enterprise@nus.edu.sg | enterprise.nus.edu.sg | NUSEnterprise

A QUARTERLY PUBLICATION OF NUS ENTERPRISESPARKS

APR - JUN 2019

ISSUE 022

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15 THE WORLD IS

INVESTING IN TORONTO’S TECH SCENE

03A RECORD CROWD AT INNOVFEST UNBOUND

12MORE THAN ENTREPRENEURSHIP: THE IMPACT OF NOC

Go ingGlobal

ENTERPRISE SPARKS NUS Enterprise 21 Heng Mui Keng Terrace, Level 5 Singapore 119613enterprise@nus.edu.sgwww.enterprise.nus.edu.sgCompany Registration No: 200604346E

Editorial Team: Bhawani Balakrishnan (Lead), Katherine Chinn Contributors: Amarpreet Kaur, Ho Yuen Peng, Krystal Jemima Joseph, Preetashini Nagarajah

We are happy for you to share or reproduce the content of this publication but do let us know before you do as it is proprietary to NUS Enterprise. Thank you!

FEATURESSPARKS interest with the latest in the start-up and entrepreneur scene within our community

SPARKS action with fireside chats andtips from experienced entrepreneurs

SPARKS interest in past eventsand activities

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A RECORD CROWD AT INNOVFEST UNBOUND

ARUNA WINS ALIPAY-NUS ENTERPRISE SOCIAL INNOVATION CHALLENGE

TEN PITCH AT ICE71 ‘DEMO DAY’

PIER71 DIVES INTO SEA ASIA

INNOVATING FOR SMART CITY SOLUTIONS

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12 MORE THAN ENTREPRENEURSHIP: THE IMPACT OF NOC

VISENZE RAISES SERIES C FUNDING

THE WORLD IS INVESTING IN TORONTO’S TECH SCENE

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START-UP LIFE IN THE GREAT WHITE NORTH

WOULD YOU BE MAD ENOUGH TO WANT TO CHANGE OUR WORLD?

DIGITAL THERAPEUTICS AND THE FUTURE OF MEDICINE

BUMPER CROP HEADING FOR COMMERCIALISATION

NEWSFEED

FLASHBACK

Editor’s note

In this edition of SPARKS, we put the spotlight on our flagship event, Innovfest unbound, which in five years has solidified its position as the largest innovation festival in Southeast Asia. This year the event attracted a record crowd of over 18,000, bringing together entrepreneurs, innovators, and delegates from around the world to share new ideas, build partnerships, and celebrate digital disruption.

A key highlight of the event was the release of the results from the inaugural Survey of NOC Alumni, a major study conducted by NUS Enterprise’s research team to assess the outcomes and impact of the NUS Overseas Colleges (NOC) programme. With NOC previously cited as “the single most important development to boost the start-up movement [in Singapore]” by The Straits Times, the study’s results back up popular perception with statistical facts: over 79% of programme alumni have been involved in the start-up ecosystem post-graduation and more than 600 start-ups have been formed by alumni. We present a synopsised version of these results in SPARKS, alongside a feature on one of the newest NOC locations: Toronto.

We also bring you updates on our various accelerators and innovation challenges, summaries of exciting events, and the latest achievements from our start-ups and entrepreneurial students.

Enjoy the read!

SPARKS food-for-thought

24 SOUTH KOREA: OPPORTUNITIES ABOUND

SPARKS passion with excitingentrepreneurial internships

SPARKS partnerships with industryand market leaders

SPARKS ideas with different thoughts and perspectives

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A RECORD CROWD AT INNOVFEST UNBOUND

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Yossi Vardi and Prof. Freddy Boey kicked off the event with their welcome speech.

Highlights:

18,000 registered delegates

Delegates from

100 countries

400+ start-ups and technology exhibits

90+ speakers

32 mini Kopi chats

24 sessions at Futurenow Stage

6 bars at Urban Experience

outheast Asia’s largest and most exciting innovation festival - Innovfest unbound

- had its fifth run on 27-28 June 2019, at Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre. Organised by NUS Enterprise and unbound, in partnership with the Info-communications Media Development Authority of Singapore (IMDA), the event successfully attracted a massive and eager crowd of over 18,000 delegates from 100 countries worldwide. With no lack of talent and numerous disruptive technologies, we dive right into the thick of what happened at Innovfest unbound 2019!

Deputy President (Innovation & Enterprise) of NUS, Professor Freddy Boey, took the centre stage to address the crowd on the Main Stage on Day 1, alongside his co-chairman of the event, Yossi Vardi, chairman of unbound Digital. Mr S. Iswaran, Minister for Communications and Information and the Minister-in-Charge of Cybersecurity, graced the event with his opening ministerial speech.

This year, NUS Enterprise curated a total of 24 sessions, spread across both the Futurenow and Edison stages. Speakers and presenters at both stages explored various methods through which the rising deep-tech, AI, IoT and deep-tech hardware trends can be harnessed, through innovative products and technologies.

S The NUS Graduate Research Innovation Programme (GRIP) featured spin-offs with groundbreaking technologies in the areas of micro drones, data analytics, medtech, and more. During the event, NUS signed an MOU with the Shenzhen Goldport Capital and Shenzhen Future Innovation Service to co-invest and incubate start-up graduates from GRIP, providing them with the support and guidance to fast track into the enormous and fast-growing Chinese market.

Keynote speeches

Prof Wong Poh Kam, Senior Director at NUS Enterprise, revealed his findings on the essential role and contributions of NOC alumni in the development of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship (I&E) ecosystem of Singapore – and beyond.

Prof Dean Ho, Provost’s Chair Professor and Director of the The N.1 Institute for Health (N.1) Institute at the National University of Singapore, spoke about the positive applications of deep-tech in today’s world during his keynote session at Main Stage.

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Minister for Communications and Information and the Minister- in- Charge of Cybersecurity, Mr S Iswaran addressing the crowd on the Main Stage.

