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Terence Lee · · 5 min readBigo parent has invested in an ecommerce enabler. Here’s why the deal is intriguing
Shopline, a Hong Kong-headquartered software startup for online sellers, announced that it has raised US$20 million from high-profile investors. The company is expanding to Southeast Asia.
JOYY Inc., the Nasdaq-listed Chinese livestreaming giant with a Singapore-based international offshoot called Bigo, joined the round. Also involved is its strategic partner, a venture capital firm called Engage Capital.
(From left) Shopline CEO Tony Wong and chief operating officer Fiona Lau/ Photo credit: Shopline
The investment is significant because it involves two trends that are taking hold of Southeast Asia’s ecommerce industry.
The first is the rise of so-called “ecommerce enablers,” which provide services or tools that help brands and merchants sell on various online channels.
Shopline, which has already set foot in Malaysia, is just the latest in a spate of investments in this category in recent months.
It joins the likes of aCommerce and Intrepid, which may become crucial in helping sellers navigate Southeast Asia’s increasingly large and complicated ecommerce scene.
See: Ecommerce enablers: Southeast Asia’s next big opportunity?
Another fascinating aspect of the deal is the potential synergies between Shopline and JOYY, which owns a number of social and messaging apps that are popular in the region and around the world.
The convergence between social media and ecommerce is gathering pace. Marketplaces in Asia like Alibaba, Lazada, and Shopee have been incorporating livestreaming, games, and social feeds into their apps.
Likewise, US social media giants such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are testing ecommerce features. Bytedance’s TikTok has been dabbling in it. Taiwan’s livestreaming player M17 has launched a product that helps broadcasters sell products to their followers.
It’s possible that Bigo’s portfolio of apps, like Bigo Live, Likee, and Imo could eventually start transacting physical goods. Some of them are already generating income by letting viewers buy virtual gifts for broadcasters.
The Bigo Live app / Image credit: Tech in Asia
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The investment is significant because it involves two trends that are taking hold of Southeast Asia’s ecommerce industry.
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