Singapore Week of Innovation and Technology | 29–31 Oct 2025 | Marina Bay Sands, Sands Expo & Convention Centre

22 June 2023 | Preparing Your Startup for Success During Uncertain Times

2023-06-07T00:00:00+00:00

Event details

Title	Startup Networking Event with TikTok & SWITCH: Preparing Your Startup for Success During Uncertain Times
Date	Thursday, 22 June 2023
Time	4pm - 7.30pm (Singapore Time / UTC +8)
Venue	The Meeting Point at LaunchPad @ one-north
Register	Click here

About

Seeking to grow your startup in today’s challenging landscape?

In the current economic climate, startups are advised to optimize their profits to ensure financial success. Startups are faced with the rising pressure to increase revenue while cutting costs.

Join us at “Startup Networking Event with TikTok & SWITCH: Preparing Your Startup for Success During Uncertain Times” on Thursday 22 June 2023 at 4pm at The Meeting Point for panel discussions on the best practices of how to navigate this funding landscape to high-growth companies sharing on their past mistakes, learnings, and how to stay motivated during challenging times.

15 June 2023 | Growing Revenues & Expanding Efficiently

2023-06-06T00:00:00+00:00

Event details

Title	Growing Revenues & Expanding Efficiently
Date	Thursday, 15 June 2023
Time	4pm - 6pm (Singapore Time / UTC +8)
Venue	Enterprise Singapore, Singapore Room
Register	Click here

About

Growing a business is not easy. From finding new customers and building the right teams, to balancing your cash flow and constantly improving your product, where do you find the time to do everything?

Learn how to overcome growing pains at the upcoming session, “Scaling efficiently and effectively” powered by Wizly.

From attending this session, you can expect to:

Learn about new tools that can help manage growth of your company efficiently and boost your sales and investment cycles
Gain insights from founders and C-suites who overcame challenges and scaled their companies, and how you can too
Get guidance on how you can work, learn, and collaborate with experts to grow your company

Book your 1:1 15-minute session with the Wizly team after the session here

31 May 2023 | Understanding Startup Compensation in Times of Scarcity

2023-05-28T00:00:00+00:00

Event details

Title	Deep Dive into the New Talent Landscape: Understanding Startup Compensation in Times of Scarcity
Date	Wednesday, 31 May 2023
Time	2pm - 5pm (Singapore Time / UTC +8)
Venue	77 Ayer Rajah Crescent, #03-23
Register	This event has ended

About

Looking to build a high-performing startup team?

As the business landscape grows increasingly volatile, it is challenging for startups to thrive.

Join us at “Deep Dive into the New Talent Landscape: Understanding Startup Compensation in Times of Scarcity” on Wednesday 31 May 2023 at 2pm at Glints Office for panel discussions on how startups are building their talents in a competitive and resource-scarce landscape.

Navigating towards a smarter future: Data driven predictive analysis for Smart Manufacturing

2023-05-05T00:00:00+00:00

This article was first published on StartupSG on 3 May 2023

Navigating towards a smarter future: Providing data-driven predictive analysis for Smart Manufacturing

Real-time production data is changing the manufacturing sector rapidly and dramatically. With accelerated adoption of digital technologies, the manufacturing industry has changed significantly in recent years. Meet Planet07 – the smart manufacturing company behind LexaTexer, an Enterprise artificial intelligence (AI) platform, that drives greater effectiveness through increased productivity, lower costs, and reduced human error.

In this article, we sit down with Dr. Guenther Hoffmann, co-founder of Planet07 and EntrePass holder, to find out how deep tech solutions in smart manufacturing can eliminate system weaknesses, such as inaccuracies and slow speeds, hence transforming manufacturing processes for greater effectiveness.

1. Tell us more about yourself and your journey bringing Planet07 to where it is today.

Planet07 was founded as a spin-off from Humboldt University in Berlin. Through ten years of Artificial Intelligence (AI) research experience working at multiple research institutes such as the Humboldt University Berlin, Duke University, North Carolina and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, I realised that although AI is a cool buzzword, customers are not buying AI as an industrial solution. Instead, they are looking for end-to-end solutions that comprises of AI.

