Insights

According to the World Economic Forum white paper on EV-ready India, the opportunities for India’s mobility future are massive. Contributing factors include the continued growth in the country’s population and the move towards urban centres, all of which are driving urban mobility demand. Energy scarcity is another factor resulting from India’s dependence on importing oil. …

According to the KPMG publication, Venture Pulse, Q1’20 saw China’s lockdown towards the end of January resulting in a slowdown in VC deals activity in the country.  As COVID-19 evovled throughout the Southeast Asian region, VC investors hit the pause button, particularly those with interests in China.However, while deal volume decreased over Asia, three were…

Inc42 lists the following challenges in the adoption of electric vehicles in India: Lack of battery cell manufacturing The complete absence of primary battery cell manufacturing in India means that India is reliant on importing batteries from China, the dominant country in the battery supply chain, manufacturing around three quarters of the battery manufacturing of…

According to the recent  IRENA Renewable Energy Outlook report, Egypt is the most populous country in North African and the Arab region and home to one of the fastest-growing populations globally.  This had led to an increase in energy demand, putting a strain on the country’s domestic energy resources, even amid substantial recent offshore natural…

Vietnam is set for a surge in power demand and consumption over the coming decade reports Fitch Solutions.  This Southeast Asian country is said to be one of the most carbon intensive countries in the world regarding greenhouse gas emissions, ranking only after China and Mongolia in the East Asia and Pacific region, according to Energy Live…

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…

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…

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,…

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…

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…

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…

South East Asia or ASEAN has a dynamic motor vehicle industry with five major “producers” – Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam accounting for over 4 million units in product.  We take a look at the insights into the region’s electric vehicle (EV) market from Nissan’s white paper, The Future of Electric Vehicles in…

Regional Remittance Trends The remittance market plays a significant role in supporting people in developing countries across the world while also contributing significantly to their GDPs. Dependent on expats living remotely from their families and homeland, Research and Markets reports that the global remittance market is booming at a lucrative CAGR over the years, with…

According to tradingeconomics.com, 2018 saw Indonesia’s economy increasing 5.17 per cent, up  0.1 per cent on the 2017 growth figure of 5.07, marking the country’s fastest growth rate since 2013. The archipelago nation is the largest economy in Southeast Asia and one of the fastest growing economies in the world, with the economy focusing on…

According to the GIIN’s (Global Impact Investing Network) latest report on impact investing in the Southeast Asia, the Philippines is Southeast Asia’s second-largest impact investing market in terms of both the amount of impact capital disbursed and number of impact deals completed between 2007 and 2017. The inquirer.net organizes the report description of impact investors…

Egypt is the third most populated country in Africa with 99.3 million inhabitants.  The country is home to the highest number of Internet users in the Arab world, with over half the population online, accounting for 49.2 million users(1).  In fact, Hootesuite’s Digital in 2018 report showed year on year growth in the country’s internet users from…

Indonesia’s population of 265.4 million people, makes it the 4th most populous country in the world.  Despite its lower internet penetration rates when compared to other Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines – Indonesia’s sheer size combined with an emerging middle class and digitally savvy population,  puts this country of…

Tumbling battery prices are set to drive a boom in the installation of energy storage systems around the world in the years from now to 2040, says Bloomberg New Energy Finance.  As a result, the team of  new energy experts have re-evaluated global deployment of *behind-the-meter and grid-scale batteries over the next decades, predicting growth…

Q1 of 2018 saw a record high in investment activity in Southeast Asia.  Overall PE deal value completed across 36 deals closed was around US$1.3 billion, According to Ernst and Young(1) Signapore dominated the PE and VC investments, contributing 56% to the aggregated deal value, followed by Maylaysia and Indonesia, each contributing 26% and 145,…

According to the last Fintech Radar Brazil, Mexican fintech startups number 334, coming second to the largest fintech ecosystem in the region – Brazil which numbers 377 startups.  Mexico’s fintechs are driven mainly by the growth in the following segments: Enterprise Technologies for Financial Institutions, Trading, Capital Markets, Wealth Management and Alternative Scoring, Identity and Fraud.…

The population of Indonesia has embraced digital technology.  As some of the most avid users in the world, the Southeast Asian country has a high percentage of the population using Facebook, Instagram, Line, Twitter, and YouTube.  In fact, two of the top six Twitter-using cities in the world are Jakarta and Bandung – both in…

