Bangkok--30 Nov--Core and Peak
Mr. Thakorn Piyapan, Krungsri Head of Krungsri Consumer Group and Head of Digital Banking and Innovation Division, Mr. Sam Tanskul, Managing Director of Krungsri Finnovate, and Mr. Supachai Parchariyanon, the founder of RISE, presided over "Krungsri RISE Batch 3 Demo Day 2018" under the theme "Toward Asian Presence". The event featured the prototypes of 10 startup finalists, who underwent 12-week boot camp to maximize their potential and development while grooming new network with alliances to further drive digital economy of Thailand and ASEAN community.
Mr. Thakorn Piyapan, Krungsri Head of Krungsri Consumer Group and Head of Digital Banking and Innovation Division revealed that Krungsri is on constant quest to find latest technologies to boost the Bank's business growth effectively in the wave of digitization. Krungsri ensures that its capability stays ahead of the ever-changing behavior of today's consumers and the fast and furious competition of the digital era. The Bank continues seeking for more innovative development for its products and services to maintain its digital leadership as well as to introduce game-changing innovations to the Thai and ASEAN markets. The Krungsri RISE Batch 3 2018, which is our collaboration with RISE, is deemed a key success factor for us. The area of focus for the 3rd Batch is in Khon Kaen and Chiangmai provinces for Thailand. More importantly, this is the first time the competition is heralded in Singapore and Vietnam to find the rising startups in ASEAN countries. Now, 10 finalists whose projects best matched with the Bank's business were announced, including projects on big data, artificial intelligence, and payment operations, that would augment Krungsri's ability to provide enhanced financial services and to win new customer segments. Similar technologies have been applied to various operations of the Bank, including credit scoring for Krungsri First Choice credit card application. Over 40 startups are expected to partner up with Krungsri by the end of 2018.
Mr. Sam Tanskul, Managing Director of Krungsri Finnovate Co., Ltd, said Krungsri Finnovate currently invests in Fund of Fund and 3 startups, 2 of which participated in Krungsri RISE project. Each startup is different in its strength i.e. robo advisor, payment solution, and data analytics, but all of which sharpened the competitive edge of Krungsri Group. In 2018, we aim to invest 500 million baht in 4 more startups to add the digital elements to the Bank's products and services.
The Krungsri RISE Batch 3 2018 is the first competition where different business units of Krungsri Group such as Commercial Products, Human Resource, Consumer Digital Solution, UCHOOSE Application, Krungsri Auto, Krungsri Finnovate and Innovation Lab are invited to contribute in the program. The 10 finalists focus on application development in several categories, including Chatbot, SaaS, AI as well as loyalty programs, automatic advisory service, online shopping rebate, auto financing, data analytics, lifestyle advertisement, smart city, and credit scoring.
Mr. Supachai Parchariyanon, the founder of RISE said "It is undeniable that technology is disrupting our way of life. These days, conglomerates see significance of digital business; however, the growth of startups in each country requires a facilitating ecosystem, especially the support from the public sector. The first element a startup needs is, of course, funding, which most of them raised it from the family. Then, a growing startup would require a boost, which is often sought from angel investor with deep pocket and high independence. Then, a thriving startup would be in dire need of a more powerful engine where the fund from angel investors cannot suffice. As a result, a partnership with venture capitalists is usually established, where the expectation in investment return is relevant to the funding size."
The Krungsri RISE Batch 3 2018 consisted of an intensive 12-week boot camp to optimize the potential of contenders. We engaged more mentors from more industries than the previous programs to strengthen the platform and; at the same time, broadening the network of participants as they get to connect with our partners and alliances from different fields. Their extended mindset will ultimately contribute to the robust growth momentum and drive forward the economy of the country.
The startups recently acquired by Krungsri Finnovate consisting of:
- Accrevo: An online platform that provides accounting services for SMEs
- Botbot.AI: A startup is from Singapore in AI area. The startup helps drive performance and optimize productivity for businesses via the chatbot system
- ChocoCRM: A service provider offers solutions for customer loyalty programs through cards, rewards, and CRM POS
- CryptovationX: A startup who aims at utilizing AI in developing a robo-advisory platform for cryptocurrency investment with an overarching vision of "Wealth for All"
- Dealcha: Thailand's no.1 cashback website that allows customers to shop at their favorite online stores and get a cashback on top of the usual purchase free of charge!
- Drivemate: A peer-to-peer car sharing service provider which enables general car owners to rent out their cars directly to others with affordable rental prices and convenience
- EyeQ: A leading startup that uses the Computer Vision Recognition application to solve many business problems in such sectors as retail, advertising, finance and banking, and healthcare
- GYDE: A lifestyle media provider with an integrated 360-degree solution from creative development, strategy planning, to media and hardware placement
- JumpUp: A startup's vision is to create smart cities across Thailand by joining forces with people who are committed to developing new ideas.
- LenddoEFL: A technology company from Singapore that forged the idea of using non-traditional data to compute people's credit scores. LenddoEFL now offers a simple and secure way to prove identity and establish customers' character online to unlock loans, online shopping and improve chances of employment.