Month: August 2022

Beacon VC’s Mid Year Update

Posted on by admin_beacon_2024

In the aftermath of a wild 2021 and the resurgence of Covid-19 in Thailand, 2022 has marked the welcome return of in-person meetings and events for the startup ecosystem in Southeast Asia.  On the other hand, 2022 has also seen prices collapse in both the cryptocurrency space and public equity markets, which has created headwinds for startups seeking funding.  This year has already seen a flurry of M&A activity and consolidation within various tech industries, and that is expected to continue as investors become more selective and funding becomes more concentrated.  Turbulent market conditions notwithstanding, Beacon continues to seek new investment opportunities while finding ways to support its portfolio companies and the Thai startup ecosystem through this difficult time.

Portfolio Review: New Investments

Primo – In early 2022, Beacon and Fuchsia VC joined hands to lead a Pre-Series A investment round in Thai marketing technology firm Primo.  Primo provides omnichannel marketing platforms for large enterprises.

Decentralized – In March, Beacon joined Decentralized’s fundraising round. Decentralized is a holding company focusing on direct investments in early stage blockchain companies and digital assets.

Alchemy through Pantera Capital – Beacon co-invested with Pantera Capital into Alchemy. Alchemy provides developers with the tools they need to easily and efficiently create mainstream blockchain applications.

Despite recent volatility in digital asset markets, Beacon continues to invest and seek opportunities to connect with startups who can bridge the gap between traditional finance and DeFi, and which are driving adoption of Web3.0 by the masses.  As the corporate venture arm of KBank, Beacon also looks for opportunities to support KBank’s initiatives in growing beyond traditional banking.

Beacon News and Updates: Research

In addition to supporting KBank’s internal initiatives with research on new trends and technologies, Beacon regularly publishes research to stimulate conversation and share knowledge for the benefit of the Thai startup community.  This year, the Beacon team has explored a wide array of topics in Beacon’s bi-monthly newsletter, including the Metaverse, Token Fundraising, and ESG Investing.

Beacon News and Updates: Community Building

A ‘friend of startups’, KATALYST supports the community in three main areas: ecosystem building, embedded payments and services, and strategic collaboration.

A Friend of Startups

Since the beginning of this year, KATALYST has worked with “Creative Talk” to produce the monthly talk series “KATALYST Talk” via ClubHouse, Youtube, and Facebook Live. Opinion leaders and startup owners inside and outside Thailand are invited to exchange ideas and experiences on how to operate businesses. KATALYST Talk has had great feedback from the community, with more than 100 attendees joining each talk.

In June 2022, KATALYST also sponsored workshops at Creative Talk Conference 2022 for Beacon’s portfolio companies, including FlowAccount, Jitta, Cryptomind, Fungjai (Ookbee’s group company), and Digio. The topics ranged from financial planning through smart accounting and financial records to digital asset investment and NFT brand marketing. KATALYST and Beacon also gave opportunities for startups to connect one-on-one and gain insights from investors including Fuchsia VC, Vertex Ventures and Openspace Ventures.

A Gateway to Financial Services and Collaboration

Small businesses often find it difficult to connect to corporations for partnership and collaboration. Speaking in the same language, KATALYST has helped startups to find the right products and services for their needs, and is the first gateway to exclusive collaboration with Kasikorn Group. Examples of projects from this past year include:

FlowAccount: FlowAccount users can gain easy access to commercial loan via K+ application.

Drivehub: Kasikorn Leasing collaborated with Drivehub allowing car rental service providers all over Thailand to offer car leasing at a special rate.

Aspire: KATALYST and Aspire worked together to organize a knowledge sharing webinar on “Cash Flow Management Optimization” to startups in KATALYST’s community.

What to look forward to in the second half of 2022

KATALYST x Microsoft Thailand

KATALYST and Microsoft Thailand will jointly organize business matching between corporates and startups to find the right growth-driving solution through Microsoft Azure Marketplace. Startups joining the project will gain other benefits from Microsoft Thailand such as mentorship from Microsoft Thailand’s CEO and access to Microsoft for Startups. Startups can easily keep up with KATALYST’s activities here.

