Venture Capital Archives

Yashaa Global Capital Secures Financial Services Permission to Establish a Global Sports VC Fund

The fund comprises of sporting legends Shikhar Dhawan, AB de Villiers, Ravi Shastri with a pedigreed investment team

Yashaa Global Capital, a venture capital fund dedicated to Sports, has received the Financial Services Permission (FSP) from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of ADGM, Abu Dhabi’s leading international financial centre. This significant milestone marks the fund’s official establishment in ADGM, positioning Yashaa Global Capital as a catalyst for driving global investments in the rapidly evolving sports sector.

The fund, a unique initiative, helmed by General Partners Shikhar Dhawan, Mohammed Sirajuddin, Arif Padaria and Dr. Victor Tay, combines a pedigreed investment team with elite athletes. This collaboration leverages their expertise and extensive networks in the sports ecosystem, aiming to provide unparalleled value to portfolio companies through mentorship, strategic partnerships, and growth opportunities. Previously known as Da One Global Ventures, the fund has been rebranded to reflect its global ambitions and sharpened focus on innovation and wealth generation.

Headquartered in Abu Dhabi, Yashaa Global Capital has a targeted $75M corpus (including a $25M greenshoe option), and is set to deploy capital globally across SportsTech, Fitness & Wellness, Esports & Gaming, MediaTech, Leagues & Teams. Leveraging ADGM’s status as a premier financial hub, the athlete-backed fund bridges global investors, startups, and sports entrepreneurs, fostering innovation and scalability. Its unique network ensures that its portfolio companies gain strategic insights and connections, delivering exceptional value to all stakeholders.

Shikhar Dhawan, General Partner at Yashaa Global Capital, commented, “ADGM’s stable regulatory environment and strategic location at Capital of Capital Abu Dhabi, make it the perfect base for our fund. This is an exciting opportunity to create a global impact and contribute to the evolving landscape of sports entrepreneurship. With ADGM’s support, we are confident in creating a platform that not only nurtures groundbreaking startups but also delivers meaningful value to our investors globally.”

Mohammed Sirajuddin, General Partner at Yashaa Global Capital, expressed his vision for the fund, “Business of Sports is at a transformative stage, becoming increasingly globalized, institutionalized, and technology-driven. With a unique team blending deep industry expertise, strong networks, and proven investment experience, we aim to bridge the gap in the Asian market, where sports-focused funds are limited. As a global fund with a strong Asia focus, we are dedicated to empowering visionary businesses shaping the future of sports and delivering exceptional value to founders, investors, and the broader ecosystem.”

“I am proud to be associated with this visionary global fund. As a sports ecosystem VC originating from the GCC region, it has the potential to reshape the business of sports, esports, and gaming investments worldwide. I look forward to supporting entrepreneurs on and off the field”, said AB de Villiers.

ADGM, recognized worldwide as a stable financial hub, provides a robust platform for venture funds like Yashaa Global Capital to thrive. Its dedication to fostering financial innovation and entrepreneurship underpins Yashaa’s strategic vision.

Arvind Ramamurthy, Chief of Market Development at ADGM, commented: “We are proud to support Yashaa Global Capital as they establish their presence in ADGM and launch a groundbreaking venture capital fund focused on the rapidly evolving sports sector. This milestone reflects ADGM’s commitment to fostering innovative and transformative industries while providing a robust and progressive regulatory environment.”

About Yashaa Global Capital
Yashaa Global Capital is a global multi-stage venture capital fund investing in transformative startups across the Business of Sports, New Age Media, and the Future of Sports & Human Performance. With its establishment in ADGM, and backing from leading athletes like Shikhar Dhawan, the fund is positioned to pioneer innovation in sports and gaming, fostering growth for startups and delivering robust returns for investors worldwide. This announcement marks the beginning of Yashaa Global Capital’s journey to redefine the sports and esports investing landscape, with a commitment to building a sustainable ecosystem for global entrepreneurs and stakeholders. Learn more at https://yashaa.vc/.

For any communication and media engagements please contact:
contact@yashaa.vc

Asian Financial Forum returns as Region’s First Major International Financial Assembly in 2025

– Bringing together scholars, financial officials and business leaders for discussions on the theme ‘Powering the Next Growth Engine’

Themed “Powering the Next Growth Engine”, the 18th Asian Financial Forum 2025 (AFF), will be the region’s first major international financial and business event of the year.
Heavyweight speakers include Prof Justin Lin Yifu, Chief Economist and Senior Vice President of the World Bank (2008-2012); Prof Stuart Russell, Co-Chair of the World Economic Forum’s Council on AI; Dr Kai-Fu Lee, Chairman of Sinovation Ventures; and Joe Tsai, Chairman of the Alibaba Group.
The event brings together scholars, financial officials and business leaders from Mainland China, ASEAN, the Middle East, Europe and the United States to share invaluable insights.

The 18th Asian Financial Forum 2025 (AFF), co-organised by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), will be held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) on 13 and 14 January (Monday and Tuesday). Themed “Powering the Next Growth Engine”, AFF will be the first major financial and business event in the region in the new year, bringing together more than 100 global policymakers, business leaders, financial experts and investors, entrepreneurs, tech giants and economists to share their views on issues related to political leadership, geopolitical tensions, monetary policy shifts, macroeconomic challenges and more. These industry heavyweights will discuss the latest developments in financial markets and investment opportunities and explore how Hong Kong can leverage its strengths as an international financial centre to seek breakthroughs in a period of change.

