Just 3 days ago, Mobike was reported to have made an application to the Land Transport Authority of Singapore (LTA) to surrender its bike-sharing license.

If granted, the Chinese firm would need to conduct a “proper exit”, which includes removing all bikes from public places and providing refunds for user deposits and pre-paid credits.

Fellow Chinese bike-sharing firm ofo also made the headlines earlier this year, when LTA suspended its bike-sharing license.

In a statement released by LTA, ofo had “breached multiple regulatory requirements” despite being given “an ample preparation period”.

One of this was having more than the maximum allowed 10,000 bicycles at public places in Singapore.

On 14 February, LTA officially suspended ofo’s operating license, and ordered the firm to remove all its bicycles by 13 March.

LTA added that ofo “should be responsible” for managing the removal of its bicycles, and that the authorities will “refrain from stepping in to manage taxpayer burden”.

Unfortunately, the suspension wasn’t the first piece of negative news from ofo.

Last December, ofo’s CEO revealed that they were experiencing “immense” cash-flow problems.

Following this, ofo was reported to owe vendors in Singapore about $700,000, and was found to have “mysteriously vacated” its office at AXA Tower. Employees also claimed to have been owed reimbursements for “thousands of dollars worth in claims”.

In January, ofo sacked its entire operations team in Singapore, suddenly terminating employees without any explanation or compensation.

S’pore Users Suffer Errant Charges From ofo

According to a report on The Straits Times, it’s not just vendors and ex-employees that are affected by ofo’s sudden departure.

One of the respondents that ST spoke to had three deductions of $8.99 (totaling to around $27) made from her bank account on 11 January this year.

Other affected ofo customers reported unauthorised charges in four different aspects.

They include:

1. Receiving multiple charges for ofo passes:

2. Getting charged for passes they did not purchase:

3. Getting charged for monthly passes even after cancellation:

4. Getting charged for parking outside of parking zones:

Some ofo users also reported a glitch in which they continue to be charged even after ending their rides.

In response to queries from ST, the Consumer Association of Singapore (Case) revealed that it has received 25 complaints against ofo since January last year.

Case executive director Loy York Jiun advised existing ofo pass holders to cancel their subscriptions and document the cancellation process “so disputes can be resolved more easily”.

Users who have paid ofo using their credit cards within the last 120 days can also consider lodging a chargeback claim as soon as possible.

Speaking to ST, a former ofo manager said that he was “not surprised” about the complaints on repeat charges.

He revealed that ofo had previously received similar complaints last June and August. These were handled by ofo’s office in China, which said that “it was a software glitch and [that they] would fix it”.

However, there is currently no one to redirect complaints to as the firm’s externally sourced customer service team had stopped working for them since last November.

Are you affected by errant charges by ofo? Let us know!

The Wage Credit Scheme (WCS) was introduced by the Government in 2013 to support businesses embarking on transformation efforts and encourage the sharing of productivity gains with workers.

It was originally intended to last three years, but was extended for two years (2016 to 2017) in Budget 2015, and another three more years (2018 to 2020) in Budget 2018.

Under this scheme, more than 90,000 employers in Singapore will receive S$600 million and more in payouts by the end of this month.

About 70 per cent of the sum disbursed will be allocated to small- and medium- enterprises (SMEs).

Through these payouts, the Government will co-fund 20 per cent of wage increases given in 2017 and 2018.

The co-funding ratio will however be scaled back to 15 per cent in 2019, and 10 per cent in 2020.

What Do Employers Need To Do?

Employers need not make any form of application to receive the payouts.

Instead, they will receive letters from the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) by March 31, which will inform them of the amount they will get.

The payouts will be credited directly into the employers’ companies’ GIRO bank accounts used for income tax and the Good and Services Tax (GST), or their bank accounts registered with the PayNow Corporate.

Employers who wish to make appeals regarding payouts must submit them to the IRAS by June 30, and they will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Featured Image Credit: The Independent Singapore

• Zalora’s e-Fulfillment Hub was officially launched on March 3rd, 2017 and spans a total area of 470,000 square feet across five levels.
• The e-Fulfillment Hub facilitates the movement of fashion goods 24/7 across eight markets that Zalora is currently present in: Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Indonesia and Philippines.

A few weeks ago we had the chance to pay a visit so e-commerce fashion giant, Zalora’s e-Fulfillment Hub located in Selangor, Malaysia.

The hub covers a total area of 470,000 square feet which is approximately the size of nine FIFA football fields, split across five levels.

The e-Fulfillment Hub plays a crucial role in fulfilling thousands of orders per day and facilitating the movement of fashion goods 24/7 across eight markets that Zalora is currently present in: Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Indonesia and Philippines.

The hub was built and launched in 2017 and is part of Zalora’s efforts in building its e-commerce infrastructure from warehousing facilities to last-mile delivery fleets to ensure an optimum delivery experience for consumers across all markets.

In-House Development

The Zalora team invested resources and time to develop in-house logistics and operations systems.

During the tour they showed us their mobile picking system, a customised solution that transmits picking information of customer orders through mobile devices, allowing greater scalability and on-time fulfillment.

One picker is assigned to a particular section of a floor and receives orders to pick certain items that are located around the vicinity. All they need to do is just scan the bar code of the item and then insert the item into baskets called “totes”.

Since the mobile picking system was introduced, picking productivity increased significantly and accuracy is now at 100%, due to the real-time item verification.

During peak periods like the 11.11 Singles’ Day sales in 2018, the hub ran for 24/7 non-stop and had a total of 1,000 pickers throughout the period. According to Zalora, they mentioned that the picking rate was at 1 item per second.

To complement the mobile picking system and process all orders in real-time, an in-house Order Management System (OMS) was developed for the Zalora Operations team to track movements of inventory into and out of its distribution centers, process orders, returns and refunds and manage their own delivery fleets.

Speaking to Rostin Javadi, Zalora’s Managing Director who heads the brand in four markets—Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan—he pointed out that besides the IT systems, the warehouse is physically automated with about 250 metres of conveyor belts running through it.

It is the first warehouse of its kind in Malaysia to extensively use conveyors; others work with pallets. Given the type of items and orders that Zalora fulfills, rigging the warehouse with conveyors makes more sense for efficiency and cost.

“We actually have a Kaizen programme, we try to find the continuous improvement champions who can come up with creative ideas and we try to encourage that,” Rostin said.

A Growing Industry

The fulfillment center alone processes up to 100,000 items per day and has the storage capacity to hold more than four million items at any time.

One of the main reasons why Malaysia was chosen as the location for Zalora’s e-Fulfillment Hub was that Zalora acquired the Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) status.

The AEO status gives the e-Fulfillment Hub a form of an “express lane” at customs, making 24/7 cross-border movements seamless and helping the brand provide an even faster delivery for its customers.

The facility’s strategic location and logistics capabilities make it possible for international brands to expand their reach into the Philippines and Indonesia.

However, Rostin added that it was a challenge itself to expand to those particular regions as there are thousands of islands across the region.

“The biggest challenge when we started was trying to break down the barriers that are in place such as cross border or geographical challenges,” he said. “We work with 7 different partners in Indonesia and we can look at real time how each of the partners are performing and allocate our packages accordingly.”

Other than that to overcome those challenges, according to Rostin it was more of increasing their Public Relations and marketing activities to raise the awareness of the online fashion shopping experience.

“It’s a little bit different compared to other e-commerce shopping, explaining about how easy it is to return products; no questions asked, 30 days you can return the products if you don’t like it,” Rostin explained.

Beyond that, the team also had to get the word out to customers who were located in more remote areas that don’t have access to big shopping malls.

As for what they’ll be planning to do in the near future, Zalora will continue to work with their thousands of partners across the region and bring in more big brands and small entrepreneurs.

“It’s very important for us to act as a catalyst or an enabler for the development of these brands, it’s definitely to empower local brands and partners that we work with and that’s a big part of our strategy,” he added.

“Be global and local.”

Rostin Javadi, Managing Director of Zalora

When questioned if they would venture out of different verticals, Rostin said that they will always try to maintain focus on fashion.

“We don’t want to tread off too far from that line as from a brand standpoint, we don’t want to consume our customers as we want to be the destination where you come for your fashion needs,” he said.

As for whether Zalora will be including e-wallets in the future, Rostin added that it’s definitely something they are looking at and are already in talks with a few operators, but have not decided on one.

As for now Zalora will continue to focus on the Southeast Asian region and solidify themselves as the app or platform user go to for all their fashion needs.

• If you would like to find out more about Zalora, you can check out their website here.

Feature Image Credit: Zalora

Global coworking company WeWork recently opened its newest space in Singapore, a cosy location at Arc 380, 380 Jalan Besar.

With this addition just opened on 5 March 2019, they now have a total of 10 shared office spaces around the country, since launching in Singapore in December 2017.

The Jalan Besar coworking space is its first outside of the Central Business District, and can host over 380 members.

Although it may be the smallest of WeWork’s properties here—quaint compared to its three-storey flagship at 71 Robinson Road with 1,400 seats—it’s well suited to cater to younger companies and startups, with features that make the space conducive and creative to work (and chill) at.

Being its first space on the city’s fringes, WeWork says its decor is “influenced by Jalan Besar’s rich history” and pays “homage to the Southeast Asian culture in this region”.

The common area, outfitted with rattan chairs and a mural of abstract fruit shapes, reflects a more laid back vibe outside the bustle of the city, and remembers Jalan Besar’s past as a fruit orchard.

Subtle features like colourful acrylic tiles adorning its community bar, take inspiration from landmarks in the vicinity.

Some Like To Work With Company, Others Need A Little Privacy

In the spirit of promoting community and sharing, WeWork provides plenty of seats in common areas where members can choose any spot and get down to work.

Floor-to-ceiling windows let natural light in, and its ‘living room’ setting aims to humanise the way we approach working.

But since not everyone thrives in open environments, options for privacy are thankfully available, such as isolated booths made for just one occupant at a time.

WeWork offers different tiers of monthly membership at its spaces, which allows guests to choose from hot desking, having a dedicated desk, or renting a private office space.

At 380 Jalan Besar, a hot desk is priced at $450 per month, while private offices start at $1,710 per month.

Members can also book conference rooms, or smaller rooms for casual chats, when a quick discussion or team meeting is in order.

The First WeWork In S’pore With A Swimming Pool

“WeWork 380 Jalan Besar is the first location to boast a sky terrace with a swimming pool”, the firm says.

Members have access to these facilities located on a separate level within the building, including a simple gym with a few equipment.

