Fave is turning things around

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The advances in the science behind nutrition and sports have helped many athletes extend their top-level careers. Steve Nash, for example, played professional basketball late into his 30s after adopting a caveman-like diet, while his former Phoenix Suns teammate, Amar’e Stoudemire, maintained a robust power forward’s body on a vegan diet for years.

Cutting down on unnecessary components did the job for both, and it appears to be doing the job for Fave as well. After shaving costs, the Singapore-based online rewards platform has eked out a small year-on-year growth in its revenue.

Today, we look at:

• How Fave is bouncing back from its Covid-19 troubles
• Thailand anointing its first fintech unicorn
• Other newsy highlights such as Tokopedia adding insurance to its offerings and Binance shutting down certain functions in Singapore

PREMIUM SUMMARY

Call it a comeback

While Fave’s topline hasn’t changed much over the last four years – its revenue figure has been hovering at around US$10 million – the company cut its losses significantly in the last financial year for the first time since 2017.

• Slow burn: Amid the pandemic, Fave kept its burn rate low across the board. In 2020, its administrative costs were down 20% annually to US$9.3 million. Meanwhile, it cut its marketing budget by almost 41% to just US$764,000.
• Tightening belts: The company implemented pay cuts and slashed its workforce to rein in the effects of Covid-19 last year. The company also reduced infrastructure costs by 30% to 50% in the fiscal year.
• Light at the end of the tunnel: Pine Labs’ acquisition of Fave has given the Singapore-based platform access to Indian customers through the 500,000 merchant network points that are powered by the IPO-bound Indian firm. Additionally, Fave has launched its own BNPL offering in Singapore and Malaysia, and is piloting the service in over 40,000 stores.

Read more: Fave bounces back from Covid-19, cuts losses

STARTUP SPOTLIGHT

Ascending to unicornhood

Ascend Money has raised US$150 million in its latest financing round, which pushed the fintech company into unicorn territory at a valuation of US$1.5 billion. This makes it Thailand’s first fintech unicorn.