A business user is interested in the value of the solution that comprises AI. To roll out any AI driven solution, the solution needs to adhere to standards which make it painless to read customers’ data, configure the AI driven solution to provide value, scale the solution and integrate it into the legacy processes and IT systems. Hence, making the AI solution implementable. Planet07’s flagship solution, LexaTexer, was as such started to provide an entire software framework covering all necessary aspects from building, testing, scaling and integrating of its solutions according to security and compliance.

LexaTexer helps companies connect their business, supply partners and channel partners, so that they can have end-to-end visibility from the manufacturing to sales process. This allows our customers to stay ahead of customer needs, adapt to market trends and make changes that matter most to their customers. This is done through providing AI-driven solutions for predictive manufacturing, predictive scheduling, and sales and demand forecasts.

2. Why did you choose to incorporate Planet07 in Singapore with the EntrePass? How has your journey in Singapore’s startup ecosystem been like?

My initial journey in Singapore’s startup ecosystem started when I first participated in the IMDA Open Innovation Platform. Through the innovation challenge, I made my initial connections in Singapore’s startup ecosystem.

It is undeniable that Singapore is a gateway to Southeast Asia. LexaTexer’s users are generally highly mature corporates, which come mainly from Singapore and the Southeast Asia region. Singapore’s strategic location provides easy access to the region and its growing consumer market.

3. What are the key factors to Planet07’s success so far?

^{Planet07’s founder, Dr Guenther Hoffman, participated in the A*STAR Advanced Manufacturing Startup Challenge 2022}

Key partnerships such as my collaboration with the Advanced Remanufacturing and Technology Centre (ARTC) led to our success. In 2022, I collaborated with ARTC, a partnership with Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore, led by the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR). It was a four-month long collaboration where we researched on closed loop production planning and scheduling. The objective for the project was to reduce the labour intensiveness for Omni Mold, a plastic injection mold making company with a complicated scheduling process. It has opened doors to the wider manufacturing industry in Singapore. Through the connections of ARTC, I have established business partnerships with Omni Mold and Anewtech Systems. I also found a great mentor, Mr Siah Chong Cheong, who helped me find local system integrators to expand business opportunities. Mr Siah is a passionate individual who nurtures technopreneurer for Singapore and the region, converting technology into successful businesses.

4. Planet07 was also one of our Top 100 Global Startups at SLINGSHOT 2020. Tell us more about your experience.

I thoroughly enjoyed SLINGSHOT and felt that it was a great platform for Planet07’s LexaTexer AI platform. Working out of the US and Europe regions for over ten years, we had an initial market hypothesis about Singapore and the Southeast Asia region. However, we quickly found that we had to adapt our software, use cases and sales strategy to Singapore and the Southeast Asia region.

Being part of SLINGSHOT gave me a platform to test-bed my hypothesis with Singapore in mind and allowed me to meet with mentors who provided constructive feedback and pitching tips. Most importantly, I was able to build new connections with key industry leaders that fast tracked our growth in Singapore.

In Singapore and throughout Southeast Asia, being part of an ecosystem is essential. My decision to be part of an ecosystem through taking part in events such as SLINGSHOT has opened multiple doors for us. I have established relations with multiple ecosystem partners such as ARTC, the German Accelerator, IoT Tribe, and British Standards Institute (BSI) through IMDA’s Innovation Platform.

^{Planet07 emerged as a finalist at the BSI-IMDA Open Innovation Challenge Award 2022 with their LexaTexer enterprise AI solution.}

5. What are Planet07’s business plans for LexaTexer moving forward?

We remain committed to our goal to serve manufacturing customers with a localised approach and are looking forward to grow further in the Southeast Asia region, through Singapore as a regional hub.

6. What are some upcoming trends in smart manufacturing?

Digital maturity is crucial for manufacturing companies’ growth. With digital maturity, manufacturing companies can address important topics like improvements in operational excellence, automated scheduling, sales, and operational planning optimisation.

