Fidelity led the round, underscoring the US appetite to extend capital to the fast-growing fintech ecosystem.

Southeast Asia is the second fastest growing region globally in terms of internet users, trailing only Middle East and Africa. But, this year, only about 6 in 10 consumers in Southeast Asia will be internet users—the untapped market potential is huge for telecom, platform operators, and digital retailers. Digital maturity is disparate in Southeast Asia.

The Middle East and Africa (28.0%) will be the only other region to see that kind of standout growth. North America will be a distant third, at 17.5%. Central and Eastern Europe will bring up the rear with a 19.9% contraction in spending, due to the Russia-Ukraine war. Beyond Latin America, the other major positive story will be India.

No other region will grow its ecommerce as fast, and only the Middle East and Africa will grow total retail sales more quickly (16.1%). The Fastest Digital Sales Growth in the World. Ecommerce sales in Southeast Asia will total $89.67 billion in 2022, an increase of $15.31 billion over last year.

The Middle East and Africa will post the strongest total media ad spending growth rate of any region, at 20.0%, followed by the US and Canada (17.7%). Asia-Pacific, led by India’s rebound, Indonesia’s 22.2% growth, Vietnam’s 15.0% growth, and China’s 13.6% growth, will post the third-best regional performance, with a 13.7% overall expansion.