Tech startups in Southeast Asia raised a total of US$8.2 billion (~RM34 billion) in 2020 – just a 3% drop compared to 2019. Most of that capital (70%) headed to Indonesia, while Malaysia just received a paltry 5% of the total investment volume. To be fair, Thailand and Vietnam got 5% and 4% respectively. And there’s an obvious reason why Indonesia is such hot real estate – its 270 million plus population. The bigger picture is that the raging pandemic has barely dampened investment appetite, which is why Grab’s fintech unit raised US$300 million (~RM 1.21 billion) in January. Grab is also mulling a US IPO later this year.
Full report here:👉 https://t.co/UOEnUVHAA8Credit: @Bloomberg @yoolimleenews 👉 https://t.co/tbB3jCwdwS pic.twitter.com/uNFyf6hydI — Cento Ventures (@cento_ventures) March 26, 2021 Furthermore, any skittishness about the pandemic-stricken economy is quickly counteracted by the massive demand for e-commerce and contactless payment. Unsurprisingly, over half of tech investment in the region went to super-app companies and online retailers – reaching over US$4 billion (~RM16.6 billion) last year. And you wonder why everyone and their mother talks about super-apps these days. If anything, the pandemic has made them invaluable to our daily lives. “2020 offered a harsh reason to reassess how technology can be harnessed to maintain vital function of the society,” said Dmitry Levit, a partner at Cento Ventures, told Bloomberg. (Source: Bloomberg, Cento Ventures.)
