Gojek is one of the most top start-up companies in Southeast Asia. (Image via Gojek)

Asia: Home to One-Third of the World’s Unicorn Start-ups, McKinsey Reports

Kinanty Nadia Putri
Business & Industry
Start Up
Jul 17, 2019
2940
The total numbers of 119 start-up companies with a valuation of US$1 billion across the continent have made Asia becomes home to one-third of the unicorn start-ups in the world, according to McKinsey’s report. While there are 331 unicorns globally.

Based on the July 2019 report of Asia’s Future is Now, China ranks first with 91 unicorn start-ups run in the country. Followed by India with 13 companies, South Korea with 6 companies, and Indonesia with 4 companies.

In Indonesia, the best-known unicorns are Gojek, Tokopedia, Traveloka, and Bukalapak—in which Gojek has just claimed its status as Indonesia’s first decacorn with valuation hit US$10 billion earlier this year.

If you wonder why Asia can be a sweet spot for start-ups, here are some of the reasons.

First, Asia has a unique business model that is strongly focused on the business-to-customer model. Unlike many Western start-ups which run their business more into research and development.

Coupled with the growing number of people using smartphones in Asia. The report shows that 44% of the global internet users are concentrated in China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Bangladesh, Philippines, and Vietnam alone. The two combinations are making Asia as a promising destination for global investment.

Second, abundant qualified human capital as it is home to 60% of the world’s total population with a huge number of the young population overall.

In Indonesia itself, which is now a country with the most unicorns in Southeast Asia, a dynamic ecosystem has prompted the rise of the companies. Moreover, Indonesia is estimated to grow its internet economy up to US$100 billion by 2025 which makes the country increasingly become an attractive investment destination.

A Southeast Asia’s leading internet group, Catcha Group, also estimated that in the next two years Indonesia will have the largest share in Nexicorn or Next Indonesia Unicorn.

Source: https://www.cnnindonesia.com/ekonomi/20190716155807-532-412614/mckinsey-asia-jadi-rumah-bagi-sepertiga-unicorn-dunia

Start-up , Business , Asia , Indonesia , Unicorn , Decacorn , McKinsey , Report