Press in 2018

Yahoo Finance

“Spiking, the world’s first blockchain asset validation and AI driven crypto trading infrastructure, has successfully completed its Initial Token Offering.

The Spiking Initial Token Offering is ranked amongst the world’s top 3.3 percent of ICOs. It is rated 4.4 on ICObench and 4.8 on ICOholder respectively, out of a maximum score of 5. Both are leading ICO rating websites. Spiking is also backed by Quest Ventures, CRC Capital, Mars Blockchain, Jove Capital, and Fundamental Labs.”

More

The Business Times

Find good partners, avoid analysis paralysis to build a viable ESG strategy. Quest Ventures’ opinion on environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices get airtime in Singapore’s broadsheet The Business Times.

“Today, we support a range of social good initiatives by a dozen companies across Asia for education, and female and youth entrepreneurship, all guided by the goal of decent work and economic growth, said Quest Ventures managing partner James Tan.”

More

The Business Times

TranSwap stands out by standing up for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

“The company… burnished its credentials as an SME specialist by joining as a value-added service provider on the Singapore government’s Networked Trade Platform (NTP) for import and export companies… (TranSwap obtained) its remittance licence in Hong Kong in 2016, and in Singapore in July last year… Individuals and companies can transfer funds in the local currency or US dollars to some 45 countries spanning Europe, Australia and Asia, as well as the United States. TranSwap has about US$1.2 million in initial funding, including… from venture capital firm Quest Ventures.”

More

ASEAN Secretariat News

Quest Ventures associate director Russ Neu led the Singapore delegation to attend the 2nd ASEAN-China Young Entrepreneur Forum in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

“Topics discussed included the importance of harnessing technology and innovation for SMEs in ASEAN Member States and China, key challenges hindering technology adoption and innovation, potential and challenges brought by China’s rapid advances in technology and innovation on businesses in ASEAN Member States and possible joint ventures, and recommendations on how to promote greater role of innovation for SME development. Through the forum, ASEAN and China young entrepreneurs were also able to establish networking and business linkages, and explore possible collaborations.

The forum was organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Cambodia, and supported by the ASEAN-China Centre and the government of the People’s Republic of China through the ASEAN-China Cooperation Fund.”

More

Singapore Business Review

Carousell… has expanded to 19 cities across seven countries around the world, raising $174.14m (US$126.8m) YTD in funding from seven venture capital firms in the process including Sequoia Capital, 500 Startups and Quest Ventures.

“We still have a long way to go in realising our vision for Carousell,” Quek Siu Rui, Carousell’s co-founder and CEO, told Singapore Business Review in response to being branded as Singapore’s next possible unicorn. “Carousell’s purpose is to be more than just a transactional platform. Our end goal is to a grow a community of millions of people around the world who share our belief that changing the way we consume things can make life more meaningful.”

More

Digital News Asia

Quest Ventures managing partner James Tan, in his capacity as Chairman of the Business Angel Network of Southeast Asia (BANSEA) – Asia’s oldest angel network – was on the panel at the ASEAN Angel Summit held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

“Angel leaders from eight of the 10 ASEAN nations shared the state of angel investing in their countries. Bansea chairman James Tan sees that there is a lot of opportunity in Southeast Asia and angel investment is actually getting more sophisticated these days. Many are viewing Singapore as a viable launchpad into the region. He did, however, point out that entrepreneurs often fail as they don’t raise enough funds in time. “Some don’t understand finance and are unable to handle their own finances,” he pointed out.”

More

Tech in Asia

Quest Ventures’ investment into Haikini, a bikini brand for surfers, made the news.

“It might seem odd for a VC firm to back a business that isn’t clearly a technology company, but it’s nothing new. Sequoia Capital has invested in a cafe chain in India and a sports media company in Singapore. A coffee chain in Indonesia recently got VC funding.

