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WeChat’s ban was lifted after it complied with Russia’s regulations

Russian telecom watchdog Roskomnadzor has lifted the ban on Chinese messaging giant WeChat, barely a week after it banned the app.

The ban was first initiated because WeChat did not comply with Russia’s regulations on internet management. WeChat’s developer Tencent had apparently failed to provide its contact details for Russia’s register of “organisers of information distribution on the internet.”

In its defence, Tencent cited it had a different understanding of the regulations, and promised to work closely with the authorities to resolve the issue.

While the ban does not affect Russians per se — since WeChat is still predominantly used by Chinese citizens — a prolonged censure of the app could potentially strain Russia-China business relations.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, there has been a sharp increase in Chinese tourists to Russia in recent years. It is estimated that Chinese tourists injected US$1 billion into Russia’s economy in 2015. Chinese businesses also set to pump about US$11 billion into Russian developments in the future, according to a report by the Financial Times.

Also Read: WeChat user and business ecosystem report 2017

With the restoration of access to WeChat, Tencent as well as Chinese citizens in Russia can collectively breathe a sigh of relief.

“Responding to Roskomnadzor’s requirements, WeChat International Pte Ltd has provided the information necessary for inclusion into the register of organisers of information distribution on the internet,” Roskomnadzor said.

Disaster averted.

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Image Credit: WeChat

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The free trade zone will surely bring opportunities, but SMEs will also need to be ready for 2019, as increased opportunities often come with increased competition

This article was originally published on ecommerceIQ as part of eIQ insights. 

A bit about Malaysia

Malaysia is one of Southeast Asia’s smallest nations, but that hasn’t affected its digital ambitions. In 2015, Malaysia’s ecommerce market was estimated at US$1 billion and is on equal footing with Singapore in terms of market size and developed infrastructure, which may explain why the nation’s ecommerce industry is expected to increase by 8X to US$8 billion within the next ten years.

It is no surprise then, that Alibaba recently announced the construction of a regional distribution hub (e-hub) that will act as a centralized customs clearance, warehousing and fulfillment facility for Malaysia and the Southeast Asian region in order to speed up clearance for imports and exports. The hub is set for a launch in 2019.

Out of the e-hub was born the Digital Free Trade Zone (DFTZ) – a joint initiative by Prime Minister Najib Razak and Alibaba Group to accelerate Malaysia’s digital roadmap that aims to double ecommerce growth from 10.8% to 20.8% by 2020.

What is the free trade zone?

In March 2017, Malaysia formally launched the Digital Free Trade Zone initiative at the Global Transformation Forum. This is the first digital global trade platform beyond China, and the Malaysian government believes that a collaboration with Jack Ma will increase SMEs’ contribution to the nation’s GDP, which currently stands at 37 per cent, despite 97 per cent of businesses in Malaysia currently being micro or SMEs.

The free trade zone is composed of three zones:

1. The satellite services will facilitate end-to-end support and knowledge sharing for companies targeting the Southeast Asian market.
2. The eFulfillment Hub will be connected to Hangzhou’s Cross-Border ecommerce pilot zone – Alibaba’s HQ – via Alibaba’s OneTouch platform. According to VulcanPost, it will digitise many of the trading operations like customs clearance, foreign exchange services, financing services and logistics solutions which will ease bilateral trade.
3. The eServices platform is virtual and will complement the satellite services and Ma’s e-hub by digitally connecting users with government and business services.

Through DFTZ, the purchase of goods via the Internet worth US$276 and below will be exempted from paying tax. Currently, goods worth US$115 and below purchased online were not subjected to tax.

But what does the free trade zone really mean?

The partnership between Jack Ma and the Malaysian government was born from Ma’s concept of providing SMEs the infrastructure and overcome difficulties involved in conducting global trade – namely clearance and inspections.

If successful, DFTZ has the potential to double the growth rate of Malaysian SMEs’ goods export and create 60,000 direct/indirect jobs by 2025.