Harnessing Hong Kong’s unique advantages to demonstrate financial excellence
Launched in 2007, the AFF has become a flagship financial event for Hong Kong and the broader region, showcasing the city’s status as an international financial centre and its role as a connector in spearheading regional financial activities. Against the backdrop of a constantly shifting global economic landscape, Hong Kong has been leveraging its unique geographical position, professional services and global perspective to continue fostering collaboration and ensuring mutual success between Asia and the world.

Luanne Lim, Chairperson of the AFF Steering Committee and Chief Executive Officer, Hong Kong, of HSBC, said: “The geopolitical and economic landscape of 2025 is set to be fraught with challenges, underscoring the importance of international collaboration. The Forum adopts the theme ‘Powering the Next Growth Engine’, bringing together influential speakers and thought leaders to share insights, dissect the evolving global landscape and spotlight emerging investment opportunities. Key areas of focus include the growth potential of emerging markets such as Mainland China, ASEAN and the Middle East, as well as advancements in sectors like artificial intelligence, fintech, sustainability, philanthropy and family offices. The Forum continues to provide a premier platform for renowned global investors and fundraisers to collaborate and ignite new engines for growth with its strong international influence and diverse perspectives.”

Impactful sessions spotlight global issues
The Forum will feature a distinguished line-up of speakers, with a two-day programme featuring various panels and workshops, including plenary sessions, policy dialogues, keynote luncheons, breakfast panels and fireside chats, as well as thematic workshops focusing on development and innovation across different industries. It will continue to stage well-received sessions such as Global Economic Outlook, China Opportunities and CIO Insights. Global Economic Outlook will analyse international economic trends and provide insights into business opportunities and wealth accumulation in emerging industries and regions in 2025. China Opportunities will focus on examining the investment outlook in Mainland China under the acceleration of technological innovation and its impact on global businesses. CIO Insights will explore new opportunities for cross-regional cooperation from macroeconomic and asset allocation perspectives, offering participants insights and strategies that can help realise long-term growth.

Financial pioneers share insights on future economy
One of the keynote speakers at AFF will be Prof Justin Lin Yifu, a globally renowned economist and Chief Economist and Senior Vice President of the World Bank (2008-2012). Prof Lin will deliver an in-depth analysis of the shifting global economic landscape and the impact on Mainland China and international markets, exploring strategies for achieving stable growth and driving rapid economic development amid a complex international environment.

The Forum will also bring together scholars, financial officials and business leaders from the mainland, ASEAN, the Middle East, Europe and the United States to shed light on a range of key topics, including macroeconomics, China opportunities, investment prospects, artificial intelligence (AI) and fintech as well as sustainability.

As the world’s second largest economy, the mainland’s economic and industrial development plays a significant role in driving global economic growth. Heavyweight speakers include Dr Fred Hu, Founder and Chairman of Primavera Capital Group; Jin Liqun, President and Chair of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank; Li Yimei, Chief Executive Officer of China Asset Management, and Joe Tsai, Chairman of Alibaba Group, will take the stage at AFF to share their views.

Emerging markets such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Middle East will also be spotlighted. Speakers from ASEAN will include Satvinder Singh, Deputy Secretary-General for ASEAN Economic Community of ASEAN while a new session will highlight the opportunities in financial cooperation and investment between the Middle East and Hong Kong, featuring speakers from the two places.

A stellar line-up of speakers and company representatives from Europe and the US will offer new impetus at various panel discussions. Featured speakers include Edward Dolman, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Phillips Auctioneers; J Christopher Donahue, President & Chief Executive Officer of Federated Hermes, Inc; Antoine Gosset-Grainville, Chairman of the Board of Directors of AXA; Dr Hou Yang, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Greater China Region and Global Senior Vice President of Microsoft; Philip Lane, Chief Economist and Member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank; Vincent Mortier, Group Chief Investment Officer of Amundi; and Dr Olli Rehn, Governor and Chairman of the Board of the Bank of Finland.

AI and fintech are having a profound impact as they become more broadly adopted in the financial services sector. Prof Stuart Russell, Co-chair of the World Economic Forum Council on AI; Dr Kai-Fu Lee, Chairman of Sinovation Ventures and Ken Wong, Executive Vice President of Lenovo and President of Lenovo Solutions & Services Group, will address the latest industry developments and prospects at the AFF. Prof Russell, Distinguished Professor of Computer Science at the University of California, Berkeley and Co-chair of the World Economic Forum’s Council on AI and the OECD’s Expert Group on AI Futures, will explore the prospects of AI becoming a new engine for global economic growth.

Sustainable development is another key topic at the AFF. In different sessions of the Forum, Sue Lloyd, Vice Chair of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB); Martin Neubert, Partner and Group Chief Investment Officer of Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, and Jiadi Yu, Chief Investment Officer of International Finance Corporation (IFC), will share views on how the adoption of the ISSB will contribute to market confidence in Hong Kong’s capital markets.

Diverse exhibition zones create opportunities, innovative technologies drive growth
The Fintech Showcase, InnoVenture Salon, FintechHK Start-up Salon and Global Investment Zone will be assembled at the AFF to help fintech companies, start-ups and international investment agencies from around the world to connect businesses, showcase the latest technological innovations and promote collaboration.

In addition to offering pitching and startup advisory sessions, the InnoVenture Salon features an exhibition of innovative technologies across various fields such as regtech, deep tech, green tech, health tech and food tech and agri-tech. This capacity-building support will connect entrepreneurs with potential clients, users and investors from different regions and industries, helping businesses refine their strategies, expand operations and thrive in the global market. Additionally, AFF Deal-making, a unique deal-sourcing and matching session, will build on the success of previous years to connect sources of funds and deals from around the world through one-on-one meetings.

