Moving to Singapore – A guide for Startups and Entrepreneurs

Top Startups moving to singapore 2019

The touristy island city of Singapore is one of the top startup ecosystems according to the Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2018. Singapore is a city and country both and an important economic center in the region. Moving to Singapore can be ideal for startups and startup job seekers looking forward to growing in a multicultural community with access to a diverse customer base. If you are one of them, here is a quick and definitive guide to help you make the shift to Singapore easier by understanding the benefits of Singapore’s startup ecosystem.

With a prosperous economy valued at $264 billion and an emerging startup sector, the city is on its way to becoming an important source of revenue for the country. It has a population of 5.5 million and has immigrants from several countries move to Singapore every year.

Tourism, logistics, banking and finance, and chemicals are some of the main industries in China contributing to its growth along with the prominent startup sectors in the city. Moving to Singapore is ideal for startups in the digital media, fintech, big data & analytics, and tourism sectors as these are few of the well-established ones in the city.

Singapore?s Growing Startup Ecosystem

There are several reasons why Singapore tops the list of cities for ease of business. The country has a long list of home-grown internationally successful startups despite its small size. The World Bank asserts that the country is one of the three places in the world to do business.

Singapore is the heart of all fintech activities in the region and has been attracting impressive venture capital funds in recent years. Let us look at the factors that make moving to Singapore worth the shift.

Startups in Singapore have Strong Government Support to Rely on

The struggle of moving to a new city to set up a business can be even more difficult when there are no special policies directed to the benefit of startups and entrepreneurs. Singapore recognizes this area of struggle and is helping to mould the entrepreneurial culture in the city through several startup-friendly policies and funding programs in Singapore.

Since fintech is the most prominent startup sub-sector in Singapore, most of these policies and grants are directed at the growth of the same.? One such plan is by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, which has set apart a fund of $225 million for developing the fintech sector through the setting up? of innovation centers and other similar institutions.

The government is trying to tackle the issue of high cost of living that may be a deal breaker for many foreign entrepreneurs and other talent planning to move to Singapore with its lenient tax system. Startups in Singapore can save a considerable amount of money in taxes with the Startup Tax Exemption Scheme (SUTE). This tax policy makes it much easier for entrepreneurs to set up a business that allows an exemption of $75000 on the first $100,000 for all eligible businesses and $50,000 of the next $100,000. Government-backed loans for SMEs are also an important form or supports startups moving to Singapore can enjoy.

The formation of government-run agencies like Enterprise Singapore who are helping propel the growth of the startup ecosystem has also been monumental. The agency helps and supports innovation and trade grow in the country by helping develop resilient industries.

Singapore has One of the Most Convenient Business Environments

Singapore is leaving no stone turned to ensure that it offers a conducive environment for startups. The city tops the list of countries for ease of business as the procedures to set up one here are fairly simple and quick.? To incorporate a company in Singapore and get it registered takes much less than a week through a hassle-free process. The easy company registration process is open to both local and foreign entrepreneurs moving to Singapore. The rates of personal and corporate income tax make the business climate in Singapore even more favorable.

Move to Singapore for Easy Funding Access

One of the main reasons that foreign talent and startups are expanding to Singapore is due to the ease in reaching out to funding sources. Singapore is ranked in the top five countries globally by the World Economic Forum for its venture capital potentials and availability.

There are over 100 venture capital firms in Singapore. The country has an estimated $24 billion of venture capital available in 2013; this amount has grown exponentially with the growth of the startup ecosystem in the country. The city is also home to close to 6,200 angel investors. The strong network of venture capital and angel investors makes it easier for startups to get noticed by the right funding partners. Organizations like the Singapore Venture Capital and Private Equity Association also help in bridging any areas of funding gaps and helping its members find the right ideas to invest in.

Startups in Singapore Have Access to a Strong Workforce

The high levels of education in the people of Singapore and surge of startup talent moving to the city, has helped in the creation of a strong and resourceful talent workforce. Moving to Singapore works very well for startups that require a lot of skilled labor as it is easily available.

The strong and talented workforce in Singapore can also be attributed to the students of the many industry-specific institutions that have been set up or partnered with by important agencies in the country for encouraging entrepreneurial activity in the region. For example, the Monetary Authority of Singapore has collaborated with five polytechnic colleges in the region to offer a better learning experience and equip them with all the necessary skills and knowledge that can make them startup worthy.

Startup Incubators and Accelerators Galore in Singapore

Startups moving to Singapore and struggling to launch their business can always turn to the myriad of startup accelerators and incubators in the city. These organizations offer a wide range of support to fast-track the entrepreneurial journey of its participants by connecting them to the right resources.