KATALYST STARTUP LAUNCHPAD 2022

KATALYST STARTUP LAUNCHPAD is an annual 9-week intensive course as part of a research project of the Stanford Thailand Research Consortium, led by Charles Eesley, an associate professor at Stanford University. Last year, 65 teams were selected to join the program. This year, participants will gain access to the Tech Innovation & Entrepreneurship E-Learning course and mentorship session from experts in various industries. The program is a great opportunity for early stage startups to learn and connect to the right people in the industry. Click here for more detail about this program.

 

Beacon VC invests in T2P to strengthen KBank’s status, focusing on B2B2C e-wallet solutions

Posted on by beaconvcadmin

To strengthen the status of KASIKORNBANK (KBank), Beacon Venture Capital Company Limited (Beacon VC) has announced its investment in T2P– a leading fintech firm in financial solutions – in order to develop the e-wallet business under the B2B2C model (Business to Business to Consumer). The initiative will allow customers to have a seamless service experience throughout the ecosystem, from application to interbank transactions and payment – both incoming and outgoing – with cost effectiveness. The company aims to advance the e-wallet business in order to provide digital lending while also adding payment acceptance channels.

 

Mr. Thanapong Na Ranong, Beacon VC Managing Director, said, “The company’s investment policy focuses on scouting and supporting innovative startups with potential, with the aim of enhancing KBank services. We have lately conducted strategic investment in T2P Co., Ltd. – a renowned fintech firm with long experience in financial solutions targeting corporate customers under the B2B2C model.

 

The joint investment aims to bolster KBank’s strengths through the e-wallet business order to better serve its corporate customers. This move will leverage the Bank’s strengths in financial business thanks to a strong base of more than 20 million retail customers and financial technology structure, together with the expertise and capability of T2P teams in developing the system for business and financial data linkage, including incoming and outgoing payment, with the aim of creating a seamless service experience throughout the supply chain, from the application process to interbank transactions and money acceptance-payment at the most competitive management cost.”

 

T2P Co., Ltd. is a comprehensive provider of B2B2C financial service solutions such as payment system, funds transfer, and white label e-wallets for corporate customers to settle goods and services payments via numerous channels nationwide. Presently, T2P enjoys a growth rate of more than 70 percent. T2P’s platforms offer services to more than 30 leading corporate clients who have more than 9 million retail customer accounts.

 

Ms. Supaneewan Chutrakul, KBank Executive Vice President, said, “KBank has promoted the use of digital solutions in the development of financial services for corporate customers and customer networks throughout the supply chain.” Strategies in the development of financial solutions to create business opportunities under this joint venture comprise the following:

 

1. Development of B2B2C e–wallet to meet the needs of corporate clients of the Bank while also creating a satisfactory experience in conducting inter-bank and e-wallet transactions and in using products with more than 30 corporate clients of T2P, who have a retail customer base of more than 9 million accounts.

 

2. Development of API to link various financial services of KBank with B2B2C clients of the Bank via the white label e-wallet service, which is one of T2P’s strengths like top-up, payment and cash withdrawal services, thus allowing them to fully meet customers’ needs.

 

3. Adopting the technological structure of e–wallet to enhance the potential of advanced digital lending. The Bank is considering the adoption of T2P’s technology for controlling and monitoring spending transactions through designated channels and participating stores based on specific purposes, while also facilitating payments for outstanding loans.

 

Mr. Taweechai Pureetip, CEO and Founder of T2P Co. Ltd., said, “T2P has developed e-money platforms and solutions since 2011 to create comprehensive wallet platforms in response to financial and related transactions. The systems developed by the company are designed to integrate with the systems of partners, thus receiving great feedback from leading corporate clients. Additionally, the company aims to further develop more innovations and be a trusted partner in the payment ecosystem for corporations.”

 

This cooperative support from KBank through Beacon VC is another milestone that will strengthen the company’s technological development. The focus is to serve KBank’s corporate customers in offering their own large number of clients more convenient access to financial services of the new era. Moreover, this investment will enhance the company’s capability in coping with the rise of financial technology disruption by developing and expanding the company’s IT personnel to be ready for idea creation and innovations that are constantly changing.