A medical device company spent 18 months and $2 million preparing to launch in Southeast Asia — despite already holding approvals in the US, EU, Japan, and Australia. They launched three years behind schedule anyway. The direct answer: every SEA market runs its own approval process, its own timeline, and its own ownership rules — there's no "ASEAN license" that clears all six at once. Singapore approves in 3–6 months; Vietnam can take 18–30. Budget country-specific timelines

8 resellers. 6 months. Zero cybersecurity jargon lost in translation. That's the headline number from Curt & Co's engagement with D2G Security Pte. Ltd., a Singapore-based cybersecurity company that came to us with a clear but hard problem: how do you build a reseller network in Indonesia when your product is technical, your buyers are new to the category, and you have no local presence to lean on? Curt & Co was engaged to design and run the entire market entry — from identif

In 2015, SEA's internet economy was worth $30 billion. By 2022: $200 billion. By 2025: projected $330 billion. That's not growth. That's an explosion. The Mobile-First Leapfrog Unlike Western markets where consumers graduated from desktop to mobile, most Southeast Asians skipped desktop entirely. They came of age digitally through a smartphone. This has profound consequences for how brands must show up: if you're not mobile-optimised, you simply don't exist for a significant

350 million new middle-class consumers by 2030. That's the entire population of the United States joining the consumer economy — in less than a decade. What This Consumer Class Is Actually Buying Rising incomes don't produce uniform spending patterns. According to Euromonitor International's 2023 report on SEA consumer trends, the fastest-growing categories include: · Packaged and premium food (CAGR 8.2%) · Personal care and beauty (CAGR 9.1%) · Education an

What does it take for an EdTech company to expand into not one, but two culturally distinct Asian markets — simultaneously? For ACTs of Life (AOL), a Singapore-based enrichment and EdTech company that teaches children English through storytelling, the answer came down to one thing: the right entry strategy, built on local intelligence. The Starting Point: A Market Full of Potential — and Pressure Expanding into Asia is rarely straightforward. Indonesia and Japan couldn't be

A US food brand launched in Thailand with an award-winning product. The marketing won a Cannes Lion. Sales were dismal. Here's why. Thai consumers found the product too salty, the portion size wasteful, and the price point unjustifiable. Every element that made the product successful in Western markets made it irrelevant in Thailand. Localisation is not a nice-to-have. It is the entire game. What Localisation Actually Means — and What It Doesn't Most companies think localis

When Singapore-based workforce solutions company Iamatelier began exploring Cambodia as part of its regional expansion strategy, the company was looking for more than new sourcing channels. It was looking for the right long-term partners — organisations that aligned with its commitment to ethical recruitment, legal compliance, and professional workforce development. To support this journey, Iamatelier engaged Curt & Co to facilitate strategic business matching and on-the-grou

Should you go it alone, or find a local partner? After 30 years of corporate history across the region, the answer is almost always the same: find the right partner. And this advice applies even to companies with billion-dollar balance sheets. Why You Cannot buy Your Way Past Local Knowledge Distribution in Southeast Asia is unlike anything in Western markets. Indonesia has an estimated 3.5 million warungs — small family-owned shops that account for 70% of consumer goods sa

Every year, companies arrive in SEA with one slide labelled 'SEA Strategy.' Most of those companies struggle. Some fail entirely. The mistake? Treating a continent's worth of diversity as a single checkbox. Six countries. Six completely different realities. Six Countries. Six Completely Different Realities. Singapore ($65K GDP per capita) — Premium retail/digital. Price is not the primary driver; trust and brand prestige are. Indonesia ($4,700) — Social commerce / warungs.

The headline number alone should stop any executive in their tracks: 680 million people. That's Southeast Asia's population — bigger than the European Union, younger, and only just beginning to spend. But the story isn't just about size. It's about timing. The Numbers That Are Reshaping Boardroom Strategies According to Bain & Company's 2023 Southeast Asia report, consumer spending in the region is projected to reach $4 trillion by 2030. That's not growth — that's a structu

YES YOU CAN !!! you absolutely can expand overseas even as a one-person operation. In fact, many of our clients are small businesses and solo founders who successfully go international. The key lies in smart strategy, partnerships, and leveraging what you already have. Here’s how you can think about it: 1. Start with a Scalable Model Not all types of businesses are ready to scale across borders — but many are if structured well. Ask yourself: Can your product or service b