Daily Briefing: Pension giant OMERS invests in SG's Orion Credit Capital; Meet the seven startups from edutech accelerator EduSpaze's second cohort

And 400,000 households to receive second round of $50 CDC vouchers.

From DealStreetAsia:

Singapore-based investment manager Orion Credit Capital Asia has received an equity investment from Canadian pension fund OMERS that will help it strengthen its existing platform and accelerate its growth plans.

Orion Capital Asia was spun out of Olympus Capital Asia, a private equity firm focused on sectors such as financial services, renewable energy and healthcare, amongst others.

Orion Capital Asia manages investment vehicles that provide secured loans to middle-market businesses that are owned by both private equity sponsors and local entrepreneurs. It doles out loans to companies that have been underserved by traditional banking channels to finance their organic (expansions) and inorganic growth plans (M&A).

Through the investment, OMERS will be able to expand its mid-market credit portfolio in Asia, said its capital markets (Asia) senior managing director Ashish Goyal.

Read more here.

From e27:

EduSpaze, a Singapore-based edutech accelerator, announced today its second cohort of startups. Seven early-stage edutech companies from Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines have been selected for the second cohort from over 200 applicants across 30 countries.

The startups have been slotted into different educational categories including K-12, higher education, and corporate learning. Participating companies will present their solutions at a virtual demo day on 5 May.

Managed by Singapore-based VC firm Spaze Ventures and supported by Enterprise Singapore, EduSpaze works with founders over the course of the 100-day programme to “accelerate” their progress in various aspects including market fit, product development, and revenue generation, amongst others.

Read more here.

From ChannelNewsAsia:

Another round of Community Development Council (CDC) vouchers will be rolled out to about 400,000 Singaporean households from 8 February.

The second tranche of the CDC Vouchers Scheme was launched on 25 January by Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat at the Bedok Community Centre, in a move that will cost an additional $20m.

The vouchers, worth $50 each, can be redeemed for food, essential goods, and services at participating heartland merchant shops and hawker stalls displaying the CDC voucher decal.

Each eligible household will receive a notification letter together with the date of collection.

A household member must bring the notification letter and produce a NRIC from anyone living in the residence to the designated community clubs or community centres to collect the vouchers.

Read more here.

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