（Singapore, July 13, 2020）Enterprise Singapore has seen startups stepping up to find ways to tackle issues arising from COVID-19 since the onset of the pandemic, Edwin Chow, Assistant Chief Executive Officer of Enterprise Singapore, told Fortune Times.
Formed on April 1, 2018, Enterprise Singapore is a statutory board under the Ministry of Trade and Industry in Singapore whose mission is to support Singapore’s small and medium enterprise development.
Chow said since startups have the advantage of being nimble, they can adapt quickly and capture new growth opportunities.
“It has been very encouraging to see that some have responded very positively to the situation by pivoting to come up with innovative products or solutions to solve immediate challenges,” he said.
One example is local startup Breathonix, who re-purposed their breath analyzer solution for the mass screening of the COVID-19 virus for real-time and on-site analysis at medical institutions.
“This is not only a move to capture new opportunities or diversify their business; it also contributes to current community needs,” he said, noting that there are many opportunities for innovative solutions or products to be developed to tackle the current crisis.
The new norm of working from home has also given rise to an array of digital solutions to enable web conferencing, virtual events, data sharing, and more. New tech solutions are also being created for sectors such as education and healthcare, which have had to change their traditional mode of working by going online, he said.
“We have also seen a rise in interests in sectors such as med-tech and food-tech. For example, capital continues to flow into the alternative protein industry as sentiments for traditional animal agriculture companies go awry with exposed vulnerabilities in the global food supply chain.”
Chow said the Singapore-based food-tech startup Shiok Meats was able to ride on this interest and recently announced that it raised US$3 million in a bridge funding round, securing a total of US$7.6 million in funding to date. Shiok Meats produces lab-grown seafood meat and is currently in the research and development phase to create more prototypes with its cellular technology to grow shrimp cells.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has led to disruption in businesses across all sectors but also created new trends and opportunities in the near and long term. Many trends are shaping the post-COVID future and there is a huge demand for tech to solve problems,” he said, calling on startups to ave strong fundamentals and to evaluate their plans while seeking out opportunities.
At the same time, Enterprise Singapore has been working with startup and innovation ecosystem partners over the years to support startups’ growth.
“We continue to do so in this challenging period as it is even more important now to ensure a robust ecosystem that can support tech startups with the development of innovative, deep tech solutions that can solve future problems in a post- COVID environment. “
First of all, he said, startups face the immediate challenge of getting sufficient financing to push ahead with their R&D and commercialization. On this front, the Singapore government enhanced our Startup SG Equity scheme earlier this year with an additional S$300 million to catalyze more investments into Singapore-based deep-tech startups.
Subsequently, we put in an additional S$285 million Special Situation Fund for Startups to provide targeted help to startups with good growth record pre-COVID but have been badly affected by the pandemic. Both will be done through co-investments with the private sector.
To ensure the continued flow of investors, ESG and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) also converted the physical deal-making platform called Deal Fridays, to virtual sessions where the deal-making between investors and startups is catalyzed.
Second, Enterprise Singapore continues to provide platforms for startups to profile themselves, come up with solutions that have a real industry demand, and match them to potential partners.
“To this end, our SLINGSHOT 20201 startup competition in November will include a new track-focused on solutions that help businesses tackle issues stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic and challenging them to create the “new normal”. “
ESG, the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), and the National Research Foundation will also be launching the National Innovation Challenge, a series of innovation calls that address industry challenges in a post-COVID world, targeting to help businesses emerge stronger.
Chow said this will create opportunities for co-innovation between the private and public sectors, including solutions providers such as startups.
“Third, we want to make sure that startups continue to get the right guidance and resources from experienced mentors who can help them adjust their business strategies and models and tide through this period. “
In April, ESG appointed 14 new Accredited Mentor Partners (AMPs) to our Startup SG Founder scheme. The industry partners will be able to provide mentorship and startup capital grants to first-time entrepreneurs with innovative business ideas.
Besides, the ESG also worked with the Action Community for Entrepreneurship (ACE) to set up the “COVID- 19 Support for Startups” page so that startups can easily access the assistance available to them through the 35 partners who came on board. This includes financing, advisory, and free software applications.
He said that several ecosystem partners have even stepped up to provide mentorship virtually to startups on a pro bono basis. For example, community builders AngelCentral and Found8 launched online sites that list tips and advisories for any startups during this tough time.
A few VCs and community partners such as Sequoia and SG-Innovate banded together to launch an initiative called “Mentor for Hope” in May 2020 – a month-long fund-raising campaign that saw mentors offering their time for free to guide startups affected by this crisis, in exchange for donations from startups to social services organizations.
