SEA Digest: PH social commerce firm Toki, SG-based BeWater bag funding
Summary
Toki, a Philippines-based platform for collectibles, has announced raising $1.8 million in its latest funding round, while Singapore-based Web3 venture studio BeWater has secured investment from OKX Ventures.Toki, a Filipino social commerce platform startup, has announced raising $1.8 million in its pre-seed funding round co-anchored by homegrown venture capital investors Kaya Founders and Foxmont Capital Partners.The round was also supported by local strategic investors including Anthony Oundjian of BGC Philippines, Brian Cu of SariSuki, and Ernest Cu of Globe. Bigboy Cheng, one of the most renowned collectors in Southeast Asia, also invested.Toki, launched in November last year, is a marketplace for collectors looking to acquire things like sneakers, sports cards, Lego, and art toys from Filipino artists and designers.It debuted with the first four categories of Sneakers, LEGO, NBA Cards, and Funko Pops, representing the most popular collectibles among Filipino collectors.With the fresh funding, Toki said it will scale up to further expand its inventory and introduce more categories in the platform.Now that we are seeing traction, our primary goal is to establish ourselves as a reliable partner to Filipino collectors. We still need to keep on perfecting our solution to address the gaps that we have already identified in the market, said Frederic Levy, co-founder and CEO of Toki.BeWater, a Singapore-based Web3 venture studio and global developer platform, has secured fresh funding from OKX Ventures, the investment arm of crypto exchange and Web3 tech company OKX.Financial details of the investment were not disclosed in the announcement. BeWater seeks to drive its growth on a global scale and advance the widespread adoption of Web3 technology.BeWater has emerged as a pivotal player in the Web3 landscape, offering a global developer platform that streamlines the creation of open-innovation campaigns and events, including hackathons, in a remarkably short span of 10 minutes.Already, BeWater has initiated over 100 campaigns, showcasing a range of coding languages such as Solidity, Rebase, and Move. Its Web3 venture studio is particularly focused on fostering early-stage startups and cultivating a thriving Web3 product ecosystem.