It is hard to believe that four years had passed since the last US presidential elections.

While politics have never been our focus at e27, we always believe that the tech industry does not stand in a silo. Thus any major global events will affect the industry –no matter how far-fetched it seems.

When President Donald Trump won the election in 2016, his America-first policies have made Silicon Valley anxious. As elaborated in this post by Daniel Fries, the immigration crackdown that the Trump administrative championed had potentially made it harder for global tech talents to obtain travel and work visa to the US. Even the Indian tech leaders had to meet Trump officials to discuss the changes in the H1-B visa requirements.

The move turned out to be just the beginning as we later witnessed how the US government aims to tackle down major Chinese tech giants with their data security issue.

Four years passed and despite the initial shock, the global tech startup ecosystem continues to thrive. Startup hubs around the world continues to thrive, with a great number of them being in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region, providing alternatives for both talents and investors to focus their attention in.

But for the Southeast Asian tech startup ecosystem, there are other opportunities to shine in: The US-China trade war.

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The eagle, the dragon, and the tiger

Within the past five years, the Southeast Asian (SEA) tech startup ecosystem continues to become a favourite of global investors, from both the US and the APAC region. Even leading names in the Silicon Valley ecosystem such as Tim Draper and Peter Thiel are making great moves in SEA.

But the excitement peaks with the rise of the US-China trade war. In Jumpstart, Sharon Lewis wrote how ASEAN countries are “reaping the benefits” of the rising tariffs that the US has been imposing on China.

“For instance, Vietnam has benefited considerably, with 46 per cent of US imports worth US$31 billion shifting out of China and into Vietnam this year, subsequently adding an additional US$14 billion in exports to the US … Big tech companies are also looking to move their China bases, looking to Indonesia, Vietnam, and Thailand as alternatives. Naturally, the Trump administration is fully supportive of this,” she elaborates.

This update opens up opportunities for startups particularly those in the logistics and supply chain sector.

In a recent interview with e27, Marc Dragon, Managing Director of Reefknot Investments, reveals how the US-China trade war has led industry players to consider how their businesses are being run. He divides it into the “three buckets” of impact: Digitalisation and visibility of supply chain, sourcing strategy (including the supply chain sourcing design) as well as cash flow management, resilience, and financial stability of the supply chain.

When there is an opportunity, there are investments flooding in. And the numbers are not playing around. For example, even during the pandemic, Indonesian startups raised US$1.9 billion in funding by Q3 2020, according to the Indonesian venture capital association Amvesindo. A similar situation happened throughout the region; the pandemic might cause a glitch in the matrix, but it is only temporary.

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So how does this translate to the US election result?

Whether this situation will continue or not depends on who the next president his and his approach in handling the matter. Interestingly, even if candidate Joe Biden wins the election and becomes president of the US, there is no guarantee of a significant change, given that his take on the matter remains “uncertain”, according to experts.

Biden has been quoted stating that he will “get tough on China” as per this CNBC report while criticising the measures that Trump administration has taken.

Regardless of election results, in the past years, the SEA startup ecosystem has proven its ability to grow from strength to strength. From financial crises to a global outbreak, even when the situation gets tough, our entrepreneurs have shown its capacity to rise above it.

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Image Credit: Luke Stackpoole on Unsplash

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