Geography: South East Asia

Insurtech: Uncovering the opportunity in Southeast Asia  

The insurtech sector in Southeast Asia is undergoing a transformative phase, driven by emerging models and categories. Recent regulatory changes have paved the way for innovative business models that enhance customer and agent interactions while reducing servicing costs. In this week’s newsletter, we will explore how insurtech companies are shifting their focus from revenue generation […]

Uncovering the Digital Economy in Malaysia

Indonesia, Singapore, and Vietnam tend to dominate digital economy discussions in Southeast Asia. As a neighbor of such countries, Malaysia’s potential is often overlooked. In today’s newsletter, we highlight some emerging sectors in the country. Malaysia’s digital economy sectors are expected to experience meaningful growth, led by factors such as a high urbanization rate, increasing […]

Vietnam MSME Digitisation 

In Vietnam, Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) underpin the retail economy, catering to 80% of all consumer purchases. With the government’s active support in digitizing the market, this newsletter explores the opportunities within Vietnam’s MSME digital transformation. 1. Adoption of digital economy has been rising rapidly across Vietnam, especially in e-commerce The country is […]

Indonesia Electric Vehicle: Charging Up Part 3 

Indonesia is fast emerging as a destination for Electric Vehicle (EV) development and deployment. It could be an essential player in the global EV supply chain. The government is playing a supportive role, and the local market conditions are suitable for building solid domestic capabilities. Further, EV batteries present an exciting opportunity to invest in […]

Vietnam consumer internet – unleashing the next phase of growth 

The Vietnamese economy is undergoing significant changes. While in the short term we have seen headwinds in the form of real estate challenges, stock market underperformance among others however in the longer run the country has set a strong base for manufacturing sector growth on account of China + 1 policies adopted by countries. With […]

Indonesia ecommerce: The metamorphosis continues…   

Over the years, e-commerce in Indonesia has experienced significant growth, driven by factors such as increasing internet penetration, smartphone adoption, and a growing middle class. The category mix of e-commerce platforms has evolved to cater to the diverse needs and preferences of Indonesian consumers. It is further expected to undergo changes as the demographics and […]

Riding the Green Wave: Rise of Climate Tech   

The prospects for climate tech look encouraging. Climate tech refers to technologies and innovations that aim to mitigate or adapt to the impacts of climate change. The various drivers for rise of climate tech include government policies, corporate sustainability, public awareness, and innovation.   In the article, we will be looking at various opportunities in the […]

Indonesia Manufacturing: Opportunities Galore For Digital-first Players – Part 3 

The nascent segment of eB2B industrials in Indonesia presents an attractive opportunity, especially in the raw material procurement segment, where supply chain inefficiencies exist. The eB2B players are tapping into a promising opportunity for manufacturers looking to digitize their operations as well as providing transparent pricing and project financing solutions to buyers.  This article builds […]

Indonesia Online Electronics: A Whitespace for D2C?

Electronics are among the top-selling items in the e-commerce market in Indonesia, accounting for nearly ~25% of the total GMV, and this trend is only  expected to continue in the future!   In this article, we explore the potential for direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands in the electronics market and the factors that may drive their adoption over […]

SEA Electric Vehicles – Charging Up Part 2 

The Southeast Asia region’s growing middle class and urbanization are driving demand for sustainable transportation. Government policies such as tax breaks and reduced registration fees are promoting adoption as well. The entry of new Electric Vehicle manufacturers and development of charging infrastructure are offering favorable tailwinds too. These factors present opportunities for investment in EV […]

Open finance – doorway to digitalization

The Indonesian government has put forward a plan to digitalize and democratize the finance systems in the country by 2025. Open finance platforms directly address several of the key challenges and pain points of MSMEs and are positioned to benefit the most. In this article, we look at a sub-segment of fintech – open finance […]

Influencing On The Way Up!, Part 2

Here we share how influencer marketing is gaining prominence as an impactful digital ads channel. We find that understanding regional user nuances, category mix, and niche marketing tools is critical to creating to an influencer marketing campaign.   This article builds on our earlier note on the rise of influencer marketing in Indonesia, influencing-on-the-way-up. 1. Influencer marketing […]