Perks Of The Community

Knowing that food wins hearts in Singapore and around the world, WeWork has fitted its pantry with a steady flow of fresh fruit water, “micro-roasted coffee”, and even beer on tap.

Sometimes, the Community Managers of the space organise surprise treats like pastries or desserts—a simple pleasure that makes the working day a little sweeter.

Beyond the interaction members may engage in by themselves through the time spent in shared spaces, WeWork regularly offers activities such as events or workshops to help members network while learning something useful.

This coworking space at Jalan Besar is also home to the second WeWork Labs in Singapore, the company’s in-house early-stage startup programme that gives new founders access to incubator resources.

Coming up next, WeWork is set to open its 11th space at Funan, 109 North Bridge Road, in the second quarter of 2019—it’ll also be the company’s second flagship here.

“Singapore is at the epicentre of a high growth region with ambitious and capable startups and enterprises hungry for success,” says WeWork Southeast Asia Managing Director, Turochas Fuad.

“We see this as an opportunity for WeWork to grow in lockstep with enterprises to businesses of all sizes, where we support them in building a dynamic and creative community in Singapore as they expand their footprints across Southeast Asia.”

WeWork 380 Jalan Besar
380 Jalan Besar (Arc 380)
Singapore 209000

VP Goes To is a series where we take you to the latest events and coolest spaces for an exclusive inside look. Know a place or event we should check out? Leave a comment here or send the suggestion to our Facebook page.

The iPad Pro is a lot of things, but affordable isn’t one of them — starting at S$1,119 for the base 11-inch version and going all the way up to S$2,839 for a souped up 12.9-inch, its price tag can potentially rival that of a mid-range Macbook.

You don’t always have to spring for the premium option, thought — the 7.9-inch iPad Mini and 10.5-inch iPad are more than worthy alternatives, and after a low-key refresh yesterday getting one is more enticing than ever.

So what’s new, exactly? Well, both are equipped with the latest A12 Bionic Chip, which promises up to 70 percent more processing power. Based on our time with the iPhone XR we can vouch that there’s a noticeable upgrade in smoothness, and apps load much faster as well.

These new iPads are also compatible with the (1st generation) Apple Pencil, which essentially turns the tablet into a digital notebook. From taking handwritten notes to making doodles on the MRT to fuel your inner artist, this feature greatly expands the possibility of what these iPads can do.

Other than that everything else is relatively unchanged, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The advanced Retina Display continues to offer one of the best graphics in the market, and at less than 500g they remain an extremely compact option for those who need more than a phone and less than a laptop.

Available in 64GB and 256GB versions, the iPad Mini starts at S$599/RM1,699 and S$799/RM2,249 for the Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + Cellular model respectively, while the iPad Air comes in at S$749/RM2,199 and S$949/RM2,749. If you want to throw the Apple Pencil on top of that, it’ll set you back another S$138/RM419.

Between Razer releasing budget-friendly versions of their best-selling products and this, it looks like 2019 is shaping up to be a good time to update your tech setup.

• With their soft launch in January 2019, Co-Coon Co-Living KL is one of the first movers within the coliving industry in Malaysia.
• The coliving space was developed by Tan & Tan Developments Berhad and they have spent approximately RM60 million to build up the 20-storey space.

Owning a home nowadays isn’t a walk in the park. With sky high prices and low salaries, millennials aren’t in a hurry to own homes as it will be a burden to them.

According to a report by The Edge, although it’s been said that property developers have been churning out houses at a healthy rate over the years, there has also been a rising number of unsold properties.

The total number of unsold residential properties has been rising since 2011, spiking sharply in 2016–2017 according to statistics from the National Property Information Centre. The situation is especially true in city areas like Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Johor and Pulau Pinang.

A dilemma occurs when there’s too many homes but people still can’t afford them. To relieve the property glut, coliving spaces have begun to pop up around Malaysia to make full use of unutilised spaces.

Although the coliving concept is relatively new in Malaysia, there have already been a number of first movers in the market, and one of them is Co-Coon Co-Living KL located at Damai Residence, Kuala Lumpur.

Hassle-Free Living

According to the team behind Co-Coon, they explained that the space is an innovative accommodation concept that offers all of the perks of living right in the heart of the city along with the added bonus of a hassle free, community-based collaborative living arrangement.

Soft launched in January 2019 by Tan & Tan Developments Berhad, the team explained that the space centers on the idea of “Community 2.0”.

“It is a new style of a ‘plug and play’ apartment building that offers shared work and play spaces supported by living spaces of differing sizes,” explained Tan Yee Seng, the CEO of Tan & Tan Developments Berhad.

The plug and play model basically means that one bill pays for all basic living costs and there are flexible leases starting at three months all the way to over a year.

He also added that the recent proliferation of coworking spaces indicated that millennials now have a new approach to their working lifestyle, and Co-Coon hopes to complement that mobile lifestyle.

Co-Coon spans over 20 floors with a total of 174 rooms and facilities / amenities such as:

• Indoor and outdoor gym
• Shared kitchen and dining area
• Communal lounge
• Library
• Open office spaces
• Meeting rooms
• Discussion/breakout areas
• Sky deck
• Barbecue pit
• Yoga/meditation zone

A stay at one of their rooms starts at RM800 per month with a minimum lease of 3 months.

When asked what it means to work and live in a coliving space, Yee Seng said, “It means living, working, and playing in a community of like-minded individuals.”

“It’s about being part of a community of residents who share living experiences through the duration of their residency in Co-Coon,” he continued.

Early Mover Advantage

“As we are the First-To-Market and operate a coliving accommodation on a professional scale, the biggest challenge was trying to figure out a workable coliving concept which would appeal to our target audience,” he said.

As improvement will always be a constant for them, the Co-Coon team will continue to focus on fine tuning the concept to have something that is both locally and globally appealing to their target audience.

As for their target audience, they’re targeting a large group of people from young adults to foreigners.

“We feel passionately that Co-Coon is an ideal housing arrangement that allows young adults to explore life outside from the family house,” he said. “This gives them a valuable opportunity to grow into independent young adults within an ecosystem that is safe, positive, and filled with like-minded individuals sharing similar life stage experiences.”

For foreigners, they’re marketing the space as a way for foreigners to get to know the city more and make friends through a social network.

And lastly, they’re targeting the mobile workforce as the coliving space is an ideal choice for them as there are also coworking spaces available and residents can use it without any extra charges.

Although they have spent approximately RM60 million for the entire building and the concept is still new locally, they have high ambitions and expect to be cash flow positive after 12 months.

Ultimately, Co-Coon Co-Living KL might sound like a hotel or hostel but Yee Seng sees it in a completely different light.

“Co-Coon is an accommodation where multiple people live together and enjoy the benefits of collaborative and communal living through shared spaces,” he explained.

“Co-Coon is all about city living, made easy.”

Tan Yee Seng, CEO of Tan & Tan Developments Berhad.

Yee Seng understands that there is competition out there, but he said that those are small and privately owned accommodations whereas Co-Coon is a professionally-managed coliving space.

They even go the extra mile to ensure that like-minded individuals join the space by having a two step interview process for potential residents.

“Co-Coon hosts a community manager whose scope of work beyond filtering and managing residents issues includes scheduling curated activities and events according to the interests of the residents to help Co-Cooners get-to-know and bond with each other,” he explained.

With their priority in successfully establishing the brand name among potential residents either local and foreign, he added that they will consider expanding the Co-Coon brand name to key urban centres depending on how the market reacts and where their target audience are.

Co-Coon Co-Living KL is planning to officially launch in April 2019.

• If you would like to know more about Co-Coon Co-Living KL, you can check out their website here and social media here.

Feature Image Credit: Co-Coon Co-Living KL

• Dyson’s Development Centre in Senai, Johor Bahru plays an important role in the development of their household appliance and beauty products such as vacuums, air purifiers, and hairdryers.
• We were recently given a tour of their POLAR test facility—one of two such chambers in the world—to understand how Dyson is trying to improve the standards of air purification globally.

On average, we typically take in between 9,000 to 11,000 litres of air a day, with about 70 percent of that consumed indoors. That’s plenty of air, and in today’s context also means a higher volume of pollutants taken into our systems depending on where we’re at.

Simply put, the air we breathe has progressively gotten dirtier year on year since we started measuring pollution levels. A study released by the World Health Organization last year was able to prove just how bad things have gotten in recent times, with about seven million deaths being reported yearly as a result of exposure to unsafe fine particles suspended in the air we breathe every day.

Unsurprisingly, this has all led to more attention focused on air purification technology, with the air purifier market having grown considerably over the past few years and places like China and India—countries with higher-than-usual pollution ratings—leading sales figures.

That said, it’s worth noting that with so much trust placed in air purification products, especially by residential consumers, there should obviously be heavy emphasis placed upon the efficiency of the tech that air purifiers run on.

As expected, tech giant Dyson—giants in household appliances and beauty technology—are one of the brands aiming to set the standard in regards to air purifier technology testing, and are trying to improve the quality of air purifiers in general.

Clearing The Air

Recently, we had the opportunity to pay a second visit to Dyson’s Development Centre in Johor Bahru. This came after our first visit in December 2018, where we spoke to their Global VP Of Engineering & Operations Scott Maguire to talk about his views on Malaysian engineering talent.

This time, Dyson invited us to have a closer look at their POLAR testing method that they use to develop their air purifiers, and demonstrated in detail the differences between this method and conventional methods used in the rest of the industry.

To lay down the basics, air purification works in three steps—sensing unclean air, then filtering it, and finally projecting that clean air throughout the space the purifier is in. While this is the modus operandi most air purifiers function on, Dyson thinks that the current method to test the efficiency of these purifiers remains insufficient.

Since the 1980s until today, most air purifiers have been tested using the CADR (Clean Air Delivery Rate) method that provides a score based on the amount of clean air a purifier can provide within a fixed amount of time. Unfortunately, this method omits the most important metric of all—how efficient the filtration is, or rather much cleaner your air gets once its been filtered.

Basically, an air purifier with a high CADR score only guarantees that you’re getting cleaned air quicker, but not necessarily cleaner, which is why Dyson introduced the POLAR testing method to compensate for these gaps and to be used to test the efficiency of all their air purification products.

At Dyson’s Johor Bahru facility, we were given the opportunity to witness the various ways in which POLAR is more comprehensive than the CADR standard.

For example, the POLAR standard is conducted in a space that is more akin to a real-life living room, with a space of 290 square feet as opposed to the CADR measurements of 127 square feet. It also uses 9 different detectors or monitoring points as opposed to CADR’s single point system.

