SCB X Public Company (SCBX) has taken a decisive step in Thailand’s virtual banking sweepstakes by formalising a tri‑party partnership with South Korea’s KakaoBank and China’s WeBank Technology Services.

The collaboration combines SCBX’s domestic banking muscle with KakaoBank’s mobile‑first product playbook and WeBank’s heavyweight tech stack, including AI and cloud‑scale infrastructure, to launch a new virtual bank in Thailand.

Also Read: How digital banking is driving financial inclusion in SEA

The announcement is less an experiment than a statement of intent. SCBX brings deep local distribution and regulatory know‑how; KakaoBank contributes proven UX design and product innovation from running Korea’s top digital bank; and WeBank supplies the plumbing — scalable core banking, data platforms and AI capable of supporting hundreds of millions of users. Together they aim to deliver an “AI‑native” bank that promises personalisation, operational efficiency and broader access to financial services.

How this will reshape banking in Thailand

Thailand’s incumbent banks are already digitising, but a native virtual bank built on modern cloud infrastructure and AI could accelerate disruption. The new entrant will compete on speed of product delivery, hyper‑personalised services, and lower operating costs. Expect simpler onboarding, faster credit decisions, contextual product recommendations and more competitive pricing for everyday banking services.

For consumers, the immediate effect should be convenience: fully digital account opening, frictionless payments, and AI‑driven customer support. For small and medium‑sized enterprises (MSMEs), the potential gains are more tangible. AI‑powered credit scoring that ingests alternative data (invoices, payment patterns, social commerce activity) could unlock working capital to businesses that have historically been underserved by traditional credit scoring. Embedded banking services (invoicing, payments, liquidity tools) integrated with the platforms many MSMEs already use would reduce administrative friction and cost.

On inclusion, the promise is absolute but conditional. A modern virtual bank can lower the cost of serving low‑income customers through digital channels, enabling small-ticket lending, micro‑savings, and tailored financial literacy tools. However, genuine financial inclusion requires careful product design, affordable pricing, digital literacy efforts and robust consumer protection. Without those, faster onboarding risks increasing over‑indebtedness or leaving digitally excluded groups further behind.

Where Thailand fits in the regional picture

Southeast Asia’s virtual banking sector is embryonic but fast evolving. Regulators across the region have been cautiously issuing digital banking licences to stimulate competition and inclusion, but outcomes have diverged.

• Singapore and Hong Kong moved early on digital licences, but the most dynamic greenfield activity is now in Southeast Asia. Thailand’s central bank has signalled openness to new digital players, creating fertile ground for SCBX’s venture.
• Indonesia has seen notable activity from incumbent conversions and fintech collaborations, but full virtual banks have struggled with market fragmentation and distribution costs.
• Malaysia has issued digital banking licences and attracted consortium bids; the challenge remains scaling customer acquisition beyond promotional offers.

Also Read: Why neobanks are better than digital banks

• The Philippines has a vibrant fintech ecosystem and several digital banks, buoyed by remittances and mobile money adoption; regulatory sandboxes have helped innovation, but funding and trust remain hurdles.
• Vietnam is an emerging battleground, with both local banks and tech firms experimenting with digital‑first offerings; regulatory clarity is improving, but infrastructure and consumer trust will define winners.

Key regional players include SeaBank and GXS Bank backers in Singapore, CIMB’s digital initiatives in Malaysia, and a range of fintech incumbents (Grab, GoTo) that are increasingly integrating financial services into super‑apps. Korea’s KakaoBank and China’s WeBank stand out as proven playbooks for customer experience, product velocity and scale — exactly the capabilities SCBX is importing.

Growth patterns and choke points across SEA

Growth in virtual banking across Southeast Asia has been steady but constrained. Several issues consistently throttle expansion:

1. Customer acquisition costs. The region’s fragmented markets and low per‑user revenue mean huge marketing spends to reach scale. Free promotions and sign‑up bonuses are costly and often unsustainable.
2. Regulatory complexity. Each country has distinct licensing frameworks and consumer protection rules. Compliance costs are high, and approvals can be slow. Cross‑border scaling requires careful legal and operational planning.
3. Trust and brand recognition. Banking is a trust business. New digital players must convince customers to deposit and borrow with them, a high bar without tangible endorsements or long track records.
4. Monetisation and unit economics. Many virtual banks struggle to convert trial users into profitable customers. Low average balances and thin margins on payments make profitability elusive without scale or diversified revenue streams.
5. Infrastructure and identity. Effective digital onboarding depends on reliable digital identity systems and payments rails. Where these are immature, onboarding friction increases costs and drop‑off rates.
6. Talent and tech costs. Building AI‑native banking capabilities requires specialised engineering and data science talent, and recurring cloud costs can be sizeable unless optimised.

Why this partnership matters

SCBX’s alliance with KakaoBank and WeBank attempts to tackle several of those choke points in one go. KakaoBank’s brand and UX expertise can lower acquisition friction; WeBank’s tech offers cost‑efficient scaling; SCBX’s local footprint eases regulatory navigation and distribution. Embedding AI from day one could accelerate productisation and lower per‑customer servicing costs.

But the partnership’s success will hinge on execution. Will the joint venture convert engagement into deposits and credit customers? Can it design safe, affordable products for MSMEs and low‑income users? And will it manage the unit economics so that growth is sustainable, not subsidised?

Also Read: What are Digital Full Bank and Digital Wholesale Bank licences?

The strategic play is sensible: combine global digital banking playbooks with local muscle. If they get product market fit right — marrying trust and convenience with genuinely useful MSME and consumer products — the virtual bank could be a material force in Thailand’s financial services market. If not, it will join a growing list of ambitious but under‑monetised digital challengers across Southeast Asia.

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A quiet revolution is taking place in computing where single board computers (SBC), which in the past were mainly used for industrial automation, are now being used by tech enthusiasts to run home automation, personal web servers, and even local artificial intelligence off the cloud. SBC manufacturers are taking note, with companies like Raspberry Pi, Lattepanda, RapidAnalysis, and even large companies like Google and NVIDIA producing consumer-oriented development boards aimed at the hobbyist market. 

Due to the form factor of these boards, a legacy CPU is often used to both minimise costs and operating temperatures. However, can these boards do anything useful? Actually, they can, if accelerated with special libraries and peripherals. 

Hardware acceleration

One such peripheral is the Google Coral Tensor Processing Unit (TPU), which is a small ASIC used to accelerate mathematical computations on low-power devices. Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASIC) were first showcased during the crypto-mining boom when they were used as an efficient method to mine cryptocurrency.

Its superb efficiency is exploited by Google Coral to boost MobileNet V2 performance to almost 400 frames per second for image recognition, even on legacy or low-power CPUs. The Google Coral M.2 accelerator can provide 8 trillion operations per second (TOPS) of performance for just under US$40 by plugging into a PCIe M.2 port found on many high-end SBCs. 