Find out how we can support your journey as an entrepreneur in Singapore here

19 Apr 2023 | Where are the Investments in Sustainable Innovation?

2023-04-14T00:00:00+00:00

Event details

Title	Where are the Investments in Sustainable Innovation?: Perspectives from Innovators & Founders
Date	Wednesday, 19 April 2023
Time	4pm - 5.30pm (Singapore Time / UTC +8)
Venue	The Meeting Point at JTC LaunchPad @ one-north
Register	This event has ended

About

As Singapore pursues a greener and sustainable future where innovation is pervasive and technology is used to improve lives and create new opportunities in green spaces for everyone to participate in, one question needs to be asked: Where are the investments in sustainable innovation?

As part of Earth Day 2023, join us at Investment in Sustainable Innovation: Perspectives from Investors & Founders, a community and networking event with industry leaders and connectors in Singapore’s green and sustainability sectors.

Hear deep and insightful perspectives from the investors and startup founders who are charting the course of Singapore’s sustainability story as they share the trends and opportunities within this exciting and essential sector, as well as how you can be involved.

Another highlight of this event will be the publication of a report by Associate Professor Edward Tay, United Nations Institute of Training and Research on the sustainable investment landscape in Singapore in 2023. Prof Tay sits on the Sustainable Tropical Data Centre Testbed, a national steering committee funded by National Research Foundation to drive innovation and energy efficiency in data centers in the region.

This event will also have a networking session after the panel sessions.

Time	Programme
3.20pm	Registration
4.00pm	Introduction of Event
4.05pm	Opening Remarks by Enterprise Singapore
4.10pm	Presentation by Associate Professor Edward Tay
4.20pm	Panel 1: Investors’ Perspectives
4.55pm	Panel 2: Founders’ Perspectives
5.30pm	Networking

WHO’S ATTENDING?

Green Tree Initiative (GTI) is a community project supported by the Singapore Week of Innovation and Technology (SWITCH). Launched by Singapore Minister of State, Ms. Low Yen Ling on 25 Oct 2022, it promotes sustainability knowledge through industry partnership with trade associations and academia and to build an ecosystem that incubates and pollinates ideas that taps on innovation and technology to solve climate challenges. Industry partners include NUS Business School, Asia Sustainability Forum and Global Green Connect.

Asia Sustainability Forum (ASF) is a platform for stakeholders to build strong connections and share thought leadership on sustainability efforts. As a group, they seek to guide and align activities towards low-carbon and climate-resilient development – towards a livable and sustainable future for generations to come in Asia. ASF have organized community events with corporate partners such as Enterprise Singapore, National Library Board, National University of Singapore, Singapore Management University & Singapore Deep Technology Alliance.

The Blockchain Association Singapore (BAS) seeks to empower its members and the community to leverage blockchain and scalable technologies for business growth and transformation. It aims to promote blockchain literacy and build a strong talent pipeline for the digital economy in Singapore.

Infracrowd Capital is a Singapore-incorporated fund management company and a regional platform that brings together the best-in-class solutions focused on sustainability.

Green Sandbox is a platform initiated by the Singapore Week of Innovation and Technology (SWITCH) to bring together promising innovations and business plans, as well as venture capital from around the world to Singapore and collaborate on opportunities in the sustainability sector. Through unique platforms like the annual SLINGSHOT startup pitching competition and SWITCH Festival happening from 31 October–2 November 2023, ideas and innovations can thrive on the momentum to develop and grow into global solutions through Singapore’s extensive connections.

This event also marks the commissioning of an Environment, Social and Governance Steering Committee in the Blockchain Association of Singapore. SWITCH will support this formation in this trade association to support our startups and SMEs to leverage on blockchain technologies to build a resilient and sustainable supply chain. We are also very excited to have Ms. Kon Sui Jin, Executive Director, Blockchain Association of Singapore (BAS), and her team come onboard SWITCH 2023 to grow this community together.

27 Apr 2023 | Influencer Marketing: Maximising your ROI with limited budgets

2023-04-14T00:00:00+00:00

Event details

Title	Influencer Marketing: Maximising your ROI with limited budgets
Date	Thursday, 27 April 2023
Time	11am - 12pm (Singapore Time / UTC +8)
Venue	SWITCH Platform
Register	Click here

About

Looking for a differentiated approach to marketing?

As marketing budgets tighten and reaching customers is more challenging than before, marketing campaigns need to deliver on visibility, engagement, and ultimately conversions.

