Eight startups from five Asian countries competed in the inaugural event to gain new market expansion tools from global specialists
3 NOVEMBER 2016 – Yesterday at the first regional Digital Winners Asia startup event by Telenor Group, it was Thailand’s TakeMeTour that took top honors after competing with seven other leading startups from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand and Malaysia. Following the winning pitch, the team will return to their home market with 100,000 Norwegian Kroner in initial expansion funds, and a wealth of support, network and knowledge to expand their business into neighboring markets – the event’s overall theme.
Hosted in emerging tech hot-spot Yangon, Myanmar, Digital Winners Asia is the first Asia-wide startup event that pairs some of the top startup talent from Telenor Group’s leading accelerator programs across Asia and leaders in market expansion and entrepreneurship within a two-day learning and competition platform. The format also featured keynote discussions from across the startup and venture capital communities such as Google, Golden Gate Ventures and Telenor Group’s own innovation and investment arms of the company.
“Bringing together some of the brightest startups from across Asia in our first Digital Winners Asia event was not only inspiring, but an exciting indication of the extraordinary talent and growth in this region. All teams were strong and dynamic contenders,” says Johanna Staaf, Director of New Ventures, Telenor Group. “On a broader
scale, having the ability to host such diverse groups under numerous innovative categories, in a market with a burgeoning tech future like Myanmar, is a true honor.”
The winning startup duo from TakeMeTour, Jinda-Apiraksa Amornched, CEO and co-founder, and Noppon Anukunwithaya, COO and co-founder, created the Bangkok-based company focused on providing consumer access to the largest collection of one-day tours in Thailand. They will use this experience to focus on growth in their own country, and they plan to expand into Myanmar starting with the expansion funds from Telenor Group.
“An event like Digital Winners Asia is a dream-come-true for startups like us. We started with the dtac Accelerate program and have advanced to this point to be able look at expansion into other markets. Then to have the caliber of speakers and their personal advice at the event, is priceless,” says Jinda-Apiraksa Amornched, CEO and co-founder of TakeMeTour.
The Competing Startups
The eight teams that attended Digital Winners Asia consisted of current and past participants of Telenor’s five startup incubation and acceleration programs across Asia. Each company was selected based on its life-cycle and potential to break into to new markets, as well as grow alongside Telenor. The startups at this inaugural event represent a diversity of industries: marketing services, energy, artificial intelligence, tourism and education:
Start-up
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Description
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Bangladesh
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1.Buzzally
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Mobile self-service marketing platform for SMEs (www.buzzally.com)
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2.Socian
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Artificial intelligence and social media based analytics platform for brands (www.socian.xyz/)
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Malaysia
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3.Vase
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Cost-efficient market research service delivering quick actionable insights (www.vase.ai)
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Myanmar
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4.Myanzen
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Technologies to seamless integrate social media sales with social network platforms (www.myanzen.com)
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Pakistan
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5.EcoEnergy
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Technologies to facilitate the spread of sustainable electricity, specifically to rural locations (www.ecoenergyfinance.org)
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6.Fori Mazdoori
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Fori Mazdoori, along with the vast telecom-retailer-network, is setting up registration points where blue collar workers can walk-in and register on an employment database. Once registered, the workers are searchable via Fori Mazdoori apps and website. (https://twitter.com/
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Thailand
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7.Skootar
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Delivery startup connecting SMEs with scooter messengers and making the delivery process efficient and cost-effective. (www.skootar.com)
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8.TakeMeTour
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Online platform with access to largest collection of 1-day tours in Thailand (www.takemetour.com)
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A frontier market for pioneering startups
The Digital Winners platform began as the Nordic region’s premier gathering of leaders and innovators in media, technology and communications. It attracts global thought leaders and top entrepreneurs. Per Telenor’s expanding customer base in Asia and increased operations across the region, Digital Winners Asia leverages the expertise and prestige of the Digital Winners, tailoring the platform to the unique opportunities and challenges of the growing region. For more information on the global program, visit: planet.telenor.com.
About Telenor Group
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