How TIA works with Enterprise Singapore to paint the full picture of the tech scene

Dear readers,

Greek philosopher Heraclitus once said that the only constant in life is change.

As people working in and around the tech and startup world, we know that better than most, don’t we? Everything moves at a breakneck pace and the outlook for whole industries can flip within a matter of months – sometimes even faster.

That’s why it’s important to keep up to date with not just the topline developments but also the underlying factors that are causing these movements. Doing so provides a better foundation for understanding what could come next. That’s what we at Tech in Asia aim to provide our readers with through leveraging data and experts’ insights to paint full pictures.

This approach extends to our partnership content as well. Whether it’s with up-and-coming startups, regional giants, or government agencies, we strive to delve into the details and spell out the whats, hows, and whys of major trends and technologies.

Case in point: our regular collaborations with Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG), a statutory board under Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry.

The devil is in the details

Pop quiz: Funding for Singaporean companies remained robust in 2020 despite it being the height of the pandemic. Why was this the case, and to which industries was the money going?

Did you guess healthcare because of Covid-19? Well, you’re partially correct – in this article done in partnership with EnterpriseSG, data at the time showed that the logistics and transportation industry was the runaway leader in funding received, with healthcare coming in at a relatively distant fifth place.

But that’s not to say that the healthcare industry has been ignored. On the contrary, another piece we did with EnterpriseSG showed that funding in Southeast Asia’s healthcare space has risen over the years, and in 2019, startups based in Singapore secured 54% of the US$266 million invested into the region’s healthtech firms. This continued inflow of funds is due to a strong support system that consists of government agencies, local universities, and public hospitals, among others.

Without data, context, and expert insights, we’d all just be making blind guesses about everything, which would be a waste of time and resources – and it may even be dangerous, given the current macroeconomic climate. Working with EnterpriseSG gives all of us access to these important insights.

On the ground

As an agency that champions the development of businesses, EnterpriseSG shares a common goal with TIA in that we both want to support the growth of startups and give them a voice. This tie-up has also given us the opportunity to put the spotlight on smaller firms, profiling startups in forward-looking fields such as food sustainability, covering pitch competitions that highlight their innovations, as well as rolling out video projects that offer different perspectives and advice while detailing their growth journeys.

The partnership has developed into a holistic one, providing big-picture insights and perspectives along with stories and details of what’s happening on the ground at the individual company level.

More to come

Most recently, EnterpriseSG came on board as a sponsor for the Singapore episode of Startup Frontiers, one of our original series.

This marked a new milestone in the TIA-EnterpriseSG collaboration. Since we maintain full creative control over our original series, EnterpriseSG’s sponsorship demonstrates confidence and trust in our creative decisions.

We’ve also been trying new video formats with EnterpriseSG such as on-location shoots at this year’s edition of SWITCH (Singapore Week of Innovation and Technology). Representatives from countries such as Japan and Brazil gave bite-sized pitches on why companies should consider expanding to their respective markets.

It’s a partnership that continues to evolve, and we’re looking forward to seeing what comes next. Thank you, EnterpriseSG, for supporting the tech community and helping us to bring real and useful insights to our readers!

And to you, dear reader, thanks for making it to the end. This business-to-government strategy is one we fully intend to dive deeper into – check out this article to see how we’ve also been working with Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority. Get in touch with us today and let’s get started with building and nurturing the region’s tech ecosystem together.

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(By the way, if your first reaction was to scoff at the concept of branded content, I would like to direct you to this other article, which spells out why the format is essential in providing an avenue for interesting untold stories to see the light of day.)