PIER71 - Launch of SPC

PIER71 held a session at Futurenow Stage titled ‘Building a Regional Maritime Ecosystem’, to launch their latest Smart Port Challenge 2019. Dr Lam Pin Min, Senior Minister of State in the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Transport, was the guest of honour. In addition, a panel discussion on how Singapore can further accelerate the growth of the maritime ecosystem was held.

Launch of Healthy Hearts, Healthy Aging Report

The Healthy Hearts, Healthy Aging Report was released and officiated by the Senior Minister of State for Health, Dr Amy Khor. Bayer and NUS Enterprise collaboratively put together a report with curated insights from experts across eight countries, in an effort to call for policy actions in education, innovation and collaboration. The report also aims to foster a much-needed shift towards preventive, value-based care, such as embracing innovative therapies and technologies for long-term prevention of stroke, heart attacks, and other serious cardiovascular events.

Kopi Chats

A series of 32 mini kopi chats were carried out over the two days of Innovfest, where delegates had the opportunity to get up close and personal with distinguished entrepreneurs and industry veterans. Specially curated to encourage informal conversations, the kopi chats were open to people interested in a myriad of topics, such as deep-tech, AI and media.

32 Kopi Chats were held over the 2 days of Innovfest unbound.

Guest-of-honour Dr. Lam Pin Min launched the PIER71’s second cycle of the Smart Port Challenge.

Urban Experience

What other way to end a fulfilling first day at Innovfest unbound than to get your networking skills on with some food and drinks at our annual urban experience? Once again, Innovfest unbound took over Ann Siang Hill with throngs of delegates streaming into six F&B outlets hosted by NUS Enterprise and our various partners, including IMDA and Singapore Airlines.

Closing

Want to be a part of this world class innovation event? Get in touch with us at innovfestunbound@nus.edu.sg

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Prof Wong gives his keynote speech on the Main Stage, on the impact of the NOC programme’s entrepreneurial education.

BeeX, a graduate of GRIP, displays their autonomous maritime vehicle.

Guest-of-honour Dr Amy Khor officiating at the launch of the Healthy Hearts, Healthy Aging report.

Innovfest unbound 2019 attendees mingling through the night at the GEM Bar at Ann Siang Hill.

(From left:) NUS President Prof Tan Eng Chye, Mr Iswaran and Prof Boey listening to a presentation by Craft Health, an NUS start-up.

Shenzhen based VCs led by Goldport Capital at NUS Graduate Research Innovation Programme signing ceremony.

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Ocean of Opportunities Challenge; co-organised by Symphony Creative Solutions, Ocean Network Express and NUS Enterprise, the challenge seeks to discover innovative tech ideas to steer the maritime industry to new oceans.

Champion: Hasytec Electronics GmbH from GermanyHasytec Electronics GmbH won SGD5,000 for their idea of using ultrasonic vibrations to reduce fouling on ship hulls.

1st Runner Up: Portcast from PIER71 programme, SingaporePortcast won SGD2,000 for their machine-learning programme that can forecast demand and vessel spacing through machine learning and AI.

The Danone Digitalization Hackathon (D2Hack) Challenge is a collaboration between Danone Nutricia Research, NUS Enterprise and Enterprise Singapore, calling for technologies and solutions from around the world that can improve the health of infants and children.

Champion: BlueSmart mia from USA BlueSmart mia walked away with SGD8,000 & a SGD50,000 StartupSG grant - for their solution of the world’s first and only intelligent bottle feeding monitor that automatically tracks and analyses a baby’s bottle feeding consumption and syncs with the app.

1st Runner Up: Babycare from ChinaBabycare received SGD5,000 for their all-in-one smart health monitoring wearable device for infants. Babycare is from our BLOCK71 Suzhou community!

Delegates speaking to the various exhibitors present at the event.

BlueSmart mia wins D2Hack Challenge. Winners of the O3 Challenge. Flourescent Fingers win the Munidipharma Cancer Care Challenge.

Mundipharma Cancer Care Challenge; a collaboration between Mundipharma and NUS Enterprise, the Challenge sought game-changing solutions from around the world that can harness the power of technology to change the lives of cancer patients. Apart from a cash prize of SGD5,000, the winning team will continue to be mentored by top healthcare industry veterans and collaborate with Mundipharma to expand their solution further.

Champion: Fluorescent Fingers from SingaporeDeveloped by two NUS students, Fluorescent Fingers is a rapid diagnostic liquid biopsy test kit for cancer that can be administered in a home setting. Fluorescent Fingers walked away with a cash prize of SGD5,000.

Challenges

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ocused on identifying and promoting tech-start-ups who achieve social impact

in Southeast Asia, the Alipay-NUS Enterprise Social Innovation Challenge was launched in November 2018 as a partnership between NUS Enterprise and Alipay, the world’s leading payment and lifestyle platform, operated by Ant Financial.

After five months, multiple in-market roadshows and workshops, and 350 overall submissions, the inaugural programme came to a close on 16 April, with Indonesian start-up Aruna emerging as the overall winner. The company beat out eight other finalists from Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia during the pitching event, held at the Shaw Foundation Alumni House.

F The start-up was recognised for its use of digital technology to help fishermen in Indonesia—most of whom live under the poverty line-- improve their livelihoods through better market access and fairer trading opportunities. By connecting fishermen and potential customers through Aruna’s e-commerce platform, the start-up is able to dramatically reduce transaction costs, helping fishermen to earn more while reducing prices for buyers. To date, Aruna has served over 1700 fisherman groups in 16 provinces.

“We are very excited. This is the first time we have won international recognition for our work. We will next work on further growing our team and help more fishermen out of poverty,” said Farid Naufal Aslam, CEO of Aruna.

As the winning team, Aruna received SGD50,000 in addition to the SGD10,000 prize all finalists received. All nine finalists will be given support to further develop their ideas. This includes eligibility to participate in the 10x1000 Tech for Inclusion training programme, jointly established by Alipay and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of World Bank Group and Special Partner of the Challenge. Mentorship and incubation support will also be provided by NUS Enterprise for a period of three months, along with access to its BLOCK71 network.

