When we think of healthtech in South and Southeast Asia, certain themes often spring to mind: SARS, COVID-19, and an ageing population driving a demand for effective eldercare. For those of us living here, these issues feel obvious and urgent. But what’s obvious to us in the region is not always obvious to decision-makers sitting in other parts of the world.

It’s a reminder that when it comes to innovation in healthcare, perspective matters.

A missed opportunity in telehealth

In a previous role at a late-stage video conferencing company, I saw firsthand how a lack of local context can mean missing the moment. Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, a colleague from Hong Kong and I proposed that we should give away video conferencing licenses to healthcare institutions.

At the time, governments across South and Southeast Asia were already mobilising to prepare their healthcare systems. We believed that this was the perfect opportunity to not only seize market share but also build a reputation as a company that understood the urgency and wanted to help.

The idea was met with scepticism at our London sales headquarters and was ultimately rejected. We were a small team of four in Asia trying to signal the importance of moving quickly, but our urgency didn’t translate back to the company’s US headquarters.

Three months later, the world was in lockdown. The company eventually doubled down on telehealth, but the approach (to me at least) felt outdated. The market had already moved, and many of the most interesting innovations we were seeing were coming from startups within the region, not from Europe or the US.

Also Read: Decoding digital preferences: A glimpse into the future of health tech ecosystem in SEA

Learning from Sehat Kehani

Around that time, I met the founder of Sehat Kehani, a Pakistani healthtech company with a clear mission and a deep understanding of its local context. The company was addressing three critical issues:

• Increasing female doctors’ participation in Pakistan’s workforce
• Extending healthcare outreach to rural villages in Pakistan and Afghanistan
• Training local nurses to deliver telehealth services, connecting patients to remote female doctors

This approach was remarkable because it was designed from the ground up to work within the constraints and opportunities of the local healthcare ecosystem. It wasn’t about parachuting in technology or people from elsewhere; it was about building something that made sense for the realities on the ground.

If our HQ had been willing to listen and pivot, we could have adapted our platform to serve this massive, underserved market. Instead, after being acquired by a US telco, we exited customers from this region entirely.

Why local founders matter

Experiences like this have shaped the way I evaluate healthtech startups. I look at how “close” the founders are to the market they are serving. If they are too far removed from the region, they are often too far removed from the problem, and that distance makes it difficult to design truly effective solutions.

The strongest healthtech innovations in Asia often come from founders who have lived the problem, understand its nuances, and can navigate local systems to get solutions into the hands of those who need them most.

Standout examples in the region

Here are just a few companies that stand out for their impact and market insight:

• Sehat Kehani (Pakistan) – Rural telemedicine and enabling greater participation of female doctors in the workforce.
• SixtyPlus (India) – At-home eldercare for a rapidly aging population.
• HealthPro (Indonesia) – Home healthcare services tailored to urban and semi-urban populations.
• MedEasy (Bangladesh) – Combining B2C and B2B pharmaceutical services with telehealth delivery.
• PulseTech (Bangladesh) – B2B pharmaceutical distribution designed for emerging market supply chains.
• Relaxy (Bangladesh) – Mental health services in a context where mental wellbeing is often overlooked or stigmatised.
• Sova Health (India) – Supplements tailored for the Indian gut biome, recognising the need for locally relevant nutrition science.
• TB-AI (Pakistan) – Rapid diagnostics using mobile phone technology, scalable across rural Africa and Asia.
• Amar Lab (Bangladesh) – Bringing lab diagnostics directly to patients’ doors.

These aren’t just product stories; they are founder stories. Each one reflects a combination of lived experience, deep market understanding, and creative problem-solving.

Also Read: Empowering women in healthtech: The role of technology in driving inclusive workplaces

Healthtech’s frontline role in Asia

Healthtech is no longer a “nice to have” in South and Southeast Asia: it is an essential part of building resilient healthcare systems. The region faces a unique mix of challenges:

• Large rural populations with limited access to formal healthcare
• Uneven distribution of medical professionals, especially in specialised fields
• Rising demand for eldercare as life expectancy increases
• A growing awareness of mental health and preventive care needs

At the same time, there are powerful enablers:

• High mobile penetration, even in rural areas
• Increasing acceptance of telemedicine post-COVID-19
• A growing pool of local founders building solutions for local problems

The best solutions emerging here are not imported wholesale from Silicon Valley. They are tailored to local realities: from bandwidth limitations to cultural sensitivities, and are designed to be affordable and accessible.

