Imagine This... K-Pop Is Just the Start: How Asia Will Reshape Global Culture
Nov 26, 2025
Neeraj Agrawal, a managing director at BCG, dives into Asia's rapidly growing influence in global culture and markets. He discusses how Asian entrepreneurs are reshaping industries like fintech and healthcare, leveraging digital nativity and increasing capital flows. Agrawal highlights the importance of adapting to regional preferences, warns against Western legacy thinking, and emphasizes the role of the Asian diaspora in spreading cultural narratives. He also explores the significant impact of AI as Asia leapfrogs traditional infrastructures.
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Asia Nears Cultural Parity
- Asia's cultural and intellectual influence is approaching parity with the West due to growing creative output and tech platforms.
- Neeraj Agrawal highlights K-pop and TikTok as early signs of a broader rebalancing in global culture.
Affluence + Digital Nativity Fuel Experimentation
- Rising consumer affluence and widespread digital nativity in Asia create a large, experimental market.
- Neeraj Agrawal says capital is now flowing and funding is less often a barrier for Asian entrepreneurs.
Necessity Spurs Sectoral Innovation
- Asia leads innovation where necessity and scale intersect, such as renewables, EVs, and manufacturing-linked AI.
- Neeraj Agrawal argues that manufacturing and services depth lets Asia compete at similar levels across new industries.