ARUNA WINS ALIPAY-NUS ENTERPRISE SOCIAL INNOVATION CHALLENGE

Huang Jing, Senior Director, Head of 10x1000 Tech for Inclusion Programme, Ant Financial (far left) and Prof Wong Poh Kam, Senior Director, NUS Entrepreneurship Centre, NUS Enterprise (far right) with winning team Aruna (centre) at the Alipay-NUS Enterprise Social Innovation Challenge.

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nnovation Cybersecurity Ecosystem at BLOCK71 (ICE71) officially unveiled its latest

cohort of cybersecurity start-ups at ICE71 Accelerate Demo Day, held on 8 May. Coming from Singapore, India, Turkey, Vietnam, the UK, and the US, the start-ups had participated in the three-month ICE71 Accelerate programme, supporting the development and acceleration of their growth. The programme culminated in Demo Day, where they pitched to an audience of over 150 investors and cybersecurity leaders, seeking investment and business development opportunities.

The latest batch of ICE71 Accelerate start-ups builds on the success already achieved by the programme’s first cohort, unveiled in October 2018. Two have already raised additional funding and expanded their operations internationally, while three are in discussions to secure further funding.

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ICE71 aspires to attract the best global cybersecurity talent and foster cybersecurity innovation in Asia. A partnership between NUS Enterprise and Singtel Innov8, the initiative is supported by the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA), the Info-communications Media Development Authority (IMDA) and corporate partners such as Cisco. ICE71 partners with CyLon, which delivers the ICE71 Accelerate programme and brings to the table a wealth of global experience as the leading global cybersecurity accelerator and early stage investor in cybersecurity start-ups.

The key to supporting the nation’s [Smart Nation] ambitions lies in driving cybersecurity innovation and encouraging more enterprising cybersecurity entrepreneurs and start-ups to make Singapore their home.Professor Freddy Boey, Deputy President (Innovation and Enterprise) of NUS

After Demo Day, ICE71 will continue to guide and support these start-ups through further fundraising, product development and commercial expansion. It will also provide access to community events with ecosystem partners, thought leadership programmes, engagements with enterprises and government entities, and opportunities to present at regional cybersecurity conferences.

To find out more about ICE71, visit ice71.sg

TEN PITCH AT ICE71 ‘DEMO DAY’

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n conjunction with Singapore Maritime Week 2019, Port Innovation Ecosystem Reimagined at BLOCK71 (PIER71) had the opportunity to dock at the Sea Asia

2019 exhibition from 9 April to 11 April. PIER71 helmed the Innovation Arena at the 7th edition of Asia’s anchor maritime and offshore event, which was sponsored by our partners Innospace, Panasonic R&D Center Singapore and Wilhelmsen.

Nine of PIER71’s start-ups came onboard to share their innovative technologies with maritime industry heavyweights and enthusiasts. The nine start-ups, Claritecs, MapGage, Tagvance, Ocean Freight Exchange, Threatspan, Portcast, SkyLab, Aeras Medical and Ship Supplies Direct, were finalists of the PIER71 Smart Port Challenge 2018.

The PIER71 Smart Port Challenge is an annual innovation competition where global start-ups address challenges put forth by maritime corporates. The innovation opportunities are identified through ideation workshops where corporates can find their gain and pain points. Through Smart Port Challenge, start-ups can reimagine their tech as solutions for real problems. Start-ups can pitch their ideas and stand a chance to win cash prices and grants to pilot and testbed new projects.

Amongst the hustle and bustle, the start-ups further built their networks and reached out to potential customers. Leon Yen, founder and CEO of Threatspan, made new connections with technology partners and customers who were interested in reselling their solutions to prominent maritime entities.

Similarly, Nidhi Gupta, founder of the predictive analytics start-up Portcast, shared, “The Innovation Arena was extremely helpful in bringing awareness about Portcast to the maritime industry in Singapore and across the world by attracting participants from across global innovation beds and corporate partners.”

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PIER71 DIVES INTO SEA ASIA

Senior Minister of State (Transport & Communications and Information), Dr. Janil Puthucheary, also dropped by PIER71’s Innovation Arena! He visited some of the start-up booths and got to hear more about their cool technologies for the maritime industry.

With the spirit of innovation in the air, five of our start-ups marked the start of new journeys by signing Memorandums of Understanding with strategic partners. These new partnerships will allow them to further develop and testbed their products.

Dr Janil Puthucheary Senior Minister of State (Transport Communications and Information) and PIER71 programme director Dr Mark Lim at the SEA Asia event.

PIER71 start-up Ships Supplies Direct (left) and Winspee Logistic Group (right) signing MoUs with their new strategic partners.

PIER71 start-up, Ocean Freight Exchange (right) inked a new partnership with Fratelli Cosulich Bunkers.

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hat constitutes a Smart City? On 28th May 2019, the NIKKEI-NUS Enterprise Forum 2019 was held at the Shaw Foundation Alumni House. Titled ‘Redefining

the Smart City for Inclusive Urban Development’, the event hosted over 200 attendees from across the region, from industries such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), virtual mapping and even drone technologies! Experts from both Singapore and Japan took to the stage to share their trials and tribulations in the journey to transform both Japan and Singapore into world-class ‘Smart Cities’.

Professor Andrew Lim, Head of Department, Department of Industrial Systems, Engineering Management at National University of Singapore, spoke at an NUS Special Session titled, “Digital Twin: Enabling the Automatic Economy in Urban Cities”. Together with his team of dedicated graduate students and researchers, they developed an exciting new technology that enables a virtual experience through a digital 3D model. Better known as the ‘Google Maps’ for buildings, their technology makes use of beacons.

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ProSpace,a B2B technology company which automates office space data collection and maximises workspace efficiency, and Soundeye, an emergency monitoring device that uses sound event classification technology, were two NUS Enterprise-supported start-ups that exhibited during the forum.

The event was graced by Mr Kok Yam Tan, Deputy Secretary of the Smart Nation and Digital Government Office.

