Disaster prevention
- During the recent floods in Malaysia, 500-backed drone startup Aerodyne Group has been assisting government agencies with search and rescue efforts via the deployment of tactical drones.
- These drones identified, reached, and rescued stranded flood victims, in addition to collecting critical information. “We can do a lot of assessment…like why the water didn’t recede, where does it come from?” explained Kamarul A Muhamed, founder and CEO of Aerodyne Group.
- Armed with the data, the team could develop effective evacuation plans and rescue routes. In the longer term, data from the drones can also be used to map high-risk areas and conduct flood simulations for better drainage planning.
- This information can help build new and better systems to mitigate natural disasters or improve and maintain existing infrastructure.
- Read the full story on VulcanPost.
Serving the people
- 500-backed Nikel (formerly known as Impact Credit Solutions) has signed an agreement with Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD) to administer an impact investment fund.
- The partnership seeks to provide assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as to benefit the Indonesian health sector as a whole.
- The fund will provide rapid seed funding primarily to women entrepreneurs in addition to the healthcare and food distribution sectors for early and mid-stage SMEs in the country.
- Due to the pandemic, it is reported that such SMEs lack adequate financial support to serve patients and consumers, which in turn hinders a large number of people from obtaining the necessary healthcare services.
- Get more details here.
Investing for good
- 500-backed investment network ANGIN claims to have grown into the largest angel and early-stage investment platform in Indonesia. It also provides advisory services in the area of entrepreneurship and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
- This year, the startup launched ANGIN Foundation to focus on more impact-oriented projects. Overall, ANGIN engaged with more than 120 partners and clients, channeling over US$8.5 million in capital across 2021.
- To date, it claims to have closed over 100 deals, at US$23.5 million accumulated total capital invested.
- Download the full report here.