Software acceleration

On the software side, the OpenVINO project can perform integrated GPU acceleration on older and current Intel CPUs, adding increases sometimes as much as 25 times faster. It does this by optimising operations, for example, fusing primitives like linear operations into convolutions. Projects converting Stable Diffusion models to OpenVino’s Intermediate Representation format have demonstrated GPU processing on Intel CPUs, albeit slowly. But sometimes the need for speed is not as important as the need for low power consumption, low noise, and low cost. 

Software apps

Since the Amazon Dot has snuck into our kitchens promising home automation, others who are creeped-out at the thought of Jeff Bezos listening in on their cooking conversations have opted for alternatives. HomeAssistant is an open source app that can run on your mobile device or web browser to help link wifi door locks, lights, and other home automation devices together to work through a single interface. Frigate is an open source real-time security camera video recorder built around artificial intelligence object detection.

Objects and zones for detection can all be configured and searched through a web interface. Both of these home automation apps offer a level or privacy not found in Amazon’s cloud-based devices. But the catch is that you need to run them on your own server, and setting one up can be a bit daunting and costly.

Also Read: Securing tomorrow’s metaverse today: Why safety in the new frontier must leverage on hardware

However, with both HomeAssistant and Frigate, a thriving market has developed where integrators and hardware vendors have started pre-configuring light-weight servers with these open source tools built in. Frigate has even implemented Google Coral integration, making a low cost AI accelerated image capturing device available to anyone interested in an off-cloud solution on their own device. 

Current cost of homelab SBC

• Google Coral Dev Board (US$169.99): Configured as a removable system-on-module (SoM) with host board, 4 GB RAM, and quad Cortex-A53. Runs a derivative of Debian Linux Google calls Mendel. Google Coral acceleration can also be run as a M.2, mSATA, or USB peripheral.
• NVIDIA Jetson Nano (US$149.00): Configured as a removable SoM with host board, 4 GB RAM, and Quad-core ARM Cortex-A57. The official operating system for the Jetson Nano is the Linux4Tegra, based on Ubuntu 18.04. This board uses the popular CUDA application programming interface.
• LattePanda V1 (US$165.00): Configured with an integrated processor, 4 GB RAM, 64 GB HD, and x86 Intel Z8350. This board can optionally come preconfigured with Windows and is the smallest x86 board available. Can run all x86 apps that can be run on regular PC platforms. Can be powered over POE with an optional Ethernet and 5V Power splitter.
• Raspberry Pi 5 (US$60.00): Configured with an integrated processor, 4 GB RAM, SD HD, and quad-core Arm Cortex-A76. Runs a derivative of Debian Linux. Is one of the most popular and least expensive boards with many peripherals and custom applications. Can be powered over POE with an optional Ethernet and 5V Power Splitter.
• RapidAnalysis Darius (US$64.82): Configured with an integrated processor, upgradable RAM (up to 8 GB), ungradable mSATA HD (up to 1T), x86 Intel N2840. Has an upgradable RAM slot that supports up to 8GB. Has two mSATA slots for SSD HD capacity up to 1T each or an optional Google Coral accelerator. Can run all x86 apps that can be run on regular PC platforms.

Sustainability

Measuring the environmental impact of cloud computing platforms compared to locally run low-power SBC alternatives may surprise you. A recent news story reported that “just one large data centre can consume the same amount of energy required to power 50,000 homes.” But what if each of these homes had an SBC powering most of their cloud-computing needs? New metrics are now focusing on “performance per watt” and efficiency is moving in the right direction. 

Graphics processors (GPU) have shown great strides in recent years against Central processors (CPU) efficiency, with NVIDIA and AMD showing the greatest gains in compute performance. However, when you compare compute power to how much electricity these processors are consuming, we can see that some processors are much more efficient.

Also Read: Embracing clean beauty: A path to conscious consumerism and sustainability

For example, the HAILO AI accelerator can perform 26 Tera-Operations per second while consuming only 2.5 watts of power, which makes it less costly, more powerful, and more energy efficient than rival NVIDIA’s Jetson Nano. In general, specialised chips like ASICs and FPGAs that perform a narrow set of functions can be useful in both conserving energy and breathing new life into older system architecture. The internet is full of new engineers turning old systems and SBCs into fully functional home labs. 

Learning curve

But even if you can’t afford the price of these low cost SBC computers, picking up a free PC from an e-waste facility or close-to-free from an eBay auction can be a viable solution to outfit a dedicated homelab. The strong-arm tactics used by Microsoft to bully its customers into upgrading to Windows 11 has pushed a lot of corporate PCs into retirement and picking up an older Windows machine from a large corporation for cheap or free off Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace is easier than ever.

Unfortunately, a learning curve still exists when setting up a Linux homelab server environment. But tools like Docker containers, Homepage Dashboard, and Webmin can provide a more friendlier web-based interface compared to the word-driven commands of the SSH Linux shell prompt. 

As homelab hobbyists and small-office IT professionals start bringing cloud services in-house, the demand for these small-footprint SBC computers will increase, creating a new market for pre-configured low-power personal servers.

Also, as more computers are deemed “worthless” by corporate IT standards, a new generation of engineers are using these systems as a playground for their own home lab versions of their work or academic networks, often with increased efficiency over their office-based counterparts. Hopefully, this will breathe new life into older hardware otherwise destined for a landfill. 

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Zara, the flagship brand of Inditex, is often held up as the gold standard of fast fashion. Since its founding in 1974 in Spain, the brand has expanded into over 90 countries, employing more than 165,000 people worldwide. Its appeal lies in its ability to get new designs from concept to store shelves in a matter of weeks, keeping shoppers constantly engaged with fresh trends.

At the heart of this success is a value chain that’s both agile and tightly controlled. Yet, that same machinery that fuels Zara’s rapid growth also carries environmental, ethical, and operational challenges that the brand can no longer afford to ignore.

A value chain built for speed

Zara’s supply chain is the engine behind its fast-fashion dominance. Approximately 57 per cent of its clothing production is handled internally in factories near its headquarters in Galicia, Spain. This proximity allows for quick turnarounds, high flexibility, and strong quality control.

The rest of its production is outsourced to a web of suppliers scattered across Asia, Latin America, and other parts of Europe. This global footprint includes more than 1,800 suppliers, with over 1,000 based in Asia. Core inputs such as fabrics and yarn are partly sourced internally—around 40 per cent from Zara’s own network—while the rest comes from countries like Portugal, Morocco, and Hong Kong.

The journey from fiber to fashion involves multiple steps: fibers are spun into yarn, woven or knitted into fabrics, dyed, printed, cut, sewn, quality-checked, and packed. Finished garments are then routed through “The Cube,” Zara’s central distribution hub, before reaching one of its 2,221 stores or shipping to customers in 66 online markets.

This vertically integrated approach has long been one of Zara’s key advantages, enabling it to pivot quickly to shifting fashion trends and avoid the months-long lead times that plague slower competitors.

