Investing In Asia

Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned on August 5, 2024, amid massive protests and violent unrest that had gripped the country for weeks. The unrest began as student-led protests against a controversial government job quota system but quickly escalated into widespread anti-government demonstrations. Protesters accused Hasina's government of corruption, election rigging, and human rights abuses during her 15 years in power.Today we hear from Anayet Rashid, the CEO of Truck Lagbe. Truck Lagbe is the country's largest platform for booking trucks. They have coverage across the country.We'll hear what it was like to live through the overthrow, why prices have on everything have come down, what he thinks about the future of the country, and we'll even hear some surprising info on how early stage investors have been making a lot of money investing in companies like his.Truck Lagbe: https://trucklagbe.com/shipper Anayet Rashid: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anayetrashidpappu/Hosted by Arshad Chowdhury, Managing Partner at Betatron: Betatron.coX (Previously Twitter): @arshadgcLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arshadgc

Companies large and small across Asia are increasingly adopting autonomous robots in warehouses and manufacturing. At the bleeding edge of this is Rahul Nambiar, CEO of Botsync. Botsync helps manufacturers automate their manufacturing facilities across Asia. In this episode we start with Botsync's journey, then we cover the types of different robots, adoption rates, buying versus leasing, government policy, and opportunities for new entrepreneurs in the space. Botsync: Botsync.co Rahul Nambiar: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nambiarrahulHosted by Arshad Chowdhury, Managing Partner at Betatron: Betatron.coX (Previously Twitter): @arshadgcLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arshadgcSpecial thanks to Mark Spencer for his help producing this episode: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-spencer-b02b9113/

Today's guest is Bhavik Vashi, the managing director for Asia Pacific and the Middle East at Carta. His seat at Carta gives him a perfect view as to what's happening in the region in terms of startup and VC fundraising and formation. This episode is especially helpful for any LPs looking at the APAC region.  Questions we tackle include:What it was like to experience two major liquidity eventsWhat Carta sees in terms of funding rounds today for startupsThe size and scope of the current funding winterWhy LPs are on the sidelines todayVC mark ups and pricing opacityHow governments in MENA are competing for companiesWhy tokenized ownership of funds probably won't catch onAI's impact and the challenges in picking a winnerThe future of exits in Asia and what that means for portfolio constructionCarta: Carta.comLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bhavikvashi/Hosted by Arshad Chowdhury, Managing Partner at Betatron: Betatron.coX (Previously Twitter): @arshadgcLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arshadgc

 Today's guest is Caesar Sengupta, the CEO of Arta Finance, a wealth management platform built by Caesar and his team of ex Googlers. They came out of stealth in 2022 and announced having raised 90 million in funding. Caesar holds a degree in computer science from Stanford and an MBA from Wharton at Google.Caesar was part of the team that built Google pay into one of the world's leading digital payment platforms, and then spearheaded the next billion users initiative which brought internet access and digital payments to millions of people globally. Caesar is now based in Singapore and today we'll be hearing his take on both his unique journey and his views on the Asian startup ecosystem.Arta: https://artafinance.com/Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caesar-s/ Hosted by Arshad Chowdhury, Managing Partner at Betatron: Betatron.coX (Previously Twitter): @arshadgcLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arshadgc

Today's guest is Leo Jiang. Leo is the Chief Digital Officer of Huawei Cloud and AI for APAC and the Founder of the company's global accelerator, Huawei Spark. He's been recognised as a Top 10 Most Influential CDO globally by Technology Magazine. We're lucky to have him with us today as we dive into all things related to AI, Asia, and startup investing.Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leo-nuo-jiang/Hosted by Arshad Chowdhury, Managing Partner at Betatron: Betatron.coTwitter: @arshadgcLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arshadgc

Today's guest is Erika Cheung, a key whistleblower who reported Theranos to health regulators. Her report subsequently led to the shutdown of Theranos' clinical lab which prevented the company from providing false medical results to thousands of patients. The case has been reported on extensively, including in the book Bad Blood by John Carreyou, 60 Minutes, ABD Podcast: The Drop Out, and Alex Gibney's documentary The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley. Erika obtained a dual degree in Linguistics and Molecular and Cell Biology from UC Berkeley. She is part of the Betatron family as she was a Program Director in its early days. Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erikamcheung/Ethics In Entrepreneurship: https://ethicsinentrepreneurship.org/ Books Mentioned: The Seven Signs of Ethical Collapse: How to Spot Moral Meltdowns in Companies... Before It's Too Late  & Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup.HBO Documentary: The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley. Hosted by Arshad Chowdhury, Managing Partner at Betatron: Betatron.coTwitter: @arshadgcLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arshadgc

