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In the past few months, Southeast Asia’s startup scene has had to grapple with the bitter truth that all that glitters is not gold.
Indonesia’s eFishery was at one point a shining star, as the region’s only unicorn minted in 2023 amid the tech winter. Then reality came crashing down this January with allegations that the aquatech startup had inflated its revenue by more than US$600 million.
Since then, stakeholders across the ecosystem have been taking stock to figure out how this alleged massive deception could have gone undetected for years.
A good place to start might be the man with the once-golden touch himself.
In an exclusive interview with Tech in Asia, eFishery’s co-founder and former CEO Gibran Huzaifah finally addresses the scandal that rocked the region.
Today we look at:
- An exclusive interview with former eFishery CEO Gibran Huzaifah
- The end of Indonesia’s ban on iPhone 16 sales
- Other newsy highlights such as Nvidia’s AI-driven record revenue and Vietnam agritech firm Techcoop’s US$70 million funding haul.
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A fishy smell at the unicorn factory
Image credit: Timmy Loen
EFishery’s ex-CEO Gibran Huzaifah finds himself at the center of a scandal that will go down in history, with the company facing allegations of inflated revenue and undergoing mass layoffs as its very existence hangs in the balance.
- Ready to talk: Speaking exclusively to Tech in Asia, Huzaifah apologized to employees and farmers for a problem he said should have stayed between the investors and founder. However, he declined to comment on the ongoing audit investigation into eFishery.
- Denial: Huzaifah denied inflating the firm’s revenue numbers for personal gain. He pointed out that he could have cashed out during eFishery’s series D funding round by selling his shares, but chose not to.
- Mixed bag: Former employees and fish farmers who spoke to Tech in Asia said none of them anticipated the alleged fraud and described Huzaifah as approachable. While some ex-staff remain supportive, others are still “waiting for Gibran to apologize and clarify what happened,” said one source.
Read more: Gibran Huzaifah addresses eFishery fraud scandal for the first time
Indonesia takes a bite out of Apple
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