– Super appsexplore inorganic growthoptions – Gojek in talks with e-commerce company Tokopedia over $18bn merger – Grab reported to be preparing for a public listing in the US – Food delivery and financial services increasingly important segments After a year ofexternal expansion and internal reorganisation due to Covid-19, South-east Asia’s super apps appear to…
On the opportunities for and challenges to greater digitalisation during the Covid-19 pandemic What impact did Covid-19 have on Myanmar’s efforts to expand ICT access to a greater proportion of the population? SHANE THU AUNG: Strategies to expand ICT services continued in many ways despite the pandemic, partly thanks to the fact that telecoms services were classified as essential. Nonetheless,…
After enjoying years of exponential growth, South-east Asia’s super apps have been forced to reassess their business models as a result of Covid-19, with many refocusing their priorities as they plan forthe post-pandemic world. In recent years so-called super apps – online or mobile platforms that combine multiple services into one app – have sought to continuously expand their offerings. While…
Covid-19 has shaken up the development of the digital economy in Myanmar, with the pandemic leading to a rise in demand for home broadband in this traditionally mobile-first market. As various containment measureswere imposed, companies located in themain business hubs scrambled to ensure that employeeswere able to work remotely. “Household broadband demand increased because…
On changing entertainment consumption patterns amid the Covid-19 pandemic As social-distancing measures lead to increased demand for home entertainment, what strategies can be employed to increase penetration in a sustainable manner? MARC BARNETT: This situation is bigger than our internal business metrics, and I think we have a responsibility and an opportunity to help people through a difficult…
Interview:U Thant Sin Maung What progress has been made regarding the implementation of the e-government programme? U THANT SIN MAUNG: In Myanmar every sector still needs to be developed, so the implementation of government-wide digitisation is a sizeable task. We have been rolling out our e-governance master plan since 2016, and we have already seen tangible results. In the most recent UN…
Myanmar has enjoyed one of the most rapid and successful deployments of telecommunications infrastructure around the world, in part due to a regulatory framework that allows multiple operators to share the use of cell towers. This has ensured building and maintaining infrastructure is cost effective for the companies involved, as they can on-board additional tower tenants at close to zero cost. Lay…
The ICT sector is perhaps Myanmar’s most advanced area of the steadily growing economy. Nevertheless, the era of easy growth and customer acquisition for telecommunications players has come to an end, and a new phase of intense competition has ensued. As the ICT sector matures, there is room for companies to grab market share in the country’s nascent but fast-growing digital economy. Oversight…
Interview:Alok Kumar To what degree has digitisation affected Myanmar? ALOK KUMAR: When it comes to business operations, there is strong appreciation for the need of digitalisation. However, onboarding is slow and back-end processes remain largely manual. We have not yet reached the critical mass necessary for transformation, and unless the whole ecosystem has this momentum it will be difficult…
Myanmar’s start-up ecosystem is coming into its own amid the development of several clusters in Yangon and an easing of business conditions in the country as a whole. Myanmar rose by six places in the World Bank’s “Doing Business 2020” report to 165th out of 190 economies after introducing a mandatory online platform for company registration and reducing incorporation fees, among other…