{
  "id": 12071897,
  "title": "Stop calling Southeast Asia an emerging market in mobile. It is where the behaviour gets invented",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/05/stop-calling-southeast-asia-an-emerging-market-in-mobile-it-is-where",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-10-05T04:00:36.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "e27",
    "slug": "e27",
    "url": "https://e27.co/stop-calling-southeast-asia-an-emerging-market-in-mobile-it-is-where-the-behaviour-gets-invented-20261004/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In November, ASEAN leaders are set to sign the Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA), marking the region’s first region-wide pact dedicated to the digital economy. Negotiators finalized the text in Manila in May, with ASEAN estimating a potential digital economy value of up to US$2 trillion by 2030 if implemented effectively. Meanwhile, a startup founder in Jakarta or Manila will approach a global investor or multinational operator with a proposal and receive the common inquiry: do you possess a live pilot in Europe? This question reveals more about the label than the product itself. The term \"emerging market,\" based on income per capita, does not accurately reflect where consumer mobile behavior is conceived, tested, and refined. In Southeast Asia, it is a pioneer in this regard rather than lagging behind. Examining the data provides further insight. Sensor Tower’s State of Mobile 2026 report indicates that the average smartphone user spends approximately 3.6 hours daily within apps, ranking Indonesia second globally in total app time usage, surpassing the United States. In the Philippines, Meltwater’s Digital 2026 data reveals that connected media time amounts to around 54 hours per week. This usage data offers a glimpse into the innovative behaviors taking shape. Indonesia's QRIS standard processed an astounding 12.55 billion transactions in the first half of 2026, surpassing the same period from a year ago and serving 65.8 million users and 44.9 million merchants. Almost 97% of these merchants are micro, small, and medium enterprises. This represents a national retail infrastructure built on a smartphone camera and now bridging borders. Super apps followed a similar trajectory. Initially a ride-hailing app, Grab expanded to encompass food delivery, payments, financial services, and insurance within a single daily habit over several years. This demonstrates that a high-frequency habit can sustain an entire financial and commerce business, a lesson that other platforms continue to explore. The pattern remains consistent. In mobile-first, price-sensitive, and online populations, product teams receive rapid and stringent feedback compared to other regions. Behaviors that endure in such environments often proliferate. Furthermore, a significant portion of mobile users in Indonesia and the Philippines subscribe to prepaid plans. To analysts outside the region, this may appear as a sign of immaturity. However, it is better perceived as a discipline. Prepaid users make daily spending decisions and are typically aware of the cost per unit, such as gigabytes in rupiah or pesos. This creates a mainstream economic behavior where value-for-time becomes a mainstream economic behavior, rather than a marketing concept. Unlike other markets, where value-for-time is a marketing idea, Southeast Asia demonstrates a culture of value-for-time. Another aspect is the double standard in infrastructure. Consumer apps should be localized, but infrastructure remains consistent globally. A cell tower serves the same purpose in Lagos, Lisbon, and Lampung, and payment switches, identity checks, or attribution systems operate on the same principles regardless of the continent. Despite this, infrastructure in Southeast Asia is frequently evaluated based on its geographic location. The question \"Does this work in Europe?\" often replaces the crucial inquiries that truly determine its effectiveness, such as retention cohorts at scale, traceability of outcomes to specific interactions, and unit economics after the launch budget is exhausted. Infrastructure developed in Southeast Asia, which boasts the lowest tolerance for waste among users, has undergone a more rigorous test than many pilots elsewhere. Policy is evolving faster than the label. The DEFA is expected to cover digital identity, interoperable payments, cross-border data flows, online safety, and cybersecurity. These elements will transform eleven national digital markets into a more cohesive entity. Once ratified, the region's regulatory landscape will be more unified than many observers anticipate. This shift in perspective if the \"emerging market\" label is dropped is crucial. For investors, it emphasizes the importance of analyzing mechanisms rather than relying on geographic factors. Global product teams should view Jakarta and Manila as learning hubs rather than markets to adapt for last. For operators and regulators in the region, exporting frameworks rather than merely importing them is essential. Ultimately, the DEFA, the region's first of its kind, signifies a significant milestone. It would be peculiar to continue describing the region that crafted it as the one still emerging.",
  "summary": "In November, ASEAN leaders are scheduled to sign the Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA), the first region-wide pact written specifically for the digital economy. Negotiators closed the text in Manila in May, and ASEAN’s own statement puts the prize at up to US$2 trillion in digital economy value by 2030 if the agreement is implemented […] The post Stop calling Southeast Asia an emerging…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Investing.com",
        "title": "Nippon Paint shares rise on $1.35 billion deal for Akzo’s Southeast Asia paint arm",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/05/nippon-paint-shares-rise-on-1-35-billion-deal-for-akzos-southeast",
        "published": "2026-10-05T03:04:15.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}