Newsflash: Yes, they do.
Rev-share for mobile gaming
- Like most mobile game developers, 500-backed and Indonesia-based TouchTen Games is thriving during this time of social distancing and home lockdown measures.
- With no time to spare, TouchTen has its eyes set to launch the Capsa Susun card game next month. To prep for development, and in an interesting turn of perks, the company is holding a rev-sharing crowdfunding campaign.
- What do backers get in return? By committing to a one-year term and a minimum amount of Rp.300k, backers stand to gain a 30% revenue share from Capsa Susun, which will be published by HAGO, the popular social gaming platform boasting over 10 million daily users.
- Expected returns are at 15% p.a.
- Interested? Head over to the crowdfunding page here.
Fintech helps foreign workers
- As an added Covid-19 measure, foreign workers living in dormitories are barred from leaving Singapore. Announced last month, the order is scheduled to expire at the end of the “circuit breaker” period on 1 June 2020.
- Out of some 300,000 foreign workers, about 150,000 are Bangladeshi. The movement restriction order also makes it difficult for these workers to remit money back home.
- To this end, 500-backed fintech company MyCash has acquired the Standard Payment Institution license in Singapore, allowing affected migrant workers in Singapore to transfer real-time money directly to any bKash wallet account in Bangladesh using the MyCash Wallet app and website.
- “With more than 30 million registered users and over 300,000 agents across Bangladesh, we are excited to welcome bKash as our preferred partner to make the remittance services more accessible to our customers,” says MyCash CEO Mehedi Hasan.
- Get to know more about MyCash here.
Fighting outbreaks with data analysis
- 500-backed Zenysis’ mission is “to help governments and international organizations leverage the full power of their data to accelerate progress towards global development goals.”
- In its response to the Covid-19 pandemic, Zenysis is using big data and artificial intelligence to improve the delivery of healthcare and to coordinate responses to public health emergencies with local governments.
- Led by Jonathan Stambolis, Zenysis was also roped in by the National Health Institute to help stem the cholera outbreak in Mozambique last year, according to an interview with Financial Times.
- Among some of the initiatives kickstarted by Zenysis included a virtual control room, which integrated vital information to help decision-makers in identifying sources of water contamination.
- “It’s the most compelling example of our impact so far,” Jonathan says. You can read the full interview here to know more about how Zenysis is helping to mitigate viral outbreaks through objective data-reporting.
Stay tuned to the next Daily Markup! Missed out on the last Durian Daily? Go here for a full recap.
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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.
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