Vietnamese e-commerce solutions provider ScaleUp has raised a seed funding round from Nextrans, while Singapore-based bike-sharing startup SG Bike will cease operations on April 30.
S Korea’s Nextrans backs Vietnamese e-commerce startup ScaleUp
E-commerce solutions provider ScaleUp has raised seed funding from South Korean venture capital firm Nextrans.
Established in 2023, ScaleUp focuses on the ‘Scale as a Service’ model. The company provides services and technology solutions to help businesses and retail brands in the fields of fashion, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), and cosmetics exploit the full potential of multi-channel sales.
Nguyen Quoc Tuan, the founder of ScaleUp, highlighted the challenges faced by traditional manufacturing and sales businesses or physical store chains transitioning to multi-channel operations. This transition requires substantial investments in technology systems and human resources to ensure effective multi-channel development. ScaleUp seizes this opportunity by offering a solution resembling the scale-as-a-service model, featuring adjustable investment costs tailored to the specific needs of each business.
Nguyen has over a decade of experience in executive positions at well-known multi-channel fashion retail companies in Vietnam, including Juno and Hoang Phuc International.
Nguyen indicated that many Vietnamese founders excel in product development, brand building, and sales through traditional offline channels. However, transitioning to online platforms necessitates investments in technology, personnel, and intricate operations. This shift can lead businesses to resort to ineffective growth strategies like overspending on advertising.
Nextrans, which is one of the most active foreign venture capital firms in Vietnam with 32 startups in its portfolio, is looking for high-growth tech companies that drive Vietnam’s key sectors such as consumer, education, finance, healthcare and agriculture.
Singapore’s SG Bike to cease operations
Singapore-based bike-sharing startup SG Bike will cease operations on April 30 when its licence expires, the company said citing a “strategic shift in business direction.”
According to an announcement, SG Bike users may be able to use their existing credits in rival Anywheel’s app from March 21. Those who do not wish to join Anywheel can opt out by April 30 via the SG Bike app, but will not get a refund of their wallet balance.
SG Bike, which in July 2023 reduced its fleet size from 5,000 to 1,500, decided not to extend its licence due to a “strategic shift”.
It accumulated losses of $7.4 million in the financial year ended June 30, 2022, and had reported accumulated losses of $5.5 million the year before that, per a report by Straits Times.
SG Bike entered the market in August 2017. In 2019, it inked a $1.85-million (S$2.54 million) deal to acquire Chinese startup Mobike’s licence to operate 25,000 shared bikes in the city-state.
At that time, Sean Tay, Chief Operating Officer of SG Bike, said: “With the increased bicycle fleet size, SG Bike will now be able to serve more areas in Singapore. Bicycles will also be strategically deployed to ensure bicycle availability.”
