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Samreen Ahmad · · 5 min read3 predictions by Asia Partners’ Nick Nash on SEA’s startup ecosystem
How is Singapore similar to Dubai, London, New York, and Miami?
According to a 2021 report by growth equity firm Asia Partners, the city-state is fast becoming the commercial hub in Asia in the same way that Dubai is for West Asia, London is for Europe, Miami is for Latin America, and New York is for North America.
About 26% of all roles in Asia are based in Singapore, double the proportion of China and Hong Kong, according to the report.
Asia Partners co-founder Nick Nash / Photo credit: Tech in Asia
“We will be surprised if there isn’t a substantial homegrown enterprise software industry that develops in Singapore over time,” said Nick Nash, the managing partner of Asia Partners, at this year’s Tech in Asia Conference.
Photo credit: Asia Partners
Nash was formerly the group president of Southeast Asian tech giant Sea, which runs gaming platform Garena and ecommerce firm Shopee.
While breaking down Asia Partners’ latest internet report at the conference, he talks about the hottest trends to watch out for in the region.
1. Transition to subscription-based models
According to Asia Partners’ early predictions, Southeast Asia is entering a golden age of rising affluence, which has been associated with the formation of large tech companies in China, Korea, and Japan in the past few years.
Nash said that Southeast Asian countries will see an increase in subscription-based purchases over item-based buys at a higher level of affluence than they are at today. According to Nash, the transition zone to subscriptions begin somewhere in the ‘Palladium Age’ which is from US$14,000 to US$28,000 per capita GDP, which is rather higher than the region’s approximate US$4,500 per capita GDP today.
Indeed, consumers in advanced economies with higher levels of working capital often buy products in bulk for wholesale prices as opposed to relying on item-by-item purchases.
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Nash says Southeast Asian region will see a rise in subscription-based buys at a higher level of affluence than they are at today, among other forecasts.
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