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ZA Tech Global, the Technology Initiative Backed by Softbank Vision Fund I, Launches Asia Fintech Center

ZA Tech Global Limited, the technology venture established by ZA International and supported by Softbank’s Vision Fund 1, revealed on Friday (April 9, 2021) that it’s launching its Asia Fintech Center (AFC) in Singapore. The new center will focus on financial services innovation projects and it will also assist industry participants in the region so they can develop new products that will accelerate their digital transformation strategies.

The AFC launch is reportedly a global first for ZA Tech, as the business increases its focus on supporting the vision of providing a unified tech platform that aims to support the future of financial services and offer access to underserved consumers.

The Singapore-headquartered Center will aim to address specific use-cases in insurance and the financial services sector with assistance from industry partners. It will initially work on various insurance use-cases by co-developing innovative projects with ASEAN region-based insurance service providers. It will also work with local academic institutions or universities to develop appropriate Fintech-related expertise and talent.

Bill Song, CEO of ZA Tech, stated:

“We partner with industry players to strive to boldly redefine financial services, and the AFC is an important pillar of making that happen. As we have entered 2021, the year the internet economy continues to rapidly reshape consumer expectations across Asia, digital transformation is becoming as crucial as ever for financial services firms. AFC will bring together technology, talent and partner network to build innovative propositions that fit closely with the evolving customer expectations across both online and O2O and to help financial services prepare for the next chapter of the digital revolution.”

George Kesselman, Head of Commercial for ZA Tech, remarked:

“I am incredibly proud of the work that the team is doing with our partners in the region. AFC will allow us to bring collaboration to the next level by launching new innovative use-cases and enable rapid product-market fit testing and iteration. Southeast Asia is the major epicentre of financial services transformation. We strongly believe that Singapore, as the hub of innovation and talent in the region with its innovation friendly environment and forward oriented regulator Monetary Authority of Singapore, provides the perfect location to launch and scale fintech innovation across Southeast Asia.”

ZA Tech is the tech platform for ZA International that focuses on expanding its global operations by teaming up with major internet firms and financial services companies based in Southeast Asia, Japan and Europe. ZA Tech offers technical solutions and professional services as well.

ZA Tech aims to digitally transform the insurance sector by working with several different customer technology platforms. It’s focused on creating innovative insurance solutions while offering the digital core system to insurers as the infrastructure for their distribution.

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And the Award Goes To… Our 2021 Global Fast Track Entrepreneurs

This year marks the five-year anniversary of the Global Fast Track Program in China, and to commemorate the successes of our program members, we held the Indiegogo 2021 GOGO Innovation Summit & Awards in Shenzhen, where we heard from thought leaders in the field and handed out Innovation Awards to the top campaigns of the year. Here’s how the 2021 GOGO Innovation Summit unfolded.

Dramatic campaign successes in 2020

Over the past year, we’ve seen incredible successes coming out of China from our Global Fast Track Program entrepreneurs. China-based campaigners of all types have used Indiegogo, —  China’s number one crowdfunding platform — to kick off their product journey and launch on the global stage. 

Global Fast Track Program campaigns have raised over $300 million (2 billion RMB) since the program’s inception, and 40 companies have gone on to raise at least $1 million (6.5 million RMB) for their products. The program also saw 40% year-over-year growth in China in 2020, a formidable achievement during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Many of Asia’s biggest brands have been behind these launches, introducing products, building communities, and getting feedback from backers in the global market. These brands include:

  • Midea, one of China’s largest home appliance companies, which launched their first crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo and raised over $1.5 million, opening their global market and a building global community
  • Huami Amazfit, a leading tech brand from the Xiaomi Ecosystem, which launched their first two crowdfunding products on Indiegogo in 2020 (here and here), successfully kicking off their new health and fitness product line
  • Segway-Ninebot, famous for their scooters, has launched several products on Indiegogo and successfully IPO’ed in 2020

The 2021 GOGO Innovation Summit 

Representatives from Midea, Segway-Ninebot, Padmat, and CIGA discuss what it takes to bring high-quality and innovative products to an international audience.

The event was the first of its kind since the launch of the Global Fast Track Program in 2016 and included panelists and speaking opportunities from some of China’s leading voices in crowdfunding and cross-border product launches.

Jean Li, China Hardware Lead at Indiegogo, kicked things off, sharing success stories from entrepreneurs who have successfully gained support from backers and have built a global community by launching their products on Indiegogo.

