Accelerating Asia Announces Its Largest Accelerator Cohort Of 11 High Potential Early-Stage Southeast and South Asian Startups
- Accelerating Asia, an international accelerator VC for pre-Series A startups, has unveiled its fourth cohort, deepening its presence in the region.
- The 11 high-growth startups from Singapore, Indonesia, Pakistan and Bangladesh have raised over S$6 million coming into the programme.
- Since 2018 Accelerating Asia has worked with more than 70 founders from 36 startups in the flagship program and its past cohorts have raised over S$30 million in capital to date.
SINGAPORE - 13 April 2021 - Leading international accelerator VC, Accelerating Asia, has officially announced the fourth cohort of its flagship 100-day program for pre-Series A startups. The 11 startups have raised over S$6 million coming into the programme, bringing the total capital raised by Accelerating Asia’s startups to over S$30 million, with 70 percent of investment raised since joining the Accelerating Asia portfolio.
In just one month since the fourth cohort began, the startups had already increased monthly revenue by 25 per cent, up from an average of S$45,000 when they joined Accelerating Asia to S$56,000. The 11 startups current growth rate has also doubled since joining Accelerating Asia, with startups averaging 30 per cent month-on-month growth up from 16 per cent at the start of the programme.
The 11 new portfolio companies cover ten verticals and include companies from Singapore, Indonesia, Pakistan and Bangladesh. New industry verticals include property, dating and marketing/advertising. Accelerating Asia’s portfolio now covers over 20 verticals across B2B, B2C and B2B2C companies. The incoming cohort includes 35 percent female co-founded startups and 60 percent gender lens investments, with over 80 percent addressing a United Nations Sustainable Development Goal.
Amra Naidoo, Co-Founder and General Partner of Accelerating Asia, said, “We’ve selected cohort four from 500 startups from 30 countries, a record number of applications for us that shows the demand for a Singapore based accelerator with an international footprint. With just 2 percent of startups selected, the chosen 11 will be part of our largest cohort and are eligible to receive up to S$200,000 in investment from our VC fund.”
TransTRACK.ID, who joins the fourth cohort from Indonesia, collects data to track, analyse and improve transport operations and have a solid founding team with a depth of experience in the industry. TransTRACK.ID’s year on year revenue has more than doubled, increasing 130 per cent since March 2020. Bangladesh-based Amar Lab empowers people to take charge of their healthcare with on-demand diagnostic services. They have served and delivered over 10,000 diagnostic tests, including COVID-19 tests for individuals and corporate clients. Hospitality startup Waitrr, which maintains a presence in Singapore, Europe and Australia, offers a mobile QR ordering and payments platform for restaurants with a client base that includes F&B brands like PAUL, Da Paolo Gastronomia and Changi Airport Group.
"Both Amar Lab and Waitrr have benefited from market dynamics that COVID-19 heavily influenced. They’re well-placed for long-term growth as global healthcare and hospitality sectors continue to accelerate their digitalisation efforts in the form of remote and mobile services," said Craig Dixon, Co-Founder and General Partner at Accelerating Asia. "During the Accelerating Asia programme, participating startups on average grow monthly revenue 350 percent, and 90 percent of companies raise outside capital from our network of angels, family offices and institutional investors. We're excited to build on our track record with Cohort Four."
Accelerating Asia offers its investors early and exclusive access to portfolio startups, providing them with qualified deal-flow, pro-rata rights, and a first-option for investment which will continue in Q2 2021 and beyond as the accelerator VC expands partnership and investment opportunities. Looking further ahead, the team is planning to expand their presence around the region in particular, developing a greater footprint across multiple markets via cohort recruitment and partnerships with governments and investors. To support the startup ecosystem, Accelerating Asia is offering Amplify – a 6-module virtual accelerator program giving startups access to top-level resources to grow their business; and Angel360, a virtual angel investing programme which provides investors with a step by step guide to investing in the region.
