This year’s Tech in Asia Conference
was centered on the theme “Southeast Asia: a bright spot in the tech world.”
It brought together the region’s tech enthusiasts, industry experts, and
movers and shakers to explore how the region is poised to overcome the ongoing economic uncertainty.
Ahead of the conference, which happened on October 18 to 19 at
Ritz-Carlton Pacific Place in Jakarta, we launched SEA Marks the
Spot: The 2023 Tech in Asia Conference Report. In the paper, we’re taking a deep dive into Southeast Asia, looking at what makes it stand out against
the larger macroeconomic backdrop, examining the key markets in the
region, and exploring what lies ahead.
Here’s a taste of what you can expect from the report:
Nasdaq saw four consecutive quarters of dropping values, ending 2022 down 33%.
Global venture capital
funding fell 53% YoY
(Q1’22 vs Q1’23).
SEA Funding has slowed down,
(US$30.7 billion in 2021 vs
US$14.4 billion in 2022).
Multiple layoffs (such as Meta, Disney, Google, Grab, Sea Group,
Goto Group).
53 unicorns,
3 decacorns
(GoTo, Sea Group, Grab).
There’s also been a good mix of early
and late stage companies
within the region, illustrating
breadth in the ecosystem.
The region as a whole has much potential, and
while there’s some level of interconnectedness
between economies, each market also
has its distinct strengths
and weaknesses.
Let’s take a look at two key markets
1 Monetary Authority of Singapore. “MAS Launches Financial Services Industry Transformation Map 2025.” Monetary
Authority of Singapore, September 15, 2022. Monetary Authority of Singapore. https://www.mas.gov.sg/news/
media-releases/2022/mas-launches-financial-services-industry-transformation-map-2025.
2“Our Targets.” Singapore Green Plan 2030. Accessed August 3, 2023. https://www.greenplan.gov.sg/targets.
3 Tan, Audrey. “Budget 2021: New $60m Agri-Food Cluster Transformation Fund to Boost Local Production through
Technology.” The Straits Times , February 16, 2021. https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/
budaget-2021-new-60m-agri-food-cluster-transformation-fund-to-boost-local-production.
4 Google, Temasek, and Bain & Company. “E-Conomy SEA 2022.” Google. Accessed August 4, 20223. https://services.
google.com/fh/files/misc/indonesia_e_conomy_sea_2022_report.pdf.
5“What Does Indonesia’s Fintech Scene Look Like in 2023?” Fintech News Singapore, May 2, 2023.
https://fintechnews.sg/71494/indonesia/what-does-indonesias-fintech-scene-look-like-in-2023/.
6Cosseboom, Leighton. “AC Ventures and AEML Release Top Report on Indonesia’s Electric Vehicle Outlook.” AC Ventures, July 3, 2023. https://acv.vc/insights/acv-portfolio-news/electric-vehicle-report-ac-ventures-aeml/.
It sure seems like exciting times ahead, but what you’ve just read is merely scratching the surface.
If you want to dive deeper into what Southeast Asia has going for it, get your copy of the full report. It will unpack the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead for the region, examine six key markets in Southeast Asia – namely Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines – and look at how the region has fared on the public markets now that several tech companies have made their stock market debuts.
The future remains bright for Southeast Asia.
Get your copy of the 2023 Tech in Asia Conference Report now!
Copyright © 2023 Tech in Asia. All Rights Reserved.
Join us at our flagship event – along with over 2,000 regional tech enthusiasts.
Here are some participating companies who you can meet:
President, Bukalapak
Teddy Oetomo is the President of Bukalapak; a role he has held since 2020. He oversees the corporate secretary, corporate finance, consumer satisfaction management and investment at Bukalapak.
Prior to joining Bukalapak, Teddy spent three years as Head of Intermediary Business at Schroders Indonesia. Before that, he had a spell at Credit Suisse Indonesia as Head of Equity Research from 2006-2014.
Started his career as a lecturer, he has cultivated more than 11 years of experience in the field of equity market and asset management. Other than that, Teddy hold seven publications in international peer-reviewed academic journals.
Teddy holds Ph.D. in Economics and Bachelor of Economics with first class honors from University of Sydney.