At this webinar, powered by Wizly, Nisarg Shah, Co-founder and CEO of affable.ai, will demonstrate how influencer marketing can be a viable marketing tactic as well as how you can get started, particularly when budgets are challenging.

In this session, Nisarg will cover:

Why influencer marketing is a flexible marketing investment option.
How influencer marketing can be more authentic and relatable than traditional marketing methods.
How to create a trusted voice that consumers turn to in times of a recession.
How influencers are affiliates, who can create measurable ROI and produce massive reach.

Nisarg is an independent professional on Wizly, a future-of-work platform that helps companies collaborate with independent professionals to solve business problems, share knowledge and advise them. He is the Co-Founder & CEO of affable.ai with two offices in the United States and Singapore.

affable is building an AI platform to help brands run highly effective influencer marketing campaigns. Using the power of Big Data and Machine Learning, affable helps brands like H&M, Lenovo, and Nespresso as well as eCommerce brands like BlendJet engage with authentic and relevant influencers. At affable, Nisarg works closely with these marketers helping them use data and insights to plan and measure their influencer marketing strategy. affable is backed by Prime Venture Partners, Decacorn Capital, SG Innovate, and Entrepreneur First.

Revolutionising Zero Emissions: Sustainable and Scalable Green Hydrogen Production

2023-04-13T00:00:00+00:00

This article was first published on Startup SG on 4 April 2023

Revolutionising Zero Emissions; Sustainable and Scalable Green Hydrogen Production

SunGreenH2 is transforming green hydrogen production by building the world’s highest performance electrolysers using a platform technology to incorporate proprietary advanced nanostructured materials into electrolyser components. The company manufactures electrolysers made with its materials to double production and decrease energy consumption with significant reduction of the use of expensive platinum group metals.

Founded by Tulika Raj and Dr. Saeid Masudy Panah, SunGreenH2 takes on a sustainable approach to create core components for electrolyser cells, stacks and systems, enabling its customers to produce affordable green hydrogen. The company has combined cutting-edge research in electrochemistry and nanotechnology to provide a solution through high-efficiency, low-cost green hydrogen production.

In this article, we speak with EntrePass holder, Tulika Raj, one of the Co-Founders of SunGreenH2, to get a glimpse into her startup journey in Singapore, and how SunGreenH2 has revolutionised the clean energy sector.

1. Tell us more about yourself and the origins of SunGreenH2. How did you come up with the idea?

My partner, Saeid, and I co-founded SunGreenH2 in 2020. With a background in the energy business and training as an electrical engineer, I started my career in the modern oil and gas sector. Even as a young engineer, I was very passionate about the sustainability pivoted early towards clean energy. In 2018, I worked for Keppel Corporation in Singapore and while I was working on low carbon infrastructure there, I was increasingly seeing an untapped market opportunity for low cost and large scale green hydrogen production. It was only after I met my co-founder, Dr. Saeid Masudy Panah, that we crystallised the idea to bring to market a novel platform to impact the entire electrolyser industry by doubling hydrogen production yet reducing energy and space consumption without using any expensive and rare materials. Hence, SunGreenH2 was born as we wanted to work towards a truly sustainable and scalable decarbonisation solution, a futuristic concept of the original photo-electrodes we had ideated. That was the beginning of SunGreenH2.

2. What attracted you to set up SunGreenH2 in Singapore? How has your journey in Singapore’s Startup ecosystem been like since day one?

Singapore has a strong ecosystem, robust governmental structure and active startup community that supports the growth of budding startups locally. There are also plenty of labs and testing opportunities in Singapore, making it well catered for innovation.

In the beginning, Saeid and I joined the SGInnovate-backed Entrepreneur First Accelerator programme and received pre-seed investment which gave us the impetus for how and where to start. During the programme, we received a lot of support in the early stages of our prototyping especially through the support of A*STAR Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE). Through numerous rounds of feedback and iteration during the pandemic, we came up with our first working prototype in 2021 which is still running to date at the A*STAR IMRE facility.

