Expanding into Southeast Asia is full of opportunities for ambitious SaaS companies — and Thailand is quickly standing out as one of the region’s most promising growth markets. With its tech-savvy population, supportive policies, and booming digital ecosystem, the Thai market holds huge potential — but it also comes with unique cultural nuances and expectations that many international founders still underestimate.
In this Employee Spotlight, we sit down with Jasmine, who looks after our Thailand market, to unpack what makes Thailand different — and how global SaaS companies can get it right. From customer mindsets to the power of local relationships, Jasmine shares hard-earned lessons for founders ready to tap into one of ASEAN’s fastest-growing digital economies.
Jasmine is a Senior Market Development Manager at AccelerAsia. She helps European and global SaaS companies succeed in Thailand by guiding them through market research, localisation, relationship building, and trusted go-to-market strategies.
1. Can you share what you do at AccelerAsia and what excites you most about helping companies grow in Thailand?
I am a Senior Marketing Development Manager at AccelerAsia and my role revolves around giving advice on best practices for tech companies — mainly clients from Europe — to navigate and understand cultural nuances for setting up business and being successful here.
In my day-to-day work, you’d see me involved in market research, identifying gaps in Thailand’s tech landscape, positioning solutions in a way that resonates locally, business development, relationship building, and hosting personalized events for C-level leaders in the industry.
2. What makes Thailand stand out compared to other Southeast Asian markets for SaaS expansion?
Thailand is emerging as a top destination for digitization and tech thanks to its strategic ASEAN location, supportive government policies like DEPA, growing cloud infrastructure with AWS, Microsoft, Huawei, and Alibaba investing in local data centers, and a thriving startup ecosystem.
But for me, it’s the tech-savvy mindset of Thai people that makes the biggest difference. As of 2025, Thailand ranks among the top ASEAN nations in tech and digital penetration, with strong mobile usage, internet access, and cloud adoption compared to its regional peers.
Combined with affordable talent, people willing to relocate to Bangkok, and a rise in SMEs, Thailand is fast becoming Southeast Asia’s rising SaaS powerhouse.
3. How do Thai customers typically approach buying new SaaS solutions? Any cultural factors companies often overlook?
Depending on the SaaS domain, Thailand has its own spectrum. Traditional companies — especially in manufacturing, logistics, and BFSI — still prefer big suites or building their own solutions, sticking with names they know and trust. Newer companies, however, look for specialized solutions that excel at what they do and build a best-of-breed stack.
Even when companies choose SaaS, big enterprise deals often involve lengthy procurement processes, RFPs, and multiple decision-making committees. Many buyers stick with what they know the committee will approve, rather than taking risks on something new.
4. What’s one thing you wish every founder knew before entering Thailand?
Relationships go a long way. Building trust, respecting how things are done — even if it’s different from Western commercial norms — really matters here.
Localisation is also crucial. Companies in Thailand care less about your success metrics abroad and more about whether you have local customers, how well your platform is localised in Thai, and what the user experience is like. There’s still a perception that international SaaS tools aren’t localised enough for Thai users to easily adopt.
Having a Thai-speaking local contact helps a lot — people are much more willing to share feedback in Thai than in English. And establishing a local representative office shows that you’re serious about staying, not just selling.
Thailand rewards SaaS companies that commit for the long term, build real local relationships, and invest in earning trust — not just quick wins. At AccelerAsia, Jasmine and our team on the ground help global SaaS founders bridge cultural gaps, localise effectively, and lay the groundwork for sustainable growth in one of Southeast Asia’s most dynamic markets.
