S$40m set aside for third ESVF to aid tech startups

A total of S$40 million has been set aside by the Singapore government for the third Early Stage Venture Fund (ESVF), a fund administered by the National Research Foundation (NRF) to seed venture capital funds investing in tech startups in Singapore.

Said Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister-in-charge of the Smart Nation initiative, at Monday's opening of TechVenture 2015: "NRF will be launching the third ESVF to catalyse the establishment of corporate venture funds by large local enterprises (LLEs) .... and the growth of high-tech innovative companies through government co-investments with private sector LLEs."

This, he added, will facilitate the development of "technology ecosystems" where smaller companies grow around a core of larger companies, enabling LLEs to remain competitive and access new technologies through their startups, and startups to leverage the organisational resources of their corporate partners to commercialise and go global.

At the event, Dr Balakrishnan also unveiled the SG-UK Joint Test-bedding Initiative that will enable SMEs from Singapore and the UK to collaborate on new technologies for sustainable development under the theme of Future Cities; and the LUX Photonics Consortium, a platform to encourage stronger collaborations between institutes of higher learning and the photonics industry to develop the next-generation ultra-fast internet.

TechVenture, an annual Asian tech startup and investor event now in its 19th edition, will run from Sept 21-22 at Marina Bay Sands.