Southeast Asia’s second-largest city, Bangkok, houses Thailand’s largest financial institutions and key seaports, making it a hub for FinTech, FoodTech, and manufacturing innovation. E-commerce is also a significant sector due to the country’s high internet penetration rate.

Ranked as the 11th emerging startup ecosystem in the world, Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur is the birthplace of several big-name startups such as Carsome. It is one of the pioneering trailblazers for Southeast Asia’s digital economy and an ideal location for startup incubation.

Indonesia is Southeast Asia’s biggest economy and is home to several unicorns including GO-JEK, Traveloka, and Tokopedia that are disrupting local, regional, and global economies across sectors. The city’s conducive environment allows owners to run a trial of their products before expanding business across the region.

With an average of 10h 56min spent online daily, no other nation is more digitally engaged. The country’s well-established outsourcing industry gives startup founders an experienced talent pool to draw from. Most of the country’s startups are based in Manila, with FinTech, enterprise tech, and InfoTech startups making up a significant share.

Vietnam’s emergence as a startup hub received a boost when foreign and domestic investors signaled their intent to invest $815 million in startups, reflecting a belief that it could rival Indonesia as Southeast Asia’s growth market for tech investments. As part of efforts to become an innovation center, Ho Chi Minh City recently approved a proposal to fund 1,000 startup projects by 2025.