Speakers and esteemed guests who graced the forum, from both Japan and Singapore.

The Prospace team with their exhibition booth during the event.

The Soundeye team with their prototype at the NIKKEI-NUS Enterprise Digitalization Forum.

INNOVATING FOR SMART CITY SOLUTIONS

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an entrepreneurship be taught? An intriguing study by Northeastern University’s School of Technological Entrepreneurship surveyed more than 200 American

entrepreneurs and only 1 per cent cited higher education as a motivator towards venture creation. Entrepreneurship courses offered in universities, especially in advanced economies, have proliferated in the last two decades but start-up formation rates have not kept pace. Nonetheless, a more nuanced view has emerged in recent years. If there is a failure in entrepreneurship education, it is a structural one. University education is traditionally knowledge-based but entrepreneurship is an action-oriented pursuit. Increasingly, universities are now looking at apprenticeship-like programmes to teach entrepreneurship. The key is taking training out of the classroom into the real world with real customers and real business problems.

Sounds familiar? The NUS Overseas College programme (NOC) is far ahead of the curve, offering experiential entrepreneurship education since 2002. As pioneers in this area, NOC practically invented the curve. Close to 3000 students have completed internship stints in nine different countries around the world, gaining first-hand experience of working in start-ups. To take stock of the programme as it entered its seventeenth year, NUS Entrepreneurship Centre (NEC) launched the inaugural Survey of NOC Alumni in July 2018 with assistance from the alumni engagement team from NOC. A total of 984 NOC alumni responded to the survey.

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MORE THAN ENTREPRENEURSHIP: THE IMPACT OF NOC

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The impact of the NOC programme is seen at two levels: micro, pertaining to how the programme affects individual alumni, and macro, pertaining to how NOC has contributed talent to boost economic activity in Singapore and beyond.

At the micro level, almost all the alumni expressed strong satisfaction with their NOC experience. The study examined two distinct areas of programme impact – entrepreneurship (starting a new business venture) and intrapreneurship (starting new activities within existing business structures). In both instances, alumni gave the NOC programme the thumbs-up. Alumni believed that the programme had increased their entrepreneurial as well as intrapreneurial motivations and capabilities. Other stand-out elements of NOC as perceived by alumni include the curriculum and the immersive internship experience.

The NOC programme aims to nurture entrepreneurial mindsets in students. An entrepreneurial mindset is not necessarily manifested through venture creation activity. It is more so about embodying the “spirit” of entrepreneurship – risk-taking, adventurous and innovative. An entrepreneurial mindset is the difference between taking a job at a large multinational and choosing to work in a small start-up. With this context, a broader perspective of NOC’s macro impact would be its contribution to the wider innovation and entrepreneurship (I&E) ecosystem.

The survey traced the career paths of NOC alumni after they graduated from NUS. The analysis revealed that the overwhelming majority (79%) of alumni had at some point after graduation been involved in the start-up ecosystem in some capacity. This translates to around 1,900 alumni who have founded start-ups, worked in start-ups or worked in organisations that support start-up activities.

Impact of NOC Programme

Entrepreneurs

NOC has achieved impressive results in producing entrepreneurs. Based on the survey and after adjusting for potential sampling biases, it is estimated that one-third of NOC alumni have founded their own businesses, and 17% are currently active as entrepreneurs. Among those who are not currently entrepreneurs, 5% have concrete plans to start up within the next 12 months, and another 32% intend to do so in the next two to five years.

Start-up Employees

An under-appreciated contribution of NOC is the talent provided to start-ups. One of the most pressing challenges faced by early-stage start-ups is hiring and retaining the right employees. Working in start-ups requires not just the right skills set, but also a temperament and mindset that are attuned to the demands of the start-up environment. Having experienced such conditions during their internships, NOC alumni are ideal employees for start-ups. The survey shows that more than half of NOC alumni have been employed in start-ups after university graduation and 24% are currently working in start-ups.

Talent for Start-up Support Ecosystem

Other than start-ups, NOC alumni have been involved in the ecosystem by working in start-up support organisations such as incubators, VC firms and entrepreneurship promotion agencies. As many as 44% of alumni had worked in such organisations, with 20% currently doing so.

New Business Development Roles

Even if they are not working directly in the start-up ecosystem, NOC alumni are innovating and involved in new business development (NBD). Among alumni who have been employed in established organisations, over 60% have played NBD-related roles.

Talent with Global Mobility

The design of the NOC programme prepares students to be global citizens, equipping them with skills and capabilities that enhance their international mobility. 14% of all NOC alumni, and 15% of those who are entrepreneurs, are based overseas. Interestingly, the majority of alumni who have relocated out of Singapore have not returned to their NOC internship cities, choosing instead to venture to new locations.

The NOC programme has been cited by The Straits Times as “the single most important development to boost the start-up movement [in Singapore].”

Some of the most illustrious names in Singapore’s tech ecosystem are NOC alumni - Darius Cheung (99.co), Royston Tay (Zopim) and Vinod Nair (Moneysmart), among others. Contemplating this firmament, it is worth bearing in mind that NOC graduates constitute less than 1.5% of all graduates from local universities. Relative to this meagre share, the contribution of NOC alumni to the start-up ecosystem in Singapore is outsized. More than 5% of live tech start-ups in Singapore have been (co-)founded by NOC alumni, according to computations by NEC. Nine NOC start-ups have raised more than USD 10 million in total funding, and NOC start-ups account for 6 of the top 100 most well-funded start-ups in Singapore. More than 10% of Singapore-based companies with disclosed Series A or higher funding are NOC alumni start-ups.

Can entrepreneurship be taught? The NOC case may not definitively settle the nature versus nurture debate. But there is enough evidence to show that the experiential approach has nurtured interest in both entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship. This in turn has translated to significant macro-level impact, with NOC alumni contributing their talents to enrich the I&E landscape.

