The 4 generations of startup accelerators in Singapore

This is part one of a two-part series on the accelerator boom in Singapore and where we’re off to next. Dr Lin heads Infocomm Investments.

The BASH accelerator space in Singapore.

While walking through BASH to Brewery for a meeting, I hear someone (likely a guest) quip mockingly: “Oh, another accelerator! How beneficial are these accelerators really to the startups?”

This sentiment is further cemented by the recent news on JFDI’s change in business model. Optically, we are at peak accelerator all around the world. This situation is not unique to Singapore and has been discussed in articles like this, with experts from Wharton chiming in.

So yes, there is indeed an accelerator boom in the Singapore startup ecosystem. From the outside, it appears that the corporates are the main contributors to this boom.

But some are just specialty incubators adopting the acceleration methodology and rebranding themselves as an accelerator. Some came out of pantry talk from corporate innovation theatrics, light-heartedly illustrated by CB Insights here. It is little wonder scepticism on the accelerator hype has set in.

The opening of BASH in Feb 2015.

I’ve been in Singapore’s startup ecosystem for many years now, and I’ve seen Singapore progress through phases of ecosystem-building. So allow me to trace our ecosystem history – how we have moved from one generation to the next – to make sense of the situation we are in now.

An ecosystem is in essence a network of interconnected elements. At the beginning, interactions are loose, with minimal information and knowledge of what is required to make things work. But as the ecosystem grows, its elements evolve and bond stronger.

Generation 1 – the era of business plan competitions

I refer to this Generation 1 as a time when business plan competitions were commonplace and in the limelight. But these are today less relevant in terms of directly contributing to startup formation. Most winners of startup competitions did not become startups.

Examples are competitions such as Startup@SG, which has since been terminated, and Ideas Inc or SMU’s LKY Business Plan Competition – both of which have been on hiatus. They may re-emerge or “pivot” into something else, but won’t retain the same form.

Generation 2 – the incubator model

The ecosystem would by now have gathered some knowledge through programs in Generation 1. It is during this time that incubators came about to hot-house the startups by providing workspace, some loose guidance in the form of networking opportunities, and ad-hoc mentorship. Statistics have revealed that only a handful of incubated startups (2 percent to 8 percent) survived or succeeded* in the market. The model of incubation hence needed refining.

Generation 3 – the rise of commercial accelerators

Here is where the concept of acceleration was introduced into our ecosystem. In 2014, Infocomm Investments (IIPL), announced an investment into JFDI – Asia’s first accelerator. Accelerators, which you are well familiar with, scrub and polish startups through a structured three to sixmonth program. Since then, we’ve been investing in accelerators of various focus areas such as generic web and mobile, mediatech and fintech. SPRING Singapore, under the Ministry of Trade and Industry, also weighed in to support the medical tech sector with their S$70 million Sector Specific Accelerator (SSA) program.

Morphing into Generation 4

So this is where we are now.