2020 heralds new era for South-east Asia's digital growth

AS THE novel coronavirus pandemic struck, people in South-east Asia embraced technology at a faster rate and in more ways than ever before. In doing so, they have mapped out the role a strong, inclusive digital economy might play in the region's long-term success and prosperity.

According to the e-Conomy SEA 2020 report from Google, Temasek and Bain & Company, released on Nov 10, 40 million people across the region connected to the Internet for the first time this year - compared with 10 million last year and 100 million in total between 2015 and 2019.

When the virus began threatening people's health and disrupting their lives, South-east Asians went online to shop, pay, inform, educate and entertain themselves. Eight out of 10 said technology helped them during the crisis - and of those who started using a new kind of digital service as a result of the pandemic, nine out of 10 plan to continue using that service beyond it.