It is also estimated to support US$65 billion worth of goods moving through DFTZ.

“The establishment of DFZ would stimulate the economy as it gives room for online traders to compete in a healthy environment. Locations of the businesses will no longer be a hindrance to traders. For instance, a trader in Kota Belud would have an equal opportunity to market or sell his items, as a trader from the Klang Valley,” said Abdul Rahman, Head of Economic Planning Unit.

Although it is currently too early to quantify the benefits of the digital free trade zone, analysts have predicted that its launch will be good for the logistics sector. More specifically, for Malaysia Airport Holdings (MAHB) and postal company Pos Malaysia’s subsidiary, KL Airport Services.

The heightened connectivity should propel the growth and development of ecommerce in the region, lower trade barriers and benefit local players due to increased opportunities.

However, it isn’t simple infrastructure that Malaysia is building.

In order to create a functional logistics ecosystem that can improve regional level trade, it requires collaboration from various parties, companies and more. The success of the digital free trade zone also depends on the rate of retail growth – both offline and online in Malaysia and the region because it will need to grow in tandem with the scale of the free trade zone itself.

To leverage from the initiative, smaller players and SMEs need to scale their businesses to ensure that they are ready to utilize the ecosystem.

As this is the first time the free trade zone has ventured out of China, it simply cannot be a copy and paste of what has worked in the past with Chinese SMEs. Smaller Southeast Asian companies currently need help in shaping their businesses, along with help in lowering trade barriers.

Although the free trade zone will surely bring opportunities, SMEs will also need to be ready for 2019, as increased opportunities often come with increased competition.

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When something is rare, it becomes more significant, and it creates thriving demand

People these days are fully into FOMO ( fear of missing out). Human tendency is astonishing with its powers and similarly baffling with their own set of limitations. The concept of shortage strategy in terms of conversion optimisation takes three things into consideration:

• Heuristic approach for app conversion potential;
• High obsession with data and testing;
• Profound understanding of human behavior.

When something is rare, it’s of higher significance and it creates thriving demand. If the same thing is in abundance — the demand vanishes like vapor. The shortage is basically an economic problem, which is related to the human needs in an era of limited resources.

Also read: Leveraging the on-demand economy: Lessons learned from Uber

The same rule applies to the application sector.  With the flood of apps, the era of shortage has disappeared long ago, which made the user engagement quite difficult for startups and developers. Thus the concept of shortage is one strategy use for driving sales. When it comes to gaming, it is the secret to monetisation. The fundamentals of scarcity include timing, desires, access, driving actions and availability. Let’s check out how shortage works to drive the users to mobile apps.

1. In the context of shopping apps

Creating a sense of extinction in the users will attract them to transact on a spontaneous basis. This specifically happens with shopping apps. When something is scarce, usesr have to make an immediate decision of buying, thus leading to more sales. This means lower cart abandonment — users will not leave their carts pending if they see a rare opportunity. This is very clearly depicted in the case of flash sales. Visitors can convert into buyers on the spot.

2. Limited edition

Offer the market with limited quantity — this will create a wave of rush among users, who want to get their hands on the product first. It’s win-win situation for you. When you create an illusion in the market about rarity, this will help increase the perceived value in the mind of consumers.

3. In the context of gaming apps

You might remember Pokemon Go. In its heyday, the app drove people crazy all across the globe. The reason was that it let users have the opportunity to search for some really rare Pokemon, which have astounding supernatural powers and which were really tricky to capture. Users were eager to catch these Pokemon, but they appeared only in specific zones. Catching them is also not that easy. These evoke curiosity in the users, who are then forced to invest their time to use this app.

4. Time limitations or barriers

There are apps that limit access time to devices. Take for instance screen-time limiting apps that parents use to control device usage by their kids. This creates some excitement and anxiety for its users, who will often keep watch until they can use the device again. It is the same with offering content on your applications — you can provide content for a limited time, or give users a deadline for access or buying.

