Five Weeks of Market Intelligence

Over the past five weeks, Party Onbici has been part of Austrade’s Southeast Asia Landing Pads Digital Health Bootcamp - a program designed to equip Australian digital health companies with practical, market-ready insights for expanding into Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand.

The bootcamp brought together over 20 Australian companies across digital health, medtech, and healthtech, alongside Austrade’s in-market teams and expert presenters from across the region. It was an intensive program, and this week’s final workshop on pitch development brought everything together.

What We Covered

The bootcamp was structured across five workshops, each building on the last:

Workshop 1: Market Foundations kicked things off with Kelly Boxall from ANDHealth sharing insights on commercialisation pathways and what it takes to succeed in international markets. The key message was clear: build a narrative around problem, intervention, outcomes, and economic value - and be prepared to iterate as you learn.

Workshop 2: Market Deep-Dives focused on Malaysia and Singapore, with G Saravanan providing a snapshot of the Malaysian market and Dr Lim Kah Meng covering Singapore’s demand drivers. Alexandria Abishegam moderated a panel on go-to-market strategies for both countries.

Workshop 3: Founder Insights featured a panel with Vivek Krishnan (AgiliMed) and Jason Sun (Eyerising International), two founders who shared candid experiences of expanding into Southeast Asia - the wins, the setbacks, and the unexpected lessons.

Workshop 4: Thailand Focus was a deep dive into the Thai digital health ecosystem. Mr Preecha Bhandtivej from the Thai Medical Device Technology Industry Association outlined the regulatory landscape and opportunities driven by Thailand’s rapidly ageing population. Dr Kraipope Jarupaiboon shared a hospital perspective on digital health transformation, while Teodor Stoev from Harrison.ai presented case studies of an Australian healthtech company operating in Thailand. Ms Rungphech Chitanuwat from Informa Markets rounded out the session with opportunities to connect at the World Health Expo Bangkok.

Workshop 5: Pitch Development brought it all together. Matt Frith from MedTech Actuator led us through the art and science of pitching - from elevator pitches to full investor decks. The session covered how to tailor your pitch to different audiences, build a compelling pitching toolkit, and distil complex health technology into a clear, fundable story.

The Biggest Takeaway: Know Your Market

If there was one message that echoed through every session, it was this: do the research.

Southeast Asia is not one market - it is many. Each country has its own regulatory frameworks, procurement processes, cultural expectations, and healthcare delivery models. What works in Singapore will not necessarily translate to Thailand or Malaysia.

The presenters and Austrade’s in-market teams reinforced this repeatedly. You need to be on the ground. You need local partnerships. And you need to understand not just what your product does, but why it matters in that specific context.

As Kelly Boxall put it in the opening session: clinical validation and outcomes need to be credible to offshore decision-makers. The question you will always face is, “Why will your Australian results apply here?”

Looking Ahead: Investor Pitching

The bootcamp wraps up with an optional Workshop 6 on 8 April - a virtual investor pitching session with Southeast Asia-based venture capital firms. Having spent the last five weeks building market knowledge and refining our pitch, we are looking forward to putting it into practice.

The Austrade team has been outstanding in connecting participants with the right people and insights. A huge thank you to the program team: Lauren Adams (Trade and Investment Commissioner, Jakarta), Helen Oh (Trade and Investment Commissioner, Singapore), Pragase Komargan (Business Development Adviser, Malaysia), Busarin (Business Development Director, Thailand), Allan Teo (Landing Pad Program Manager, Singapore), Scott Samson (Landing Pad Director, Brisbane), William Johnson (Southeast Asia Landing Pad Senior Advisor, Melbourne), Grace Cotter (Global Engagement Officer, Sydney), Milena Bliss (Associate Director MedTech, Sydney), and Carmel Akhavari (Associate Director Digital Health, Brisbane). The wider Southeast Asia health sector team - Diana Pang (Singapore), Mika Aure (Philippines), and Deya Prastika (Indonesia) - also provided invaluable in-market perspective.

Programs like this are genuinely valuable for Australian companies looking beyond domestic markets.

Thank You

A big thank you to Austrade’s Landing Pads program for putting this bootcamp together, to all the presenters who shared their expertise, and to the fellow participating companies for the peer learning along the way. It has been a great cohort.

If you are an Australian digital health company considering Southeast Asia, keep an eye on Austrade’s Landing Pads programs - they are worth the investment.