A new list ranking a thousand high-growth companies from across the Asia-Pacific Region features five Australian startups inside the top ten.
The inaugural Financial Times (FT) 1000 High-Growth Companies Asia-Pacific list was compiled by market research company Statista, which ranked companies by their annual growth in revenues between 2013 and 2016. To make it onto the list, companies had to have a minimum average growth rate of 10.1% and sit inside one of the following markets – Australia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea or Taiwan.
Tokyo was the top ranked city, with 134 companies on the list, followed by Mumbai (60) and Sydney (52). Meanwhile, technology was the most represented sector followed by industrial goods and healthcare.
Online small business loan provider Prospa achieved 16,066% in revenue growth between 2013-16, making it not only the highest ranked Australian company on the list but also the highest ranked company overall.
“Prospa has experienced very rapid growth over the past six years, and even more so in the last twelve months,” Prospa’s co-CEO Beau Bertoli told Dynamic Business. “This has been possible thanks to the use and development of our proprietary technology, our depth of data and knowledge of Australia’s small business market, and the demand from small businesses who have been ignored by traditional banks for so long.”
“Having now delivered more than $500 million in loans to small businesses across Australia, Prospa is experiencing success in what has typically been an underserved market.
“Topping a list like the FT 1000 Asia Pacific ranking is a huge moment for Prospa, and talks to the strength of our brand and the value proposition that we offer Australian small businesses.”
The other four Australian companies listed inside the top ten were online video startup Big Un (4th), online travel store TripADeal (6th), law firm LegalVision (7th) and workplace relations specialist Employsure (8th).
In addition to being the only entry from the legal sector inside the top ten, LegalVision was the only Australian legal business to make the top 100. CEO Lachlan McKnight attributed LegaVision’s impressive revenue growth – 4949% between 2013-2016 – to the firm’s use of legal technology.
“We’ve been able to combine legal expertise, process design and tech in a way that we think will drive innovation in the industry,” he told Dynamic Business. “There are some truly transformative opportunities presented by legal technology – whether you are a SME or an ASX-listed company, you have something to benefit from the developments happening right now.
“We are honoured to be recognised by the FT 1000 rankings – this is tremendous validation that ‘NewLaw’ firms are here to stay. We’re excited to be the fastest growing law firm in the Asia-Pacific but it’s important not to become complacent. We have big plans for 2018.”