“Beckie is deeply committed to helping the Bali community that’s producing the apparel, and for the market opportunity that she sees in this niche and passionate segment of customers. Imagine Quiksilver, but now Asia-based and female-managed,” says Tan.

Plus, “she’s a go-getter,” he added.”

More

The Business Times

Quest Ventures has been named a Champion of Good alongside Barclays Bank, Standard Chartered Singapore, Expedia, Shell, DBS, IBM Singapore, Microsoft Asia, Procter & Gamble, Visa, and other stalwarts of doing good.

The “Champions of Good is a national recognition framework under the Company of Good, designed to catalyse the corporate giving movement and build a City of Good. It recognises organisations that have not only been exemplary in their corporate giving efforts, but have also been an influencer and multiplier by engaging their partners and stakeholders on a collaborative giving journey.”

The award was presented by Minister of Finance Heng Swee Keat. The National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre, Singapore Business Federation Foundation, the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, and SG Cares conferred the honour.

More

University Media Centre, University of South Australia

The prestigious University of South Australia Alumni Awards is an annual milestone in the University’s calendar and showcases the most distinguished members of our global alumni community, our innovators and pioneers – people making a real difference in the world.

Former politician and Ambassador to Italy, now prominent media commentator, Amanda Vanstone, and Singapore business entrepreneur, James Tan will be among the University of South Australia alumni acknowledged at its Annual Alumni Awards. A key event in the UniSA calendar, the awards showcase and acknowledge the outstanding global contribution of UniSA’s alumni community now more than 215,000 strong.

Congratulating the 2018 winners, UniSA Vice Chancellor Professor David Lloyd says he is always proud to see how UniSA graduates have used their education to transform their own lives and improve the world around them.

More

Reuters

Rushdi Siddiqui, Quest Ventures’ mentor for the Islamic economy, was asked for his thoughts on the future of Islamic Finance.

“Islamic finance has taken great strides this century, with sharia-compliant financial assets forecast to total $3.8 trillion by 2022, according to a Thomson Reuters report. That’s up from $2.2 trillion in 2016, with around 1,400 Islamic financial institutions now operating across 80 countries.

Yet financial inclusion in Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member states lags global norms. Less than 30 percent of households in OIC countries have an account at a financial institution. That compares with more than 50 percent in non-OIC nations, a 2015 IMF report reveals.

“Banking is about data and its management. Artificial Intelligence and blockchain will re-engineer Islamic finance,” said Rushdi Siddiqui, Mentor, Islamic Economy, Quest Ventures (Singapore).

He predicts virtual assistants will replace call centres and many branches, with technology empowering customers to make better financial decisions, while fintech could provide a global fatwa database available in multiple languages.”

More

KrASIA

Meituan-Dianping, China’s biggest on-demand food delivery mammoth, had a triumphal debut on the Hong Kong bourse. Its shares ended its first trading day up 5%, with a market cap of over US$50 billion.

“James Tan, the Managing Partner of Quest Ventures, sees profitability concerns as a valid part of the whims when a private company transits to become a public entity. Having seen through the Nasdaq listing of the then 55tuan – a startup he founded – despite the market onslaught and delays, he believes that Meituan, which has a good track record of growth thus far, will be able to weather the current storm.

Furthermore, China’s food delivery market is huge. Just like the case in the global food delivery space, it is likely that the market is sufficient to accommodate at least two dominant players.”

More

938NOW

The National Research Foundation of Singapore was on national radio FM 938NOW with Quest Ventures to promote the upcoming Singapore Week of Innovation and Technology, commonly known as SWITCH.

Quest Ventures’ James Tan was on the show in his capacity as Chairman of the Business Angel Network of Southeast Asia, the region’s oldest angel network, which is responsible for a series of events during SWITCH. In addition to panel discussions with top angels and angel networks from the region, participants can look forward to closed door engagements and a celebratory dinner. A lifetime achievement award will also be given away during the festivities.