NOC start-ups in Singapore’s

Tech Ecosystem

NOC’s Share of

Graduates from Singapore Universities

Live Tech Start-ups in Singapore

Top 100 most well-funded start-ups

in Singapore

Known Series A funded start-ups

in Singapore

1.3%

5.9%

6%

10.3%

NOC Start-ups in Singapore Tech Ecosystem

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US spin-off Visenze has successfully raised USD20M in Series C funding, as revealed in an announcement made in February 2019. The round was led by

venture capital firm Gobi Partners and venture investor Sonae IM, with participation from Tembusu ICT Fund, 21 Ventures Global Innovation Fund, Rakuten Ventures, Singapore Press Holdings Ventures and UOB Venture Management. This brings the total disclosed financing for the company to over USD34M to date.

Visenze, which was spun out of research from the NUS-Tsinghua Extreme Search Centre (now known as NExT++), was founded in 2012 with the mission to simplify the visual web. Incorporating AI and machine learning, the start-up’s proprietary technology intelligently recognises and interprets visual content from images and videos, driving e-commerce by shortening the path to action for consumers. Retailers like

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VISENZE RAISES SERIES C FUNDING

UNIQLO, Rakuten and Urban Outfitters have used Visenze to improve their conversion rates through image-based search functionality, automatic photo tagging and recommendations based on a customer’s browsing history. At the same time, companies use Visenze to gain data on visual trend analytics, social insights, price discovery, and more.

Visenze has grown significantly since founding, tripling its headcount in the last three years to a current 80 employees across offices in Asia, Europe and the United States. Annual growth rate for the company is reported at over 200%, with over 300M online shoppers having used the technology. The company was also recently featured by the Japan Patent Office as an IP case study on its website, making it the only company from Singapore to be featured as such.

Visenze has been supported by NUS Enterprise since its start. It is a graduate of both BLOCK71 Singapore and BLOCK71 San Francisco, and was nominated by NUS Enterprise for the Asian Entrepreneurship Award in 2017, where it won 2nd prize.

(L to R): Two of Visenze’s co-founders, Chua Tat-Seng, KITHCT Chair Professor at the NUS School of Computing, and serial entrepreneur Oliver Tan.

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n unprecedented influx of top-tier international talent and capital — drawn by a critical

mass of home-grown expertise — has made Toronto the fastest-growing tech market in North America and a global innovation capital. Consider the following:

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Last year, Toronto created more tech jobs than San Francisco, Seattle and Washington D.C. combined.

In September 2018 alone, international investors poured a record CAD1.4 billion into the Toronto tech community.

Global Corporations like Samsung, Microsoft, Uber and Adobe are all building research centres in the city.

Toronto boasts world-leading institutions like the University of Toronto and the Vector Institute, both home to Geoffrey Hinton, widely considered the “Godfather of Artificial Intelligence.”

The city has an office vacancy rate of one percent, with plans to add nearly 10 million square feet of new inventory in the next five years.

Toronto is also home to 40% of all Canadian head offices and contributes roughly 20% of the country’s GDP.

And the region’s population (half of which is foreign-born) is growing by 100,000 every year.

Cory Mulvihill, a recent speaker at Innovfest unbound 2019 and the Lead Executive, Policy & Public Affairs at Toronto’s MaRS Discovery District, writes on how the city has become a hot-bed for entrepreneurship

THE WORLD IS INVESTING IN TORONTO’S TECH SCENE

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Corporations are no longer just siphoning talent out of Toronto to work in Silicon Valley, Singapore and Shenzen. They are instead increasingly looking to co-locate their businesses with Canada’s centres of excellences to work alongside its experts.

Incredible momentum is also building in Toronto’s neighbouring communities. In 2016, Ontario saw an almost 50% bump in venture capital deals. The province now ranks fourth in North America in terms of the dollar value of VC financings, after California, New York and Massachusetts. Not coincidentally, the Toronto-Waterloo corridor has also become home to a very active network of incubators and accelerators, including MaRS, OneEleven, the DMZ, Communitech and the Creative Destruction Lab at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, that are together attracting angel investors and founders.

The world’s geo-economic map is being redrawn around us and the capital cities of this new economy will be the global centres of innovation. All this is happening at the same time as politics have become more turbulent.”Yung Wu, CEO of MaRS

Where once governments looked to build bridges to the world, now they are building walls. This trend gives Canada, which is doubling down on its commitment to multiculturalism and diversity, an edge on the world stage. In Toronto’s case, the recent wave of tech applicants represents a growing slice of the giant population influx to the region. And, as Wu notes, these newcomers inject an enormous amount of entrepreneurial energy into the region’s economy and its labour force. “Immigrants don’t come here with much and they must do whatever they can to overcome challenges. That’s the essence of what it is to be an entrepreneur.”

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Tell us about your NOC experience. I have been interning at a quantum computing start-up, AuroraQ. My company is small, consisting of only two co-founders and myself. Although I was a hired as a “techie” to work on hardware and software design projects, I took on multiple side projects in the fields of business, marketing, web-design and more! To top it all off, my company was admitted to the prestigious Y-Combinator accelerator, which allowed me and my founders to live and work in Silicon Valley for three months. Upon our return we moved to Waterloo, a town two hours away from Toronto with the highest concentration of start-ups in the world outside of Silicon Valley.

What have been your key takeaways? I realised that Westerners differ in their mindsets: they work on what they truly feel passionate about. Putting less importance on money and focusing more on my own interests has been one of the two greatest takeaways from the year. The other is that flexibility is key. Almost nothing has gone as planned, with every week being so different from the previous. However, this has been the greatest blessing! I have learnt so much more from the journey and seen the resilience of my founders, who keep pushing despite every difficulty.

Overall, I have gained a much better global perspective, learnt how to live, work and study alone in a foreign land, made new friends, learnt of new norms…the list is endless! Most importantly, the programme has shown me how possible it is to make an idea into reality through this rigorous journey.

What’s next for you? A couple of my batchmates and I have started developing a start-up idea of our own targeted at helping the custom manufacturing industry in Southeast Asia. NUS Enterprise has granted us some funds in order to aid us in the process and it has been yet another unexpected learning journey! I am truly appreciative for this opportunity and I look forward to building a future using all the skills and experiences that I have gained!

