Singapore keeps post in Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2021

Singapore has maintained its 5th position in Asia and 17th position globally as a startup ecosystem, according to the Global Startup Ecosystem Report (GSER) 2021.

The GSER report ranks cities against six success factors – Performance, Funding, Connectedness, Market Reach, Knowledge, and Talent.

Similar to 2020, the report shows that the city-state performed well in three success factors. Tiered from 1 – 10, Singapore scored well in Funding (8), Connectedness (6), and Market Reach (6).

Funding, in particular, has been Singapore’s strength. Despite the pandemic, Singapore still drew in S$5.5 billion (about $4 billion) in capital over the past year, making it the leading city in acquiring venture capital dollars in Southeast Asia.

The report, however, noted that Singapore will need to improve in the remaining three factors, Talent (5), Performance (4), and Knowledge (1). The two factors where there is most room for improvement are Performance which captures the actual leading, current, and lagging indicators of ecosystem performance, and Knowledge which measures innovation through research and patent activity.

With increased Government funding, such as the Research, Innovation, and Enterprise (RIE) 2025 plan’s S$25 billion investment towards research and development in strategic domains, Singapore is moving forward to create more opportunities in these areas.

Jayren Teo, Managing Director of Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN) Singapore expressed that they are delighted to have had the opportunity to partner with Startup Genome and Action Community for Entrepreneurship (ACE) for this exciting report.

“We firmly believe in the potential of Singapore in its journey to become a truly innovative city-state, and will continue to work with ACE on initiatives to facilitate growth and expansion in the country,” said Teo.

James Tan, Chairman of ACE, added that the Singapore Government has provided ample funding and opportunities for development, and they are confident in the level of innovation and the resilient nature of their startups and their stakeholders to uplift the ecosystem.