Via Emerging World, a brief look at some of the most promising emerging market tech start ups:

“Most investors had never heard of Coupang until March 11, when the South Korean e-commerce purveyor raised $3.5 billion in an initial public offering. The company closed its first day of trading with a market value close to $90 billion.”

“It’s not the only emerging-markets platform to burst onto the radar lately. Allegro (ticker: ALE.Poland) became Poland’ s most valuable company after its IPO last October. Russia’s Ozon Holdings (OZON) has soared 80% since going public in November. That’s peanuts compared with regional champions like MercadoLibre (MELI) in Latin America or Sea (SE) in Southeast Asia, whose shares have tripled and quintupled, respectively, over the past year.” 

“There’s a pattern here: Homegrown startups in the world’s hottest industry are beating the pants off global giant Amazon.com and Chinese heavyweight Alibaba Group Holding (BABA)…”

“A similar donnybrook is taking shape in Southeast Asia, where Indonesia and the Philippines alone offer nearly 400 million consumers, says Kevin Carter, chief investment officer at the EMQQ Emerging Markets Internet & E-Commerce  exchange-traded fund (EMQQ)…”

“The highest-stakes battle for the superapp is taking shape in India, with its youthful population of 1.4 billion. Amazon is a top player here, locked in a dogfight with Flipkart, a local creation now majority-owned by Walmart (WMT). But the duopoly is challenged by Jio Platforms, the digital subsidiary of family conglomerate Reliance Industries (500325.India), and a range of startups like food-deliverers Zomato and Swiggy, or the self-explanatory Paytm.” 

“If Coupang’s successful debut is any guide, a steady stream of these names should be heading for markets soon. ‘India could have 10 IPOs this year,’ Carter says.” Barron’s reports.