Hardik Dobariya Faculty of Engineering; 3rd Year

During their first week in Canada, they went to see the majestic Niagara Falls-- only a 2-hour bus ride from Toronto.

Alexandra Zhang Jingyun School of Design and Environment; 3rd Year

START-UP LIFE IN THE GREAT WHITE NORTH

aunched in July 2018, NOC Toronto is the first Canadian location for the NOC programme. SPARKS catches up with two students from the inaugural batch to learn more.

Tell us about your NOC experience.I was placed in a business development role in an automotive engineering start-up, Inmotive. The company designs a unique 2-speed transmission solution (the Ingear) targeted at the electric vehicle (EV) market, addressing EV automakers’ biggest challenges of range, performance and cost.

Alexandra in Inmotive’s lab, learning how to power up the transmission prototype.

Not only was my internship male-dominated, it was heavily loaded with engineering jargon I was unfamiliar with. It was also my first work experience in a hardware start-up. Everything was new, but it was made less daunting by the patient and kind colleagues. They showed me how exciting the automotive industry, once a legacy industry, is as it evolves with the idea of EVs.

What is a typical day like for you? Every day is different – my tasks span from business research, to managing company operations and partner relationships, to doing simple menial tasks with the engineers in our workshop. I also had the honour of working directly with the CEO, a seasoned entrepreneur and visionary at heart. I sat in many high-level executive meetings where I learned how to strategise and enter a new market.

What have been your key takeaways? I’ve learned to be relentlessly resourceful. Challenges like finding your own housing and balancing the high demands of work and school simultaneously taught me how to survive. I remember an eventful day where I was executing an office move to a new location. I saw it through till the end to 9pm, while going home only to study for our school’s final paper the next morning. One thing I personally learned while hustling is never to neglect health and friendships. They run in parallel with our work or personal goals.

What has been memorable about life in Toronto?

Winter. Surviving the negative 30 degrees was quite an experience. Despite that, I am very

impressed with the city’s diverse culture and raw talent. It is also a hotbed for entrepreneurship, with many student-focused incubators and accelerators. People here are extremely open, accepting (even of failures!), and willing to help you out of goodwill.

Hardik (top row, furthest right) and Alexandra (bottom row, furthest right) with their NOC Toronto batch mates, visiting the CN Tower.

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WOULD YOU BE MAD ENOUGH TO WANT TO CHANGE OUR WORLD?

amed after Mr Philip Yeo, a distinguished Civil Servant with over 40 years of public service, the Philip Yeo Initiative (PYI) is the brainchild of several of his

protégés who hope to groom a new generation of leaders who embody Mr Yeo’s passion and commitment. It is a ground-up movement administered by NUS Enterprise, the entrepreneurial arm of the National University of Singapore (NUS), to create a platform for people and talent development.

On 22 March 2019, PYI celebrated its fifth anniversary at the Kent Ridge Guild House. Since its inception in 2013, PYI has welcomed 18 PYI Fellows and Associates as well as over 100 PY Grant awardees into the PYI community.

One of our associates is Wang Junyong, founder of Mangrove Learning, who provides Taiko lessons to seniors and youths with special needs to make an impact in their lives. In a rousing nod to Mangrove Learning’s purposeful mission, Mr Yeo took part in a lively Taiko performance with a dozen other PYI Fellows Committee members, PYI Fellows, Associates and Grant Awardees at the Anniversary Dinner.

Other associates at the dinner included Ritchie Ng, who is passionate about Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies. The NUS Faculty of Engineering alumnus currently leads AI development at Ensemble Capital, a Singapore-based AI hedge fund, as well as teaches a range of AI-related topics to more than 3500 students worldwide.

N Julian Koo, an alumnus of the NUS Overseas Colleges (NOC) programme and co-founder of healthcare start-up Jaga-Me, expressed that the “calibre of fellows and the astounding dedication of the mentors in developing them as founders and change-makers” sets PYI apart from other programmes. Julian became a PYI Associate in 2018.

Fund-raising efforts at the dinner included a live auction of artworks, as well as sponsorships of special programmes facilitated by the PYI Fellows and Associates. The evening concluded with the presentation of a cheque of over SGD500,000 for the Philip Yeo Initiative Endowment Fund. The funds will be put towards growing the next generation of MAD COW (Make A Difference, Change Our World) leaders through the Philip Yeo Innovation Fellows Programme and Philip Yeo Grant. Mr Philip Yeo emphasised, “The key to any successful organisation, any country — is talent. I believe in nurturing people. Talent can be groomed.”

www.philipyeoinitiative.sgFacebook: @PhilipYeoInitiative

I have benefited tremendously from the community of mentors, where (they) are concerned for the individual rather than solely on my ongoing projects.”Ritchie Ng (PYI Associate, 2017)

The night ended with a cheque presentation from Ms Chong Siak Ching (Chairman of PYI) and Mr Philip Yeo to Prof Tan Eng Chye, President of NUS, for the Philip Yeo Initiative Endowment Fund.

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DIGITAL THERAPEUTICS AND THE FUTURE OF MEDICINE

magine a future where digital therapeutics are prescribed by healthcare professionals

alongside drugs. If Biofourmis has its way, that future is closer than you think.

Launched in 2015, the start-up is utilising AI to predict and prevent serious medical events, helping to optimise and personalise therapy to the individual based on a patient’s own data. In just 3 ½ years, the company has grown to a team of over 50, received US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) approval for its RhythmAnalytics platform, and secured over USD40M in funding.

Founder and former NUS student Kuldeep Rajput joined Fernand Lendoye, Asia Managing Director for Aviva Ventures, at “The Future of Health: The Secret of Personalized, Predictive, Disruptive,” to discuss the company’s rapid growth, future plans and market potential. Hosted by NUS Enterprise@Singapore Science Park on 30 May, here are some key reasons identified for the start-up’s success:

I Market disruption:

Traditional therapy and diagnostic decisions tend to be based on population-level data. However, with the advent and intersection of genomics, wearable devices, and machine learning, Biofourmis is taking a more sophisticated approach to predict, recommend and intervene- helping to connect the right drug at the right dose to the right patient. The ultimate goal? Better health outcomes, lower readmission rates, and lower healthcare costs.