The global relevance of local solutions

One of the most exciting aspects of Asia’s healthtech innovations is their potential for global application. Technologies built to work in low-resource settings such as mobile-based diagnostics, community health worker training platforms, and AI-powered remote consultations, are not just relevant for emerging markets. They can also address healthcare access issues in underserved communities worldwide.

This is why listening to and supporting local founders is so important. The problems they are solving are urgent today in Asia, but they may be the same problems others will face tomorrow elsewhere.

Looking ahead

The future of healthtech in South and Southeast Asia will be shaped by the intersection of technology, cultural understanding, and policy support. Startups that can blend these elements will not only transform healthcare access in their home markets but could also influence how care is delivered globally.

For investors, this is a space where impact and returns are not mutually exclusive. For policymakers, it’s a chance to integrate nimble, tech-enabled solutions into broader public health strategies.

As I’ve learned, being close to the problem is the only way to design the right solution. And in healthtech, the right solution can mean the difference between life and death.

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In Southeast Asia’s vibrant startup ecosystem, strategic investors from technology giants like Alibaba, Tencent, and Google offer more than just capital. Unlike traditional VC funds, they can provide access to technology, networks, and markets, aligning investments with their business goals.

For the 700 million consumer market in our region, these partnerships can catapult startups to regional dominance. However, founders face significant risks, including loss of control and misalignment of incentives, which can jeopardise autonomy and long-term success. This week’s post addresses the opportunities and challenges of taking on strategic corporate investors and highlights the safeguards founders should consider to stay aligned and in control.

What is a strategic investment?

A strategic investment is when an established company invests in a young startup with the aim that the investment can bring something of value to the investor itself. The aim may be for the investor to gain access to a particular product or technology that the startup company is developing, or to support young startups that could become customers for the investor’s own existing products.

A well known example is Microsoft’s investment into OpenAI, where the partnership went beyond capital into deep product and market collaboration to spur AI technologies.

What are the benefits of a strategic investment?

Strategic investments usually bring huge advantages other than the usual cash investment including even willingness to  accept a higher valuation to make a deal work. Additionally, a strategic investor can offer other support including operational expertise,  such as integration into a corporate ecosystem like expertise in existing verticals such as logistics or cloud which can provide instant market access and credibility. 

Also Read: Unlocking startup investment: The vital role of virtual data rooms

Patient capital is another benefit, as corporates may likely be able to tolerate longer return timelines for strategic value. The “halo effect” of partnering with a global giant boosts valuations and attracts talent, while mentorship from industry leaders accelerates growth in our region’s competitive digital landscape.

Risks and challenges in a strategic investment

Despite these benefits, strategic investments can also carry substantial risks. 

Founders may lose control when investors demand board seats or veto powers, as seen in the usual hierarchical business cultures prevalent in our culture such as in Indonesia or Thailand, where pressure to concede may be intense. 

Misalignment is a key risk, as corporates may prioritise their own agendas such as redirecting product development or valuable intellectual property to serve their ecosystem which potentially stifles your ability to innovate. 

In our past experience at Izwan & Partners, I have seen situations where a corporate investor comes into a startup, but the business leader involved in the deal who backed you initially later moves on or decides to pivot in a new direction. In such a scenario, without clear alignment or written safeguards, you may be left stuck if priorities shift after a leadership change.

Over-reliance on a single investor may also expose your startup to corporate shifts, such as economic downturns or geopolitical tensions (e.g. the US and Chinese firms vying for regional dominance). 

The “halo effect”, while beneficial, can deter potential acquirers wary of competing with a strategic investor, limiting exit options for existing investors and founders.

