"I think in the past, we've looked more at inclusion and access, but actually we've made so much inroads over the past years. Now again, we're talking about participation because what we're seeing is that 30% of the highest spending customers who we call high-value users (HVUs) - they make up over 70% of the digital economies' transaction value. So 30% Are leading to 70% of the digital economy. We want to make sure that we don't leave users behind and we continue to drive growth and drive their participation. So we need to make sure that we are not ignoring this very important group that presents a 1.9x growth opportunity of that of high-value users. And for this reason, it's really important for us to talk about digital participation." - Sapna Chadha 

Fresh out of the studio, Sapna Chadha, vice president of Google Southeast Asia, and Florian Hoppe, partner at Bain and Company shared the key takeaways from the Google e-Conomy SEA 2023 report. Sapna and Florian discussed how start-ups are navigating the current declines in venture capital funding and introduced how high-value users presented a new way of visualizing what goes behind the digital economy in Southeast Asia. Last but not least, they discuss what great looks like for businesses in Southeast Asia. 

Episode Highlights: 
[0:00] Quote of the Day #QOTD from Sapna Chadna 
[2:00] Welcome Message from the host 
[2:48] Introduction of Sapna Chadha, Vice President, Google Southeast Asia 
[5:02] Key Takeaways of Google e-Conomy Southeast Asia Report 2023 
[8:40] Southeast Asia's economic performance against global macroeconomic headwinds 
[10:30] The one most interesting data point that Sapna and Florian found interesting about the report 
[12:50] Does the global shift in venture capital align with Southeast Asia? 
[14:00] Will high-quality start-ups still be able to raise capital in Southeast Asia? 
[15:01] Are funding declines differentiated by funding stages or by countries? 
[16:00] Can Southeast Asian VCs return capital to their LPs? 
[17:10] Advice to Southeast Asia startups in surviving the current funding winter 
[18:20] Do we see more startups focusing on monetization accelerating across the digital economy? 
[21:43] What are the potential avenues of growth for fintech companies? [24:15] Definition and Context behind High-Value Users (HVUs) in Southeast Asia 
[26:56] Comparison between HVUs and non-HVUs across different Southeast Asia economies 
[29:50] Are smartphones and digital infrastructure in tier 3 and 4 cities bringing non-HVUs online? 
[33:23] Can Southeast Asia reach 1 trillion GMV in 2030? 
[35:35] What would success look like for businesses in Southeast Asia for the next few years? 
[39:37] Closing 

Podcast Information: Bernard Leong hosts and produces the show. Proper credits for the intro and end music: "Energetic Sports Drive" and the episode is mixed and  edited in both video and audio format by Thomas G Craig.

Decoding the e-Conomy SEA 2023 Report with Sapna Chadha and Florian Hoppe

Fresh out of the studio, we commemorated the 10th anniversary of the e-Conomy SEA [Southeast Asia] Report with Sapna Chadha from Google, Florian Hoppe from Bain & Company, and Cassie Wu from Temasek, celebrating a decade of tracking Southeast Asia's digital transformation. The panel reflected on the region's remarkable achievement of reaching $300 billion in GMV—exceeding the original $200 billion goal by 1.5x—alongside revenue growth of 11x over the past decade. The panellists examined pivotal themes including Southeast Asia's position as the world's most AI-curious region with three times more interest than elsewhere, the explosive rise of video commerce and the maturation of digital financial services. The conversation explored the expansion from SEA-6 to 10 ASEAN countries, the ecosystem's resilience through multiple crisis cycles, and the shift from growth-at-all-costs to sustainable profitability. The episode concludes with each panellist sharing their vision for 2030, emphasizing building trust in AI adoption, creating an inclusive AI economy that benefits SMEs alongside large platforms, and navigating the AI transition gracefully to unlock innovation while addressing employment challenges—underscoring Southeast Asia's evolution from digital catch-up player to global innovation leader rewriting the playbook for digital adoption.

"We set this audacious goal of 200 billion by 2025. People told us we were crazy. In 2016 when we put that ambition out there, we've actually reached 1.5x that and we've hit 300 billion. And so it's just reflective of this incredible economy." - Sapna Chadha

"Indonesia e-commerce still I think is larger or about the same size as all of India e-commerce. And yet the attention tends to be a little bit veering away from Southeast Asia, but this is actually a real economic powerhouse I think for all of Asia Pacific." - Florian Hoppe

"Southeast Asia as a region, as we think about digital economy adoption, we are not playing catch up anymore. In many ways we're leading the digital adoption. We're writing how digital economy, how digital adoption could look like for a population and demographic like us." - Cassie Wu

Profiles: 
Sapna Chadha, Vice President Southeast Asia and South Asia Frontier, Google Asia Pacific
Florian Hoppe, Partner at Bain & Company
Cassie Wu, Director, Southeast Asia at Temasek
e-Conomy SEA 2025: https://economysea.withgoogle.com/

Episode Highlights:
[00:00] Quote of the Day by Sapna Chadha, Florian Hoppe & Cassie Wu
[01:17] 10th anniversary of e-Conomy SEA Report
[03:00] Digital economy hits 300 billion, exceeding goals
[04:09] Ecosystem resilience through multiple crisis cycles
[06:10] Report expands from SEA-6 to ASEAN-10
[08:13] Southeast Asia most underappreciated AI opportunity
[09:31] Indonesia e-commerce matches all of India
[10:04] Region leading digital adoption, not catching up
[12:13] Cash no longer king, payments fully inverted
[13:00] Revenue growth 11x over past decade
[15:00] 300 billion GMV despite headwinds and tariffs
[16:00] Video commerce grew 5x in three years
[19:03] Digital payments north of 60% of transactions
[23:32] Super apps unique to Southeast Asia ecosystem
[25:45] Data center capacity growing faster than anywhere
[27:01] Lower labor costs delayed AI adoption initially
[31:00] Ecosystem healthier than ever before
[33:08] Talent is the critical AI bottleneck
[35:19] Digital infrastructure must align with green economy
[39:00] Southeast Asia remains globally underappreciated
[40:39] Can Southeast Asia leapfrog into AI era
[43:00] Closing

#economysea #southeastasia #digitaleconomy #google #temasek #bainandcompany #ai #generativeai 

Podcast Information: Bernard Leong hosts and produces the show. The proper credits for the intro and end music are "Energetic Sports Drive." G. Thomas Craig mixed and edited the episode in both video and audio format. 

Southeast Asia's Digital Economy 2025 with Sapna Chadha, Florian Hoppe & Cassie Wu

The Analyse Podcast, formerly Analyse Asia, is a weekly show that dissects the pulse of business, technology, and media across the world. Hosted by Bernard Leong, it features in-depth conversations with leading journalists, senior executives, visionary authors, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders who shape industries and ideas. Each episode dives into the most important trends and stories redefining how the world builds, scales, and innovates — from Asia to the globe.

New tracks tagged #Florian Hoppe