By Dr. Elsie Tsui, Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Management, CUHK Business School, The Chinese University of Hong Kong SAR. Across the globe, governments are racing to harness artificial intelligence (AI) and digital technology. Singapore's National AI Strategy 2.0 committed over S$1 billion in late 2023, with a further S$1 billion under its National AI Research and Development (NAIRD) Plan in January 2026; the EU AI Act entered into force in August 2024 as the

By Dr. Ulrike Guelich, Assistant Professor, Bangkok University School of Entrepreneurship and Management, and Research Team Leader, Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) Thailand We cannot improve what we do not measure, but measurement is never neutral. For rural and informal youth entrepreneurs across Asia-Pacific, visibility can be as risky as it is enabling. After a decade of ecosystem building, we have more data than ever on youth entrepreneurship. Yet our diagnostics re

By Faiz Shah, President, Yunus Thailand Foundation and Executive Director, Yunus Center, Asian Institute of Technology Youth Co:Lab’s 10th anniversary is a reminder of the financial inclusion dilemma that catalyzed its vision. For the region’s 1.2 billion young people, access to business finance remains a huge challenge. The past decade has been transformational, with seamless digital ecosystems more accessible than ever. Yet, financial inclusion remains a challenge for you

Reflections on coordination, partnerships, and impact Author: Fai Wechayachai Why Ecosystem-Building Still Matters Youth entrepreneurship in Asia and the Pacific has moved into the mainstream over the past decade. The vocabulary, the funding, and the policy attention have all expanded. However, the opportunity is not equitably available for all young people. The same country can produce radically different odds for two young people growing up at the same time. Privilege conce

Youth Co:Lab alumna Sanjida Alam, Founder of Soowgood, is on a mission to bridge the healthcare divide in Bangladesh. Sanjida’s inspiration for Soowgood stems from her own deeply personal experience. When she was a baby, her family had to take her to India for treatment due to the lack of quality medical care in Bangladesh. Years later, she witnessed the heartbreaking loss of her cousin’s three-year-old baby—born with the same heart condition she once had—because of inadequa