This week on Asia Matters, Graham Brown is joined by Rohit Mulani

. While talking about glocalization, they discuss how Dubai based ride hailing platform Carreem is ahead of its global competitor, Uber and why it took Starbucks 47 years to enter Italy. They also talk about the underrated Asian markets for travel startups

Graham Brown

Where pawns become queens: 5 underrated Asian markets

Asia and the Pacific is a massive market and a fertile ground for travel start-ups. We marvelled at the success stories of Klook, Voyagin, Grab and Agoda. Agoda and Voyagin were acquired by bigger companies Booking Holdings and Rakuten, respectively; while Klook and Grab continuously attract investors to further its growth.

Rohit Mulani

Why It Took Starbucks 47 Years To Open A Store In Italy

Starbucks unveiled its first ever store in Italy last week, a Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Milan that is just as much a commercial emblem as it is a historic statement of the company's prodigal return to the city that first inspired its brand.

How a Middle East startup took on Uber and won

Uber was supposed to take over the world. Investors dueled to stake billions in the company on the assumption it would become the global market leader—the Google- or Facebook-style winner-take-all of the ride-hailing industry. It hasn’t turned out that way, with Uber in retreat overseas.