More

搜狐

新加坡是一个高度依赖国际市场的国家，这一点既是优势，也是挑战。那么，以创新创业的角度来看，这些创新和挑战分别表现在哪些方面呢？

2018年8月27-28日，通商中国与新加坡工商联合总会联合主办“慧眼中国环球论坛”暨“新加坡暨区域商务论坛”2018特别年会。墨腾创投创始人&CEO李江玕作为演讲嘉宾，参与了“与王乙康部长对话：变革时代下的创新与创业”环节讨论。

参与本环节讨论的嘉宾有（从左到右，照片由通商中国提供）：

陈中，求索创投管理合伙人（主持人）

黎常文，Ninja Van联合创始人&CEO

王乙康，新加坡教育部长

李江玕，墨腾创投创始人&CEO

郑俊聪，祥峰投资管理合伙人

陈杰豪，新加坡资讯通信媒体发展管理局CEO

新加坡资讯通信媒体发展管理局CEO陈杰豪（Tan Kiat How）认为，新加坡有三大机会：

1、新加坡正处在数字经济的前沿，为每个人都提供了巨大的机会。谷歌、Facebook、微软等公司掀起的第一波革命浪潮已经证明了这一点。

陈杰豪表示，他曾经和一位来自中国的高级政府官员讨论过：预计到2021年，中国的数字经济将达到8.5万亿美元，相当于中国GDP的55%。比农业等其他行业的表现都要好，这一点对于那些科技创新企业来说，这是一个难得的机会。

2、东南亚是发展最快的地区之一，预计到2030年将成为第四大经济体。东南亚的人口超过6.5亿，其中超过一半的人年龄在25岁以上，他们对手机和和互联网接受很快。对许多中国企业来说，新加坡是通向东南亚和海外的门户，同时新加坡也是许多人才创新和企业进入中国的跳板。

More

(주)브레이크뉴스

Quest Ventures establishes social innovation platform with the City of Daegu in South Korea. The Memorandum of Understanding will accelerate social ventures in the Daegu area by utilizing Singapore as a bridgehead for Southeast Asia.

“박성원 기자= 대구창조경제혁신센터(센터장 연규황)는 해7일, 싱가포르 벤처캐피털(VC)인 퀘스트벤처스와 상호간 네트워크와 자원을 활용해 스타트업과 소셜벤처를 공동육성한다는 양해각서(MoU)를 체결했다고 10일 밝혔다.

금번 MoU를 통해 양 기관은 상호간의 네트워크를 활용해 대구와 싱가포르 소셜벤처와 스타트업을 공동 육성하고 해외 진출까지 지원하는 소셜 이노베이션 플랫폼을 구축하고 이를 통해 스타트업 육성 생태계를 확대하기로 합의했다.”

More

Singapore Business Review

With the recent shut downs of oBike, Gbikes and ShareBikeSG, Quest Ventures senior analyst Jasmine Toh provided her opinion on alternatives for last-mile transportation, and commended the regulators for their enforcement actions.

“Despite the latest development, bike sharing still remains an attractive last-mile transport option for commuters looking to travel short distances especially with a gap in the market for end-to-end transport solutions, Quest Ventures senior analyst Jasmine Toh told Singapore Business Review.

Aside from bike-sharing, Toh mentioned e-scooters as an option for last mile transportation.

“Last mile transportation was traditionally settled with walking or buses,” she said. “We believe that as long as last mile issues in transportation continue to be unsolved, there will be new business models to tackle this.””

More

Singapore Business Review

Quest Ventures referenced China’s WeChat and Indonesia’s Go-Jek to provide commentary on Grab’s latest effort to improve their app.

“Jasmine Toh, senior analyst at Quest Ventures sees Grab’s situation is almost like China’s WeChat. “Referencing WeChat, which now includes all manner of e-commerce and other options such as entertainment, we see that Grab’s direction mirrors it, i.e., leveraging an existing user base into other verticals,” she said.

“By building new verticals directly into an existing app, it significantly reduces friction from download, registration, and most importantly, payments,” Toh said. Go-Jek is another example which has taken the same route of building a ‘superapp’.””

