A new corporate venture program with a fund size of S$20 million (US $14.5 million) has been unveiled by the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) for companies in high-growth industries, according to The Business Times.
The initiative, known as Corporate Venture Launchpad 2.0, intends to assist huge firms in growing into new enterprises over the next two years, such as those in sustainability, agritech, fintech, elder living, and the metaverse.
This comes after EDB’s one-year trial program, with a fund size of about US $7.2 million, was started in May last year. 13 firms participated in the trial, including well-known brands like Electrolux, Keppel Land, Singlife, and Sing Fuels.
Six of the pilot program’s companies have successfully launched new businesses and provided at least S$50 million (US $36.2 million) in follow-on funding for these initiatives.
EDB will contribute up to S$1 million (US $724,000) to each venture through Launchpad 2.0’s two phases of idea validation and product development. The board plans to support 20 to 30 initiatives in the next two years.
Jacqueline Poh, managing director of EDB, asserts that corporate ventures would be essential to assisting businesses in advancing and establishing new inventions in Singapore. Nearly 80 corporate initiatives are currently located in the city-state, a 2x increase from the previous year.
