In Southeast Asia, scaling a startup isn’t just about growing bigger—it’s about growing smarter across borders.
With over 675 million people and a rising digital economy, the region offers fertile ground for expansion. But while the ambition to go regional is common, execution is where most stumble.
At Series A/B, founders face a critical shift: move from scrappy local operator to structured regional contender. That requires more than capital—it demands systems, cultural fluency, and strategic patience.
In this article, we break down how Southeast Asian startups can cross borders successfully—what gets in the way, what support matters most, and how some have already done it.
From Local to Regional
Every breakout startup starts by winning locally. But turning early traction into regional scale is a different game altogether.
In Southeast Asia, the leap from one market to many means confronting a unique paradox: shared growth potential, but fragmented realities.
Why the Jump Matters
The reason to go regional is simple—your home market can only take you so far.
| Country | Population (millions) | Internet Penetration | GDP (USD bn, approx.) |
| Singapore | 6.04 | 94% | 547.4 |
| Indonesia | 283.49 | 69% | 1,396.3 |
| Vietnam | 100.99 | 78% | 476.4 |
| Thailand | 71.67 | 90% | 526.4 |
| Philippines | 115.84 | 84% | 461.6 |
(Source: World Bank & Datareportal 2024)
What Changes When You Scale Regionally?
Here’s what most founders underestimate:
- Playbooks don’t always travel. What worked in Jakarta may flop in Manila.
- Teams must evolve. You go from managing a squad to leading a distributed organisation.
- Process beats hustle. You need systems, not just grit, to replicate success.
In the local stage, momentum often comes from founder-led execution and speed. In the regional stage, it must come from repeatable processes, empowered local leaders, and the ability to navigate regulatory and cultural variance.
Going regional doesn’t mean copy-pasting your product. It means evolving your company into a platform that can operate across borders—without losing the edge that made it successful in the first place.
5 Challenges in Cross-Border Expansion
Scaling across Southeast Asia is tempting—but rarely smooth. Beneath the surface of high-growth markets lies a tangle of operational, regulatory, and cultural complexities that can derail even well-funded startups.
While every startup faces different issues depending on its industry and target markets, some patterns emerge again and again.
1. Fragmented Regulations
Unlike the EU or the U.S., Southeast Asia isn’t a unified economic bloc when it comes to tech regulation. Each country has its own:
- Licensing requirements
- Tax structures
- Data privacy laws
- Foreign ownership restrictions
What this means is that expansion isn’t linear—it’s layered. Startups must build country-specific compliance roadmaps early to avoid costly slowdowns later.
A common misstep: assuming product-market fit in one country equals regulatory fit in another.
2. Hiring Across Cultures
Talent is the engine of expansion, but hiring regionally is a different skill set. Founders must:
- Learn how to assess local talent pools
- Navigate cultural communication styles
- Balance central vs. local control
For example, a Singapore-based HQ may expect Western-style direct feedback loops, while teams in Vietnam or Thailand may lean towards indirect, harmony-based communication.
Without local insight, misalignments in expectations and delivery can quietly erode team performance.
3. Operational Complexity
Scaling across borders adds weight to your operating model. Payments must adapt to local norms—some markets are still cash-heavy, others are e-wallet dominant. Logistics can get complicated fast, especially in fragmented geographies like Indonesia or the Philippines. Language localisation matters—not just in product UI, but in customer support and onboarding too.
Add varying time zones, pricing sensitivities, and legal processes, and even well-run teams can hit friction. Without a strong regional ops strategy, growth can stall under its own weight.
4. Brand Dilution
A one-size-fits-all brand rarely scales well in Southeast Asia. Each market has different consumer preferences, economic behaviours, and trust triggers.
If you don’t localise effectively—whether through pricing, partnerships, or positioning—you risk becoming irrelevant.
5. Timing Misalignment
Just because you can enter a market doesn’t mean you should—not all markets mature at the same pace.
Some countries may be ready for your product category, while others are 2–3 years behind in digital adoption, infrastructure, or regulatory readiness. Jumping in too early can burn valuable capital without meaningful traction.
Market readiness needs to align with your internal capacity to expand. Without this alignment, even the best teams end up stretched too thin across markets that aren’t ready—or simply don’t care yet.
Role of Venture Capital in Scaling
For startups ready to expand beyond their home markets, capital is only part of what’s needed.
Scaling across Southeast Asia requires a mix of funding, foresight, and frameworks—and that’s where the right venture capital partner becomes critical.
At the Series A/B stage, most companies are beyond the MVP and early traction phase. They’re looking to build repeatable systems, expand leadership, enter new markets, and institutionalise operations.