AFF – Hong Kong’s major annual financial event
International large-scale events play a strategically important role for Hong Kong. As the first major financial event of the year, the AFF is designed to provide industry professionals with the latest insights and help them explore new opportunities. Early bird registration is now open for participants. The AFF is collaborating with various organisations to provide special travel, dining and shopping discounts and privileges for overseas participants, encouraging them to make the most of their stay and experience the vitality of Hong Kong. More details regarding the content, speaker lineup and media registration arrangements for the AFF will be announced at a press conference on 7 January 2025.

Websites
– Asian Financial Forum: https://www.asianfinancialforum.com/conference/aff/en/about-aff
– Programme: https://www.asianfinancialforum.com/conference/aff/en/info-programme
– Speaker list: https://www.asianfinancialforum.com/conference/aff/en/speakers

Members of the media interested in interviewing speakers at the Asian Financial Forum should email ayiu@yuantung.com.hk or lsong@yuantung.com.hk by 8 January 2025.

Photo download: https://bit.ly/3Bz8p9t

Media enquiries

Yuan Tung Financial Relations:
Agnes Yiu Tel: (852) 3428 5690 Email: ayiu@yuantung.com.hk
Louise Song Tel: (852) 3428 5691 Email: lsong@yuantung.com.hk

HKTDC’s Communications & Public Affairs Department:
Katy Wong Tel: (852) 2584 4524 Email: katy.ky.wong@hktdc.org
Clayton Lauw Tel: (852) 2584 4472 Email: clayton.y.lauw@hktdc.org

HKTDC Media Room: http://mediaroom.hktdc.com

About HKTDC
The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is a statutory body established in 1966 to promote, assist and develop Hong Kong’s trade. With 50 offices globally, including 13 in Mainland China, the HKTDC promotes Hong Kong as a two-way global investment and business hub. The HKTDC organises international exhibitions, conferences and business missions to create business opportunities for companies, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in the mainland and international markets. The HKTDC also provides up-to-date market insights and product information via research reports and digital news channels. For more information, please visit: www.hktdc.com/aboutus.

Legend Capital Portfolio: Japan’s NO.1 VTuber Operator ANYCOLOR Lists on the Tokyo Stock Exchange

On June 8th 2022, Legend Capital’s portfolio company ANYCOLOR, a leading Virtual YouTuber (VTuber) management company in Japan, was listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. At the market close today, ANYCOLOR’s share price rose more than 3 times compared to the issue price and its market capitalization exceeded 165.2 billion yen (about 1.239 billion US dollars).

From left are Itochu Manager Takaki Yasuhiro, ANYCOLOR CEO Tazumi Riku, ANYCOLOR CFO Taurui Shinya and Legend Capital Managing Director Joon Sung Park.

Established in May 2017, ANYCOLOR was founded by Tazumi Riku who was at that time a student at Waseda University in Japan. The company officially announced the launch of a VTuber project “NIJISANJI” in January 2018 as one of the first major VTuber agencies in Japan. After years of continued success, ANYCOLOR as of today is managing around 200 VTubers with over 35.72 million fans, making it the largest VTuber operator in Japan.

According to ANYCOLOR’s IPO Prospectus, in 2021 revenue reached 7.63 billion yen and operating income of 1.45 billion yen. This is over 100% growth from 3.5 billion yen revenue and 42.3 million yen operating income in 2020. Revenue in 2022 is expected to reach 13.2 billion yen while operating income is expected to grow to 3.7 billion yen.

With the introduction of Japan partner ITOCHU Corporation, Legend Capital led ANYCOLOR’s Series B financing round in April 2020.

Joon Sung Park, Managing Director of Legend Capital, said: “Virtual YouTuber is a concept that Japan pioneered and this is a model that can scale outside of Japan because VTubers are not bound by physical limitations, and many of them engage in activities that are unconstrained by their real-world identity. ANYCOLOR is very unique because their focus on livestreams set its members apart from other early VTubers who primarily made pre-recorded videos. Based on Nijisanji’s initial success in Japan, ANYCOLOR expanded its business to China, Korea, Indonesia, as well as English-language branches targeting a global audience. VTuber’s popularity began to expand internationally through their appeal to the existing animation and cartoon fandom. Going forward, as 2D/3D technology will become more sophisticated, I firmly believe that ANYCOLOR’s potential of becoming the internationally recognized leading platform for VTubers and animated influencers, who target worldwide audiences.”

In China, ANYCOLOR has established a joint venture with Legend Capital’s portfolio company Bilibili, a leading video and contents sharing platform in China and most of NIJISANJI’s VTubers are active on the Bilibili platform. ANYCOLOR’s VTubers started to broadcast livestreaming through Bilibili’s platform and was able to successfully operate its Chinese VTuber group “VirtuaReal Project”.

Legend Capital also invested in HYBE in early 2016, the management agency of K-pop sensation BTS, and one of the world’s “100 Most Influential Companies” as named by Time magazine. Korea’s entertainment giant HYBE became the first in the K-pop industry to record 1 trillion won ($839.4 million) in sales in 2021. The unprecedented 100 times revenue growth from 2015 to 2021 was fueled by the agency’s effort to build an internal distribution platform, various strategic initiatives for global IP expansion. It also acquired Ithaca Holdings, a well-known US based entertainment agency that manages popular artists like Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande and J Balvin, which helped HYBE to diversify its revenue stream.