Cohort four’s programme will culminate in an online Demo Day on 17 June 2021, and applications are now open for Cohort Five.
Accelerating Asia’s fourth cohort of startups include:
Key Highlights
- 11 startups with operating markets across Southeast Asia, South Asia, Europe and Australia.
- Startups have raised over S$6 million before joining Accelerating Asia.
- Average monthly revenue has increased 20% in month 1 of the Accelerating Asia programme.
- 35% of startups are female co-founded and over 60% are gender lens investments.
- 80% of startups are addressing at least one UN Sustainable Development Goal.
Cohort Four Startups
Amar Lab partners with top local and international diagnostic labs to provide end to end diagnostics test services from sample collection to testing to report delivery directly from customers premises, saving time, money and hassle for patients. To date Amar Lab has served over 10,000 diagnostic tests and is providing COVID tests for individuals and corporate clients.
Casa Mia is a coliving operator offering private bedrooms in shared homes with a convenient search process and a great community. Casa Mia has over S$1.35M in annualised revenue and a presence in Singapore, in 2021 the team is looking to expand its presence across multiple markets in APAC.
DoctorKoi is a healthtech company offering a prescription writing software that allows a doctor to write a prescription from a database of 27,000 medications within just a few clicks. DoctorKoi works with over 1300 doctors, partners with top pharmaceutical companies and has processed over 2.6M digital prescriptions.
Drive lah is a mobility company that offers flexible & affordable access to cars nearby for whatever you need it for - personal or commercial without the hassle of ownership. Since raising its seed round, Drive lah has had 10X growth within 15 months, scaled to S$2.9M, acquired Smove and received awards from the Singapore Ministry of Trade & Industry for its impact on mobility.
HandyMama is the first and leading professional cleaning and handyman services platform of Bangladesh, connecting customers with trustworthy and verified service providers through mobile app, web app and a call center. HandyMama has helped over 100,000 households while employing over 500 people full time and 3000 part time. Their vision is to serve 1M households by 2025.
Independents is an A.I. powered marketplace that matches world-class individual or team talent, to the exact requirements of marketing projects. The founding team has worked at leading advertising agencies like Ogilvy & global brands Sony and Rakuten. Independents’ clients include leading brands such as DBS and Mullen Lowe.
Kopi Date is a social platform which curates conversation-centred dating experiences for single millennials to build rich and deep, authentic human connections. During covid-19, the team successfully pivoted and innovated with new products including Date From Home and their monthly revenue has increased 50% in the last month. Plus, since the ease of lockdown, Kopi Date has experienced 32% growth, and has curated thousands of dates.
Mobiliti provides state of the art bionic lower limb prosthetics at affordable prices. Mobiliti has already served over 1000 patients and established a partnership with the International Committee of the Red Cross.
SWAP is the first cross-category exchange platform for users to sell or swap their old phone, laptop, car, motorcycle, furniture in just 24 hours. Working as a C2B marketplace, SWAP has established buyback partnerships with Samsung, OnePlus, OPPO, Apple and Suzuki. With over 25,000 clients served in 12 months, SWAP has helped to save 36 metric tons of e-waste and 694 metric tons of carbon emissions.
TransTRACK.ID is a fleet telematics system integrator, providing data collection from fleet, driver and asset for transport operations, and builds integrated solutions to optimise productivity, boost efficiency and effectiveness. In the past 12 months, TransTRACK.ID’s year on year revenue has more than doubled, increasing 130%.
Waitrr provides efficiency for the hospitality industry, offering their QR ordering & payments platform for restaurants, cafes, hotels & bars, without the need to download an app. Waitrr’s partners include brands like PAUL, Da Paolo Gastronomia and Changi Airport Group. Clients have adopted Waitrr’s technology in a way that for the majority of clients, 90% of sales go through the Waitrr platform, leading to improved staffing efficiency in the restaurant along with increased revenues, as Waitrr orders often yield +20% higher ticket sizes.
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