Today's guest is Bas Fransen, CEO and founder of EcoMatcher. Originally from Holland, Bas started his career in the Royal Dutch Navy and went on to become a technology executive with long stints at Phillips Semi Conductors, and then IBM.He founded the tree-planting company he runs today, called EcoMatcher, in 2016. The for-profit business has by now planted over a million trees and is on track to plant several million more in the coming years.Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/basfransenhk/EcoMatcher:  https://www.ecomatcher.com/The Hidden Life Of Trees: https://www.amazon.sg/Hidden-Life-Trees-Communicate_Discoveries-Secret/dp/1771642483Hosted by Arshad Chowdhury, Managing Partner at Betatron: Betatron.coTwitter: @arshadgcLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arshadgc/TRANSCRIPT0:53 How did you get into this business?4:14 Planting a tree may seem simple, but what complexities have you encountered in the tree planting business?6:12 Who maintains and monitors the trees in the areas where you operate?8:09 In terms of carbon sequestration, how do you measure it, and how much carbon does each tree sequester?9:51 What can listeners do to identify potentially fraudulent companies or practices?12:38 Has your perspective changed after being in the tree planting business, and have there been any unexpected personal changes?14:30 What are the key trends and opportunities you see in the tree planting and carbon offset industry in Asia?16:27 What's next for EcoMatcher?

William Bao Bean is Managing Director of Orbit Startups the first and longest-running startup program in Asia and General Partner of SOSV the #2 most active venture capital investor in the world and #5 Asia/ROW with US$1.5bn in assets under management. William joined Orbit and SOSV from SingTel Innov8 Ventures where he was a founding Managing Director. Prior to that, William was a Partner at Softbank China & India Holdings, a VC backed by Softbank and Cisco, leading investments in China and South East Asia. William started his career in equity research most recently with Deutsche Bank where he was a top-ranked analyst for Asia Internet and China Tech.On this episode, we discuss Asia's continued growth, investing wide as a portfolio strategy and how SOSV's Orbit Startups program operates. Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/williambaobean/Twitter: https://twitter.com/williambaobean?s=20Orbit Startups: https://orbitstartups.com/Beemunity: https://www.beemmunity.co/Insuro: https://insurotechnologies.com/Hosted by Arshad Chowdhury, Managing Partner at Betatron: Betatron.coTwitter: @arshadgcLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arshadgc/

This episode delves into the issue of corruption within the Indian construction industry while examining how 91Squarefeet is making significant improvements to this sector in India.We learn exactly how “kickback” payments are made, we understand the role of technology can play in avoiding corruption, and we hear advice on what investors can do in their due diligence to identify dodgy business practices.Amit Bansal is an entrepreneur and founder of 91 Squarefeet, a leading tech-enabled startup in the retail space backed by Y-Combinator, helping brands with retail expansion. Headquartered in Gurgaon, 91Squarefeet currently has 200+ employees and regional offices in Mumbai and Bangalore as well.Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amitbansal91/91Squarefeet:https://www.linkedin.com/company/91sqft/https://www.91squarefeet.com/Hosted by Arshad Chowdhury, Managing Partner at Betatron: Betatron.coTwitter: @arshadgcLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arshadgc/

Danyaal Abdul Khaliq is a founder and general partner at Teamup Ventures, an early-stage VC Fund investing in MENAPT (middle east, north Africa, Pakistan, Turkey).  Danyaal also set up Teamup Angels, a startup networking platform in Pakistan. He has such a fascinating background: in addition to being an active investor in Pakistan, he's worked in London for Jefferies in investment banking and is occasionally a cricket expert commentator on PTV World. He holds a law degree from SOAS University of London, has a master's in International Public Policy from UCL in London, and has grown up in Pakistan, London, Dubai and Cairo.Donate to Pakistan's flood relief efforts: https://www.rescue.org/country/pakistanhttps://donate.edhi.org/product/flood-relief-campaign/Instagram + Twitter - @venturewalaLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danyaalkhaliq/Teamup Ventures:https://www.linkedin.com/company/teamup-venturesInstagram: @teamupventuresTwitter: @venturesteamuphttps://teamupventures.com/Hosted by Arshad Chowdhury, Managing Partner at Betatron: Betatron.coTwitter: @arshadgcLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arshadgc/

How is your investment strategy changing in light of climate change? Which regions and industries are poised to survive and thrive, and which face existential threats? Where should you work and live in the coming years?This episode is about investing in the future. Our special guest Parag Khanna, who is a  geopolitical scholar and the author of Move: The Forces Uprooting Us. The webinar is moderated by Arshad Chowdhury, an Asia-focused venture capitalist at Betatron Venture Group.Parag Khanna is the Founder & Managing Partner of FutureMap, a data and scenario strategic advisory firm. He is an international bestselling author of six books, has traveled to nearly 150 countries, and is a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum.Parag was named one of Esquire's "75 Most Influential People of the 21st Century" and featured in WIRED magazine's "Smart List."He holds a Ph.D. from the London School of Economics, and a Bachelors and a Masters degree from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.Website: https://www.paragkhanna.com/Tiwtter: @paragkhannaLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drparagkhanna/

