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.

Nikel