Indonesia Consumer Survey Findings, Part 2 – Cautiously Optimistic

In this article, we share consumers’ views on key consumer internet sectors in Indonesia. This story builds on our earlier update on consumer sentiments on the macro-outlook, Consumer Survey – Part 1. We share our findings on e-commerce, on-demand and FinTech. Further, we share consumer insights on digitally native/ D2C brands and electric vehicles (EVs). […]

Indonesia Consumer Survey Findings, Part 1 – Cautiously Optimistic

In this interesting article, we share highlights from our consumer survey conducted in late Jan 2023. The survey assessed consumers’ views on the macro-outlook, as well as their spending preferences for key online product and services. In the first part, we cover some macro perspectives. We will share consumers’ views on key digital sectors and […]

The Great Shift: Advertisers look beyond big tech

Though Facebook, Instagram, and Google are likely to remain important channels for digital advertising, we can expect to see a shift towards alternative channels like e-commerce and affiliate marketing platforms in the coming years as advertisers look for new ways to reach and engage their target audiences. As per our recent study on Digital Ads, […]

Genomics – Leapfrogging into the Indonesian Healthcare Future

Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world, with a population of approximately 274 million people. The healthcare landscape in Indonesia is complex and challenging, with a range of issues such as inadequate healthcare infrastructure, a shortage of healthcare professionals, and limited access to healthcare services in rural areas. Here we look at […]

Agritech SEA – Growth From the Roots

SEA’s economy has a high dependency on agriculture (~17% contribution by GDP) and is strongly in need of modernization. In the wake, several innovative business models have come up in the region, and we go into detail to discuss a few. Here’s a broader look at the SEA market and how agri-tech players are growing. […]

InsurTech: Uncovering the Opportunity in Indonesia – Part 2

Indonesia’s InsurTech sector will grow at ~40% CAGR during 2021-26E due to low base (insurance penetration), already high (and rising) digital penetration, and the emergence of newer models. The capital raises by multiple players in the region suggests the continued support from investors. More could follow as players gain scale and display clearer path to […]

Web 3.0 – A Decentralized Opportunity (pt 2)

Blockchain’s hype led to several innovations in this space as designers and developers flock to make an impact. Nine of the ten investors we met last quarter are closely tracking the Web3/Metaverse-related developments. However, a consensus on what the eventual winners could look like is yet to emerge. While the gates are wide open for […]

Quick Commerce: The Way Forward

Globally, it has not been an easy ride for the industry in the post-COVID period due to several key challenges such as logistics and profitability. We connected with Vincent Tjendra, CEO at Astro to discuss what players could do differently in the upcoming period. In this article, we take a deeper look at the Quick […]

E-Commerce Double Days – Doubling Down on Retention

Indonesia’s double-day sales are one the largest sale periods in the region. With evolving consumer preferences, sales campaigns also need to evolve. In this article, we take a look at changing e-commerce landscape in Indonesia. As the number of consumers grows in the country, preferences have shifted towards convenience-based shopping. 1. Indonesia’s double-day sales campaigns […]

E-Commerce Enablers – An Encouraging Future

While a large portion of merchants have become digitized in the region, conducting efficient operations both online and offline continues to be a major challenge. E-commerce enablers helped merchants go online during the pandemic, and now, new challenges arise in the evolving market, which create further opportunities. Here’s a discussion on how enabler platforms in […]

B2B Trucking – An Interview with Eric Dharma, Group president at Waresix

Globally there have been cautionary headwinds for the ad market as a whole, but Southeast Asia has significant headroom to grow due to its low maturity compared to other countries in the region. The market is noticing a shift of advertising spend from offline to online channels, and e-commerce ads in particular, due to higher reach […]

Digital Ads: The Right Click!

Globally there have been cautionary headwinds for the ad market as a whole, but Southeast Asia has significant headroom to grow due to its low maturity compared to other countries in the region. The market is noticing a shift of advertising spend from offline channels to online channels, and e-commerce ads in particular, due to […]

Indonesia Manufacturing: Opportunities Galore For Digital-first Players – Part 2

Manufacturing contributes the highest to national GDP of Indonesia and has given employment to ~18 million people. Despite these numbers the industry has been stagnant in terms of cost to productivity due to the traditional practices followed.  Indonesia is en route to enter Industry 4.0 as the manufacturing sector is ripe for technological disruption and […]

Vietnam Healthcare

With robust macro tailwinds for the sector and on ground demand for health-related services, the healthcare sector in Vietnam is poised to undergo significant transformations. Emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, blockchain and online services are increasingly being used to tackle deficiencies in the existing healthcare system. Further omni-channel players have gained significant traction on account […]