As an active investor, Legend Capital shared HYBE’s growth history and its monetization diversification efforts to ANYCOLOR management team. In addition, Legend Capital introduced the CEO of HYBE to the CEO of ANYCOLOR to share HYBE’s experience, and discuss potential cooperation in the future.

“ANYCOLOR’s successful listing under the current capital market situation is not only about fundraising but also about introducing ANYCOLOR to the public and showing a more interesting world of VTuber to the upcoming new generation. Legend Capital will continue to focus on cross-border investment opportunities in Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia and other countries, to explore more investment opportunities in emerging industries, especially in technology, consumption, and contents. We will also continue to utilize our comprehensive resources derived from our existing domestic and international portfolios, to provide value-added services for our portfolio companies.” Joon Sung Park added.

Legend Capital is an independent and seasoned fund manager with deep roots in China and long coverage of local Chinese investment opportunities stemming from the strong innovation power in the country. With over two decades of expertise, Legend Capital has cultivated profound understanding of the technology and innovation drives of China, accumulated rich resources around industries, and built a powerful portfolio ecosystem. It is now recognized as a valuable partner for overseas investors and enterprises to access the market.

For overseas investors, Legend Capital can provide support on knowledge of China’s technology innovation and access to technology investment opportunities for sustainable returns. For overseas enterprises, Legend Capital can help expand business on the Chinese market, and bridge key resources in China such as R&D and supply chain, for expedited value creation. Guided by such approach, Legend Capital has made a number of successful investments in Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, and India.

On the other hand, by leveraging its “China Insights”, Legend Capital also helps portfolio companies and entrepreneurs in China to “go global” and achieve strategic objectives across the border by integrating overseas resources and opportunities, helping portfolio companies to respond to complex changes in global industry landscape, and meanwhile generating new investment opportunities.

Legend Capital has invested numerous successful foreign companies: HYBE (KOSPI.A352820), world’s leading entertainment company in Korea; Zinus (KOSPI.A013890), the largest mattress brand in Amazon; DEXTER (KOSDAQ.A206560), Korea’s leading movie production and VFX company; NexImmune (NASDAQ: NEXI), the global next-generation immunomodulatory cell therapy company; Axonics (NASDAQ: AXNX), the global developer of new implantable neuromodulation technologies; Singular Genomics (NASDAQ: OMIC), the leading company in NGS testing; Lunit, the global leading AI medical diagnosis company; Mathpresso, the largest education technology company in Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia; Vedantu, India’s largest K12 Online tutoring company; and Akulaku, the leading fintech company in Southeast Asia.

Fullerton Fund Management appoints Ken Goh as Chief Investment Officer

Fullerton Fund Management (“Fullerton”) has appointed Ken Goh as Chief Investment Officer (CIO), effective 1 April 2022. Ken will report to Jenny Sofian, Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

Mr. Ken Goh, CFA, Chief Investment Officer

As CIO, Ken will be steering the strategic direction for Fullerton’s investment team. He will also oversee investment performance for all portfolios across equities, fixed income, alternatives, multi-asset and treasury management.

“Ken’s appointment comes at an important time, as we grow our business and respond to the changing environment, as well as needs of clients. Ken’s proven abilities, astute leadership and portfolio management expertise will be instrumental in driving the expansion of our investment capabilities to deliver investment excellence to clients,” said Jenny Sofian, CEO.

Prior to his new role, Ken was Deputy CIO and Head of Equities at Fullerton. An industry veteran with almost 30 years of investment experience, he has deep and extensive expertise in managing portfolios and leading teams across different market cycles. At Fullerton, he spearheaded enhancements to investment processes and strategies, focusing on a high conviction, ESG-integrated investment approach. He was also instrumental in reinforcing the investment architecture at Fullerton, by driving collaboration across teams and investment platforms, and through the articulation of house views.

Before joining Fullerton in 2017, Ken held senior portfolio management and leadership positions at several local and international firms. His wealth of experience and tenacity makes him an ideal candidate to lead Fullerton’s investment team.

“I am very excited to take on this role and work closely with our seasoned investment team to take advantage of market opportunities and drive investment growth for our clients,” Ken said. “We have deep bench strength in the asset classes that we manage, and I am confident that our deep understanding of markets, strong investment platforms, and integrated, collaborative culture can unlock substantial value for investors.”

Ken succeeds Patrick Yeo, who will be leaving Fullerton after 17 years. Patrick will remain at Fullerton till September, and will work with Ken and the investment team to ensure a seamless transition.

“We would like to thank Patrick for his contributions to Fullerton, and the role he has played in growing the core capabilities of the firm. We wish him well in his future endeavours,” Jenny said.

About Fullerton Fund Management

Fullerton Fund Management Company Ltd (“Fullerton”) is an Asia-based investment specialist, focused on optimising investment outcomes and enhancing investor experience. We help clients, including government entities, sovereign wealth funds, pension plans, insurance companies, private wealth and retail, from the region and beyond, to achieve their investment objectives through our suite of solutions.

Our expertise encompasses equities, fixed income, multi-asset, alternatives and treasury management, across public and private markets. As an active manager, we place strong emphasis on performance, risk management and investment insights.

Incorporated in 2003, Fullerton is headquartered in Singapore, and has associated offices in Shanghai, London, and Brunei. Fullerton is part of a multi-asset management group, Seviora, a holding company established by Temasek. NTUC Income, a leading Singapore insurer, is a minority shareholder of Fullerton.

