Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi
Enterprise Singapore has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) Singapore, giving Singapore start-ups faster entry to India’s start-up ecosystem.
The partnership will facilitate co-innovation between start-ups in Singapore and Indian start-ups. TiE is considered to be the largest global entrepreneurship organisation.
The signing took place ahead of Indian Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s three-day official visit to Singapore beginning 31 May.
Led by Enterprise SG with the support of trade associations and chambers and start-up partners, the MoU signing with TiE Singapore effectively kickstarts the “Singapore - India Incubation Programme” by Start-up SG.
“The Singapore - India Incubation Programme aims to introduce ideas and concepts between the ecosystems of both countries and foster collaboration between companies in each other’s markets and in Southeast Asia,” said Tan Soon Kim, assistant chief executive officer of Enterprise Singapore.
“Over time, we aim to establish a series of key innovation nodes within India to form an innovation network for Singapore companies to tap on."
Singapore and Indian start-ups will together organise networking events, workshops and sessions with in-market mentors as part of the program.
The program is currently supported by eight partners and aims primarily to encourage collaboration between start-ups in both countries.
India currently makes up one-third of TiE’s global membership, with 11,000 members. Starting in July 2018, TiE Singapore will be running a start-up mission with 10 Singapore start-ups to meet with Indian start-ups, corporates, mentors and investors.
The meeting of minds in July will look to partner and co-innovate solutions in fintech, e-services and deeptech.
“The strategic collaboration between TiE and Enterprise Singapore would strengthen the bridge between India and Singapore’s start-up ecosystem, which today are amongst the most vibrant in the world,” said Puneet Pushkarna, chairman of TiE.
“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 start-ups on both sides."
For Singapore companies wanting to know more about the Indian market and how to enter it, Enterprise SG will be holding an iAdvisory Seminar: “Start-ups in India” on 12 July 2018.
India has a thriving start-up ecosystem, with increasing access to capital helping the sector to grow. Ranked third globally, with over 4,750 start-ups, available funding for start-ups in India reached approximately US$13.7 billion in 2017, compared to US$4.06 billion in 2016.
Key focus areas for India’s start-ups include e-commerce, fintech, healthtech and edutech.
