ASEAN Tech Hub Set to Launch in October, Boosting Regional Innovation

• The ASEAN Technology Management Hub (ASEAN TMH) is nearing its official launch at the 88th ASEAN COSTI Meeting in Kuala Lumpur in October 2025.
• The 6th EU-ASEAN Workshop in June 2025 finalized plans for the ASEAN TMH, aiming to foster innovation and technology transfer in Southeast Asia.
• The platform will bridge university research with the private sector to enhance collaboration and overcome challenges in scaling regional innovations.

The ASEAN Technology Management Hub (ASEAN TMH) has made a significant step closer to its official inauguration, planned for the 88th ASEAN Committee on Science, Technology and Innovation (COSTI) Meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia this October.

The 6th EU-ASEAN Workshop, which took place from June 4-5, gathered major stakeholders, including participants from ASEAN member states, the ASEAN Secretariat, the EU and other organizations like COSTI Indonesia.

The workshop, organized by the Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology & Innovation in Siem Reap, aimed at completing the plan for implementing the online platform, (ASEAN TMH) that will spur innovation and technology transfer in Southeast Asia. Originally mooted by Cambodia and Indonesia in 2021, the ASEAN TMH was taken up as a priority project by COSTI in 2022.

The vision of the initiative is to establish an online platform bridging the divide between university research and the private sector by enabling collaboration to drive innovation and facilitate technology transfer.

Through linking researchers, government agencies, NGOs, start-ups and investors, the ASEAN TMH aims to overcome major challenges, including the absence of infrastructure for scaling up regional innovations. "The ASEAN TMH is a collaborative platform to bridge university research with private sector organizations to maximize societal benefits and commercial value", said Elrade Rofaani, who represents the COSTI chairperson of Indonesia.

Since regional innovation ecosystems are still evolving, the platform seeks to unleash the potential of the untapped ideas and technologies of ASEAN by offering a structured, networked approach for growth.

Hul Seingheng, the undersecretary of state at the ministry of science chair of Cambodia COSTI, emphasized passing on from discussion to action. 

"The discussions on the operational roles of the ASEAN TMH working groups and the development of the Functional and Technical Requirements Document (FTRD) are setting up core operations of this platform", he said.

He also underscored the significance of EU assistance under the E-READI project, terming it "a strong foundation for ASEAN to accelerate technology transfer, nurture innovation ecosystems and foster resilient, inclusive growth".

The ASEAN TMH has also received important EU support, chiefly through the Enhanced Regional EU-ASEAN Dialogue Instrument (E-READI) project. EU envoy to ASEAN, Sujiro Seam, highlighted the significance of this cooperation, pointing out that the TMH is "a collaborative platform for regional needs and aspirations". "The ASEAN TMH provides a collaborative platform for regional needs and aspirations," he said.

"Through E-READI, the EU facilitated a number of workshops over the years, with the sixth workshop closing the implementation plan of ASEAN TMH", he added. He mentioned Horizon Europe as a flagship initiative, with its €95.5 billion ($109 billion) budget from 2021 to 2027 for international science and innovation collaboration.

During the workshop, Zurina Moktar of the Science and Technology Division of the ASEAN Secretariat noted the need to ensure the technical and financial sustainability of the platform. "More than 50 percent of GDP growth this decade will be led by sectors that are based on innovation and technology", she stated.

If ASEAN is to remain at the forefront of the international landscape, it is imperative that platforms such as the ASEAN TMH are not only visionary in nature but also feasible, sustainable and technically robust. The platform is aligned with ASEAN's wider objectives, as presented in the Draft of the ASEAN Economic Community Strategic Plan 2026–2030. Through strengthening regional collaboration in research and development, the ASEAN TMH will be able to act as a pillar of the region's innovation landscape. Today, ASEAN member countries have different mechanisms for technology transfer, restricting cross-border collaboration.

Only 15 percent of start-ups based in ASEAN expand outside their domestic markets. In recognizing the imperative of having a common platform in which to enhance regional collaboration, ASEAN and the EU have collaborated to consolidate the region's innovation drive", an EU statement explained.

Four workshops took place between February 2023 and May 2024, which ultimately resulted in the successful creation of a platform prototype and the testing of intellectual property protection. The fifth workshop, which was earlier this year, gave important feedback for future development of the platform to ensure that it addresses the requirements of ASEAN's diverse stakeholders. 

EU ambassador to Cambodia Igor Driesmans praised ASEAN for the progress in developing the ASEAN TMH, highlighting the benefits to both sides from the EU-ASEAN partnership. "Our cooperation goes beyond words it's about building concrete opportunities to catalyse innovation between the two regions and address global challenges", he stated, on 5th October 2024 at the 5th workshop.