For more information, please visit www.fullertonfund.com

Biography

Mr Ken Goh, CFA
Chief Investment Officer

Ken is CIO at Fullerton Fund Management. He sets the strategic direction for the investment team and is responsible for overseeing the investment performance of all portfolios. Ken also manages Fullerton’s Global Absolute Alpha, Asia Focus and Asia Absolute Alpha Equities strategies.

Ken joined Fullerton in 2017 as Head of Equities and was additionally appointed Deputy CIO in 2020. He was previously CEO of CIMB Principal Asset Management’s Singapore office. He was also concurrently Regional CIO and Regional Head of Equities. Before he joined CIMB Principal in 2007, he held various senior positions in APS Asset Management, MeesPierson Private Bank, Allianz Dresdner Asset Management and Philip Capital Management. Earlier in his career, Ken worked at the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC).

Ken graduated from National University of Singapore with a First-Class Honours in Business Administration. He is also a CFA charterholder.

For media queries, please contact:
Kamal Samuel
Email: fullerton@financialpr.com.sg
Mobile: 92294410

1982 Ventures invests in Lista, the MSME book-keeping app for the Philippines

Lista is a bookkeeping app for MSMEs based in the Philippines. Through its financial inclusion app, they offer Filipinos a free and secure way of managing finances such as tracking debts, recording transactions, and even issuing invoices.

Lista raised an oversubscribed round from 1982 Ventures, East Ventures, Saison Capital, Alternate Ventures, Monde Nissin Family Ventures’ Willy Arifin and prominent angel investors such as former Grab Philippines President and co-founder Brian Cu, Pinelabs CEO Amrish Rau, CRED Founder Kunal Shah, Jupiter Bank Chief Executive Officer Jitendra Gupta and Google APAC Senior Execs Aurelien Pichon, Alap Bharadwaj.

Lista was founded by Aaron Villegas, an experienced entrepreneur with product experience, and Khriz Lim, a former Grab executive that led GrabFood’s expansion into the region. Since its launch in September, Lista has helped collect close to US$1.5 million in receivables of MSMEs all over the Philippines.

Aaron Villegas, co-founder of Lista, stated, “Helping Philippine MSMEs was an advocacy close to my heart. Growing up, I saw the challenges my family endured in running a sari-sari store (community store).” Continuing, “I spent almost a year just talking to various MSMEs in the province and trying different ideas to help them grow. And that’s when I realized that the first thing to do to really help them grow is through digitization and replacing pen and paper with easy-to-use tech.”

As the pandemic struck early last year, digitization of business processes proved to be pivotal in ensuring the continuity of business operations. Micro, small and medium enterprises or MSMEs were among the most affected during the prolonged quarantines – 74% of these businesses halted operations due to the lockdowns according to the country’s Department of Trade and Industry. MSMEs are vital to the Philippine economy as they comprise about 99.51% of business establishments in the country and employ around 63% of the country’s workforce, according to data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

Khriz Lim, former Grab executive and co-founder of Lista stated, “MSMEs are the backbone of the Philippine economy and it’s time we stop leaving them behind. Through this app, we want to revolutionize the way MSMEs operate and provide them with a reliable digital partner for small businesses in the country.”

Using digital tools can help fill this gap and allow them to record transactions and track their growth more easily. Lista aims to help MSMEs, including freelancers, logistics operators and riders, and other small businesses, digitize their business and provide a free and secure way of easily managing their finances.

Herston Elton Powers, Managing Partner of 1982 Ventures stated, “Lista is empowering millions of MSME businesses in the Philippines move from pen and paper to digital. The bookkeeping app space in the Philippines is wide open and Aaron and Khriz are the right founders to capture the opportunity. Lista’s product and strong traction have put them in pole position to win the market.”

Lista will use the funds to grow their team and expand their product offering to reach more MSMEs in the country.

About Lista
Lista is a bookkeeping app for small businesses, enabling them to digitize their business and provide a free and secure way of easily managing their finances. For more information visit: https://www.lista.com.ph.

About 1982 Ventures
1982 Ventures is the leading seed fund investing in fintech startups in Southeast Asia. Our focus makes us the first port of call for fintech founders and the first money in. Our investments include Southeast Asian Open Banking API Platform Brick, Vietnam’s leading Buy Now, Pay Later Fundiin, Vietnam’s Rent-to-Own Home Financing app Homebase (YC W21), Indonesia’s first Earned Wage Access platform Wagely. 1982 Ventures is investing in and supporting the best founders to positively impact the future of financial services in Southeast Asia. Visit https://1982.vc, or follow us on LinkedIn.

For media enquiries:
khriz@lista.com.ph

1982 Ventures Portfolio:
— Bluesheets seamlessly connects and automates all your financial data in one place. (Singapore)
— Brick is a financial API platform that allows startups and financial institutions to build innovative solutions with a single line of code. (Indonesia)
— Fundiin is a buy now pay later that offers customer friendly instalment payments at the point of sale and allows merchants to expand their customer base. (Vietnam)
— Go Zayaan is an online travel agency (OTA) focused on digital booking of flights, hotels, tours and other transportation. (Bangladesh)
— Homebase (YC W21) is Vietnam based real estate technology company that provides innovative home ownership and financing solutions across Southeast Asia. (Vietnam)
— Hugo is Singapore’s first Wealthcare app that helps users develop healthy saving and investing habits that make financial security accessible to everyone. (Singapore)
— Infina is an investing platform that allows Vietnamese to buy + sell stocks, ETFs and mutual funds. (Vietnam)
— NextPay (YC W21) is a SME digital bank in The Philippines. They use us to send invoices, collect payments, do payroll, and pay their bills. (Philippines)
— PINA is a personal finance app which helps people to manage and grow their money by providing automated money management and investing solutions in a single app. (Indonesia)
— Wagely is a platform that provides financial wellness and earned wage access to millions of low and middle-income workers. (Indonesia)