According to the engineers we spoke to, these parameters were all intended to mimic true-to-real life conditions and to ensure that their products were all able to perform in the real world just as efficiently as in the test facilities.

For a more comprehensive explanation on how POLAR is able to improve the quality of air purification, watch this video:

So what does all this eventually mean for the end user?

According to Dyson, their air purifier products—specifically their Pure Cool series—are able to remove up to 99.95% of particles from the air and filter out particles as small as 0.1 microns, and more importantly, are also able to make sure that whatever enclosed spaces they operate in gets a good coverage of clean air.

Translating Into Something Significant

All this extensive testing perhaps goes some way to explaining just why Dyson’s products are relatively costly when compared to products from their competitors, and also how they’ve managed to establish quite a bit of a reputation for product quality and efficiency.

Supplementing this, it’s worth noting that the POLAR testing chamber in Malaysia is just one of the resulting outcomes of Dyson’s GBP3 billion outlay into their entire Johor Bahru facility.

More significantly, it’s one of only two such chambers worldwide, with the other one in their main research facility in the UK.

In the grand scheme of things, this development is pretty significant as Malaysia is now seen as a class-leading developer of a technology that is becoming more and more important around the world.

Case in point, POLAR is also now also used in China, with the China Household Electric Appliance Research Institute (CHEARI) now incorporating POLAR as a testing standard for Chinese air purifier products in Beijing.

Making A Malaysian Mark

The next step for Dyson is now to get the Malaysian market itself to sit up and pay attention to the importance of having clean air—something that’s become incredibly pertinent recently.

Speaking to Pete Duckett, Dyson’s Technology Development Engineer of Environmental Control, we learned that Dyson’s greatest challenge at the moment was to get Malaysians educated on the importance of this particular technology.

“It’s a big education challenge and I think the biggest block in trying to sell this tech is showing people,” Pete said. “It’s similar with the original vacuum cleaner, where we were the first to create a vacuum with a clear bin.”

“Logic would say that you wouldn’t want to see the dirt and dust, but the moment you show the results you have an immediate feedback that has a big impact on the consumer,” he said.

He admitted that this would be harder to do with air purification due to the ultra-small particles that usually can’t be seen with the naked eye, but he thinks that at least with the more obvious side effects of pollution (such as the haze and airborne diseases), people would be more inclined to consider solutions for cleaner air at home.

“Malaysian air quality is also now 50 percent over the recommended WHO guidelines,” he said “And people started noticing these, so we started packaging our air purification products with our sensor technology to give reliable metrics so people can see the air being cleaned.”

Looking ahead, it will be interesting to see how Dyson in Malaysia will continue to develop in terms of product R&D and market growth.

Already, they’ve committed plenty to making their Malaysian facility one of their most vital development centres, now it’s time for them to do the same for the Malaysian consumer market.

• You can read more about our first visit to Dyson’s Johor Bahru development centre here.

Feature Image Credit: Dyson Malaysia

Grab Financial, the fintech arm of Grab, has built a network of over 600,000 merchants, since securing access to e-money licenses in six major ASEAN markets.

Today (19 March 2019), Grab announced the launch of a new payment technology that will extend the GrabPay service to online check-out, beyond just Point-of-Sale (POS) devices at physical stores.

Called ‘Pay with GrabPay’, the integration allows online sellers to start accepting GrabPay as a mobile wallet on their websites beginning from today.

Major e-commerce marketplaces like Qoo10 in Singapore, and 11Street in Malaysia, are some of the first who have enabled GrabPay’s online check-out on their platforms, while other brands like Cathay Cineplexes have also signed agreements.

In addition to this, Grab Financial also introduces ‘Pay Later’, which consists of two credit services aimed at consumers.

The first is a post-paid payment service that will roll out in the coming weeks, with plans to then expand to other countries.

Pay Later’s post-paid service will let customers pay for Grab services at the end of the month instead of right away, and incur no additional costs.

It will work on a 30-day billing cycle, and will give customers a one week due date to pay after their bill has been generated at the end of each month.

“This helps consumers who face exceptional expenses, but are keen to avoid being hit with higher credit card or personal loan interest payments,” says Grab.

Following this will be an instalment payment product, to be launched in the next few months.

It will allow customers to purchase goods immediately while they pay through an instalment spread over multiple months, at 0% interest.

When it is launched, both offline and online merchants can choose to offer this option to their patrons through Grab.

Pay Later instalments will be limited to purchases of up to S$500, although the amount will still differ from person to person based on their credit assessment.

Instalment periods will range from two to 12 months.

According to Grab, both of their Pay Later products will only be available to Grab’s “most creditworthy customers”, assessed based on but not limited to factors like their “tenure on the Grab platform, frequency of use and spending patterns.”

After entering a joint venture with Japanese financial firm Credit Saison in March 2018, Grab Financial has been providing micro-loans to its drivers, and more recently started offering working capital loans to small businesses in Singapore as well.

They’re next seeking to secure lending licenses across Southeast Asia to expand their loan capabilities.

Micro-Insurance In Place For Drivers, Consumers To Get It Soon

The ride-hailing firm previously announced its partnership with Chinese insurtech company ZhongAn, to develop a marketplace of insurance products tailored to Southeast Asians’ lifestyle needs.

Currently, Grab drivers in the Emerald Circle are “automatically covered for lost earnings due to illness and injuries”, with free medical leave and personal accident insurance.

In the next few weeks, Grab plans to make its insurance policies available directly from the Grab app.

On top of this, the firm will add prolonged medical leave insurance as a voluntary policy that drivers can choose to supplement their existing coverage.

For drivers who are not in the Emerald Circle, and hence not eligible to be insured for free, this will let them “affordably access this insurance for the first time”.

Grab also adds that its “insurance marketplace” will be launched in April 2019, and says it will “represent the most compelling insurance offering for micro-entrepreneurs in the region”, available directly from its app.

As Malaysians, we’re quite blessed in a sense where public holidays aren’t a rarity.

But not everyone may relish the joys of a long weekend. Especially for CEOs where your position equates to making sure your company and business is always running at its best.

So for these type of entrepreneurs, the holiday season can be a tricky time. Most people would take advantage of public holidays by spending it with loved ones, but business owners usually find themselves buried with work during these periods.

We talked to a few Malaysian CEOs to find out what tactics they have to ensure there’s a right balance between family and work during these busy moments.

1) Timothy Tiah, CEO of Colony Coworking Space

Even on a daily basis, Timothy already finds it a challenge to make sure he spends time with family.

His two children are out for school by 7AM and they go to bed by 7PM, so Timothy finds himself stuck with a timeframe that he has to adapt into his busy schedule.

“No matter if it’s a holiday or not, I always make sure to allocate at least two hours a day with my children, just so they can be assured I’m there for them everyday,” Timothy shared to Vulcan Post.

Something he still struggles with till this day is actually being present with his family.

“Even though I’m there with my family, my mind is still with work. There have been moments when my children and wife call me out for it, but they understand it’s my nature. Which is why it’s important to have that strong family support system.”

2) Nina Othman, CEO of Grow The Goose

After coming from a career in advertising/production that had her life too busy for spending time with family, Nina started Grow The Goose because she wanted to spend more quality time with her own kids (which is also a message that she advocates to other parents now during her workshops).

One of the things she always makes sure to allocate time for is having dinner together as often as possible. To Nina, it’s best to have home-cooked meals and her children enjoy spending time with her helping during those cooking sessions.

“During the weekends, if there are no scheduled workshops or events, I arrange for my family to explore something or someplace new,” added Nina.

In terms of how she learns to handle both career and family, Nina said, “To me, there’s no such thing as balance. It’s more of a juggling act, and sometimes you’ll drop a ball (which represents work or family). You just need to pick up the ball again and start juggling again until you get tired and take a break (which is your ME time). That’s how I handle being a Momprenuer!”

3) Ming Han Ho, CEO of The Core Studios

Ming Han, or better known by his YouTube moniker The Ming Thing, has always found himself busy constantly due to the nature of his creative career but he’s always found that a stack of papers should never be treated the same amount of time as a living person should. Most of the time when running his own business, it’s more of the issue of urgent versus important.

“When nothing is urgent, the standard would be stay in the studio when you need to, go home when you need to. My “rule” be home for dinner – as you would any normal desk job. Weekends have rules too – family first. The only times there are exceptions to these rules are when projects and shoots are working on a last-resort basis and work HAS to be done urgently. This way, my family always feels they are the priority first so when work comes in and I have to stay out for a night or so in a month – the “balance” works,” said Ming Han.

The main way he uses to handle both career and family is by communicating to his family the times when he needs to be away longer so they can give him their blessing to focus on his work 100%

“When you have a family that releases you and pushes you forward like that, that “neglect” feeling becomes this empowering, motivational energy to make sure your time away from the family is WORTH the time away. So when you get back, you’ve done your part,” said Ming Han.

An advice he would give to fellow entrepreneurs is to start early in making sure to manage family and career with the right balance. He believes that the bigger a company grows, the bigger the strain, and a good family dynamic needs a good foundation to handle that strain.

“I think when you lead a team or spearhead any business – there’s always work on your mind. You don’t get to “go home” or “stop working”. I think the best balance happens when you can be 100% at your work and 100% at home.”
– Ming Han

4) Christopher Tock, CEO of ADAPT Ventures

For Christopher, he sticks by two rules when it comes to handling his business as well as family time: shared leadership & to prioritise delegation.

As a business owner, he believes that it’s quite easy to fall into the trap of having to deal with everything (micromanaging) thus no balance at all.

“It’s like maintaining 2 families in one go. So while we can’t promise equal work & family balance, with shared leadership concept where we empower managers and partners with responsibilities & decision making that mirrors their strength, and proper delegation of tasks to both work and own family members, my family can achieve our own spark joy moment,” said Christopher.

Throughout his 10 years of being an entrepreneur, it’s been a reflective period where he continues to discover how to balance family and work.

“No matter how tough business gets, it is never okay to deprioritise our family members. Help is always available if we let our pride go a little, and accept support from family members (wife, parents etc). Chances are, they are already with you through difficult times – don’t belittle their faith in you by shutting them out and thinking you can solve everything. Speaking from experience, and much more happy (and successful) now!”

-//-

A lot of entrepreneurs can probably relate to these stories, because handling a business is already tough.

But as these CEOs have shown, it’s doable to make sure family time is a part of your schedule, even if it means doing simple things as going out for dinner together or spending time at a mall on a weekend.

Even going somewhere simple such as Sunway Clio Hotel can be an option. Located in the heart of Sunway City, the 4-star hotel is a nice place to stay if you’re looking for a central location that is easily linked to a lot of attractions that can keep the whole family entertained.