More

e27

Senior analyst Jasmine Toh provides her views to e27’s Kevin McSpadden on the messy exit of oBike, which was funded by some well-known investors in Singapore.

“The current negative sentiment comes from a multi-year build up of inconvenience and eyesore due to irresponsible parking, that has now culminated in irresponsible market exits with the hapless consumer continuing to be the one to bear the brunt of the impact with lost deposits,” said Jasmine Toh, a Senior Analyst at Quest Ventures, when asked about the closure.

Toh also said oBike needs to “exercise their responsibility to the public” and clean-up the exit process. The Consumers Association of Singapore has apparently told oBike that the messy exit is “unethical and unacceptable”.

More

Singapore Business Review

Quest Ventures provided commentary on the decision by the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) to fine Grab and Uber for their merger that it deemed anti-competitive.

“Quest Ventures senior analyst Jasmine Toh noted that the situation is that Uber has left the scene, and the remedies, if any, are only applicable to Grab. “Singapore’s taxi landscape, lethargic for too long, was shaken up when there was competition,” she said.

“Our hope is that even with reduced competition, these taxi companies will not stop their efforts to innovate to meet today’s customers’ needs. If they do slow down or stop delivering what consumers want, new competitors will surely emerge to eat their lunch,” Toh added.”

More

Tạp chí Thế Giới Vi Tính

Quest Ventures brings 3 Singapore startups to Vietnam as part of the Runway to the World program organised by SIHUB.

“Đây là những startup đầy tính sáng tạo khởi nghiệp trên các nền tảng công nghệ mới, đặt mục tiêu tìm được ít nhất 1 khách hàng Việt Nam trong 3 tháng tiếp cận thị trường.
Runway To The World: đưa startup Việt ra thế giới

Sau buổi hợp tác mở rộng cung cấp thông tin và kết nối doanh nghiệp Việt – Hàn, Saigon Innovation Hub tiếp tục mang đến cơ hội giao lưu, học hỏi cho cộng đồng khởi nghiệp đổi mới sáng tạo TP.HCM với 2 hệ sinh thái khởi nghiệp phát triển trên thế giới là Malaysia cùng Singapore.

Theo bà Nguyễn Phi Vân – Chủ tịch hội đồng cố vấn Saigon Innovation Hub, đây là các startup xuất sắc đã được Malaysian Global Innovation and Creativity Centre (MAGIC) và Quest Ventures đã tiến hành tuyển chọn hồi tháng 5/2018 để đưa sang Việt Nam tìm kiếm cơ hội kinh doanh thuộc chương trình Runway To The World.”

More

Deal Street Asia

“Eatsy Technologies, a Singapore-based food & beverages technology startup, has raised S$550,000 ($404,000) led by Quest Ventures, that invests in technology startups.

The round also saw participation from Wee Teng Wen, founder of The Lo & Behold Group, and RedMart co-founders Roger Egan III, Vikram Rupani and Rajesh Lingappa.”

More

Human Resources Director Magazine

“Transformation doesn’t take place overnight; it is a journey that requires patience and push – especially if you’re looking to transform an entire organisation. This is what HRD learned when we spoke to Juliana Ang, chief human resources officer at NTUC Income.

The homegrown insurance company was recently ranked first in the inaugural Applied Innovation Institute Singapore Insurance Innovation and Digital Benchmark, which ranks the innovation and digitisation efforts of 25 insurers in Singapore. For Income, the journey to achieving such high acclaim began in 2014 when they foresaw the need to reimagine the typically traditional sector of insurance early.

“We realised the need for dedicated focus, hence the beginning of the formation of an ecosystem that comprises the C-suite, employees and like-minded external partners to seed, mobilise and effect change,” Ang said.”

More

The Business Times

Jeffrey Seah, venture partner at Quest Ventures, weighs in on the Trump-Kim S$20 million question: What’s it worth to the Singapore brand campaign?

