Posts by Yeoh Siew Hoon
Moon landing, 1,000 aircraft orders – India’s on a roll but it’s still a long game
29/08/2023 by Yeoh Siew Hoon
TBO’s Gaurav Bhatnagar has “big plans” for APAC Gaurav Bhatnagar, who is on a mission to build the world’s largest travel distribution platform, was elated when TBO.com clocked $10 million in GTV/sales in a single day in April 2023. “Coming out of COVID, it was hard to imagine that this [...]
The evolution of zoo design and how animals always come first for Bernard Harrison
28/08/2023 by Yeoh Siew Hoon
From “Free The Bears” to designing zoos in Cairo, China and India, Singapore’s Zoo Man talks to Yeoh Siew Hoon about the principles of zoo design, the challenges of keeping the animal-human balance and the future for zoos. And guess which is his personal favourite? You may take the man out of [...]
Meet the five finalists of the 2023 Global Startup Pitch
24/08/2023 by Yeoh Siew Hoon
Five companies have been picked to compete in the Grand Finals of the 2023 Global Startup Pitch, by WiT and Phocuswright, at WiT Singapore, Oct 2-4. In the four-hour virtual Semi-Finals which ran today, a team of almost 20 judges picked these finalists from the different regions, as well as a Wil [...]
An early mis-step but Weeva on way to become “Fitbit” of travel sustainability
22/08/2023 by Yeoh Siew Hoon
Startup came out of pandemic – “to scale, we have to digitise sustainability” A lot of startup founders, probably, at some point in their journey, will say, “If only I had known then what I know now”. For Cape Town-based Julie Cheetham and her co-founder of Weeva, Lindsey Walter, both [...]
From California to Catalonia: How Elizabeth Hecker heard the vines of Priorat and followed her heart
21/08/2023 by Yeoh Siew Hoon
Elizabeth Hecker’s life changed in 2003 when she tasted a wine from the Priorat region of Catalonia, Spain, and the Californian native said it revealed a landscape in her head unlike anything she had seen before. She moved there, bought a 200-year-old house, restored it and for the next 15 years, [...]
A minute of silence for the physical SIM card, please
21/08/2023 by Yeoh Siew Hoon
Airalo’s bet on eSIMs pays off as it raises $60m – “we want to be available at every OTA checkout” In 2019, during an investor’s pitch, Bahadir Ozdemir, co-founder of Airalo, which uses software-based eSIM connectivity to provide a wide range of lower-cost mobile data packages for interna [...]
Go City’s enhanced Hong Kong Pass packs new punch
17/08/2023 by Yeoh Siew Hoon
Post-pandemic, travellers want more value, and want to pack in more On the back of tourism recovery to the territory, Go City has launched its Hong Kong Pass. The reimagined Pass includes more than 20 of the top attractions and experiences in the city, including Hong Kong Disneyland. The original [...]
How Tali Goldman uses tech to scale Market For Good
16/08/2023 by Yeoh Siew Hoon
Travel a key target for platform that aligns procurement to empower local communities and environment Armed with a masters in systems engineering, Singapore-based Israeli entrepreneur Tali Goldman was working mainly in the aero defence industry when she decided to switch career paths about 10 yea [...]
How the pandemic made Katsumi Sakakura retell “The Life of Hokusai” with love
11/08/2023 by Yeoh Siew Hoon
The world needs art and travel now more than ever, says Japanese “Samurai cool” performer who will open WiT Singapore 2023 The day before he was due to open WiT Japan & North Asia with his “Samurai cool” performance, Katsumi Sakakura, award-winning Samurai performer, had just landed in [...]
How Nikoi and Cempedak execute on the 4Cs of sustainability
08/08/2023 by Yeoh Siew Hoon
At WiT Indie, Andrew Dixon, owner of the private islands of Nikoi and Cempedak, off Bintan, Indonesia, shared how he pursues the four Cs – Community, Culture, Conservation, Commerce – prescribed by The Long Run organisation, to which his islands belong. Q: Let’s start at the beginning. [...]