It’s linked to the west precinct of Sunway Pyramid Mall and the rooms are designed with contemporary elements that make for a comfortable stay, whether it be as individuals, families, or groups. It’s also walking distance to Sunway Lagoon Theme Park, where you can spend an enjoyable time with your kids.

They also have specific packages designed for family fun, in case you don’t have anything specific in mind to do with your loved ones.

So you don’t need to travel far to really bond with your family. You can easily find time amidst your busy schedule for a quick weekend getaway (or a staycation) for family time while also not being too far away from work.

Best of both worlds, no?

• To find out more about the packages available at Sunway Clio Hotel, click here.

Feature Image Credit: Timothy Tiah and Nina Othman’s Facebook

Eating out in Singapore is expensive.

Of course, I’m not talking about eating at hawker centres or coffee shops, where $10 can get a nice lunch for 2 people.

I’m talking about dining at cafes and restaurants, where $10 is barely enough to get a drink and a small pastry.

After factoring in additional fees like service charge (10% of the bill) and GST (7% of the bill), you can be prepared to fork out $25 and up per pax.

But here comes the conundrum – how can a nation of self-professed foodies label themselves as such if they don’t indulge a little once a while?

Here’s where Burpple Beyond wants to come in.

Burpple Beyond comes as an “extension” of popular food review and discovery portal Burpple, and lets users enjoy 1-for-1 deals at over 400 partner restaurants, cafes, and bars.

Launched just last year, Burpple Beyond is reminiscent of The Entertainer, which too gives members 1-for-1 deals.

When I asked Burpple founder Dixon Chan about the differences between Beyond and their competitors, he mentioned that Beyond gives users a sense of flexibility by charging membership fees monthly, allowing them to cancel their membership anytime.

“Over 60% of our users are aged between 25 to 44, and this flexibility is very important for them,” he said.

Burpple Beyond doesn’t just aim to benefit consumers, but merchants as well.

Dixon shared that the Burpple team had learnt about F&B businesses’ needs and challenges over the years, and realised that many struggled with attracting customers during off-peak hours.

Thus, there’s the cheaper $4/month Off-Peak membership to cater to that.

As a consumer myself, I felt that what’s more exciting is that members will get to save an average of $22 per meal, essentially ‘breaking even’ on the membership fees after one use.

“The value makes immediate financial sense,” he quipped.

Intrigued, I decided to try out Burpple Beyond myself and see how much I could save by the end of one month.

First Impressions

Signing up for an account was a breeze, and I did it all via the Burpple app.

While the annual All Day membership ($69) makes more financial sense versus paying for the monthly All Day membership ($9.90 x 12 = $118.80), the latter gives one freedom to cancel anytime, so it’s really up to you.

If you’d just want to use it for a few months (6 months and below, I calculated), you can opt for the more flexible monthly plan.

If not, the annual plan definitely makes more financial sense.

Browsing The List Of Merchants

Once you’re signed up, you’ll be able to access the entire list of participating merchants under the Burpple Beyond tab.

The merchants are sorted by how near they are to your current location, so if you’re browsing the list for a meal at another location, use the filters to narrow down your choices of merchants.

Speaking of options, there’s a pretty decent amount of eateries on the app – around 400, according to Burpple.

This is quite a big jump from the time of launch, when there were only 100 on board.

From personal experience, I relied on the ‘Neighbourhood’ option the most.

The list includes major streets, estates, and MRT stations, so there wasn’t a need to whip out my Google Maps at any point of time.

One issue I faced, however, was that the filter wasn’t as ‘smart’ as I hoped it’ll be.

For example, the Plaza Singapura-Far East Plaza stretch covers stations like Dhoby Ghaut, Somerset, Orchard and has a plethora of food options just a few minutes’ walk from each other. However, I found myself needing to apply-remove-reapply location filters just to check all the options I could consider.

Perhaps the app could include food places near to the neighbourhood selected to make this process less tedious.

As for the ‘Cuisine’ filter, I found it helpful when my friends had cravings, but were also open to trying out new places in new areas of Singapore.

Using The App At Eateries

In general, using the app was a breeze, and 5 merchants I visited were familiar with it.

Burpple Beyond allows up to 4 redemptions per merchant and each come with their own T&Cs (deals are only for certain menu items, etc.), so do check with the staff before ordering to avoid disappointment.

At the end of my first meal, I had already ‘broke even’ on the membership fee, having saved $48 (1 x risotto, 1 x pizza) on a hearty lunch with three friends.

If you’re a hotpot lover like myself, you’ll be glad to know that Burpple Beyond can also be used for ordering portions of meat, like what I did at City Pot (One Raffles Place).

Given that there was only 2 of us eating, we held back on ordering the Wagyu Beef add-on ($10.99) and got the Pork Collar instead.

Regardless, I still got savings of $8.99 – not shabby at all.

If you’re looking to order finger food for a party, Burpple Beyond also counts fried chicken restaurant Wing Zone a partner.

I’m a sucker for a great izakaya, and have a few favourites around Singapore.

While browsing the list of Japanese cuisine eateries, Q-WA Izakaya along Beach Road caught my eye.

With the app, I could redeem 1-for-1 sets, but this offer is only applicable to sets A, B, C, and D.

As the month-long experience drew to an end, I decided that it was time for a Vulcan Post team dinner.

All 6 of us are fans of Japanese food, and we settled on the very popular Kogane Yama for a weekday dinner.

While we didn’t try its signature tendon, we were very satisfied with our orders.

The total bill still came to over $60, but imagine how much more it would have been without the deal!

Verdict: How Much Did I Save In 1 Month?

According to the app, I saved $171 in just one month!

I’ve got to admit, though, I did end up ordering more items and/or jio-ing more friends out for meals just to feel like I’m using the membership to its full potential.

Not complaining, though – the prospect of enjoying great food at lower prices actually helped me get over the inertia of heading out after work.

Another thing I particularly liked about the app was how it integrated Burpple user reviews seamlessly.

I’m someone who hates surprises, and hates bad surprises even more, so looking at reviews and photos taken by Burpple users really helped me make my dining decisions.

The app also includes the menus of most eateries, and I appreciated knowing fully what to expect before making a reservation.

Speaking of reservations, the app also lets users make reservations without needing to leave the app. Pretty handy.

However, one thing I would ask potential subscribers to take note of is that the monthly plan is on an auto-renew basis, so unless you want to continue being on the plan, deactivate that option when you can!

In short, I think that having a Burpple Beyond membership is very complementary to the lifestyle of someone who either has a lot of friends, or a lot of work contacts to catch up over meals with.

That, or simply anyone who loves to eat, but also wants to be financially savvy while at it – pretty much summing up most Singapore millennials.

Check out Burpple Beyond here.

Disclaimer: The Burpple team kindly sponsored 1 month’s worth of the All Day Membership (worth $9.90) for this review. However, all opinions are entirely my own.

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VP Verdict is a series where we personally try and test out products, services, fads, and apps. Want to suggest something else for us to try? Leave a comment here or send the suggestion into our Facebook page.

• Just like ride sharing, there are plenty of food delivery options out there for Malaysians to choose from.
• As a frequent user of food delivery services, I tested four of the main food delivery apps available in the Klang Valley and compared them head-to-head.

We’ve all been there, waking up around noon on a weekend thanks to the afternoon heat. First thing you hear is probably your stomach growling as you missed breakfast and soon to be lunch.

Instinctively, you head to your kitchen and open the fridge to see if there are any leftovers but you turn up empty handed. The only solution to solve your hunger, is to head outside and get food. However, thanks to the afternoon sun, you’re too lazy to even go out and grab a bite so you turn on your smartphone to find for food to be delivered.

Only now you’re unsure of which food delivery app to use as there are too many. Fret not, in this article I’ll do the ordering and not so much of the delivering so you can decide which to use when you’re in a similar dilemma.

I tried to order food from the same restaurant for the different apps but not all the food delivery apps cover the same restaurants, hence I’ll be taking the time taken, user experience on the platform, and the extra features offered into consideration for this comparison.

Note: This is not a sponsored article, and the services are arranged alphabetically. Only 4 apps were tested based on the availability of coverage for my residential area of Subang Jaya.

DeliverEat

Founded in 2012, Penang-based DeliverEat has now made in-roads into the food delivery scene in Klang Valley. Since 2017, DeliverEat has expanded their coverage within the Klang Valley but have not penetrated the market as well as other food delivery services.

This means they might also have a smaller fleet, meaning their deliveries can sometimes take slightly longer. But for both times that I used DeliverEat, it took around 45 minutes or so for my orders to arrive.

One of those times, I ordered my favourite fried rice from Dragon-i, Sunway Pyramid at 12:29PM and it came at 1:15PM.

As a local startup, DeliverEat faces an uphill challenge to scale extensively compared to their competitors as they don’t have as much funding as the rest.

Also, their options are considerably less compared to the bigger companies but still decent enough to choose from.

Pros: Simple-to-use platform, available on both PC and smartphone devices.

Cons: Smaller fleet compared to the rest, lesser merchants to choose from.

foodpanda

Since switching up their branding from orange to pink following its acquisition by Delivery Hero in 2017, foodpanda also launched a new app and front end with added value for customers.

However, I’ve only used foodpanda 4 times and after one bad experience with it, I wasn’t keen on giving them a second chance anymore.

Ordering some burgers from myBurgerLab on foodpanda, I had to wait from 12:47PM until 2:16PM; almost an hour and a half for the burgers to arrive as the rider that was supposed to pick it up ditched at the last second.

Usually for food deliveries in Klang Valley, it would take 45 minutes from ordering to delivery at your doorstep. However this delivery took me so long that I almost forgot I ordered something on foodpanda and I had to personally contact their customer service to let them know about the delay an hour in.

Although I was compensated with a RM10 voucher, it didn’t really help as it was only valid for two weeks and I didn’t want to go through the same ordeal again.

Furthermore, foodpanda doesn’t really give vouchers frequently like GrabFood does so I’m not really encouraged to use it more.

On the other hand, the plus side is that the choice of food on foodpanda can be compared to GrabFood, as both have quite a number of merchants under them.

Pros: More than enough merchants to choose from, available on both PC and smartphone devices.

Cons: Slow delivery speeds, for me at least.

GrabFood

Grab ventured into food delivery after acquiring Uber in Southeast Asia and has since then established GrabFood as one of the main players in the food delivery service industry.

As a frequent user of Grab in it’s entirety—including GrabCar, GrabPay and GrabFood—I appreciate that everything is integrated into one platform and payments can be done through their e-wallet, GrabPay.

