25 Feb 2016 - BASH, also intimately known as Build Amazing Startups Here has seen a momentous growth of the Singapore startup ecosystem in the past year. BASH started with one accelerator a year ago, in Singapore’s largest integrated co-working space that brings together all partners of the tech community.
Singapore, 25 February 2016 | For Immediate Release
And Continues To Build The Startup Ecosystem with Three New Accelerators and a Global Startup Exchange Programme
BASH, also intimately known as Build Amazing Startups Here has seen a momentous growth of the Singapore startup ecosystem in the past year. BASH started with one accelerator a year ago, in Singapore’s largest integrated co-working space that brings together all partners of the tech community.
BASH has since housed five more accelerators1 that saw more than 65 startups being accelerated in the space. This brings the total to some 230 startups that have been accelerated across the whole of Singapore, through Infocomm Investments Pte Ltd’s (IIPL) efforts.
BASH also made a mark on the world stage with over 30,000 visitors passing through its doors, including hosted visits of some 28 international government organisations, 50 commercial/multinational companies, 40 educational institutions and more than 20 trade delegations. Locally, BASH also hosted/organised a multitude of events and activities ranging from the recent Kauffman Summit to hackathons run by local banks and community open-house events like the annual SG Walkabout. Above and beyond that, BASH is a home away from home to more than 3,000 startups from over 50 nationalities. BASH aims to build an ecosystem here that is growing vis-a-vis the region's ecosystems. In turn, helping start-ups catapult into neighbouring, and even international markets from Singapore.
IIPL’s Global Startup Exchange will be the mechanism to do just that for startups. Building on the partnerships sealed last November with Barcelona Activa and Sri Lanka's Xeleration, two more partners are added to the programme today – the Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority (DSOA) and Taiwan Startup Stadium. A signing ceremony of the partnership with DSOA will see synergies in joint programmes and activities that foster innovation and tech entrepreneurship in both countries (See Annex A News Release (315.97KB)).
The first batch of Global Startup Exchange programme will have startups from Sri Lanka and Taiwan inducted and immersed into Singapore’s ecosystem and test-bedding their product-market-fit in Singapore. The first run will commence in April 2016.
Acceleration
The successes of accelerators can be witnessed at BASH. With a structured 3-month programme, accelerators help startups shape and validate its business model, build a minimal viable product and prepare a convincing investor pitch. That saw a success rate (startups’ ability to raise funds to move on to the next stage of development) of more than 50%, up from 2-8% from the traditional incubation process. To further this strategy of building investable startups, three new accelerators with different industry focus, namely, Rockstart, Spark Accelerator and Airmaker will be launched.
Amsterdam-founded Rockstart is a leading web and mobile accelerator in Europe, supporting over 1,600 founders and accelerated 68 startups since 2012. Apart from its tried- and-tested acceleration programme, the Rockstart Singapore programme will be part of a global programme with mechanisms supporting startups to scale globally. Rockstart will run acceleration programmes over a three year period with 10 startups per intake. Applications will open in May 2016 with the first programme run targeted to start in Q3 2016 (See Annex B Factsheet (305.06KB)).
Singapore Power (SP) and IIPL will also collaborate to set up Spark Accelerator, targeting at promoting and accelerating the growth of startups in the energy sector. The accelerator aims to discover entrepreneurs and startups with innovative ideas or solutions that meet the future energy needs of their customers. They will drive next-generation ideas in energy efficiency, mobility, cyber-security and on-demand customer services. Applications opens Q2 2016 and the first programme is targeted to start end of Q3 2016 (See Annex C News Release (379.96KB)).
The third accelerator, Airmaker, also known as爱码科技 is a joint venture company between Ascendas-Singbridge (ASB), Runyang Group (RYG) and IIPL. This cross-border acceleration programme brings together the knowledge and business connections of all ASB and RYB as well as IIPL’s venture capital expertise to drive Internet of Things (Iot) innovation and entrepreneurship in Singapore. Airmaker targets startups related to: (i) smart building management; (ii) connected home/city applications that may reach into areas such as wearables, health and wellness, energy, etc. and (iii) connected industrial and manufacturing solutions, technology and infrastructure, all with IoT as the underlying enabler (See Annex D Factsheet (335.44KB)).