5. In the context of dating apps

Tinder, along with other dating apps, makes optimum utilisation of the shortage strategy to gain user engagement. The basic function of Tinder is that you will need to swipe either left or right if you want to make a match. Well, well, well … hold your excitement as you are available with only limited number of right swipes, and this makes each right swipe very significant. To make usage even more engaging, you have to wait for a time period of 12 hours before getting the swipes restored. This will make the user obsessed with waiting for his or her next turn.

Also read: Tinder rules in Asia, but data shows it is fuelling competition

6. Deal of the day

Developers have to come up with different mobile app development tactics to keep users interested. Running a “deal of the day” is one such tricks, wherein apps can be offered for free or at a discount. These tactics attract old users into becoming loyal followers, and also invites new ones. This can also include a countdown feature, wherein users will be required to make rapid decisions.

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The views expressed here are of the author’s, and e27 may not necessarily subscribe to them. e27 invites members from Asia’s tech industry and startup community to share their honest opinions and expert knowledge with our readers. If you are interested in sharing your point of view, submit your post here.

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The Startup SG Founder programme provides capital and mentorship to first time entrepreneurs in Singapore

SPRING Singapore, under its Startup SG programme, announced today the 17 Accredited Mentor Partners (AMPs) that will mentor (and finance) first-time entrepreneurs in the city-state.

Under a programme called Startup SG Founder, SPRING will match S$3 (US$2.13) for every S$1 (US$0.70) raised by a new Founder. The scheme has a budget of S$20 million (US$14.1 million) and will work with the AMPs to tighten the relationship between the government and private sector.

It is the responsibility of the AMPs to identify startups that qualify for the Startup Founder scheme. The AMPs will then help the Founder with mentorship, networking and advice to flatten the learning curve.

The first batch of 17 AMPs does not mark the end of the search for more partners, according to Edwin Chow the Group Director for Industry & Enterprise/ Innovation & Startups at SPRING.

““In collaboration with our partner agencies, we have assembled the first batch of proven partners who are able, and willing, to mentor and accelerate the development of startups. We are looking for more partners with the right capabilities and networks to connect more players in the Singapore startup ecosystem to the world,” he said.

Also Read: Is Singapore tech ecosystem sustainable? Report shows half of startups operating at loss

If other private companies are interested in joining the programme, SPRING will be launching another ‘call for partners’ by the end of the year.

Let’s meet the 17 partners

The list of partners is a fairly diverse group. Three of the major Singapore universities are represented , the Action Community for Entrepreneurship will be a mentor and there are a host of VCs and incubators. The full list is below:

• Action Community For Entrepreneurship
• Advanced New Technology Incubator
• Focustech Ventures
• JCS Venture Lab
• NTUitive
• NUS Enterprise
• SMU IIE
• Quest Ventures
• Airmaker (Ria Venture Capital)
• TAGPASS (Singapore Innovate)
• Spaze Ventures
• The FinLab
• TNB Ventures
• Trendlines Medical
• Tri5 Ventures
• Velocity Accelerator
• Consortium appointment – Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Singapore Polytechnic, Temasek Polytechnic
  • This consortium will operate via Pollinate, a joint polytechnic incubator

Also Read: Rejecting global protectionism, Singapore government lowers barrier to entry for foreign startups

Startup SG Founder falls under a larger Startup SG umbrella that includes other programmes to help drive the growth of the digital economy.

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Copyright: yuliyapopova / 123RF Stock Photo

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Greta has developed an AI- and Machine Learning-powered software solution to improve load times, increases content quality whilst offloading servers to avoid network congestion

Intermittent website crashing is a headache that dogs online companies. E-commerce, news, and video streaming companies are probably the worst-hit when it comes to site crashing. This often means significant revenue loss and consumer churn, and it may even damage the brand.

As for large companies, they can afford to invest a few thousand dollars to enhance hardware in order to boost the performance of their site. It is the smaller startups, most of which are run on a shoestring budget, that always feel the pinch of site loading or crashing issues. While there are many content delivery/distribution networks (CDNs) in the market, most of them are out of the reach of small businesses.