I’ll be honest, I use GrabFood the most and use it at least once a week, and I haven’t been disappointed with the service as it always arrives on time or even earlier than the estimated time.

Take for example the picture above. I ordered McDonald’s at 1:09PM which was located around 2km away only and it was estimated to take 40 minutes to arrive but by 1:20PM the rider was already waiting at my doorstep. Impressively, it only took 11 minutes in total for McDonald’s to prepare my order and for the rider to pick it up and deliver it.

Furthermore, GrabFood is pretty simple to use and navigate, constantly churning out promo codes. Even though there’s a RM5 delivery charge, there’s almost always a promo code out there that can get you free delivery and sometimes even more discounts if you’re a platinum member on GrabRewards.

The list of merchants on GrabFood is also pretty extensive and users can be spoiled for choice.

Pros: Ecosystem for everyday needs, rewards for purchasing, and fast delivery.

Cons: Only available on smartphones.

honestbee

When honestbee just started in Singapore, they were only doing online grocery shopping before they decided to throw their hat into the food delivery ring.

Furthermore, they’ve actually expanded their offerings from just personalised grocery shopping and food deliveries to now becoming a food discount app, where users who sign up with their beeHive membership get 1-for-1 deals when dining at participating restaurants.

I’ve been a frequent user of honestbee especially for grocery shopping as my mother is too lazy to go out to the shopping mall sometimes and have also used the beeHive membership for dining discounts (my favourite part of the app).

As for their food delivery, I’ve only tried it once and ordered Tealive at 1PM and it reached at 1:18PM, although it’s just a beverage it was still pretty quick, taking only 18 minutes.

honestbee offers quite a vast service for F&B options as you can choose to dine-in (beeHive membership only), takeaway (up to 20% off), and also have your meals delivered.

Furthermore, honestbee also has a service called Bungkus that only delivers food from Halal certified restaurants. honestbee worked with JAKIM and they’re the first company to receive Halal certification in JAKIM’s Halal food delivery category.

Update 21/3: We’ve updated the content above to include more relevant information about honestbee’s services.

They also offer a wide range of F&B merchants to choose from and it’s comparable to Grab and foodpanda. They are also currently offering plenty of promo codes in a bid to challenge GrabFood and foodpanda’s dominance in the market.

Pros: Vast services for F&B from dine-in, takeaway, and deliveries.

Cons: For food deliveries, if you don’t meet the minimum spending required, you’ll be charged a certain fee on top of the delivery fee.

-//-

If you take into consideration all four of the apps, the best food delivery apps are the ones that offer more than just food delivery and that’s what makes them stand out from the crowd.

Grab has the biggest ecosystem out there as they’re on their way to becoming the ‘super app’ of Southeast Asia and honestbee is hoping to make it big in F&B and grocery shopping, while the others only do food delivery.

As for promo codes, don’t expect GrabFood and the others to continue churning it out as once the market is more stable, it’ll become something similar to the e-hailing market where promo codes are hard to come by and only those who use it frequently are rewarded.

• If you would like to read more articles about food delivery, you can check it out here.

Feature Image Credit: honestbee / foodpanda / Grab

The folks at Apple have been on a roll lately.

On Tuesday, they unveiled new and improved versions of the iPad Air and iPad Mini, and just a day later, they introduced a host of upgrades to their iMac line as well.

And if you thought that they were going to stop there, well…you thought wrong, because Apple (finally) revealed the 2nd generation of AirPods last night.

Aesthetically, the design remains unchanged, but several improvements have been made under the hood. The star of the show here is undoubtedly the new H1 chip, a brand new processor that Apple have designed specifically for their headphones.

In addition to offering 50% more talk time than first-generation AirPods, they also boast two times faster connect times, which is impressive when you consider how efficient the current iteration already is.

On top of that, Siri functionality has been improved as well.

While Apple’s virtual assistant has always been available through a double-tap command, you can now activate it hands-free by simply saying “Hey Siri”, just like you would do on an iPhone.

The AirPods themselves aren’t the only things that have received an upgrade. The charging case now comes in a Qi enabled option, which means that you can now charge it via wireless charging. This feature has been on the wishlist for many an Apple fan, and we’re glad to see it finally become a reality.

Price-wise, a pair of AirPods with the standard charging case will remain at its original price of S$239/RM699, while the AirPods/wireless charging case combination will cost S$299/RM879.

If you already own a pair of AirPods and just want the wireless charging case, that’ll set you back S$119/RM439.

Don’t go running to the Apple Store just yet, though.

The new options will only be released “later this Spring”, which, considering that we’re living in an eternal summer, could be anywhere from a few weeks to a few months.

The bright side is that Apple is planning to offer free engraving services if you purchase them on their website, so waiting a little longer might be worth it after all.

If you’ve been meaning to own a pair of AirPods, now seems like a good time to jump on the wireless headphone bandwagon. 

• Many are aware of what drones are, but we have only begun to consider its impact on businesses, society, and the economy, both locally and globally.

You’ve probably caught a glimpse of these little mechanical birds hovering in the the sky, but instead of hearing chirps and tweets, you’ll hear a distinct whirring noise that sounds almost like a lawnmower.

We’re talking about drones, a piece of technology which was popularised by photographers and videographers to showcase their creativity through Instagram shots and vlogs.

However, the usefulness of drones extends far beyond what social media would have you believe. Instead, drones can be used to save costs and time across a variety of industries.

According to this report by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC), the global commercial market for drone technology is valued at $127 billion for the upcoming years.

Malaysia is currently looking into converging drone technology in the agriculture, e-commerce, security and surveillance, and logistics industries among others.

But what exactly do we mean when we say drone technology, though? Here’s a quick breakdown.

Learning The Basics

Armi from OFO TECH defines DroneTech as the technology that powers unmanned aircraft that is remotely or autonomously controlled using built-in software.

That explains why certain drones can be controlled remotely using your smartphone, because the software embedded in the device works together with sensors on the drone to perform tasks.

If you’re an avid player of video games, you’ll have noticed objects known as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) flying around. Actually, drones aren’t that much different.

Drones were initially used for military purposes for surveillance and intelligence gathering. As a result of technological advancements, the sizes of these machines have become smaller and smaller—while their application in our everyday lives has greatly expanded.

Nowadays, people use drones for aerial operations (e.g. property developers can get a bird’s eye view of their assets) and for precision agriculture (e.g. helping farmers manage their crops better) as they are operationally much cheaper than using aeroplanes or helicopters.

Due to its disruptive nature, drone-based solutions offer an enhanced work performance at a lower cost, driven by the underlying technology, which has been it optimised for industrial efficiency.

Another example of drones being used commercially is in the e-commerce and logistics sectors, with delivery companies looking into the possibility of using drones to deliver products.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is another vital element for drones in the near future, enabling them to fly autonomously with lower degrees of error.

“To us, AI is the holy grail. It’s not about the physical hardware. Drones are dumb flying devices, it’s all about automating the process,” said Kamarul Muhamed, CEO and founder of Aerodyne group, a Malaysian drone-based solutions provider that has been ranked at 7 in DRONEII’s 2018 Drone Operator Ranking report (Aerodyne is the only Malaysian company that made it into the rankings out of hundreds of companies around the globe).

He went on to explain that now is the right moment “to seize the opportunity with regards to the drone economy, as the growth of the industry is at its inflection point.”

Already providing drone-based solutions around the globe with offices established in 23 countries (and growing) in less than 3 years, Aerodyne is also looking into delivery as its first B2C venture.

These developments have led to the establishment of institutions to help up-skill the local workforce to adapt to this new economy, such as Asia Drone & IoT Technologies and Drone Academy Asia, which focus on providing training to aspiring drone pilots as well as obtaining proper certification which allows them to market their skills globally.

What Lies Ahead For DroneTech?

Based on the report by DRONEII, there are 12 observable key components in the DroneTech ecosystem:

Aerodyne’s impressive growth is a positive signal for Malaysia’s drone economy, and there is tremendous opportunity for other local companies to tap into this rapidly emerging economy.

In line with this, the Malaysian Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) has been working on bringing the players and stakeholders involved in DroneTech together, to help local companies take advantage of bigger opportunities and go global.

MDEC’s Global Acceleration and Innovation Network (GAIN) program is helping home-grown and Malaysia-based drone companies such as Aerodyne to “Grow Fast and Go Global”.

While Aerodyne may have been the only Malaysian drone company ranked in DRONEII’s top 20, they aren’t alone in growing the local drone economy. Local companies such as Poladrone, OFO TECH, IR Technic, Average Drone, Tinjau Mahir, and Pulsar UAV are also ready to take their operations onto the global stage.

As for the future, MDEC, together with Futurise, is also looking to position Cyberjaya as the world’s first drone-friendly city with a living lab approach. So the next time you’re around Cyberjaya, head over to Futurise—the Obama oval is now a drone-friendly area.

The plan here for Futurise is to introduce a deregulated zone for DroneTech to make it easier for players to participate in development and research.

Much More Work To Be Done

In order for Malaysia to become a global front-runner in DroneTech, MDEC is working with various local and international DroneTech subject matter experts and stakeholders to address 4 main challenges;

• Regulations & Policies
• Awareness & Adoption
• Talents & Certifications
• Strategic Partnership

Accordingly, Armi from OFO TECH reveals that public awareness toward DroneTech needs to be significantly improved.

Regulations and red tape are certainly obstacles, but Armi argues that a more forward-looking regulation focusing on developing drone economy and its commercial applications will help accelerate adoption of DroneTech by the masses.

From a national economy perspective, we have reached a point where it’s important to increase awareness of the drone economy and to help retain the technological expertise in Malaysia.

“This in return will have a trickle down effect which will take place by generating employment opportunities and higher education in advancing this technology.”

– Armi, OFO Tech

It’s a process, but who knows: In the future, we could see Malaysia being a global hub for DroneTech, which would then help attract more Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in aerospace and robotics technology.

Due to its widespread applications, with more to potentially follow, this would have a beneficial ripple effect across various industries and soon enough, we’ll be seeing drones everywhere in our daily lives.

After all, we’re on the brink of the 4th Industrial Revolution.

• You can find out more about the MDEC GAIN program here.

This article is written in collaboration with MDEC GAIN.

Feature Image Credit: OFO TECH Sdn Bhd

• Two university students invested about $8,000 to start up a mobile coffee catering service at events.
• Jobs grew from 1-2 a month to 3-4 a week, and they have also started up a mobile bubble tea catering service.
• Have served clients like Shopee, Facebook, NTUC Youth, Michael Kors.

