Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations Mr S Iswaran announced the expansion of the Global Innovation Alliance (GIA) network to Bangalore in India in October 2019.
Through the network in Bangalore, Enterprise Singapore will help connect Singapore technology startups and SMEs to India’s growing innovation ecosystem, and boost business partnerships between Singapore and India.
According to Mr Iswaran, both innovation ecosystems share many synergies, and the expansion of the GIA network to Bangalore “provides Singaporeans and Singapore companies with more opportunities to better connect and collaborate with their counterparts in India, and co-create innovative solutions”.
Mr Iswaran witnessed the signing of four Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) as part of the GIA network, including Enterprise Singapore’s three MOUs to strengthen market access and help Singapore tech startups and businesses familiarize with the ecosystem. This will eventually help them to set up, test-bed and commercialize their solutions, engage in co-innovation activities, as well as form business partnerships in Bangalore and India.
Enterprise Singapore will partner:
- Anthill Ventures, an international speed scaling platform, to run the GIA Acceleration Programme to facilitate the entry of Singapore-based startups into the Indian market through Bangalore. Expected to commence in November 2019, the programme includes preparation stage in Singapore and market immersion in Bangalore.
- The Indus Entrepreneurs Global (TiE Global), a startup network founded in Silicon Valley, to connect Singapore startups to mentors and venture capitalists (VCs) in the Indian startup scene;
- YourStory, India’s mediatech platform for startups and entrepreneurs, to strengthen mindshare between the startup communities of both countries and highlight collaboration opportunities.
Additionally, Anthill Ventures signed an MOU with BRIDGE+, CapitaLand’s co-working space, aimed at providing a conducive environment for tech startups and companies to collaborate. The GIA Acceleration Programme will be conducted at this launchpad in CapitaLand’s International Tech Park Bangalore. The launchpad also provides services such as guidance on business development, briefings on business and technology trends, marketing support to the startup ecosystem partners, as well as mentorship and training.
Mr Tan Soon Kim, Assistant Chief Executive Officer of Enterprise Singapore, said, “Singapore companies can leverage Bangalore to pilot or deploy innovative solutions in health tech, urban tech, and rural tech, and eventually scale their business to other key cities in India. Likewise, Indian startups can tap on Singapore’s connections and innovation ecosystem to expand into Southeast Asia, or work together to co-create solutions to address problem statements of corporates in the region.”
With Bangalore, innovation launchpads under the GIA network now has connections to 12 cities globally, including Bangkok in Thailand; Beijing, Suzhou and Shanghai in China; Berlin and Munich in Germany; Jakarta in Indonesia; Paris in France; Tokyo in Japan; San Francisco in the US; and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam.
