For the next part of our 6-part series on Tech Governance in Southeast Asia, Farlina Said of the Institute of Strategic and
Dr Wan Khatina Nawawi is the Managing Director of EconWorks Advisory. She is an economist and public policy consultant with expertise in competition policy, law, and economics; public policy; regulatory economics; and international trade.
Rigorous studies and data that inform regional tech policies
Infographic: From Framework to implementation
Based on Tech for Good Institute’s The Evolution of Tech Governance in Southeast Asia-6 initiative, this infographic tracks selected policy and regulatory developments across the six economies.
Read the full report here: The Evolution of Tech Governance in Southeast Asia (Third Edition).
From Payment for Goods to Payment for Good: Digital Giving in Southeast Asia–An Exploratory Study
The study explores the unique intersection between technology and philanthropy in SEA and uncovers the digital giving paradox: The mismatch in scale between digital spending (payment for goods and services), and digital giving (payment for good). Drawing on regional stakeholder consultations, the report identifies conditions under which digital giving scales, surfaces barriers that hold it back, and offers practical recommendations for non-profits, philanthropic intermediaries and regulators.
The report was launched on 19 May 2026 at the Philanthropy Asia Summit 2026. Please read the official press release for more information.
Expert analysis on regional emerging trends
What does the World Cup teach Southeast Asia About Its Digital Future
AI can level the playing field, but technology alone never guarantees success. Using the 2026 FIFA World Cup as a lens, this article explores how football serves as a practical policy laboratory—revealing how nations must pair AI access with deep investments in talent, institutions, and local innovation ecosystems to build lasting digital capability.
Governance Meets Reality: Vietnam’s Evolving Tech Governance
In the third of our six-part country spotlight series under Tech Governance in Southeast Asia-6, Dr. Nguyen Minh Thao, Policy Expert at the National Institute for Economics and Finance (NIEF), Ministry of Finance, examines the major developments shaping Vietnam's tech landscape and governance framework in mid- 2026.
How AI Levels the Playing Field for Small Businesses
As AI adoption unfolds across ASEAN, early ecosystem-based interventions are critical to prevent market dominance by large enterprises. This article explores how policymakers can level the playing field to support Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) at varying stages of maturity.
Dialogues connecting policymakers, researchers and industry
Rules in Action: Singapore’s Evolving Tech Governance
For the next part of our 6-part series on Tech Governance in Southeast Asia, Assistant Professor
Lim How Khang
from Law and Computer Science (Practice) at
Singapore Management University (SMU)
unpacks the key developments shaping Singapore's tech landscape in the first half of 2025. Key developments include the Code of Practice for Online Safety-App Distribution Services taking effect to mandate store-wide age assurance and safety controls, and the commencement of Part 9 of the Financial Services and Markets Act to create an enforceable perimeter for digital-token services.
From Smart Mobility to Trusted Mobility: Building Trusted AI for Singapore’s Future
As AI changes our way of living, the future of Singapore's smart mobility hinges on people's trust in AI technology. In this paper, Poon King Wang and Dinithi Jayasekera explore behavioural observations, system designs, and legislative strategies to gain public trust in AI-driven transportation— moving from performance to personal relevance.
Shaping the Digital Future: Regulatory Updates from Singapore
In the last part of our 6-part series on Tech Governance in Southeast Asia for 2024, Keith Detros and Hamizah Myra from Tech For Good Institute dive into Singapore's tech governance landscape for the first half of 2024.
Interested to read the full summary of our Tech Regulation insights across Southeast Asia? Subscribe to the Tech for Good Institute mailing list to receive the latest research, insights, and updates.
Rethinking Tech Diplomacy for Small and Medium Powers
As artificial intelligence, cross-border data flows, and digital public infrastructure increasingly shape foreign policy, diplomacy is being reshaped to encompass engagement with technology firms, standards-setting bodies, and multistakeholder institutions. Drawing on the case of Malaysia, this article argues that effective tech diplomacy for small and medium powers requires a whole-of-government approach that aligns domestic policy priorities with international engagement.
Securing the Future Harvest: Financial Innovation as Malaysia’s Food Security Imperative
In this article, Arifah Sharifuddin, Institute Director at Tech for Good Institute, outlines how Malaysia’s food security goals hinge on easing financial and risk barriers for smallholders.
Malaysia’s role in AI Safety in Southeast Asia
The 2025 global pivot from AI safety to rapid acceleration is placing new pressure on Southeast Asia, creating a critical gap between the push for technological supremacy and the need for collective regional governance. This article, republished from
Malaysia Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (MYCentre4IR),
explores the necessity of regional cooperation to combat transboundary AI risks, and Malaysia's pivotal role as ASEAN Chair in 2025.
Beyond Credit Access: Regulatory Gaps in Thailand’s Data-Driven Finance for MSMEs
Micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) drive Thailand’s economy, yet credit gaps and collateral shortfalls severely constrain their growth. In response, the Bank of Thailand launched its "Three Opens" financial reform. This article examines the initiative's data-driven approach, identifies key regulatory bottlenecks, and offers policy recommendations to build a more inclusive digital finance ecosystem.
Rules in Action: Thailand’s Evolving Tech Governance
In the first part of our 6-part series on Tech Governance in Southeast Asia for 2025, Anont Tanaset, Policy Specialist at the
Office of the National Higher Education Science Research and Innovation Policy Council (NXPO), examines Thailand's tech governance landscape for the first half of 2025.
