
May 13, 2021 CSIS
By Karen Lee and Diego Lingad
On April 12, 2021, Grab announced that it would list on the NASDAQ stock market after a landmark merger, catapulting the Singapore-based tech company into the global spotlight. For Southeast Asian citizens, however, Grab is a household name. Beginning as a ride-hailing app in 2012, Grab’s services have expanded beyond transportation to include food delivery and digital payments. Although “superapps” (apps that offer multiple digital services on a single platform) in Southeast Asia have been lauded for their efforts to promote greater financial inclusion, their ability to scale sustainably is less certain. Risks include underprepared national cybersecurity frameworks and a persistent digital divide that has improved slightly during the Covid-19 pandemic. These risks offer an area for the United States government and development finance institutions to encourage the secure and sustainable growth of fintech in the region.
Tiếp tục đọc “Digital Growth and Financial Inclusion in Southeast Asia”