Digital Financial Services Revenue in Southeast Asia Set to Jump from US$11 Billion in 2018 to US$60
Among the findings of a recent report, Fulfilling its Promise – The Future of Southeast Asia’s Digital Financial Services Industry, from Bain & Company, Google and Temasek, it shows that Southeast Asia represents one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing regions; however, around 75 percent of consumers in the region are currently underbanked or unbanked, with limited access to financial services. Digital financial services offer accessibility to this potential consumer b
3 promising fintech verticals in Southeast Asia
While tech companies in Silicon Valley are focusing on sophisticated technology like AI-powered robo-traders for the stock market or mobile apps to make wealth management easier, startups in Southeast Asia are focused on something far more fundamental. Fintech in Southeast Asia may one day soon mirror that of the West. But before that can even start to happen, local tech founders and funders need to get the region’s gargantuan unbanked population off the bench and into the ga
The Salesforce Economy Will Create More than SG$7.6 Billion in New Business Revenues and 8,500 Jobs
Salesforce, the global leader in CRM, announced new research from IDC that finds Salesforce and its ecosystem of partners will create 8,500 new direct jobs and SG$7.6 billion (USD $5.6 billion) in new business revenues in Singapore from 2019 through 2024. Globally, manufacturing leads the way job creation with a forecast of 765,800 new jobs by 2024 and finance leads in new business revenues with $224 billion in by then. The report also delves into specific high growth occupat
Upcoming events in Singapore for start-ups, SMEs and entrepreneurs - November 2019
Singapore has such a dynamic ecosystem that sometimes the number of events offered can be overwhelming. Here at FirstCOUNSEL, we're going to help you out by putting together a curated list of upcoming events in Singapore for start-ups, SMEs and entrepreneurs: Nov 04 - 07 - EduTECH Asia 2019 (by Terrapinn Pte Ltd) - SGD 1,240 - 2,495 / Expo Visitor Pass for free Nov 07 - Future SMB Forum 2019 (by IDC Asia/Pacific Pte Ltd) - Free Nov 11 - 15 - Singapore FinTech Festival (SFF)
Singapore’s Blockchain Map Proves That It Is a Hotbed for Blockchain Innovation
Singapore has long established itself as the leading fintech hub in South East Asia, of late it also increasingly becoming a hotbed for blockchain innovation. The city-state is home a healthy blockchain ecosystem comprising numerous players tackling areas ranging from asset tokenization, trading, and custody, to insurance, digital identity, and mobility. This is according to a new landscape map produced by the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), together with Tribe A
Singapore medtech startup Curiox bags $15m, plans IPO
Singapore-based medtech firm Curiox Biosystems has raised US$15 million in funding from Korean biotech investors. The deal is backed by KB Investment, IMM Investment, Quad Investment, HB Investment, Dayli Investment, and SV Investment. Curiox is a spinoff company from the Agency for Science, Technology, and Research under the Ministry of Trade and Industry of Singapore. It develops bio instrumentation solutions for use in cell analysis and therapy in the pharmaceutical and bi
Southeast Asia’s Booming Internet Economy to Boost Fintech Growth
Southeast Asia’s Internet economy is booming, driven by the ubiquity of mobile phones, rising Internet penetration and a growing middle class, according to a new report by Google, Temasek and Bain & Company. In the e-Conomy SEA Report 2019, released earlier this month, the companies say that the region’s Internet economy has hit a new milestone, reaching US$100 billion for the first time this year, corresponding to a 39% increase from 2018. The sector is on track to hit US$30
Singapore Ranks First in Global Cities’ AI Readiness and Smart City Effort
Two recent studies have found Singapore to be the world’s most prepared city for the age of artificial intelligence (AI), and the global leader in terms of smart city effort. The first research, conducted by the Oliver Wyman Forum, ranks 105 international cities in terms of their preparedness for the technological and digital disruption that will be spurred by AI. The index ranks cities on four key criteria: the quality of a city’s plan (Vision); a city’s ability to execute o
This startup is revolutionizing ecommerce logistics with data analytics
To say that the Philippines is a big country is an understatement. With 145 cities and 1,489 municipalities spread across more than 7,000 islands, the archipelago is home to over 100 million people packed in a 300,000 sq km land area, making it the eighth most populated country in Asia.In a country with such scale, the ecommerce market is expected to reach a value of US$10 billion by 2025. However, simply delivering a parcel to its destination is still a massive challenge, sa
Mobile Money: How Singapore Compares to the Rest of the World
Mobile money has changed the face of finance since the concept was pioneered in Kenya nearly 20 years ago. We can broadly define mobile money as any monetary value stored on a mobile device, be it a feature phone or a smartphone, that can be used to make payments. Thanks to increasing levels of internet access, mobile money now exists in every global market. There are currently 866 million mobile money accounts and $1.3 billion is transacted every day in 90 countries around t
