Podcast – SEA’s shifting marketplace ecosystem

We recently shared a visual from January Capital’s annual report on Southeast Asia’s tech ecosystem, but the investment firm’s monthly reports are worth diving into as well.

The BRAVE Southeast Asia Tech podcast recently discussed the latest of these reports, with the episode focusing on the region’s ecommerce platforms with low margins. Hosts Jeremy Au and Shiyan Koh also explored changes in Southeast Asia’s SaaS market.

Here are four highlights we picked out from the episode:

6:09 – Why “the first leg of digitization is the marketplace leg” when it comes to commerce.

8:01 – How difficult it is for companies to position themselves as counterparts to marketplaces like Lazada and Shopee.

19:46 – Why founders today have a bigger appreciation of the value of SaaS tools.

23:40 – Why more startups beget more SaaS.