Across Southeast Asia, rapid digital transformation, mobile-first populations, and maturing innovation ecosystems are creating momentum for digital sustainability. However, the region still sees uneven progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals.
Digital tools must be strategically adopted and innovatively applied to accelerate Southeast Asia’s sustainable development. These technologies offer unprecedented opportunities for enhanced monitoring, data-driven decision-making, and collaborative solutions across the region.
The Centre for Impact Investing and Practices (CIIP) has partnered with Tech For Good Institute and IPOS International to publish the Digital Sustainability: Southeast Asia’s Next Frontier for Impact and Innovation report, with the support of Infocomm Media Development Authority.
Launched in its abridged form at ATxSummit 2025, the report examines how governments, capital providers, and solution providers can leverage digital innovation to drive inclusive and sustainable development.
It draws on interviews with 28 capital and solution providers, a regional survey of 72 capital providers — including impact investors, family offices, and philanthropic funders — as well as case studies of successful digital sustainability models across Southeast Asia.
The report spotlights three sectors — financial inclusion, food and agriculture, and healthcare — where digital solutions can deliver scalable, meaningful impact.
There are six priority areas where coordinated collaboration across governments, capital providers, solution developers, and ecosystem enablers is needed:
- Strengthening digital foundations
- Enabling future readiness
- Encouraging fit-for-purpose solutions
- Evolving and aligning policy frameworks
- Integrating multiple types of innovation
- Establishing integrated regional approaches
By working together across sectors and borders, Southeast Asia has the potential to position itself as a living lab and emerging hub for digital sustainability, where digital innovation can accelerate solutions to the region's most pressing societal and environmental challenges.
CIIP is a non-profit entity established by Temasek Trust in 2022. It aims to foster impact investing and practices in Asia and beyond, contributing towards a sustainable future for all. Follow CIIP on LinkedIn for more updates.
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