Interested to read the full summary of our Tech Regulation insights across Southeast Asia? Subscribe to the Tech for Good Institute mailing list to receive the latest research, insights, and updates.
Navigating Thailand’s AI Law: Development at a Crossroads
In this article, Khemmapat Trisadikoon and Wichayada Umponkitviwat, researchers at the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI), explore Thailand's evolving AI policy landscape. Through an examination of the legal frameworks surrounding AI, emerging regulatory trends, and the critical issues shaping the country's approach to AI governance, this article offers insights into the future of AI development in Thailand.
Read the Thai version of this article.
Governance Meets Reality: Indonesia’s Evolving Tech Governance
In the second of our six-part country spotlight series under Tech Governance in Southeast Asia-6, Ajisatria Suleiman, Regulatory Expert and Associate Researcher at the Center for Indonesian Policy Studies, examines how Indonesia’s tech governance landscape is evolving at mid-2026.
From Decree to Delivery: Orchestrating a Safer Digital Architecture for Indonesia
Indonesia is positioning itself as Southeast Asia’s most assertive regulator of children’s digital lives, shifting from passive concern to active state intervention in child online protection. This article examines three pillars—independent oversight, privacy-preserving age verification, and centralised reporting—to turn its landmark regulation into a replicable regional model.
Rules in Action: Indonesia’s Evolving Tech Governance
As part of our 6-part series on Tech Governance in Southeast Asia, Hafiz Noer and M. Irfan Dwi Putra of the Center for Digital Society, Universitas Gadjah Mada unpack the key developments shaping Indonesia's tech landscape in 2025. Key developments include the issuance of Government Regulation No. 17 of 2025 (PP Tunas) to embed child protection into platform regulation, the introduction of a National AI Roadmap to expand AI policy and talent development, and efforts to build a resilient digital government through institutional and legal reforms.
Vietnam’s AI Strategy: Aligning Aspirations with Adaptive Governance
Vietnam has elevated AI to a national mission through its updated AI Strategy and forthcoming AI Law. In this article, Professor Vu Minh Khuong examines how Vietnam can translate bold aspirations into adaptive governance and sustained AI-driven development.
Rules in Action: Vietnam’s Evolving Tech Governance
For the next part of our 6-part series on Tech Governance in Southeast Asia, Dr. Nguyen Minh Thao of the National Institute for Economics and Finance (NIEF), Vietnam, unpacks the key developments shaping Vietnam's tech landscape in the first half of 2025. Key developments include the enactment of the Personal Data Protection Law (PDPL) to establish a solid legal foundation for data security, and a significant organisational restructuring that merged the Ministry of Information and Communications with the Ministry of Science and Technology to enhance enforcement.
Improving the Regulatory Framework for Tech Governance: The Key to Achieving High Growth in Vietnam
Breakthroughs in technology and digital transformation are set to drive Vietnam's economic growth. In this article, Dr. Nguyen Minh Thao, Former Head of Business Environment and Competitiveness Research at CIEM, and Dr. Nguyen Quoc Viet, expert in Public Policy at VNU explore the need for a regulatory framework to foster innovation.
Read the Vietnamese version of this article.
Digital Tech Adoption Incentives to Unlock the Next Growth Frontier of the IT-BPM Sector
The Philippines’ IT-BPM sector is growing strongly, but the next growth frontier will come from innovation enabled by advanced digital technologies, such as cloud, AI, analytics, and secure cross-border data systems. These capabilities can help firms move beyond routine outsourcing into innovation-driven partnerships. In this article, the writers explore how targeted digital adoption incentives, structured knowledge partnerships, and clear data governance can support this transition. This article builds upon the 2025 study on the Philippine IT-BPM sector.
Rules in Action: the Philippines’ Evolving Tech Governance
For the next part of our 6-part series on Tech Governance in Southeast Asia,
Pierre Tito Galla
of Democracy.Net.PH unpacks the key developments shaping the Philippines' tech landscape in 2025. Key developments include the enactment of the Konektadong Pinoy (Connected Filipino) Act to encourage investment and competition in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector, and the continued rollout of the e-Gov SuperApp to digitalise government services.
Shaping the Digital Future: Regulatory Updates from the Philippines
In this fourth of our 6-part series on Tech Governance in Southeast Asia, Francis Mark A. Quimba, Senior Research Fellow, Philippine Institute for Development Studies, guides us through the Philippines' tech governance landscape in the first half of 2024.
Interested to read the full summary of our Tech Regulation insights across Southeast Asia? Subscribe to the Tech for Good Institute mailing list to receive the latest research, insights, and updates.
What does the World Cup teach Southeast Asia About Its Digital Future
AI can level the playing field, but technology alone never guarantees success. Using the 2026 FIFA World Cup as a lens, this article explores how football serves as a practical policy laboratory—revealing how nations must pair AI access with deep investments in talent, institutions, and local innovation ecosystems to build lasting digital capability.
How AI Levels the Playing Field for Small Businesses
As AI adoption unfolds across ASEAN, early ecosystem-based interventions are critical to prevent market dominance by large enterprises. This article explores how policymakers can level the playing field to support Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) at varying stages of maturity.
Beyond Credit Access: Regulatory Gaps in Thailand’s Data-Driven Finance for MSMEs
Micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) drive Thailand’s economy, yet credit gaps and collateral shortfalls severely constrain their growth. In response, the Bank of Thailand launched its "Three Opens" financial reform. This article examines the initiative's data-driven approach, identifies key regulatory bottlenecks, and offers policy recommendations to build a more inclusive digital finance ecosystem.
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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.
