Can Singapore really become a Global Startup Hub?
Not Yet. Here’s Why.
Singapore is a country that is growing very rapidly. It has a lot of well educated people and also many young people who are well-versed in English.
The country is a place where you can find many multinational companies, entrepreneurs, investors and venture capitalists. The future of Singapore looks very promising for startups and entrepreneurs.
A report by the World Bank showed that Singapore has one of the most attractive investment regions in the world.
According to the report, Singapore is a country where you can find many multinational companies and also many entrepreneurs who are well-versed in English.
The country is very attractive for investments and it is also a place where you can find many venture capitalists and investors.
Moreover, it is located in Asia which has a lot of potential for startups and entrepreneurs. This makes Singapore a very promising place for startups to grow.
The government of Singapore has been focusing on creating an attractive investment environment for startups.
The government offered many tax incentives so that entrepreneurs feel motivated to start their business in this country.
For example, there is a 75% exemption for the first S$100K (approximately $75K) profit earned by a startup company from its business operations such as sales or services provided by the startup company.
In addition, there are also no taxes for income from entrepreneurial activities such as selling services or goods via internet or offline or providing any kind of service like consultancy, design, etc…
This tax incentive was introduced to encourage entrepreneurship in Singapore so that there will be more job opportunities for young people as well as new entrepreneurs who want to start their businesses here.
There are also other benefits offered by the government to startups like cash grants which vary depending on the project and its purpose.
There are also other benefits being offered by the government such as free use of co-working spaces, incubators and accelerators etc…
Thus far, these incentives have created an excellent environment for startups in Singapore and have attracted new entrepreneurs from around the world who want to start their businesses here.
In order to attract even more foreign entrepreneurs who want to start their business here, some policies were changed recently so that they can benefit even more from them by being able to get work permits easily if they come from certain countries outside Europe and North America (USA & Canada).
However, this policy applies only if those foreigners come from countries like China which have good relations with Singapore as far as trade agreements are concerned but not necessarily all Asian countries because China is an important trade partner of Singapore compared with other Asian countries.
In addition, the Singapore government also offers various grants for startups, there are also many incubators and accelerators for startups from around the world.
In addition, you can find several co-working spaces in Singapore as well as big investors and venture capitalists who are ready to invest in good projects.
However, one thing that is the best in Singapore compared with other countries is that it is very easy to make business connections here because people are used to networking and they are very open-minded.
This makes it very easy for foreign entrepreneurs to make good business connections here and benefit from them.
When it comes to the startup ecosystem in Singapore, you will find a lot of structuring organizations such as associations or federations of startups like StartupSG which was created by the government earlier this year with the goal of helping startups get connected with each other as well as providing them with more benefits and resources that they need in order to grow their businesses.
There is also an association called The Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (ASME) which was also created by the government of Singapore recently for small and medium enterprises where you can find about 100,000 members so far including freelancers, small businesses etc…
In addition, there is an association called Singapore Fintech Association(SFA) which was created by several fintech companies together with banks in order to promote fintech industry growth in Singapore and provide benefits for its members.
In addition to these organizations created by governments or private companies, you will find many events related to startups organized by organizations like Startup SG which helps connect entrepreneurs with each other during these events where they can exchange ideas about their businesses among themselves while having fun at the same time.
In terms of investment opportunities for startups, there are many investors who give funding for new startups here mainly because there are lots of good projects being started here each year but some investors don’t have enough funds to invest in all those projects so they prefer investing only into projects which have a good potential when it comes to growing their business further while keeping cost low especially when it comes to overhead costs compared with other countries such as USA or UK etc…
As a result, companies which have already raised capital funds from those investors can remain leaner while still contributing towards growing their business further without having much overhead costs compared with other countries around the world.
Moreover, the government has also encouraged many local and foreign investors to invest their money in startups here by providing tax incentives and other benefits to those investors.
However, this fund is only meant for very early stage companies which are still at the idea stage so that they can get funding and help their business grow further after getting some initial feedback from potential investors.