“As Singapore pursues its vision to become a Smart Nation, we are working to tackle important shared global challenges arising from the realities of ageing populations and urban density through technology and innovation. IIPL and the government will need to collaborate with corporates, universities, research institutes, investors and start-ups to come together and form a vibrant and innovative ecosystem, to devise new solutions that can tackle areas such as healthcare, transportation and resources sustainability. We need more to come on board to work with us to develop new innovation,” said Mr Steve Leonard, Executive Deputy Chairman, Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA).
Beyond investments into accelerators for the Singapore ecosystem, IIPL also partners and works closely with corporate organisations to facilitate knowledge-sharing of acceleration or corporate innovation and resource facilitation, as well as to nurture innovation and talent development. On this front, IIPL is partnering with IBM for the TAG.PASS2 for IBM Watson programme. The joint initiative is aimed at building an ecosystem of start-ups and tech companies with an interest in developing Watson-powered apps for a broad spectrum of industries, including retail, travel, healthcare, the public sector, finance and more (SeeAnnex E News Release (306.83KB)).
IDA is also the Host Partner of the inaugural Forbes Under 30 Summit Asia in Singapore as part of the Smart Nation Innovation week happening in May this year. The Summit will convene the honorees of the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, which includes 300 young innovators, entrepreneurs and leaders across Asia, augmenting the position of Singapore as a natural hub to build tech innovation and entrepreneurial talent. These game-changers who are transforming business, technology, industry, media, culture and more, will add to the vibrancy and energy of Singapore's start-up ecosystem.
Dr Alex Lin, Head of IIPL says, “The growth and successes in Singapore’s startup ecosystem has been nothing short of phenomenal. We started out building and bringing together the key players strategically and physically (with BASH as the convening space); then invigorating the ecosystem with our acceleration strategy and partnerships; and now we’re transiting towards expanding our ecosystem towards a self-sustaining one. With all the upcoming initiatives, I implore startups to make full use of these opportunities. Talk to accelerators, look for us. We are here to help you grow.”
1Startupbootcamp FinTech, SPH Plug & Play, the FinLab, TAGPASS (IIPL’s in-house pre acceleration) and DBS Hotspot (also a pre-accelerator).
2TAG.PASS is IIPL’s in-house pre-accelerator programme, for more info: http://www.infocomminvestments.com/TAG.html
JOINTLY ISSUED BY THE INFOCOMM DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY OF SINGAPORE & INFOCOMM INVESTMENTS PTE LTD (IIPL)
Related Resources
- Annex A: DSOA-IIPL Partnership News Release (315.97KB)
- Annex B: Rockstart Factsheet (305.06KB)
- Annex C: Spark Accelerator News Release (379.96KB)
- Annex D: Airmaker Factsheet (335.44KB)
- Annex E: TAG.PASS for IBM Watson IBM Programme News Release (306.83KB)
About Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore
The mission of the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) is to develop information technology and telecommunications within Singapore with a view to serve citizens of all ages and companies of all sizes. IDA does this by actively supporting the growth of innovative technology companies and start-ups in Singapore, working with leading global IT companies as well as developing excellent information technology and telecommunications infrastructure, policies and capabilities for Singapore. For more news and information, visit www.ida.gov.sg. Follow IDA on Facebook IDA.Singapore and Twitter @IDAsg.
About Infocomm Investments Pte Ltd (IIPL)
Infocomm Investments Pte Ltd (IIPL) builds and invests in Singapore and global infocomm technology start-ups. Managing a fund size of more than US$200 million, it accelerates the development of start-ups in their formative phase, and invests further as they grow and expand. Through its investments, partnerships with stakeholders across private and public sectors, and global reach, IIPL plays a central role in building a vibrant and sustainable ecosystem in Singapore for start-ups to flourish.
IIPL is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore. For more information, visit www.infocomminvestments.com or follow @iipl on Twitter.
For media clarifications, please contact:
Amanda KWEK (Ms)
Manager, Communications
Infocomm Investments
DID: (65) 6996 6431
Email: Amanda@infocomminvestments.com
Suzanne TAN (Ms)
Manager, Corporate and Marketing Communications
Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore
DID: (65) 6211 1514
Email: Suzanne_tan@imda.gov.sg
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