ASIA HOUSE NEWSLETTER ● SEPTEMBER 2019

FROM INNOVATION LAB ASIA, AN ASIA HOUSE PROJECT:

Singapore – Introducing the Nordic Innovation House Innovation Lab Asia met with Sami Jääskeläinen, Director of Nordic Innovation House Singapore. Here’s whatunfolded. Whenever a new index is published, be it for “Innovation” or “Ease of Doing Business”, Singapore alwaysseems to be topping the list. In 2017, the exhaustive Startup Genome Report, which ranks global startupecosystems, even wrote that Singapore had overtaken Silicon Valley as the number one location for startuptalent. And with good reason. As a major financial hub and a premier gateway to Southeast Asia, Singaporeattracts top entrepreneurs from around the globe. Last year, in September 2018, Singapore became thefirst Asian location for the Nordic Innovation House.

What is the Nordic Innovation House?

The main purpose of The Nordic Innovation House is to provide a soft landing-spot for Nordicentrepreneurs. Sami elaborates:

“Nordic countries had been doing activities individually, such as organizing delegations to come toSingapore and do business matching and meet investors. Under the Nordic Innovation House, for the firsttime we can start doing all this together and have a bigger impact, s ince we have a bigger pool of startupsand more Nordic solutions to showcase in Singapore.”

“There have always been proactive individuals who go to Singapore by themselves and connect with theecosystem, but that is a long and painful journey. The value we are bringing is that we can find the rightplayers and they will have a Nordic community supporting them who can share ins ights about the journey.”

What they provide

The house does activities ranging from connecting with local ecosystem players to hands on workshopsand mentoring, and even has an investor in res idence to ass ist with fundrais ing.

Their activities are mainly focused on companies in their first 6 months to a year of landing in Singapore,where the Nordic Innovation House can help companies to connect with local partners, understand themarket, and even raise investment, through their own extensive local network.

For example, they collaborate heavily with Antler, a reputed accelerator with a branch in Sweden, wherethey share a co-working space and Antler’s large network of investors and mentors, and the localgovernment, for example on the Entrepass, which speeds up the process for work permits forentrepreneurs.

Why Singapore?

As one of the most expensive places in the world, Singapore is an extremely costly location for anycompany, let alone startups, to land. So why go?

For starters, Singapore is one of the world’s leading hubs for VC. Companies from all over the worldspecifically land in Singapore to raise a venture round. With 59% of all Southeast Asian startup investmentsgo through Singapore, companies looking to access the Southeast Asian market can raise the amount ofmoney necessary to rapidly scale into the region.

“Many companies,” Sami points out, “land in Singapore to set up a regional headquarters for fundrais ing,while their main teams remain in home markets. From an investor point of view, it is important that you areincorporated there, as it is considered a safer environment where your company will comply by local laws.”

By extension, Singapore is also considered a hub to reach the 650 million people in the markets inSoutheast Asia.

In terms of Nordic activity, Singapore is a hub of international fintech, and the Nordic fintech ecosystem haslong been looking towards the region. The Copenhagen Fintech Lab, for example, has many cooperationswith accelerators and government agencies in Singapore.

The Nordic Innovation House has seen a number of success stories s ince its inception, such as Meniga,from Iceland, who after participating in a fintech festival have found local partners and are opening an officein Singapore, and Strawbees, a Swedish ed-tech company that has made a deal with Saturday Kids, a largeSingapore coding school.

Sami emphasizes that it’s important that when you come to Singapore, you have done your homework, andreached the decis ion strategically. Once your company finds that Southeast Asia fits your businessstrategy, the house can help you along your journey into the region.

Companies can coast on strong Nordic reputation

However, there are other reasons to consider Singapore as well.

“Singapore has opportunities for everybody – there are over 7000 regional headquarters and close to 50corporate innovation labs from various industries. It’s more than just fintech.”

“But most importantly, the Nordics have a very good reputation in Singapore.”