Dr. Janil Puthucheary concurrently holds the appointment of Senior Minister of State in the Ministry of Communications and Information and the Ministry of Health of Singapore. Dr. Janil Puthucheary became a Member of Parliament (MP) in 2011 and previously held appointments as Senior Minister of State in the Ministry of Education (2017 – 2018) and the Ministry of Transport (2018 – 2020).
Prior to politics, he was a Senior Consultant Paediatric Intensivist and Department Head for Paediatric Specialties in the KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, and was also an Associate Professor at Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School.
General Manager MENA, StashAway
Joseph is the General Manager of StashAway MENA. He has held various roles in the Financial Services industry, most recently as the deputy General Manager at StashAway. Before that he handled the business development of the French-speaking African region of Temenos.
He started his career as an external auditor at PwC, focusing on the financial services sector. Joseph holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, majoring in Banking & Finance from the Lebanese American University and is a Certified Negotiator by INSEAD.
Partner, Golden Gate Ventures
Michael Lints has 20+ years of experience as a startup operator and investor. He is currently a partner at the Singapore-based VC Golden Gate Ventures. As a partner, he focuses on institutional fundraising. Michael supports the firm on portfolio-level priorities e.g., fundraising and capital allocation.
In 2000 Michael co-founded an IT-managed services startup in Europe that was acquired in 2006. He joined the Economic Development Board Rotterdam as Vice Chairman in 2007. In that role, he launched the Young Economic Development Board.
Michael is an active writer and a co-director of an award-winning social impact documentary called Broken Chains.
Managing Director & Partner, BCG X
Hanno Stegmann is a member of the leadership team of BCG X, Boston Consulting Group’s tech build and design unit. Combining BCG’s deep industry and functional expertise, BCG X brings together advanced tech knowledge and ambitious entrepreneurship to help organizations enable innovation at scale.
Hanno leads BCG X Ventures across Southeast Asia. In this role, he is dedicated to inventing, building, investing in, and launching category-changing businesses at startup speed together with the world’s most influential corporates. Over the last several years, Hanno launched more than ten new businesses in various industrial goods and consumer products companies that have created billion-dollar impact.
Managing Partner & Co-Founder, Asia Partners
Nicholas Nash is a co-founder of Asia Partners, a leading growth equity firm in Southeast Asia. Previously was the Group President of Sea Ltd. from 2014-2018. Led Sea’s IPO on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: SE), largest ever IPO of a Southeast Asian internet company.
Before that, he worked at General Atlantic for a decade and began his career with McKinsey & Company. Mr. Nash was a member of the WEF ASEAN Regional Strategy Group from 2017-18 and a Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations from 2013-18.
He is a Kauffman Fellow, member of the Singapore chapter of YPO. On the boards of Ashoka University, U-Go University, Endeavor Indonesia and Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music at the NUS.
Partner, Lightspeed Venture Partners
Pinn is a founding member of Lightspeed Southeast Asia, a global early-stage investment fund. Prior to Lightspeed, she was at Insignia Venture Partners and Tiger Global Management, where she focused on consumer and financial technology across SEA, India and China. She worked closely with Flipkart (sold to Walmart), Ola, Policybazaar, Hike, Games 24×7, Razorpay, Uxin (IPO exit).
Pinn started her career as a management consultant at Bain & Company and also founded Grab’s motorcycle-on-demand in Bangkok, Thailand. Pinn graduated from Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania with a double degree in Psychology and Finance.
Managing Partner & Founder, AC Ventures
Adrian is Founder & Managing Partner at AC Ventures, formerly Convergence Ventures. ACV is an early stage Indonesia focused technology venture capital fund. ACV manages 5 funds with AUM of over US$500M and with a portfolio of over 120 businesses invested in the past 8 years. Investments led for the funds include, Payfazz, Koinworks, Julo, Stockbit, Xendit, Shipper, Ula, Edenfarm, Segari, Astro, Carsome, M17 and more. Previously, he co-founded several ventures in China and Indonesia.
Adrian graduated from Cambridge University with a BA and MA in Economics. He obtained his MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business and is currently enrolled in the Tsinghua OBOR EMBA program. He is a Kauffman Fellow in Class 21.