Alibaba’s US$1 billion controlling stake in Lazada in 2016 may be a good case study that allowed the e-commerce platform to benefit via logistics integration but eroded founders’ autonomy as Alibaba reshaped its own operations. Tencent’s US$1.5 billion investment in Sea Group in 2018 may have helped to supercharge Shopee’s growth, but it may also likely come with  additional pressure to follow Tencent’s playbook considering its challenges against the backdrop of having to deal with the US-China geopolitical tensions.

Making strategic investment work and mitigating risks

To navigate these challenges, founders must engage a startup lawyer to help them structure deals carefully. and include milestones tied to strategic support, not just funds.

Also Read: McKinsey: Strategic investment fuels Asia Pacific quantum computing expansion

Other considerations include:

• Minority stake: Where possible, negotiate for the strategic investors to take up minority stakes so that you can retain control.
• Board and voting rights: Negotiate veto rights or reserved matters to protect against unwanted pivots.
• Milestone-based commitments: Tie part of the deal to strategic support (e.g. distribution, partnerships, market access), not just cash.
• IP protection: Restrict how your technology, know-how, or data can be used within the corporate investor’s ecosystem.
• Exit flexibility: Ensure you’re not locked into the corporate investor if future fundraising or an acquisition opportunity arises (e.g. shares swap or put option agreement). This can help preserve autonomy in the unfortunate event that things don’t work out post-investment
• Funding alignment: Clarify expectations on follow-on funding and whether they’ll support future rounds. Diversifying funding sources may help reduce reliance on one investor, mitigating risks from the investor’s corporate or geopolitical shifts.
• Non-compete/exclusivity: Limit how far the corporate investor can restrict you from working with others in the same industry.
• Leadership change clauses: Address what happens if the corporate champion backing you leaves or priorities shift.

In any funding deal, it is crucial for you to conduct your own due diligence including vetting the corporate investor’s past track record with their past portfolio investments. 

Final thoughts

As a founder, getting a strategic investor in a company can offer unparalleled benefits including new sources of capital, networks, and expertise that can propel your business to greater success, as seen in Lazada and Shopee. Yet, the risks of control loss and misalignment need to be managed properly to avoid misalignment of interests down the line.

By learning from these case studies, I hope you can consider how a strategic investment can let your startup harness corporate strengths while safeguarding your startup’s agility to innovate and grow.

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Every weekend across Bangkok, the same friction plays out in slow motion. A group of friends wants to book a table at a rooftop bar they heard about on Instagram. They find a venue page with no online booking, fire off a WhatsApp message that goes unread until midnight, and end up somewhere else by default.

For the venue, it is a lost reservation. For the customer, it is a forgettable non-experience. For Nightify, it is the exact problem worth building a company around.

Also Read: A2D Ventures backs LineWise to put a 24/7 AI engineer on every factory floor

Thailand-based Nightify has closed a US$500,000 seed round led by A2D Ventures, with participation from angel investors spanning hospitality, retail, and consumer sectors. The capital will go toward expanding its venue network across Thailand, deepening its product capabilities, and laying the groundwork for regional expansion across Southeast Asia.

A fragmented market hiding in plain sight

The nightlife and entertainment industry in Southeast Asia is a serious economic force that is rarely treated as such. The region’s broader food and beverage and nightlife sector — spanning bars, clubs, live music venues, and hospitality entertainment — is estimated to represent a multi-billion-dollar opportunity. Thailand alone, one of the world’s top tourism destinations, drew over 35 million international arrivals in 2023 and has a nightlife economy that punches well above its weight.

Across Southeast Asia, the hospitality and entertainment market is projected to surpass US$90 billion by 2030, driven by a young, urbanising population with rising disposable incomes and a deeply social consumer culture.

Yet the infrastructure powering this industry looks nothing like its scale. Most venues still rely on a patchwork of WhatsApp threads, manual spreadsheets, and disconnected reservation tools that were not built for the pace of nightlife operations. Discovery is fragmented across Instagram pages, Google Maps listings, and word of mouth. There is no single layer that ties bookings, events, customer data, and brand partnerships together. That gap is where Nightify is planting its flag.