Due to Singapore’s strategic location as a strong research and innovation hub, SunGreenH2 is currently headquartered in Singapore and co-located with A*STAR IMRE’s Research and Development (R&D) lab, supplemented with a pilot production facility currently located in Melbourne, Australia. Our idea of having market presence in both Singapore and Australia allows us to work on our research in Singapore while we create a technological solution that can serve the global market. This keeps uson track towards creating a world-efficient product that meets the demand of the global market.

3. Sustainability and urban solutions have been on the rise and on the minds of many individuals and investors.  What role does SungreenH2 play in this global movement and how has the company transformed the industry?

Currently, the most common way of hydrogen production is through thermochemical processes, which uses heat and chemical reactions to release hydrogen from organic materials, such as fossil fuels. This method of producing hydrogen is carbon dioxide intensive, making it unsustainable and damaging to the environment. SunGreenH2 brings a nanotech-level advancement to produce green hydrogen, and this is done through supercharging electrolysis, allowing more hydrogen to be made directly from water. By reducing energy consumption and dependence on critical metals, SunGreenH2 is unlocking a sustainable way for the electrolyser industry to scale.

4. SungreenH2 has a vision to make zero carbon, low-cost green hydrogen available globally at scale. What progress has SungreenH2 made in achieving this?

In year 2022, we raised US$3.5 million in a seed funding round led by deep tech-focused Venture Capitalist firm, SGInnovate. We were also part of the Shell StartUp Engine Singapore accelerator programme where we partnered with Keppel Gas Technology Development and the EcoLabs Centre of Innovation for Energy and received a grant from the Energy Market Authority of Singapore which helped us accelerate our journey. This is done through making affordable green hydrogen production from electrolysis a reality, and unlocking a zero-carbon energy source globally, at scale, and at low cost. In 2023, we will also be launching our first commercial product in Hamburg, Germany. Regarding this product development milestone, we will be working with ZAL, the German Aerospace Research Institute in Hamburg, Germany, on a product demonstration in May 2023.

5. What are SungreenH2’s plans for 2023?

In 2023, we are scouting for suitable locations within the Asia Pacific, Europe and US regions that can enable us to create a mass manufacturing facility. We intend to raise a further US$15 million in our Series A funding round in Q2 2023, which will go towards scaling production and capability, expansion to new markets and further research and developments in Singapore.

6. What advice would you give like-minded individuals interested to venture into the sustainability or similar space?

“Take the plunge if you feel strongly enough about an idea or business plan. One must have the resilience and passion to persist in good and bad days.”

Starting a company is a roller coaster ride, especially during the initial days of venture building and scaling the business. A startup founder will have both good and bad days while on this ride. Therefore, to be a founder, one must have resilience and passion, along with a sound business plan right from the beginning, so one knows exactly what the clear goal is and can stay focused while working towards the end goal.

Find out how Startup SG can support you to kickstart your entrepreneur journey in Singapore here.

Empowering farmers, improving outcomes: Changing the game for food security

2023-04-06T00:00:00+00:00

This article was first published on Startup SG on 1 March 2023

Empowering farmers, improving outcomes: Changing the game for food security

Founded in 2021, Forte Biotech began with an aim to empower prawn farmers by providing sustainable solutions to prawn farming and food security. Despite coming from different backgrounds, Singaporean and Vietnamese founders Kit and Michael, pulled their ideas together to build the biotechnology (biotech) startup, equipping prawn farmers with their disease surveillance kit known as the Robust Accurate Prawn Infection Detection (RAPID) solution, to tackle disease strikes in their prawn colonies. RAPID helps to detect diseases in prawns even before symptoms appear, while effectively monitoring pathogen levels in prawn ponds. With RAPID, Forte Biotech is changing the game for prawn farmers by increasing their productivity and reducing risks involved with prawn farming.

We sit down with Kit and Michael, co-founders of Forte Biotech and EntrePass holder, to learn more about their journey as entrepreneurs behind the biotech startup transforming the lives of prawn farmers in Vietnam and around the world.

