【Unlocking SEA's Digital Frontier】
Home to over 650 million people and a rapidly evolving digital economy, Southeast Asia presents countless opportunities for those seeking to unlock new engines of growth. However, expanding into the region with a proper understanding of local dynamics would be a fool's errand.
In its current chapter, the SEA growth story is centered on the top 6 economies (ID, TH, PH, SG, MY, VN), who collectively make up 95% of the region's GDP. That's 6 countries, each presenting their own set of regulatory frameworks, consumer behaviors, and entry barriers. These factors collectively inhibit the prospects of building a truly regional business, but if properly understood, handled, and incorporated, then the payoff can be large.
Since the region's startup ecosystem began developing a decade ago, only a handful of companies in SEA have managed to cross the coveted unicorn threshold. With the exception of those focusing exclusively on ID, the majority of these unicorns have all managed to quickly scale their businesses across SEA's major markets, eliciting the interests of investors and consumers alike.
That said, the SEA narrative is only just beginning to unfold. The region experienced the first of its high-profile IPOs in 2017 when Sea Limited (previously Garena) listed on the NYSE. Their stock has more than doubled in the 18 months since. We're likely to see many local success stories follow suit as the ecosystem matures.
Applications for AppWorks Accelerators' next AI/blockchain only batch (AW#19) are open until July 15. Apply today and be a part of Greater SEA's strongest founder community >>> http://bit.ly/2YeX2us
-Jun Wakabayashi
Analyst, AppWorks
