Empowering business in Southeast Asia
The opening of Myanmar enables businesses, NGOs and social enterprises to venture further in the country and tackle challenges of rural areas as well as of cities. In the countryside, a social enterprise is applying cutting-edge design principles to alleviate difficulties of farmers and rural inhabitants.
Indonesia has been one of the fastest growing economies of Southeast Asia for several years, and so it remains in 2015. Other positive results in poverty reduction, governance and abundant natural resources compensate certain negative aspects in Indonesia and challenges to apprehend in several key sectors.
Vietnam is one of the successes of Asia with consistently high GDP growth, strong exports and manufacturing sector, and a growing openness to business. Though it also faces challenges, especially in the public and financial sectors, Vietnam has many underlying strengths in support of very positive long-term perspectives.
Social entrepreneurship is a way of creating business that emphasizes a greater care for the people and natural resources employed. Producing organic cosmetics and benefiting to the welfare of its workers, this Philippine company also found a way to build a profitable and fast-growing business.
With very little land available for agriculture, Singapore is importing most of its food. To relieve this dependence, new techniques now enable the local production of vegetables through vertical farms. Thanks to this innovative system, Singaporeans enjoy “home-grown”, environment-friendly and fresher green products.
In emerging countries, elevating the standards of living of the poorest can often be a problematic task. In Malaysia, an innovative solution aims at providing cheap housing and sustainable jobs through a project of “smart village” that combines construction, agriculture and technology.
Biotechnology companies in Thailand benefit from well-developed agricultural and medical sectors. In this document, the Thailand Board of Investment presents the main applications and attractiveness for bio technologies companies together with details on public incentives and supporting organizations.
Vietnam is a wolrd-leading producer and exporter of coffee beans. But the country is also home to a solid culture of consuming hot and iced coffee. Here are some details on the coffee consumption habits in Vietnam as well as an overview of the production of coffee beans and challenges of the industry.
Improving the quality of food in Asia brings opportunities and issues for people, businesses and governments. This great report from the Economic Intelligence Unit dives into details about people’s health, food business profitability, public private partnerships… with examples from China, India and Australia.
The production of palm oil, widely used in the alimentary and cosmetic industries, heavily impacts the environment but also brings good revenues to the cultivators. To try and develop a sustainable production of palm oil, WWF created a label for environmental-friendly production and raises awareness, notably through this video.