This is where venture capital must move beyond just writing cheques—it must act as a scaling catalyst.
What Good Capital Looks Like at Series A/B
The best venture partners contribute in three key ways:
- Strategic Guidance
They help startups prioritise which markets to enter, when to expand, and how to structure teams for cross-border execution. - Operational Support
They connect founders with talent networks, cross-border service providers, and local regulatory experts. Often, this behind-the-scenes support makes the difference between fast scale and costly delays. - Credibility and Signalling
A well-respected VC sends a strong signal to future partners, hires, and follow-on investors—especially when entering unfamiliar markets.
Through its Series A/B investments, TNBA Venture Capital supports scaling Southeast Asian startups to expand beyond local markets.
More than capital, TNBA offers a structured approach to regional growth—connecting founders to seasoned operators, in-market advisors, and playbooks built for SEA’s fragmented but high-potential ecosystem.
Case Studies of Regional Success
Not every startup that attempts regional expansion in Southeast Asia succeeds—but those that do often share common patterns: clear market prioritisation, adaptable playbooks, and deep operational discipline.
Here are three examples of companies that scaled beyond borders effectively—and what we can learn from them.
1. Grab (Singapore → SEA-wide)
Originally launched as MyTeksi in Malaysia, Grab relocated its headquarters to Singapore and quickly expanded across the region. Its success wasn’t just in moving fast—it was in adapting relentlessly to each local market.
- Localisation First: Grab invested early in local operations, customer support, and partnerships, tailoring offerings for city-specific behaviours and even regulatory expectations.
- Product Layering: Starting with ride-hailing, it evolved into payments, food delivery, and financial services—expanding revenue per user across multiple verticals in the same markets.
- Lesson: Enter fast, but invest deeply in localisation. Expansion without relevance is just noise.
2. Carsome (Malaysia → Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore)
Carsome, Southeast Asia’s largest integrated car e-commerce platform, scaled methodically by building out regional infrastructure before going wide.
- Operations Before Growth: The company focused on building robust logistics and inspection centres across the region before aggressive market entry.
- Talent Hubs: Carsome placed senior leaders in each country to give autonomy while keeping central oversight.
- Lesson: Infrastructure may slow you down in the short term, but it enables speed and defensibility later.
3. Ajaib (Indonesia → Eyeing SEA)
Ajaib, a stock trading app that captured the young investor market in Indonesia, has become one of the fastest-growing fintech startups in the region.
- Hyper-Focus: Rather than expanding prematurely, Ajaib doubled down on its home market, building brand leadership and user trust before exploring regional growth.
- Timing Intelligence: The company’s expansion roadmap is tied closely to financial market maturity and mobile penetration in each potential target country.
- Lesson: Regional ambition doesn’t mean expanding everywhere at once. Winning big in one market can be your best asset when going into the next.
Pathways to Global Growth
For Southeast Asian startups that have established a strong regional presence, the next frontier is increasingly global. Whether targeting emerging markets with similar dynamics or mature economies for credibility and scale, the leap from regional to global requires a deliberate shift in strategy.
Here are three common—and effective—pathways founders are taking:
1. Own the Category Regionally First
Before going global, successful startups typically dominate their category in Southeast Asia. This provides the brand credibility, operational maturity, and user insight necessary for global play.
For example, companies like Nansen built deep traction across Asia’s blockchain space before expanding globally, ensuring they had leverage, not just ambition.
Why it matters: Regional category leadership makes you a serious contender on the global stage—rather than just another outsider.
2. Let the Product Lead the Way
Product-led growth allows users—not sales teams—to drive adoption. For SaaS, fintech, and developer tools, this is especially powerful. It enables expansion into markets where you don’t yet have feet on the ground.
Xendit, for instance, attracted developers outside Indonesia by building accessible APIs, strong documentation, and a developer-first brand.
Why it matters: If users can adopt your product without high-touch sales, you can scale faster with fewer resources.
3. Partner Up to Scale Smart
Going global is expensive. Strategic capital, ecosystem partnerships, or international co-investors can accelerate entry while mitigating risk.
Companies like Zenyum used regional VC networks and cross-border partnerships to enter new markets with speed and confidence.
Why it matters: The right partner gives you more than capital—they give you access, insight, and credibility.
Conclusion
Scaling across Southeast Asia is more than market expansion—it’s a shift in mindset. Startups must evolve from founder-driven momentum to system-driven execution, navigating regulatory complexity, cultural nuance, and operational sprawl.
The leap from local to regional—and eventually global—isn’t linear. But for founders who build patiently, localise smartly, and scale intentionally, Southeast Asia offers not just growth—but leverage.
