Money in the bag
- 500-backed financial management platform BuKuKas has raised US$9 million in pre-Series A funding to upgrade its product offerings and build market share in Indonesia.
- Investors include Sequoia Capital India’s Surge, Saison Capital, Speedinvest, S7V, January Capital, and Cambium Grove Capital.
- “The speed at which BukuKas has grown in the last eight months since launch has shown us that more than ever, Indonesian small businesses are ready to go digital.
- “Seventy-three percent of merchants are outside of tier-one cities today — and very few products and services are built for them. BukuKas is committed to reaching them, as they are the real Indonesia, the spine of our economy,” said co-founder Krishnan Menon.
- Krishnan and Lorenzo Peracchione founded BukuKas in 2019 to help Indonesia’s MSMEs manage their bookkeeping via a user-friendly mobile app.
- With many micro-entrepreneurs still relying on pen and paper to record their expenditures, BukuKas’ solutions provide end-to-end visibility on cash flow, allowing them to stay updated with the health of their businesses through a digital lens.
- At the moment, BukuKas has over 800,000 small merchants and retailers on its platform.
- Congrats to the BukuKas team for a successful round!
Drones in Canada
- Through its US-based headquarters, 500-backed Aerodyne Group has entered into a joint venture agreement with The Sky Guys, Canada’s top drone operator.
- As a result, Aerodyne will leverage The Sky Guys’ presence to expand its portfolio of AI-driven enterprise drone solutions to potential customers in Canada.
- The Sky Guys serves more than 600 clients across a wide range of sectors and is ranked among the top 20 drone operators globally.
- Kamarul A Muhamad, founder of Aerodyne Group said, “Opportunities come to us on a global scale and we have been witnessing a strong demand from Canada as well. The country is already ahead of the game when it comes to developing applications for drones for commercial purposes. We see a huge potential for our inventive and disruptive UAV inspections in the mining, oil and gas, and renewable energy sectors in Canada.”
- With the latest partnership, Aerodyne continues to grow its global imprint following expansion plans to North America and the Middle East.
- Last month, Aerodyne announced it has been working with Associated British Ports (ABP), a leading port owner and operator in the UK. BP operates 21 ports in the United Kingdom, managing around 25% of the UK’s sea-borne trade.
Scooting in Canberra
- 750 Neuron e-scooters will soon be deployed on Canberra’s streets as part of the city’s first e-scooter program.
- Covered in the distinctive orange shade, the N3 e-scooters will come with a suite of offerings ensuring to make every ride safe and comfortable for users.
- Neuron is working with the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Government to bring a range of world-first safety features and pioneering innovations to the city, including: an app-controlled helmet lock, geofencing control, a 000 emergency button, voice guidance, and topple detection.
- Riders will be able to book the N3 e-scooters via Neuron Mobility’s smartphone app, with single trips costing AU$1 to unlock and then 38 cents per minute.
- Neuron is the leading e-scooter operator in Australia and New Zealand. Founded in Singapore in 2016, the company operates in eight locations including Brisbane, Darwin, Adelaide, and Auckland.
- “E-scooters are a great way for people to travel in a safe, convenient and socially-distanced way, and elsewhere in Australia they are helping cities bounce back from the pandemic,” Zachary Wang, CEO and co-founder of Neuron Mobility said.
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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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