A decade of growth in Asia

Expanding Manning & Co. Group into Southeast Asia has been anything but straightforward, but we are living proof of an established SME that has successfully done so, with plenty of lessons learned along the way. The journey began in 2012, when a client opportunity led me back to the region after an early career spent covering APAC in my in-house marketing roles.

At the time, the brief was to launch our Australian management consultancy client into Southeast Asia following much success and growth in Australia.

The Sydney M&C team assisted this client in launching in Singapore from afar. Still, the project would see me travel there every quarter or so, with various activities including a thought leadership event on Operational Excellence held at Raffles. This event was a 2-day paid event, and we successfully marketed it across Southeast Asia. We had people fly in from across the region to attend, and I remember being very proud of what we achieved. We pulled it off successfully, and it was also a roaring success.

That was really the start of what became a love affair with the region and what was to come. From there, I travelled to Singapore regularly and fell in love with the little red dot so much so that many years later, I called it home for several years. I was highly impressed by many things, including how Singapore punches above its weight on the international stage. I was in awe of its ambitious plans to be the Silicon Valley of the East at the time, with the launch of the Smart Nation Vision.

From there, I saw an opportunity that I became obsessed with. I had made up my mind to expand my business into Southeast Asia via Singapore and started working on our own market strategy. That led me to set up a sister company to Manning &Co – Gemstar, where we would act as an on-the-ground market entry partner for Australian companies seeking to expand into Asia. Gemstar was incorporated in 2015, and then I moved there in 2017.  I still split my time between Sydney and Singapore to this day.

What I am most proud of is that over the past decade, I have built a sustainable business in Southeast Asia that extends beyond Singapore, now to Indonesia. We have covered work across the region, from Japan to Korea, Hong Kong, and India. We have executed marketing campaigns in Bahasa, Mandarin, and Japanese, and have used Singapore as our launch pad for our clients to do the same. Entering Southeast Asia requires trusted partners on the ground, and that is what we have become. As a strategic growth partner for start-ups, scale-ups and enterprises looking to expand into Asia, we know what it takes. We have lived experience and a proven track record.

That is why I love mentoring other founders with their expansion plans, as I speak their language. I know what it takes. Asia is part of my DNA and that of the business. Our commitment runs deep and is a core part of who we are today. The region is defined not only by its incredible diversity and vast landscapes, but also by the strong relationships we have built and the insights we have gained along the way.

Looking back, our journey in Asia has been marked by many milestones, each bringing challenges, rewards and growth. Through it all, our focus has remained the same: building trust, delivering quality work and results and being a partner that our clients can rely on.

Ten years in Asia is a proud milestone that sets the stage for what comes next. With our presence now firmly established, we are excited to expand our business further into the UK, and Japan is also on the horizon.

To our clients, partners and friends, thank you for being part of this journey. Your trust and support have made this milestone possible. Here is to 10 years in Asia, 17 years of Manning & Co., and many more years of meaningful collaboration ahead.

For further raw and honest insights into the expansion journey, I write about it in depth in About This Girl. It has all the nitty-gritty details! Enjoy x