2017 was an exciting year for the e-commerce landscape in Southeast Asia.

Microfinance is described by the Financial Times Lexicon as a service where financial institutions will back small start-ups and would-be entrepreneurs with small loans, in the poorest parts of the world. In Southeast Asia, the biggest microfinance players currently include Asia Pacific-based LenddoEFL, Singapore's CredoLab and the Philippines’ Lendr, for example. To add to this mix, Singapore-based ride-hailing service Grab will now join the fray.

One of the biggest beneficiaries of the growing digital economy in Southeast Asia is the gaming industry. Sea – formerly Garena – became the first Southeast Asian tech company to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2017. Sea is a gaming company but has also ventured into e-commerce and e-payments recently.A trend that has also been fuelling the games market in the region is the rise of eSports. eSports is essentially a competition using video games.

Blockchain refers to a shared, public ledger of records or transactions that is open to inspection by every participant while not being subject to any form of central control. It is these very capabilities that align particularly well with the characteristics of the airline industry, according to the 2017 report, ‘Beyond the Buzz: The Potential of Blockchain Technology’ by Accenture.

With the humongous volume of data circulating virtually right now because of online activities such as video streaming and sending tweets, it is crucial for businesses to rely on data centres as they provide services for reducing infrastructure costs, providing uninterrupted power supply, improving data security and safety, and increasing storage.

Technology, since its genesis, has been changing the face of business especially in retail. There has been a shift of power from brands to consumers who now have more information and more options to work with when making a purchasing decision before buying online. By 2020, digital commerce in the ASEAN region is expected to grow exponentially to reach US$32 billion in the next 3 years, according to Accenture.

More companies are opting for robotic automation of their manufacturing processes to get ahead, as reported by McKinsey & Company in 2017. Mainly, two types of robots, collaborative robots and industrial robots, are permeating the manufacturing sector. Manufacturing has been a pivotal factor in ASEAN’s development story by attracting earnings in foreign currency and investments for infrastructure-building, and creating employment opportunities within the region.

With mobile penetration rates in Southeast Asia rapidly climbing, retailers have increasing room to utilise the mobile platform as an avenue to reach their consumers. In order to get the best results from their mobile app platforms however, they would have to interact with their customers at the mobile apps that peddle their goods. According to Fung Business Intelligence, modern Asian consumers are tech savvy, highly-connected, experience- and convenience-driven.

A smart city is one that adopts scalable solutions so as to take advantage of ICT in order to increase efficiencies, reduce costs and enhance quality of life, according to technology conglomerate Cisco. Smart cities can help to overcome the strain on urban resources brought upon by rapid urbanisation, an aging population, and a changing energy climate. This would help ASEAN meet its long-term sustainable development goals.

Members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) form the sixth largest economy in the world valued at US$2.5 trillion with a population of almost 630 million – 40 percent of whom are below the age of 30. Studies have shown that those within this age bracket represent a key demography of the growing landscape of Southeast Asia’s digital economy.