Last updated on October 12, 2025
When I started The Ledger Asia, I wasn’t chasing headlines. I was chasing clarity.
Asia was buzzing with ideas and ambition, yet the real stories of the people building this region were getting lost between macro headlines and micro noise.
We had founders pitching investors, exporters entering new markets, SMEs figuring out digitalisation, and students turning side hustles into startups.
Most of what they read was either too high up to matter or too shallow to help. That’s when I realised, “Asia doesn’t need more noise. It needs a compass.“
So we built one.
Building a Publication for Builders
The Ledger Asia began as two people, two laptops, and one conviction that business journalism could be both human and helpful.
Our mission was simple: make intelligence a habit, and make the builder the hero.
We write for those who build, not just CEOs, but analysts, designers, suppliers, investors, anyone creating something real.
Because in this part of the world, the builder’s story is the region’s story.
Asia as the Center
For too long, global media treated Asia as a market, not a maker, a place to sell into, not a place that leads.
But when a Malaysian fintech secures a Singapore client, when an Indonesian SME exports to Japan, or when a Filipino founder raises in Kuala Lumpur. Those aren’t side notes. They’re front-page stories.
We’re not writing about the world looking at Asia.
We’re writing about Asia looking at the world.
Usefulness Over Vanity
Every article we publish starts with two questions: So what? What now?
If we can’t answer both, we don’t publish. We’re not a magazine of opinion; we’re a journal of insight and action.
When we cover markets, we don’t stop at “the index closed higher.” We ask why, because of whom, and what tomorrow looks like.
When we feature entrepreneurs, it’s not hype, it’s hard-won lessons.
In this region, time is currency, and we respect both.
We started small, underfunded, over-caffeinated, but driven by conviction. We didn’t chase virality; we chased value.
The best feedback still comes when a reader says, “Your story helped me decide my next step.” That’s the metric we live for.
A Note to Young Builders
To every young person thinking about starting, this is your time. Asia is the fastest-growing market, but more importantly, the most forgiving for brave ideas.
Start where you are. Use what you have. Learn as you go.
You don’t need the perfect plan. You need persistence, curiosity, and people who believe in your why. If your first product fails, it’s not a dead end. It’s a draft.
If your first customer complains, thank them; they’re your unpaid consultant. Courage isn’t the absence of fear. It’s the decision to start anyway.
The Heartbeat of TLA
Inside The Ledger Asia, our guiding principle is empathy with precision.
We explain markets with warmth, cover entrepreneurs with depth, and treat business journalism not as performance, but as partnership.
Because behind every statistic is a story, and behind every business is a human trying to make something work.
We’re not here to impress. We’re here to serve.
Success for us isn’t traffic, it’s trust. If an SME owner reads us before a pitch, if a policymaker checks us for clarity, if a student cites us in class, then we’ve done our job.
Looking Ahead
Our next chapter is expansion with integrity, more regional voices, more data-backed insight, and more stories of founders doing remarkable work quietly.
We’re also launching Asia Voices, a community for entrepreneurs, investors, and thinkers to move ideas into action.
Because information without community is noise, but information shared among builders, that’s a movement. So if you’re standing at the edge of an idea, wondering whether to start, don’t wait for permission.
The best ideas never look ready. The best founders never feel prepared. The best companies always begin as longshots.
Asia doesn’t need more safe players. It needs bold builders.
And when you start, know that The Ledger Asia is already rooting for you, ready to tell your story, and eager to see what you’ll build next.
— Edwin Wong
CEO & Founder, The Ledger Asia