The environmental cost of fast fashion

The fast-fashion model is built on speed and volume—but that comes with a heavy environmental price tag. Globally, the fashion industry produces about 100 billion garments annually, with 92 million tonnes ending up in landfills each year.

Zara’s operations, like much of the industry, rely on processes that are resource-intensive and polluting. Dyeing and fabric finishing contribute to water contamination, while the transportation of materials and products across continents adds to fashion’s estimated 10 per cent share of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Also Read: Why Vietnam’s digital bank licenses are the dark horse opportunity of 2026

As climate awareness grows, this footprint is becoming harder to justify. Consumers are increasingly questioning whether they need a constant influx of cheap, trendy clothing—especially when its lifecycle is often measured in months, not years.

Ethical pressures in a global supply network

Zara’s far-reaching supplier network has brought efficiency, but it has also exposed the brand to labor controversies. Allegations over the years have included long working hours, unsafe conditions, and low wages in countries like India, Argentina, and Brazil.

In response, Zara has strengthened its supplier code of conduct and increased audits, aiming to ensure fairer labor practices. However, maintaining consistent ethical standards across such a vast network remains a daunting task, especially in regions where local enforcement of labor laws is weak.

For a brand that markets itself on being responsive to customers’ needs, the challenge is to be equally responsive to workers’ rights.

Business resilience in a shifting retail landscape

The pandemic years highlighted just how vulnerable Zara’s model can be to external shocks. From 2020 to 2024, the company closed over 600 stores as in-person retail sales plummeted. Supply chain disruptions in 2022 led to delays and shortages, demonstrating the fragility of even the most sophisticated logistics systems.

Economic downturns and inflationary pressures have also tightened consumer spending, making shoppers more selective. For a brand that thrives on frequent purchases, this means adapting quickly—either by leaning further into e-commerce or by rethinking product cycles to better match consumer realities.

The technology factor: Risk and opportunity

Zara has long used technology to enhance its supply chain—from RFID tags for inventory tracking to data analytics for demand forecasting. Now, the stakes are higher. Artificial intelligence, automation, and digital design tools promise faster, more sustainable production cycles and reduced overstock.

For example, AI-powered demand sensing could help Zara produce closer to actual demand, cutting waste. Automation in cutting and sewing could speed up production while reducing errors. Virtual fitting tools could lower return rates and help customers make better purchase decisions online.

Also Read: Rebuilding the fast fashion model from the ground up: Grana’s Pieter Wittgen & Luke Grana

However, digitisation also introduces new risks. Greater reliance on connected systems means greater vulnerability to cyberattacks, data breaches, and privacy issues. As Zara integrates more technology into its operations, safeguarding data will become as crucial as safeguarding supply chains.

Can fast fashion be sustainable?

The central question for Zara—and for the fast-fashion sector as a whole—is whether speed and sustainability can truly coexist. Efforts like using more recycled materials, investing in cleaner dyeing processes, and setting science-based emissions targets are steps in the right direction.

But real change will require structural shifts: slowing down production cycles, encouraging repair and reuse, and being transparent about supply chain impacts. This goes beyond marketing campaigns; it demands rethinking the very business model that has made Zara successful.

Strategic moves for the future

To navigate this next phase, Zara will likely need to focus on four key strategies:

• Smarter demand forecasting: Leveraging AI and real-time sales data to fine-tune production and avoid overstock.
• Sustainable sourcing: Expanding the use of eco-friendly fabrics, water-saving dye technologies, and renewable energy across the supply chain.
• Stronger supplier accountability: Deepening partnerships with suppliers to ensure compliance with ethical labor standards, while providing support for improvements.
• Digital resilience: Investing in cybersecurity, privacy safeguards, and staff training to ensure technological tools enhance rather than endanger operations.

The balancing act ahead

Zara’s value chain is a study in contrasts: a highly efficient, vertically integrated system that also amplifies many of fashion’s biggest challenges. Its ability to turn trends into products at lightning speed has won it millions of customers—but the social, environmental, and operational costs are becoming harder to ignore.

As consumer expectations evolve toward sustainability and transparency, Zara faces a choice: maintain the status quo and risk falling out of step with its audience, or reimagine fast fashion for a world that’s increasingly demanding slower, more responsible production.

The company’s next moves will not only define its own future but may also shape the direction of the entire fast-fashion industry.

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Toku, a Singapore‑incorporated, cloud‑native AI customer‑experience (CX) platform, has closed its initial public offering on the SGX Catalist board, raising SGD16.25 million (about US$11.86 million) at SGD0.25 (roughly US$0.18) per invitation share.

The public offer attracted 1,115 valid applications for 63,888,300 public offer Shares (a subscription rate of 31.9 times) and the placement was fully subscribed. Post‑IPO market capitalisation stands at S$142.56 million (approximately US$104.17 million).

Key financial outcomes and market response

The market’s reception was strong. Institutional demand included top‑tier investors such as Lion Global Investors, Amova Asset Management Asia, Asdew Acquisitions, and Ginko‑AGT Global Growth Fund, signalling validation from sophisticated allocators. The oversubscription of the offer (nearly 32 times) demonstrates retail appetite and suggests effective pre‑listing positioning and investor relations.

Also Read: Why Toku’s public listing could reset expectations for Singapore startups

Toku enters the market on a credible growth trajectory. It reported revenue growth of 47 per cent and net revenue retention exceeding 150 per cent over the past three years for its subscription and licensing revenue stream. Those figures point to robust customer expansion and high retention among enterprise clients, both positive indicators for long‑term unit economics in a sector where churn can be fatal.

How Toku’s platform differentiates

Toku pitches itself not as another omnichannel vendor but as an enterprise‑grade stack purpose‑built for complexity. Its differentiation rests on three pillars:

• End‑to‑end ownership of stack and connectivity: Toku controls the full technology stack from carrier‑grade connectivity through to AI applications. That reduces integration friction and offers predictability in heavily regulated or fragmented markets where telco relationships and local routing matter.
• AI and governance designed for enterprises: The platform includes transcription, summarisation, sentiment analysis, conversation analytics and governed virtual agents. Crucially, Toku emphasises governed AI — controls and auditability that regulated industries and public‑sector customers demand, rather than loose, black‑box models.
• Deployment flexibility and market breadth: Support for commercial cloud, private data centres and hybrid setups gives Toku a technical edge in markets with strict data residency or compliance requirements. The firm’s modular 360° CX orchestration is tailored for multi‑market operations where linguistic, regulatory and infrastructure complexity is the norm.

Together, these elements position Toku to serve customers where standard SaaS CX vendors struggle: enterprises operating across jurisdictions, regulated sectors and high‑volume voice environments.

