Singapore’s Oneteam raised $2.6 M Seed funding to revolutionise SME succession

The S$3.5 million ($2.61 million) seed round for Neteam, a Singapore-based startup devoted to transforming succession at small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through employee ownership, has concluded.

According to a statement released by the company on Wednesday, Wavemaker Ventures, the early-stage fund of Wavemaker Partners, a Southeast Asian venture capital firm that invests in enterprise, deep tech, and sustainability startups, led the round.

Oneteam tackles the urgent problem of succession planning in Singapore’s SME sector.

Over 70 percent of Singapore’s workforce is employed by SMEs, which comprise over 99 percent of the nation’s more than 300,000 businesses, according to the Singapore Department of Statistics.

However, as they get closer to retirement, many of these business owners face uncertain futures because they frequently lack a clear succession plan and an exit strategy.

Oneteam wants to close this gap by buying companies from owners who are retiring and gradually turning them into employee-owned companies.

In addition to generating long-term value for the companies and their workers, this succession model fosters greater productivity, purpose, and ownership.

A unique combination of strategic insight and operational expertise is brought to the table by Oneteam, which was founded by former investment bankers with extensive experience in startups and small local businesses.

Through job retention, the preservation of business legacies, and the positioning of the next generation of workers as co-owners of the companies they assist in creating, the leadership team hopes to “Reward One Generation of Business Owners and Empower the Next.”

“We believe the future of SMEs lies in the hands of their employees,” said Kevin Boo, CEO and Co-founder of Oneteam.

“By offering a path to ownership for next generation, hardworking employees, we’re aligning incentives, preserving valuable services for our communities, and ensuring these businesses continue to thrive. In doing so, we’re also contributing to Singapore’s broader goal of elevating our SMEs, the backbone of our economy.”

The Oneteam business model goes beyond acquisitions. The organization provides a comprehensive support system for the companies in its portfolio, which includes access to a large network of business partners and digital solutions, growth capital, and leadership development. Companies can use these resources to integrate modern technologies and scale effectively.

Oneteam anticipates allocating about 70% of this new funding to the purchase of small companies.

The money that remains will go toward building a strong core team and infrastructure that will offer shared services across its portfolio.