Built-in-Scale:

In order to scale quickly, Biofourmis has partnered with leading healthcare providers and pharmaceutical companies to serve as its distribution channel. By pairing a clinical drug with Biofourmis’ software platform, the approach is win-win: Biofourmis reaches patients, while helping pharmaceutical companies demonstrate the benefits/ risks of their new therapies through monitoring of effectiveness, dosage variances, adverse reactions, and more.

Global orientation:

With Biofourmis’ latest funding round also came the announcement that the company will be moving its headquarters to Boston. But the US was always a target for the company, given the country’s healthcare model, abundance of payers and providers, and regulatory pathway. Moreover, by working with and gaining approval from the FDA, Biofourmis is able to improve its legitimacy among patients and clinicians.

Investability:

Biofourmis is helping bring transparency and efficiency to a complex industry, while its solution has the “feel good” factor of benefitting people’s lives. As noted by Fernand, Aviva “fell in love” with the problem that Biofourmis is trying to solve, with factors relating to the team background, market potential, and traction also playing a role in the decision to invest.

(L to R): Dr Mayank Gurnani, Associate Director at NUS Industry Liaison Office and moderator for the panel; Fernand Lendoye, Asia Managing Director for Aviva Ventures; Kuldeep Rajput, Founder of Biofourmis; and Brian Koh, Director at NUS Enterprise.

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he months of April and May were an exciting time for the Lean Launchpad Singapore (LLP) programme, with 34 teams completing the programme across the four

participating universities. This was indeed remarkable as the programme has gained interest among academics and student researchers who see value in the programme’s ability to help commercialise and bring their technologies closer to market.

The central node, the National University of Singapore (NUS), had 15 teams participating in the 5th national cohort, which concluded on 8 April with the Final Presentation Day. Projects from NUS, NTU, A*Star and the SIA-NUS Enterprise Joint Accelerator Programme delved into a broad range of technologies in Medical Technology, Engineering and Infocomm Technology (ICT).

This year also witnessed the inaugural cohort from Singapore University of Technology & Design (SUTD) and Singapore Management University, with seven and four teams respectively completing the programme.

SUTD teams aimed at solving real world challenges and presented technologies that included monitoring and sensor devices for the healthcare sector, deep vision smart camera monitoring to improve safety, and more.

To cite a few, SMU teams presented technologies focusing on analysing publicly available information sources to obtain sentiment scores on companies. Another technology uses enterprise WiFi networks to track WiFi bases devices and gain insights into mobility patterns and space usage.

NTU Run 3 cohort had a good number of teams focusing on the food tech space. Project Bean Quest invented Okara, which is the waste-product of soybeans that are processed to make soy milk, tofu and a wide range of soy products.

All teams had amazing energy, passion and conviction in their presentations, sharing what they discovered over the 10-week period.

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The first half of 2019 saw the largest cohort of participants completing the Lean Launchpad Singapore programme, since it went national in 2017.

Inaugural Final Day presentation at Singapore University of Technology and Design on 15 May 2019.

Inaugural SMU Run and NTU Run 3 combined Presentation Day on 21 May 2019.

As many as 15 teams participated at the NUS Run 5 on 8 April 2019.

BUMPER CROP HEADING FORCOMMERCIALISATION

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Principal Investigators Share Their Views on Lean Launchpad Programme Run 5 @ NUS

We’ve graduated our latest batch of Lean Launchpad teams! With 15 ICT, Engineering and MedTech teams hailing from NUS, NTU, A*STAR and the SIA-NUS Enterprise Joint Accelerator Programme, the LLP programme treated guests to a fiery pitching session during its finale on 8 April 2019.

We managed to catch five of our PIs (Principal Investigators; each group has one!) to ask them how LLP has helped each of them in discovering their technological innovations. Read on to hear their insights!

Team BeautifyMe

Combining facial image analysis with AI, BeautifyMe gives you your top five makeup recommendations – in seconds.

Gained understanding of market needs Many years ago, I invented technology that can analyse facial image and transfer makeup. The main reason I joined the LLP programme was to find out if there was a market for my technology. That was the value of LLP for me – a methodical way to go about answering the question: Would people use my product? Would they pay for it? LLP gave me a way to think, the tools to use, and the right questions to ask. You also learn from the other teams, because even with their varied ideas and products, the learning journey is the same: how to discover and validate your hypotheses.

Assoc Prof Terence Sim School of Computing, NUS)

Team CaproGlu

An adhesive, hypoallergenic aesthetic ‘film forming polymer’: CaproGlu is an ideal component in cosmetic products such as waterproof sunscreen, perfumes, etc.

Attained broader perspective of customers and businessesSometimes when you have new technology, you have an idea what it’s for, but there isn’t a map on how to roll it out. The programme breaks it down, giving you an idea about where to start from and who to start asking (about your technology). What I liked about this course, was that it was an engineering approach to business. They first tell you to find your customer, even before you start your business. Which from a non-business POV, is exactly how I didn’t think it should be done. But here, you learn whether your technology is a go or no go first.

Asst Prof Terry Steele Sch of MSE, NTU

Team Project Pompeii Worm

Pompeii Worm has created next-generation protective barriers using 2-D materials. The products are ultra-thin, ultralight, and possess high stretchability, while offering effective chemical and fire protection.

Understood the potential of product growthIn the beginning, we had the research results and the motivation because we were sure of the novelty of our research. However, there was a gap between what we had and what the industry really needed. Before I joined the LLP programme, this gap was evident. I wasn’t 100% sure what to do to bridge my research outcome to the industry’s needs. The LLP helped me to achieve this goal, understanding different points of view - to see the potential of our products, validating our assumptions and finding out what the beachhead market was for our company, and what the supply chain in this industry is. This helped us to better position our products in the supply chain.