The operating system for nights out

Nightify positions itself as a two-sided platform serving both consumers and venues simultaneously. On the user side, it offers discovery based on music genre, venue vibe, and location, alongside seamless table bookings and event access. On the venue side, it provides a booking engine, event management and promotion tools, upselling and add-on package capabilities, and CRM tools that help operators understand and retain their customers.

The company is already live with a credible list of Bangkok venues, including Bar Us, The NORM Bangkok, Vesper, Dry Wave Cocktail Studio, and F*nkytown, names that carry genuine weight in the city’s nightlife scene.

As the platform matures, Nightify is deepening its integration into venue operations, targeting POS integrations, payment processing, and full-stack operational tooling that would make switching away genuinely costly for operators.

Also Read: Thailand’s cybersecurity boom has a weak core

“People don’t go out just to transact,” said Wuthi Bunyapamai, co-founder and CEO of Nightify. “They go out to feel something, to connect, discover, and be part of something bigger. Our goal is to become the default layer for nightlife, where every night out begins.”

Western parallels and what Southeast Asia needs differently

Nightify is not inventing a category from scratch. In the US and Europe, platforms like Resy, OpenTable, and SevenRooms have carved out significant positions in the hospitality tech stack, though their focus skews heavily toward fine dining and restaurant reservations rather than nightlife specifically. Discotech, an American app targeting nightclub table bookings in Las Vegas and Miami, is perhaps the closest conceptual parallel, while SpotOn and Tock have also built venue management tooling with a tighter entertainment focus.

What distinguishes the Southeast Asian context is the sheer informality and fragmentation of the market. Western hospitality tech grew up alongside restaurant groups and hotel chains that already had formalised operations.

In Bangkok, Jakarta, or Kuala Lumpur, the average nightlife operator is far less structured, making the education and onboarding challenge steeper, but the value proposition considerably higher once adoption takes hold.

The markets beyond Bangkok

While Thailand is the natural starting point, bolstered by its global tourism brand and a genuinely world-class nightlife culture, the regional opportunity is substantial. Indonesia, home to over 270 million people and a rapidly expanding urban middle class, has a Jakarta nightlife scene that rivals Bangkok in energy and complexity. Vietnam, particularly Ho Chi Minh City, has seen an explosion of rooftop bars, craft cocktail venues, and live music spaces over the past five years.

The Philippines, especially Manila and Cebu, runs a deeply embedded nightlife economy that has historically been one of Southeast Asia’s most vibrant. Singapore, while more regulated, has a premium hospitality market with operators hungry for better tooling.

Each of these markets has a different regulatory landscape and consumer behaviour profile, but all share the same structural problem Nightify is trying to solve: discovery is broken, operations are manual, and customer relationships are underbuilt.

Multiple paths to revenue

Nightify’s business model has several logical levers. The most immediate is a commission or booking fee on reservations processed through the platform, a standard approach that scales directly with transaction volume. Beyond that, subscription or SaaS fees charged to venues for access to CRM, event management, and analytics tools generate recurring revenue that is not dependent on individual booking flows.

Brand partnership and activation revenue (already demonstrated through collaborations with Grab, White Claw, and Coffee Meets Bagel) adds a media and sponsorship dimension that is particularly attractive in nightlife, where brand association carries genuine cultural currency. As Nightify pushes into payments and POS, a take-rate on in-venue transactions becomes a longer-term possibility. The combination of transaction fees, SaaS subscriptions, and brand revenue gives the business multiple margin layers rather than a single fragile monetisation path.

Why this model scales

The scalability question is the right one to ask. Two-sided marketplace businesses in fragmented, local industries are notoriously hard to build, but they also tend to produce durable competitive moats once network effects take hold.

In Nightify’s case, each new venue added increases the platform’s value to users, and each new user increases the commercial incentive for venues to onboard. The CRM and operational tooling create switching costs that go beyond discovery, and the brand partnership business benefits from scale in a way that a single-venue operator could never access independently.