Swedish startup Greta.io aims to bridge this gap with its software solution.The best part is that here the customer is not required to make any changes to the hardware or in the server. All the customer needs to do is make a few minor changes to the analytics script.

Also Read: Why website speed is a top priority for e-commerce

“The reason we started Greta.io was that we wanted to develop smarter solutions to distribute content with the end users’ experience in mind,” Anna Ottosson, Co-founder and CEO of Greta told e27. “We provide intelligent data routing that optimises content delivery. By analysing network data in real time, our algorithms calculates the most efficient way to deliver any content, including the opportunity to deliver the content by creating a decentralised distribution network out of concurrent users of a site. This improves load times, increases content quality whilst offloading servers to avoid network congestion.”

Greta was incorporated in 2015 by Ottosson (previously worked in the media industry), Dennis Mårtensson (previously built streaming technology), and Victor Ginsburg Müller (who comes from a design and UX background). Greta provides an alternative for developers and companies looking to improve their site performance. The benefits are faster load times for companies within e-commerce and news, and better quality as well as less buffering for streaming companies.

There are many CDNs available in the market, but they invest in physical servers that create a static server network. On the contrary, Greta.io is a software solution that optimises the infrastructure and calculates the most efficient way to route any content, which enables an improved end-user experience. The company leverages cutting-edge technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to minimise site crashing issues of its customers.

In her view, Greta often works as a complement rather than a substitute to traditional solutions such as CDNs, as its technology is compatible with any hosting and delivery solutions one already has in place. The way of implementing Greta is also different, as the implementation method has more in common with analytics scripts, such as Google Analytics. One can simply copy paste a script to get started.

The company is currently on course to launch a completely free edition of the technology, as “we want all developers and companies to have access to new technology that provides a better end-user experience.”

Although headquartered in Stockholm, Greta’s target market is Asia Pacific, especially India. “India is one of the markets with the most rapid increase in internet consumption, and at the same time the infrastructure is not improving fast enough to keep pace with the increase in data being distributed in the region. Southeast Asia by and large faces the same problem.”

Started a year ago, the startup has already on-boarded a few clients in the e-commerce, news and streaming industries, not just in Asia but other parts of the globe too.

An innovative startup, Greta has already attracted a few investors. Besides Berlin-based VC fund Blueyard Capital, angel investors such as Jan Erik Solem, Sophia Bendz, Jeremy Yap and Hampus Jakobsson have invested in the company. To date, Greta has raised US$1.4 million in total investment. While it is not looking for another round of inevstment soon, Ottosson says the startup would look to on-board a few Asian VCs to grow the company further in the geography.

A free-to-use solution as of now, the company plans to finance the free version by charging enterprises using its technology. “We’ve always been determined to make our technology accessible for developers and small companies, as access to technology and infrastructure enables innovation and growth.”

The CDN market in India only is expected to increase with 23 per cent CAGR in the next decade and is expected to be valued to over US$2 billion in 2025. The global CDN market is expected to increase to US$23 billion by 2021.

Image Credit: Greta.io

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US-based mobile gaming company Pocket Gems has only two games in its portfolio, Episode and War Dragon

Chinese internet giant Tencent has made a fresh injection of US$90 million into California-based mobile gaming company Pocket Gems, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.

Prior to this investment, Tencent had acquired a 20 per cent stake in Pocket Gems through participation in the company’s US$60 million Series B round back in 2015.

The new round boosts Tencent’s stake in the company to about 38 per cent, increasing Pocket Gems valuation to about US$500 million.

Pocket Gems said it will use the newly-raised capital to launch a new studio to develop “3D synchronous multiplayer mobile games for hardcore gamers” and expand communities for its two hit games, Episode and War Dragons. An official press release said that the new studio and a new title is expected to be launched by this year.

