Ex-Google employees have launched a restaurant-based social app called Drigmo, while Temasek and DBS Group’s philanthropic arms have partnered to launch a digital capital marketplace.
Drigmo looking to disrupt Google restaurant reviews
Three former Google employees — Piet Walraven, Meiwin Fu, and Zihui Chen — have launched a restaurant-based social app called Drigmo, which they are hoping will disrupt Google’s restaurant reviews.
In a statement on Monday, Drigmo said it has “raised a strategic round from a handful of Singapore’s most experienced and well-respected investors ranging from successful consumer app builders to large VC funds that have invested in some of the region’s biggest winners”.
The app was first announced in Singapore via TikTok in March. Drigmo said its users have so far saved over 45,000 places and created over 15,000 tags.
Walvaren was formerly a product manager at Google, while Fu and Chen were senior software engineers there. The three had previously built an app, Pie, that was acquired by Google in 2016.
Co-Axis platform seeks to ease impact financing
Temasek and DBS Group’s philanthropic arms have partnered to launch Co-Axis, a digital capital marketplace to connect investors with social enterprises, charitable organisations, and businesses creating global impact, per a release.
Temasek Trust and DBS Foundation launched the platform last month during the 3rd Philanthropy Asia Summit. The platform will be developed in phases, with the first phase to be launched in the first half of 2024.
Through Co-Axis, accredited philanthropists and high net worth individuals can provide funding through a range of financial instruments, from donations to recoverable grants and embedded instruments.
In the longer term, Co-Axis will pioneer more innovative financial offerings such as concessional securities and other blended finance structures.