UK-Singapore Bond Strengthens with launch of Tech Nation International Growth Programme
- Written by Reporters
- The inaugural Tech Nation International Growth programme is part of the UK Government Digital Trade Network
- 12 UK companies forms the first cohort to set up shop in Singapore
SINGAPORE - Media OutReach - 5 April 2021 - 12 UK tech scale-ups formally undertake the Tech Nation International Growth Programme in Singapore today. The programme, led by Tech Nation, the UK tech scale-up experts, is part of the Digital Trade Network, a newly commissioned initiative by the UK Government, to assist innovative British tech companies access trade and investment opportunities and forge new international partnerships across Asia Pacific, including Singapore.
This initiative comes as the UK looks to deepen its relationship following the UK-Singapore free trade deal signed last year, which has opened more opportunities to boost trade and investment between the two countries, the UK has also committed to scoping a UK-Singapore Digital Economy Agreement (DEA), with the aim of launching negotiations in 2021.
Tech Nation is working in collaboration with Plug and Play, who will create an in-market entrepreneur network in Singapore to help these scale-ups make the leap, as well as the UK Department for International Trade in Singapore to deliver this international programme.
The first cohort of companies from the UK looking to explore new opportunities here includes:
- Seed Legals
- Wazoku
- Wondrwall
- Assuria
- Cambridge Intelligence
- Topolytics
- Dataswift
- Firefly
- Dynamify
- Flexciton
- BankBI
- Everledger
Please refer to Annex A for company profiles.
Talking about the launch of this programme, Gerard Grech, CEO of Tech Nation said: "Singapore is an extremely important partner for the UK tech sector, and a country that shares our success in this field. We can't wait to see the success that our International Growth Programme in Singapore, as part of the Digital Trade Network, brings to both countries.
As found in Tech Nation's 'Unlocking Global Tech' report, for UK companies, Singapore was one of the fastest rising global opportunities for trade, climbing 5 places in the rankings for global tech opportunity between 2019 and 2020.
These 12 digital tech companies have been selected from Tech Nation's network of 800 UK tech scale-ups who have been through our growth programmes over the past seven years. The International Growth Programme in Singapore is just a first step for Tech Nation as we help more UK digital tech companies identify opportunities to enter and grow into Southeast Asia.
The UK's tech sector, driven by fast growing tech scale-ups, is already growing six times faster than the rest of the UK economy combined – the UK tech start-up and scale-up ecosystem is valued at almost $600bn and the UK has produced 80 unicorns.
Thinking globally is now vital for UK tech and Tech Nation. 80% of our latest Upscale cohort cited international expansion as their number one challenge, so this International Programme in Singapore is key to the next stage of growth for UK tech."
Sam Myers, Her Majesty's Trade Commissioner for Asia Pacific at the UK Government Department for International Trade said: "The launch of the first Tech Nation International Growth Programme for UK tech scale-ups in Asia Pacific highlights the importance of Singapore and the wider region for the UK's future. This is yet another way Singapore and the UK can continue to collaborate in the digital economy. Collective action with our partners will be vitally important to address global challenges and harness the benefits of the digital age."
This week also sees the selection of the first cohorts of the Digital Trade Network's International Growth Programme in Australia, Japan and South Korea. Due to overwhelming interest from UK tech companies in Asia Pacific, Tech Nation is also providing a series of webinars, bootcamps and interactive workshops over the next few months to support UK tech scale-ups looking to grow their businesses into this region.
Tech Nation will continue to work closely with the UK government to help more UK tech companies enter new markets like Singapore, while also providing links for Singapore's businesses into tech clusters across the UK.
Annex A
Seed Legals
At SeedLegals, we make it super easy for startups to raise investment and manage company equity — all at a fraction of the cost of traditional service providers. No paper. No law firms. No accountants. Everything's done digitally on our platform. We launched in 2016 as the world's first (and remain the world's only) automated legal service for funding rounds and today we are the largest closer of funding rounds in the UK. Read more at https://seedlegals.com/.
Wazoku
We are an innovative SaaS business helping to change the world one idea at time. We are the global home for all ideas, giving a voice and role to everyone in the innovation process. Read more at https://www.wazoku.com/.