According to Sami, it is never a problem to fill a room with interested investors if there are Nordic solutionson display. Sami s ites Meniga, from Iceland, and Strawbees, from Finland, who have exhibited at events inSingapore and found local partners.

Even though Singapore is mostly known for Fintech, from the Nordic point of view, entry into Singapore isequally strong in verticals which the Nordics are strong in – medtech, healthtech, smart cities, and energy.The region is keen to find solutions within Nordic strongholds like sustainability, healthtech, and cleantech,where the Nordic reputation as forerunners in the field can pay off.

“We can coast on the reputation of the Nordics as so there is so much interest when it comes to Nordicstrongholds”, says Sami.

The Nordic Innovation House Singapore will soon be running programs focused on healthtech and circularenergy. Interested startups can reach them on their website.

S P E C I A L M E N T I O N S

Welcome to the new Chinese Ambassadorto Denmark Erik Bøgh Christensen, Chairman of the Board ofAsia House, and Susanne Rumohr Hækkerup,Executive Director of Asia House, welcomes thenew Ambassador of the People's Republic ofChina to Denmark, H.E. Feng Tie. Asia Houselooks forward to continuing a close relationshipwith the Embassy of the People's Republicof China under Ambassador Feng Tie.

PHOTO BY HASSE FERROLD

Welcome to the new MalaysianAmbassador to Sweden Asia House welcomes the new MalaysianAmbassador to Sweden, H.E. Nur Ashikin MohdTaib, who is representing Malaysia inScandinavia. The Embassy of Malaysia inStockholm is currently accredited to Sweden,Denmark, Iceland and Norway. Asia House looksforward to continuing a close relationship withthe Embassy of Malaysia in Stockholm underAmbassador Nur Ashikin Mohd Taib.

U P C O M I N G E V E N T S I N A S I A H O U S E

16.09.19: Pitching with Koreanstartups

Innovation Lab Asia will be hosting a pitchingsession with Korean startups in Asia House on16 September. Together with the DanishInnovation Center i Seoul, and KISED from Korea,5 select Korean Maritime startups will receivepitch training at Asia House prior to the FriendlyPitch competition at TechBBQ on 19 September.

17.09.19: Nordic-China High TechStartup Pitching Competition

Nordic-China Startup Forum, Innovation Lab Asia,and Danish Startup Group will be hosting astartup pitching competition in Asia House. Theevent will feature various speakers on the Nordicand Chinese startup scenes, tech, and apitching sessions where startups will have theopportunity to present their business conceptsin front of a panel of judges. The participants willhave a chance to win a free tailored businesstrip to China including the opportunity to meetwith Chinese investors and VCs and get to first-hand impressions of hubs and incubators,customers and talents.

17.09.19: International VC InvestorDinner Innovation Lab Asia is hosting an internationalVC Investor gathering in connection withTechBBQ 2019 at Asia House. The dinner eventwill feature keynote speaker Louise ErtmanBaunsgaard, member of the Board of Advisors atSustainable Change Makers, and founder of LetzSushi.

18.09.19: The Road to Exporting The Danish Industry Foundation and theUniversity of Copenhagen is hosting a seminaron Danish exports in Asia House on 18September. Researchers from University ofCopenhagen have mapped and analyzed theeffect of Danish export support and gatheredthe new knowledge in a webbased informationtool. The website lets Danish firms navigate theopportunities and costs associated withexporting that may help them becomesuccessful in foreign markets. At this conferencefor firms and stakeholders the research teamlaunches the website and shares the knowledgebehind it.

20.09.19: Nepal National Day 2019 On 20 September, the Nepalese Embassy inDenmark will be hosting the annual celebrationof Nepal's National Day in Asia House.

24.09.19: ASEAN Day 2019

On 24 September, the Association of SoutheastAsian Countries once again celebrate theannual ASEAN Day in Asia House.

25.09.19: Investment opportunities in

Bangladesh The Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs is hostingan event to present investment opportunities inBangladesh to potential Danish investors. Theeconomy of Bangladesh has grown an averageof 6 percent over the last decade, and thenation is now being counted as one of the AsianTiger economies as well as a part of the N11countries. This “non-deal roadshow” will focuson selected sectors of the Bangladeshieconomy: pharmaceutical, power and energy,infrastructure, E-commerce and FinTech.