According to the KPMG/NASSCOM report on Fintech in India – powering a digital economy, the Asian fintech market is currently dominated by two growing economies:  China and India. Fintech investments strengthened in H1 of 2018 in China compared to the end of 2017, while the Indian market experienced large investments in fintech with 31 deals…

PwC states(1), blockchain is posed to change how business is done.” In fact, according to PwC’s 2018 Blockchain Survey(4): 84% of executives say their organizations have at least some involvement in blockchain technology; 45% believe trust could delay adoption; 30% see China as a rising blockchain leader; and 28% say interoperability of systems is a…

Fintech is disrupting Vietnam’s financial services ecosystem.  In a country which, according to EY Vietnam,(2) 41% of the population are unbanked, there are numerous challenges and opportunities for the fintech sector, with the government aiming to reduce cash transactions to 10 per cent and increase bank accounts in the population by 70 per cent by…

The ASEAN Fintech Census(3) reports that the financial sector landscape in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) with its underserved SMEs and consumer markets, complimented by increased mobile and internet penetration has paved the way for the disruption of traditional financial institutions. On the back of strong fundamentals and with FinTech adoption on the…

Brazil’s biggest independent brokerage, Grupo XP, the owner of XP Investimentos SA is going to make inroads into the cryptocurrency market.  Bloomberg reported that the brokerage’s CEO, Guilherme Benchimol, made an announcement at an event held in Sao Paulo, confirming that the brokerage will be launching an exchange for Bitcoin and Ethereum in the upcoming…

Businessworld (1) reports that the Philippine Central Bank, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and commercial banks are looking into blockchain technology as a solution to expedite payment and remittance services in the Philippines. BSP Governor, Nestor A Espenilla, Jr said the central bank was studying how to adapt the technology for traditional banking and wire…

According to Mckinsey’s report titled “Asia  Banking in the Digital Consumer Age,” South Korea’s digital banking penetration is on a par with that of New Zealand at 99%. According to Fintechnews (1), the digital banking penetration rate refers to the percentage of people using digital banking in the past.  South Korea, Singapore and Hon Kong…

Asian Banking and Finance(1) notes that Indonesia’s banking market offers major growth potential and opportunities in both corporate and retail banking as increased industrialization and urbanization drives higher consumer spending.  With a low banking penetration at 36.1% of the large consumer base of 251.5 million people, enhanced by the middle-class growth, consumer banking offers a…

According to Solidiance, although fintech has garnered considerable market attraction, barriers persist. Challenges including lack of regulatory clarity, capital limitation, management knowledge constraints, and trust issues which must be observed in Vietnam’s financial services industry. At present, the National Payment Corporation of Vietnam (NAPAS) is the sole payment service provider for fintech and e-commerce innovation…

According to PricewaterhouseCoopers the World Bank Group (WBG), estimates that 2 billion or 42% of the global adult population does not have access to basic financial services. [They] believe that addressing the un(der)banked community, which is largely located in Asia Pacific, presents sizeable opportunities for both startups and corporates.  This is especially valid as cell…

March 10 this year saw Mexico’s lower house of Congress passing a groundbreaking Fintech law, with the purpose of regulating the country’s rapidly expanding financial technology sector.  According to Reuters, the approved bill includes fintech aspects such as crowdfunding and cryptocurrency firms – placing Mexico amongst a small group of countries to establish regulations for…

A Gallup poll of 2017 showed 3 in 4 customers in Mexico were either indifferent or unhappy with their bank.  Addressing this gap, fintech firms are creating solutions to provide a more satisfactory banking experience, while facilitating financial inclusion opportunities for people who have not previously had access to banking. Finnovista.com reports that the last…

As Latin America’s internet and mobile internet user growth outpaces the U.S. together with a GDP of 9.5T (larger than India and almost on a par with China), the region, according to techcrunch.com has the unique potential to develop the next generation of tech start-up stars. Added to this is the current opportunity to introduce new…

India’s electric vehicle market saw sales double in 2017. Inspired by the FAME India Scheme  – Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles (FAME) India which was launched under the management of the Heavy Industry Ministry. The scheme which aimed to support hybrid or electric vehicles market development and its ecosystem initially formed…

