These companies are likely to emerge stronger post-coronavirus.
FT ranks APAC companies
- Although the coronavirus continues to put many industries in a chokehold, there are others with the potential to strive and emerge from this situation stronger.
- Financial Times ranked a total of 500 high-growth companies in the APAC region. According to FT, these are firms that “will approach the crisis as a catalyst for innovation and in the medium term could strengthen their positions in their respective markets.”
- 500-backed companies Fabelio, Fave, Bukalapak, Grab, HappyFresh and Boxgreen made it onto the list.
- You can view the full list here.
A VR baby fair
- Fairs and mass congregation of any kind have been banned in Malaysia — so 500-backed e-commerce platform Applecrumby moved its booth online and in VR.
- The virtual reality experience lets you enter an Applecrumby booth and view products on the shelves, all with mouse navigation.
- There are offers up for grabs as well. Visit Applecrumby’s “booth” here. Have fun shopping in VR, dads and mums!
Saving energy while staying home
- Life in lockdown means spreading almost every waking hour in shelter. While overall electricity demand has decreased, the same can’t be said for residential use.
- That means consumers should consider that their weekday home power usage is going to mimic an average weekend day.
- 500-backed SOLS Energy, a renewable energy startup operating in Malaysia, has been providing timely tips on Facebook to save money on electricity bills during Covid-19.
- SOLS Energy’s renewable energy initiatives and efforts have won the company industry-recognized accolades including EU-Malaysia Chamber of Commerce & Industry (EUMCCI) — Best Sustainability Leader Award — 2018
Netflix is not chilling
- When entertainment and production companies are scrambling to delay movie premiere dates and postpone filming schedules, Netflix is busy bringing in more subscribers.
- The streaming giant, perhaps the best-positioned media company for such a time as this, acquired more than 15.7 million subscribers in the first three months of the year, The New York Times reported.
- In total, Netflix currently has 182.8 million subscribers.
- But will the platform ever run out of new content while people are stuck at home? Don’t worry, Netflix confirms there’ll be enough shows and movies to go around.
- What have you been watching on Netflix? We’d appreciate some recommendations. Let us know in the comments below!
Stay tuned to tomorrow’s Daily Markup!
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500 Startups is a venture capital firm on a mission to discover and back the world’s most talented entrepreneurs, help them create successful companies at scale, and build thriving global ecosystems. In Southeast Asia, 500 Startups invests through the pioneering 500 Southeast Asia family of funds. The 500 Southeast Asia funds have backed over 240 companies across multiple sectors from internet to consumer to deep technology. It continues to connect founders with capital, expertise and powerful regional and global networks to help them succeed.
This post is intended solely for general informational or educational purposes only. 500 Startups Management Company, L.L.C. and its affiliates (collectively “500 Startups”) makes no representation as to the accuracy or information in this post and while reasonable steps have been taken to ensure that the information herein is accurate and up-to-date, no liability can be accepted for any error or omissions. All third party links in this post have not been independently verified by 500 Startups and the inclusion of such links should not be interpreted as an endorsement or confirmation of the content within. Under no circumstances should any content in this post be construed as investment, legal, tax or accounting advice by 500 Startups, or an offer to sell or solicitation of interest to purchase any securities advised by 500 Startups. Prospective investors considering an investment into any 500 Startups fund should not consider or construe this content as fund marketing material. The views expressed herein are as at the date of this post and are subject to change without notice. A 500 Startups fund may have a financial interest in one or more of the companies discussed.
