The Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI) and Start-up Incubation and Innovation Centre (SIIC) of IIT-Kanpur have come together to kick off a series of cross-border collaborations in reiteration of their commitment to supporting tech startups in both regions under an initial memorandum of understanding (MoU) first signed on March 10, 2021.
The collaboration aims to build a more robust startup ecosystem and encourage the cross-pollination of ideas and innovation between the two regions to support the development of indigenous entrepreneurs. SICCI and SIIC will work closely in identifying promising home-grown talents and providing them with capital and incubation services ranging from mentorship and connecting entrepreneurs with potential investors.
The launch of the SICCI-SIIC Innovation Launchpad marked the first of many initiatives to come, recently holding a virtual startup pitch competition for nine pre-selected contestants - five from Singapore and four from India – to pitch their ideas to a panel of judges.
India is presently the third largest start-up ecosystem in the world, with over 45,000 startups of varying size and maturity, and is home to a total of 21 unicorns valued at a cumulative US$73.2 billion.“Twelve unicorns were born in 2020, and the first four months of this year has already seen the birth of 10 unicorns”, remarked P Kumaran, High Commissioner of India in Singapore, who spoke at the recent Launchpad event. The SICCI-SIIC collaboration is certainly an exciting new opportunity for startups in India and Singapore, which will have far-reaching impacts on the economy and employment for both countries. We look forward to seeing how they will continue to support these startups in growing and developing a competitive edge in the global market.