South Korea’s support of the fintech ecosystem originated in 2015, when the government introduced a campaign aimed at creating an environment which supported the SMEs and startup space in Korea.   This was reinforced by the country’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) which committed 3 trillion won (US$2.6 billion) to support emerging fintechs over a period of…

A growing body of empirical research shows that ethical and sustainable business practices facilitate corporate risk management and exploration of financial, social and environmental risks, obligations and opportunities can make them more profitable than firms that cut corners or ignore such issues. This also makes them more attractive and secure investment for investors. We take…

The New Energy Outlook Report release by analysts at Bloomberg’s New Energy Finance (BNEF) documents the transition of energy resources from the current dominance of fossil fuels and gas to renewables of solar and wind energy. The report is based on information from 65 in-house experts at Bloomberg and 12 countries who worked on the…

The UN Department of Economic and Social affairs requires the fulfilment of three criteria in order for a country to be eligible to move from LDC (Least Developed Country) to Developing Country Status.  As Bangladesh, a country of more than 160 million people and an economy worth $686.5 billion, enters a stipulated six-year graduation period…

With an economic history of averaging 5%–6% annual gross domestic product growth since the 1980s, the Bangladesh has developed consistently, spreading the economic benefits across society. This growth has been used strategically to enhance the country as a whole:  poverty has decline, employment has increased, people have increased access to health care and education together…

the Internet of Things (IoT) has economic implications allowing smaller businesses and individuals to participate in the economy.  IoT impacts on many other sectors, providing real time data for business and industries which translates into greater efficiency through addressing issues timeously which enables more cost-effective solutions.  Together with the added advantage of automating processes the…

Two key factors contribute to Indonesia becoming the greatest digital economy in south-east Asia: the country has the world’s third largest youth population as well as having 130 million social media users. According to McKinsey’s report (1), by going digital, Indonesia can bring in USD 150 billion, 10 per cent of GDP and add 3.7…

While only 7 per cent of Latin American companies use IoT, with many more only just starting to embrace digital technology, Brazil is focussing on “The Internet of Things: an action plan for Brazil.” In fact, IoT related projects in the country are expected to bring an additional 132 billion USD by 2025. Brazil has…

The Global Impact Investment Network(GINN), not-for-profit group that works to promote impact investments and has some 230 members, defines impact investments as investments made into companies, organizations, and funds with the intention to generate social and environmental impact alongside a financial return. Impact investments can be made in both emerging and developed markets, and target a…

The latest McKinsey report released in September 2017 shows the value of India’s impact investment ecosystem to have accumulated $4.1 billion worth of investments over the period of 2010 – 2016. As impact investment attracts more attention with social responsibility drawing attention from private equity and venture capital, global impact investment is anticipated to reach…

According to New York based, Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN),  a not-for-profit group that works to promote impact investments, by investing in companies which are involved in socially and environmentally responsible practices and projects, impact investment helps developing and emerging countries address global challenges of climate change, extreme poverty, weak healthcare and educational systems. (1)…

The first three months of 2017 saw Brazil emerging from its longest recession in the country’s history with a GDP increase of 1 per cent after two consecutive years of negative growth, during which the Brazilian economy shrank by almost 8%.(6) 2017 saw inflation falling to its lowest level since 1998, which together with lower…

While Brazil’s political environment is mired in instability and allegations of corruption, the fintech industry has emerged strong, with the number of Fintech start-ups in Brazil surging in recent years, making it the largest financial technology market in Latin America(1).  Fintech firms are capitalising on some 210 million adults who remain unbanked, in the country…

As Sub-Saharan Africa navigates the aftershock of the impact of El Nino on crops and food produce, together with external factors of China’s slowdown, the drop in oil and commodity prices, Africa is called to rise to the challenge with increased focus and investments in infrastructure, fiscal institutions, fortifying human capital and diversifying non-commodity revenues.…

With prospects for the Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region as a whole being subdued amid the slump in commodity prices and the Chinese slowdown, SSA struggled with growth at 3.7% in 2015 and a projected growth figure of 4.3% in 2016, still below 2014’s 4.8%. However, despite these difficulties, SSA still offers some exciting investment opportunities,…