An Indian SAAS startup going global — One of the most significant structural changes in the global economy has been the rise of subscriptions. This transformation started as a transition from selling software through sales of one-time lifetime licenses to selling software-as-a-service (SAAS) on a recurring monthly or annual basis. Since then the global subscription economy has…

A rising B2B Commerce star in Southeast Asia — In the Philippines, small neighborhood convenience shops called Sari-Sari stores are far more common than supermarkets and large retailers across the country. They are a core part of the Philippines’ retail ecosystem with the 1.1 million Sari-Sari stores nationwide driving 60% of all FMCG sales in the country. They are…

Lending to Mexico’s Credit-Starved SMEs — In Mexico SMEs are an integral part of the economy and are responsible for 88% of private sector employment. Despite this the economic contribution of SMEs is only 35% of Mexico’s GDP compared to 40–50% for other comparable economies. Their smaller share of GDP in Mexico is primarily the result…

In urban India — the world’s most populous country — one of the biggest day-to-day pain points is congestion. In fact 3 of the top 10 most congested cities in Asia are in India (Bengaluru, Pune, Delhi) including the most and third-most congested city. India’s huge population of 1.4 billion…

Small corner stores are a defining part of emerging market economies. These stores sell everything from groceries to mobile phone data and medicines. In Africa, these retail corner stores are ubiquitous and in 2016 they (and other informal retailers like street hawkers) accounted for approximately 90% of retail sales across…

Digitizing ocean, inland and air shipping in Latin America If there is one term that has gone from a niche business term to a mainstream buzzword over the last 3 years it has been “supply-chain.” The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as growing geopolitical tensions in Europe…

Digitizing renting and purchasing real estate in Brazil In Brazil renting apartments or buying homes has historically been a tedious and inefficient process fraught with complexities. Everything from searching for properties to rent or buy to the need to provide guarantors and co-signers and often the requirement for rent insurance…

Remittances, VISA cards and crypto and stock investing in Africa This article was originally published in my newsletter Emergent. Globally remittances has been one of the largest and fastest growing segments of financial services for years. By 2022 remittance volume to low and middle-income countries reached a whopping $630 billion…

A Super App from Algeria to the World This article was originally published in my newsletter Emergent. While Africa saw VC funding soar to $5 billion in 2022, this funding has been far from evenly distributed across the continent’s 54 countries. In fact the majority of VC investment in Africa…