Southeast Asia (SEA) can be intimidating for startups looking to grow in the region. HealthTech companies face a myriad of considerations when it comes to rolling out their innovations in a region with a population of over 600 million in 10 commercially, geographically, and culturally diverse nations.
In purchasing power for instance, GDP per capita of Singapore and Brunei is 13 and seven times the regional average respectively. Geographically, the Philippines is made up of over 7,000 islands, and Indonesia—the most populous Southeast Asian country—counts over 17,000 islands. Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam have made significant strides in their health systems in the last decades, while Laos and Cambodia have been picking up speed in recent years.
To help digital health startups navigate this vibrant landscape, we share a four-step pathway for scaling successfully in SEA, observed in a 2019 Scaling Digital Health Innovation in Asia report by ACCESS Health Southeast Asia and EDB.