In this episode, we take a look at startups in Turkey. 2021 is shaping up to be a great year for Turkey with twodifferent companies - Getir and Dream Games - reaching unicorn status in the first half of 2021. Here to help us understand the country is Esranur Kaygın, a Dutch-born entrepreneur and investor of Turkish descent who lives in Istanbul.Esra has studied commerce, economics, and management at Saxion University and has a master's degree from NYU. In the past decade as an operator and investor, she has won many accolades and awards including Most Successful Investor 2015 in Istanbul, Turkey, and Most Successful Business Woman of the Year for 2012 in Amsterdam, Holland.Companies and entities mentioned:Peak Games: https://peak.com/Gram Games: https://gram.gs/Dream Games: https://dreamgames.com/Getir: https://getir.com/en/istegelsin: https://www.istegelsin.com/Trendyol: https://www.trendyol.com/Hepsiburada.com: https://www.hepsiburada.com/Esranur Kaygun Instragram: @esranurkayginLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/esranur-k-5b12768/https://twitter.com/EsranurKaygin Hosted by Arshad Chowdhury, Managing Partner at BetatronTwitter: @arshadgcLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arshadgc/

In this episode of Investing In Asia, we'll learn about Vietnam, where investments in startups rose by a factor of 8 between 2016 and 2019, and they continue to rise in 2021 even as the country battles Covid. We're lucky to have today's guest, Eddie Thai, who is a General Partner for 500 Startups in Vietnam. He's also a GP at Ascend Vietnam Ventures, which aims to back the next wave of iconic companies arising from Vietnam.  Eddie's portfolio companies have gone on to raise more than $1B in downstream capital from the likes of Sequoia, Google, and Greylock.Eddie did his undergrad at Harvard and holds an MBA from Yale, and we're excited to have him on today.   Companies and entities mentioned:Ascend Vietnam Ventures: https://ascendvietnam.com500 Startups: https://vietnam.500.co Cricket One: https://cricketone.asia/VNG Corp: https://www.vng.com.vn/enMomo: https://momo.vnVNPay: https://vnpay333.com/ Axie Infinity: https://axieinfinity.comEddie Thai: www.linkedin.com/in/edwardthaiHosted by Arshad Chowdhury, Managing Partner at BetatronTwitter: @arshadgcLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arshadgc/Betatron's Website: https://www.betatron.co/

Betatron's Website: https://www.betatron.co/Today we'll learn how new tech companies are transforming Pakistan. A young, vibrant, but often misunderstood country, Pakistan has been named one of Asia's fastest-growing economies. While the tech-startup scene is small, it's growing fast, with a 97% increase in funding between 2019 and 2020. Our guest today is Sardar Ahmed Durrani, who we all affectionately call Durrani. Born and raised in Pakistan, Durrani is today partner at the Osiris Group, a PE firm based in Hong Kong, where he's the tech and consumer sector head for Asia and the country lead for Pakistan. In his role, he oversees impact investments the firm makes in the frontier markets of Asia. Osiris invests in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Myanmar. Before joining Osiris, Durrani had worked in investment banking in Asia, with various senior roles at Deutsche Bank, at RBS, and ABM Amro Bank. Companies and entities mentioned:​Osiris Group, private equity and venture capital fund focused on emerging markets in Asia: https://www.the-osiris-group.orgCareem, ride-hailing platform: https://www.careem.comK Trade, stock trading platform: https://kasb.com/#/homeMaya, building accessible healthcare: MayaDigitalHealth.comNadra - Pakistan's national ID program: https://www.nadra.gov.pkZameen.com: Real estate platform, unicorn: https://www.zameen.comDurrani on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sardar-ahmed-durrani-022a309/ Hosted by Arshad ChowdhuryTwitter: @arshadgcLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arshadgc/

Today we're talking about Property tech, aka Proptech in Asia. Asia is the world's largest real estate market. Investments into startups servicing the industry, from construction to management to sales and rentals, went from half a billion dollars in 2013 to over 7 billion in 2020, and by all accounts, we're still at the early stages of tech adoption in the industry. Our guest is Ariel Shtarkman, an active angel investor based in Hong Kong who has been working and investing in the industry for the past 13 years. We met through a shared portfolio company, and it's my pleasure to have Ariel on today. A note to listeners, there is a bit of background noise that we were unable to edit out, so apologies in advance for that.Companies mentioned today include RealInflo.com  Follow Ariel Shtarkman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ariel-shtarkman-2850322/Hosted by Arshad ChowdhuryTwitter: @arshadgcLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arshadgc/

