Startups get a power-up from WhatsApp

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Hello readers,

I remember a pre-WhatsApp era when people painstakingly crafted an SMS to fit into the character limit. An absence of emojis limited the range of emotions we could express over texts. Voice and video calls, especially to loved ones overseas, were costly, so they were done sparingly. Group chats? They didn’t exist.

Today, it’s hard to imagine a world without WhatsApp, or WeChat, or Line. And these apps have no intention of going back. In fact, it looks like messaging is just a stepping stone to a whole range of other services that these platforms are looking to provide – everything from payments and shopping to gaming and even food delivery.

I’ve conversed with chatbots, but never with a storefront via WhatsApp before, so it was surprising to learn that many people in Asia, particularly in India and in Indonesia, do so.

It makes sense, though. For thousands of small-businesses owners selling products informally, WhatsApp is a personable way to reach out to customers and build trust. Larger enterprises may also find consumers more responsive on apps, emails and texts.

It will be exciting to see how these platforms evolve.

— Melissa Goh, journalist at Tech in Asia

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Ant Group, which is about to launch an initial public offering, is rapidly expanding its technology’s global reach. Before long, it will clash with payment incumbents in the West, including Visa and Mastercard.

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