Programmes, mentors to help startups take wing overseas

Singapore

TO HELP local startups expand overseas strategically, Enterprise Singapore is looking to run structured programmes through partnerships with foreign players in the tech and innovation ecosystem, a director at the government agency told The Business Times.

These three-stage programmes will tap the Global Innovation Alliance (GIA) of Enterprise Singapore and the Economic Development Board (EDB). The GIA is a network of local and overseas partners in major innovation hubs. The programme will equip startups with mentors, business contacts and the know-how to navigate different regulatory environments in overseas markets. The foreign partners will include incubators and accelerators, among others.

Jonathan Lim, Enterprise Singapore's director of Global Innovation Network, told The Business Times that the agency is in talks with partners to launch the structured programmes this year.

He spoke to BT during the RISE Corporate Innovation Summit in Bangkok. The summit, which took place in March, brought together players in the startups and corporate space to discuss innovation.

RISE, a corporate accelerator in Thailand and organiser of the summit, is one of Enterprise Singapore's potential partners for the initiative.

The firm opened an office in Singapore last year.

The work of Enterprise Singapore and EDB is increasingly about "connecting the dots and bringing people together," said Mr Lim.

"It's not just about the funding that we provide. If we harness our resources together as a country, together with our partners, we can take it to the next step. It's a tougher environment now than in the past."

In the first stage of the programme, the startups are assessed on their readiness to venture overseas and how well their product or service fits with the target market. If all is well, Enterprise Singapore and its partner prepare these startups for the regulations and business environments they are likely to encounter.

The second stage will likely involve an intensive one- to two-week immersion in the target market, said Mr Lim. At this stage, startups are put in touch with relevant mentors and potential business partners, with the goal of determining whether that particular market is suitable for these firms to sink their roots into.

Finally, the startups go through a less structured three- to six-month programme, where the bulk of the guidance is done through mentorship. "The important thing is to help them set up the company," said Mr Lim.

As Singapore builds a strong and wide-ranging network, the aim is to become a "truly important global Asian node", he added, making reference to a point made by Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat during the World Economic Forum in Davos in January.

Mr Lim said that in time, foreign startups can land in Singapore and ride on the programme to expand to other countries, be it Asean, Europe, the US or other locations.

There are now GIA networks in seven countries. Enterprise Singapore and EDB rolled out the GIA in San Francisco, Jakarta and Beijing in 2017. Last year, GIA programmes were introduced in Bangkok, Paris, Tokyo, Berlin, Munich and Suzhou.

The Business Times is the official Singapore media partner for the RISE Corporate Innovation Summit 2019, which took place on March 28 and 29 in Bangkok.

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