There are many types of coffee lovers – from the Starbucks stans to the kopitiam kid.

Then there are coffee lovers like Julian Lim and Uzen Tan, whose passion for coffee led them to start their own mobile coffee catering service.

After a stint as a barista, Uzen spent two years practicing making coffee at home and mastered a fully manual coffee machine, watching YouTube videos and reading up on materials to hone his craft.

As for Julian, he started out as a barista too, but specialised in making latte art until he discovered that there is more to coffee than just making it look pretty.

They were just 22 when they became founder and co-founder, respectively, of Nineteen95.

Recently, the duo also launched FrothTea, a mobile bubble tea catering service.

Caffeine-Charged Determination

They first met in primary school when they were 11, Julian told me.

“We grew apart in secondary school because we both went to different schools but reconnected during our poly days,” he said.

“Concidentally, we were in the same class for our very first module.”

They were both business students – Uzen studied Business Information Technology, Julian took Accountancy – and have a shared interest in coffee and dread of the corporate life.

“We have always talked about doing some sort of business together and along the way, Nineteen95 was born,” Julian exclaimed.

They invested less than $8,000 to start up and Julian counts themselves fortunate to have received help from friends and family, saving them some costs.

They registered the company on ACRA in January 2017 and became operational in April 2017.

“[My] family was rather supportive and allowed us to use the house to store our items such as the machines and carts, but as a whole, I would say Uzen’s connections, such as family and friends, were more supportive and helpful in terms of the business necessities,” Julian noted.

Uzen mentioned in a video interview that his uncle had made them the cart they use to transport their coffee machine and equipment.

His family and friends also chipped in to give him advice, helping them build the foundation of the business as the both of them had no clue on starting a business.

The pair sought help from people who have started their own businesses, and Uzen counts himself lucky to have mentors who provided guidance and believed in him.

“As for my family, they were supportive of my decision, but being in an Asian family meant that they were naturally concerned for my future,” Uzen said.

When I focused too much on the business, they would often say things like, ‘Come out, get a proper job. The company will pay you CPF, you get bonuses.’ Or, ‘This one as a part-time thing still okay, but don’t focus too much on it and concentrate on your studies to get a good job in future.'”

This, however, only spurred Uzen to prove that he could make the business viable.

Chasing Dreams Doesn’t Have To Be Expensive

Uzen has loved coffee since he was young, as he recalled drinking his first cup of kopi o at the foodcourt at Changi Airport Terminal 3.

His first experience making espresso coffee happened when he worked at a salad bar at Millenia Walk.

He didn’t understand why his boss placed so much emphasis on making the coffee since he didn’t have many chances to use the machine, but still, he was fascinated by the coffee-making process.

His first “real job as a ‘Barista'” came to him when he worked part-time at the Nassim Hill Bakery Bistro Bar as a waiter.

The full-time barista had left and the restaurant was looking for someone to take over in the meantime, so he volunteered.

“In the two weeks, I learned so much about brewing espresso and developed a passion for it.”

He became closer with Julian as he introduced him to take up the barista role, and he went back to becoming a waiter again.

But Uzen missed making coffee and bought himself an espresso machine and grinder through Carousell.

He believes that being a home barista doesn’t have to be costly.

“I started with a DeLonghi EC155 and a Hario Skerton Mini Grinder which cost less than $200 in total. I used it for about a year and eventually upgraded to a La Pavoni Stradavari which [I bought for $700 on] Carousell too,” he told me.

Uzen explained that the La Pavoni is a fully manual machine so the learning curve was “extremely steep” as it required a lot of technical knowledge.

“All the parameters such as pressure, heat, and timing are controlled by me as opposed to semi-automatics and automatic machines.”

He spent another year practicing and learning before mastering the machine, understanding how the various affect the taste of the espresso.

Julian’s journey in coffee also started with a part-time job where he picked up latte art.

His colleagues and him would have mini competitions to see who could make the better designs, and he felt encouraged when customers and friends appreciated the designs.

“At that point, all I knew was latte art but there was a whole world of coffee that I had yet to explore,” Julian recalled.

When he moved on to the next café, he learnt about flavours, milk textures, and the rules of the barista.

“I was thrown behind the coffee machine and I had to figure out how I wanted to serve coffee as there wasn’t a clear-cut SOP.”

As his interest developed, he envisioned opening his own café where he can serve coffee.

From Family Events To Public Events

Nineteen95 made its first apperance at a baby shower hosted by Uzen’s girlfriend’s brother, and then they had a retail space at HomeTeamNS Balestier on the weekends.

Through them, they clinched their first official event with Newstead.

“It was quite an experience as it was a four-day event lasting over 40 hours,” Julian said.

He thought it was “pretty crazy” as it was their first event of that scale.

They had to find time to work at the event while they were serving NS.

Now, they have done events for Michael Kors, Carousell, NTUC Youth, and weddings, among others.

In their second year of operations, they went from doing one to two jobs a month to doing almost three to four jobs a week.

They have also achieved their initial goal to be a brand name in the industry, getting compared to peers in the industry who have been around for more than five years.

When I asked them about the challenges they faced as first-time entrepreneurs, Uzen shared that for him, it was the nitty-gritty details that he found challenging.

“It was things like how and where do we incorporate the company, who do we look for to procure our equipment and supplies such as beans, what do we have to purchase, finalising the operations, building the website and implementing proper SEO and stuff like that,” Uzen listed.

[The] only way to overcome all those obstacles was to go through it.

“During the initial phase, we did not actively communicate what we have been doing for the business and there was some misunderstanding created which caused quite a big argument between us,” Julian revealed.

Communication was also one of the greatest challenge they faced, but what made Nineteen95 work was how they each worked on different aspects of the business and with their own methods.

With their experience and the connections they have from Nineteen95, starting their second company, FrothTea LLP, went smoothly.

Lives Of The Entrepreneur-Students

Currently, Uzen and Julian are studying at different universities and pursuing different degrees, so at least one of them is able to oversee and work at an event they’re booked for.

Julian does most of the correspondence since his schedule is less packed, but when there’s work, they will make compromises and skip classes if need be, Uzen explained.

“90% of the time, it’s a two-men show. We do get part-timers from time to time if we are running concurrent events or if either of us are not able to make it,” Julian added.

“Otherwise, everything else for the business, like the logistics, planning, growing, maintenance, sales, and other functions are solely handled by the both of us.”

I imagined that they would have their hands full just managing Nineteen95 as it is, so I was curious as to why they decided to start FrothTea in September 2018.

“The main reason why we wanted to start FrothTea was because we wanted to open another channel of revenue using our knowledge of mobile live stations from Nineteen95,” Julian answered candidly.

They did some research and found that there wasn’t a company that specialises in live stations that serve bubble tea in Singapore.

“Hence, we decided to enter the ‘Blue Ocean’ and become Singapore’s first bubble tea live station vendor.”

This is also for the sake of their future once they graduate from their respective universities as they intend to work at their businesses full-time.

“It is important that we open up as many channels of revenue as possible so that it justifies what we can earn from the businesses as compared to getting a full-time job in future,” Julian stated.

From their experience, Nineteen95 received more orders from corporate clients such as IBM, iProspect, banks, and hospitals, while FrothTea saw more clients from the lifestyle sector like Shopee, Mileslife, and NTUC Youth.

“We intend to open more businesses revolving around the mobile catering concept and other kinds of businesses if the opportunity presents itself,” Julian shared.

The March Of The “2-Men Army”

The biggest takeaways for them so far is the accumulated knowledge and experience they gained, from handling the different functions of the business by themselves to learning the “fringe skills behind it”.

Julian added that in their journey so far, they’ve met many suppliers, other mobile coffee business owners, and made many contacts who have been helpful and inclusive.

“We are happy to be part of the community that lives and breathe coffee. It is very heartening to see everyone helping each other out to get to their goals,” he shared.

Becoming a business owner has also changed Uzen’s perspective of things around him.

He’s more aware of the operations of other businesses and would look for any aspects that he can incorporate into his own.

Through Nineteen95 and FrothTea, they were invited by several Entrepreneurship Clubs in schools to speak about entrepreneurship.

To prepare for these talks, Uzen read and learnt about entrepreneurial concepts that he can share.

For Julian, he felt it was “rewarding” to see what they “have achieved as a two-men army”.

“Through the business, I [found out] who my real friends are; who I can rely on for help and who are willing to help no matter the circumstances,” he reflected.

“For those who were part of the journey, if you’re reading this, thank you for everything thus far! “

“I am eternally grateful to have found [Julian] and to have him as a business partner. Through our struggles, we have always been there for each other and managed to understand each other’s goals and vision for the business,” Uzen said.

They have grown as business partners and more importantly, have grown closer as friends.

“I hope that we can continue being friends for the next 10, 20, or even 30 years in future,” he added.

Julian shares his sentiments, saying, “Words cannot describe how lucky we both are to be able to work so seamlessly together, such business partners or friends are not easy to come by.”

The friends saw Nineteen95 as a project in its early days and have worked tirelessly to be what it is today.

On what would they have done differently if they could go back in time, Julian said there isn’t much that they would do “as everything was a learning experience”.

“If we did not make mistakes, we wouldn’t be where we are as a company today.”

In collaboration with Deliveroo, Nineteen95 has opened its own retail space at Deliveroo Editions at Alice@Mediapolis.

Check out Nineteen95 here and FrothTea here. Follow them on Facebook here and Instagram here.

• Beam was founded in Singapore and has now begun their expansion plans throughout Asia Pacific, with Malaysia being their first destination.
• The e-scooter startup has raised USD6.4 million in seed funding from Sequoia India, Founders Fund, ZhenFund, and Class 5 Global in October of 2018.

The bike sharing scene in Malaysia has died down with bike sharing startups like oBike and ofo disappearing and leaving their yellow bikes all around KL.

This has led Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) facing an uphill task of clearing thousands of yellow bikes that have been piling up in the depots.

It’s gotten so bad that Kuala Lumpur mayor Datuk Nor Hisham Ahmad Dahlan has now given an ultimatum to oBike to claim their bikes by mid-April or they will be seized and destroyed, or sold for scrap.

With bike sharing out of the way in Malaysia, another form of sharing has popped up looking to replace it as the alternative form of transportation—e-scooters.

This isn’t particularly new, with Singaporeans across the causeway having enjoyed e-scooters for a while now. But this year, we Malaysians have finally gotten our hands on it.

Scooting Their Way In

The first e-scooter company that set foot in Malaysia was Neuron Mobility from Singapore, but hot on their heels are Beam also from Singapore (not to be confused with Malaysian startup BEAM).

