A message from
Max Pourrat , Head of Asia Pacific , Tech Nation
Southeast Asia ’ s tech sector has been breaking records and making headlines globally this year - no small feat amid a pandemic . UK unicorns like Checkout . com , Babylon , Darktrace , Wise , Revolut , and Deliveroo have all built their presence in the region . And just last month , another UK unicorn joined them , Graphcore , launching their Southeast Asia hub .
At Tech Nation , we are seeing interest in the region rocket , with 60 % of UK tech scaleups on our late-stage growth programme interested in expanding into Asia Pacific . Back in March , we launched our first International Growth Programme for Singapore and Southeast Asia as part of the UK government ’ s Digital Trade Network . Working closely with the Department for International Trade across Asia Pacific , we are supporting more UK scaleups to derisk and accelerate their growth into this region .
We have all heard the statistic that Southeast Asia ’ s digital economy is expected to surpass US $ 300 billion by 2025 , but how does this really present as an opportunity for UK tech scaleups growth ? We think there are some sectors that stick out from the rest .
FinTech : As a global financial centre , Singapore is an obvious choice for UK fintechs . Singapore ’ s Monetary Authority ( MAS ), like the UK ’ s Financial Conduct Authority , has taken a proactive approach to foster digital transformation in the financial sector and Featurespace , BankBI and Dynamify are all such examples of UK scaleups looking at this market .
Healthtech : For more than five years , Southeast Asia has experienced a ‘ digital healthcare leap ’ with the emergence of accessible health services designed specifically for a ‘ mobile-first demographic ’. The UK is home to more than 3,000 healthtech scaleups , and there is plenty of opportunity in this region for them to form crucial partnerships with healthcare providers , insurers and corporate partners just as Babylon did with Prudential .
Net Zero : Climate change is a global issue , and a topic that more Southeast Asian nations are starting to focus on . We have already worked with Circulor , Olio and Everledger on their growth into this region , and UK companies such as Winnow have already had success here .
The UK and Southeast Asia are perfect partners for the future of tech . Our Tech Nation International Growth Programme is one of the many ways we continue to promote this .
I am based in Singapore , and have been for the past 6 years having scaled a tech company across Asia Pacific prior to joining Tech Nation . I look forward to supporting more UK scaleups grow into Southeast Asia , and can ’ t wait for more UK founders to join me here and share my excitement for the future potential of this region . For more information and to register your interest in Tech Nation ’ s support for expanding to Southeast Asia , please visit : technation . io / international .
Cyber : We have also seen interest from UK cyber companies in this region - Assuria and Dataswift being two of them more recently . National infrastructure and companies in Southeast Asian nations are particularly vulnerable to cyber attacks and breaches . In fact , a recent ‘ urgent report ’ explained that the region ’ s growing strategic relevance and low cyber resilience makes it a prime target for cyberattacks so the UK ’ s expertise in this field is in much demand .