First Minister hosts Singapore’s high commissioner as Scotland builds tech bridge to Southeast Asia | FutureScot

John Swinney hosted Singapore’s High Commissioner at Bute House as Scotland seeks to build a tech bridge to Southeast Asia.

The First Minister met with His Excellency Mr Ng Teck Hean in Edinburgh to cement new ties on business, which involve setting up a tech hub in the wealthy island city-state.

The pop-up hub will be available to help Scottish startup and scale-up firms taking part in the national Techscaler scheme to get a foothold in one of the biggest tech markets globally.

Under the deal, members of the Scottish Government’s £42 million flagship IT incubation programme will be able to apply for a three-week visit to the country from August.

Once there, they will get the opportunity to mix with other local startups and to meet potential new investors and customers.

The start-ups will be provided with office space in a designated pop-up hub for the duration of the trip, which is funded by Scottish Enterprise and runs from October 21 to November 8.

Mr Swinney said: “Driving innovation is vital to helping unlock each of the Scottish Government’s priorities of eradicating child poverty, boosting economic growth, achieving net zero and improving public services. Growing and nurturing our pipeline of entrepreneurs and start-up companies is in turn crucial to unleashing its potential.

“Techscaler is central to our ambitions to create one of the finest state-funded entrepreneurial systems in the world dedicated to the creation of high-growth businesses. Connecting our promising start-ups to one of the world’s most renowned venture capital environments is a hugely exciting opportunity.”

He added: “By developing our network of global connections and collaborations, including the key strategic partner in Singapore, we are not only providing valuable experience for our fledgling businesses, but deepening relationships, trade links and inward investment opportunities to capitalise on the enormous potential of our growing start-up community.”

Techscaler businesses have already been successful in securing a similar three-week stay in San Fransisco’s Silicon Valley this summer, following a successful pilot earlier in the year.

Shiv Kodam, co-founder of Neuron and participant in the upcoming Silicon Valley cohort said: “As a Scottish founder, I am buzzing to be going to San Francisco, soaking up knowledge from the world’s best and forging connections with fellow founders, investors, and ecosystem leaders.

“Our start-up has global ambitions, and engaging with the best is how we’ll redefine what’s possible.”

Mark Logan, who authored the Scottish Technology Ecosystem Review, and who advises the Scottish Government on entrepreneurialism, shared four reasons for opening the hub on LinkedIn.

He said the pop-up will help ambitious Scottish tech firms access investment and learn about international markets and startup practices, citing his own former company Skyscanner’s experience of building its flight search platform in Southeast Asia from Singapore.