The 10 Reports You Need to Read to Understand the Thai and Southeast Asian Tech Ecosystem (Fast!)
I get asked all the time about giving lectures and talks about the Thai and Southeast Asian tech ecosystem and why investors and founders should pay more attention to the hottest region of the decade. While this report is not an exhaustive list of the incredible work that has been done by many ecosystem players in the region, these are some of my favorite reports that I like to share for anyone who wants an accelerated on-ramp to get a comprehensive understanding on the Thai and Southeast Asian startup ecosystem. Read these while on the plane and by the time that you land, you will be an ecosystem expert that will hit the ground running!
The ASEAN Digital Decade
The annual Google x Temasek x Bain & Company report continues on the trend of an every expanding digital economy, with more users, greater usage, and accelerating growth in digital merchants, platforms and tools. Despite Covid 19 putting the brakes on the travel tech, new opportunities such as health tech and ed-tech has been supercharged a few years ahead. Every year this report is out, the digital ecosystem’s growth continues to accelerate. To get a overview of the region, this is the one report you need to read to get the lay of the land.
Southeast Asians = Internet Addicts
We Are Social releases a volume of internet reports on digital, mobile, social usage patterns and trends and all data points out the this region is the most hooked online especially on chat and social media, especially on their mobile phones. If you’re looking to understand why a mobile-first strategy is paramount to Southeast Asia, grab a copy and indulge on the insights of this report!
Funding for SEA startups is expected to exceed $14b in 2023
As reported by TechinAsia, Funding for tech startups in Southeast Asia has grown 50x from US$130 million in 2010 to US$7.7 billion in 2020, according to the SEA Startup Ecosystem 2.0 report from Singapore-based VC firm Golden Gate Ventures. E-commerce, fintech, and entertainment and media were the three sectors with the most startups getting big funding (more than US$50 million) in the time span. Want to know why global VC funds and private equity firms are moving in and looking for exposure in Southeast Asia’s upcoming unicorns and why total assets under management for investors in the region is also forecast to double from US$134 billion in 2020 to US$310.9 billion in 2030? Sign up and grab a copy of this report!
Green (Impact) is the new Black
One of the mission of my accelerator Impact Collective, is to convene impact impact makers, community builders, investors and city governments can collaborate to solve urban challenges. With the help of our partners at UNDP and Citypreneurs, we hosted the annualImpact Ecosystem Mapping Dialogue where key actors in the impact ecosystems of #Bangkok, #HoChiMinhCity, #Seoul, and #Singapore came to share insights from their local context. Check out these Miro boards or watch the summary video to see that while the region has come far in terms of supporting more impact startups, common challenges still exist in terms of access to finance, market support and awareness, as well as the talent crunch (more on that below).
Special shout out my team and partners at Impact Collective, UNDP Youth Co:Lab, Citi Foundation, World Federation of United Nations Associations (WFUNA) TheVentures Co., Ltd. Weave for making this report possible!
Talent continues to be a blocker for the Southeast Asian Startup Ecosystem
One of the most asked for insights from founders entering the market is Compensation data — base pay, bonuses and stock options — have always been hard to finds especially for tech startups. Luckily, the fine folks at Monk’s Hill Ventures have tackled this problem heads on with a tech talent compensation report throughout Southeast Asia (amongst other topics like workplace culture’s importance in retaining talent, how to lead teams, and the tradeoffs between cash and equity compensation) in partnership with a regional tech-focused recruitment and talent firm, Glints. Focusing initially at Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam, there is hope that this report will soon cover all the major tech hubs in the region soon. For Thailand-specific compensation guide, recruitment platforms and Employee Stock Options, check out my previous articles on:
Thailand grooms 3 unicorns in 2021
A comprehensive report by the National Innovation Agency, the Thailand Startup Ecosystem Report 2021 helps Thailand E-commerce market, this ecosystem crowdsourced report is by far the most comprehensive report in Thailand. Want to know the movers and shakers of the Thai Startup ecosystem and how we’ve managed to groom 3 unicorns in 2021? Grab this report and dig in or watch the Youtube summary of this report:
Thailand: The Land of Blockchain
Blockchain and cryptocurrencies are no longer just buzzwords in Thailand but one of the shining beacons of the local ecosystem. While local projects continue to garner massive retail and institutional attention to the point that our largest banks and conglomerates have jumped into the DeFi, Tokenization and investment plays, many global projects have also set up shop in Thailand. This reports as well as many others will help get you up to speed on why Thailand is the best destination of growing your blockchain startup in Asia.
A Thriving Entrepreneurial Ecosystem with some growing pains
A report I help co-researched and co-wrote for the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs, this ecosystem snapshot maps 267 ecosystem organizations actively supporting entrepreneurs and small businesses in Bangkok. With the report, we explore why Agriculture & Food, Health and Energy are the leading entrepreneurial sectors, why the key challenge in our entrepreneurial ecosystem is the lack of early stage investment funding and why the greatest improvement has been connectivity/collaboration among ecosystem organizations has most improved over the last 5 years.
War between the Shopee Lazada Oligopoly vs the Old Guards
A year old report (hopefully updated soon) that really outlines the battle lines of what is at stake in the 220,000 million baht E-commerce market in 2020 that has 35% growth from 2019. While Shopee Lazada continues to dominate the e-commerce platforms, Live and Social Commerce now makes up over half of all e-commerce transactions. This reports breaks down in great detail of each sub-vertical and is a go-to report for anyone looking to take a crack at challenging the e-commerce giants in Thailand?
Thailand Digital Technology Foresight 2035
Last but not least, a hefty report by Frost & Sullivan x Digital Economy Promotion Agency (depa), this report looks to what technologies are likely to have an impact in Thailand in the coming decade. Read this in conjunction with the New S-Curve and Thailand 4.0 strategy to understand what are the Thai government’s priorities for the next decade.
Where to find more information about the Thai startup ecosystem?
Look no further than these guide books, platforms and tools to help you with your research!
