Marginalized communities are everywhere—why start in Southeast Asia?

As a potential starting point, Southeast Asia made sense for our team because of both significant need and longstanding interest and involvement in the region. Cumulatively, our founding team represents more than two decades of efforts in advocacy, education, and business in the region.

Zomia was formed in an attempt to address the unusual disparity of opportunity that exists in Southeast Asia. The 10-country ASEAN region includes some of the wealthiest and poorest countries in the world, and educational opportunities vary widely from one community to another. While high-quality universities exist in the region, the lack of traditional financing available to students from marginalized communities makes them prohibitively expensive.

We aspire to reach students in other communities and bring our model to scale, but only after it is tested and refined. In our first few years, we will offer services to students in Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and the Philippines.