Singapore still global leader in blue economy ecosystems, report says

Singapore CBD / Photo credit: Shawnanggg on Unsplash

Singapore has maintained its position as the world’s leading “blue economy” ecosystem, according to Startup Genome’s “The Global Startup Ecosystem Report Climatetech Edition” for 2023.

The term refers to economic activities that involve ocean, marine, and coastal resources, such as producing sustainable seafood and generating marine renewable energy. For its rankings, Startup Genome takes into account the current state of startup activity and investments in those sectors.

However, Singapore’s leading position has not translated to blue economy firms across Asia generally. Across the continent, series A funding has yet to hit a 20% share of worldwide investments.

Among climate tech companies, China has increased its share of series A funding by 125% since 2020. The rest of Asia, however, fell 45% over that time frame.

Meanwhile in the cleantech rankings, Singapore’s ranking also jumped 18 places to land at eighth – the only Asian ecosystem in the top 10. Startup Genome defines cleantech as sustainable solutions in energy, water, transportation, agriculture, and manufacturing.

Seoul also debuted in the cleantech rankings at 15th, with Chinese cities Beijing, Shenzhen, Shanghai, and Wuxi rounding out the top 20. Globally, series A funding in the space grew 73% between H1 2020 and H1 2023, while series B funding skyrocketed 166% in the same time frame.

The report is based on data from over 3.5 million companies across over 290 startup ecosystems.

See also: Is Singapore’s ‘30 by 30’ food security goal too far-fetched?