Beam was launched in July 2018 by CEO Alan Jiang, and CTO Deb Gangopadhyay.

Alan has a background in expanding transportation options with his previous role at ofo where he led the APAC operations and also played a key role in launching Uber across Asia in countries such as China, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam.

As for Deb, he is a founder and engineer who has led successful SaaS tech startups in Silicon Valley and managed some of the world’s top grossing mobile products while at Pocket Gems.

Seeing as there is a high demand for mobility options in Malaysia, Christopher Hilton, VP of Corporate Affairs for Beam added that the business will be a success as they will have strong operations and support staff to ensure that e-scooters will be successful on the ground.

As for the age old question of bikes / e-scooters being left everywhere, Christopher mentioned that although they will be using a dockless system, all of their e-scooters will be equipped with GPS tracking.

“We maintain the fleet through a combination of operational staff and freelance support to charge and redistribute the vehicles at designated areas everyday,” he said.

He further explained that Beam will work to collect, charge, and redistribute the e-scooters every night.

Beam e-scooters are already ready for users to use around KL in the Bukit Bintang and Jalan Raja Chulan areas, and users just need to download the Beam app to locate, unlock, and then ride it.

It costs RM2.50 to unlock the e-scooter and RM0.30 for every minute of riding.

Working Together With Communities

As a way to prevent the same issues that plagued bike sharing, the Beam team is focused on building and nurturing a mobility community.

Additionally, they also actively communicate with users around their responsibility as part of the mobility sharing community.

Christopher emphasised that this was important as the sharing platform can only work when they collaborate with communities and create an ecosystem that benefits the environment they operate in.

One way Beam does this is by working together with individuals who sign up as chargers on their platform, these chargers will then be rewarded for helping to charge Beam e-scooters.

“On signing up, [they] receive training and the equipment necessary to charge scooters safely and are subsequently paid, per scooter, for picking up, charging, and depositing them at an allocated location,” said Christopher.

Other than working with the community, they’re also working closely with the local authorities.

“We have been working closely with DBKL around our operations to develop a regulated environment,” he explained.

It’s important to work with the authorities as well because in Singapore, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) had impounded 42 PMDS or personal mobility devices (another way to refer to e-scooters) from different firms.

The e-scooters were impounded because they were found available for hire at public places despite the firms not having the required licenses or exemptions from the Minister of Transport.

As of writing, in Singapore, Beam are currently working through an application process with the local regulators to obtain an operating license and they are confident that they’ll be given the green light later this year.

A Beam-ing Start

Although Beam was only founded in July last year, they’ve already received seed funding a few months after in October 2018.

“Beam raised a USD6.4 million seed fund lead by Sequoia India, Founders Fund, ZhenFund and Class 5 Global in October of 2018,” Christopher said. “This successful round was a strong indication of belief in the business and its scalability in the Asia Pacific region.”

Speaking about their prospects in Malaysia, especially in Kuala Lumpur, they’ve already recorded thousands of signups in the first month of trial.

Furthermore, in the city of KL there is a unique opportunity to introduce alternative transportation options.

“This is due to the high flow of human traffic in, around and out of the city, especially during peak hours,” Christopher said. “With Beam entering the market, travellers now have a new mobility option that will allow them to make short and quick trips around the city without the need of getting into a car.”

However, it’s never going to be a smooth ride as the business is an entirely new venture and so are e-scooters in Malaysia.

“With that comes a multitude of challenges requiring the business to be agile and intelligent with resources, and for the team to be creative and flexible at all times,” he explained.

The process of introducing a new form of transportation is also exciting to Christopher as it allows them to see how mindsets change regarding how individuals interact with their cities.

With their first step out of Singapore, he mentioned that Beam will continue to focus on expansion across Asia Pacific in the coming years.

• If you would like to try out Beam’s e-scooters, you can download the Beam app for Android devices here and iOS devices here.

Feature Image Credit: Beam

From November 2018, homeowners and business owners in Singapore can opt to switch to another electricity retailer at a price plan that best meet their needs under the new Open Electricity Market (OEM) initiative.

Simply put, buying electricity will become similar to choosing mobile phone plans.

Instead of getting power solely from SP Group, the OEM allows you to pick and choose from an array of price plans offered by various retailers.

The nationwide initiative will give consumers more choice and flexibility, while enjoying the same supply through the national power grid.

As of 1 April 2018, the Energy Market Authority (EMA) soft launched OEM in Jurong. The rest of Singapore will be able to choose their retailer once the OEM is fully launched in the second half of 2019.

This schedule is accurate as of 21 September 2018, and consumers in Jurong with postal codes 60-64 have been able to buy electricity from a retailer since April 2018.

What You Need To Know

First and foremost, switching to an electricity retailer is not compulsory so you can still continue to buy electricity from SP Group if you wish to.

If you decide to make the switch, note that you can do so anytime — there is no hard deadline for you to switch.

Your electricity supply will not be affected during this transition period. The new electricity retailer will work with SP Group to make the switch for you so you don’t have to do anything on your end!

There are a total of 13 retailers for homeowners and small business owners (with an average monthly consumption not exceeding 2,000 kWh) to choose from.

However, larger business owners with an average monthly consumption of at least 2,000 kWh (monthly electricity bill of at least $400) can buy electricity from any licensed electricity retailer.

What To Consider Before Switching?

For starters, find out how much electricity you are using per month or refer to SP Group’s National Average Household Consumption data for an estimate.

You can also utilise this comparison tool to find out the rates of the different electricity retailers and your estimated monthly bill based on your average monthly consumption.

There are two standard price plans for you to consider:

• Fixed Price Plan – Pay a fixed rate (eg. $0.20/kWh) for electricity throughout your contract duration. This plan is suitable for consumers who prefer certainty over price and bill size.
• Discount Off The Regulated Tariff Plan – Enjoy a fixed discount off the prevailing regulated tariff (eg. 5% off) throughout your contract duration. This is suitable for consumers who do not mind that their electricity rate changes every quarter so long as it is lower than the regulated tariff.

With regards to which is the cheapest, it all depends on the regulated tariff, which is reviewed every three months. 

Presently, the Fixed Price Plans range between 17.98 cents/kWh and 23.01 cents/kWh, while Discount Off The Regulated Tariff Plans offer between 10% and 23% off the regulated electricity tariff.

Some retailers also offer modified price plans, such as the peak and off-peak plan where you pay more for electricity during the peak period and vice versa. The timings may differ for each provider, and you will also be required to install a smart meter at home.

For the environmentally conscious, there are also plans that utilise renewable energy or carbon neutral electricity.

Read the Fact Sheet for your preferred price plan and look out for contractual terms such as:

• contractual duration
• payment terms
• security deposit
• early termination charge
• auto-renewal clause

Be sure to thoroughly read the contract before signing it! Do not rush into making a decision because there is no deadline for switching, so take your time to understand your options.

Your contract can start as early as five business days after your retailer informs SP Group to make the switch.

Switch And Save

For better deals, keep an eye out for sign-up promotions and other perks that may come from retailers’ partnerships with other merchants or banks.

Here’s a list of some ongoing promotions (accurate at time of writing):

• Best Electricity – $20 bill rebate for for 24-month contract, 1% cash rebate with POSB Everyday Card.
• Diamond – All residential plans come with a free AIA Personal Accident Insurance with coverage of up to $20,000. UOB cardholbers also get $24 electricity bill rebate + up to 5% card rebate with UOB One Card. All users will receive $22.50 electricity bill rebate if they refer their friends to sign up.
• ES Power – $20 worth of Grab vouchers for sign-up, and an additional $5 Grab voucher for GIRO payment.
• iSwitch – Enjoy lower rates from $0.1754/kWh, free air-conditioner servicing, free AIA Personal Accident Insurance, 1% cash rebate with POSB Everyday Card, up to 5% cashback with UOB One credit card bill payment ($50 rebate on 12-month bill).
• Keppel Electric – Enjoy lower rates from $0.1768/kWh + $40 bill rebate with promo code ‘KEPFORTY’. OCBC cardholders get one-time $40 rebate upon sign-up with promo code ‘OCBCCARD’. NTUC Plus! members earn 2,500 LinkPoints upon sign-up of 2-year plan with promo code ‘NTUC0025’.
• Ohm Energy – $20 off bill with promo code ‘OHMREF43368A’.
• Pacific Light – $80 rebate upon sign-up with American Express card, $40 credit on American Express card with $10 minimum spend. All users will receive $32.10 rebate ($21.40 for referee) for referring friends. Online exclusives: Up to $62.06 rebate and waiver of security deposit when paying with UOB cards, and free 3 months Go Select subscription on StarHub Go as well as $32.10 rebate.
• Sembcorp Power – Free Great Eastern 12-month Home Protection Plan. NTUC members get $25 or $60 bill rebates (valid till 31 March 2019). $40 cash rebates upon sign-up with OCBC cards, limited to first 4,000 new customers (valid till 30 April 2019). One-time $40 bill rebate for for 1st month with Maybank cards. $40 credit on American Express cards with $10 minimum spend (valid till 30 June 2019). Users who sign up for Sembcorp 24-month Fixed Price Plan get free smart home package (Google Home Mini, 2 smart sockets, 2 magic cubes).
• Senoko Energy – UOB cardholders get one-time rebate of $35 and up to 5% monthly rebate with promo code ‘UOBSE35’. OCBC cardholders get one-time rebate of $40 and up to 3% monthly rebate with promo code ‘OCGET40’. Both valid till 30 April 2019.
• Seraya Energy (Geneco) – $60 off bill with promo code ‘REAL60’. NTUC members earn 4,000 LinkPoint upon sign-up of Get It Fixed 36 months plan with promo code ‘PLUSGENECO’. American Express cardholders earn $40 credit via recurring bill payment. OCBC cardholders $40 cash rebate via recurring bill payment, limited to first 4,000 sign-ups. 1% cash rebate with POSB Everyday Card. UOB cardholders get 5% UOB One card rebate + additional 1% UOB for 12 months.
• Sunseap – Up to $65 worth of rebates and Grab rides for online sign-ups (valid till 31 March 2019). UOB cardholders get up to $40 savings with promo code ‘SUNSEAPUOB40’ (valid till 30 April 2019).
• Tuas Power – Get $60 rebate upon sign-up for a 36-month contract with promo code ‘TPWE1’ (valid till 24 March 2019). Online sign-ups get $30 rebate with promo code ‘TP30’. Free 12-month AVIVA Home Contents, Personal Accident or Travel Insurance for sign-ups. 1% cash rebate with POSB Everyday Card. Referrers get $20 rebate for each successful referral, and referees get a $20 (Referral Bonus) + $30 (Online Sign Up Bonus) bill rebate.
• Union Power – Up to 22% off regulated tariff, free Union Home Contents Insurance, free grocery vouchers worth $20, 1% cash rebate with POSB Everyday Card.

