APAC digital economy valued at $586bn, says DPA report
The Singapore-based Digital Prosperity for Asia Coalition (DPA) has launched India chapter on 22 Nov 2022 to work with 825.3 million Internet subscribers, and log into the Indian market (urban + rural) in terms of growing its digital prosperity.
It wants to drive a huge wave of digital transformation in India by aligning with the Indian government’s core initiatives such as Digital India, Skill India, Make in India and Startup India.
“The initiation of DPA’s India chapter will help provide support to India’s policymakers and the overall industry to maximize the utilization of digital technologies,” said Berges Y Malu, Senior Director of Public Policy at ShareChat.
“This new approach will also play a key role in contributing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of creating a US$5 trillion economy,” he said in a release on 25 Nov 2022.
The DPA adopts a ‘Asia centric, local approach’ that aims to facilitate engagements and access to local governments, local partners and local connections, while promoting the growth of home-grown digital brands in order to create local impact for good.
Furthermore, the DPA will promote business-friendly digital policies as government allies to enable a conducive culture of innovation. Being part of the DPA’s India chapter will allow members exclusive access to Policy Advocacy Support and Insights; Exposure to VC’s and Investors; Assistance for Market Expansion; and the opportunity to shape Thought Leadership.
As part of the inaugural launch, the DPA commissioned and released a report by strategic consultancy AlphaBeta entitled ‘Prosperous APAC: Digital Economy Enablers’.
The report quantify the untapped economic potential of APAC’s digital and suggest approaches for governments and industry to fully capture the benefits of the digital economy.
The report found that APAC’s digital economy has emerged stronger after the COVID-19 pandemic, and that the APAC-11’s total digital economy (representing 11 of APAC’s largest economies Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam) is currently valued at US$586 billion.
However, this is only 30% of the full potential of the digital economy today. Looking forward to 2030, the size of the prize grows further – and APAC economies could capture more than US$2.2 trillion for their digital economies.
The report identifies a new approach: ‘Digital Prosperity’ as a key strategy for APAC economies to adopt in order to fully capture the US$2.2 trillion by 2030.
The ‘Digital Prosperity’ approach combines the benefits of flexible regulations, widespread access to global digital technologies, and domestic capabilities and skills. The DPA seeks to promote this approach, and seeks like-minded partners in achieving shared prosperity across the region.
The current 17 members of the DPA are Accredify, AppMedia, Codomo, CyberLitmus, Doctor2U, Founders Doc, Innovobloc, Kinobi, Madeit?dao, Opn, Peoples Health, People’s Inc., Ringkas, ShareChat, Slab, Quickwork, and 3D Makers.
Digital Prosperity for Asia is an organization consisting of a growing group of innovative home-grown Asian digital companies promoting the democratization of access to digital technologies across all sectors. Its mission is to support national governments and policymakers in APAC to grow their digital economies and reap the benefit of digital technologies.
The coalition is looking for more like-minded APAC companies in the digital space that recognise the importance of growing the digital economy for local value creation and for shared prosperity across Asia. fiinews.com