/ -- Singapore is ranked number 1 country in Asia for innovation and ranked 8th globally. Singapore is also the leader in key areas like Urban Solutions and Sustainability, Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering, Health & Biomedical Sciences, Services & Digital Economy and FinTech. It has become South East Asia's powerhouse because of supportive government policies, skilled manpower, highly developed technology infrastructure and strong intellectual property regime. The country is now home to headquarters of thousands of multinational companies.
Economy Driven by Innovation
Two major aspects that have contributed to Singapore's emergence as a global business hub are its thriving research and innovation ecosystem. Singapore has been able to meet the needs of the global market through collaboration between the private sector and government to innovate solutions.
The process of promoting innovation started way back in the 1990s when the government of Singapore started to invest heavily in its research institutions and universities to build research and development capabilities and talented workforce. In the recent few years, various efforts were made to focus on growing private-sector R&D capabilities and groom highly innovative enterprises. For example, the Research, Innovation and Enterprise (RIE) plan have been allotted an investment of $19 billion for 2020.
Great Place for Start-ups
Private players and government agencies provide a robust start-up ecosystem in Singapore. The country is home to more than 40,000 start-ups. Out of the 12 Southeast Asian unicorns, six are present in Singapore. To support the start-ups, there are 100 venture builders, accelerators, incubators and 150 venture capital funds. The investment arm, SEEDS Capital makes the investment in nascent and strategic industries like Health & Biomedical Sciences, Urban Sustainability & Solutions, Advanced Manufacturing & Engineering, etc.
To support start-ups, the Enterprise Singapore has partnered with public and private sector players to establish Start-up SG. This start-up program has supported the growth of more than 1,160 start-ups in the country in various sectors like fintech, health, digital services and urban solutions.
To promote start-ups, SLINGSHOT which is powered by Start-up SG is pitching start-ups from all over the world for grand prizes ranging from $50,000 to $200,000. In addition, Singapore is hosting deep tech and fintech event for the first time in the country. The event will be held from 11th to 15th November. This event is a collaboration between Singapore Fintech Festival (SFF) which is world's largest platform for the fintech community and the Singapore Week of Innovation and Technology (SWITCH), the leading deep tech platform for the Global-Asia innovation ecosystem.
Reasons for Indian Start-ups to Shift to Singapore
Since Singapore has become the most preferred destination for start-ups, many Indian start-ups are now moving towards the region. They are developing and testing solutions to expand in Singapore. In many cases, it has been seen that start-ups that started their journey in India have moved to Singapore to boost their chances of going global. For example, Tookitaki, a tech start-up from India providing enterprise software solutions relocated itself to Singapore for regional expansion.
Another reason why Indian start-ups are moving towards Singapore is that they have strong partnerships with countries from across the globe. Singapore has incredible knowledge about the start-up ecosystem which helps the companies to grow further. Global Innovation Alliance (GIA) Acceleration Programme, which was launched in 2017 focuses on technology and innovation in Singapore.
"As a start-up, the entrepreneurs most important needs are ease of doing business, ease of getting finance, incubation infrastructure, grants or tax-incentives and where their markets are. Singapore provide all of these. Asian region with population of over 630 million provides a strong market base for start-ups operating in Singapore. At IMC Group, we work closely with organisations like Enterprise Singapore and Action Community for Entrepreneurship (ACE) which supports start-ups across all stages in various ways," said Pankaj's Partner, IMC Group Singapore.
About IMC (Intuit Management Consultancy):
IMC (part of CPAAI Network), focusing on AMEA ( Asia , Middle East and Africa ) markets, offers various market entry solutions such as corporate advisory services, mergers and acquisitions, international tax, global mobility services, corporate finance, investment consultation, and support in business operations and outsourcing solutions.
Reach out to Pankaj Kumar at pankaj@intuitconsultancy.com for guidance on expanding your business in Singapore.
For more information, visit: https://intuitconsultancy.com/sg/ .
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
