Asia Partners’ Rippel on why SEA could produce up to 30 unicorns and how he doesn’t want to miss it this time
Oliver Rippel, co-founder and partner of Asia Partners, believes South-east Asia could yield between 20 and 30 tech unicorns. And he believes there are only certain sectors that can have global network effects, the rest, which includes online travel, is where local heroes can win over global player [...]
New crop of startups reflects maturity of Asia’s travel market
Up to 10 travel companies will vie for the WiT Startup of the Year 2019 on October 14 following the completion of the first judging round of travel’s largest startup competition, powered by Amadeus.
The winner of the competition, run as part of the WiT
Singapore 2019 conference, stands to wal [...]
No-commission hotel booking platform Bidroom arrives in Asia Pacific
The hotel booking wars in Asia Pacific is heating up with the entry of “fair-minded” hotel booking platform Bidroom, which aims to boost the profitability of the region's hotel sector with its “radically different business model based on zero commissions.”
Launched in 2014 in the Nether [...]
Our time has come, says Splitty Travel, eyeing Asia and a new B2B split reservations offering
In many ways, Israeli-based startup Splitty Travel feels its time has finally come, both for its “split reservations” model to be accepted into the mainstream and for its entry into Asia. “It’s interesting that the big OTAs are now playing with some of the things we have been doing fo [...]
Klook celebrates fifth anniversary with growth plan for 2020 and beyond
In just five short years, tours and activities platform Klook has surpassed 30m monthly visitors on its platform, amassed an inventory of over 100,000 things to do in over 350 destinations, and has come out on top as the most-searched travel activities provider globally on Google since last October [...]
How Foo broke the glass ceiling by switching lanes, and how Luxe Nomad wants to be APAC’s largest villa management company
After 10 years working in private equity, Foo Lee Lian decided she needed a break. “PE’s an aspirational career when you’re starting out but it can be very stressful and intense. It’s also very male-dominated and as a woman, it’s hard to see your way to the top.”
Aware of the glass c [...]
From betel to kale, Oway founder Nay Aung on quest to build Next Gen “pagoda” in Myanmar
There we were in Parami Pizza, a popular pizza joint in Yangon. Nay Aung, CEO and founder of Oway, Myanmar’s first OTA, had ordered kale juice and I, a coffee. The impression wasn’t lost on me – kale in a country still known for its betel-chewing among the older generation – shows you how m [...]
Tern takeaways: Here’s what you need to know about building a successful career in travel
The fourth edition of Tern Travel Careers – an event designed to build awareness of the range of career opportunities available in travel and connect industry figures with future talent – featured a cast of speakers spanning hospitality, online travel agencies, corporate travel, tours and acti [...]
Female and interested in entering the FinTech space? Head Down Under
Australia was named the best place for females to embark on a FinTech career, according to a recent study on the FinTech industry in Asia by ValueChampion.
Of all 12 countries analysed in the study, Australia performed well in all categories, from the strength of its fintech industry to women's [...]
After growing roots in Sri Lanka, Findmyfare wants to fan out to “similar” markets
Returning to Sri Lanka in
2012 after having studied and worked in London for most of their adult life,
university mates Thushan Shanmugarajah and Abishek Sithampalam looked around
for something to do.
Their time
working in London had planted in the 20-somethings the idea of doing a tech
startup. [...]
