| |
1. Two new business angel groups were launched at Global Entrepolis @ Singapore, 2006, bringing S$40 million worth of funds to the enterprise scene in Singapore. BAF Spectrum Pte Ltd and Sirius BAF Pte Ltd were formed under the Singapore Economic Development Board’s (EDB) Business Angel Scheme (BAS), which aims to further stimulate business angels’ investments in seed-stage companies.
2. Under the scheme, each group of business angels will commit at least S$10 million to its Fund, and each investment in a start-up company will be matched dollar-for-dollar by EDB up to a maximum of S$1 million per company, and a maximum of S$10 million per Fund. Information on the two new business angel groups can be found in Annex A.
3. Start-ups which have been evaluated and approved by the pre-qualified Business Angel Funds will be given in-principle approval by EDB SEEDS Capital. This will enable them to develop and grow their businesses faster using Singapore as a base.
4. Mr S. Iswaran, Minister of State For Trade and Industry, witnessed the launch of the two new groups during the Start-Up EnterprisE Development Scheme (SEEDS) Ceremony at the Enterprise Exchange at Global Entrepolis @ Singapore 2006. SEEDS is a co-financing scheme for start-ups in the seed stage of enterprise formation. Under this programme, the Government will match up to a dollar for every dollar raised from third party investors up to a maximum of S$300,000 per company.
5. "Sirius Angel Fund feels privileged to have SEEDS Capital as our partner. This will help us to fulfill our mission to assist early stage companies to grow. With SEEDS Capital's partnership, we will joinly provide funding, open up business networks and render our expertise to grow companies,” said Mr Eugene Wong, lead angel for Sirius.
6. ”Business angels always benefit from working together”, said Francis Chua. ”With the 1 for 1 matching by SEEDS Capital, we get a tremendous leverage. We are very thankful to SEEDS Capital to grant us this privilege”.
18 New Start-Ups Receive SEEDS Funding
7. The SEEDS Ceremony was held to recognise 18 new start-ups which received support for funding under the SEEDS programme. Details of the 18 companies are attached in Annex B. With these new awards, the total number of enterprises supported under SEEDS, since its launch in 2001, is 169. This comprises 161 EDB and 8 SPRING SEEDS enterprises.
8. The criteria for start-ups to qualify for SEEDS funding are: substantial innovation or intellectual content, high growth potential, and scalability for the international market.
9. There is also a growing number of investors interested in the enterprise scene in Singapore, with the number of third party investors in SEEDS companies increasing to 233, from 178 last year. The amount of investments brought in by investors stands at S$47.85 million, with foreign investments accounting for about a quarter of the amount.
More than 10% of SEEDS-Funded Companies Hit the Million Dollar Mark.
10. 18 SEEDS companies have hit the million dollar revenue mark since 2001. This represents more than 10% of the companies under the SEEDS programme (See Annex C for details on these companies). In addition, 20 SEEDS companies have succeeded in getting further rounds of funding, and are seeing good growth.
Launch of SEEDS Alliance to Lend Peer Support to Members Entering the Growth Stage
11. The new SEEDS Alliance was also launched during the SEEDS ceremony. This alliance sees the banding together of start-ups entering the growth stage of their development. Members of the Alliance aim to leverage the collective strength of the Alliance to better prepare themselves to develop and grow, and to be in a stronger position to gain access to financing options, and professional and procurement services.
12. Mr Chua Taik Him, Assistant Managing Director, EDB said, “I am happy to see SEEDS companies banding together to share experiences, network and offer peer support to one another. The significance is that this is a private-sector driven initiative that will contribute to building a sustainable and vibrant business environment. We hope to see more of such initiatives take root, and add to the compelling business environment for enterprises in Singapore.”
About the Singapore Economic Development Board
The Economic Development Board (EDB) is Singapore’s lead agency responsible for planning and executing strategies to sustain Singapore’s position as a compelling global hub for business and investment.
We work closely with local and foreign companies across a diverse range of activities in both manufacturing and services to help them move towards higher value-creating operations in an increasingly knowledge-based and innovation-driven environment. We also encourage companies to use Singapore as a headquarters and total business centre to manage their global or regional functions to service their global or Asia Pacific operations.
Singapore is today a “Global Entrepolis” – a compelling global hub for business and investment where entrepreneurs and enterprise converge, spark and realise innovations, forge partnerships, and create value in manufacturing and services industries. EDB acts as a catalyst and facilitator to ensure a thriving “enterprise ecosystem” in Singapore. We encourage innovation and entrepreneurship by helping to create an environment which is conducive for start-ups and companies of all sizes to interact with each other with good corporate governance practices and where intellectual property is protected.
For more information on how EDB can help in your business and investment, please visit www.sedb.com
About Global Entrepolis @ Singapore
Global Entrepolis @ Singapore is world-class event held annually to encourage enterprise, innovation and technology. GES is a marketplace, which provides a unique opportunity for crafting deals, raising funds, exchanging and creating ideas as well as forging new partnerships and enterprises. It is also an umbrella event comprising a record 40 conferences and a mega-exhibition showcasing the latest in technology and innovation. Through the many business networking events and official functions, delegates from the various conferences will be encouraged to interact with one another.
GES is expected to attract leading executives, CEOs, CTOs, COOs, entrepreneurs, technopreneurs, start-ups, business angels and venture capitalists from Asia and the world.
To find out more, visit www.globalentrepolis.com
For media enquiries, please contact:
Alex Tan
Senior Officer
Marketing Communications
Tel: +65 6832-6284
Mobile: +65 9841 0392
E-mail: alex_tan@edb.gov.sg
|
|  |
|
