Inclusive innovation for development can also unlock market opportunities. 94% of surveyed capital providers are investing in impact, with 92% directing funds toward digital sustainability. Southeast Asia has the opportunity to position itself as a living lab and global hub for digital sustainability. While the region currently attracts only 3% of global impact capital, the region’s high digital adoption, entrepreneurial spirit and intensifying need for sustainable solutions poses the opportunity to shape a digital future that is not only resilient but also sustainable and inclusive.
The report, supported by Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore (IMDA) for ATxSummit (a part of ATxSG), explores how governments, capital providers and solution providers can leverage digital innovation to accelerate progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Incorporating patent data and analytics from IPOS International and impact investing expertise from the Centre for Impact Investing Practices, this report also highlights financial inclusion, food and agriculture, and healthcare as areas in which development gaps present not only urgent needs but also powerful opportunities for digital leapfrogging and scalable impact.
Across the region, rapid digital transformation, mobile-first populations, and maturing innovation ecosystems create a momentum for digital sustainability in SEA. However, progress toward the SDGs remains uneven. Rising health and food insecurity, and growing demand for inclusive financial access signal the urgency for tech-driven solutions.
At the same time, factors such as investments in digital public goods, policy innovation, momentum for regional economic integration and openness to private-public-philanthropic partnerships can provide an enabling environment for solutions to be tested and scaled.
To fully realise this potential, the report calls for bold, coordinated action across several areas:
The region’s unmet needs present powerful opportunities for digital innovation to drive impact. Financial inclusion, food and agriculture, and healthcare, for example, present significant gaps to accessibility, security and inclusivity. Over 225 million adults remain unbanked, yet fintech investment has surged, signaling strong interest in bridging financial gaps. In agriculture, 100 million smallholder farmers face systemic challenges, while food insecurity and environmental degradation call for tech-driven solutions. Low physician-to-population ratios and rising demand underscore the need for scalable digital health innovations such as telemedicine and AI diagnostics to expand access and improve outcomes.
Yet these areas also have significant digital and investment potential.
Offering scalable and cost-effective solutions to complex challenges, it has been estimated that digital technologies could accelerate progress on over 70% of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Southeast Asia’s digital momentum, driven by high smartphone adoption, a digitally savvy population and policy innovation like regulatory sandboxes, can provide the conditions to leapfrog traditional development phases. Investors identify technologies like AI, IoT, and data analytics as most promising for enhancing accessibility, transparency, and customisation. These capabilities are being applied through business innovation services such as mobile finance, telemedicine and parametric insurance, supported by policy momentum and financing mechanisms like blended finance and catalytic capital.
Meeting the region’s sustainability targets requires massive financing, US$1.5 trillion annually across Asia-Pacific and US$210 billion annually in SEA for climate-resilient infrastructure alone. Encouragingly, 49% of investors surveyed plan to increase their allocations to Southeast Asia over the next five years. Digital innovation, when paired with financing mechanisms such as blended finance and catalytic capital, offers promising pathways to close the funding gap. Currently, 31% of capital providers are engaged in blended finance, and a further 47% have expressed interest in adopting such approaches. However, limited collaboration with governments remains a major constraint—highlighting the need for stronger public-private partnerships to mobilise capital at the scale required.
To fully unlock Southeast Asia’s digital sustainability potential, coordinated action across governments, investors, innovators, and enablers is essential. The ATx2025 report outlines six priority areas for impact:
-
- Strengthening digital foundations through inclusive infrastructure and interoperable digital public goods
- Building future readiness by investing in skills, local innovation, and adaptive governance
- Designing fit-for-purpose solutions tailored to local contexts and co-created with communities
- Aligning policy frameworks to support innovation, harmonisation, and responsible experimentation
- Integrating different types of innovation—tech, finance, policy, and business—to reduce investment risks, encourage collaboration, and scale impact.
- Establishing integrated regional approachesthat leverage cross-border collaboration and multistakeholder partnerships—including public, private, philanthropic actors, and civil society—to align ASEAN-wide efforts and accelerate collective progress
By working together across sectors and borders, Southeast Asia can shape a digital economy that not only drives growth, but creates solutions for sustainable development that serves the region and the rest of the world. Explore the full findings in the ATx2025 Report and discover how Southeast Asia can lead the future of digital sustainability.
Key Partners:This is a special report supported by Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore for ATxSummit, a part of ATxSG.
Acknowledgements:We would like to thank the Centre for Impact Investing and Practices (CIIP) for serving as our research partner, and IPOS International for supporting this project as our data partner, without whom this study would not have been possible.
