CDP Institute

Having the dubious distinction of joining Uber, DoorDash, and Ticketek as big brands who’ve made headlines breaching Australian spam laws, Kmart Australia has now also drawn the ire of the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) – and received an AU$1,303,500 fine. ACMA flagged the company on several previous occasions and noted that consumers are ‘frustrated and angry’ that big brands continue to violate their privacy and ignore opt-out consent requests.

Project Lorikeet, a joint trade initiative between the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) and Singapore Fintech Association (SFA) established earlier this year, provided the basis for fintechs, Choco Up, Rhino Partners, Moneythor, and USER to enter and expand in the Australian market with investment estimated to be between A$26 million (US$17.5 million) over the next three years.

Malaysia-headquartered Axiata Group Bhd announced that Japan-based conglomerate Mitsui & Co., Ltd will invest US$58 million in Axiata Digital & Analytics Sdn Bhd (ADA), facilitated through ADA’s holding company, Axiata Digital Services Sdn Bhd (ADS). Mitsui’s additional investment has established a watermark valuation of US$550 million for ADA, the telecommunications group said in a statement. Following the investment, Mitsui’s stake in ADS will increase from 3.29% to 20%, resulting in an effective 12.69% stake in ADA.

Budget airline AirAsia parent Capital A said it plans to list its brand management business on the Nasdaq by entering into a deal with a special purpose acquisition company Aetherium Acquisition Corp. Under the deal, Aetherium Acquisition will acquire all the issued and outstanding share capital of Capital A International, resulting in the formation of a new listed entity, according to a stock exchange filing.

Digital signage supplier Navori Labs has provided unified digital signage and AI camera analytics for Walmart Connect in 173 Walmart Supercenters in Mexico and in 180 of 200 in-country Sam’s Cub locations. This allows parent company, Walmart de Mexico y Centroamerica to gather customer engagement data, analytics and shopper demographics to their out-of-home ad partners.

Bengaluru-based martech startup ‘Hypergro’, has raised ₹7 crore (~USD$843,000) in a seed funding round. The company works in the domain of boosting brand revenues and reducing customer acquisition costs.

Mitgo, a global IT/MarTech company launches Mombio, a specialised mobile app user acquisition and CPI/CPL/CPA/Revenue share monetisation services platform. Mobmio is a new mobile performance network with ambitious plans for the Indian mobile app market.

Winly, an online store has introduced a unique shopping concept, aiming to disrupt the e-commerce landscape. Spearheaded by entrepreneur Hassan EL Imam, the new concept combines convenience with a gamified experience, making each purchase an opportunity to win.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) meted out a hefty fine of AU$412,500 (~USD$264,000) for Uber’s disregard for Australian anti-spam laws, and the regulator warned other businesses to take care not to run afoul of these rules. Uber, which sent 500,000 marketing emails to customers who had previously unsubscribed, had been able to evade regulations because the emails were mislabeled as non-commercial. To date, the government’s crackdown in this area has netted AU$11M (~USD$7M) from businesses, and it has advised businesses to closely monitor their marketing.

Ecommerce tech company, Rokt, which was founded in Australia and is headquartered in the US, will work in partnership with global online marketplace, Redbubble to maximize revenue opportunities at transaction via post-purchase offers. This is part of Rokt’s strategy of collaborating with a growing number of global ecommerce partners, including Lyft, Gopuff, ASOS, and Mercari. The partnerships provide advertisers with the chance to enhance their competitive advantage by targeting and engaging with a fresh set of online shoppers who are actively making purchases.

According to “Reaching new heights: navigating the path to profitable growth, today” report released by Google, Temasek, and Bain & Company, the Southeast Asia region’s gross merchandise value (GMV) continues an upward trajectory and is set to reach USD$218 billion, growing 11% year-on-year (YoY) despite global macroeconomic headwinds. The report also reveals that SEA’s revenue from the digital economy is poised to hit USD$100 billion this year, growing 1.7x as fast as the region’s GMV. The report marked the 8th edition of the e-Conomy SEA report.

Mimin, the Indonesian platform enabler revolutionizing customer service through artificial intelligence (AI)-driven chat, has announced its expansion into Malaysia and Singapore. Recognizing the widespread reliance on messaging applications, especially WhatsApp, for various business activities in these neighboring countries, Mimin has rapidly gained traction, the firm said in recent statement.