Also Read: ‘Thai startups face challenges in funding, corporate engagement, global expansion’: A2D Ventures

A2D Ventures’ Ankit Upadhyay pointed directly to team pedigree as the investment’s primary driver. “Nightify is powered by a formidable Thai team with an elite pedigree. The founders bring experience from firms like Agoda, Accenture, Bitazza, Minor International, and Oppo. This mix of consumer tech, scale-up, and hospitality expertise is exactly what’s needed to solve real industry challenges with regional potential.”

The US$500,000 seed round is a modest opening bet on a market that has been chronically underserved by technology. Whether Nightify can translate Bangkok traction into a regional footprint will depend on its ability to standardise onboarding across wildly different market conditions. But the infrastructure gap it is targeting is real, the team has the operational range to pursue it, and Southeast Asia’s nightlife economy is far too large to remain this poorly served for much longer.

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I was midway through an assessment test for a company when I started noticing a pattern. Several questions revolved around the same theme: should you show emotions at work, or is it better to keep them hidden? The questions were never framed directly. Instead, they appeared as situational judgment scenarios-how you would respond to conflict, pressure, or disagreement. But beneath the surface, they were testing the same thing: emotional expression versus control. I found myself pausing longer than expected, not because I lacked experience, but because I wasn’t convinced there was a single “correct” answer.

In many professional environments, especially in Asia, we are conditioned to believe that being composed equals being competent. Emotions are often treated as distractions, something to manage privately so they don’t interfere with performance. But that assumption has never fully matched my experience.

As a corporate trainer, I quite often run improv workshops for corporate teams, and one of the core principles I always introduce is simple: bring emotions into the room. Not in a disruptive way, but in an intentional one. Tension, frustration, excitement-these were not things to suppress, but tools to build more authentic interactions. Every time we did this, the energy shifted. People who were initially guarded became more engaged. Conversations became less rehearsed and more real. Ideas flowed more freely, not because participants were trying harder, but because they were less filtered.

Also Read: Why inclusive hiring matters for a startup ecosystem

What struck me most was not that emotions made the room chaotic, but that they made it alive. That realisation stayed with me as I moved into startup environments, where the stakes are higher and the structures less defined. Ironically, these are the environments where emotions are both more present and less discussed. Looking back, the moments when my own emotions surfaced most strongly at work were rarely during creative highs. They usually appeared when I was under sustained pressure, often teetering on the edge of burnout. And when they surfaced, they didn’t come out in ways I was proud of. I became reactive. My comments carried frustration that had little to do with the immediate situation, and I often turned critical-not of others, but of myself. What felt like expression in the moment was, in reality, a loss of control.

Over time, I noticed a pattern that was hard to ignore. Whenever I reached that stage, it was usually followed by my exit from the company not long after. That correlation forced me to rethink something fundamental. It wasn’t that emotions were inappropriate at work; it was that I had never been taught how to process them within a professional context. They built up quietly until they had no choice but to surface, often in ways that were misaligned with the situation.

This is where I think many of us get it wrong. We frame the conversation as a binary: be emotional or be professional. In reality, the issue is whether emotions are processed or suppressed. In startup environments, this distinction becomes even more critical. The pace is faster, ambiguity is higher, and feedback loops are shorter. You are constantly navigating incomplete information, shifting priorities, and diverse personalities. All of these factors are emotional triggers. Ignoring them doesn’t make them disappear-it simply delays their impact.

Also Read: Transition climate risk: Navigating the future of sustainable real estate

What I’ve come to realise is that emotional discipline is not about shutting feelings down. It’s about recognising them early enough that they don’t take over your decisions. That awareness, however, doesn’t come naturally. For a long time, I didn’t have a structured way to build it. Only recently have I started experimenting with something simple but surprisingly effective: creating just enough distance between what I feel and how I respond. Not by removing emotions, but by learning how to sit with them a little longer.

Because in the end, the goal isn’t to hide emotions at work. It’s to make sure they don’t speak louder than our judgment. When handled thoughtfully, emotions can guide decisions, enhance creativity, and even strengthen relationships. Suppressed or unmanaged, they become obstacles.

Recognising that distinction has been one of the most important lessons of my professional journey, particularly in the unpredictable world of startups.

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Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing views from the community. You can also share your perspective by submitting an article, video, podcast, or infographic.

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