Indonesia’s biotech company Etana raises new funding from prominent investors while Vietnamese unicorn MoMo partners with Western Union.

Etana bags fresh funding

Indonesian biopharma startup Etana has raised a new funding round led by DEG followed by Yunfeng Capital, HighLight Capital, and East Ventures. The company plans to use the proceeds to strengthen its pipeline and portfolio, especially in the oncology area.

Etana is currently focusing on local biopharma production for mRNA platforms, proteins, and monoclonal antibodies. mRNA technology, a flexible vaccine development platform, can enable the development of new vaccines in a fairly short time.

Founded in 2014, Etana is engaged in the research, production, and marketing of biopharma products to treat life-threatening diseases including cancer and autoimmune diseases.

“We’ll use the support from investors to develop local biopharmaceutical production capabilities in line with the policies promoted by the Indonesian government,” said Nathan Tirtana, president director of Etana.

Etana produces a COVID-19 vaccine on the mRNA platform. The mRNA vaccine has received an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the Indonesian Food and Drug Authority (BPOM), a halal provision from the Indonesian Ulema Council’s (MUI) LPOM, and a halal certificate from the Halal Product Assurance Agency (BPJPH) of the Indonesian Ministry of Religious Affairs.

Vietnam’s MoMo teams up with Western Union

Vietnamese fintech firm MoMo has partnered with Western Union to allow users to receive money transfers from over 200 countries and territories on the MoMo app.

In 2022, Vietnam was the 10th largest remittance-receiving country in the world and the third largest in East Asia and the Pacific, receiving approximately $19 billion, according to the World Bank. This translates into a major opportunity for fintech operators in this space in providing seamless digital cross-border money transfers.

“At Western Union, we value digital innovation and accessibility,” said Atish Shrestha, Head of Indochina at Western Union. “For the first time in Vietnam, a money transfer operator’s capabilities will be integrated within a super app, offering even better experiences to customers,” Shrestha said.

“Through our research, we found that there was a rising need among overseas Vietnamese to send small amounts of money home to their families in Vietnam,” said Do Quang Thuan, Senior Vice President in charge of the Financial Services Business Unit at MoMo.

Through low-cost and speedy remittance services, MoMo wishes to bridge the gap between Vietnamese overseas and their families in the country, he added.

Founded in 2007, MoMo is a prominent fintech unicorn in Vietnam with about 31 million customers. The company has raised more than $433 million in over five rounds. Some notable investors include Mizuho Bank, Goodwater Capital, and Warburg Pincus.

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