Southeast Asia can light the way for the global tech scene

Even the best get cynical sometimes.

It’s tough to always remain upbeat and optimistic when there’s a lot of doom and gloom – and there’s a lot of that going around in the tech sector. Whether you’re a seasoned founder or fresh on the scene, recent market conditions have brought about some hard times.

We’re facing some stormy seas right now: less capital in the sector, not to mention the rising inflation impacting all industries. While startup funding managed to hold out for a bit, it’s been on a decline over the last year.

In times like these, it’s important to look for things that can give us hope or guidance. For the tech world, I believe that Southeast Asia can be that very beacon – that’s why the theme for this year’s Tech in Asia Conference is “Southeast Asia: A Bright Spot in the Tech World.”

And there are some truly exciting prospects to look out for. From eFishery attaining unicorn status following its series D round to Aspire hitting profitability and planning to double down on Southeast Asia, you could say the region might be down, but it’s definitely not out.

Those milestones reflect a unique opportunity for us in Southeast Asia. As the tech world struggles, it falls on the community to turn the bright spots into something more, allowing the region to lead the way and, hopefully, sustain this momentum even once everything recovers.

This is something that we’re focusing heavily on, and the Tech in Asia Conference is a way to bridge the connection and knowledge gap in this new startup world.

A meeting of the minds

Since 2011, we’ve annually held our flagship event for Asia’s tech and startup community to bring together passionate individuals regardless of where they come from – and this year will be no different. We’re hosting it in Jakarta from October 18 to 19, and you can expect the same insightful experience that our conferences are known for.

I’ll never forget the buzz and excitement at last year’s edition, which was our first major in-person event since the pandemic hit us. We had more than 5000 attendees in the sessions and workshops featuring over 70 speakers. Of course, all that wouldn’t have been possible without the help of our 31 partners.

Last year’s conference was a packed affair indeed / Photo credit: Tech in Asia

Some of my favorite sessions include “Building Resilient Businesses and Finding Opportunities During Economic Shifts” by Charles Ferguson, Asia-Pacific general manager at Globalization Partners; GGV Capital Jenny Lee’s thoughts on 2022 and beyond; as well as the discussion on building a fintech giant between Xendit co-founder Tessa Wijaya, YouTrip co-founder Caecilia Chu, and Aung Kyaw Moe, founder of 2C2P.

Another standout aspect was the number of business opportunities we gathered and the success stories we heard from others at the conference.

I’m sure that I’ll have new favorites and highlights this year, too, and so will you.

We’d love to meet and connect with you there and in doing so, shed some light on Southeast Asia’s bright future. Get your conference tickets here.