Also Read: Majority of China-listed gaming firms in the black of 2016

Pocket Gems said that Episode, its interactive storytelling platform has logged over 55,000 stories and 3 billion episodes viewed. Additionally, Episode has partnered with popular Hollywood franchises and celebrities like Mean Girls, Pretty Little Liars, and Demi Lovato to create engaging interactive stories. It also works with a community of 6 million creators to generate stories.

“We’re excited to build on our partnership with Tencent, whose unmatched strength in games will help us become one of the great developers of mobile games and interactive entertainment in the world,” said Ben Liu, CEO of Pocket Gems. “We’re still in the early days of mobile, and our pioneering team is eager to continue pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. The best is yet to come.”

Strengthening Tencent’s gaming arsenal

This new development comes as a natural extension of Tencent’s aggressive ongoing strategy to back and acquire successful mobile gaming companies. According to app analytics Sensor Tower, Pocket Gems bagged a revenue of US$17 million in the month of April.

Among Tencent’s most notable gaming deals is its Finland’s Supercell acquisition, which it bought for US$8.6 billion in 2016. And in 2011 it paid US$400 million for an acquisition in Riot Games, which developed the globally renowned e-sports game League of Legends.

Earlier this year, Tencent released its financial results for 2016, showing that its online game segment revenue rose 25 per cent to hit RMB70.84 billion (US$10 billion), representing 47 per cent of the Tencent’s 2016 revenue. This makes Tencent the highest earning gaming publisher in China.

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Image Credit: Pocket Gems

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The Future Food Asia Award aims to accelerate open innovation in agritech and foodtech across APAC, with the goal to catalyse and align an ecosystem to cope with the challenges of food

The Future Food Asia Award 2017, organised VC company Decitre Capital to showcase the best agritech and foodtech startups in the region, has announced the eight finalists. These startups will showcase their innovations at a mega event in Singapore on May 26.

Here is a sneak-peek at the eight finalists:

Agrint (Israel)

The startup has built a solution aimed against any tree borers and especially the red palm weevil, the most harmful and undetectable pest to palm and coconut trees worldwide. It has developed a low-cost and low-energy sensor, which can be installed on any tree and transmit early detection notifications as pests penetrate it.

Bethesda Scientific (Taiwan)

It has built a solution to protect rice seedlings from pests with minimal impact of the surrounding ecology. Its unique encapsulation technology allows for controlled release of the active agent over a prolonged period of time.

Also Read: Agritech is giving a globally vital industry a facelift, startups take centerstage

Biolight (Korea)

This firm manufactures veterinary medical devices that use visible light to increase immunity of animals, in particular livestock. The solution aims to increase productivity and maximise yield with minimal feed cost, feed additives and antibiotic injections.

DouxMatok (Israel)

The company provides targeted delivery of flavour ingredients, such as sugar and salt, enabling healthier consumption of foods without compromising taste. They offer sugar and salt reduction solutions, enabling use of 20-50 per cent less of these ingredients, while retaining identical taste and sensory profiles with no aftertastes.

Eruvaka (India)

An aquaculture IoT startup, Eruvaka has developed connected devices and mobile-based decision tools for affordable monitoring and automation of aquaculture farms. This significantly reduces cultivation risk and increases feed efficiency, while enabling higher stocking densities, delayed harvest, and increased profitability.

Also Read: Indian agritech startup AgroStar raises US$10M led by Accel Partners

FarmFriend (China)

This is the Uber of agricultural drone services. It has built a scheduling system to match farmers needing spraying services with drone pilots. In the long run, based on geographical and customer data collected, it aspires to offer customised farming services.

Smart AHC (Singapore)

Smart AHC provides e-traceability capabilities for pig farmers. Their technology optimises productivity yield of pigs through predictive analytics, and caters to a rapidly growing market — the market size of pork in China is more than twice that of its mobile phone market.

String Bio (India)

This applies a biological conversion process to convert methane gas to various value added products including single cell protein used for animal feed. String’s technology leverages advances in synthetic biology, fermentation technology, chemistry and process engineering to produce a reliable and cost-effective protein.

Image Credit: trexec / 123RF Stock Photo

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