Singapore startups and SMEs can now tap onto Russia through ESG's network

Nov 09, 2021

SINGAPORE startups and SMEs will soon have a direct line to expand to the Russian market. Enterprise Singapore (ESG) will be extending its Global Innovation Alliance (GIA) network to include Moscow, said Trade and Industry Minister Gan Kim Yong at the Singapore Week of Innovation and Technology 2021.

In a speech on Tuesday (Nov 9), he said this will expand the network's coverage to over 16 cities - including London, Paris and Munich - globally. Over the next 5 years, Singapore plans to expand the GIA network to include 25 nodes in cities globally.

"This will expand the breadth of opportunities that local startups can access as they embark on their innovation and internationalisation journey," Gan said.

About 65 tech startups have since established partnerships with in-market players and expanded overseas through the GIA Acceleration Programme, which plugs Singapore startups and SMEs into the innovation ecosystem of partner cities.

Since 2020, ESG has conducted close to 40 such programmes across Asia, Europe and North America for over 300 companies, noted Gan. For instance, Singapore-based Hiverlab, which provides augmented reality and virtual reality technology solutions to companies, participated in a virtual GIA Acceleration Programme to access the Vietnam market through business workshops.

It set up a team in Vietnam and has now been appointed as Microsoft's exclusive authorised device reseller for its mixed reality device, HoloLens 2. The startup has partnered Microsoft to develop the mixed reality ecosystem in Vietnam. Some of Hiverlab's clients include Oracle, DHL and DBS.

Besides the GIA, Singapore will also be developing more inbound programmes for foreign startups that are looking to enter Singapore and tap onto the city-state as a launchpad to access the South-east Asia region, said Gan.

"We hope to work with our partners to develop more programmes, to cement Singapore's position as a global innovation hub and a catalyst for innovation activities in the region."

Singapore has also supported 46 joint innovation projects since 2020, said Gan. Through these co-innovation programmes, startups from the city-state work with partners in countries like Germany, France and China to develop new technologies and solutions that are globally competitive.

The city-state also joined the Eureka network in May this year. Through this network, Singapore companies can access funding for joint innovation projects with partners from over 45 countries.

He also encouraged more collaboration between startups and corporations to "accelerate the innovation process".

"For the large corporates, they provide access to a suite of global startups with fresh and exciting ideas. For the startups, they allow partnership opportunities with leading global companies, which would open up new business and learning opportunities, and may even enable access to overseas markets."

Singapore has also been setting up some "open innovation challenges" to facilitate more corporates and startups to work together.

At the Singapore Week of Innovation and Technology last year, Singapore launched the inaugural Southeast Asia Open Innovation Challenge (SEA OIC). Five corporates from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam participated and received over 300 submissions from 30 countries. The first SEA OIC resulted in 6 pilot projects.

One of the pilot projects, AImazing, worked with Hong Leong to develop a cloud-based data management platform for its tenant management process. It managed to install its devices at Hong Leong's tenants, and has since secured additional projects with partners in Malaysia and the Philippines.

This year, for the second edition, Gan said that ESG has received 11 challenge statements from 8 corporates across the region, which cover a wide range of sectors, including sustainability, real estate, hospitality and healthcare.

"Technology and innovation will be the key drivers of future economic growth. There is tremendous potential in the Asean region, which is set to be the fourth largest economy by 2030," said Gan.

The Singapore government will continue to "support" innovation initiatives, work with the industry to forge greater cross-border partnerships, and grow our innovation capabilities locally and globally, he added.