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2015/SMEWG40/025 Agenda Item: 13.1.7

Start, Scale, Soar: Supporting the Growth Journey of Start-ups

Purpose: Information

Submitted by: Singapore

40th Small and Medium Enterprises Working Group Meeting

Atlanta, United States10-11 June 2015

Start, Scale, Soar: Supporting the Growth Journey of Start-ups

Mr Ted Tan

Deputy Chief Executive

SPRING Singapore

40th APEC SMEWG Meeting

Focused efforts to evolve the entrepreneurship landscape…

2

Drive more private sector

involvement in supporting

entrepreneurs

Provide greater market access

opportunities to start-ups

Improve the overall quality of start-ups

…And strengthen support for start-ups’ growth journey

3

Promote a strong entrepreneurship culture and start-up community

Facilitate the creation of an entrepreneurial hub

Catalyze partnerships between large enterprises and start-ups

Help start-ups venture abroad through soft-landing and in-market partners

Facilitate access to talent

Strengthen financing opportunities

START SCALE SOAR

By developing an entrepreneurship culture and community…

4

• Initial public-private initiative, fully privatized in 2014 • Foster a culture of serial entrepreneurship &

‘paying it forward’ • Focus on helping start-ups in the initial phase

Entrepreneurship in Education

Early exposure to entrepreneurship from primary schools to universities

Spur private sector involvement

Building infrastructure to foster start-up communities…

5

Launchpad @ one-north

Focus Sectors Science and engineering, Biomedical, Electronics, Infocomm and media

500 Start-ups

35 Incubators & Accelerators

2,000 Talents

Strengthen partners to better multiply efforts..

6

• Incubators identify high-potential start-ups & accelerate their growth

• >40 incubators are government-backed, able to support 600 to 1,000 start-ups

• Government support through co-investment and/or defray of operating costs

Ideation Validation Efficiency Scale

Access to Financing

Raw Business Idea

Transfer of Expertise & Know-how

Focused Development Support

Mentoring

Promising Start-up Growth

Market Access

Role of Incubators

…And enhance market access opportunities

7

Support promising start-ups in establishing presence in overseas markets through the right infrastructure, resources and networks

• Engage overseas networks of incubators & partners

• Help start-ups access markets and facilitate matching with overseas partners

Encourage overseas incubators and corporations to establish local incubator presence

Establish in-market ecosystem, indirectly through partners or directly

Attracting Overseas Incubators and Partners

Overseas Missions Overseas LaunchPads

For start-ups to reach their fullest potential…

8

• Live-chat platform for websites to provide immediate customer support

• Used by >70,000 businesses

• Incubated by NUS Enterprise & invested by SPRING SEEDS

• Acquired by NASDAQ-listed Zendesk for > SGD 30mil

• Real-time video analytics for retailers to track shopper insights

• Invested by SPRING SEEDS

• Partnering MNCs like Wincor Nixdor to integrate solution into existing retailer networks

Conclusion

9

• Increase linkage between start-up communities and incubators in APEC economies

• Welcome partnerships to boost overseas LaunchPads

• Keen to learn more about other start-up development strategies

START SCALE SOAR

Thank you

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