Driving the Digital Economy – The 2021 Global Digital Trade Conference and Wuhan (Hankoubei) Commodities Fair thematic event “Digital Trade and Technology” held in Wuhan, Hubei

The 2021 Global Digital Trade Conference and Wuhan (Hankoubei) Commodities Fair held the thematic event “Digital Trade and Technology” in Wuhan, Hubei. More than 300 distinguished guests, including leading experts and scholars in digital trade and economy, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders attended the conference. They shared new insights into digital trade and technology under China’s new “dual circulation” development strategy and the future development of the global digital economy.

Conference area of the 2021 Global Digital Trade Conference and Wuhan (Hankoubei) Commodities Fair thematic event “Digital Trade and Technology”

Speech by Jiang Wei, Standing Committee member of the Wuhan Municipal Party Committee and Vice Mayor of Wuhan

Panel Discussion: Industrial Development Path in the Digital Economy era

Powered by informatization, digitization, and intelligent connectivity, the new technological revolution and industrial transformation have brought about digital trade, which significantly impacts the trading sector, fostering new business models and trading patterns among counterparties. This has reshaped the global industrial chain, supply chain, value chain, and innovation chain, becoming a major driving force for economic globalization. As one of the key highlights of the 2021 Global Digital Trade Conference, the “Digital Trade and Technology” event aims to become the leading platform that facilitates discussions, exchanges, and conversations around global digital trade.

Jiang Wei, Standing Committee member of the Wuhan Municipal Party Committee and Vice Mayor of Wuhan, delivered a speech. He shared that Wuhan’s geographic location and transportation advantages, vibrant commercial hub, and quality modern logistics infrastructure have laid the foundation to advance the development of Wuhan’s digital trade and economy. In recent years, the largest city in Central China has introduced a series of policies to promote the development of the digital economy and has achieved much success. He welcomed the visitors to take advantage of the digital trade development opportunities and invest in Wuhan for their new businesses and technological innovation.

Internationally renowned experts, scholars, and entrepreneurs, including Dr Finn E. Kydland, Norwegian economist and winner of the 2004 Nobel Prize in Economics; Yoshinori Ogawa, Executive Director of Marubeni Corporation, and Managing Director for Marubeni China; Wu Ying, Chairman of the Digital China Federation; Liang Rubo, CEO of Bytedance; Jiang Guofei, Vice President of Ant Group and president of advanced technology business group; Loh Boon Chye, Vice Chairman of the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) and the CEO of SGX; Tian Ning, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Panshi Group delivered keynote addresses and shared new insights into the development trends of the global digital economy, the integration of digital trade and technology, and industrial supply chain innovation and transformation.

Host organizer Qi Zhiping, CEO of ZALL Smart Commerce Group, also joined four entrepreneurs – Qian Xiaojun, CEO of Beijing United Information Technology, Mu Xiaohai, Vice President of JD Cloud Business Group; Sun Wei, CEO of Shenzhen Sinoagri; and Huang Jianwen, Chairman of pao400, during the panel discussion. They had in-depth discussions around the development path and transformation of traditional industries in the digital economy era.

iResearch Consulting, China’s leading data research organization, released a white paper on Global Digital Trade during the event. Li Chao, a Chief Analyst at iResearch and Executive Dean of iResearch Institute, presented their findings. The white paper shares the current development of digital trade from the existing digital infrastructure, policies, technologies, and capital. It also analyzes in-depth how digital trade has redefined traditional trade across production, transaction and supply chain.

The whitepaper also looked at five major industries in agriculture, steel, plastics, wholesale and cross-border trade, along with the development and business models of renowned Chinese and global digital trading companies. It also analyzes the profound changes digital technologies and supply chain services have brought to the global trade industry, highlighting the growth momentum of digital trading companies and their promising prospects by financial markets. In addition, the paper believes that with continued industry upgrading and business segmentation, there would be good opportunities for digital trade services and ecosystem-based platforms to create a new form of industrial supply-demand relationship and ecological synergy.

Themed “Intelligent Connectivity . Global Trading”, the 2021 Global Digital Trade Conference is organised by the Hubei Provincial People’s Government; supported by the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce; co-organised by the Wuhan Municipal People’s Government and the Department of Commerce of Hubei Province; and executed by the Wuhan Huangpi District Government, Wuhan Municipal Bureau of Commerce, ZALL Smart Commerce Group and Hankoubei Group. At the same time, the Wuhan (Hankoubei) Commodities Fair is concurrently organized and would feature hundreds of procurement fairs and thousands of livestreaming activities, pushing the global industrial chain and supply chain towards digitalization and intelligent connectivity, and promote the high-quality development of global economy and trade.

Legend Capital is reaping the rewards in its logistics and supply chain investment

In recent years, the logistics and supply chain industry has ushered in many important capital events, with a lot of companies went public in fields like express, supply chain, freight platform, aviation logistics and automatic driving. As a comprehensive fund covering multiple industries and fields, Legend Capital has already made a long-term and systematic investment layout in the field of logistics and supply chain. According to public information, Legend Capital has invested in more than 10 companies in such field, including Milkyway (603713.SH), Eastern Air Logistics (601156.SH), JD Logistics (2618.HK), Hichain Logistics (300873.SZ), China Southern Cargo, FOR-U Smart Freight, SF Freight, SF Intra-city and Yanwen logistics, among which SF Intra-city and Yanwen logistics have filed for IPOs in the Hong Kong and Mainland China, respectively.

