The Architecture of Tech InnovationBe it fintech or deep tech, the startups are building gateways that could digitize and empower small & medium companies

I was recently part of the Entrepreneur Live, Singapore, a platform, which also marked the launch of Entrepreneur Asia pacific. Here I met several top-notch Asian entrepreneurs, startups and investors and they give some very interesting insights on the architecture of tech innovation.

The unicorns and startup tech companies in Asia by and large have a business model that is focused on empowering the Small businesses and business owners to examine the vast potential and the endless possibilities of digitization. Be it fintech or deep tech, the startups are building gateways that could digitize and empower small & medium companies.

Interestingly, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) comprise 96 percent of firms in ASEAN member states and play a growing role in the economic income of these countries. Their future success is being attributed to two separate but interrelated factors: policies and technology. The Governments are working on increasing the competitiveness and innovation index of business entities. By giving Liberal grants, they steer SMEs and startups towards capability-upgrading initiatives, enhanced productivity and process improvement and internalization.

Business firms and governments are aggressively moving towards modernization and trade liberalization. Thirdly, most of the ASEAN economy is big on inclusion - both for minorities and women. There is a big play on women in tech ecosystem from funds which are empowering women owned ventures, to increase women coders in tech companies and having a workforce that has balance with minorities.

It is the nature of interplay of tech, policy and business that is giving a boost to both startups and small businesses in Asia. What is to take home is that Singapore particularly looks at SMEs and Startups from the same lens and is taking everyone together in their innovation and growth drive without one feeling the brunt of the other.

We are back with our annual compendium of Tech 25. Every year the class and organizations featured inside look much different. This year Deep tech with AI, VR, IoT, Blockchain find itself deeply seeded into the class of 2019 and B2B technologies are showing a larger play. Also we have some interesting stories on apps that make democracy dance, an expert column from The Original Shark of "Shark Tank' revealing what it takes to get him invested in your startup and many more.

We are also heading towards our Annual convention Entrepreneur 2019 which will be held in New Delhi on July 17-18. This year the convention is aiming to connect People | Purpose | Practice | Profit in a way that together they can be the potent power for entrepreneurship and economy to flourish. With the best of Indian and global thought leaders sharing the future of business, I invite you to join this platform to discover your mojo for the year to come.