Morteza Kohansal

Business Adventures Morteza Kohansal

Asia is currently in the midst of a boom in digital and technological innovation. Theemergence of digital giants-including China's Tencent, Alibaba, and Baidu; Japan'sRakuten and SoftBank; South East Asia's Grab and Go-Jek; and India's Paytm-is clearevidence of the trend. Fast-moving and aggressive, these companies and others are thrivingbecause they have access to capital and because Asian consumers are especially receptiveto new mobile and internet technologies. Across Asia, the digital boom is a significant challenge for traditional incumbents. Faced withthe pressure to digitize and suffering from stagnant performance and slow valuation growth, many incumbents are seeking opportunities to transform and leapfrog. This has led them toembrace ecosystems, collaborating with diverse organizations that provide digitallyaccessed, multi-industry solutions based on emerging technologies. Ecosystems present several clear strategic benefits in an environment where traditionalbanks are losing growth momentum: