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| Pg Khairi of Brunei's startup Mindtrex Academy presents the digital learning platform during the 2021 ASEAN-Korea Startup Week pitch contest, Nov. 29. Courtesy of ASEAN-Korea Centre |
By Kwon Mee-yoo
The ASEAN-Korea Centre (AKC) held a pitch contest for startups in Southeast Asia in cooperation with the Gyeonggi Center for Creative Economy & Innovation.
The contest was part of the 2021 ASEAN-Korea Startup Week, which aims to bridge startups in countries that are members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations with potential investors and business partners from Korea and worldwide.
ASEAN is emerging as a cradle for startups. In 2021, 19 startups in the region gained unicorn status, which refers to valuations of $1 billion or more, among the total of 39 unicorns in the region.
"Enhancing startup cooperation between ASEAN and Korea is becoming more important. Last October, during the 22nd ASEAN-ROK summit, ASEAN and Korea have emphasized the progress of ASEAN-Korea Startup Partnership Initiative, as well as ASEAN-Korea Centre's activities in business-to-business operation," Kim Hae-yong, secretary general of ASEAN-Korea Centre, said in his opening remarks during the 2021 ASEAN-Korea Startup Week in Seoul, Nov. 29.
"As ASEAN startups offer fresh ideas and localization strategies, I believe ASEAN-Korea partnership and cooperation will be equally important by attracting the interests of global and Korean investors."
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| Kim Hae-yong, secretary general of ASEAN-Korea Centre, delivers opening remarks during the 2021 ASEAN-Korea Startup Week in Seoul, Nov. 29. Courtesy of ASEAN-Korea Centre |
This year, 29 ASEAN startups took part in the business matching program online in November and 23 among them presented their ideas to global investors from Nov. 29 to 30 to attract investment. Participating companies come from a wide range of sectors, ranging from finance and e-commerce to artificial intelligence (AI), tourism and agriculture.
After the two-day pitching contest, Cambodia's Jalat Logistics won the first prize and a $30,000 award, Dec. 1.
The Cambodian logistics company provides an all-in-one logistics portal service using AI and mobile warehousing. The company aims to develop a solution for more efficient and environment-friendly last-mile logistics infrastructure through mobile internet of things (IOT) warehouses.
"It's been a good learning experience and opportunity to connect and explore more opportunities beyond just Cambodia," Sou Sethey of Jalat Logistics said during the acceptance speech.
EatLab of Thailand was named the second prize winner for their restaurant management and analytics tools using AI.
RecyGlo from Myanmar, a data analytics platform for solid waste management and recycling, and Trabble from Singapore, a guest engagement platform for the hospitality industry, came in third together.
Alfredo Coppola, co-CEO of U.S. Market Access Center, a startup incubator in Silicon Valley, and one of the judges of the competition, appreciated the AKC's effort in giving the ASEAN startups the opportunity to go global.
"I can tell that the majority of the startups work very hard. I would say a good two thirds of the companies are companies that I would give a second look to. And it was nice to see some markets represented that we had not seen before, like from Brunei, Myanmar and Thailand. It shows us that talent is everywhere around the world," Coppola said during his remarks.
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