Primary strategic objectives post‑listing

Toku’s management has been explicit about its next moves. The IPO proceeds will be directed at three strategic priorities:

1. Global scaling of the platform: The management intends to accelerate international expansion, particularly within APAC, where multilingual and regulated markets create demand for Toku’s approach. Capital will fund localisation, sales expansion and strategic partnerships.
2. Deepening AI capabilities: Toku plans to invest in advanced AI features — more accurate speech models, better conversational analytics and stronger virtual‑agent orchestration — while maintaining governance and explainability for enterprise compliance.
3. Growth through M&A and partnerships: The company signalled appetite for strategic acquisitions to expand product breadth or accelerate market access. Partnerships with channel and systems‑integrator ecosystems will be crucial to reduce go‑to‑market costs in new territories.

Why the market is taking notice

Toku’s model addresses pain points that many enterprises still face: poor voice transcription in local dialects, fractured integrations across channels, and compliance hurdles when deploying cloud services across borders. High net revenue retention (above 150 per cent) suggests customers are expanding usage after initial deployment, a key validation in recurring‑revenue businesses.

Also Read: Toku files for SGX Catalist IPO, doubles down on partner-led go-to-market strategy

That said, execution risk remains. The competitive landscape is crowded with global incumbents (Cisco, Genesys), cloud‑native challengers and regional specialists, all vying for enterprise budgets. Toku’s success will depend on converting initial customer wins into scalable, repeatable logos and on maintaining margins while investing in high‑cost AI and infrastructure.

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With economic uncertainty comes opportunity. This is a timely phase for Asian businesses to build stronger customer relationships, enhance services and grow efficiently.

As you scale up your business, it’s also vital to provide an environment that attracts and, more importantly, retains skilled talent. Consider a ‘business as unusual’ approach to take stock of where you stand with customer expectations, use of technology and the employee experience to create the optimum setting for success.

Here are some of my thoughts.

Optimise digital technology 

With 350 million digital consumers, Southeast Asia is set to become the fastest-growing digital economy in the Asia Pacific. The pandemic pushed people in this region online at an aggressive pace, and businesses need to adapt and win digital consumers.

Technology allows even solo business operators to look prominent. But there is the catch — customers have come to expect technology to work seamlessly. Creating a website that is hard to navigate can create frustrated users and make companies appear unsophisticated. Whatever technology you use to connect to your customers and partners, make sure it is practical and easy to navigate.

Efficient technology solutions improve your customers’ experience and help you make vital decisions to grow your company. Data is the fuel for business success, from understanding and analysing competitors to tracking shipments or evaluating pricing.

As a global company, technology is core to our work, informing us of critical information we need to understand everything from a customer’s health concerns to the ordering of the raw ingredients used in our products that help improve people’s health.

We’ve designed customised technology to connect Herbalife to its distributors and the distributors to their customers for continuity and ease of product ordering and delivery. We enable our distributors to run their businesses more efficiently, whether they are in Asia or other parts of the world, regardless of their technology platform.

Grow or scale your business

Many business owners may hear the adage that managing and understanding company growth is challenging. What may have started as a solo operation may suddenly become a business needing additional resources.

Also Read: A tech worker should be all about improving customer experience: Kim Nguyen of Recruitery

When you’ve owned your business for a while, you start recognising areas that can be handled differently or by someone else. Once ready for this next step in your business, you can grow by adding resources, such as employees.

Scaling is increasing the profit of your business without significantly raising costs. An example is using technology to automate functions that previously required many employees, thus saving time and money while enhancing profit.

I am also a firm believer in having the right support network and mentor to provide seasoned guidance and advice on how to expand at the right pace. Our annual Herbalife Asia Pacific Entrepreneur Surveys consistently show that these two factors, built on top of good business fundamentals, are essential drivers of success and crucial when scaling your business.

Create immersive customer experiences

Asia is a diverse region, from cultures and ways of working to economic and developmental stages. Service expectations vary in each market, and if you are reaching out to an audience that sits across different markets, you must be able to cater to the customer’s needs accordingly. There is nothing worse for consumers than poor customer service.

How can you personalise the customer service experience, helping everyone feel heard, valued, and essential to the business? Focus on removing the pain point for the customer — from training customer support representatives to providing service representatives for your brand.

Technology offers many ways to connect to customers, yet it still needs to create a personal and not robotic connection. At Herbalife, technology augments the high-touch customer experience in direct selling so that our distributors can create individually tailored wellness programs for their customers, forge relationships and build communities.

Another way businesses can connect to customers is by using data to learn as much as they can about them how they shop and think. The more information you have on your target audience, the more you can create a seamless way for your customers to buy your products or services.

Also Read: The wave of layoffs in 2023 and the Vietnamese market

For example, our company has applications that enable distributors to provide an integrated physical and digital customer experience for their nutrition clubs and uses predictive AI to help our distributors deliver trusted brand experiences and take their business to the next level.

Be employee-focused

The pandemic taught businesses many important lessons, but perhaps the most important was that working in an office is not always vital for success. A recent study revealed that more than 56 per cent of employees in Asia Pacific want flexible work options. While the debate continues on whether or not remote working helps employee productivity, new ways of working are here to stay.

As a business leader, provide your teams with the technology tools to be productive. Dispersed teams need access to high-speed internet, webcam support, and ergonomic workstations that allow them to do their job and work seamlessly.

Managers must overcommunicate with their teams spread across a city or the world, ensuring they feel part of a connected work community that values them. Workers love being part of a larger, connected team, so incorporate scheduled meetings, one-on-one manager check-ins, and fun and engaging games and icebreakers.

Another lesson learned from the pandemic is prioritising employee health and well-being. This can include fitness memberships, mental health services, and other programs to allow employees to keep themselves mentally and physically fit.

Prioritise sustainable business practices

From solo practitioners to large multinationals, sustainability is good for our world and our customers. Consider sending fewer non-electronic communications, moving to sustainable packaging materials, and sourcing products from like-minded suppliers are all vital to the health of our planet.

Simple measures such as recycling at your office, determining how and when you travel, conducting more meetings digitally, and thinking of the environmental impact of your business can go a long way to doing your part to create more sustainable business practices.

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TaniHub, Crowde, and eFishery may grab the headlines, but they’re far from the only forces shaping Indonesia’s agritech scene. A wave of reliable, growth-focused startups is quietly scaling their operations and preferring to let strong execution speak louder than press coverage.

The sector itself is diverse, spanning e-commerce marketplaces, distribution and supply chain enablers, farmer-centric platforms, agricultural financing solutions, IoT and smart farming innovators, and all-in-one providers blending multiple services to tackle the country’s agricultural challenges.

To clarify why aquaculture and poultry are part of the agritech conversation, it’s simple: both fall under the broader agriculture sector. That’s why several aquaculture and poultry startups are featured in the landscape.

With the growing number of agritech players, one question naturally arises “is the competition heating up?” To understand how agritech is reshaping Indonesia’s agriculture sector, we can look at a few telling indicators such as investment inflows, GDP contribution, market penetration and productivity gains. These indicators not only show whether competition is intensifying, but also whether the entire ecosystem is moving toward greater efficiency, resilience, and scalability.

