Hosted in Yangon, the Digital Winners Asia saw participation of eight startups from five Asian countries

TakeMeTour.with.Lars.Erik.Tellman (1)

Left to right: TakeMeTour CEO and Co-founder Jinda-Apiraksa Amornched, COO and Co-founder Noppon Anukunwithaya, and Telenor’s Group Executive Management and CEO of Telenor Myanmar Lars Erik Tellman

Thailand-based travel startup TakeMeTour was announced as the winner of Telenor Group’s first Digital Winners Asia event yesterday in Yangon, Myanmar. Competing with seven startup from five Asian countries, the team won NOK100,000 (US$12,200) in initial expansion funds, as well as support, network and knowledge to expand their business into neighbouring markets.

“An event like Digital Winners Asia is a dream-come-true for startups like us. We started with the dtac
Accelerate program and have advanced to this point to be able look at expansion into other markets. Then to have the caliber of speakers and their personal advice at the event, is priceless,” said TakeMeTour CEO and co-founder Jinda-Apiraksa Amornched in a press statement.

Founded by Amornched and Noppon Anukunwithaya, the Bangkok-based startup provides consumer access to what it claimed as the largest collection of one-day tours in Thailand. It was also one of the winners of the Thailand qualifier of the Echelon 2015 Top 100 round.

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TakeMeTour plans to use the experience gained through the event to focus on growth in its home country, while also expanding to Myanmar with expansion funds from Telenor Group.

The event itself, Digital Winners Asia, pairs startup talents from Telenor Group’s accelerator programmes across Asia and leaders in market expansion and entrepreneurship within a two-day learning and competition platform. The format also featured keynote discussions from across the startup and venture capital communities such as
Google, Golden Gate Ventures and Telenor Group’s innovation and investment arms.

The other participants in the event are:

1. Bangladesh: BuzzAlly (Mobile self-service marketing platform for SMEs), Socian (AI and social media-based analytics platform for brands)

2. Malaysia: Vase (Cost-efficient market research service delivering quick actionable insights).

3. Myanmar: Myanzen (Technologies to seamlessly integrate social media sales with social network platforms).

4. Pakistan: EcoEnergy (Technologies to facilitate the spread of sustainable electricity, specifically to rural locations), Fori Mazdoori (Employment database registration points for blue collar workers).

5. Thailand: Skootar (on-demand motorbike messenger-based logistics startup).

Image Credit: Telenor Group

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