Aiming to build a bridge between East and West — specifically, Singapore and London — the Singaporean state-funded VC Infocomm Investments is extending its $200 million fund to European tech startups, including investing in the London-based fintech accelerator run by Startupbootcamp. The idea is to help the European/London startups it invests in to access markets in Singapore and Asia as a whole, with the former having ambition plans to become a ‘Smart Nation’, creating a multitude of opportunities for tech startups home and abroad.
“Singapore is a great gateway to Asia and we believe Southeast Asia is the consumer market of the future,” Zach Tan, director of Infocomm Investments’ London office, tells TechCrunch. “Beyond growth capital, with our strong knowledge of Asian market opportunities, operations and culture, we are able to provide mentoring, networks and infrastructure to ease their process of setting up a business in Asia through Singapore.”
Tan also explains that the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA), the fund’s parent organisation, is looking to build Singapore into a Smart Nation. “They are providing plenty of opportunities for tech startups to develop big ideas in areas such as urban density, healthcare, public safety and city planning, and we could help plug startups into these programmes,” he says.
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