Stripe and WhatsApp have partnered to enable Singapore businesses to accept payments in WhatsApp chats. With Stripe Connect and Stripe Checkout integrated into WhatsApp, Singapore customers and businesses can buy and sell directly in the Meta-owned messaging app using credit cards, debit cards and Singapore’s real-time payment system PayNow.
Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) in Malaysia, through Cradle Fund Sdn. Bhd. (Cradle), has launched a series of micro- conferences, MYStartup NXT, as part of the efforts to create an inclusive, impactful and sustainable startup ecosystem in Malaysia.
Brazilian live shopping startup Mimo Lives Sales, received funding from Cencosud Ventures, the corporate venture capital unit of Chilean retailer Cencosud, which has supermarkets and retail stores in several countries in the region. The amount of the financing was not disclosed. In Mimo Live Sales, infuencers make their products and services known through the brand’s e-commerce, allowing the audience to add products to the shopping cart in real-time.
The U.S. Senate has passed a bill that could potentially ban TikTok in the U.S. if its Chinese owner, ByteDance, does not sell its holdings within a year. The bill now goes to the President Biden, who has said he will sign it. Court challenges are likely to follow.