Expanding to the GCC as an Southeast Asian Startup: Insights from Fintech

In the June edition of our Expanding to the GCC as a Southeast Asian Startup webinar series, we asked senior executives from Tazapay and Touché several questions on their experiences expanding to the UAE and GCC

This panel included:

💳 Lov Loothra, Head of Product, Tazapay who shared insights from its expansion as a global payments platform that seeks to enable safe cross-border trade .

🏦 Sahba Saint-Claire, Co-Founder and CEO, Touché who discussed its move from Singapore to GCC after securing flagship partnerships with leading financial institutions like Mashreq Bank and Qatar National Bank.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the discussion.

Focus on target market analysis to find the right landing place for what you are offering.

Don’t treat the GCC as a homogeneous market

The GCC consists of many markets with different regulations, dynamics, and levels of maturity

Each market is unique; focus on the problem you’re solving and the market you’re entering before moving on to entering another market in the GCC

Engage the right partners

Look for partners who already have a presence in the market and are able to push your agenda

Endorsement from well-known partners who have a significant slice of the market will be helpful in introducing you to the market.

Form partnerships with investors that transcends financial investments

Talk to strategic investors who have a close proximity into the areas where your product delivers functionality and benefits to
Strategic backers can further your business along when breaking into new markets
Sovereign wealth funds may not be for every startup as the ticket size is historically larger and the timing might not be right

For longer term survival through this pullback, be prudent in the areas you’re dabbling into but explore opportunities when you see them.

Be opportunistic and agile as a company

Be open to pivoting and explore the expansion of your core product into more clients and different markets
Be invested in it for the long run – plenty of business ideas such as market expansion have gestation periods, so do not expect immediate success in a given market

Focus on optimization

Investors in general are sharing lessons on being prudent
Instead of working on experimentation and creating new product lines, boost customer experience to existing customers to maximize revenue from your existing product line

Be selective about the investors you talk to

Despite the tight market, investment is still out there
Focus on partners and investors who are in the business where your product provides functionality so that the investment decision is more than purely a balance sheet analysis

Err on the side of caution when it comes to regulations.

Understand regulatory requirements

Regulatory approval is something you need to build into your plans for market entry right upfront because it will take longer than you expect
Strategic investors can help with the right connections and understanding the new regulations being put out

There are huge opportunities in the GCC and the UAE can be leveraged to expand into other markets.

UAE is a natural landing place for most

The UAE has an open and advanced economy and high living standards but it is a major mistake to purely focus on the UAE
Use it as a landing area to build your business and partnerships for further regional expansion

Understand the nuances in the different markets

You don’t have to restrict your expansion plan to only starting in the UAE
Look at your own customer data and product to expand accordingly
Make sure you’re absolutely ready and have the right partners before you enter other markets

Trade agreements such as CEPA make it easier for companies to leverage opportunities between two ecosystems.

Regulatory environment in most trading blocs will converge

Increased proximity facilitates the expansion of businesses
For Tazapay in particular, CEPA is helpful and in line with expansion plans planned for the geography

While there are some areas that the UAE is behind on, the government is quick to follow up with what works in other geographies.

Be willing and quick to adapt

It’s not a matter of being the first but rather who catches up well to the advancements
Eg. the Singapore government is fairly advanced in having services available online to its citizens and residents, which is something the UAE is working on
The dynamics of the population play a part – the UAE has a predominantly expat population which the government has to cater to

Foster innovation through encouraging knowledge sharing

Think Tanks have been set up for one of India’s biggest products which is the Unified Payments Interface (UPI)
This helps in the creation of technology and wider adoption by startups, which in turn benefits the masses

There is no clear answer to this, as each country could have expertise in different areas of tech.

Competition and cooperation can take place simultaneously

There doesn’t have to be only one hub – as seen from other regions, multiple hubs with expertise in different areas can continue to cooperate and compete at the same time
There could also be other players beyond the UAE or Saudi Arabia e.g. Bahrain is reinventing itself and working to become a hub as well
In Southeast Asia for example, Singapore is a hub for fintech, while Vietnam is a hub for logistics
Multiple hubs can co-exist together in a region and learn from each other

Wes Schwalje, Chief Operating Officer

Wes cofounded Tahseen Consulting, one of the Arab Region’s fastest growing public sector strategy and government relations firms that bridges management consulting, public affairs, and international development. Schwalje has led and been a part of the delivery team on more than 100 client engagements in the Middle East and North Africa to address the region’s most challenging development and business issues involving key areas of policy, strategy, and the implementation of change.

Expanding to the GCC as an Southeast Asian Startup: Insights from Fintech