13 Southeast Asian startups receive accolades at the ASEAN Rice Bowl Startup Awards 2019

THE ASEAN Rice Bowl Startup Awards (Rice Bowl) has returned for another year of celebrating excellent start-ups within the ASEAN region. 13 leading ASEAN startups were named category winners at the 5th ASEAN Rice Bowl Startup Awards (Rice Bowl) ceremony today with Singapore startup, Youtrip selected as the winner of Startup of the Year award. The award ceremony graced by Deputy Minister of Entrepreneur Development (MED), YB Datuk Wira Dr. Mohd Hatta Md Ramli at Sasana Kijang, Bank Negara Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur.

“This year, we work together with various partners to ensure the program a success. We collaborate with more than 50 ecosystem players, community leaders and supporters across South East Asia countries. Some play the roles as Ambassador to promote the spirit of Rice Bowl, some step up and hosted the event in their home country or lead the way as Rice Bowl Country Partners.” said Chairman of the ASEAN Rice Bowl Startup Awards and CEO of New Entrepreneurs Foundation (myNEF), Hamdi Mokhtar.

Organised by myNEF since 2015, the ASEAN Rice Bowl Startup Awards celebrates the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship in the Southeast Asian startup ecosystem. It also aims to increase the region’s visibility as a vibrant global hub for innovation and celebrate the startup ecosystem instrumental in driving that progress.

The Rice Bowl is part of the Global circuit that recognises startup eco-systems worldwide. Other circuits include the Nordics, Central Europe and Southern Africa. With the global partnership, Rice Bowl startups are given a clear path – from their home country to the global stage.

In 2019, a total of 3,000 entries were received from 10 countries across ASEAN. A panel of over 30 juries from across the globe comprising of entrepreneurs, investors, business advisors and coaches, media and startup development organisation, then evaluated the entries in 3 broad areas: actual and potential growth, scalability and impact.

“Amongst the benefit for nominees and finalists are Digital Ocean’s Cloud Credits and upskilling training from the world’s leading universities sponsored by DigitalEdu.Today total worth USD1.1 million. “ he added.

Winners of ASEAN Rice Bowl Awards 2019

(MALAYSIA)

- Established in June 2014, EasyParcel was formed with a mission in mind - that is to provide a simplified shipping platform where businesses could book any manner of consignment for delivery at prices they couldn't achieve themselves. More than 421,819 SMEs and users in Malaysia are using EasyParcel. Our platform allows you to book for delivery from more than 60 established courier companies in Malaysia and of course, at an affordable rate from RM5.50 up to 5kg.

Website: http://easyparcel.com/

2- Best Life Helper

(THAILAND)

- Fixzy is a tool that helps people who need help and home service providers have found each other easily, with quality, convenient and help increase the way to find more jobs for home service providers

Website: https://www.fixzy.net/en/home-en/

3- Best FoodTech/AgriTech Startup

(MYANMAR)

- Village Link Company Limited is a Myanmar based Agri-Tech company that prides itself in enabling Myanmar’s agricultural and rural communities by using mobile technology. Village Link provides farmers the most valuable information, services and products. Harnessing the unique, high literacy levels, connectivity, device penetration and coupled with partnerships with leading Myanmar organizations like the Myanma Awba Group, Myanmar Information and Technology and the Netherland Space Office’s Geo-data for Weather and Agriculture program, Village Link has been able to provide highly relevant utility to its audiences. Village Link, today has built trust with more than 400K farmers in Myanmar and provides solutions to all of their farming knowledge and needs.

Website: http://villagelink.co/

4- Best IoT Startup

(INDONESIA)

Qlue is a technology startup that works to empower smart cities through a safety and security solutions. We provide governments and enterprises with live, actionable insights based on data collected using IoT and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technologies.

Website: https://www.qlue.co.id/

5- Best AI/Machine Learning Startup

(INDONESIA)

- Kata.ai is an Indonesian conversational Artificial Intelligence company, focused on understanding human conversation so we can empower the way humans collaborate with technology. Kata.ai’s Natural Language Processing (NLP) technology powers multi-purpose chatbots for major corporations in Indonesia across different industries, including FMCG, Telecommunication, Banking & Financial Service, and Retail.

