Mr Png Cheong Boon, CEO of JTC Corporation
Mr Tan Kai Hoe, Chief Executive of SPRING Singapore
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
Introduction
1. First, I would like to thank all of you for sharing the vision and the work that goes into making JTC LaunchPad @ one-north happen. It has not been easy and it is because of our commitment towards the entrepreneurs in Singapore that we share the vision in creating this. I have to give credit to my colleagues in MTI, JTC and SPRING, as well as our agency partners and many others. This launch marks an important milestone in our journey to build a vibrant and sustainable entrepreneurial landscape.
The Need for a Start-up Hub
2. Entrepreneurship is an important part of Singapore’s economy. By bringing to life new products, services and business models, entrepreneurs serve as engines to renew and re-energise the sectors. Block 71 was featured in The Economist and was described as symbolising the potential that Singapore has for entrepreneurship. This is a result of years of work within the entrepreneurship community, including incubators, investors, start-ups, the young and old. There is also, Action Community for Entrepreneurship (ACE), which had been set up for more than 10 years. Some of you have been there since ACE was set up and are here till today. You have made this happen. This entire ecosystem exists because of your efforts and I am just riding on the foundation that has been built. Thus, today is a great milestone and it is very timely to launch this project.
3. It is important that we approach and treat start-ups in different ways based on their development phases. For Singapore of today, the Government’s support for entrepreneurship goes beyond just the giving out of grants. We do have comprehensive funds and grants out there ready for the entrepreneurs to tap on. But beyond just grants, we are also building the environment and the ecosystem for entrepreneurs to blossom and to succeed.
4. This is a very important process that we need to initiate to encourage more people to start their own businesses. Setting up a business is not about how big or small you will become. It is about instilling the entrepreneurial spirit of risk-taking, stepping out of the comfort zone, and making things happen. If you can survive and scale up, that is good. We are not looking for a Facebook or a Google. If you have an exit strategy, that is good for you. What we are looking for is to develop an entrepreneurial culture across the board.
5. LaunchPad is a milestone for us, but it is just a small step. If this is successful, we will build more of such clusters. We need to see how this progresses and we will need everyone’s effort. This is all hands on deck, and we need the private sector community, in particular, to come forward and to do this together. The Government can only catalyse but we can’t do it all. We will continue to facilitate and support as we launch the LaunchPad and privatise ACE. When these come together and with the Government’s support, I believe things will work. Many measures have already been implemented. We have also created a vibrant start-up scene, and the number of active start-ups in Singapore has grown by almost 60% in the past 7 years.
6. In Singapore, we have a number of constraints, including land and resources. We have constraints even in the way we fund. We have to be a little selective but we cannot discriminate against age and the nature of business. We encourage tech start-ups but we also encourage non-tech start-ups. The key is differentiation. Differentiation can happen not just with technology but with innovation. Innovation need not solely be through technology. Differentiate and become a game-changer. That is what we are looking for. If you are a game-changer, and you differentiate from the competition, you will have a better chance of survival.
Developing a Start-up Hub in Singapore
7. We have a start-up hub of our own in Singapore, and that is Block 71 at Ayer Rajah Crescent. The Economist has described it as the world’s “most tightly packed entrepreneurial ecosystem”[1]. From its beginnings as a JTC flatted factory three years ago, Block 71 has transformed into a vibrant and collaborative start-up community, very much for the Infocomm and Media sector. This was made possible with the dedication and passion from the pioneers including Media Development Authority (MDA), Singtel Innov8 and NUS Enterprise. The building is now a thriving start-up hub with 23 incubators, 250 start-ups, and 1,000 entrepreneurs and their employees. With LaunchPad, we are going to increase to 500 start-ups and 2000 entrepreneurs. There will also be more phases and clusters coming up, and the numbers will increase. We will look at how this evolves and progresses to decide how we launch the next phase, and also outside the Ayer Rajah area.
8. By bringing together different parties in the entrepreneurship ecosystem, Block 71 has become a fertile environment for the growth and development of start-ups. One example is Clault, a secure file-sharing service, which allows users to store, transfer and use confidential documents on public cloud infrastructure. Clault assures users that their data is protected, as even Clault will not be able to see the content of their customers’ documents. Being in Block 71 was useful for Clault as it was able to seek help from other Block 71 residents such as Raffles Venture, a venture capital firm, and Stream Global, an incubator, when it was making plans to enter the U.S. market.
9. Incubators have benefited from Block 71 as well. Stream Global has been able to tap on the network in Block 71 to help start-ups grow. One of their incubatees, Taggo, is a digital marketing start-up which helps merchants increase sales by turning their Facebook pages into loyalty programmes. Last year, Taggo attracted follow-on funding from Jungle Ventures, which is also based in Block 71. Jungle Ventures was also instrumental in helping Taggo get a foothold in the U.S. market, and connecting them with potential partners such as Facebook.
The Vision for JTC LaunchPad @ one-north
10. I am happy to announce that JTC LaunchPad @ one-north will build on the success of Block 71, further developing the region as a startup cluster.
11. We hope that this expanded cluster will bring more of these good examples and all partners to come together. Ever since we started talking about this, international investors and partners have expressed interest to be here in LaunchPad. But we will start off with our pioneering partners since we started Block 71. We would also like to work with relevant partners, and slowly progress and link up with international partners. This is because at the end of the day, start-ups have to go beyond the shores of Singapore to be really successful. To succeed, they will have to scale up based on volume needs, revenue stream and opportunities, and this is especially so for technology start-ups. It is not possible to just survive in Singapore. Singapore’s market is too small. Be bold, be brave, be courageous and take the risk. No matter the business type, including social media, entrepreneurs need to spend time overseas in order to market their offerings. This is to help them get ahead of competition, which will be their biggest challenge. By setting up this supporting ecosystem, the government is helping our entrepreneurs to succeed.
12. The difference between us and Sillicon Valley, New York City or others is the amount of government intervention. In Singapore, the Government played a relatively big role to inculcate an entrepreneurial spirit and catalyse the entrepreneurship ecosystem. Moving on, we will take on a more supportive role, working together with the community as partners to make this succeed. We will play a more strategic role such as designing the LaunchPad as we oversee the entire ecosystem and landscape to facilitate its progress.
Conclusion
13. In closing, I congratulate JTC Corporation and SPRING Singapore on the launch of the JTC LaunchPad @ one-north. I would also like to thank the agencies, A*STAR, Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA), Media Development Authority (MDA) and National Research Foundation (NRF), for their close collaboration with JTC and SPRING to bring this project to fruition.
14. I also wish to thank the members of the Action Community for Entrepreneurship (ACE) for their many contributions, and especially the Entrepreneurship Review Committee (EnRC) that had developed the recommendation for more start-up spaces, and everyone who have joined us on this exciting journey. We are seriously evaluating EnRC’s recommendations especially where the EnRC had identified that there is a ‘valley of death’ after the seed stage. If that is indeed the reality, then that is the gap we have to address. So we do take these recommendations and feedback seriously and many other measures that we are rolling out today is the result of all this. To the incubators and start-ups which have just joined the LaunchPad, welcome to the community. I wish you and everyone success as we work together to build a vibrant start-up scene that will contribute to Singapore’s economic success.
[1] All Together Now. The Economist Special Report on Tech Startups. 18 Jan 2014.