From launch pad to global stage: How entrepreneurship will shape Singapore’s next economic chapter

SINGAPORE’S economic success has been underpinned by our ability to anticipate change and adapt responsively with purpose.

From developing into a global trading hub to becoming a leading centre for advanced manufacturing, financial services and innovation, we have consistently evolved to meet the demands of the changing world order.

Today, we stand at another inflection point. The recommendations of the Economic Strategy Review (ESR) Final Report – released in June this year – presented a clear-eyed assessment of the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead.

Against a backdrop of geopolitical uncertainty, technological disruption, demographic constraints and intensifying global competition, the report outlined a bold agenda to ensure Singapore remains competitive and continues to create high value-added jobs for Singaporeans and its residents.

One of its most significant messages is the growing importance of the scale of entrepreneurship in shaping Singapore’s next phase of economic growth.

The ESR committees rightly recognised that sustaining our competitiveness will require more than attracting investments or strengthening industries.

It will depend heavily on our ability to build a more dynamic and innovation-based enterprise ecosystem, where Singapore-based companies can not only start, but also scale up, and compete successfully on the global stage both in size and presence internationally.

This represents a vital evolution in our national strategy for startups. As the report underlined, Singapore must position itself as a “launching pad, and not just a landing pad”, becoming the definitive nerve centre where global ambition converts into scalable, rapid execution.

Bridging the capital gap to fuel growth

Entrepreneurs are the catalysts of value creation – identifying market opportunities, leveraging emerging technologies, launching innovative products or solutions, and eventually generating wealth.

SEE ALSO

ESR review of startup share scheme taxes should address employee liquidity challenge: observers 

Singapore releases Economic Strategy Review Final Report with more detailed proposals

Economic Strategy Review makes a case not just for staying the course, but also knowing when to quit

‘Career bridges’, earlier retrenchment support among ESR’s final proposals for workers facing disruption

More

In an increasingly uncertain global environment, these qualities are becoming ever more valuable.

The ESR committees noted that Singapore must continue to take “bold, forward-looking bets in new and emerging areas”, recognising that while not every investment will succeed, “the cost of inaction and missed opportunities will be far greater over time”.

This philosophy resonates strongly with entrepreneurship itself, which fundamentally sees opportunities where others perceive threats, and welcomes calculated and mitigated risks when most would simply walk away.

Having an entrepreneurial mindset alone is essential but insufficient. The recommendation to strengthen our enterprise ecosystem is timely, but navigating the current macroeconomic climate requires addressing real structural hurdles.

In a survey by the Action Community for Entrepreneurship (ACE.SG), the findings of which were cited in the ESR report, some 73 per cent of respondents expressed challenges in attracting capital amid the recent global funding contraction.

While Singapore continues to lead the region in deal volume, a tighter global funding environment has left many promising growth-stage firms at a critical juncture.

Measures to improve access to diverse capital markets are essential to addressing this funding gap. Cultivating alternative non-equity financing, such as anchoring private market capabilities in venture debt and private credit, will provide vital runway to hit major milestones while protecting founder equity.

Coupled with the government’s strategic capital top-ups to the startup ecosystem and a refreshed focus on our public equities market, our ventures can expand more rapidly from a position of strength.

Commercialising high-impact AI and lead demand

Equally encouraging is the ESR committees’ ambition to nurture globally competitive, Singapore-headquartered enterprises.

As a small and open economy, Singapore’s comparative advantage lies in creating innovative products, services and business models that address regional and global challenges.

Artificial intelligence will undoubtedly accelerate this transformation. Singapore is positioning itself as the trusted hub for deploying high-impact, real-world AI solutions.

As young companies are inherently nimble, they are uniquely equipped to commercialise complex technological discoveries, rapidly translating raw AI capabilities into practical software for sectors such as healthcare, logistics and sustainability.

True commercialisation, however, requires market access. To accelerate this market access domestically, the push to leverage “lead demand” from large corporates and the public sector will be catalytic.

By utilising risk-sharing government procurement frameworks, AI startups can build the definitive track records and secure the corporate partnerships needed to achieve local validation before confidently exporting their solutions abroad.

Building a cohesive and collaborative ecosystem

The ESR final report provides a strong foundation for Singapore’s next chapter of economic development. Its recommendations recognise that entrepreneurship is no longer confined to the startup community.

Rather, from the individual upwards, it is a critical driver of national competitiveness, innovation and economic resilience.

To fully realise the vision set out in the report, however, we must go beyond formulating grand plans, providing resources and fostering an entrepreneurial mindset.

We need collectivism, where key stakeholders across the ecosystem work closely together to achieve our shared goals and potential.

As the national voice for entrepreneurship, ACE.SG stands ready to act as the vital bridge for the broader ecosystem, connecting founders with the resources, partnerships and global networks that they need to build sustainable and globally competitive businesses.

Singapore’s future has always been shaped by our willingness to seize opportunities before others. With the right ecosystem, sustained collaboration and a shared ambition, our entrepreneurs will continue to do just that – building companies that contribute not only to Singapore’s continued success, but also to solving challenges far beyond our shores on the global stage.

The writer is chairman of ACE.SG, a trade association representing the interests of startups in Singapore