In this episode, we meet Dr. Parag Khanna, a geopolitical scholar and best-selling author of 6 books. He's the Managing Partner of FutureMap, a data and scenario based strategic advisory firm. And his most recent book is The Future is Asian: Commerce, Conflict & Culture in the 21st Century. This episode is a must-listen for anyone investing in the region, and even for anyone living here. We cover the Asianization of the region and the world, look at the historical context of Asia's growth, consider the challenges of climate change, and look at where future growth will come from in the region. Follow Dr. Parag Khanna: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drparagkhanna/Twitter: @paragkhannaFacebook: @DrparagkhannaInstagram:@DrparagkhannaGet the book, The Future is Asian: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Future-Is-Asian/Parag-Khanna/9781501196263Hosted by Arshad ChowdhuryTwitter: @arshadgcLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arshadgc/

In this episode we learn about sustainability investments in Asia. With its population density, massive urbanization, and already-strained access to water and energy, Asia is particularly vulnerable to the early impacts of climate change. With more wealth in the hands of family offices today than perhaps at any other time in modern history, family offices, particularly in Asia, have an important role to play in funding the next generation of solutions to help mitigate and survive climate change. Here today is Katy Yung, Managing Partner at Sustainable Finance Initiative, or SFI, where she works with a number Hong Kong based family offices to help craft and execute investment strategies related to sustainability. Katy Yung on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katy-yung-6bb8a823/Sustainable Finance website: https://sustainablefinance.hk/Host, Arshad Chowdhury: on Twitter @arshadgc

In this episode, we look at Asia's massive maritime industry. Nine out of ten of the world's largest ports are in Asia, where demand for products in and out of China has increased significantly since peak pandemic, and globally the industry is looking to become more sustainable and efficient. Our guest is Su Yin Anand, Head of Shipping at South32, a publicly traded, globally diversified mining and metals company doing business in Australia, South Africa, and South America. She's also co-founder of The Captain's Table Innovation Challenge, where maritime startups compete for funding.  Su Yin Anand on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/suyin-anand/Read more about Betatron's partnership with The Captain's Table here: https://www.hongkongmaritimehub.com/ypsn-takes-a-leap-forward-in-maritime-start-up-support/

Today we look at Bangladesh. It's one of Asia's fastest-growing economies. We'll look at how the country is changing, we'll learn about the demographics, about finding strong startups, what some of the risks are, and where the country is going in the coming years.Our guest is Rahat Ahmed, CEO and founder at Anchorless Bangladesh, a VC fund investing exclusively in Bangladesh. After Rahat graduated from New York University's Stern School of Business with a degree in finance,he started covering Bangladesh in 2004 for Prince Street Capital, and specialized in emerging and frontier markets with a focus on the impact of emerging technologies on consumer behavior. In 2016, he helped seed Pathao, a Bangladeshi ride-sharing/logistics startup that's raised over US$35 million. Previously, he co-founded TrinityVR, a virtual reality-based sports science platform for player development, scouting and analytics used in Major League Baseball. He serves as the Senior Advisor at Startups Next at the startup incubator for North South University, the country's leading private university, and is the co-founder of B·deshi, an organization that connects promising Bangladeshi youths with successful professionals of the diaspora.At Anchorless Bangladesh, he's already invested in the healthtech startup called Maya,  a logistics company called Loop, and in Gaze, an API platform for visual recognition AI.https://www.anchorless.vc/Twitter: @AnchorlessBDRahat on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahatahmedRahat on Twitter: @dequinixCompanies mentioned: https://gazepass.com/https://loopfreight.iohttps://www.maya.com.bd/

Today's guest is Jarron Stephens, an investor and serial entrepreneur based in Hong Kong. His resume is incredible, so I'll try to name just a few of his companies. He cofounded  Stephens & Hollander, a consultancy that built one of the first Buy-side Algorithmic Trading engines. He also founded HighStakes, Casino-gaming consultancy, and cofounded meatmarket.hk, where they've been selling perishable food, especially meat, online in Hong Kong since 2006. Today he sits on boards and advises multiple startups, and spends most of his time at the helm of GroupChiefs, which helps companies grow their online businesses with development services, ecommerce tools, and marketing automation. This episode focuses on the meat industry. We'll cover supply chain challenges, what is and what is not changing in meat consumption, what kind of funding it takes to launch an alternative meat company, and where the opportunities are for investors. You can follow Jarron on Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jarronstephensVisit MeatMarket: https://www.meatmarket.com.hk/