Also Read: How Southeast Asia’s agritech startups are turning smallholder farms into high-tech powerhouses

Investment inflows

The bar chart above illustrates Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Indonesia’s agriculture, hunting, forestry, and fishery sectors from 2015 to 2024, measured in million US dollars.

Despite some dips in 2019 and 2021, FDI has shown an upward trend since 2021, indicating renewed investor interest post-COVID-19. This signals that Indonesia’s agriculture sector remains attractive and full of opportunity.

However, data from the Center for Indonesian Policy Studies (CIPS) and Australia Global Alumni reveals that FDI has been heavily concentrated in the palm oil industry. Between 2003 and 2018, palm oil attracted US$13.9 billion in FDI, whereas other food crops, horticulture, plantations, and poultry sectors received only US$441 million combined. This imbalance highlights the need for stakeholders to boost investment across diverse agricultural sub-sectors to support local markets and strengthen Indonesia’s food security.

GDP value

Agriculture ranks third among Indonesia’s top five GDP contributors, accounting for approximately 12.61 per cent of the economy (Kontan, 5 February 2025). However, its growth rate at just 0.67 per cent is the slowest among these leading industries.

On the other sides, natural challenges like El Niño and climate fluctuations pose threats such as droughts and irregular rainfall patterns that can damage crops and reduce harvests, but growth on GDP requires focused and proactive strategies to overcome these risks. The integration of agritech startups offering IoT solutions, smart farming technologies, supply chain improvements, and advanced fertilisers and seeds holds promise to drive more substantial growth over the next 3 to 5 years.

The importance of agriculture startups in strengthening Indonesia’s economy

Mismanagement in agritech startups, including issues like unethical practices and inaccurate reporting, occurs not only in Indonesia but also across Southeast Asia, Europe, and the US, impacting investor trust. Despite these challenges, they shouldn’t deter investment in Indonesia’s agritech sector. The government’s active role as regulator and mediator is essential to ensure transparency, accountability, and business stability moving forward.

The urgency of developing agriculture startups in Indonesia cannot be overstated. With approximately 40.75 million people working in agriculture, accounting for 27.8 per cent of Indonesia’s 149.38 million active workforce, this sector is vital to the nation’s economic wellbeing. Ensuring fair income and sustainable livelihoods for these millions requires nurturing and modernising the agricultural sector.

Moreover, as of February 2025, around 7.2 million Indonesians remain unemployed, a sobering figure that a thriving agritech industry could help reduce by creating new job opportunities. Food security, a key target of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), further underscores the need to accelerate agritech growth. Despite Indonesia’s urbanisation, many regions, including major cities still face challenges in food distribution, leading to alarming levels of food insecurity.

Also Read: Need of the hour: How agritech platforms can protect farmers from climate change

Addressing these issues through robust support and innovation in agritech is not only a business opportunity but a national imperative. 

Variables that make it challenging for agriculture startup

Other industries like fintech, edutech, manufacturing, and real estate often attract more investment, as investors see them as larger, more established markets.

According to the chart above, agriculture, forestry, and fisheries receive the least investment across Southeast Asia compared to other sectors. Manufacturing and fintech are currently the biggest investment recipients. However, this trend doesn’t have to continue indefinitely. Agriculture plays a vital role for Southeast Asia and the world. Even, several SEA countries are key exporters supporting markets in Europe and the US. This underscores the importance of investing in agriculture to ensure long-term food security.

On the other hand, climate remains a significant natural barrier across SEA nations, driving the need for innovations like indoor farming and other resilient agricultural systems. Workforce quality is another concern, as many countries face a decline in young farmers because youths increasingly prefer careers in banking, healthcare, entertainment, marketing, and mining. Promoting agritech to the younger generation is essential to attract fresh talent and secure the sector’s future.

Moreover, localised technologies that boost productivity, efficient supply chain systems, and improved post-harvest management remain top priorities for agriculture throughout Southeast Asia.

Addressing these challenges is not just necessary for sustainable growth—it’s key to securing food availability and economic resilience in Southeast Asia’s future.

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While the world obsesses over the latest AI breakthrough from Silicon Valley or the newest unicorn from China, something far more profound is happening in the rice paddies of Vietnam, the clinics of Indonesia, and the classrooms of the Philippines. Southeast Asia isn’t just adopting technology—it’s fundamentally reimagining what technology should do, who it should serve, and how it should create value.

The narrative we’ve been told about technology innovation is fundamentally flawed. We’ve been conditioned to believe that the most important innovations happen in gleaming corporate campuses, funded by venture capitalists seeking 10x returns, and designed for affluent urban consumers. But what if the most transformative technology innovations are actually happening where smartphones cost a month’s wages and the primary concern isn’t optimising convenience but solving survival?

Southeast Asia’s approach represents a paradigm shift that challenges every assumption about how innovation works. Here, technology isn’t a luxury—it’s a necessity. This is how a region once considered a technology follower is becoming the world’s laboratory for technology that actually matters.

The agriculture revolution: 71 million farms, one digital transformation

Consider the reality facing Southeast Asia’s 71 million farms. These aren’t the massive, mechanised operations of the American Midwest. The average farm size is less than two hectares, operated by families who often lack formal education, reliable internet access, or significant capital. Traditional agricultural extension services reach perhaps 10 per cent of farmers, leaving the majority to rely on inherited knowledge that may not reflect current best practices or changing climate conditions.

Into this context comes agricultural technology that prioritises accessibility over sophistication. Farmonaut’s satellite-based crop monitoring system doesn’t require farmers to understand remote sensing—it delivers actionable insights through simple mobile interfaces that work on basic smartphones. The Grow Asia Innovation Challenge isn’t funding autonomous farming robots; it’s supporting climate-smart technologies that smallholder farmers can actually adopt.

This represents a fundamental reimagining of what agricultural technology should accomplish. A farmer in rural Thailand doesn’t need an AI system that can identify 500 different plant diseases; they need a system that helps them recognise the three diseases most likely to affect their specific crops in their specific region. They don’t need real-time soil sensors that cost more than their annual income; they need weather forecasts and planting recommendations delivered via SMS.

Also Read: Need of the hour: How agritech platforms can protect farmers from climate change

The impact is already visible. In Cambodia, digital extension services reach farmers who have never had access to agricultural advice beyond their neighbours. In the Philippines, supply chain platforms connect smallholder farmers directly with urban markets, eliminating intermediaries who traditionally captured most of the value. In Indonesia, climate-smart farming techniques disseminated through mobile platforms help farmers adapt to increasingly unpredictable weather patterns.

But perhaps most significantly, Southeast Asia’s agricultural technology revolution recognises that farming isn’t just an economic activity—it’s a social and cultural practice that shapes entire communities. The most successful technologies strengthen rather than disrupt these social networks, creating platforms for farmers to share knowledge collectively and build resilience as communities.