The Indiegogo China Team is here to help China’s top innovative products launch in global markets. 

E-commerce experts from Google, Amazon, and Tuya, also shared trends that have emerged during the pandemic in the realms of product development, customer behavior, and e-commerce opportunities. A second panel took the stage as well, where representatives from Midea, Segway-Ninebot, Padmat, and CIGA discussed what it takes to bring high-quality and innovative products to an international audience.

The summit wrapped up with a speech from Global OneClick, a top crowdfunding agency that specializes in the Chinese market, to share how crowdfunding can help build brands in the global market.

The 2021 Innovation Awards

This year’s recipients show off their 2021 Innovation Awards.

To honor outstanding campaigns in the China Fast Track Program over the last year, we also handed out our annual Innovation Awards. We evaluated all campaigns in the China Fast Track Program, and the following came out on top:

  • Best campaign of the year: Midea U-Shaped AC
    • Midea is the top home appliance company in China. They launched their new U-Shaped AC unit on Indiegogo, raising over $1.5 million in just a few weeks. The Midea U-Shaped AC unique is a radically new type of window air conditioner. Unlike traditional units, the U-shaped design blocks noise and allows users to open and close their windows around the unit itself.
  • Best New Campaign: Bluetti AC200
    • First-time crowdfunders Bluetti launched their AC200 solar power station on Indiegogo last year, and raised $6.7 million from backers all around the world. Bluetti’s mission to create a stable, clean, and quiet power set them apart from the competition.
  • Most Valuable Brand: GPD
    • GPD has launched at least one product on Indiegogo every year since 2016, to date bringing over 10 campaigns to market. The company focuses on handheld game consoles and has built outstanding relationships with the Indiegogo backer community. Their most recent campaign, the GPD WIN3, raised over $3 million. 
  • Community Favorite Award: Amazfit X
    • We asked our community to pick their favorite campaign in the China Fast Track Program and Amazift X, the world’s first fully curved smart watch, is this year’s crowd pleaser!
  • Best Crowdfunding Service Award: Global OneClick
    • Global OneClick has helped many campaigns in the China Fast Track Program achieve their crowdfunding goals. Many of the campaigns they’ve assisted went on to raise over $1 million, and for that, they receive the honor of the Best Crowdfunding Service Award.

Other awardees included:

Interested in learning more about the Global Fast Track Program? We’re here to help China’s top innovative products launch in global markets. Read more here to see if your project is the right fit.

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Coinbase’s first quarter revenue hits record $1.8B ahead of its Nasdaq listing

Coinbase has announced impressive first quarter results one week before the exchange’s direct listing on the Nasdaq, estimating that trading volume is up 276% and quarterly revenue has hit $1.8 billion.

The bountiful revenue, revealed in the company’s Q1 earnings call, dwarf its $190 million revenue from the same time last year with the company attributing a portion of this explosive growth to Bitcoin’s bull market.

The U.S exchange estimated net income between $730 million and $800 million and an EBIDTA of approximately $1.1 billion.

The bull market has also seen monthly active users grow to more than six million users, up from 1.3 million in the first quarter, with crypto assets on the platform rising 1200% year-on-year from $17 billion to $223 billion.

The U.S.-based exchange’s CEO Alesia Haas said:

“We have seen all time high crypto prices drive elevated levels of user activity and trading volume on our platform.”

Boasting 56 million verified users, Haas suggested that active monthly users could rise to seven million at most this year, although he warned this could drop to four million if a bear market hits this year.

The company is spending big to acquire new customers. Following next week’s listing, Coinbase intends to increase its sales and marketing expenditure to between 12% and 15% of this year’s net revenue in an effort to drive “meaningful growth in 2021.”

“Looking to full year 2021, in order to scale our operations and to continue to drive product innovation, we expect our technology and development expenses and our general and administrative expenses to be between $1.3 billion to $1.6 billion, excluding stock-based compensation, in 2021.”

The report results are preliminary and unaudited, however, the exchange wanted to release a detailed report prior to the Nasdaq listing set for April 14. The company will register nearly 115 million shares of Class A common stock, under the ticker symbol COIN. As a direct listing, the exchange won’t be selling new stock and can only register existing stock, allowing existing stakeholders to sell their shares to new investors.

Coinbase has received multiple valuations ranging from $68 billion based on private market transactions to more than $120 billion.

