 | | Emerging Economies | July 07, 2017 |
Dear Subscribers,
Welcoming you all to the freshly rebranded first edition of the "Emerging Economies" Techstars Startup Digest re-curated after Feb 6, 2015, keeping the great legacy of our first EE Digest Curator, Adam Stelle.
To introduce myself, my name is Anurag Maloo, and I am working with Techstars, as a Regional Manager (South & Central Asia) for Techstars Programs in Asia Pacific. As an active Indo-Asian startup innovation Community Architect, I'm incredibly passionate about working with entrepreneurs and community leaders in fostering entrepreneurship, grassroots leadership, and building collaborative startup communities to develop vibrant ecosystems in emerging Asian economies.
In this weekly EE digest, you can broadly expect the articles tagged in two broad categories of "Region" and "Topic". As per "Regions": There's no controversy-free agreement on how to break down Regions of the world (or, for that matter, what markets are "emerging"): Eastern Europe, Central Asia (e.g. Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, etc.), South Asia (e.g. India/ Pakistan/ SAARC), SE Asia, China, East Asia (e.g. Mongolia, etc), Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, etc.), Middle East, and Africa (both North- & Sub-Saharan-). For the purposes of this Digest, essentially all countries are fair game except: USA/ Canada, Western Europe, Israel, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia & New Zealand.
For topics, you can broadly expect the news related to startups, funding, innovation, technology, entrepreneurship community, notable startups, investments, startup trends, inspirational founder stories, ease of doing business, finance & taxation laws, growth and expansion, impact, scaling up, culture, diversity & inclusion, female founders, underrepresented entrepreneurs, marginalised communities, war & conflict zones, M&A, talent pool, community voices, recent collaborations, developments, opportunities & challenges in building entrepreneurial culture in Emerging Market Economies.
As much as I'm excited to curate this EE Digest, I would also like to interact with you and get more deeper understanding of this region together. If you've an amazing resource and want to see your resource in our next digest, I'd love to hear from you too. Submit it here.
Thank you!
Anurag | What Techstars Gave Me  Sometimes the most brilliant things start with a simple idea. To nurture it, you need a network, people, culture and experienced entrepreneurs that empower you. It's about becoming a part of something that is bigger than yourself, finding validation in your company and your team, and giving back. Over the past 10 years, Techstars has helped entrepreneurs succeed, working with founders around the world starting great companies. Listen to these founder stories about how they started and their Techstars experience. go.techstars.com/founderstories
| | Reuters - Reuters (China/ SE Asia, Investment) Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba Group Holding is investing an additional $1 billion in Southeast Asian online retailer Lazada Group, boosting its stake by nearly a third to 83% and amplifying its focus on the region. Alibaba's investment comes as its rivals JD.com expand operations in Southeast Asia and amid reports that Amazon is eyeing an entry into the region. | | Stacklist (India, Technology tools) India is an emerging economy that is home to over 19000 startups. These are some standout tools that startups should use worldwide, and they enable commerce with one of the world's largest economies. | | By Ali Leghari - Tech Juice (Pakistan, Technology) 5G is the fifth generation of cellular networking, enabling the mobile users to use the fast internet. Anusha Rahman, the State Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication, has stated that the country will become the first one to test the 5G network and its technology followed by being the first Asian to launch the same network at the end of the testing period in 2020. What's new on this news:
1. The 4G spectrum license sold for $295 million.
2. 10% advance tax from JAZZ Communications added to the bid price for a total of $300 million.
3. Broadband penetration has improved from 3% to 29%.
4. 5G is 40 times faster than 4G. | | Biswarup Gooptu - The Economic Times (India, FinTech, Equity Financing) Singapore and India based, emerging market-focused fintech startup has raised $3 million (about Rs. 20 crore) in a fresh round of equity financing, which has been led by the Innovations East fund. The three-year-old B2B startup will use the proceeds from the Series-B round of funding to further expand its presence, with a particular focus on Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. | | GALI - The Global Accelerator Learning Initiative - (Emerging Market Research Report) Because entrepreneurship is critical for economic growth and prosperity, policymakers are honing in on entrepreneur promotion and support as a vehicle for stimulating economic development in emerging markets. GALI has released it's second major report, "Understanding Acceleration in Emerging Markets" on the impact of acceleration on early stage ventures, written in collaboration with Deloitte, compares acceleration in emerging markets versus high-income countries. Examining data from more than 2,400 early stage ventures that applied to 43 programs, it finds more similarities between emerging market and high-income country entrepreneurs and accelerator programs than commonly believed. You can download the detailed report here.
| | By Jennifer Surane - Bloomberg (Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and Latin America, Funding round) Quona Capital Management Ltd. raised $141 million for the Accion Frontier Inclusion Fund, which will invest in companies that provide financial and other services to underserved customers in emerging markets. JPMorgan Chase & Co., Mastercard Inc., AXA Impact Fund, Prudential Financial Inc. and MetLife Inc. are among investors in the fund, which will focus on Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and Latin America. The venture will invest in technology, distribution and financial-services businesses. | | Alex Veiga, The Associated Press - USA Today (Emerging Market, Funding & Investment) Investors have been betting heavily on emerging markets stocks in 2017, and the strategy appears to be paying off. Fund investors are piling in. Through the first four months of this year, net flows into emerging market U.S. funds totaled $26.17 billion, according to Morningstar.
Why such a focus on emerging markets funds? Semple, portfolio manager for the VanEck Emerging Markets Fund (GBFAX), points to a couple of factors: Better-than-expected earnings from companies in developing nations and the prospect of higher short-term interest rates, which traditionally has been a precursor to better growth.
| Now Hiring - Techstars Regional Manager, Europe!  Do you want to play a vital role in growing local, national, and regional startup communities? Have you always wanted to work with amazing, passionate, dedicated people from different cultures and backgrounds? As a Regional Manager, you will be joining the EMEA Community Programs team at Techstars in a role responsible for the cultivation and sustained growth of vibrant startup ecosystems. You will specifically be focused on working closely with and supporting local event organizers and community members in the implementation of Techstars Community Programs such as Startup Weekend, Startup Week, Startup Digest, Community Summits and more.
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