General Partner, Ascend Vietnam Ventures
Eddie Thai is general partner of AVV, an early-stage VC firm on a mission to help exceptional teams in Vietnam and elsewhere in building iconic companies. He is particularly on the lookout for breakthrough approaches in fintech, edtech, and enterprise SaaS. Eddie also continues to steward 500 Globa’s Vietnam-focused fund, for which he led more than 30 investments including Axie Infinity (a16z-backed NFT gaming unicorn), ApplyBoard (Fidelity-backed edtech unicorn), Trusting Social (Sequoia-backed fintech centaur), and Base.vn (enterprise SaaS; acquired).
He received degrees from Harvard and Yale, and serves in advisory roles with the World Bank (Vietnam 2045 project), UNICEF Vietnam, and the UNDP (business integrity project).
Divya Gokulnath is a visionary education entrepreneur, co-founder of BYJU’S – The Learning App, and a strong advocate of equitable and accessible learning. Under her leadership, BYJU’S has transformed the way students learn, impacting over 150 million learners worldwide, and becoming the world’s largest edtech company valued at $22 billion. Having played a pivotal role in establishing and expanding BYJU’S brand in the Indian market, Divya now actively leads the charge in scaling BYJU’S international business across multiple countries.
As a former teacher, Divya’s dedication to creating personalized learning experiences has made her a true powerhouse in the world of edtech. Divya has been instrumental in launching BYJU’S Education For All, a social initiative that has empowered 5.5 million children from underprivileged backgrounds. She is also a strong advocate for diversity in the workplace and an ardent supporter of India’s fast-growing startup ecosystem and continues to be a mentor for budding young entrepreneurs.
She has been featured on Fortune 40 under 40 entrepreneurs 2022 list, Fortune Most Powerful Women (2022, 2021, 2020), ASU GSV Power of Women (2021), Business Today’s Most Powerful Women (2019, 2020, 2021) award, LinkedIn Top Voices in Education (2019,2020) (India and Global) and Forbes Asia’s 25 Most Powerful Women (2020).
CEO, SEEK Asia
Peter is the Asia CEO of SEEK, which operates leading employment platforms JobStreet and JobsDB. In his role, Peter is responsible for leading and driving the business’ growth and operations, while building on the company’s success and presence throughout the region.
He brings over 20 years of experience in the Tech, Media and Telco sector, including a decade building and growing P&Ls across Asia. His career includes various CEO and senior management positions encompassing both developed and developing markets and covering a spectrum of companies from start-ups to large enterprises.
Peter’s notable achievements include scaling up digital businesses from scratch and helping spearhead one of the world’s most successful telco transformations over the past decade. He has a proven track record of leading digital business transformation programs and building strong company cultures in diverse markets across Asia Pacific and the United States.
CEO, 99 Group
Darius Mahtani Cheung is the founder and CEO of 99 Group, a leading real estate technology company in Southeast Asia, operating leading brands including 99.co, SRX and Rumah123.
Prior to founding 99, Darius founded tenCube, a mobile security company he founded and served as CEO for 5 years and was later acquired by McAfee, where he served as the Director for Mobile Technology for 2 years. Darius is also an angel investor in over 20 startups.
CEO, The ParentInc
Roshni Mahtani Cheung is the founder and group CEO of The Parentinc. The company is behind the hugely popular theAsianparent website and mobile app, which together see 35 million users every month from 13 countries, as well as mother and baby care brand Mama’s Choice.
Managing Partner, 500 Global
Khailee Ng is a managing partner at multi-stage venture capital firm 500 Global. He has led over 300 investments in Southeast Asian tech startups, including unicorns Grab, Carousell, Bukalapak, Carsome, eFishery, FinAccel, and other regional champions. Prior to 500, he was the founder of Groupsmore (acquired by Groupon) and Malaysia’s largest online media company, Says.com (acquired by Media Prima).
General Partner, Altara Ventures
Gavin Teo is a General Partner at Altara Ventures, where he invests in high-growth tech startups in Southeast Asia. He presently serves as Board Director to Clevai, Kyan Technologies, Med247, Sampingan, Saturdays, Galen Growth and Frontier Investment Corp (NASDAQ: FICVU).
