Letter to readers: When a virus goes viral

Dear readers,

Panic buyers swooped across Singapore last week after the government elevated the DORSCON – or Disease Outbreak Response System Condition – level of the Wuhan coronavirus to orange, one notch below the highest level. Such is the impact of social media: Information (and unfortunately sometimes misinformation) spreads rapidly like wildfire.

The world has dramatically changed since 2003, when we had the SARS outbreak. Back then, we didn’t have social media such as Twitter and Facebook.

A woman wears a protective mask on the streets of Macau during coronavirus outbreak / Photo credit: Macau Photo Agency

Fortunately, the same technology that helps fuel panic over the pandemic also empowers people to cope with the situation. People are going out less and are staying at home more, and maybe that’s partly why ecommerce seems to be thriving.

Indeed, much of the traditional businesses – from travel, retail, food deliveries, and even healthcare services – have gone online for good reason. Consumers can now also purchase digital tickets to events, tourist attractions, and theme parks.

In Indonesia, people are increasingly able to access medical services online. The country is at the forefront of technological innovation, making it attractive for investors such as Arrive, the venture capital arm of hip hop artist Jay-Z’s company, Roc Nation.

Arrive has just invested in Indonesia’s Super , the social ecommerce app launched by Nusantara Technology in April 2018. Arrive president and co-founder Neil Sirni recently spoke to our Singapore-based correspondent Jack Ellis about its plans in Southeast Asia, where Jay-Z’s VC fund is looking for more opportunities. So stay tuned for this full-length interview.

After booming in China and India, social ecommerce, which enables consumers to get discounts on bulk orders, companies such as Webuy are now testing the waters in Southeast Asia.

You can also read inspiring stories about budding entrepreneurs in Tech in Asia. We just featured the alumni of the NUS Overseas College, which has produced notable startup founders, including Darius Cheung, co-founder of 99.co and tenCube; Royston Tay, co-founder of Zopim; and Siu Rui Quek, co-founder of mobile classifieds app Carousell.

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Cheers,

Jonathan
Editor-in-Chief