The startup scene is booming all over the world, with hotspots blooming in particular cities. While it used to be that Silicon Valley was the place to be for startup founders, the scene has enjoyed such a boom that many other parts of the world are opening up to startups of their own. In fact, some countries have hosted startups founded by foreign individuals.
Asia, in particular, has come to the spotlight in recent months. Ingenuity, creativity, and a strong hunger for success characterize the entrepreneurs from this part of the world, and there are hundreds of startups working hard toward success. With so many groups working to get noticed in the startup scene in Asia, which ones are worth your while?
Let’s narrow down the field a bit, shall we? Here are some of the most interesting Southeast Asian startups.
MyFitnessWallet, Singapore
Health and fitness is always a popular topic, and Southeast Asian startups are not overlooking this. MyFitnessWallet takes advantage of the trend by putting together all your fitness tracking needs and also provides information on what kind of regimen will suit you best, as well as other health information fitted to your needs. They are planning on providing services to individuals as well as entities such as hospitals, gyms, and clinics. They recently got into the JFDI.Asia accelerator program, which gives them even more chances for success.
Kalibrr, The Philippines
Kalibrr is one of the most unique startups in the scene, catering to the training needs of the Filipino worker. They offer FREE training for specific purposes, although for now they are focusing on BPO/call center jobs. They have partnered up with companies who have high recruitment needs, who in turn are assured of high quality recruits. With their excellent concept, it is no wonder they got into Y Combinator!
WearYouWant, Thailand
Southeast Asia is a haven for fashionistas, with a practically limitless supply of clothes and accessories everywhere, not to mention the funky fashion sense of its inhabitants. Thailand is not exempt from this, and it is only fitting that one of the hottest startups in the country addresses this topic. WearYouWant is a B2B2C fashion e-commerce site. This may seem “old” to those in the west, but the idea is only starting to burgeon in Southeast Asia, and it’s going to become big.
Save22, Philippines/Singapore/Malaysia
Save22 is a price comparison site/app – another concept that is not new in some parts of the world. In the Philippines, in however, things are only beginning to happen when it comes to price comparison sites, and Save22 is there to start a fire. The startup is headquartered in Singapore but operates in Malaysia and the Philippines. The edge of Save22? It has apps for both Android and iOS, and the data is crowdsourced, making sure users get up-to-date prices from a wide variety of sources.
Still think there’s not much to the Southeast Asian startup scene? You might want to read The Next Web’s take on this.