Mr. Teo was formerly General Partner at B Capital Group where he managed the firm’s IC and served on the boards of several investments including AIMotive (acq. by Stellantis) and SilverCloud Health (acq. by AmWell). Earlier in his career, Mr. Teo held appointments at Comcast Ventures, Zynga and Bain & Company. Mr. Teo earned his M.B.A. from The Wharton School, where he graduated as a Palmer Scholar and his B.A. in Economics from Claremont McKenna College.
CEO and Co-Founder, HD
Sheji is the CEO and co-founder of HD, the leading healthcare and surgery marketplace in Southeast Asia. Previously a co-founder of aCommerce, he has worked in the U.S., China, and Southeast Asia in tech and ecommerce. He has an MBA from NYU Stern and an undergraduate degree in engineering from the Netherlands where he grew up.
CEO and Co-Founder, Green Li-ion Pte Ltd
Leon Farrant, the Chief Executive Officer of the Green Li-Ion Pte Ltd, is an awarded and accomplished Leader who has been exposed to the energy and engineering sectors as a CEO and executive manager for over 15 years. Leon’s experience driving the performance of global energy industry companies saw him lead large, dispersed teams and technical projects to success. Leon is known for his consensus-building ability, vision and rigour. Leon is a socially and environmentally conscious leader that tries to support diverse communities.
Managing Director, Peak XV
Shailendra is a Managing Director at Peak XV which has partnered with over 400 companies in the technology, consumer and financial space over the last 17 years. He joined the firm in 2006 and spearheads all activities in India and the ASEAN region.
Shailendra has advised on several successful investments including Carousell, CRED, Druva, Gojek, Pine Labs, Tokopedia and Unacademy.
He was included on the Forbes Midas List of top global VCs in 2018, 2019 and 2020. He has received an MBA with distinction from Harvard Business School and an undergraduate degree in chemical engineering from IIT Bombay.
Founder & CEO, Xendit
Moses Lo is the Founder and CEO of Xendit, a financial technology company providing payments across Southeast Asia. Xendit processes more than 25b USD annually and over 300 million transactions for global brands to the newest startups. Over the years, Xendit has been recognised with awards such as CNBC Upstart 100, The Best Payments Initiative. Xendit was recognised as a unicorn in 2021.
Moses earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of New South Wales, majoring in finance and information systems management. He began his career as a consultant with the Boston Consulting Group, before obtaining his MBA from the University of California, Berkeley and a short stint at Amazon.
Growing up in a family of entrepreneurs, Moses has always had a dream of starting his own business and creating outsized positive impact. At Xendit, Moses is passionate about improving digital infrastructure in Indonesia and the wider region through providing the best payment solutions in Southeast Asia. He’s been recognised as Forbes 30 under 30 and received the UNSW Alumni award for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
Group Chief Technology Officer, Grab
Suthen is the Group Chief Technology Officer of Grab. Based in Singapore, he oversees Grab’s technology teams across the company’s Deliveries, Mobility and Financial services businesses.
As Grab’s GCTO, Suthen is responsible for driving Grab’s technology vision, strategy and execution across the entire company. He plays a critical role in optimising Grab’s superapp synergies to drive sustainable growth and create greater value, convenience, and efficiencies for consumers and partners.
Prior to this, Suthen was Chief Technology Officer of Mobility, Automation and Platform Excellence, Deliveries, and Experiences. He was also Grab’s first technical lead when the company was founded in 2012. Throughout his time at Grab, he led the development of many Grab products and platforms, which supported the rapid growth of Grab’s Deliveries and Mobility services. He also held operational leadership roles and founded the Business Operations team. His unique background in technology and operations closely mirrors Grab’s business, which connects offline services with online consumers.
Suthen received a Bachelor’s degree in computer software engineering from Multimedia University in 2005, where he graduated with First Class Honours. He also received a Master’s degree in Public Policy in 2015 from the Harvard Kennedy School on a twin Fullbright Scholarship and Khazanah Global Scholarship.
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