CDP Institute

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in Indonesia has announced that it has ceased its analogue radio operations in Indonesia on in favour of transitioning to digital broadcasting. This was done to save the broadcasting company around GPB 28.5m in expenses. This also follows ceasing radio operations of BBC Arabic, BBC Persian, and BBC Chinese.

The coming year in LatAm looks to be similar to 2022, with less capital for startups. Startups founded in 2023 will be more scalable with better financial prospects. This is because new companies will have better fundamentals and focus on their unit economics. There is a thought that the best companies, the most successful ones, have been born in big crises. The lack of capital will force more startups to seek acquisition as an alternative to a shutdown.

Palpa is a container of liquid soap in the shape of a breast that includes an object that mimics a small tumor, designed to encourage cancer self-examination during the shower. The device is a creation of Chilean designer Josefa Cortés (26), who was recently highlighted among 35 young innovators in MIT Technology Review. He founded The Palpa Company in January 2020. The company made a family and friends round in August 2021 in which they raised a round of 280 million pesos (Chilean pesos, about US$300,000) to be able to... Read More >

Egypt’s Mahaseel Masr, a regional B2B fresh produce digital platform, has secured funding from the Emirates International Investment Company (EIIC) to accelerate the deployment of its agri-focused e-commerce platform.

Nigerian startup Raenest is helping remote workers and freelancers automate invoicing and get paid faster by clients globally while saving on fees via its Raenest Global accounts and cards. Businesses can also use the platform to onboard African talents, pay them in their preferred currencies, and manage their team expenses.

Senegal-based startup Kwely has launched the minimum viable product (MVP) version of its B2B online store for “Made in Africa” products, targeting small and large businesses globally.

Singapore-based data center firm Digital Edge is reportedly close to acquiring a plot of land outside Mumbai, India, on which to develop its first facility in the country. The India Economic Times reports the company is in “advanced talks” in advanced talks to acquire a 47-acre land parcel in Thane, Maharashtra, along with realty developer Assetz Property Group from steel manufacturer Mukand.

India-headquartered travel tech firm RateGain Travel Technologies is acquiring Adara, a Silicon Valley-based firm in travel martech and predictive consumer intelligence. The cost: a mere $16.1 million, according to RateGain’s filing on the Indian stock market. Through the acquisition RateGain is looking to build the most comprehensive travel-intent and data platform powered by artificial intelligence.

Thailand food delivery app Robinhood is now expanding its services into four key areas including supermarket, delivery, transportation and travel, in line with its plans to become a super-app. This includes Robinhood Mart, a supermarket and store shopping service, Robinhood Express, a goods delivery service, Robinhood Ride, a transportation platform, and Robinhood Travel, an online travel agent.

Singaporean multinational ride-hailing and food delivery company, Grab, has plans to execute cost-cutting measures to weather through undetermined economic situation, according to a new memo sent to employees. On a similar note, Grab Indonesia this month decided to discontinue its cloud services.

Aviva is a Mexico-based fintech startup focused on bringing working capital to unserved communities. Its approach uses artificial intelligence and natural language processing to match customers’ spoken word to the fields of a real-time credit application. Now buoyed by $2.2 million in pre-seed funding, the company is rolling out a network of physical and digital onboarding kiosks in Chalco de Díaz, Ixtapaluca and Texcoco, towns about an hour’s drive from Mexico City.

Kouna, a SaaS platform for brands to optimize prices, promotions, orders, and inventory through artificial intelligence, announced raising US$6 million in a seed round, led by Mexican VC Cometa. Kouna focuses on the optimization of promotions, an aspect where mass consumer brands and retailers would allegedly not have good guidance, a problem that Kouna promises to solve thanks to machine learning.