Asst Prof Chen Po-Yen Dept of ChBE, NUS

Team Project HYSPRA

Usually a tedious, time-consuming task, project HYSPRA has created a technology that aims to substantially decrease the time needed to carry out Raman measurements.

Discovery into customer insightsIt was very interesting to be a part of the LLP programme because we learnt that the most important part of business is to find people who will buy our products. Typically, we think solely about what we have, what we invented, and what we discovered is the best thing and everyone will buy it because it is important. But really, the important thing was whether people were going to buy it, and use it. LLP forced us to talk to other people, and in the process we realised our technologies could be used for other objectives (other than the one we began with). LLP pushed us to find people outside our bubble.

Asst Prof Jose C.V. Gomes CA2DM, NUSTeam Project BioDetectIF

BioDetectIF aims to accelerate drug discovery via our proximity assay, which enables the direct measurement of drug-target interactions in translatable systems.

Learnt the difference between technology strength and end-user benefitLLP helped me to focus on the business side of the value proposition. It gave us a different, more end user-oriented perspective: not what your tech can do, but what kind of problem are you trying to solve with your tech? If we develop technology that does not benefit the end-user, then our technology becomes irrelevant. There needed to be a balance. Through the interviews, we understood the vision of how to actually move our technologies into the possible market segments, which we determined as the lowest hanging fruit at that time.

Assoc Prof Lanry Yung Lin-Yue Dept of ChBE, NUS

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NEWSFEED

In May, the NOC Southeast Asia programme expanded to Ho Chi Minh and Bandung.

In April, NOC start-ups Shopback and Carousell announced new funding rounds, collectively raising more than USD100M.

A combined 25 entrepreneurs and innovators from the NUS Enterprise community were honoured in the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia and The Gen.T List 2019 lists, released in April and June, respectively.

In June, ComfortDelGro Ventures announced it had invested in NOC start-ups Haulio and SWAT.

A cooperation agreement was signed with the Federal Economic Chamber of Austria in May, under which NUS Enterprise will run an immersion and accelerator programme for Austrian start-ups.

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FLASH BACKNUS ENTERPRISE EVENTS & ACTIVITIES: APR - JUN 2019Stay updated on our events at: enterprise.nus.edu.sg/events

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MAD TALK: Philip Yeo Innovation Fellows Programme @ BLOCK71

ICE71 Accelerate Demo Day

MAD TALK: Philip Yeo Innovation Fellows Programme @ SCAPE

BLOCK71 Entrepreneurial Link: Singapore X South Korea

NIKKEI-NUS Enterprise Forum 2019

The Future of Health: The Secret of Personalized, Predictive, Disruptive

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NUS I&E Exchange with Tsinghua X-Lab

ICE71 Inspire Bootcamp

Innovfest unbound 2019

JUNKopi Chat: From Zero to Car-Hero: The Fast and Furious route to Entrepreneurship

DSTA@71 Tech Talk

Lean Launchpad Final Presentations Day

Wicked Series at N-House! Pitch Night!

Kopi Chat Da Bao: Carro’s CEO Aaron Tan

Ocean of Opportunities: Design Thinking Workshop

Mundipharma Cancer Care Challenge Online Roadshow

ICE71 x Div0 {DECIPHER} Hackathon

DSTA@71 Tech Talk 2

Alipay-NUS Enterprise Social Innovation Challenge: Grand Finale

Danone D2Hack Challenge 2019 Roadshow: Wearable Innovations for Babies

Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals, Nutrition, and Consumer Products

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Industry Roundtable Series: Future Health – Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals, Nutrition, and Consumer Products

Ocean of Opportunities Challenge Roadshow

Mundipharma Cancer Care Challenge Launch Party

MAD TALK: Philip Yeo Innovation Fellows Programme

CS Seminar 4: Explainable AI & How it helps businesses gain better insights

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Tap on government supportWith 7% of the country’s total budget and more than 15 government agencies providing support for start-ups and SMEs, South Korea has positioned itself as a hub for the growth of entrepreneurial ventures. Initiatives like the start-up campus in Pangyo Techno Valley, as well as the K-Startup Grand Challenge (KSGC), a global accelerator, have additionally helped to attract foreign start-ups from all over the world. Participation in these government-backed initiatives can also translate into visa fast-tracks, funding, key connections, and credibility for foreign start-ups.

Find a local partnerThe language barrier is one of the biggest obstacles for new entrants to the South Korean market, making it essential to find a local partner or employee on the ground that can help translate tricky business terminology, open new doors, negotiate on your behalf and secure that critical meeting. By engaging with experienced partners familiar with the South Korean ecosystem and capable of navigating any legal or IP complexity, start-ups also have more time to focus on their customers and delivering solutions.

ith an active tech scene, high internet and mobile connectivity, and strong government support for entrepreneurs (not to mention good food!), South

Korea is increasingly attracting Singapore start-ups looking to expand internationally.

On 16 May, BLOCK71 Singapore, together with Korea IT Cooperation Center Singapore (KICC), hosted the ‘Entrepreneurial Link: Singapore x South Korea’ event. The ‘Entrepreneurial Link’ series by NUS Enterprise serves as a bilateral platform for knowledge exchange and networking between start-ups, investors and corporate partners in Singapore and key overseas players. It also aims to deepen the links between the Singapore entrepreneurial ecosystem and overseas entrepreneurial hubs.

Bringing together a diverse panel with representation from start-ups (Mike Holt from NODIS and Shermaine Koh from Igloohome), government (Yvonne Lee of KICC) and an accelerator (Rock Oh from Awesome Ventures), the forum discussed key strategies Singapore companies can employ to successfully penetrate the South Korean market.

Challenge yourselfSouth Korea arguably has a more advanced tech ecosystem than Singapore, as well as a culture of early adoption that readily embraces new technologies. While this environment can be daunting for a new start-up in the market, it also affords opportunities to test ideas and gain feedback.

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SOUTH KOREA: OPPORTUNITIES ABOUND