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Over the last few years, there’s one thing I’ve heard many times: Singapore, while a great market to operate out of, isn’t a fantastic growth driver for tech firms.
It’s easy to see why many people think this. After all, the city-state has a relatively small population compared to the likes of other Southeast Asian countries. Operational costs are also typically higher. As a result, many consumer-focused startups have turned to neighboring Indonesia as their primary market.
However, for Kevin Aluwi, venture partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners and co-founder of Gojek, Singapore might be a lot more crucial than many founders and investors might think. In fact, a report from Lightspeed shares that perhaps it’s time to reevaluate how we look at the entire region of Southeast Asia.
Today we look at:
- An assessment of Southeast Asia’s tech dreams
- A new app for Singapore’s government agencies
- Other newsy highlights such as Temasek’s US$60 million investment in upGrad and IBM’s new open-source AI model
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Boulevard of broken dreams
Image credit: Timmy Loen
For many years, Southeast Asia walked a lonely road, the only one that it had ever known. Being one of the fast-growing regions in terms of annual gross domestic product, it was held up as the next China or India. However, this mindset could be misguided, according to a recent report by Lightspeed Venture Partners.
- Singapore case: Kevin Aluwi believes that many people view Singapore and Indonesia, two key markets in the region, incorrectly. In fact, if consumer tech founders had to choose between the two, they “should win the 6 million people in Singapore,” he says.
- Wake me up when the growth dream ends: Southeast Asia’s startups are typically consumer tech firms. To thrive, these companies need a prosperous middle-class segment and sizable urban centers, both of which China and India have in spades.
- (No) holiday for SEA firms: As startups in the region search for profitability, they’ll need to employ strategies that take into account the different income levels of users.
Read more: Don’t underestimate Singapore: Gojek co-founder on missed chances
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