Singapore has evolved into a startup breeding ground. Singapore has a pro-enterprise environment and is rated one of the easiest places in the world to start a business.Singapore is also a launchpad to reach out to the flourishing Southeast Asia market. It has a pool of highly skilled infocomm manpower, advanced infocomm infrastructure and strong IP protection regime. In recent years, through the strong support of the Singapore government, there has been good growth in the number of local start-ups started in Singapore. Since 2008, more than 80 foreign start-ups, mostly in high growth verticals have set up activities in Singapore. Some of these start-ups include Germany-based Netbiscuits, a world leading B2B web software platform for development, publishing and advertising in the mobile Internet, and InvestLab, a Hong Kong-based financial tech startup which provides financial technology and services for the global investing market.
Startups.fm spoke to Mr Andrew Khaw, Senior Director of the Industry Development Group from the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) on how Singapore is emerging as the next startup zone and how IDA is supporting entrepreneurs.
Is the location of Singapore strategic for startup growth?
Yes, Singapore is in the middle of Asia and is ideal for start-ups looking to access the Southeast Asia market. We also have an East-meets-West business environment that is attractive for Asian start-ups looking to expand to the West or Western start-ups looking to expand to Asia. There is a good mix of active Start-Up ecosystem players here; e.g. strategic investors, mentors or partners are available to support local technology start-ups for their growth.
For example, mig33, a mobile social network was launched in Silicon Valley, but due to its customers mainly coming from outside the USA, its investors moved the company to Singapore as part of a plan to bring its services to developing parts of Asia in January 2010. As of April 2011, it now has 47 million registered users.
What is the long term vision of IDA?
As part of Singapore’s iN2015 Infocomm Masterplan, the long term vision of IDA is to encourage sophisticated demand for infocomm, foster the creation of innovative services and knowledge capital, and strengthen Singapore as an economic hub through infocomm. Start-ups play an important role in IDA’s vision as they are the main driver of innovation.
Is it easy to startup in Singapore? Where should one go for getting the legalities done?
Setting up a business in Singapore is very easy. A business entity can be easily set up within a few days. More information on setting up a business can be found at Bizfile.
How active is IDA in creating the startup ecosystem?
IDA aims to create a vibrant start-up ecosystem through 3 main focus areas. One is to develop our local entrepreneurial and technical talent pool via international partners to train our entrepreneurs and working with tech user groups to help developers learn the latest technologies. Another focus area is to help local start-ups commercialise their products and go-to-market beyond Singapore. Last but not least, we aim to foster an active and vibrant start-up community that will continue to attract entrepreneurs and investors from all around the region.
Are there funding opportunities/schemes/grants from IDA for startups who migrate to Singapore?
Yes, there are many schemes available from the Singapore government to provide funding support to start-ups. Different schemes exist for start-ups with different needs and technology segments. Some of these grant schemes includes:
- Technology Enterprise Commercialization Scheme (TECS) for early stage infocomm startups
- The i.JAM Micro-funding Scheme, the Action Community for Entrepreneurship Startups seed fund, the Technology Incubation Scheme (TIS) to provide early stage venture financing and mentorship, just to name a few.
- Most of the grants are targeted at local start-ups but there is also the iBEST grant that is specifically targeted at supporting VC-backed overseas start-ups to set up regional headquarters and engineering centers in Singapore.
- Besides the grant schemes available, the first $100k of company profits are tax-free while the next $200k are taxed at half the corporate tax rate for the first 3 years.
How do you compare the survival cost to other Asian countries?
The cost of business in Singapore is comparable or even cheaper than other developed countries in Asia (e.g. Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, etc.) It is definitely higher than developing countries in the region, but is fair considering the better business environment, infrastructure, manpower, etc.
Is Singapore becoming the launchpad for startups in South East Asia?
The government and the ecosystem players here are definitely working to build Singapore as the entrepreneurial hub for this part of the world. Singapore has one of the best business environments in Southeast Asia for start-ups to launch their products, seek funding and access regional markets. With high-profile start-ups events such as DEMO Asia 2012 taking place in Singapore, which attracted 857 attendees, 25% of which were from outside Singapore, we are confident that Singapore will continue to attract top regional start-ups and investors.
Watch how Infocomm companies in Singapore are changing the world for better