NAME} I have a problem. You see, I recently found out that the climbing gym I frequent was about to shut down. Now, I have to figure out a new gym to call home. I discussed where to move with one of my good friends, but we still have not been able to make up our minds. I suspect the reason it’s closing down is because rental rates in Singapore have been shooting up in recent months and that perhaps the new asking price is simply too much to bear. But learning about two fundraising fintech firms involved with facilitating loans made me wonder if getting a business loan was a viable option to save the outlet. But I guess it’s too late now - on to new beginnings. You can find all other important investment deals that happened in the last few days in our [weekly funding news wrap-up](. Let’s dive into the biggest deals and M&As that recently took place. -- Jonathan  --------------------------------------------------------------- THE BIGGEST DEALS BY COUNTRY  🇮🇳 Impresario Entertainment and Hospitality: The India-based F&B brand raised US$67.7 million in strategic investment from the India Resurgence Fund. 🇮🇳 Lentra: Lentra, an Indian digital lending platform for banks, netted a US$60 million series B round from Bessemer Venture Partners, SIG Venture Capital, and Citi Ventures. 🇻🇳 F88: The Vietnam-based secured lending company [took on US$60 million]( in debt financing from Lendable and the Lending Ark Asia Secured Private Debt Fund. 🇮🇩 Privy ID: The Indonesian firm is a universal identity enabler and digital signature provider. It got US$48 million during its series C round, with investments from Singtel Innov8, Telkomsel Mitra Inovasi, GGV Capital, MDI Ventures, and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. 🇮🇳 BeatO: India-based BeatO is a specialist diabetes care provider that bagged US$33 million in series B funds from Flipkart Ventures, HealthQuad, and Lightrock India (Aspada). Here’s the complete list of this week’s funding chart: [121 deals worth over US$527 million](.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  M&As 🇮🇩 Amilo, a Singapore-based logistics startup, has [acquired Indonesia-based goods delivery firm Kahago]( and rebranded it as Amilo Indonesia. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  STARTUPS THAT ARE RAISING FUNDS Fundraising is hard. To make things slightly easier, we’ve compiled this list of fundraising startups for our subscribers. Do you run a startup that’s raising at the moment or know someone who does? Sign your company up for listing [here](. 🇮🇩 WateryNation is an Indonesia-based social enterprise focusing on sustainability by providing eco-friendly detergent. 🇮🇩 Kongkowk is an Indonesian central cloud kitchen firm that uses satellite kitchens with food delivery services to host various brands. 🇲🇾 Rx Click is a Malaysian app that connects users with their closest pharmacy. You can find the full list of fundraising startups in Asia [over here](.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  KILLER PITCH DECKS 1️⃣ This deck helped an employee upskilling platform bag US$200 million in series C funds CoachHub is a startup that provides digital coaching classes for employees. The firm used [this deck]( to secure US$200 million for a debt round. The presentation stands out by detailing the main problem that the corporate training industry has to deal with and uses data to back this up. The deck then goes in depth into how its coaching is an effective solution. 2️⃣ An AI and sustainability startup secured US$500,000 in pre-seed funds with this deck Waste Labs is a Singapore-based startup that aims to improve waste collection by helping garbage collectors and cities better analyze their systems. [This deck]( helped it get US$500,000 in pre-seed funding from Entrepreneur First, Fund4SE, and a group of strategic angel investors. One highlight from the deck is how it charts the company’s growing traction as well as the firm’s key members and their backgrounds. 3️⃣ A Denmark-based startup used this deck to get US$150,000 in pre-seed funding. GamerzClass offers a platform for gaming videos and tutorials that feature professional esports athletes. With the help of [this deck]( it received US$150,000 in pre-seed funding from 500 Startups during the 500 Startups Demo Day. A compelling part of the pitch deck is how it highlights the platform’s growth in both users and revenue.  --------------------------------------------------------------- EXCLUSIVE LISTICLES Lists of most active investors in the region [China]( | [India]( | [Indonesia]( | [Japan]( | [Singapore]( | [Southeast Asia]( List of top-funded startups in Asia [China]( | [India]( | [Indonesia]( | [Israel]( | [Japan]( | [Hong Kong]( | [Singapore]( | [South Korea]( | [Vietnam](  ---------------------------------------------------------------  THOUGHTFUL READS  1️⃣ Layoffs herald a new era in tech We’ve all seen the news. Meta, Amazon, and many other big tech companies are laying off workers by the thousands. Still, the industry should recover fully from this, right? Perhaps, but there’s also been a significant shift in how both employee and employer behaviors will change going forward. Recode Media’s Peter Kafka shares more in [this podcast episode](. 2️⃣ Can we replace artists? If you thought there would never be a substitute for Pablo Picasso or Vincent van Gogh, perhaps AI could change your mind. It’s becoming increasingly possible to create original new content through generative AI, and the writers of [this article]( on Andreessen Horowitz believe that the gaming industry could be affected the most. 3️⃣ Keep your friends close … and your competitors closer. Most business leaders believe they know what (or who) they’re up against. But do they, really? In [this article]( on the Harvard Business Review, the author suggests that the “ever-changing expectations of your customers” is more important than you believe. Companies’ strategies shouldn’t be defined by how they can outdo their competitors. Rather, they should be centered around living up to what customers expect. 4️⃣ ‘Tis the season for year-end exercises As business leaders get ready to plan for the next calendar year, there’s several things you can try to do to make sure it goes as smoothly as possible. [This article]( on First Round Review shares six tactics to learn from. 5️⃣ More than paper All over the world, students aim to attain several different paper qualifications to help them improve their job prospects. But do these really matter? LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky thinks that skills are a bigger deciding factor when hiring. Find out more in [this video]( on the Harvard Business Review.  --------------------------------------------------------------- [ADVERTISE]( | [SUBSCRIBE]( | [HIRE]( | [FIND JOBS]( P.S. Don't miss out on the biggest tech news and analysis. Add newsletter@techinasia.com to your address book, contacts, or safe sender list. Or simply move us into your inbox. Too many emails? Switch to a different frequency or get new content through our [preference center]( or [unsubscribe](. You can also break our hearts and remove yourself from all Tech in Asia emails over [here](  ---------------------------------------------------------------  Tech in Asia’s newsletters are handcrafted daily with love - and sometimes powered by good kopi. Today’s edition was written by Nathaniel Fetalvero. It’s edited by Eileen C. Ang. Copyright © 2022 Tech in Asia, All rights reserved. 63 Robinson Road, Singapore 068894