L A S T M O N T H I N A S I A H O U S E

09.09.19: Tokyo - En smeltedigel af gammelt og nyt

On 9 September, the Denmark-Japan Society hosted a talk by journalist, writer, and Japan-expertAsger Røjle Christensen on his upcoming book, “Tokyo – En smeltedigel af gammelt og nyt”. In hisbook, Asger Røjle Christensen guides his readers through Tokyo using personal anecdotes andphotos.

PHOTO BY HASSE FERROLD

04.09.19: Viet Nam 74th Independence Day Reception

On 4 September, the Embassy of Viet Nam in Denmark hosted a reception celebrating the 74thIndependence Day of Viet Nam. The event featured traditional dinner, traditional dancing, andtraditional song, as well as a speech by the Vietnamese Ambassador to Denmark, H.E. PhamThanh Dung.

23.08.19: Danish Ambassadors' Breakfast

The annual breakfast in Asia House for Denmark's Ambassadors in Asia was this year co-hostedwith BloxHub, and featured keynote speaker Mr. Simon Hansen, Director of Regions at C40. The

focus of the discussion was on how Denmark can further strengthen and develop a moreconsolidated export-promotion system through the promotion of Danish cities as best-practicecases for urban development in Asia, ensuring a trickle-down effect to real business opportunitiesfor Danish companies. Mr. Hansen gave his perspectives on the potentials, as well as thechallenges, for Danish companies.

20.08.19: Denmark-India: The development of a strategic partnership

On 20 August, Asia House, together with the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, hosted an event onDenmark-India relations. India is the world’s largest democracy, and one of the fastest growingeconomies globally, as well as the sixth largest economy in the world, and the third largest interms of purchasing power. As the Indian economy continues to grow, India’s role as a globalpower is increasingly solidified. Denmark’s bilateral relations with India are advancingrapidly. Denmark's outgoing Ambassador to India, Peter Taksøe-Jensen, emphasized thatDenmark's long-term ambition is to develop a strategic partnership with India.

15.08.19: Singapore and Indonesia - Two Danish initiatives On 15 August, Asia House, together with the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, hosted aroundtable discussion on Danish initiatives in Singapore and Indonesia. Ambassador to Singapore,Dorte Bech Vizard, and Ambassador to Indonesia, Rasmus Abildgaard Kristensen, facilitated thediscussion of two of these Danish initiatives: “Infrastructure Asia” in Singapore, and “StrategicBusiness Alliance for Biomass, Biogas and Waste to Energy” in Indonesia.

ON THE GLOBAL AGENDA IN SEPTEMBER 2019 In the midst of the present political and economic uncertainties, the IMF nevertheless makes 5year forecasts. Comparing the Expected Annual Percentage Change Real GDP Growth in 2019 and2024 squarely documents Asia as a global growth center, although the economy in China isexpected to grow at a slower rate than today. None of the G7 countries, the biggest Westerneconomies and Japan, who last met in Biarritz in August, is expected to see growth above 3%. In 2019, Japan hosts the G20, comprising the G7 as well as the biggest developing economies;the G20 labour ministers met in Ehime, Japan on 1 September, focusing on the elderly workforce.The next G20 Summit will be held in Riyadh in November next year, as Saudi Arabia will take over ashosts. World leaders will have other chances to meet, of course, and in New York the UN is hostingt h e Climate Action Summit on 23 September, with Denmark and Ethiopia leading the trackon Energy Transition, and the SDG Summit on 24-25 September. Uncertainty is nowhere more prevalent than in the EU and UK relations concerning Brexit. EUleaders will met on 18-19 October to discuss possible steps ahead – and meanwhile, to assist thebewildered global audience, the news channel Al-jazeera has compiled a succinct guide to Brexitjargon. Susanne Rumohr HækkerupExecutive Director

2019

2024

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