Latest Insights
Egypt’s promise as a fintech hub in the MENA region
With an increasing local prominence, Egypt’s fintech services market is making its presence felt in the wider Middle East and North Africa (MENA) regions. This is underpinned by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) which is set to launch a USD 100 million fintech fund early in 2020. Currently, the CBE is facilitating the creation…
Key industries being impacted by the powerful ASEAN Internet economy
According to Fintech News, various key factors are contributing to the ASEAN Internet economy: the widespread uptake of mobile phones, a growing middle class, according to a new report by Google, Temasek and Bain & Company. This is underpinned by the fact that this region is home to the most engaged mobile internet users which…
India’s USD 101 billion startup ecosystem
The current Indian startup ecosystem, with a cumulative valuation of 95 – USD 101 billion, has facilitated between 390 000 – 430 000 direct jobs, 60 000 of which were created in 2019 alone, according to the Nasscom 2019 report. Consisting of over 335 active incubators and accelerators with a capacity to enable over 5 000 startups every year,…
Realising the potential of Indonesia’s eCommerce Sector
Known as one of the biggest mobile first nations, Indonesia’s 150 million internet users amounts to 56 per cent of the population of 268.5 million, according to We are Social Digital Indonesia report the fourth largest country in the world by population. The growing adoption of internet based activities is evidenced by the increasing adoption…
Government incentivization aims to promote India’s EV industry
The recent announcement by India’s Goods and Services Council (GST) regarding the reduction of tax rates on electric vehicles (EVs), will take effect on 1 August 2019. Reductions will see rates moving from 12 per cent to 5 per cent on EVs and from 18 per cent to 5 per cent on EV chargers, reinforcing…
Status of cashless payments in Vietnam
Vietnam’s burgeoning economy grew more than analysts had expected in Q1 2019, with the General Statistics Office reporting gross domestic product (GDP) to have expanded at 6.8% YoY, according to UOB Global Economics & Markets Research. Whilst this figure was below the 7.3% increase seen in Q4 2018, it was above the Bloomberg median forecast…