Also, Printerous to expand regionally, Vertiv Academy opens in Singapore

Vietnam-based fintech firm Finhay raises US$1M from Insignia Ventures Partner [Viet Nam News]

Finhay, a Vietnamese fintech firm that allows customers to invest as little as VNĐ50,000 (slightly more than US$2), announced that it has raised nearly US$1 million from Singapore-based Insignia Venture Partners and other investors.

“With new capital of nearly US$1 million, Finhay will focus on user growth this year as well as looking for talent to join the team,” Finhay’s founder and CEO Nghiêm Xuân Huy shared in official statement published by Viet Nam News.

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Finhay was established in 2017 as a micro-investment platform targeted at millennials. It allows customers to start investing with as little as VNĐ50,000, or slightly more than US$2, in mutual funds in Việt Nam upon Finhay’s investment portfolio and related risk assessment recommendation based on the applicants’ information.

Besides the main investor Insignia Venture Partners, Finhay also received seed round investment funds from Hong Kong and the US.

Indonesia’s Printerous to expand regionally this year [Press Release]

With the official announcement of its revenue increase that hit over 300 per cent last year, Indonesia’s online printing platform Printerous shares its plan to expand to other regions in Southeast Asia within this year.

Printerous said that it aims to focus on B2B market, as 98 per cent of the total transactions were contributed by B2B segments.

“Printing demand from B2B segments has increased significantly, thus we do lots of development to provide real solution through e-commerce and e-procurement,” said Kevin Osmond, Founder and CEO of Printerous

Some of the products that Printerous provided for B2B are packaging printing, marketing materials, and office supplies. It currently serves micro and small businesses.

Vertiv Academy expands to Southeast Asia through its first training facility in Singapore [Channel Asia Singapore]

Vertiv Academy has opened up its first training facility in Singapore, bring aboard the mission to equip channel partners, customers and engineers with the technical know-how to properly and effectively manage critical infrastructure.

“With the comprehensive course offerings of the Vertiv Academy, customers and partners attending our trainings will develop the technical agility to allow them to respond to any business challenges,” said Chris Mandahl, vice president for service of Asia at Vertiv.

Vertiv Academy is located at New Tech Park in Singapore. It will be tailored for partners or customers who have purchased Vertiv solutions, with customisable classes that have a mix of both classroom time and practical exercises, as well as a comprehensive safety overview.

In Asia, other Vertiv Academy locations are in Sydney, Australia and Shenzhen, China.

Singapore sets up US$72M training fund for “smarter” processes [The Straits Times]

In a bid to establish a building industry that’s no longer labour-intensive and more about “smarter” process, Singapore has set up US$72 million funding, officially announced by National Development Minister Lawrence Wong yesterday.

The funds are said to go towards boosting skills in the building sector, including financing existing scholarship and sponsorship programmes for students and adults. The funds itself have been earmarked from June last year to May 2020, expected to benefit 118,000 locals working in the construction industry as well as architects and facility managers.

Minister Wong noted that venture funding in building technology is growing and traditional firms are starting to do more to transform how they build, picking up new capabilities in automation, prefabrication, and digital building and design methods.

“Our people are at the heart of this transformation journey. How far we go depends on the quality of the people we have,” added Minister Wong, who was speaking at an iBuildSG scholarship ceremony at the National University of Singapore.

The $72 million fund will support an enhanced iBuildSG Scholarship and Sponsorship programme for those seeking academic qualifications in a full-time undergraduate, diploma or Institute of Technical Education track.

All those awarded scholarships and sponsorship will now receive a $3,000 training grant to boost their skills and competencies through courses. They will also be encouraged to stay on in the industry with a $7,000 retention incentive one year after their bond ends.

First-in-the-region Tourism Lab and Tourism Development Fund for Sustainability set up in Bali, Indonesia [Press Release]

A partnership of World Economic Forum Global Shapers Denpasar Hub and Five Pillar Foundation with the strategic support of Mayor Office of Denpasar, Indonesia Creative Cities Network (ICCN), Bali Tourism Board, University of Udayana, and Kumpul Coworking Space hosted the first regional industry design jam by Public Private Partnership by Youth (“PPP by Youth”) themed as “Bali Beyond Tourism” on January 12 – 17, 2019 in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia.

The program gathered 120 guests and delegates from 29 cities in Asia with notable guest speakers include The Honorable Ida Bagus Rai Dharmawijaya Mantra, Mayor of Denpasar, Mr. Maxwell Nie, Doctor of Urban Design of Harvard Graduate School of Design, Ms. Faye Alund, Founder of Kumpul, Mr. Agus Teja Sentosa (Gus Teja), world-class Balinese flute class music performer, Ms. Ni Komang Ayu Suriani, Curator of Global Shapers Denpasar Hub and Mr. Shadman Sadab, CEO of Future City Summit.

An intensive industry design jam was carried out by 18 regional teams with 4 scenarios of tourism industry, including segments of urban design, eco-tourism, tourism financing and policy innovation. The event aims to explore how to make Bali become beyond tourism, tackling multiple issues in the industry from water crisis, plastic waste, culture degradation, urban design, and many else.

The preliminary Memorandum of Understanding was signed with 18 cohorts of public and private sectors from 10 countries in Asia including Indonesia, Mainland China and Hong Kong, Pakistan, India, Sudan (Africa), Sri Lanka, Uzbekistan, Malaysia, and so on to encourage the economic sustainability and development of Denpasar city, with the government committing to bringing forth innovation and design of the city through Creative Economy Committee of Denpasar. Public Private Partnership (PPP) via the founding of Tourism Lab.

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Tourism Lab is to establish pipelines of tourism companies and project among the connected cities towards Bali tourism, which would be assessed by the committee to be formed.

“Startups are early stage business that seeks to disrupt the market with innovation – and that is exactly how startups can play a role in the Tourism sector, by bringing in new perspective, ideas and inevitably changing the behavior of the industry,” said Faye Alund, CEO & Co-founder KUMPUL Coworking

As for the setting of Tourism Fund, it aims to aggregate financing resource from Hong Kong and Indonesia to provide development financing to potential projects and innovation of tourism for proper growth and development. “It will lead to groom the next unicorn of tourism in the region,“ said Zaki Yamani, Founder of 1001Teras and City Partner (Indonesia), Future City Summit.
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Image Credit: Printerous

The post Today’s top tech news, January 23, 2019: Vietnam’s fintech firm Finhay secures US$1M funding from Insignia Ventures Partner appeared first on e27.