Also, Microsoft Co-founder Paul Allen passes away at 65, NETS launches PayCollect, and more

Grab aims to improve transport safety standards – [press release]

Southeast Asia ride-hailing giant Grab has launched a roadmap to improve transport safety standards in the region through cooperations with several government agencies.

In Cambodia, it will sponsor helmets, reflective stickers and host co-branding activities to help raise public awareness of road safety. It will also conduct road safety education campaigns to increase knowledge on safe driving behaviours.

In Myanmar, Grab will help launch a series of road safety trainings for all two-wheel and three-wheel Grab driver-partners in Mandalay.

In the Philippines, Grab will help to strengthen safety processes and standards for drug prevention, accident and criminal response when using transport network vehicle services (TNVS).

Grab also aims to create a pool of driver safety ambassadors that will act as the first responders during major accidents and calamities involving TNVS. A safety guide and first aid kits will also be placed in Grab vehicles to educate passengers on safety tips and proper escalation protocols during accidents.

In Singapore, Grab is partnering with the Health Promotion Board (HPB) to improve health and occupational safety among drivers and delivery-partners through free comprehensive health screening and regular health coaching sessions by HPB.

The Traffic Police will also be educating Grab drivers and delivery-partners on road safety, while the Ministry of Health will equip them with essential first aid skills.

And finally, in Thailand, Grab will roll out a series of initiatives to raise awareness and prevent violence against all women and girls as they commute in the city.

Microsoft Co-founder Paul Allen passes away at 65 – [press release]

Microsoft Co-founder Paul Allen has passed away at the age of 65. The cause was from complications of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, his family said in a statement today.

Allen founded Microsoft with Bill Gates in 1975. Together, they built an operating system for IBM called the Microsoft Disk Operating System (or more famously known as MS-DOS). This piece of software would revolutionise the computing industry and supercharge the proliferation of personal computers.

Allen left Microsoft in 1982 after contracting non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He remained on the board of directors until 2000.

NETS launches PayCollect app for businesses – [press release]

Singapore’s largest cashless payment gateway NETS has launched PayCollect, a new service that allows businesses to issue invoices and collect payments electronically, thus improving their cash flow management.

Also Read: Singapore government sees collaborative systems as key to its future

With PayCollect, billing organisations can send e-invoices to their customers as a request-to-pay notification via SMS/email, for payment using DBS, OCBC, UOB or NETSPay mobile apps.

After receiving the e-invoice, consumers can choose to pay by clicking on a link within the notification and be directed to a secure payment page for confirmation.

Entrepreneur First launches in Bangalore – [press release]

Entrepreneur First, a deep tech company builder, has launched its platform in Bangalore. The Indian city marks EF’s third location in Asia, following Singapore and Hong Kong.

EF will invest around US$55,000 in the companies developed during the bi-annual programme, while also providing cohort members with a monthly stipend of US$2,000 as they develop business ideas in the first three months.

“Bangalore is well-known for its brilliant tech talent and entrepreneurial spirit. With our emphasis on deep tech, we are truly excited about the possibilities in India and believe that the talent pool here is ripe to create some of the world’s next biggest and most important companies,” said Anne Marie Droste, EF Global Expansion Director.

Singapore’s Get raises US$2.5 million in round led by Vertex Ventures – [e27]

Get, an online platform that facilitates payments for university clubs and societies, has secured US$2.5 million in a new funding round, led by Vertex Ventures, the VC arm of Temasek Holdings. Existing investor Click Ventures also joined the round.

Launched in 2016 by 23-year-old Daniel Liang, Get is a campus social ticketing app that enables students to easily purchase event tickets, merchandise and club memberships. As per a press statement, the app is being used by more than 400 organisations and institutions, with over 220,000 members across Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong.

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