Driven by Digitalization: Philippines Fintech

Philippines has a vast “underserved” banking population of ~57 million demonstrating the untapped potential in the country. Philippines lacks national ID system and hence the prevalence of financial frauds is also quite high. The new age fintech players with their latest technology and credit tools can tackle this issue well and thereby gain customer confidence […]

SEA eB2B Landscape

The eB2B landscape in SEA countries of Indonesia, Vietnam and Philippines offers strong growth prospects with ~40% or higher CAGR during 2021-26. The inherent inefficiencies in the traditional supply chains make eB2B an attractive business proposition. It addresses stockouts, product variety, financing options and other pain points for retailers. Similarly, they help brands with increasing […]

Vietnam’s FinTech Landscape

Vietnam is at the forefront of a fintech revolution. The structural opportunity in digital banking and insurtech sectors in particular is likely to unfold over the next few years. Accordingly, we expect investors’ interests to sustain in the foreseeable future. 1. Macroeconomic indicators present a conducive landscape for the fintech ecosystem to develop and grow […]

What’s Brewing In Indonesia Coffee Chains? – Part 3

Compared to other business models, coffee-chain players have been less affected by COVID due to their greater online presence, access and affordable offerings. They are expected to gain more traction by targeting different markets and introducing new products. We believe the sector holds long-term potential on the back of its standardized product offerings to a wider […]

Indonesia eHealth: Consumer Pulse Series

1. Indonesia healthcare faces severe shortage of resources, with the lowest density of medical practitioners and pharmacists in the region Current capacity of Indonesia’s Healthcare system highlights its inadequacy to deal with the demands of growing population especially post pandemic. It has the lowest density of doctors and pharmacists among ASEAN countries; and given the […]

InsurTech: Uncovering the opportunity in Indonesia

As per our report, InsurTech in Indonesia is estimated to grow fourfold during 2021-26 and reach a multi-billion-dollar gross premium size. This will be driven by rising awareness of the need for insurance, rising digital penetration, wider product offerings and other factors. The note also provides some colour on consumers’ preferences for InsurTech offerings.  Here’s a […]

PropTech In Southeast Asia

1. Indonesia is the largest real estate market in the region accounting for more than 50% of the overall realty market in SEA The combined real estate market size in the six focus countries of SEA is over $100 Billion. Indonesia and Vietnam are emerging as the most exciting real estate markets in the region […]

Indonesia Electric Vehicles: Charging Up

1. Indonesia possesses the macro tailwinds needed to stimulate the growth of the Electric Vehicles sector Indonesian government wants to invest for a green economy, hence has launched a roadmap to convert fuel engine vehicles to BEVs(Battery Electric Vehicle) and hybrid electric vehicles(HEVs).It possesses the largest nickel(an important component of Li-ion battery) reserves in the […]

Influencing On The Way Up!

1. Merchants are increasingly shifting their ad spend wallet to digital channels; influencer marketing is a fast-growing segment Traditional media is losing share to digital media on a global scale. Over the past year, internet advertising has grown at a robust rate of 26% beating offline ad spending, which only grew by 9%. Predictably, digital […]

ASEAN eCommerce and Logistics: Rising to Deliver – Part 2

Social commerce has seen an uptick in the recent months owing to Covid-19. Lockdown measures have resulted in decreased store time and extremely low footfall in offline stores. Many sellers have moved to the online channel to try and reach buyers and maintain their businesses.

ASEAN eCommerce and Logistics: Rising to Deliver – Part 1

The Seller & SME based in ASEAN countries are highly active on social media platforms. They have been quick to adapt to avenues like FB and Instagram to market and sell their products. This results in a high share of social commerce in most of these markets.

Vietnam Healthcare: New Lifeline in eHealth

Vietnam has very favourable digital enablers and there is a marked shift by the government towards digitizing the entire healthcare ecosystem which seems conducive for the growth of eHealth services.

Indonesia eB2B – Reviving the “Warungs” in a Post COVID World | Part 1

“Warungs” are local mom and pop stores. ~70% of the sales of warungs come from FMCG category (without fresh). Within FMCG, cigarettes account for >50% of the sales. Generally, warung sales are driven by low ATV impulse purchases of “on the go” items like RTD beverages, instant snacks and cigarettes.