“Singapore was the place because of its learned ability to execute a complex Mice event in a short time, and a population that is used to the personal, professional and security disruptions from Mic events, road closures and congestion from F1s and international marathons to Cristiano Ronaldo and South Korea boyband visits.

The summit will reinforce Singapore as the Alpha choice for Mice events, further cementing and embellishing Singapore’s lofty Mic destination position.

The 9-5 capabilities have been augmented by the 5-9 activities of the two integrated resorts in the past 10 years, and now complemented by burnished credentials of executing big, security-conscious, multi-party Mice events in a short turn-around time.”

More

Singapore Business Review

The Business Angel Network of Southeast Asia (BANSEA) has appointed James Tan as its chairman to take charge of the region’s oldest angel investment network.

Tan serves as managing partner of venture capital firm Quest Ventures and co-founded NASDAQ-listed e-commerce startup 55tuan. He succeeds Dr Mark Hon who will remain on the board of directors as Immediate Past Chairman.

Under the new leadership, BANSEA aims to elevate the region’s angel investment scene to the next level by focusing on two key areas, education and investment.

“We will continue to build strong global partnerships to encourage greater investment collaboration across the funding lifecycle and geographies. I am grateful for the work that the previous board of directors led by Dr Mark Hon has done, and look forward to building on its momentum,” Tan said in a statement.

More

Singapore Business Review

“… businesses operating in any one of the verticals Grab has targetted have more than enough reason to worry as startups with the mission to disrupt industries now have a significant backer in Grab, said James Tan, managing partner at Quest Ventures.

Startups that make it into Grab Ventures can leverage on its advanced tech platform, regional footprint as well as a vast network of drivers, delivery partners and merchants across the region. Moving forward, these startups may be tightly integrated into the platform or even outrightly merged under the Grab brand and platform if they prove they could add further value to the business, Tan pointed out.”

More

Marketing Magazine

Jeffrey Seah, venture partner at Quest Ventures said, “Every player in the content creation and distribution business is searching for a global platform with the advent of OTT players of all forms, and the new mega and irregular players like Netflix, Amazon, Apple and Tencent. Fox presents an immediate upgrade in capability and market knowledge for both Disney and Comcast to that global reach.”

More

Various

Quest Ventures managing partner James Tan, in his role as deputy chairman at ACE, has led a group of Singapore corporations and tech startups on a business mission to Paris, France, together with Enterprise Singapore and SGInnovate.

The delegation met with Hello Tomorrow, AXA Innovation, Paris Region Entreprises, Station F, Bpifrance and others for market access and innovation collaborations.

Ambassador Zainal, Singapore’s Ambassador to France, hosted a welcome dinner for the Singapore delegation. Various stakeholders, including Minister for Communications and Information & Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations, Mr S Iswaran spoke at the VivaTech conference held on the final day of the business mission.

More

Singapore Business Review

James Tan, managing partner at Quest Ventures also expects large rounds to continue to dominate headlines, and for angel syndicates driven by experienced angel investment networks such as BANSEA to gain prevalence. In addition, he anticipates a “rejuvenation” of seed stage deals which slowed down in 2017.

With venture capital activity poised to boom, competition for both talent and deals is heating up. Tan said that the most notable venture capital activity in 2018 so far would be the entrance of corporations into venture investments, particularly from Series B onwards.

… But Tan said there needs to be a stronger government push for deep-technology investments as private investment firms are not actively investing into this space. Government support could help the deep-technology companies zero in on their real-world applicability. Right now, these firm “are mostly solutions looking for problems to solve at the moment.” said Tan.

More

Insurance Business Magazine Asia

NTUC Income topped the 2018 Singapore Insurance Innovation and Digital Benchmark, conducted by the Applied Innovation Institute (Aii), and venture fund Quest Ventures.