A Tech Sector Growing by Leaps and Bounds in Singapore

The tech sector, particularly the fintech segment, has been thriving spectacularly in Singapore. The government’s effort to ensure that at least 1% of the GDP is spent in R&D has also helped in shaping the strong tech-based startups in Singapore. Two sub-sectors outdoing the others after fintech are big data & analytics and digital media.

Singapore?s Fintech Prowess helps Startups

Singapore has been the flagbearer of all major fintech startup activities in Asia. The fintech startups in Singapore had a 6.7% share in the total local venture capital investments in the years between 2012 and 2017. The segment comprised of 270 startups, 20 international banks, and several insurance companies. Both B2B and B2C fintech startups have a good scope of growth in Singapore.

Notable funding rounds of startups include Quoine, a bitcoin trading platform that raised $16 million; Nera Payment Solutions that was acquired for $67 billion; and WB21 an online bank that raised $62 million in Series A round.

Big Data & Analytics Sub-Sector with International Presence

This sub-sector is growing at a tremendous rate and has been getting 5% of the total local venture capital investments between 2012 and 2017. The presence of international Big Data players like Palantir and Spire has further fuelled the growth of the sub-sector.

Eyeota, a data provider company has been in the spotlight recently with its Series B round of funding of $12.5 million which it raised at the beginning of 2018.

An Established Digital Media Sub-sector in Singapore for Startups

Digital media is one of the top sub-sectors within the tech niche in Singapore in terms of the funding received. The sub-sector got 10% of the total local venture capital in the last six years and notable startups like Sea that raised $550 million in May 2017 in Series E round of funding and went on to offer IPO at the New York Stock Exchange for $884 million later that year. Formerly known as Garena, Sea is a mobile and online entertainment company.

The role of ecosystem partners like co-working office brands has also been key for the growth of the startup ecosystem in Singapore. With agencies like Enterprise Singapore which is also a Startup Genome Member and the contribution of partners like 500 Startups, Trendlines Medical Singapore, and ACE, the ecosystem is poised to rise over most of the regional ecosystems in no time.

Copyright All Rights Reserved ? HexGn | Please do not copy or use without written permission | www.hexgn.com

Top Singapore Startups to Watch Out for in 2019

Top Startups moving to singapore 2019

Let us look at some of the top Singapore startups for 2019 that are being watched out for spectacular growth after raising substantial funding in 2018. These companies are the top companies among the 200+ startups that participated in funding rounds this year.

The island city of Singapore has grown tremendously as a startup hub and how! The city?s business environment is one of the most conducive ones in the region and has a local government that has taken utmost care to ensure that starting and running a startup or any small business is a smooth affair.

Top Singapore Startups to Watch Out for in 2019

Lazada

Lazada is a top startup in Singapore in the city?s ecommerce fabric that is expected to grow by leaps and bounds in 2019. It is one of the highest funded startups of 2018 and ha raised $4.2 billion since its inception. The startup concreted its places among the top Singapore startups for 2019 after pocketing $2 billion from the Alibaba Group. Lazada is a popular online selling and buying site offering a wide array of products over 3,000 brands. The Singapore based startup came into being in 2012 with the help of 10 founding partners who laid its strong foundation to take over the ecommerce industry in the? ASEAN region.

Know more about this top startup in Singapore

Website: www.lazada.com

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/lazada

Twitter: www.twitter.com/LazadaSG

AirTrunk

Singapore based startup? AirTrunk made headlines this year raising $621 million in financing from Goldman Sachs (lead investor) and Deutsche Bank. It is a high-end data center startup that was established by Robin Khuda in 2014 and has gained the status of a top startup in Singapore in a short span of time since its inception. AirTrunk plans to use the fresh funds to materialize their expansion plans to Australia and the other Asia Pacific regions. It has completed only two rounds of funding till date and the second one helped it warrant itself a place among the top Singapore startups for 2019.

Know more about this top startup in Singapore

Website: www.airtrunk.com

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/airtrunk

Grab

Grab was co-founded by Anthony Tan and Tan Hooi Ling in 2012. The company is among the top Singapore startups for 2019 that is expected to bring in the heat with their growth activities. Grab is a leading mobile payment and ride-hailing platform that seeks to make transportation and payment processes more advanced. This top startup in Singapore has raised total investments of $650 million in the different closes of Series H round. With the completion of this round, the total funding raised by the company amounts to $ 6.8 billion. iKaaz, an Indian mobile payment solution provider, was acquired by the Singapore based startup? 2018. This is the second acquisition for Grab.