Vietnam etailing: Decoding growth and structure

Vietnam formal online retail is ready for 10x growth in 6 years Published on: Nov 2019 Growth will slowly taper down as we move into the later years as 1) the digitally mature customer base will be already be shopping online and 2) companies would need to drive growth through tier2+ regions/long tail categories + […]

The 3A’s shaping the food service market of UAE

Published on: Nov 2019 Food service market of UAE is ~$ 15 Bn in size. The market took a hit in revenues during early 2018 due to implementation of VAT, but the sector is back on track to provide a stellar performance going forward. We expect the key drivers to be – 1. Increased adoption […]

Vietnam eLogistics: Dissecting Demand Drivers

1. Vietnam SMEs are still early into their online retail journey;  social commerce is their typical starting point Published on: Oct 2019 A significant share of SMEs started selling online very recently, with HCMC SMEs are slightly more mature in their online journey Most SMEs make their online foray via social commerce, however formal marketplaces […]

Indonesia B2B Trucking: At crossroads?

Indonesia B2B trucking is ~$32 Bn in size currently and drives the majority of B2B transport market in the country Published On: Sep 2019 Supply of trucks is significantly fragmented with low utilization rates Fragmented B2B trucking market provides a clear opportunity for tech-driven aggregators Low utilization rates- with up to 80% empty backhauls- solvable […]

Indonesia Fintech: Looking back into The Future

1. Fast-growing Indonesian eWallets and digital payments space seeing massive supply-side activity Published on: Aug 2019 Summary takeaways  Continued rapid growth (70-80% CAGR) in Indonesia e-wallets space is attracting the attention of major global players even as local players expand into new segments Given the expected intense competition, the market may be heading for consolidation […]

Ready to Cook Market: India

1. Ready to Cook Food market is gaining adoption among consumers owing to increasing urbanization and demand for convenience food Published on: Aug 2019 Ready to Cook market in India stands at INR 2100 Cr in 2019 and the market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 18% to reach INR 4800 Cr by […]

What’s makes India’s ePharma space so exciting | How will MAUs of digital content platforms grow | Private labels driving online beauty growth story

India’s USD 18 Bn unorganized pharma retailing market is ripe for digital disruption by ePharma players Published on: Aug 2019 Summary takeaways: ePharma (USD 350 Mn in 2018) is <2% of the overall retail pie currently, but poised to expand at least 40% y-o-y, driving significant action from companies and investors ePharma continued action and […]

Massive Opportunity In Digitizing B2B Procurement In Indonesia

Indo B2B eCom- USD 1.5 Bn space with multiple consumer segments and business models Published on: Aug 2019 B2B E-commerce market is dominated by reseller target group – this is the easiest segment to operate in owing to the nature of goods. Resellers at multiple levels of the value chain buy products – for e.g. […]

What Makes Indonesia’s Online Travel And Payments Space So Exciting

Ecommerce Growth

Traveloka – Flying high in USD 21 bn Indonesian online travel opportunity Published on: Jul 2019 Online travel in Indonesia to grow at 25% CAGR over the next few years, with both incumbents (traveloka) and insurgents (tiket.com) spending heavily to grow the market All major e-tailers including Tokopedia, Bukalapak and others have also entered the […]

What’s Showing At (Amazon) Prime Time?

The story of Amazon Prime in India- as told through three charts Published on: Jul 2019 On the occasion of the Prime Day sale event, we conducted research around the scale of Amazon Prime in India, key messages from which are shown below. What do users of long-form video platforms consume? Our research on consumers […]

Decoding The Indonesian Online Shopper

Reasons for shopping online vary significantly in Greater Jakarta vs Rest of Indonesia- indicating differing consumer maturities Published on: Jul 2019 RedSeer consumer research on 1500 online shoppers in Indonesia indicates that while Greater Jakarta shoppers cite ‘convenience’ as major most important reason for shopping online. While the top reason is ‘low price’ for Rest […]

Content Leadership Index

Growth of internet

What does the CLI measure? Published on: June 2019 CLI measures the monetizability of a platform basis three key criteria- Reach, Engagement and Trust Index ratings Player-wise Performance Player-wise Performance- Reach Player-wise Performance- Engagement Player-wise Performance- Trust Framework What does the Content Leadership Index (CLI) measure? Evaluation Parameters and Weights How is it structured > […]