Wondrwall
Wondrwall is technology company dedicated to changing the way we live and how we use energy. Combining intelligent AI powered home automation, clean energy production and super efficient heating systems, our solution helps the worlds homes, save money, time and the environment. Read more at https://wondrwall.co.uk/.
Assuria
Assuria provides trusted cyber security software solutions and managed security services that power Security Operations Centres, IT Protective Monitoring services and IT Assurance services in more than 20 countries worldwide. Read more at https://assuria.com/.
Cambridge Intelligence
Cambridge Intelligence build data visualization tools that make the world a safer place. From law enforcement to cyber security and fraud detection, we work with organizations around the globe. Every day, thousands of analysts rely on our software to 'join the dots' in data and uncover hidden threats. Read more at https://cambridge-intelligence.com/.
Topolytics
Topolytics, based in Edinburgh, is a data analytics business that is making the world's waste visible, verifiable and valuable. The company's analytics platform WasteMap® ingests detailed data on commercial, industrial and post-consumer waste from many sources to generate actionable insights for waste producers, the waste industry, investors and regulators. WasteMap® applies machine learning and geospatial analytics to overcome the inaccuracies and data vacuums that currently hinder greater resource recovery globally. Topolytics is acknowledged by Cleantech Group, IDC, Frost & Sullivan, SAP and Google Cloud as a leading AI and analytics player in the €2Bn 'waste tech' sector. WasteMap® is at the centre of the UK Government's prototype system that will digitally track all the UK's waste. The company is building an international ecosystem of customers and data partners. Read more at http://www.topolytics.com/.
Dataswift
Infrastructure for personal data access, storage, and portability. Dataswift liberates the value of personal data. Untethering it from central silos and distributing it to individual Personal Data Accounts. Fully owned, fully accessible, fully permissible. Read more at https://www.dataswift.io/.
Firefly
Firefly is the platform for parent engagement and learning continuity. Every day, we connect schools and homes, extending school life beyond the classroom. Read more at https://fireflylearning.com/.
Dynamify
Dynamify is an omnichannel food ordering platform, white-labelled by the world's largest contract caterers who deploy the plug and play technology in their own branding within "off-the-high-street" restaurants (workplaces, universities and schools, hospitals, venues, and airport lounges). Read more at https://dynamify.com/.
Flexciton
Flexciton is an award-winning company that uses cutting edge technology to optimize the planning and scheduling decisions for the world's most complex manufacturing plants - semiconductor wafer fabs. Flexciton's mission is to apply cutting-edge technology to industrial data to make industrial efficiency improvements that would be impossible for a human to do on their own. Read more at https://www.flexciton.com/
BankBI
BankBI is a cloud based out of the box financial performance management application delivered via a software as a service (SaaS) subscription model. Available on any device, anytime and anywhere, BankBI offers senior management in banks, credit unions and the microfinance industry the chance to measure, monitor and manage their business in real time using industry standard ratios and dashboards. Based around the integration of a minimum data set, BankBI delivers rapid time to value and a guaranteed successful project outcome often not achievable from traditional business intelligence and data warehousing projects. Read more at http://www.bankbi.com/
Everledger
Everledger is the digital transparency company. We develop technology to create a secure and permanent digital record of an asset's origin, characteristics and ownership on the blockchain. This transparency helps industries respond to growing expectations for sustainable, verifiable sourcing. Read more at https://www.everledger.io/
About Plug and Play
Plug and Play is a global innovation platform. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, we have built accelerator programs, corporate innovation services and an in-house VC to make technological advancement progress faster than ever before. Since inception in 2006, our programs have expanded worldwide to include a presence in over 30 locations with over 450 official corporate partners. Companies in our community have raised over $97 billion in funding, with successful portfolio exits including Danger, Dropbox, N26, Rappi and PayPal. For more information, visit https://www.plugandplaytechcenter.com/asia-pacific/
About Tech Nation
Tech Nation are the UK tech scaleup experts.
Tech Nation fuels the growth of game-changing founders, leaders, and scaling companies so they can positively transform societies and economies. We provide them with the coaching, content, and community they need for their journey in designing the future. Tech Nation has years of experience facilitating and helping UK tech companies scale, both at home and abroad. Over 20 cohorts and 600 companies have successfully graduated from Tech Nation's growth programmes. Alumni include Skyscanner, Darktrace, and Monzo.