KSL Maritime Ventures – the venture arm of Kuok (Singapore) and SEEDS Capital – the investment arm of Enterprise Singapore (ESG) - are part of a US$1 million ($1.34 million) seed round in tech start-up, Riverr.
The move is part of a $50 million co-investment scheme made available to start-ups in the maritime sector by SEEDS Capital and their maritime partners.
“We are excited to invest in Riverr and look forward to their continued impact in the maritime and health industries. Our partnership will put Riverr in good stead to continue driving new product innovation and bringing other solutions to market,” says Bernard Liew, director of KSL Maritime Ventures.
Launched in 2020, the Singapore-based Riverr boasts a digital interface that looks to simplify how health data can be verified across organisations and governments, while maintaining the privacy of individuals.
Tools on Riverr’s platform include patient booking, health record and payment gateways, that can be white-labelled and embedded into existing systems.
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Sample Riverr Health certificate (Image credit: Riverr)
Such a holistic ecosystem ensures that every touchpoint along a patient’s health and vaccination journey - from medical providers to testing labs and national health organisations - can be instantly verified when needed via a mobile app or web interface.
The seed investment will allow Riverr to accelerate its go-to-market roadmap with healthcare providers across Singapore, Philippines, India and Indonesia, as it introduces its platform to sectors which have a higher frequency of cross border people movements.
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At present, health clinics and labs such as Acumen Diagnostics, Healthway Medical Group and MiRXES, are relying on Riverr’s solution to securely manage the end-to-end process of verifying health data and records.
The platform is seen to be particularly relevant to the maritime sector which lacks secure tools to digitally verify the health information of seafarers with multiple vaccination and medical records, in a single ship.
Typically, the health records of seafarers are managed and shared over email for authorising bodies to approve whether or not they can board or disembark at ports.
With Riverr, a seafarer’s trail of medical and vaccination records can be instantly validated by port authorities and the necessary industry stakeholders, without anyone needing to hold or store the data.
“Managing the health records of seafarers in the maritime industry - which involves data, medical and efficiency risks - is a very real example of [keeping economies going amid Covid-19,” says Kristina Lynge, CEO and co-founder of Riverr.
“The calibre of Riverr’s strategic investors reaffirms our industry fit as we expand into a sector that’s critical to keep the world going,” she adds.
Agreeing, Kenneth Lim, Assistant Chief Executive of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore says he is heartened by Riverr’s success in raising seed funds. “[The company’s] fresh funding and expertise will augment [its] efforts in accelerating digitalisation for the maritime industry and further strengthen Singapore’s position as a global leading Maritime Technology Hub,” he elaborates.
Clinic's overview of data of Riverr platform (Image credit: Riverr)
Cover image of Riverr co-founders (from L-R) Martin Nielsen (CPO), Kristina Lynge (CEO) and William Bech (CTO): Riverr
