Singapore startup Alpha7 raises additional US$2.3mil

• Funding to drive product development, recruitment; plans to open Australia office
• Launches business intelligence tool iMap to help business owners

SINGAPORE-based technology consultancy startup Alpha7 said it has raised an additional S$3.1 million (US$2.3 million) in funding from private investors, without elaborating.
 
This takes its total funding to date to S$3.6 million, including an earlier seed investment round of S$500,000, the company said in a statement. [S$1 = US$0.75]

The new funds will be used to drive product development and talent acquisition. An Australia office is planned for the second half of 2015, it added.
 
The funding will also go towards doubling the company’s staff to 20 over the course of the year. It intends to hire at various levels, including a CTO and CMO (chief technology and chief marketing officer), as well as business analysts and technical consultants.
 
Alpha7 said it helps businesses match priorities, constraints and budgets against people, processes and technology.
 
It has also launched iMap, a proprietary business intelligence tool which it claimed helps business owners generate a roadmap for growth by analysing front and back processes, then providing recommendations to deliver productivity and growth.
 
This is achieved through technology tools, solutions and services, based on available budgets, the company added.
 
iMap is targeted at larger small and medium businesses (SMBs) and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with fewer than 1,000 employees.
 
“Alpha7 is seeing tremendous growth in the region. Raising this additional funding is key for us to take advantage of the market opportunity, addressing the gap between a business’ people, processes and technology,” said founder and chief executive officer Lynette Seah (pic).
 
“We will help SMBs and SMEs from the United Kingdom, United States and Australia establish operations in Singapore and around the [Asean] region,” she added.
 
According to McKinsey, foreign direct investment (FDI) in Asean is booming, with Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand cumulatively attracting more FDI than China (US$128 billion versus US$117 billion) in 2013, Alpha7 said.
 
Alpha7 was established in 2014. In January this year, it launched its ‘COO-as-a-Service’ offering.
 
“Our mission is to serve as the ‘right-hand man’ of CEOs (chief executive officers), helping SMBs and SMEs scale their regional operations quickly,” said Seah.
 
“Key to this is filling in the COO (chief operating officer) role – one which is often vacant, [forcing] the CEO and management team to take on operational tasks. Our value proposition centres on doing the COO’s job by leveraging technology,” she added.
 
Related Stories:
 
Alpha7 kicks off ‘COO-as-a-Service’ offering for SMEs
 
Made-in-Malaysia platform out to solve the SME tech dilemma

For more technology news and the latest updates, follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn or Like us on Facebook.