Website: https://kata.ai

6- Best Fintech Startup

(SINGAPORE)

- YouTrip is Singapore’s first multi-currency mobile wallet with a prepaid Mastercard® that lets you pay with no fees in 150+ currencies at wholesale exchange rates. The mobile application also allows for the exchange and storage of 10 selected currencies in advance through the in-app exchange feature. The YouTrip mobile application works with a linked pre-paid Mastercard® and can be used to make payments at more than 30 million Mastercard accepting merchants worldwide.

Website: https://www.you.co

STAR AWARDS

7- Startup Of The Year

YOUTRIP

(SINGAPORE)

- YouTrip is Singapore’s first multi-currency mobile wallet with a prepaid Mastercard® that lets you pay with no fees in 150+ currencies at wholesale exchange rates. The mobile application also allows for the exchange and storage of 10 selected currencies in advance through the in-app exchange feature. The YouTrip mobile application works with a linked pre-paid Mastercard® and can be used to make payments at more than 30 million Mastercard accepting merchants worldwide.

Website: https://www.you.co

8- Founder Of The Year

(CAMBODIA)

- Argibuddy Ltd. was established in 2015 and was registered in 2016 in order to fill the gaps of the farming industry in South East Asian region. Our mission is to help farmers through the financial services facilitation - We are the aggregators of the agriculture supply chain from the early stage of cultivation to crops trading. Agribuddy is a platform that revitalizes the distribution of agri-inputs and harvested crops by introducing secured financial supported by our own technology-based applications.

Website: https://www.agribuddy.com

9- Best Newcomer

(VIETNAM)

- TEKY was born to empower the next generations in South East Asia with digital literacy and technology skills beyond the threats in the 4.0 industrial revolution with Robot, AI and other technology, and help them to seize the opportunities. Our vision is to become the No.1 in STEAM education across South East Asia region in term of the number of training centers and and integrated with edutech solutions.

Website: https://WWW.TEKY.EDU.VN

10- People Choice

(INDONESIA)

- BIG Agent is On-Demand Business Platform, empowering people and business with the best technology.

Website: https://www.big-agent.com

ECOSYSTEM AWARDS

(MALAYSIA)

- Gobi Partners is one of the first venture capital firms with a regional presence across China, Hong Kong, and ASEAN with over US$1.1 billion in assets under management (AUM). The firm, headquartered in Shanghai and Kuala Lumpur, supports entrepreneurs from the early to growth stages and focuses on emerging and underserved markets. Founded in 2002, Gobi has raised 13 funds to date, invested in over 250 startups, and has grown to ten offices across Bangkok, Beijing, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Shanghai, Singapore and Tokyo.

Website: http://www.gobivc.com/

12- Best Coworking Space

(MALAYSIA)

- Common Ground is a flexible and focused coworking community where we break down traditional office spaces to bring people, ambition, and resources together. Beyond the workspace, you’ll find an ecosystem of diverse resources and ideas, a multitude of events and partnerships, and a web of powerful business networks. Together, this synergy - cushioned by the exceptional facilities offered by our space - becomes the platform to drive your business forward. From part-time freelancers looking for hot desks to small businesses searching for private offices - or even enterprises seeking out full-fledged HQ’s - we provide the resources to ensure you get your best work done. Make the membership work for you.

Website: www.commonground.work

13- Best Accelerator or Incubator Program

(MALAYSIA)

- Established in 2012, 1337 Ventures is Malaysia’s first accelerator. Pioneering the Design Thinking Methodology and Design Sprints in Malaysia, 1337 Ventures has utilised its learning to accelerate over 500 startups from 6 different countries. 1337 Ventures has launched accelerators for MNCs and GLCs such as Bank Negara Malaysia, Khazanah Nasional, Telekom, Digi, MDEC, CIMB and Maybank, to name a few. Also as a Venture Capital, 1337 Ventures has invested over MYR $2 million into early stage startups, with follow up funding of over 15x in returns with several exits. Most recently, 1337 Ventures is proud to be one of the only three new recipients of the Equity Crowdfunding license from the Securities Commission.

Website: http://www.1337accelerator.com/