What Happens If You Change Your Mind?

You can always switch back to SP Group if you feel that the fixed or discounted prices are not your cup of tea, but be sure to check on the early termination charges!

Regardless, your electricity supply will not be affected no matter what you choose to do. SP Group will continue to operate the national power grid and deliver electricity to everyone.

Your retailer also cannot cut off your electricity supply as and when it pleases. If your retailer wishes to stop selling electricity to you, your retailer is required to inform you at least 10 business days before terminating your contract.

Thereafter, you will be automatically transferred back to SP Group at the regulated tariff unless you choose to switch to a new retailer.

Sometimes, the best way to get over something you fear is to turn it into a business.

While this method might not work for all fears, this was the approach Singaporean Marcus Ong (28) took to deal with his fear of cockroaches.

“I started fearing cockroaches as far back as I can remember,” he shared in an interview with us. “I disliked them because I have this [idea] that all cockroaches are dirty.”

But as a naturally “curious and technical” individual, Marcus also had a strong interest in research and trying to understand the world (and creatures) around him.

“The fear of cockroaches led me to attend pest management courses to understand them so that I can prevent them from entering my house.”

A Simple Aim: To Provide Affordable Pest-Control Services

Besides finding out that certain species of male cockroaches can fly (contrary to popular belief), Marcus also realised that pest-control services aren’t affordable for the general public and low income groups.

“Some people [might also] not know about the danger of pest-related issues like food-borne diseases.”

Armed with a simple, yet unwavering mission in mind, Marcus established PestGoCleaning in 2017.

An alumnus of Temasek Polytechnic, Marcus chose to set up his business at entrepreneurship hub Temasek Launchpad, which provides spaces for startups on the campus to work at.

Still based at Launchpad currently, he revealed that they’re still “receiving a lot of industry-relevant advice from the Innovation and Entrepreneurship department”.

Done More Than 600 Jobs Since Launch

Marcus shared that while he did not need to pump in a lot of capital to kickstart the business, the greatest challenge to him was “taking the leap of faith and dive in, head first”.

“At the start, we had limited resources – time, network, etcetera.”

[But while] there are a lot of challenges for a startup, what I think is the most important thing is knowing your priorities, and to solve one problem at a time.

To get their name out to potential customers, Marcus and the team used both the ‘old school’ method of knocking on doors and social media for outreach.

The PestGoCleaning team has done more than 600 jobs since launch, and also created a line of organic pesticides for customers to use after exterminations.

Changing The Industry, One Dead Pest At A Time

The journey of entrepreneurship is no easy one, but Marcus shared that he feels the happiest when he receives positive feedback from clients.

“[It’s] not just receiving these valuable feedback, it’s also us continuing to improve our quality.”

One memorable client actually cooked lunch for while we were doing our job, and insisted that we stay for lunch after. That’s a moment we can never forget.

I’d like to thank Marcus for his time!

The ride-hailing competition in Singapore is about to heat up again with the entry of Vietnamese firm FastGo next month.

FastGo offers three types of rides — private cars, taxis and motorbikes. But like Gojek, it is likely to offer just private-hire car services in Singapore.

Those keen to register as a FastGo driver can do so via its mobile app from April 1, and customers will be able to book rides from April 30.

Drivers will be charged a fixed daily subscription fee of US$5 (S$6.73) instead of commission fees. However, this fee will be waived for those who earn less than US$30 (S$40.40) in a business day.

This strategy will allow it to “attract driver-partners and customers at a low cost”, the firm said.

No Peak Period Surcharges

Rates for FastGo’s fares in Singapore have not been announced yet, but the firm’s founder and chairman Nguyen Huu Tuat said that “any FastGo ride will always be cheaper than the others”.

For one, it will not be charging peak period surcharges.

FastGo also offers an insurance package for its customers during their rides.

Founded in 2018, FastGo was established after Uber’s exit from Southeast Asia last June.

With almost 60,000 drivers onboard, the company claims to be the second most popular ride-hailing firm in Vietnam, following Grab.

Besides Vietnam, FastGo also has presence in Yangon, Myanmar; but the firm is also looking to launch in Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand this year.

Like other ride-hailing companies in the region, FastGo is looking to diversify its services, including food delivery and financial services.

It is also aiming to raise another US$50 million in a Series B funding round over the next few months.

Featured Image Credit: FastGo

• Nas Daily founder Nuseir Yassin is moving to Singapore with his girlfriend and media company in April
• He will be setting up a video production house here, focused on creating Facebook videos for clients
• He intends to secure an office next to Facebook at Marina One Tower, and will be hiring in the “next few months”
• He also plans to host an annual “Nas” conference or summit here, which will be “about the people of Singapore, by the people of Singapore”

Popular travel vlogger Nuseir Yassin, better known as the founder of Nas Daily, is moving to Singapore this coming April.

View this post on Instagram

It’s official: we are moving to Singapore! After 3 years straight of traveling, living in one place for 2 months has been AMAZING. No packing and unpacking. I can own liquids larger than 100 ml , I have a laundry machine, I can cook at home, and I even had time to make FRIENDS! And now I get to do all this – in Singapore Singapore is the hub of Asia, and arguably a major hub of the world. That’s why @nasdaily is moving us, and his company there. STRATEGY MIS AMIGOS. Their airport is insane (it has a movie theatre and a butterfly garden), there’s almost no traffic (a blessing for an LA girl) and the people are amazingly nice (and smart!). We could be there two months or two years, but no matter how long it is it’s going to be SICK! See you soon, SINGAPORE! : @foreverchasingadventure

A post shared by Alyne Tamir (@dearalyne) on Mar 19, 2019 at 1:49pm PDT

In an Instagram post on Wednesday (March 20), his girlfriend Aylne Tamir announced that she will be relocating to Singapore with Nuseir and his media company.

She described Singapore as the “hub of Asia, and arguably a major hub of the world”, and added that they could be staying here for “two months or two years”.

With plans to arrive in Singapore by April 20, Nuseir said that he intends to set up a video production house here.

He will be here on the EntrePass, a work permit that allows foreign entrepreneurs to start a business in Singapore.

Plans To Set Up Office Next To Facebook

This new video production house will be focused on creating Facebook videos for clients, and the 27-year-old Harvard graduate is confident that it will be “one of the best, if not the best” company for creating such videos.

“If you’re a start-up looking for good videos that explain what you do… you should probably go with the Nas Daily company, because (it) lives and breathes Facebook videos,” he told TODAY in a phone interview from Israel.

With a deep-seated passion for churning out Facebook content, Nuseir expressed his ambition to secure a “big office right next to the Facebook office in the big Marine (One) Tower”.

“It’s just a matter of time until we get there,” he added.

He also intends to double his staff headcount and is looking to hire about five more people to join the Nas Daily Media Company in the “next few months”.

Regardless of this new endeavour, Nuseir said that he will continue to regularly publish videos on his Facebook channel to “keep [it] alive”.

But Why Singapore After All The Criticism?

While fans rejoiced at his decision to relocate here, there are also many others who were unhappy at this move.

In fact, a petition calling for Nas Daily to be banned from entering Singapore has been posted on the Change.org platform.

It was started on March 20 by an Azman Samsudin, and is addressed to the Info-communications Media Development Authority (IMDA), Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, and the government of Singapore.

Nuseir has received flak for his ultra-positive videos on Singapore, which were accused of being paid for by the Government.

To this, Nuseir has stepped forward to clarify that he was not sponsored to produce them and that he simply wanted his videos to “focus on the positive”.

With regards to his move here, Nuseir emphasised that he is “self-funding” the company’s relocation.

He explained that he chose Singapore as his headquarter because it is near to the countries he intend to visit next, such as Australia, China, India and Vietnam.

Besides that, the “straightforward” tax system, good Internet connection and business-friendly environment made it a no-brainer, he added.

If you’re building a business, that’s the kind of environment you’d want to be in.

Nuseir Yassin

Might Host A Summit About Singaporeans

Besides setting up his company here, Nuseir also plans to host an annual “Nas” summit or conference in Singapore.

“Nas means people in Arabic. So this conference will be all about the people of Singapore, by the people of Singapore,” he told TODAY.

While the conference’s name is still not confirmed, he plans for the day-long event to be held in the same week he arrives.

It will be a non-profit venture and will likely to be a “money-losing event”, he added.

Regardless, he is intent on beginning his journey in Singapore this way.

I want to bring the average Singaporean, the rich Singaporean, the poor Singaporean together for one day and just talk about the story of Singapore. The good, the bad, anything. Everybody gets a chance to share something with everybody.

Nuseir Yassin

Featured Image Credit: Nas Daily

Waitrr, a mobile ordering and payment solution in Singapore, has just enabled OCBC Pay Anyone on its platform, to make dining even more seamless.

Since it was started up by Tim Wekezer and Andras Bokros in 2017, Waitrr has helped restaurant patrons avoid long waits for service staff to take their orders and handle their payments, as everything can be settled in the app.

In a simple process, customers browse the restaurant’s menu through Waitrr, then order and pay in-app as well.

It also works for takeaway, by letting customers place their orders from wherever they are and select a suitable time to pick up their food at the store.

When we spoke with the founders in 2017, they’d had 25 F&B partners on board back then. Now, Waitrr counts over 100 venues, and has been “growing at a rate of 25% month on month”.

The Daily Cut, Guzman y Gomez, PAUL and Da Paolo Gastronomia are some of the F&B outlets they currently work with.

With OCBC Pay Anyone as an added option, users can choose it as their preferred payment method after placing their orders in the Waitrr app.

This will automatically launch the OCBC Pay Anyone app, with the merchant’s name and payment amount already pre-filled—so all that customers need to do is review the details and tap ‘pay’.

Until 18 May 2019, qualifying OCBC customers can enjoy a $3 discount on orders above $6 in Waitrr, by paying with OCBC Pay Anyone and using the promo code “OCBC”. The promotion will be limited to 5,000 redemptions per month.

“We are excited that OCBC customers now have a faster way to order and pay for their daily meals,” said OCBC Head of Digital Payments, Milind Sanghavi.

He also says the partnership is “another example of how OCBC supports the Food & Beverage industry here in Singapore”, while Waitrr’s Wekezer believes there is “a natural fit” between the two payments solution services in helping customers save time when dining.