The best thing about Singapore is that you can find lots of entrepreneurs from around the world who want to start their businesses here because it is a very attractive country when it comes to doing business or starting a business quickly.
You don’t need any special permission or visa to start a business in this country unlike other countries where you need a work visa before you can start working on your startup while waiting for approval from the immigration department etc…
When it comes to working environment in Singapore, you will find many foreign talent including young people well-versed with English who are willing to work hard in order to create value for themselves and others around them either via their projects or simply by being part of a team where everyone works together towards achieving one common goal.
In addition, there are many companies from around the world based here such as Google and Microsoft.
These companies employ thousands of people from around the world including young people who are well-versed with English which makes this country very attractive for both foreign entrepreneurs who come here just like me and local entrepreneurs who already live here so far.
Why Singapore will not reach it goals to become a Startup Hub?
However, despite all these advantages, Singapore still has a long way to go before it becomes a Global Startup Hub.
In addition, the investment environment here is not perfect and there are many things that need to be done in order to attract more investors who are willing to invest in startups here.
Although the government of Singapore has been focusing on creating an attractive investment environment for startups and entrepreneurs coming from around the world in order to create more job opportunities for young people and give them an opportunity to start their business so they can get financial independence faster than before, it is still not enough compared with other countries which have similar policies implemented.
The government of Singapore should focus on creating more incentives for investors who come from around the world especially from China or India or countries with good relations with Singapore like USA & Canada.
These incentives should be offered in order to convince investors from those countries that Singapore is a country which is worth investing in because it offers a lot of opportunities for investment while at the same time helping create job opportunities for young people here.
For example, the government could offer tax incentives or many other types of benefits such as free office spaces etc. so that investors are willing to invest their money into local startups because it will help them grow their business further faster.
In addition, foreign investors should also be offered some kind of visa so they can stay longer than three months without any problems.
There is no doubt that these things discourage foreign investors from investing their money into local startups here simply because they don’t want to risk getting into trouble later on by overstaying their visas without knowing about it even if they didn’t mean any harm by doing that since they came here with good intentions which means that they want to invest their money wisely into local startups.
Another thing that should be done in order to attract more investors who want to invest their money into local startups here is to promote Singapore as a country which is worth investing into by giving promising and high potential startups the opportunity to attend events like Demo Day and meet investors who are interested in investing their money into local startups.
This will also help create a good environment for investment by allowing them to get connected with the right people in order for them to start their business.
In addition, Singapore should also focus on building a startup community here by creating an event like Startup Asia which helps connect startups with investors from around the world so that they can find the perfect partners for their business fast and easy without having any problems doing so.
There is no doubt that this is something that will help create a better investment environment because if there is one thing that all investors look for while choosing where they want to invest their money, it’s a good business plan, and when these startups have a good business plan, then they are more likely to receive investments from investors because they have clear vision of what kind of product or service they want to offer on the market along with expertise in doing so.
Finally, another key factor which can help boost Singapore’s chances of becoming a Global Startup Hub is if entrepreneurs who come here understand why it’s important for them to hire people when they start their business.
By hiring people who will work alongside you in growing your startup means you’ve matured enough as an entrepreneur because you know how hard it is working alone while at the same time enjoying every moment working with your team members.
However, many entrepreneurs don’t see the importance of hiring people when starting up because most of them think that it’s not going to bring any benefits while at the same time believing that working alone as an entrepreneur will give them financial independence faster than before but this usually doesn’t happen because they fail during early stages of growth simply because there is no one working alongside them offering support when needed or helping them grow their business even further faster.
About the Author
I am the Founder of Cudy Technologies (www.cudy.co), a full-stack EdTech startup helping teachers and students teach and learn better. I am also a mentor and angel investor in other Startups of my other interests (Proptech, Fintech, HRtech, Ride-hailing, C2C marketplaces and SaaS). You can also find me on Cudy for early-stage Startup Founder mentorship and advice.
You can connect with me on Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexanderlhk) and let me know that you are a reader of my Medium posts in your invitation message.