Healthcare democratisation: US$2 billion in digital health, infinite possibilities

The healthcare transformation across Southeast Asia represents perhaps the most dramatic example of how technology can fundamentally alter the relationship between services and the people who need them. With US$2 billion in digital health funding in 2024 and 460 telemedicine companies operating across diverse markets, Southeast Asia is pioneering entirely new models of healthcare delivery that prioritise access over affluence.

The traditional healthcare paradigm—centralised hospitals, specialist-driven care, expensive diagnostic equipment—simply cannot work in a region where the nearest hospital might be a day’s journey away and where a single medical consultation can represent a significant portion of a family’s monthly income.

Doctor Anywhere and Halodoc don’t just offer video consultations—they provide comprehensive healthcare ecosystems that include medication delivery, health monitoring, and integration with local providers. Malaysia’s Qmed Asia pioneers AI-driven healthcare kiosks that bring diagnostic capabilities directly to communities that have never had access to modern medical equipment. These kiosks don’t replace doctors—they extend medical expertise to places where it has never existed before.

This democratisation of healthcare access creates ripple effects beyond individual patient outcomes. When healthcare becomes accessible and affordable, entire communities become healthier and more productive. Children miss fewer school days due to preventable illnesses. Adults can work more consistently without fear that a medical emergency will bankrupt their families.

Healthcare spending in Southeast Asia is projected to reach US$740 billion by 2025, with the Asia-Pacific region accounting for more than 20 per cent of global healthcare spending by 2030. But the real transformation is in quality and accessibility of care, not just quantity of spending.

Education without limits: From US$10.7 billion to US$41.5 billion in a decade

The education technology revolution represents perhaps the most profound challenge to traditional assumptions about how learning happens and who can access quality education. With a market valued at US$10.7 billion in 2024 and projected to reach US$41.5 billion by 2033—a 14.7 per cent compound annual growth rate—the region is fundamentally reimagining what education can be when freed from physical classrooms and standardised curricula.

Also Read: Driving social impact with tech in Southeast Asia: Building for outcomes, not optics

Zenius, one of Indonesia’s leading online learning platforms, creates engaging video content and interactive exercises that make learning more effective than traditional classroom instruction. Thailand’s Taamkru app and Malaysia’s Pandai platform use gamification to transform mathematics and science education from rote memorisation into engaging, interactive experiences that adapt to individual learning styles.

This represents a shift from education as a service delivered by institutions to education as an experience created by learners themselves. A student in rural Philippines can access the same quality mathematics instruction as a student in urban Singapore. A working adult in Vietnam can develop new skills on their own schedule without leaving their job or family responsibilities.

Nearly 3,000 edtech startups are operating across Southeast Asia, addressing everything from K-12 education to professional development. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated adoption, but growth has continued as communities recognise the advantages of flexible, accessible education options.

The convergence revolution: Where sectors collide and magic happens

The most exciting developments are happening not within individual sectors but at their intersections. Agricultural platforms are integrating with health monitoring systems to track nutritional content of locally produced foods. Medical training platforms use virtual reality to bring advanced medical education to remote areas. Agricultural extension services incorporate health education to help farming communities understand connections between agricultural practices and family wellness.

These convergences create entirely new categories of social impact technology that cannot be easily classified within traditional boundaries. They represent a shift from sector-specific solutions to systems-thinking approaches that recognise the interconnected nature of social challenges.

Global implications: Lessons for a world in crisis

The technology innovations emerging from Southeast Asia carry implications far beyond the region’s borders. The most significant lesson is that constraint-driven innovation often produces more sustainable and scalable solutions than resource-abundant innovation. When innovators must design for low-bandwidth connectivity, basic smartphones, and limited financial resources, they create solutions that are inherently more accessible and inclusive.

Also Read: SECO Startup Fund relaunches with renewed US$6.2M commitment to impact startups in Asia, beyond

Consider how telemedicine platforms developed for rural Southeast Asia are now being adapted for underserved communities in the United States. Agricultural technologies designed for smallholder farmers in the Philippines are being tested in sub-Saharan Africa. Educational platforms created for diverse linguistic communities in Indonesia are being adapted for immigrant populations in Europe.

This reverse innovation challenges traditional assumptions about the direction of technology transfer. The most important innovations for addressing global challenges may come not from the world’s wealthiest regions, but from places where constraints force innovation toward more inclusive and sustainable approaches.

The path forward: Building technology that actually matters

The transformation happening across Southeast Asia represents more than a regional success story—it represents a blueprint for how technology can address the world’s most pressing challenges. But realising this potential requires moving beyond individual success stories to systemic changes in how societies approach innovation, investment, and impact measurement.

The path forward begins with recognising that technology for social impact requires fundamentally different approaches than technology for commercial markets. While commercial technology can succeed by serving affluent early adopters, social impact technology must work for the most constrained communities from the beginning.

The Southeast Asian experience demonstrates that successful social impact technology emerges from deep understanding of local contexts, sustained engagement with communities, and commitment to iterative development. The most successful innovations treat community members as partners rather than customers.

As the world faces climate change, inequality, and health crises, the need for technology that addresses these challenges rather than simply generating profit becomes increasingly urgent. The Southeast Asian experience offers hope that such technology is possible, but realising its potential requires putting community needs at the center of innovation processes and measuring success in terms of real improvements in people’s lives.

The question isn’t whether these approaches will work—they already are. The question is whether the rest of the world is ready to learn from them.

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Across Asia and its neighbours, impact-first startups are tackling some of the region’s most pressing challenges, like helping farmers increase their income, bringing healthcare to remote areas, and making education more equitable.

But in markets where trust in new technology can be low, digital literacy uneven, and access to infrastructure inconsistent, having a brilliant product is not enough. Without marketing that connects with people’s real needs, habits, and contexts, adoption stalls.

These three startups show why impact-savvy marketing isn’t about flashy ads or clever slogans, but about empathy, trust-building, and translating value in ways that resonate with the communities you’re trying to serve.

iFarmer: Building trust through local partnerships

When iFarmer set out to connect smallholder farmers in Bangladesh with finance, buyers, and agronomy advice, it faced a barrier bigger than technology: trust. Many farmers had been burned before by outsiders promising quick profits or easy loans. Years of scams and failed projects left them wary of anything new, no matter how well-intentioned.

Rather than pushing its app through mass advertising, iFarmer went local, partnering with microfinance institutions, agricultural cooperatives, and NGOs that already had strong community relationships. These organisations became iFarmer’s bridge to credibility, introducing the platform in settings where farmers felt safe and respected. Village meetings and in-person onboarding sessions gave people the chance to ask questions face-to-face, see demonstrations, and hear from early adopters.

Also Read: Need of the hour: How agritech platforms can protect farmers from climate change

This approach worked because it placed human trust ahead of digital adoption. Once farmers felt confident that iFarmer was an ally rather than a risk, word-of-mouth referrals took over. Today, the platform supports over 100,000 farmers.

