Ebizu gets US$139K Cradle funding, also stepping up regional expansion

• Gets RM500K CIP 500 funding to deliver new-age retail experience across SEA
• Looking to expand footprint in Malaysia, as well as Jakarta, Bangkok, and Manila

DIGITAL retail solutions provider Ebizu Sdn Bhd said it has been awarded CIP 500 funding by Cradle Fund Sdn Bhd, the Malaysian Ministry of Finance non-profit that provides early-stage funding.
 
CIP 500 is a pioneering commercialisation fund offered to help Malaysia technology startup companies. In a statement, Ebizu said it would use this RM500,000 (approximately US$139,000) funding to purchase 10,000 Beacons, devices that leverage Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology.
 
“We have strong confidence in the potential of Beacon technology to transform customer experiences through analytics, proximity marketing, and navigation,” said Ebizu cofounder and director Rohit Maheswaran (pic).
 
“We thank Cradle for recognising the strong potential of our endeavour and for awarding the CIP 500 fund for us to expand and commercialise across the region,” he said.
 
Ebizu has a micro-location platform for marketing, loyalty, positioning, and analytics that connects businesses and brands with their “new-age, on-the-move, constantly connected consumers,” the company said.
 
This gives retail businesses a platform to reach new customers, engage with them using personalised and relevant content, and drive loyalty programmes with new and existing customers, it added.
 
Its core products are Ebizu Business Cloud Apps, Ebizu Manager (Point Of Sale) and Ebizu Beacon Network.
 
Cradle chief executive officer Nazrin Hassan said that CIP 500 funding started in 2010 to help widen the commercialisation funding pipeline for Malaysian technology entrepreneurs.
 
“We congratulate Ebizu for being a CIP 500 grant recipient and hope that it is just the beginning of great things to come,” he said.
 
“The founders have a strong vision for regional expansion and we believe their solution is also very timely – for not just Malaysia, but for the rest of South-East Asia,” added Nazrin (pic).
 
Ebizu’s Beacons are already in use or are currently being installed across five malls in the Klang Valley in West Malaysia; one mall in East Malaysia; and six in Indonesia.
 
With the CIP 500 funding, the company is looking to expand its footprint in Malaysia as well as in Asean capitals, particularly Jakarta, Bangkok, and Manila.
 
“With a significant increase in purchasing power in South-East Asian countries in recent years, consumers are now looking for increasingly personalised experiences, deals, and loyalty and reward programmes that go beyond traditional norms,” said Ebizu’s Rohit.
 
“The retail ecosystem, including businesses and brands, malls and retail franchises, needs to be prepared to deliver, on time, every time, to these demanding new-age, on-the-move, constantly connected consumers,” he added.
 
With its business expansion, Ebizu said it is also looking to expand its manpower in areas such as sales and marketing, technology development, operations, and customer service, among others. It currently has 45 people on board.
 
The company is headquartered in Malaysia and said it has presence in Singapore and Indonesia, with plans to expand to Thailand and Philippines in 2015.
 
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