Singapore startups will now be able to gain faster entry to India’s vibrant startup ecosystem to form partnerships and innovate along with Indian startups after a state-owned enterprise here has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with one of the largest global entrepreneurship organisations of Indian-origin, according to media reports.
The MoU between Enterprise Singapore (ESG) and The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) Singapore was signed yesterday, a day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s arrival in the country on a three-day visit.
The MoU kick-starts an incubation programme that aims to foster collaboration between Singapore and Indian startups through jointly organised networking events, workshops, and sessions with in-market mentors.
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The MOU with TiE Singapore, one of the largest global entrepreneurship organisations of Indian-origin which began in Silicon Valley and boast of strong funding muscles and deep pockets, kickstarts the “Singapore – India Incubation Programme” by Startup SG1, led by Enterprise Singapore, with the support of Trade Associations and Chambers and startup partners.
As a part of the plan, TiE Singapore will be running a startup mission in July with 10 Singapore startups to meet with Indian startups, corporates, mentors and investors to partner and co-innovate solutions in fintech, e-services and deeptech.
With a network of 11,000 members globally, India currently constitutes one-third of TiE’s global membership. TiE was formed by Silicon Valley-based Indian technologists.
Tan Soon Kim, Assistant Chief Executive Officer of Enterprise Singapore, said,
“India is an up-and-coming hotspot for global startups and businesses. The growth of India’s startup landscape has been remarkable.”
Puneet Pushkarna, Chairman of TiE, said,
“The strategic collaboration between TiE and Enterprise Singapore would strengthen the bridge between India and Singapore’s startup ecosystem, which today are amongst the most vibrant in the world.”
“With 19 chapters in India alone, TiE provides the fattest pipe of entrepreneurial connectivity between the two countries and we hope to enhance market access opportunities for startups on both sides,”
said Pushkarna.
He is confident that the platform would proliferate networking amongst innovators and allow for the development and adoption of ideas, free flow of capital.
As a part of the “Singapore – India Incubation Programme” by Startup SG, Enterprise Singapore will be organising an iAdvisory Seminar: “Startups in India” on June 12, 2018. It is aimed to help Singapore companies understand the startup landscape in India, opportunities and how to enter the market.
India’s startup ecosystem ranks third globally, with over 4,750 startups. Its key focus areas include e-commerce, fintech, health tech and edutech.
The number of startups in India grew 12 percent in 2016 and is expected to cross 10,000 by 2020.
In 2017, the value of startup funding amounted to approximately USD 13.7 billion, significantly higher than the USD 4.06 billion of 2016 and the USD 8.4 billion of 2015. The Indian startup system has benefited a lot from the Government support through startup schemes that eased registration and gave them priority in Government-led projects and rising middle class which led to a boom in startups tapping into the consumer space, it said.
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