Based on nearly a decade of experience, Legend Capital has already built an accomplished framework and investment system in the field of logistics and supply chain. It also divides the business into three stages, and identifies different investment opportunities in each stage.

Stage 1.0 “Logistics”: The essence of this stage is how to transport cargo at low cost and high efficiency based on the needs of consumption or manufacturing industry. In terms of investment in the logistics field, Legend Capital not only pays attention to the incremental market opportunities brought by changes in business flow, scene, technology and policy , but also actively looks for special opportunities such as spin-off, M&A and mixed ownership reform; Stage 2.0 “Supply Chain Service”: On the basis of fulfilling transportation needs , Legend Capital looks for enterprises with intelligent supply chain service that could provide value-added services such as raw material procurement, warehousing, finished product distribution and after-sales, and hence achieve the goal of “full link, agility, efficiency, reliability”; Stage 3.0 is to use the concept of “digital transformation, collaborative delivery and platform development” to build industrial Internet.

With around ten-year-experience, Legend Capital’s investment strategy of logistics and supply chain mainly focuses on the infrastructure related to consumer goods, retail distribution, industrial manufacturing, and medical health.

Unlike other funds and investment institutions, Legend Capital, on the basis of long-term, comprehensive and in-depth research on the industry, selectively invests in excellent companies with huge industry influence. Besides, Legend Capital empowers enterprises by using the ecological resources of investment enterprises and its value-added services. Under the guidance of long-term value, Legend Capital also advocates and promotes the communication and cooperation among its portfolio companies to create more opportunities on win-win cooperation.

Legend Capital thinks highly of bringing long-term value and value-added services to its portfolio companies. Richard Li, the President of Legend Capital, said: “Logistics and supply chain investment has entered the critical period, and there will be more cross-industry investment opportunities. We have a lot of cooperation with leading enterprises in various industries. When opportunities arise, we have enough experience to support them to grow from BU (business unit) to independent company. “

According to Legend Capital, the logistics and supply chain industry has entered a new stage with information technology empowers various industries. Meanwhile, the new market conditions will generate new traffic and new data, which brings new demands for new kind of resource integration and delivery methods.

TAOP Signs Memorandum of Understanding to Establish Cryptocurrency Mining Joint

Taoping Inc. (NASDAQ: TAOP, the Company or TAOP), a provider of blockchain technology and smart cloud services, today announces that its wholly-owned subsidiary Taoping Digital Assets (Asia) Limited (TDAA) and a Kazakhstan company Aral Petroleum Capital LLP (APC) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to establish a joint venture in Kazakhstan, of which TDAA and APC will own 51% and 49%, respectively. TDAA will control the board of directors of the joint venture.

APC is an oil and gas exploration and development company operating in Kazakhstan, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CaspianEnergy Inc. It holds an exclusive license which entitles it to explore and develop certain oil and gas properties known as the “North Block”, an area of 1,916 square km, and a production contract for the area known as “East Zhagabulak”. With a strong industry position and integration experience, APC is able to ensure high-quality utility-scale electricity supply at a low cost to the joint venture.

The joint venture plans to invest and build cryptocurrency mining sites with a total capacity of 100MW, the first stage construction of 30 MW is expected to complete within three to six months. TDAA will have the priority to deploy cryptocurrency mining machines owned by TDAA or its partners. The joint venture will carry out operation and maintenance of cryptocurrency mining machines in Kazakhstan. In addition, the joint venture plans to rent out excess operating capacity to third parties for additional income.

On April 15, 2021, the Company announced that it has signed a Bitcoin mining machine purchase agreement with Bitmain Technologies Limited for the purchase of Antminer S19j Pro Bitcoin mining machines with a total hash rate of 300,000 TH/s. TAOP plans to deliver these mining machines to Kazakhstan for deployment once the construction of the mining sites is completed.

“We continue to look for global opportunities that can bring business growth. With year-round cool temperatures, low real estate and labor costs, and relatively low energy prices, Kazakhstan is becoming a crypto mining hub that currently ranks 3rd in the world in terms of hash rate power,” said Mr. Jianghuai Lin, Chairman and CEO of TAOP, “We are working actively to capture current unique opportunity of the rapidly changing cryptocurrency mining environment to create value for shareholders.”

About Taoping Inc.
Taoping Inc. (TAOP) is an integrated group of technology and financial companies with business in Mainland China, Hong Kong, and other overseas countries. Relying on its unique strengths in cloud technology and chip supply chain, TAOP provides solutions and cloud services to industries such as film and television production, education, new media, artificial intelligence and asset management. The Company is dedicated to the research and application of blockchain technology as well as investment and management of financial assets at home and abroad. To learn more, please visit http://www.taop.com/.

Safe Harbor Statement
This press release may contain certain “forward-looking statements” relating to the business of Taoping Inc., and its subsidiaries and other consolidated entities. All statements, other than statements of historical fact included herein, are “forward-looking statements” in nature within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements, often identified by the use of forward-looking terminologies such as “believes”, “expects” or similar expressions, involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, they do involve assumptions, risks and uncertainties, and these expectations may prove to be incorrect. Investors should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company’s actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors, including those discussed in the Company’s periodic reports that are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available on its website (http://www.sec.gov). All forward-looking statements attributable to the Company and its subsidiaries and other consolidated entities or persons acting on their behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by these factors. Other than as required under the securities laws, the Company does not assume a duty to update these forward-looking statements.

