PointStar attends ASEAN Rice Bowl Startup Awards 2018

On Feb 22, PointStar was invited to the ASEAN Rice Bowl Startup Awards 2018 which was held at Hotel Aryaduta, Kuta, Bali, Indonesia. PointStar CEO, Justin Lee, was one of the panel speakers for the ‘Cloud Hosting Disrupted’ panel session.

During his speech in front of hundreds of startups, Lee expressed his amazement of the startup phenomenon which has skyrocketed in ASEAN.

“Being an entrepreneur might seem glamorous but it’s actually very challenging, and one needs the determination to power through all the tough times. We should also try to celebrate any successes, whether big or small, along the way – and continue running the marathon.”

He also pointed out the benefit of using multiple cloud systems for businesses and consider to implement managed services as well as AI (Artificial Intelligence) tools to build the most comprehensive and attractive startups in ASEAN.

“Startups should consider using multiple cloud systems. Of course, Google Cloud would be a potential consideration because there will be a Google data centre in Indonesia soon. Consider Google Cloud not just for their VMs (virtual machines) but also their managed services because managed services would help startups grow faster. For example, for Cloud SQL which manages the entire SQL server, you just need to create the instance while everything else is managed for you. This will reduce the need for more engineers. AI (Artificial Intelligence) is another valid consideration. You can use it to build AI into your product and because of that, you can grow your business valuation since it’s more attractive when you have an AI-driven product.”

The ASEAN Rice Bowl Startup Awards 2018 which was organised by New Entrepreneur Foundation (myNEF) is the first ASEAN awards that recognise breakout startups in the region that harness digital technology. Its main objective is to support startups which have grown and have a huge potential. The Rice Bowl honours rising entrepreneurs in various categories of excellence ranging from Retail, Media, Digital, Tech, Products, Services, Innovative Campaigns to Women and Social Enterprises.

A total of 2,000 entries were received from 9 countries across Southeast Asia. A panel of over 100 judges from across the globe comprising of entrepreneurs, investors, business advisors and coaches, media and startup development organisation,  then evaluated the entries in 3 broad areas: actual and potential growth, scalability and impact. All selected regional winners will be representing Southeast Asia at the Global Startup Awards later this year.

Congratulations to all 17 startups for receiving the ASEAN Rice Bowl Awards 2018 in their respective categories:

Best Digital Marketing Solution

• Boundlss (Singapore)

Best AI/Machine Learning Startup

• Refinn (Thailand)

Best Accelerator or Incubator Program

• AIS The Startup (Thailand)

Best Business Automation Tool

• Botbot.AI (Singapore)

Best Coworking Space

• ASpace (Philippines)

Best e-Commerce Startup

• Wakuliner (Indonesia)

Best Ecosystem Initiative

• MTEP by mdec (Malaysia)

Best Fintech Startup

• Refinn (Thailand)

Best FoodTech/Agriculture

• TaniHub (Indonesia)

Best Healthtech Startup

• Biomark (Philippines)

Best IoT Startup

• UnificationEngine (Singapore)

Best Life Helper

• VIDI (Malaysia)

Best Logistic & Supply Chain Startup

• Abivin (Vietnam)

Best Newcomer

• Dropee (Malaysia)

Founder of the Year

• Linh Pham, Co Founder and CEO of Logivan (Vietnam)

Investor of the Year

• Golden Gate Ventures (Singapore)

Startup of the Year

• Revolution Precrafted (Philippines)

People’s Choice

• AIS The Startup (Thailand)

Congratulations are also in order for myNEF for successfully establishing the ASEAN Rice Bowl Awards since 2015. Many startups have benefitted from the exposure afforded by the Rice Bowl. Previous Rice Bowl recipients have grown leaps and bounds including the likes of Go-jek, Tokopedia, Ruang Guru, Grab, Eatigo and Zoom.

The philosophy behind Rice Bowl is in the staple diet in Asia. Rice is a symbol of wealth and resource throughout the region, making the rice bowl an enduring symbol of livelihood and sustenance. Startups have always been that rice bowl that sustains and grows the Southeast Asian economy and Rice Bowl believe they will continue to provide for ASEAN for generations to come.