Addressing inclusion is critical for driving digital innovation. The benefits of ASEAN’s digital economy are highly concentrated in some sectors. On average, ASEAN metropolitan areas have benefited disproportionately in terms of digital start-up creation. Some countries do not have adequate digital infrastructure in remote regions, where becoming a digital entrepreneur is challenging.
Finally, while indicators and measures that monitor ASEAN’s digital economy are not always discussed in analytical commentary, they are crucial to understanding developments in the region. The growing digital divides call for better understanding and mapping the emergence of digital innovation hotspots in ASEAN.
Some of the indicators traditionally used to capture these innovations in developed economies, such as patents and R&D investments, might not be fit for this purpose in developing economies. Firms in the region have a low propensity to patent, invest in or report investments in R&D and there is a large informal economy. Researchers and policymakers must think creatively and use the abundance of data available to monitor trends and developments. This will create a better understanding of the region and introduction of the measures needed most to develop broad-based digital capability in the future.