Go Digital ASEAN

Now more than ever, Asia’s smallest businesses and entrepreneurs need to be online. This project has already trained nearly a quarter million.

Google blog The Keyword spotlights The Asia Foundation’s Go Digital ASEAN initiative in a piece written by Google’s President for the Asia Pacific, Scott Beaumont, on the company’s continued commitment to micro, small and medium enterprises in the Asia Pacific. The Go Digital ASEAN initiative broadens digital skills participation in 10 countries fo… Read more

The ASEAN Coordinating Committee on Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (ACCMSME) and The Asia Foundation released the Go Digital ASEAN Impact Summary Report today to mark this year’s international Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Day (MSME) Day. Implemented in ten ASEAN Member States in 2021 and 2022, the US$3.3M “Go Digital ASEAN” public… Read more

Launched in June 2020, the Go Digital ASEAN initiative was designed to broaden digital participation to more than 200,000 people from rural regions and underserved communities—including women-led small- and micro-businesses, underemployed youth, ethnic minorities, and people with disabilities— in the ten ASEAN Member States – to create a more inclu… Read more

The Foundation’s Go Digital ASEAN initiative was profiled at the U.S.-ASEAN Special Summit in Washington D.C. The summit underscored the importance of U.S.-ASEAN cooperation and included the 10-country regional initiative as key to increasing opportunities for education, training, and upskilling in Southeast Asia. Private Sector Initiatives: Leadin… Read more

Implemented by The Asia Foundation, with support from Google.org, Google’s philanthropic arm, the initiative trained over 225,000 people from rural regions and underserved communities—including entrepreneurs, underemployed youth, and women. Launched in June 2020, phase one of Go Digital ASEAN focused on closing the digital gap across ASEAN and was… Read more

The Go Digital ASEAN initiative has been profiled in over 87 media stories across Indonesia and Thailand. Notable local outlets include Antara News, Jakarta Globe, Bangkok Biz News, and Thai Fintech. In partnership with Google.org, the Go Digital ASEAN initiative is expanding digital literacy across Southeast Asia to unlock new economic opportuniti… Read more

The Asia Foundation’s Director for Economic Programs, Sofia Shakil, spoke at a July 22nd virtual webinar, “Strategies for Addressing the Asia-Pacific Digital Divide – Increasing Connectivity to Drive Economic Recovery,” organized by Financial Times. Examining the role of digital access strategies to reduce social inequality and drive post-pandemic… Read more

In the baffling post-Covid economy, where bricks-and-mortar firms stand empty and laid-off workers and small entrepreneurs struggle for a livelihood, the importance of online business skills has skyrocketed.

The Asia Foundation’s Go Digital ASEAN project and its activities in Singapore and Indonesia featured on Singapore’s Money FM 89.3 in a radio interview with Google.org’s APAC lead Marija Ralic. The digital literacy initiative spans Southeast Asia and will train up to 200,000 people in marginalized communities across the region. Listen to the segmen… Read more

Aiming to close the digital gap for 200,000 micro, small and medium business owners in Southeast Asia, The Asia Foundation, Pailig Development Foundation, Clevergrit Web Services, and Yoveo Digital, with support from Google.org, Google’s philanthropic arm, have teamed up to provide digital literacy training through the Go Digital ASEAN regional ini… Read more

In honor of International Women’s Day, our hosts John Rieger and Tracie Yang celebrate some of the remarkable women we’ve met in the past year on the InAsia podcast.

The Covid-19 pandemic alone has plunged over 490 million people back into poverty, magnifying inequalities around the world. How can Asia lead the world in harnessing the power of technology for change? The Asia Foundation is pleased to support The Economist’s inaugural Technology for Change Week Asia, a virtual summit bringing together 700+ leadin… Read more

The year of the pandemic was a long, discontented winter that the glorious sun forgot. But it was a year we dug deep into the voices and ideas of our colleagues across Asia in our new InAsia Podcast.

Sundar Pichai profiles the Go Digital ASEAN initiative at the 2020 Singapore FinTech Festival. Implemented by The Asia Foundation, with support from Google.org, the 10-country regional project equips micro and small enterprises and underemployed youth, particularly those in rural and isolated areas, with crucial digital skills and tools across the… Read more

With support from Google.org, Google’s philanthropic arm, The Asia Foundation partnered with Engineering Good to engage with student teams from high schools and junior colleges to create simple, user-friendly solutions for youth with disabilities to improve their employability. Mentors from Google, Engineering Good, and local community partners gui… Read more

Manila Bulletin highlights Go Digital ASEAN in a featured article by Google Philippines Country Director Bernadette Nacario on the nation’s new wave of internet users. The 10-country digital literacy initiative will train up to 200,000 people in marginalized communities across the region, 60 percent of them women. The Asia Foundation’s Go Digital A… Read more

The InAsia Podcast takes a field trip to northwestern Thailand, where a small farmer far from the big city learns about online marketing and how to tell the story of her unique avocados.

Southeast Asia may be mad for social media, but peek behind the smartphone mania and the skills to get a job in the new economy or take a small business online are still in short supply. As the pandemic turns up the pressure to go digital, a new project from The Asia Foundation and Google.org is about to change that.

Go Digital ASEAN will deliver training to 4,000 micro-entrepreneurs and underemployed youth in Brunei, including those from ethnic minorities and those with disabilities. The program addresses Brunei’s rising unemployment rate and expands economic opportunity to minimize the negative impacts of Covid-19. On July 16, The Asia Foundation held a count… Read more

Biz Brunei, The Star, The Scoop, and Borneo Bulletin profiles the Go Digital ASEAN initiative’s national launch event in Brunei. Go Digital ASEAN is a regional initiative implemented by The Asia Foundation with the support of Google.org bringing digital integration and literacy to underserved communities including underemployed youth workers. The S… Read more

Nikkei Asian Review features The Asia Foundation and the Go Digital ASEAN initiative in an op-ed written by President of Google Asia Pacific Scott Beaumont. Third, in places where there are intractable digital access gaps that need special attention, we should put in place more targeted programs to rebalance the scales. The Asia Foundation — with… Read more

The ASEAN Coordinating Committee on Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (ACCMSME) and The Asia Foundation have come together, to launch the Go Digital ASEAN initiative. Supported by a USD3.3m grant from Google.org, the initiative is designed to equip micro and small enterprises as well as underemployed youth, particularly those in rural and isolate… Read more

The project “Go Digital ASEAN: Digital skills to address the economic impact of COVID-19” was approved for implementation by the ASEAN Coordinating Committee on Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (ACCMSME) during its 8th Meeting in November 2019. The collaboration between the ACCMSME and The Asia Foundation, supported by Google.org demonstrates sy… Read more

A Thomson Reuters Foundation feature article, “Digital lifeline for women running Asia’s small businesses,” examines digital access for marginalized groups across Southeast Asia, facing financial pressures long before Covid-19. Go Digital ASEAN is a new digital literacy initiative supported by Google.org, Google’s philanthropic arm, to train up to… Read more

Covid-19 in Southeast Asia is hitting small, mom-and-pop businesses particularly hard. As other enterprises move online to survive, can the region’s microentrepreneurs compete without digital tools? It will be a challenge.

Targeting disadvantaged communities across ASEAN, the Go Digital ASEAN initiative is designed to equip MSMEs and the emerging workforce, particularly those in rural and isolated areas, with digital skills and tools; expand economic opportunity across ASEAN countries; and minimize the negative impact from the Covid-19 crisis. The project will reach… Read more