Japan-headquartered e-commerce firm Rakuten has selected 10 startups from nine countries to join the inaugural cohort of its Singapore-based Rakuten Accelerator, which has a “messaging-as-a-platform” focus.
The accelerator, which is being managed by Techstars, will provide $120,000 of funding for each participant. It is being run by managing director Dhritiman Hui and program manager Dennis List.
The participants include Additor, a South Korea-based document collaboration platform; AND Global, a Singapore-based mobile lending platform for the unbanked; and Elumium, a UK-based tenancy communication and management technology startup.
Lebanon-based mobile game studio Groovy Antoid, US-based sports engagement platform Immersive Systems, Philippines-based education and health payment service Jazzy Pay and Canada-based digital advertising platform Retarget Links have also entered.
The list was concluded by Taiwan-based mobile chatroom platform Rooit, Hungary-based enterprise chatbot technology developer Talk-A-Bot and Shoffr, a Singapore-based creator of technology intended to convert online missed sales to in-store retail footfall.