Resilience by design

Change doesn't begin in code or capital. It begins in conversations.

- Lito Villanueva

Not in silos, but around tables, where ideas are challenged, assumptions dismantled and shared visions are forged. In ASEAN's fast-moving fintech landscape, it's not just innovation that drives transformation. It's dialogue.

When conversation leads, change follows.

We saw this vividly at the ASEAN FinTech Forum (AFF) recently held in Jakarta. It wasn't just a conference. It was a pulse check of the region, an honest, forward-facing conversation among central bankers, regulators, fintech leaders and entrepreneurs.

As a proud council member of the ASEAN Innovation Network, I had the privilege of moderating this high-level dialogue, standing alongside regulators from the Bank of Thailand, Brunei Darussalam Central Bank, Indonesia's OJK and the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

These weren't scripted talking points. They were direct, unfiltered, necessary.

No nation innovates in isolation. And no fintech leader should try.

What became clear in Jakarta was that ASEAN's progress is not linear, it's interconnected. Our growth stories are intertwined, and our challenges increasingly shared.

The forum took place against the backdrop of global unrest. The recent US military intervention in the escalating Israel-Iran conflict has added fuel to an already volatile Middle East, threatening energy markets, logistics routes and regional alliances. This is no longer a localized issue. It's a geopolitical flashpoint with global ripple effects.

At the same time, we're facing protracted trade wars, regional conflicts, rising cyber threats, and supply chain vulnerabilities. The message from Jakarta was clear: resilience is not optional, it must be embedded by design.

With over 3,000 fintech startups across Southeast Asia and a projected digital payments market of $300 billion by 2025, the stakes have never been higher.