How Southeast Asian Startups Are Creating A Digital Future In A Coronavirus Pandemic

How Southeast Asian Startups Are Creating A Digital Future In A Coronavirus Pandemic

My Singapore-based VC firm, Golden Gate Ventures, invests in tech startups across Southeast Asia.. The pandemic gives us an accelerated view because Southeast Asians are now adopting new services so rapidly.. 's how some key companies are shaping the markets in four verticals: education, e-commerce, entertainment and healthcare.. Waves of edtech startups are helping to meet the demand for quality education in this region's fast-growing countries.. (KooBits is a portfolio company of Golden Gate Ventures.) The startup teaches the vaunted Singapore math curriculum, which lends itself to presentation on a screen, as it includes visualizing math problems.. KooBits now sells into the Middle East as well as Southeast Asia.. Gojek's story illustrates the unusual growth that can occur in emerging markets.. The firm branches into new sectors more boldly than a U.S.-based ride-hailing firm like Uber could, and it uses local focus to compete with U.S.-based or China-based entrants throughout Southeast Asia.. Last but far from least, a recent Reuters article featured two startups meeting medical needs in Indonesia during the pandemic.. Pre-coronavirus, we were already seeing online-to-offline (O2O) innovations in Southeast Asia that had not existed in U.S. markets, such as