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Hello reader,
It’s hard to swim against the tide of prevailing opinion.
Waters in the tech ecosystem today are strongly pulling in one direction: profit. With funding hard to come by, founders are under increasing pressure to prioritize profit over growth.
Bitsmedia, the company behind the Islam-focused lifestyle app Muslim Pro, at one point emphasized growth over profit. Now, though, the firm is moving in a new direction as it aims to both grow and hit profitability.
The company recently raised external funding for the first time to the tune of US$20 million, which it plans to use to fuel its ambitious expansion plans.
Today we look at:
- Bitsmedia’s plan to be “the digital home for all things Muslim”
- TikTok taking a controlling stake in Tokopedia
- Other newsy highlights such as Nvidia’s plans to build a hub in Vietnam and Lazada receiving a hefty capital injection from Alibaba.
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Praying for growth
Image credit: Timmy Loen
Singapore-based Bitsmedia has raised external funding for the first time, securing US$20 million in a series A round.
Internal shareholders CMIA Capital Partners and Bintang Capital Partners participated in the round, which was co-led by CMIA and new investor Gobi Partners.
- Versatile: Bitsmedia’s app Muslim Pro helps Muslims track prayer times, study the Quran, and locate the direction of the Kaaba shrine in Mecca – which Muslims face when they pray – among other services. The company has about 20 million monthly active users, mostly in Southeast Asia.
- Expansion plans: The company plans to use the new funding to expand into new markets, going deeper into the Middle East and North Africa, managing director Nafees Khundker told Tech in Asia. There are roughly 1.8 billion Muslims globally and the market size for products and services catering to them is expected to be worth US$2.8 trillion by 2025.
- Metric makeover: Khundker told Tech in Asia that Bitsmedia was once profitable but had changed course to seek “much larger growth.” The company is aiming toward large revenue alongside profitability and, to that end, is set to expand into ecommerce and financial services via partnerships to be announced next year.
Read more: Gobi-backed $20m round paves way for SG Islamic lifestyle app’s expansion plans
TikTok Shop comeback
The hidden red tape of selling online
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