Cover Ming Tan, founding executive director of Tech for Good Institute. Photo: Kim Selby
Ming Tan, founding executive director of Tech for Good Institute. Photo: Kim Selby
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As founding executive director of the Tech for Good Institute, Ming Tan is championing a regional approach to digital governance—one that emphasises inclusion, sustainability and long-term public value
On paper, Ming Tan’s career spans luxury hospitality, public policy and digital governance—fields that may seem disparate, yet are united by a singular aim: designing systems that serve the greater good. “Making a difference requires clarity of purpose, creativity in solutions and consistency in execution,” she shares. “Whether building a luxury brand, launching a non-profit, or informing policy, these simple tenets can galvanise a team in bringing a vision to fruition.”
Educated as both an engineer and a historian, Tan believes that “technology shapes, and is shaped by, culture, society, politics and the economy”. This conviction guided the founding of the Tech for Good Institute (TFGI), a Singapore‑based think tank launched by Grab in 2021. “The Institute comes from a place of optimism that technology has the potential to advance inclusive growth and sustainable development,” says the founding executive director and now senior fellow. Rather than filling a policy gap, TFGI asks what kind of digital society the region wants to build—and what it will take to get there.
This dual impulse to understand systems and people has defined her career from the outset. As founding executive director of the Como Foundation, Tan developed philanthropic strategies that empowered gender‑just, resilient communities through education, market access, and sustainable employment. At Como Group, she led brand strategy, sustainability and data protection, sharpening her ability to navigate across public, private and non-profit sectors.
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Above Ming Tan, founding executive director of Tech for Good Institute. Photo: Tech for Good Institute
Ming Tan, founding executive director of Tech for Good Institute. Photo: Tech for Good Institute
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Today, she is also a senior fellow at the Centre for Governance and Sustainability at the National University of Singapore, aligning digital policy with regional development priorities. Her work is underpinned by a profound understanding of the diversity of the Southeast Asian region. “Each country has its own development path, legal framework and regulatory environments. Our region is home to over 100 ethnic groups speaking over 1,200 living languages and dialects. Despite our differences, our future is a shared one.”
Such diversity, while a strength, also complicates digital integration, given the absence of shared data protection regimes, central regulatory bodies or a unified frameworks for platform accountability. Yet Tan sees opportunity in complexity. “In an increasingly fragmented world, this is our time to work towards interoperability ... whether in cybersecurity, data governance, data flows or emerging tech.”
That belief anchors much of TFGI’s work, which is grounded in research that translates insight into actionable policy. One example is the working paper, A Framework for a Confident Digital Society, released in January 2025. Building on the 2023 report, From Tech for Growth to Tech for Good—a consultation with over 130 policymakers and stakeholders across six Southeast Asian countries—it centres on two perspectives: foundations, which focuses on equitable access and meaningful participation; and future-readiness, which addresses long-term sustainability and resilience. Policy areas span digital connectivity, literacy, public services, innovation readiness and responsible tech governance. While grounded in the Southeast Asian context, it offers a model for other diverse regions navigating the balance between rapid digitalisation and inclusive development.
Above Ming Tan, founding executive director of Tech for Good Institute. Photo: Tech for Good Institute
Ming Tan, founding executive director of Tech for Good Institute. Photo: Tech for Good Institute
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As the region’s digital economy grows, so too has the scope of TFGI’s inquiry. In 2024, Southeast Asia’s e-commerce gross merchandise value reached US$128.4 billion, according to consultancy Momentum Works’ Ecommerce in Southeast Asia report released this June. But behind the headline growth lie deeper structural issues: informal labour, uneven platform dependency, digital exclusion in rural areas and gaps in data literacy and consumer protection.
These, Tan says, point to a central question: how do you ensure that platform-led growth doesn’t lead to platform-led inequality? “New technologies will continue to change the way we live, work, learn and relate to one another,” she says. “As citizens, consumers, investors and workers, we must also remember that we have the ability to shape the way technology is developed, deployed, adopted and disposed.”
TFGI also examines how governments can maintain oversight and accountability over dominant technology platforms, particularly in the absence of unified regional regulation. These concerns include labour informality, digital sovereignty, and the uneven bargaining power between platforms and local institutions.
Above Ming Tan speaking at a conference in Jakarta in 2024
Ming Tan speaking at a conference in Jakarta in 2024
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In 2024, the Institute convened multi-stakeholder roundtables and public forums across Southeast Asia, bringing together voices from government, industry and civil society. In the Philippines, it partnered with the Makati Business Club and Ateneo de Manila University to examine the responsible growth of the country’s digital economy. In Vietnam, its research dialogue with the Central Institute for Economic Management explored how regulatory sandboxes can foster a responsible environment for new technologies. Rather than operating as a traditional think tank, TFGI positions itself as a facilitator.
“Spaces for respectful listening and learning from diverse perspectives are even more important when there is an asymmetry of knowledge or power, or when motivations, concerns and approaches differ across industry, government and civil society,” Tan posits. She also advocates for a slower, more patient architecture of influence. “We must move from the transactional to the relational, from pursuing short-term objectives to building trust and shared narratives.”
Her vision is ultimately about reshaping how power is distributed across digital systems through collaboration, inclusion and trust. “Across this busy landscape, how may a small regional think tank like the Tech for Good Institute contribute? Our small team remains focused on our mission to contribute towards fit-for-purpose innovation and governance to enable a sustainable, inclusive and equitable digital ecosystem,” Tan writes in her foreword to TFGI’s Year-in-Review 2024 report. In a region as diverse and fast-moving as Southeast Asia, that persistence may be precisely what lasting transformation requires.
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Nafeesa Saini is the Features Editor at Tatler Singapore, where she shapes long-form stories on culture, business, philanthropy, wellness, and the people driving change in Asia. With a deep interest in storytelling that intersects meaningfully with identity and impact, she has profiled a diverse range of visionaries, from scientific pioneers in AI and health to creative trailblazers and literary minds.
Nafeesa’s writing includes cover stories and profiles that spotlight influential voices, alongside commentary on the trends reshaping our world.
Off the clock, Nafeesa unwinds with fiction, a good thrift hunt, and ‘brainrot’ TikTok scroll—while always keeping one eye on her next cultural getaway, usually to Indonesia.