1. Tell us more about yourself and how Forte Biotech came about.

Michael: My co-founder, Kit, and I met in secondary school back in 2009. Back in those days, we knew we wanted to build a company together but remained unsure of the problem that we wanted to solve. During a trip to Vietnam, we met and spoke with the local farmers, and found that there was a growing challenge dealing with diseases in their prawn colonies during the farming process. We took this problem into our own hands and decided to start our company, Forte Biotech, while being enrolled in the National University of Singapore Graduate Research Innovation Programme (NUS GRIP). With disease in prawns leading to significant agriculture waste and livelihood uncertainty, we wanted to enable prawn farmers to detect diseases early, take mitigative actions to manage the risks involved, and farm more sustainably.

2. Forte Biotech was founded in Singapore but conducts a lot of its business operations in Vietnam. What attracted you to incorporate in Singapore?

Kit: With Singapore being a key innovation hub in the Asia region, there are many industry events ad conventions that attract experts from around the world. We recently attended the Singapore International Agri-Food Week and connected with many like-minded business owners. We also participated in SLINGSHOT, a deep tech pitching competition for startups held at Singapore Week of Innovation and Technology, last year and are delighted to have reached the Top 100.

Michael: Apart from Singapore’s strategic location, its stable supply chain also proves to be crucial, allowing us to receive the supply of chemicals required in a timely and predictable manner. We’ve also managed to gain access to investors and funding connections in Singaore, through NUS GRIP and the Startup SG Tech Proof-of-Value grant.

3. How did Forte Biotech get started?

Kit: We worked with NUS GRIP, an EntrePass partner, who helped to connect us with experienced industry experts and introduced us to intellectual property and incubation support. The six-month programme provided us with an opportunity to make valuable connections and learn alongside like-minded entrepreneurs in the deep tech field.

Michael: Being an EntrePass holder has allowed me to build my business, Forte Biotech, in a world-class biotech hub while providing me with the flexibility to commute freely to and from Singapore. This has made engaging with R&D personnel and potential investors, as well as, attending regional and international agritech exhibitions in Singapore much more convenient for me.

^{Forte Biotech showcases its RAPID tests during an exhibition}

4. Forte Biotech currently conducts product testing with farms in Vietnam. How did you convince them to incorporate your solution into their farming practices?

Kit: Having Michael on our team was definitely an advantage. His knowledge of in-market culture and the ability to speak Vietnamese provided us with our first few connections. As our market research proved, the Vietnamese farmers started to recognise that our RAPID kits are essential for their sustainable farming. Once we proved the usefulness of our solutions and gained the trust of the locals, word-of mouth propelled the adoption of our products, and we were able to establish new connections with more farmers and introduce our product to the rest of this close-knitted community.

Michael: We truly believe that farmers can make a difference in the agritech space. This critical mindset empowers the farmers and enables

^{Co-founders of Forte Biotech, Michael and Kit, connected with the farmers’ community}

5. Sustainability and urban solutions have been on the rise and in the minds of many individuals and investors. What role does Forte Biotech play in this global movement?

Kit: Solutions in the disease prevention agriculture field are desperately needed. Diseases present in our agriculture are a big issue across all produce in the market and can cost over US$4 billion every year globally.

Through Singapore’s stable supply chain and state-of-the-art research laboratories, we have been able to conduct our research and product iterations of the RAPID and have established strong case studies. From Madagascar to Mauritius, enquiries came pouring in once we had media coverage featuring how our Singapore research-based RAPID solution effectively prevented disease in agriculture crops. Having said that, our current focus remains in the Southeast Asia region, which accounts for a third of the world’s prawn production. We hope to expand our growth into the Indonesia market next and tackle this problem beyond borders.

With the support we have received from NUS and their Graduate Research and Innovation Programme (GRIP), we hope to establish greater connections and continue contributing to this ecosystem and make a true impact globally.

In addition to our test kits, we work closely with our other players in Singapore’s agritech industry to help them penetrate the Vietnam market. Acting as a bridge, we aim to help to introduce local Vietnam farmers with other innovative Singapore startups to build relationships and engage in potential collaborations.

6. Has sustainability in the agritech space evolved? What role does Forte Biotech play in this global movement?

Kit: From a macro view, we are seeing a push for food security especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the industry players, Ataraya, recently began producing container-based shrimp farms in the USA. We believe that this opens up great potential in terms of sustainable prawn farming.