Legend Capital invests in Series A funding round of BioMap, a biological computing platform

BioMap, a biological computing platform enterprise, has recently completed the Series A funding round worth over a hundred million US dollars, which Legend Capital participated in. The funds will be used to for R&D and talent recruitment.

BioMap is positioned as an innovative medicine R&D platform driven by a biological computing engine. It was co-founded by Robin Li in November 2020 and he currently serves as the Chairman. Through advanced computing and biotechnology, BioMap draws maps on disease targets and drug design to realize the Global First-in-class original drugs. In the future, BioMap will also focus on the field of the immune mechanisms of tumors, autoimmune diseases and fibrotic diseases.

Richard Li, the President of Legend Capital, said: “It is our second cooperation with Baidu this year after the investment in Baidu’s AI chip unit Kunlun in March. We hope to continue to maintain close cooperation with Baidu in the field of scientific and technological innovation in the future. We take a positive long-term view of the integration of IT and life science and technology. BioMap empowers life science with AI, and accelerates the R&D of new drugs and diagnostic products through the integration and innovation of AI technology and cutting-edge biotechnology. In the future, Legend Capital hopes to realize the full potential of the advantages of our enterprise ecosystem in the field of healthcare, and promote BioMap’s cooperation with leading companies in related fields, so as to provide intelligent computing platform support for the healthcare industry, give impetus to industrial upgrading and benefit more patients. “

Legend Capital has been focusing resources to research the deep integration of the healthcare industry and technology. In recent years, it has continued to explore the field of medical AI. In addition to BioMap, Legend Capital has also invested in AI microbial pharmaceutical company Xbiome, AI innovative drug development platform StoneWise, AI medical image assisted diagnosis company Deepwise, Lunit, AI medical pathology diagnosis company Deep Informatics, gene big data company Genowis, AI medical chronic disease management system company Ayshealth Technology, etc.

Outplay Raises USD 7.3 Million to Make Outbound Sales Scalable

Multi-channel sales engagement platform, Outplay today announced its $7.3M series A fundraise from Sequoia Capital India. Outplay will use the funds raised to invest in technology and hiring exceptional talent across the globe.

Businesses today rely on a combination of inbound and outbound sales models to drive revenues. While the inbound sales process has rapidly evolved over the last 10 years, outbound sales hasn’t. Outbound sales teams typically use high-volume tactics to drive revenue. But this approach is not scalable and the revenue eventually becomes a function of the size of the outbound sales team. This is because outbound sales teams don?t have a data-driven approach for targeting prospects that are most likely to convert and end up spending time emailing or cold-calling hundreds of prospects hoping to convert a few.

Launched in 2019, Outplay is on a mission to change this by bringing predictability to outbound sales and help every salesperson talk to the right prospect at the right time through the right channel. The platform helps outbound sales teams plan, execute, track, measure and optimize interactions between companies and their prospects across multiple channels like email, phone, SMS, social media as well as live chat.

Laxman Papineni, CEO of Outplay commented, “Outbound sales teams are truly the dark horse of the sales organization – the targets are high, but the methods aren’t scientific. Outplay is committed to making outbound outreach data-driven, so that sales teams are talking only to the warmest prospects at any given point across multiple channels, optimizing time and resources. The continued partnership with Sequoia Capital India is a testament to the fact that the sales engagement space, which is poised to be a $5.59B market by 2023, is a huge opportunity for Outplay.”

With Outplay, sales managers can create data-backed sales playbooks to coach their team members and help them achieve their sales targets. The platform’s combination of automation and personalization helps teams start genuine conversations at scale, enabling them to stay on task by using multiple channels through a single interface to drive more meetings. Sales reps are thus able to build a multi-channel outreach plan for their prospects across email, phone, SMS, LinkedIn, Twitter and chat.

For example, Outplay helps sales teams engage with warm prospects by notifying them when their prospect visits their business website. Enabled by Outplay’s industry-first outbound live-chat feature, Magic Outbound Chat, the rep can initiate live chat and have a contextual conversation with the prospect. Customers have been able to qualify prospects faster and grow their pipeline by 300% using the tool alongside inbound chat.

“We continue to be very excited by Outplay’s mission of making every sales rep perform like the best rep on the team. Outbound sales needs are evolving rapidly and reps now need personalized, automated and contextual tools to drive sales which Outplay is successfully enabling. Sales reps spend an average of four hours per day on Outplay, demonstrating the effectiveness of the product which has category-leading customer reviews. Additionally, rapid digitization due to COVID has been a significant accelerant for the business and we believe these tailwinds will continue as outbound sales becomes more digital,” Harshjit Sethi, Principal, Sequoia India

Outplay also offers support to ensure software adoption across customer teams is done within days, not weeks or months. Since the seed fundraise – USD 2 Mn from Sequoia Capital India’s Surge early this year, the company has grown 4X in revenue, 3X in team size and has customers from more than 50 countries. Outplay was a part of the Surge 04 cohort.

About Outplay

Outplay is a multi-channel sales engagement platform that ensures outbound sales teams deliver the most powerful message at the perfect time in the buyer journey through the right channel. With features like dynamic sequencing, magic outbound chat and detailed analytics, Outplay gives sales development representatives (SDRs) and business development representatives (BDRs) the right signals so they only work on the warmest prospects across multiple channels like email, phone, SMS, LinkedIn, Twitter and Chat.

Source: Platodata Intelligence