What the Singapore Government can do better for it’s local Startups
We need to do a better job in terms of creating the environment for our entrepreneurs. The government often pays a lot of attention on large companies and in fact we also have some huge companies here which are doing really well.
However, if we want to have a lot more small and medium sized businesses, we need to focus on that segment too and not just the big ones.
I think there are many other things they could be doing but I think it’s great that the government is moving in the right direction because we don’t even know what all these smaller businesses will be doing 10 years from now or 20 years from now.
So if they want to make sure that Singapore continues to be an innovative hub in Asia then our government needs to pay attention here and provide support for them to grow and to continue to employ Singaporeans.
Singaporeans are getting more involved in supporting local Startups.
I think the first thing is for people to understand that in Singapore, we are not a very big country. We have a population of about 5 million, which makes us less than half the size of New York City.
However, what I’m seeing lately is that there is a lot of interest in what’s happening with startups and innovation. So I think the key thing is for people to understand that they don’t need to be super wealthy or have hundreds of thousands of dollars lying around to help a startup grow.
In fact, you can help by sharing your ideas with them or just talking about them on social media and encouraging other people to try out their services or products.
I think that’s important because when you look at tech hubs in other countries like Silicon Valley where the ecosystem has been around for a long time, it took quite some time to build up that momentum but now it’s something that everyone knows about and everyone wants to be part of. And it really helps if you’re an investor who wants to put money into startups because they know that there are lots of enthusiastic users out there who want their services or products.
So I think this is one way Singaporeans can contribute and get involved directly in supporting local Startups — by doing so they are helping themselves as well because these startups will eventually produce innovations which may go back into other industries as well.
One thing I would like to see happening in Singapore’s startup ecosystem
I think it’s important to have a healthy ecosystem with lots of different startups in it. One thing we have been talking about recently at the government level is how to create more jobs for Singaporeans.
The government is very concerned with this and there are many ways to do this, but one way they are thinking is to get more startups here in Singapore because they will provide jobs for Singaporeans.
I think this is a great plan because if you look at the companies which have been very successful in Silicon Valley, they have had a lot of people working there and they have created wealth for their investors but also jobs for many other people as well.
So I think that if you want to create a vibrant ecosystem which will continue producing new innovations, then you need to focus on creating more jobs. And I’m sure that if we focus on doing that, then we can bring many other benefits as well.
Venture Capital investment opportunities in South East Asia. Will Singapore be relevant?
I think we will be relevant for venture capital investment opportunities for a long time just because we are such a small country and everything here happens much faster than it does elsewhere.
We also have things like our proximity to other big markets like China and India so I think all these factors will make Singapore an interesting place for venture capital investment opportunities not just over the next few years but also over a longer period of time as well.
However, there are always changes on the horizon so it’s important for us not to get too complacent and just assume that things will always be the same — because they won’t be!
In conclusion, I think the government has been doing a great job in terms of supporting innovation and that’s already a great start — we just need to continue working together to make Singapore an even better place for startups and innovation.
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.
