Elizabeth Utley

The global Covid-19 pandemic has shook financial markets but impact investors, especially in Asia, have emerged remarkable unscathed.

As users turn to virtual alternatives for convenience and cost, traditional financial institutions risk being left behind. Dutch firm Backbase is bringing them into the 21st century.

Office sharing in the time of Covid-19 sounds impossible, but Hong Kong coworking space provider The Executive Centre sees light at the end of the tunnel even as competitors flail.

Karachi-based Dawaai, the on-line pharmaceuticals startup in Pakistan closed its series A funding at the end of March. It is on the way to turning a profit by the end of the year as the pharmaceuticals and medical supplies aggregator rushes to meet demand generated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

As more than $28 billion in start-up investment is expected to be lost due in 2020, Indonesian entrepreneurs and investors are getting on the front foot to tackle to pandemic.

FinanceAsia unearths Indonesia’s most exciting and eco-conscious companies to emerge from the country which faces huge environmental problems associated with high-population density and rapid industrialisation.

Conceived only two weeks ago, Expara Ventures lays claim to launching the first accelerator to target solutions to the problems caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Presently siphoning resources from an existing fund, the VC is in talks with investors to support this initiative.

The Tencent-backed global payments and foreign exchange unicorn debuted its borderless card last month in Australia, but headwinds, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, is taking its toll on its existing client base.

Under the aegis of Softbank’s Vision Fund, the Indian budget hotel chain has quickly expanded into China and Europe. But the startup cannot outrun poor business practices that have left customers dissatisfied and investors skittish.

New to the investment game, family office RHL Ventures acutely follows Asian millennial behaviour and invests in startup companies it believes will capitalise on it. Investments run the gamut from dating, bespoke coffee to “clean” cosmetics.