Singapore startups increasingly tapped to tackle national issues

1, 12, 3,800 and 89 billion. These are the numbers that define Singapore’s startup ecosystem today. Singapore is ranked as the No 1 ecosystem for startups in Asia Pacific in 2022. It’s home to 12 unicorns and more than 3,800 tech-enabled startups, which has contributed to an ecosystem worth an estimated US$89 billion.

In today’s challenging macroeconomic environment, Singapore startups continue to prove their resilience and relevance. Last month, Singapore-based e-commerce startup ShopBack raised US$80 million in funding to bring its online shopping rewards app to more consumers in South-east Asia. Fintech startup Stashfin, which provides credit line cards to underbanked individuals, bagged US$270 million to expand its service across Asia. Startups such as Dayuse and Lodge & Co have demonstrated that they have a finger on the pulse of the market with offerings such as “daycations” or short-term entertainment spaces to provide Singaporeans with local getaway options.

Singapore’s startup ecosystem is entering an important era. They are tackling bolder and more far-reaching issues at the national level - issues that could potentially challenge the country’s sustenance and well-being.

Take food security as an example. Ensuring access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food has been a long-time goal of the Singapore government, given Singapore’s dependence on food imports. Recently, this has spurred the government to leverage foodtech startups, especially in more sustainable meat production methods. The government’s message is clear: the aim is to locally produce a third of Singapore's food needs by 2030.

In 2020, the Singapore Food Agency became the first regulatory authority in the world to approve the commercial sale of a cultured meat product: bite-sized chicken manufactured by Eat Just, a foodtech startup that develops cultured meat. Singapore welcomes startups looking to develop and market alternative protein options.

In addition, the government recently committed more than US$100 million for research in urban agriculture, cultured meat and microbial protein production - this is expected to give a leg up to some 15 alternative protein startups that have set up base in Singapore, and boost further innovation in food security.

A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU

Monday, 3.30 pm

Garage

The hottest news on all things startup and tech to kickstart your week.

Sign Up

Another area where the government has continued to promote innovation is in e-payments and building a cash-lite society - and fintech startups have been driving this transformation. Firms like Grab offer mobile wallets that allow consumers to conveniently pay for items without having to carry around a physical wallet, while companies like MatchMove and Stripe designed reliable infrastructure to power cashless terminals and digital payments. These innovations have collectively led to greater ease, lower transaction costs, and improved transaction security for Singaporeans.

In fact, Singapore’s cash-lite ambitions were accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic, as more consumers and merchants turned to contactless transactions for greater public safety and hygiene. Cashless solutions by fintech startups ensured Singaporeans could continue to obtain daily necessities and conduct essential financial transactions, enabling them to secure their livelihoods and well-being even during lockdowns.

These examples demonstrate that startups in Singapore are playing a more active role in addressing national needs and stepping up during times of crisis. These companies are creating products and services that deliver real-life, long-term value to the country. These are not merely innovations for innovations’ sake.

What sets a successful startup apart is the razor-sharp focus on solving a problem and addressing a market need. Startups are also nimble by nature, enabling them to respond quickly to market changes and swiftly design solutions to address new and unanticipated problems. Compared to larger corporates, startups are quicker to adopt emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality, which can provide more efficient ways of approaching problems. An example is Doctor Anywhere, a telemedicine startup whose goal is to provide real-time and personalised healthcare services to individuals. The Singapore startup uses AI to quickly access insights from data and generate patient-centric health recommendations.

Startups also collaborate with larger corporates to jointly solve national issues, like biomedical startup StratifiCare and Mitsubishi Electric who recently partnered to fight dengue fever in Singapore. StratifiCare has developed a diagnostic test (that runs on a microfluidic test chip) which can determine if a dengue patient’s condition will become more severe. As part of the partnership, Mitsubishi Electric will provide its “smart air coating” technology to make StratifiCare’s test chip water resistant, which helps to improve the accuracy of the test and better predict the outcomes of dengue patients.

Startup-corporate alliances make sense. Startups bring new technologies and agility to the table, while corporates offer market insights, resources, local networks and financial support. While it is obvious how startups can benefit from these partnerships, this also gives larger corporates an ability to be part of a cycle of continuous development. This is particularly helpful when working towards a longer-term goal, as it breaks the endeavour down into shorter cycles so that both the startup and corporate can adapt when something isn’t working.

Singapore has the potential to take the lead in solving some of the big, gnarly problems the world is grappling with, by leaning on startups and entrepreneurs. Already, it is seeking its place as a global hub for entrepreneurship, given it’s a great place to live in; boasts of a robust education system that is considered among the best; promises seamless access to markets across Asia; and has an excellent digital infrastructure. The country has always been good at organising hackathons to promote innovation in areas where they face the most challenges. To achieve its full potential as a startup hub, Singapore must work on ensuring the entrepreneur ecosystem has easy access to financial support and the best talent, and a smooth, efficient means to scale their products across the region and set sights across global markets.

In the face of big issues that could potentially challenge Singapore’s sustenance and well-being, startups could be the country’s best bet, and in turn help place Singapore on the global map as the epicentre of strategic futures.

The writer is president of TiE Singapore, the Singapore chapter of a Silicon Valley founded global non-profit organisation with a purpose to build the local entrepreneur ecosystem.