Halodoc: making the unfamiliar feel safe

Telemedicine offers enormous potential in Indonesia, where reaching a doctor in person can require hours of travel and high costs. Yet when Halodoc launched, many people were sceptical. Could a doctor on a screen really replace one in person? Concerns about misdiagnosis, data privacy, and affordability slowed adoption, particularly outside major cities.

Halodoc tackled this hesitancy by grounding its marketing in real human stories. Campaigns showed relatable situations like parents getting timely care for a feverish child and elderly patients avoiding long and exhausting trips, always with the reassurance of qualified doctors on the other side of the screen.

To reach rural communities, Halodoc partnered with local health workers who could explain the service in person, often in local dialects. Offline events gave people a chance to try the app on the spot, removing the mystery from the experience.

By combining high-tech healthcare with high-touch outreach, Halodoc transformed telemedicine from an abstract concept into a trusted household service.

Edmicro: making schools their strongest advocates

Vietnam’s education market is crowded with free online content and a deeply rooted tutoring culture. For Edmicro, which offers an adaptive learning platform aligned to the Vietnamese curriculum, the challenge wasn’t just proving that it worked—it was convincing teachers and parents that it was worth integrating into daily learning.

Rather than trying to sell directly to parents through ads, Edmicro embedded itself in schools. It ran free pilot programmes in low-income districts, allowing students and teachers to experience the platform without financial risk. Crucially, the company worked closely with educators to adapt the platform to their needs, providing training and support so it became a tool they enjoyed using rather than a burden. Teachers who saw results began sharing their experiences online, often through personal Facebook posts that reached far into their networks.

Also Read: Redefining marketing in 2025: How AI will drive deeper connection and purpose

These endorsements carried far more weight than any marketing campaign could have achieved. By making teachers advocates rather than just users, Edmicro built a growth engine powered by trust and community credibility.

Marketing, the bridge between tech and trust?

If there’s anything that these companies prove, it’s that that startups often don’t scale on good intentions alone. In Southeast Asia and surrounding markets, the leap from “great idea” to “widely adopted solution” is built on trust, and trust is built through marketing that’s grounded in local reality.

For founders, this means marketing can’t be an afterthought or a final step before launch. For investors, it’s a reminder that funding the tech is only half the battle.

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By 2030, Southeast Asia’s population will grow by more than 80 million, demanding more food than ever while farmland and water resources are under strain. The region’s agricultural sector, long rooted in traditional methods, is at a turning point.

Agritech—tools like IoT sensors, AI-powered crop monitoring, and blockchain-based supply chains—is no longer a “nice to have.” It is the decisive lever for productivity, resilience, and sustainability.

For investors, this is a rare alignment of urgent demand, supportive policy, and scalable innovation. The question is not whether agritech will reshape Southeast Asia’s agriculture, but who will lead—and profit—from the transformation..

Understanding agritech in SEA: Trends and innovations

Agriculture remains a cornerstone of Southeast Asia’s economy and livelihoods. Approximately 120 million people across SEA are engaged in agriculture. In countries like Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines, this makes up 60–65 per cent of the rural workforce.

Agriculture accounts for about 10-15 per cent of GDP on average in the region, reaching as high as 23 per cent in countries like Cambodia. Despite this economic significance, productivity growth has stagnated in many subsectors due to fragmented farming practices, limited access to quality inputs, and climate-related risks.

Against this backdrop, agritech is transforming the landscape by integrating emerging technologies such as IoT, AI, blockchain, and mobile fintech. These innovations address inefficiencies in input management, pest detection, supply chain transparency, and farmer financing. They create an ecosystem that boosts yields and reduces risks.

From fish feed to blockchain: Who’s driving SEA agritech?

The agritech landscape in SEA is shaped by a dynamic interplay of startups, corporate players, governments, and development agencies.

Startups like eFishery in Indonesia use IoT-enabled fish feeders and real-time data analytics. This has improved feed efficiency by up to 30 per cent, boosting farmers’ profits. They raised US$200 million in a Series D round in 2023, reaching unicorn status. This highlights the US$11.1 billion SEA aquaculture tech sector, projected to grow 4.8 per cent annually to 2033.

Logistics and supply chain startups such as Ninja Van facilitate efficient produce delivery, reducing spoilage and increasing margins. Others, like Susu Tani in Vietnam, focus on digitally monitoring livestock health. PlantSnap in Singapore uses AI to identify crop diseases.

Also Read: Need of the hour: How agritech platforms can protect farmers from climate change

Multinational agribusinesses, including Olam International and Wilmar, are increasingly investing in digital agriculture to secure supply chains and meet stringent sustainability criteria. Governments in the region are developing digital agriculture policies and funding programs. Examples include Singapore’s Smart Agriculture and Malaysia’s National Agro-Food Policy.

Development finance institutions and aid agencies provide catalytic capital and technical assistance. They help build innovation ecosystems, bridge technology gaps, and support farmer adoption.

Investment opportunities: Why now is the time to invest in agritech

Now more than ever, agritech in Southeast Asia offers compelling investment opportunities. Here’s why:

• Untapped market potential: While SEA’s agricultural sector is among the largest globally, it remains relatively underdeveloped compared to other regions. The growing middle class and urbanisation are driving a shift towards modern, technology-driven farming solutions.
• Government support: Many SEA governments promote agritech with subsidies, grants, and favorable policies to attract investment. For example, the Philippine government’s “Agri-tech and Financial Literacy” initiative aims to digitise smallholder farming.
• Sustainability as a growth lever: Global focus on sustainability is driving agritech investment. Key areas include precision farming, sustainable crop protection, and food waste reduction.
• Increased consumer demand for transparency: Consumers are increasingly demanding more sustainable and traceable food sources. As a result, companies that can offer transparency and ensure the sustainability of their agricultural processes are becoming increasingly attractive investments.
• Technology advancements: The continued development of Internet of Things (IoT) devices, drones, AI, and machine learning technologies makes investing in agritech more promising than ever. These technologies enable real-time data collection, improving decision-making, productivity, and supply chain management.

Challenges facing agritech startups in SEA and how to overcome them

While the potential is immense, agritech startups in Southeast Asia face significant challenges:

• Fragmented market: SEA’s agricultural market is highly fragmented, with millions of smallholders, often lacking access to the resources needed to scale. Startups can overcome this by adopting scalable digital platforms and targeting multiple smallholder farmers through cooperative models or B2B2C models.
• Regulatory hurdles: Agricultural technology is subject to varying regulations across SEA countries, creating complexity for startups looking to expand regionally. However, startups can mitigate this challenge by working closely with governments to navigate these regulations and ensure compliance.
• Limited access to capital: Despite growing interest in agritech, securing capital can be a challenge for early-stage startups. By partnering with investors, accelerators, and agritech-focused funds, these companies can gain access to the capital needed to scale.
• Technological adoption barriers: Farmers in SEA may be reluctant to adopt new technologies due to cost concerns, lack of training, or cultural resistance. Agritech companies should deliver low-cost, high-impact solutions with clear value and provide education to build trust.

