
「ミッシングミドル」は、包摂的な長寿社会実現の機会となるか
高齢化社会についての物語の一つは、病床不足、年金財政の赤字、被介護率の上昇など、危機的な状況を描いたものです。二つ目は富裕層向けの高級介護施設など、贅沢な生活を描いたものです。どちらも現実に存在しますが、この二つの物語の間に、ほとんど語られることのない第三の物語が存在します。それが「ミッシングミドル(中間層の空白)」です。
Charkhris "Gap" Phomyoth believes the 20–30 healthy years after 60 are a new life stage humanity has never had before — and that building for it is one of the largest untapped growth opportunities in Asia.
He is CEO & Co-Founder of YoungHappy, Thailand's leading community platform for active seniors, and YoungHappy Plus, now expanding across ASEAN. Over eight years, YoungHappy has built deep trust with the "missing middle" of urban seniors, combining digital platforms with real-world communities to deliver purpose, connection, and income at a fraction of the cost of traditional care — a working blueprint for the activation layer that aging-in-place societies are missing. The model speaks directly to how innovation scales in markets that are growing old before they grow rich.
YoungHappy is part of the World Economic Forum's UpLink Longevity Economy initiative. Gap has consulted for United Nations ESCAP on regional aging policy, serves on the board of the Social Enterprise Thailand Association, and is a 2026 Acumen Fellow (Southeast Asia) and Chief Fellow (Wealth Management Institute, Singapore).
At the Annual Meeting of the New Champions, he is keen to exchange with leaders in the longevity economy, health and insurance, consumer markets, and public policy — and to share what eight years of operating in one of the world's fastest-aging societies has taught him about turning demographic change into inclusive growth.
高齢化社会についての物語の一つは、病床不足、年金財政の赤字、被介護率の上昇など、危機的な状況を描いたものです。二つ目は富裕層向けの高級介護施設など、贅沢な生活を描いたものです。どちらも現実に存在しますが、この二つの物語の間に、ほとんど語られることのない第三の物語が存在します。それが「ミッシングミドル(中間層の空白)」です。
Asia's ageing societies include older adults, aged 55 to 70, who are too healthy for the care system and too old for the systems built around working.