Michael: As for farmers, we have noticed greater receptiveness to new farming techniques and tech solutions, despite not being well-equipped with information regarding technology for sustainable farming. As such, we hope to play a crucial role in educating farmers, increasing connections, and sharing knowledge about how adopting our PCR technology into their farming methods can help them achieve sustainability and greater productivity. In line with this aim, we have sent out our diagnostic kits to small farms to raise awareness about sustainable farming since November 2022.

7. While technology is disrupting the field, safety and sustainability must be at the forefront of the agritech space. Where do you see the agritech industry headed in the next 5 years?

Michael: Technology is constantly changing, and it is important to find ways to improve our product to stay relevant and safe. We see agritech moving towards advanced manufacturing where we are looking to achieve scalability coupled with high performance across the agriculture sector.

Kit: While there is an introduction of technology solutions in the agritech sector, safety and sustainability of the sector cannot be compromised. Forte Biotech focuses on achieving small increments of improvement for productivity, while ensuring our solutions remain safe and sustainable. By working directly with the farmers, we gain an in-depth understanding of the business and operational difficulties our farmers face and can tailor our solutions to address their challenges in a safe and practical manner.

8. What advice would you give like-minded individuals interested to venture into sustainability or similar space?

Kit: Make sure you do your ground research. Go to the farms and the fields, speak to the farmers and your target customers before you develop your product.

Michael: A deep understanding of your target market and their unique needs will build the foundation of your product. In this world of sustainability and agritech, be prepared and be determined, but do not be discouraged when things do not work out. For us at Forte Biotech, it has not been the easiest journey and we still have a long way to go, but we have found a problem we believe is worth solving and that keeps us going. Regardless of how small or big it is, find a problem that you are committed to. Ultimately, solving many small problems builds up and you can ultimately make a huge difference.

Find out how Startup SG can support you to kickstart your entrepreneur journey in Singapore here.

Leather made from mushrooms: Alternative materials making waves through the fashion scene

2023-04-06T00:00:00+00:00

This article was first published on Startup SG on 8 February 2023

Leather made from mushrooms: Alternative materials making waves through the fashion scene

With a vision to empower local communities through high-performance and sustainable material made for the global market, five friends, came together in 2018 to establish Mycotech (MYCL) in Singapore. The bio-based material startup cultivates agri-waste based materials bound by mushroom mycelium which acts as a natural adhesive. This innovative technology forms MYCL’s MyleaTM biofabrication leather, a material that resembles animal leather.

^{Featured in the photo are Adi and the co-founders of MYCL}

The effective leather replacement has been made into watches and other award-winning leather products through MYCL’s collaborations with both global and homegrown brands, such as Doublet and WTF! We The Future.

Today, we speak with Adi, Co-Founder of MYCL and EntrePass holder, as he shares more about his startup journey and the road ahead for MYCL.

1. Tell us more about yourself and the origins of MYCL. How did you come up with this idea?

As part of a school project while studying architecture in university, I visited a small village in Indonesia to better understand rural building structures and community culture. The village had no electricity or internet connection, but the local community lived fulfilling and self-sufficient lives with available resources. Inspired by their eco-conscious way of living where they incorporated agriculture into their daily lives, we built on the idea and decided to explore the potential of agriculture and its sustainable structures. This led us to the discovery of mycelium, the root-like structure of mushrooms.

With our existing expertise in architecture, we originally planned to use mycelium as building materials. However, through networking among industry experts and personal connections, we unravelled a subsequent problem statement - the need for sustainable leather in fashion products like sneakers. We decided to transform myceliumsinto a material that mimicked characteristics of leather, down to the grain and feel. Naturally, this forged the future direction of MYCL and our team.

^{Featured in the photo are products that have been made using mycelium}

2. What attracted you to incorporate in Singapore and was it a strategic decision?

Singapore plays a leading role in the sustainability movement, with sustainability, social and environmental causes widely discussed here. With that in mind, incorporating our company in Singapore accelerated our innovation and funding.

The research facilities and institutes in Singapore also proved to be strong and have provided MYCL with abundant opportunities to collaborate and develop new technologies and improve our product through networks. We are also currently collaborating with Temasek Life Sciences to allow us to objectively evaluate the feasibility of using their proprietary bio-glue technology to adhere MYCL’s mycellium leather with fabric.