Also Read: Why agritech startups will call for the next e-commerce revolution

Overcoming these hurdles often requires a mix of technology and strong local networks. Partnerships and iterative product development tailored to farmers are essential.

Success stories: Remarkable agritech ventures transforming agriculture

Several agritech startups have already shown how the sector can drive meaningful transformation in Southeast Asia:

• RiceHub (Vietnam): This platform connects rice farmers with buyers, providing them with fair market prices and facilitating direct transactions. By leveraging technology, RiceHub has been able to streamline the rice supply chain and increase incomes for smallholder farmers.
• aTfarm (Thailand): A leading player in Thai agritech, aTfarm connects farmers with a comprehensive platform that offers smart farm management tools, weather forecasting, and access to financing options. Their work has significantly boosted farm productivity and profitability.
• Nurture.farm (India/SEA Expansion): Nurture.farm uses AI to provide precision agriculture tools to farmers, improving yields and reducing input costs. The company has successfully scaled across India and is expanding into Southeast Asia with promising results.
• IndoAgri (Indonesia): IndoAgri’s focus on aquaculture technology is improving the efficiency of fish farming by optimizing feed and disease management. Their data-driven approach has resulted in healthier fish stocks and higher profitability for farmers.

These ventures demonstrate that a clear value proposition, coupled with a deep understanding of local farming ecosystems, can deliver scalable impact and attract growth capital.

Future outlook: The potential of sustainable farming technologies in SEA

Looking forward, the potential of sustainable farming technologies in Southeast Asia is immense. The region aims to boost food production for its growing population. These technologies support long-term food security while reducing environmental impact.

Investment in precision agriculture, sustainable water management, alternative proteins, and circular economy practices will boost productivity. These efforts will also build a more resilient agricultural sector.

In addition, technologies focused on farm-to-table traceability will become increasingly important as consumers demand more transparency about the origins of their food. Startups and investors who are at the forefront of these innovations will likely shape the future of Southeast Asia’s agricultural economy.

Agritech is evolving rapidly with strong government support and rising demand for sustainable solutions. Combined with advanced technologies, it offers a promising investment frontier. SEA agritech is not just an emerging sector—it’s a dynamic force that is set to reshape the future of agriculture in one of the world’s most crucial regions. For investors looking to make an impact, the time to enter is now!

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In November 2024, I attended a retreat with Ken Honda, together with Chloe Lin, Kelly Kam, and Ken Ku. I went in thinking it would be another session on money mindset — useful, reflective, but familiar.

What I didn’t expect was to walk away with a realisation that had very little to do with numbers, and everything to do with who I had become.

At that point in my life, my relationship with money was good, but not great. On paper, things were working. Businesses were running. Cash flow existed. Opportunities were there. But emotionally, there was always a quiet tension running underneath it all.

There was pressure to perform. Pressure to keep proving. Pressure to constantly think, “What’s next?” — even when things were already fine. I struggled to truly rest. I struggled to enjoy money once it was earned. It wasn’t fear exactly — it was responsibility, obligation, and an invisible weight that never fully left my shoulders.

If I had to describe my relationship with money back then, it was productive… but transactional.

When success stops feeling like you

The biggest insight during the retreat wasn’t about money at all. It was about identity. I realised, quite suddenly, that I wasn’t the person I wanted to be.

Growing up, I always wanted to stand out. I wanted to be seen, to make an impact, to do something meaningful. As I got older, especially after years of building businesses, I learned to step back. To be careful. To not impose. To let the work speak for itself.

Somewhere along the way, I became quieter. Not because I had nothing to offer, but because I didn’t want to overwhelm, overstep, or overexpose.

During the retreat, it clicked.

I do have a skill set that can help people. And the only way to help… is to show up.

If I don’t show up, no one knows I can help them.

That realisation wasn’t loud or dramatic. It was calm, grounding, and deeply uncomfortable in the best way. And it reshaped how I saw not just my work, but also my relationship with money.

Also Read: Quantum’s inflection point: Why the smart money is watching now

Money is not something you dominate

For most founders, money becomes something to control. We track it. We forecast it. We optimise it. We worry about losing it. And without realising it, we treat money the way we’d treat a system under stress — not a relationship.

But here’s the thing. You don’t control your friends. You don’t micromanage people you love. You stay with them. You listen. You spend time. You let them go, trusting they’ll still be there.

There are boundaries, yes. But there’s also trust. There’s faith, not pressure. Enjoyment, not anxiety.

I’ve always been a control freak. That part of me built companies, systems, and results – but it also created unnecessary tension.

So I made a conscious decision to stop controlling what didn’t need to be controlled.

• Today, I only control my actions — never others.
• I share when asked, never enforce what I share.
• And I show up consistently, without attachment to outcomes.

That shift softened everything — including my relationship with money.

Stress repels more than it attracts

In 2025, things started moving faster again. But this time, it felt different. It wasn’t rushed. It wasn’t reactive. It wasn’t driven by fear or urgency.

I started working on projects that genuinely excited me — not ones that drained me simply because they were “logical” or “expected”. To date, I manage close to 40 portfolios. And instead of feeling stretched thin, I feel aligned.

Money started flowing more easily — not because I pushed harder, but because I stopped stressing it out.

This may sound obvious, but it’s something most of us overlook:

When you feel stressed about money, money feels stressed coming to you.

Think about it. Would you want to spend time with someone who’s constantly anxious, tense, and demanding?

Most people wouldn’t. Money works the same way.

From “I need” to “I want”

Previously, my internal dialogue sounded like this: “I don’t have enough.” “I need to make more.” “I should be doing better.” Money felt like an obligation.

But relationships aren’t obligations. They’re a want. And when something shifts from obligation to desire, the entire dynamic changes.

Today, my relationship with money feels healthy and secure. There’s cash flow. There are investments. There’s movement — without panic.

It’s not very different from my relationship with my partner now. I don’t add pressure. I don’t force timelines. We trust one another.

Because real relationships aren’t extremes. They’re balances. And maybe that’s why we call it a balance sheet, because nothing works unless it balances.

Also Read: I built multiple MVPs in a month: Here’s what vibe coding really changed

A reflection for founders

As founders, we’re good at building systems. We build systems so we don’t overstretch ourselves. We build systems so we can scale. We build systems so life doesn’t collapse when we step away.

But we forget that systems only work when the environment is healthy. We build environments where our teams can thrive. We build environments where ideas can grow.

Yet many of us never stop to ask: What kind of environment am I creating for money?

When you get these fundamentals right — not just in business, but in how you relate to money — flow stops being something you chase. It becomes something that stays.

Look at money as your friend. Create an environment where it feels safe being with you.

Because in the end, whether it’s people or money, the principle is the same: Be the person you would want to be with. And the right things — and people — tend to follow.

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Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing views from the community. Share your opinion by submitting an article, video, podcast, or infographic.

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