Know more about this top startup in Singapore

Website: www.grab.com

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/grabapp

Twitter: www.twitter.com/grabsg

Trax

The next company on our list of top Singapore startups for 2019 is fast growing tech startup Trax. It was founded in 2010 by Joel Bar-El and Dror Feldheim who set out to revolutionize the retail industry with the introduction of its innovative image recognition technology. This top startup in Singapore acquired retail intelligence company Quri at the beginning of 2018 which was followed by one of its largest funding round till date. The Singapore based startup raised $125 million in equity funding from Boyu Capital in this round. Trax has operations in Europe, Middel? East, North and South America and is associated with the likes of Heineken, Nestle,? and Henkel.

Know more about this top startup in Singapore

Website: www.traxretail.com

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/trax-retail

Twitter: www.twitter.com/TraxRetail

Caroussel

Singapore based startup Carousell completed its Series C round of funding in May 2018 raising $85 million from lead investors Rakuten Capital and EDBI.? Other investors that also participated in this round were Sequoia Capital India, Golden Gate Ventures, DBS Bank, and 500 Startups. Caroussel is a mobile listing service startup that was set up in 2012 by Lucas Ngoo, Marcus Tan Yi Wei, and Quek Siu Rui to encourage more people to buy and sell things online. The company is one of the top Singapore startups for 2019 that is expected to strengthen its positions in the market with the fresh funds received.

Know more about this top startup in Singapore

Website: www.sg.carousell.com

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/carousell

Twitter:? www.twitter.com/thecarousell

Carro

Carro is among the top Singapore startups for 2019 in the automotive marketplace segment. The company is the brainchild of Aaron Tan who set up the company in 2015 to make it easier to sell and buy used cars. The Singapore based startup has found a lot of popularity and as it slowly grew from being just an online marketplace to more services that included financing, roadside assistance, and insurance brokerage. In May 2018, the company raised $60 million in Series C, the most recent round of funding for the Singapore based startup. The round was led by Softbank Ventures Korea and Insignia Venture Partners.

Know more about this top startup in Singapore

Website: www.carro.sg

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/carro-auto

Twitter: www.twitter.com/carro_sg

Zilingo

The next fast-growing company on our list of top Singapore startups for 2019 is ecommerce brand Zilingo. The startup has $81.9 million in its kitty so far from four funding rounds. The most recent round was the Series C round which was announced in April 2018. Zilingo raised $54 million in this round from nine investors with Sofina, Sequoia Capital India, and Burda Principal Investments as the lead investor. The Singapore based startup started off as a simple online marketplace but today also offers a host of other services including fintech, Private Label as a Service, and E-POS among the others. Ankiti Bose and Dhruv Kapoor founded the Singapore based startup in 2015 which has become a stalwart in its segment in this short span.

Know more about this top startup in Singapore

Website: www.zilingo.com

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/zilingo-pte-ltd

Ark Bio

Ark Bio is one of the highly funded medical tech companies this year among the top Singapore startups for 2019. The company was founded by Isaac Ho, Zhou Lihan,? and Zou Ruiyang that is working for finding early cancer detection solutions by leveraging the power of microRNA and data science. It was established in 2018 and is the youngest startup among the top Singapore startups for 2019. ?Ark Bio is working one of the most prominent clinical trials in Asia and will be soon launching easily available in-market products to help with early cancer screening. The Singapore based startup completed its Series A (first funding round) in November 2018. The round was led Venturecraft? Group and Gaorong Capital raising $40 million for the novel startup.

Know more about this top startup in Singapore

Website: www.ark.bio

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/arkbio

Honestbee

Singapore based startup Honestbee was founded in 2015 by Isaac Tay, Joel Sng, and Jonathan Low. The company is an online marketplace for various kind of food services and is presently available in eight countries. It rose to join the ranks of top Singapore startups for 2019 owing to the funding round completed this year that has got the various startup players watching out to see how well Honesbee uses the new funds. The most recent round was the Series A round in which the Singapore based startup raised $31 million. The total funds received by this fast growing startup stands at $46 million.

Know more about this top startup in Singapore

Website: www.honestbee.sg

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/honestbee

Twitter: www.twitter.com/honestbeesg

These are the top Singapore startups for 2019 that are already creating a lot of traction and have created the financial foundation to grow further. The tech sector is soaring owing to these companies with the fintech sub-sector shining the most. Singapore was featured among the top startup ecosystem in the Global Startup Ecosystems Report 2018 by Startup Genome and is one of the top startup hubs where entrepreneurs can get easy access to ample funding.

Copyright All Rights Reserved ? HexGn | Please do not copy or use without written permission | www.hexgn.com