^{Featured in the photo is part of the research work conducted between MYCL and local research institution}

We were also part of DBS Foundation’s Social Enterprise Grant programme, where we joined their bootcamp and successfully received two grants that accelerated our prototype development and scaled up efforts. Our participation in the programme helped us to further strengthen our IP and trademarking, as well as scale our business through connections with relevant stakeholders.

Lastly, Singapore has a sizeable target consumer group, with Singaporeans and local companies showing keen interest in sustainable lifestyles and high demand for eco-friendly products despite its higher prices.

3. MYCL also participated in The Bridge Fashion Innovator’s (TBFI) incubation programme in Singapore in 2019. How has this experience been beneficial for MYCL?

We are glad to have been one of the participants in TBFI’s incubation programme. As an EntrePass partner, TBFI helped us to quickly pick up fashion trends and relevant knowledge of industry standards through its programme, all of which further confirmed our research that there was demand for sustainable offerings in the fashion industry.

The programme also gave us the opportunity to learn from industry experts and build connections with global brand players as well as potential investors. Overall, it was a valuable experience we are thankful for.

4. In your opinion, how has sustainability evolved within the global fashion space? What role does MYCL play in this movement?

After the pandemic, the fashion landscape has significantly changed all around the world. Back then, most consumers were more price sensitive and would usually opt for lower-priced products. This usually encouraged less eco-friendly methods of production. However, with the pandemic influencing retail store operations, affecting consumer demand levels and disrupting supply chain logistics, many retail stores have closed, consumption is lessening, and supply chains have been disrupted.

This is where MYCL plays our role to offer sustainable fashion solutions to consumers globally. We are currently working with six brands from Germany, France, Spain and the US to explore the usage of mycelium leather.

5. What technologies will front the next fashion revolution and how does MYCL plan to stay ahead?

Brands are constantly looking for solutions that will minimise reliance on plastics and synthetic materials. Currently, we see a high demand for synthetic leather as a replacement for animal leather. However, synthetic leather is not sustainable as it is made from fossil fuels.

We believe that our mycelium leather is the next best alternative leather. In order to stay ahead, we are continuing our collaborations with research institutions to further improve our product.

^{Featured in the photo shows the collaboration between MYCL and local research institution}

6. What are MYCL’s plans for 2023?

As we gain traction, we intend to scale up our production of mycelium leather to meet increasing product demands in the coming year. We are delighted to share that we have successfully closed our pre-series A funding round in 2022 and are confident in our upcoming funding round later this year.

Besides funding, we are also exploring the circular economy of the palm oil industry. One of the raw materials needed to produce mycelium leather is palm oil waste and we hope to collaborate with several Singapore and Indonesia companies to acquire and recycle their agricultural waste. The access to sufficient raw materials will enable us to speed up our production process and reduce costs at the same time.

^{Featured in the photo is MYCL’s team}

7. What advice would you give budding entrepreneurs interested to venture into the sustainability space?

Focus on “doing good” and “doing well”.

Doing good means achieving a social purpose and doing well ensures the profitability of the business. We need to remember that these two come hand in hand and it is important to synergise both objectives to achieve something great.

Find out how Startup SG can support you to kickstart your entrepreneur journey in Singapore here.

30 Mar 2023 | Business Communities Unite!

2023-03-22T00:00:00+00:00

Event details

Title	Business Communities Unite! Collaborative Networks for Tech Startups & SMEs to Grow
Date	Thursday, 30 March 2023
Time	2 - 5pm (Singapore Time / UTC +8)
Venue	The Meeting Point at LaunchPad @ one-north
Register	This event has ended

About

Grow your business with the right connections!

Gain networks and collaboration opportunities to grow your business at “Business Communities Unite! Collaborative Networks for Tech Startups & SMEs to Grow” on Thursday 30 March 2023!

At this gathering of tech founders, entrepreneurs, leaders and connectors, you will also join a series of curated content sessions on topics such as brand awareness and growth, business inventory optimization, as well as a collaboration session with Finnish startups on new market opportunities!