Investment research firm New Constructs CEO David Trainer had his doubts about the lofty expectations. “Coinbase’s expected valuation of roughly $100 billion is far too high,” he said in a note to clients Monday.

“It’s hard to make a straight-faced argument that the firm can justify the lofty expectations baked into its valuation given increasing competition in a mature cryptocurrency trading market and the lack of sustainability in its current market share and margins.”

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried took to Twitter to congratulate Coinbase on its impressive quarterly figures and upcoming IPO listing, and compared it to his own, much newer exchange’s figures.

Coinbase\’s first quarter revenue hits record $1.8B ahead of its Nasdaq listing

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Celebrate Earth Day With Crowdfunding Changemakers

We’re turning Earth Day 2021 into a whole week of events at Indiegogo! That’s because Earth Day is kind of a big deal around here. Know why? Because Indiegogo is your go-to hub for green innovation and technology. Since our inception, Indiegogo has been home to hundreds of campaigns that aim at saving the planet, whether they be for solar panels, plastic-free products, or alternative transport. 

But recently, green campaigns have become a cornerstone of crowdfunding. In 2020, support for green campaigns grew nearly 900% as compared to the previous year. That’s incredible! Thanks to backers like you, earth-friendly tech is helping to make the world a better place.

That’s why we’re excited to bring back our popular Virtual Hangouts for a very special series taking place the entire week of Earth Day. You’ll hear from changemakers, entrepreneurs, and creators on the future of green tech, sustainable fashion, and more via live Zoom roundtables and fireside chats. Catch the details on all the sessions below! 

Click here to sign up! Each session is free and when you register you’ll get a link you can use to join the live session. 

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Electric Transportation: E-Bikes, Marketing Capital, and a $1.3M Crowdfunding Campaign with Clearbanc

Date: 4/20 at 12pm PT

RSVP here

Changemakers in Fashion: Making Style Sustainable and Circular

Date: 4/21 at 8 AM PT

RSVP here

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Real Talk: The Perils of Greenwashing in Crowdfunding

Date: 4/21 at 11 AM PT

RSVP here

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Crowdfunding for Environmental Impact

Date: 4/22 at 10am PT

RSVP here

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The Future of Green Tech with Arrow Electronics

Date: 4/22 at 12pm PT

RSVP here

Ready to celebrate Earth Day with crowdfunding changemakers? Click here to RSVP for our Virtual Hangouts today! Each session is free and when you register you’ll get a link you can use to join the live session.

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Digital Banking: Reserve Bank in the Philippines Is working on Virtual Bank Framework to Enable Greater Financial Inclusion

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the central bank of the Philippines, is reportedly looking into adopting a virtual banking framework so that it may be leveraged to enable greater financial inclusion.

The new digital banking guidelines are being developed to support a regulatory environment that promotes responsible innovation. The new rules will also aim to support cyber or online resilience while enabling the ongoing digital transformation of the financial services industry.

Introduced in December 2020, BSP’s “Guidelines on Establishment of Digital Banks” states that a virtual bank is a financial organization or entity that may be categorized as a bank, providing financial products that are delivered end-to-end via an all-digital platform with no physical branch locations.

Digital banking platforms are expected or required to maintain proper digital governance while offering secure, robust, and resilient tech infrastructure, according to the announcement. Proper data management strategies and related best practices are also expected of these new financial services providers.

Digital banks must also adhere to the same set of applicable requirements as other banking solution providers. These guidelines include maintaining proper corporate governance structures, appropriate risk management policies, compliance, internal control and audit procedures, and reporting governance practices.

During his speech at the recently-held SAP Virtual Roundtable discussion, Benjamin E. Diokno, Governor of BSP, said that for the Philippines, “digital banking or digital finance in general as a strategy is not so much about being ahead of the curve.” Instead, it’s “more about capitalizing on its gains to bring about a more inclusive financial ecosystem.” he added.

It’s worth noting that other Asian countries like Pakistan are working on their own digital banking regulatory guidelines. In a manner that’s somewhat similar to the Philippines, Pakistan is also looking to leverage virtual banking solutions in order to enable financial inclusion and bring more people into the formal economy.

The Southeast Asia region, in general, has been increasingly adopting digital banking and modern Fintech solutions, which is a trend that has really accelerated following the COVID-19 outbreak.

Countries throughout Southeast Asia such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, and Vietnam are investing considerable resources into their financial services sector.

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