While technology continues to turbocharge Southeast Asia's growth, the reality is that it has brought forth both positive and negative impacts.
Conversation Themes
The inaugural Tech for Good Institute Dialogue will feature a series of four conversations centred around the new research commissioned by the Institute on the role and impact of digital platforms in Southeast Asia:
Digital platforms have become a frequent topic of discussion across Southeast Asia in many policy areas, including its role in the digitalization of the economy, labour and employment, competition, consumer protection and privacy, among other areas.
Given the emerging nature of the digital platforms, they can be more complex than they appear on the surface and are not always well understood. This conversation track will examine relevant evidence and offer local insights on the sector. It will contribute to the discourse on how imperatives may be set for both platforms and policymakers across the region to harness its fullest potential to drive the digital economy forward.
Millions in Southeast Asia don’t have access to adequate basic financial services. But fintech-innovation is working on changing this. Neobanks, insurtech, and embedded finance are opening a new world of possibilities in commerce and wealth management, allowing many more in the region to leapfrog and join the visible economy.
The power of this revolution is undeniable. As the region begins to recover from the pandemic, how can we leverage it to create a fairer and more inclusive financial system for all? This conversation track will feature thought-leaders and practitioners at the frontlines of defending the promise of fintech for good.
If not for remote learning, 135 million school children around the region would have lost access to education during the pandemic. Yet many cannot afford this luxury and traditional learning models remain deeply entrenched. How can technology be tapped to democratise education, and support the delivery of quality education to traditionally underserved communities?
What are the necessary foundational pieces of work that need to be done to facilitate this transformation? Bridging the divide in education is particularly critical following the onset of Covid-19 where we have seen many thrust back into poverty. This conversation track will bring together pioneers in edtech to share perspectives on how immediate challenges can be ‘hacked’ to advance the education agenda for the next generation in Southeast Asia.
As Southeast Asia’s economy continues to grow even amid the pandemic, so too are its demands for resources. While the region has taken initial steps towards greater sustainability, achieving consensus on the green agenda continues to be an afterthought, with attention focused on meeting more immediate needs – like access to opportunities, education and healthcare.
But are the two really mutually exclusive? Can technology and data be used to meet the region’s needs in both the short and long term? This conversation track will look at how new solutions are being deployed to meet these needs, and how innovation in areas like energy and agriculture are breaking new ground and creating new opportunities in Southeast Asia.
Programme Fellow
Mouna Aouri is an Institute Fellow at the Tech For Good Institute. As a social entrepreneur, impact investor, and engineer, her experience spans over two decades in the MENA region, South East Asia, and Japan. She is founder of Woomentum, a Singapore-based platform dedicated to supporting women entrepreneurs in APAC through skill development and access to growth capital through strategic collaborations with corporate entities, investors and government partners.
Senior Fellow & Founding Executive Director
Dr Ming Tan is Senior Fellow at the Tech for Good Institute; where she served as founding Executive Director of the non-profit focused on research and policy at the intersection of technology, society and the economy in Southeast Asia. She is concurrently a Senior Fellow at and the Centre for Governance and Sustainability at the National University of Singapore and Advisor to the Founder of the COMO Group, a Singaporean portfolio of lifestyle companies operating in 15 countries worldwide. Ming was previously Managing Director of IPOS International, part of the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore. Prior to joining the public sector, she was Head of Stewardship of the COMO Group.
Ming also serves on the boards of several private companies, Singapore’s National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre, Singapore Network Information Centre (SGNIC), and on the Digital and Technology Advisory Panel for Esplanade–Theatres on the Bay, Singapore’s national performing arts centre. Her current portfolio spans philanthropy, social impact, sustainability and innovation.