“In a world where disruption is the only constant, we believe that it is even more important for corporations to understand the incredible challenges that lie in their strategy roadmaps,” said Prof. Paris de l’Etraz, chairman of Aii. “With the average lifespan of an S&P company dropping from 67 years in the 1920s to 15 years today, we cannot emphasise [enough] the importance of developing an innovation model that works not just to boost your bottomline, but places you at the forefront of disruption.”

More

Marketing Magazine

The annual report titled Applied Innovation Institute Singapore Insurance Innovation and Digital Benchmark ranks the innovation and digitisation efforts of 25 insurers in Singapore. More than 80 data points across social, online, and innovation metrics were recorded and analysed to benchmark the progress of insurers towards key industry innovation and digitalisation goals.

NTUC Income ranked overall first in the benchmark, and also ranked first in online efforts and innovation, while coming in seventh in social efforts.

The goal of the benchmark is to help insurers in Singapore understand the effectiveness of their innovation initiatives and drive innovation and digitalisation amongst insurers in Singapore.

More

联合早报

求索创投与美国应用创新研究所的评估报告指出，25个保险业者中，只有九个拥有推特账户，这当中仅有两个账户是活跃的。报告也指出，所有业者都没有使用Snapchat，并点名这是和千禧世代联系的关键平台。

本地大部分的保险公司甚少使用社交媒体与用户接触，一些公司虽然有户头，但却没将社媒的信息本土化。

More

Singapore Tatler

Quest Ventures venture partner Goh Yiping was selected as one of 50 brightest connectors, creative visionaries, influential innovators and disruptive talents in Singapore.

“Her current job title may be venture partner at Quest Ventures, but Goh Yiping will always be remembered as an e-commerce trailblazer. The 36-year-old started All Deals Asia in 2010 with her brother. The site that consolidated the best local promotions from around the web proved so successful that it was acquired by one of Asia’s leading diversified conglomerates, Lippo Group, in 2014. Together with the Lippo Group, Yiping helped launch MatahariMall, an online version of Indonesia’s biggest mid-priced department stores, for which she moved to Jakarta for three years to accomplish. While cooking up new ideas for her next project, she’s taking on a completely different adventure: motherhood.”

More

The Business Times

Like the name suggests, startup Eatsy is about making dining out easy. Its CEO and founder Shaun Heng shares how the app offers a hassle-free experience for diners, even when they are in a group, while capturing valuable patron data for restaurants.

Eatsy’s investors include Quest Ventures, Spring Singapore (now Enterprise Singapore), the co-founders of RedMart (Roger Egan, Vikram Rupani and Rajesh Lingappa), Lo & Behold Group (Wee Teng Wen), and prominent angel investors.

More

金色财经

由世界区块链理事会（WBC）主办，金色财经、GMGC、3点钟社群和BIT.GAME联合主办的2018年世界区块链峰会（World Blockchain Conference）于4月3日在中国北京国家会议中心（CNCC）举办。峰会联合国内外知名学术机构、区块链技术公司和专家等共同参与，邀请全球三十多个国家或地区，近1000名区块链行业精英共同出席，特设领袖峰会、CEO闭门会、项目路演、区块链+数字娱乐论坛等多个重点环节。金色财经前方记者在峰会现场为您带来实时报道，更多内容请持续关注区块链专业媒体金色财经。

求索创投创始人王贇明以“区块链的具体落地应用”为主题发表了演讲，以下为演讲实录。

More

Trang tin Điện tử Đảng bộ thành phố Hồ Chí Minh

Theo đó, Sihub đã ký kết bản ghi nhớ với các đối tác đến từ các quốc gia, vùng lãnh thổ, gồm: Hàn Quốc, Malaysia, Singapore, Thụy Điển, Canada, Đức, Thụy Sỹ, Hàn Quốc, Hongkong (Trung Quốc).

Cụ thể, Sihub đã ký kết với Shihan Future’ Lab Magic, Quest Venture, Swedish Univerity Outreach và German Accelerator trong chương trình Run Way to the world (Chương trình trao đổi startup quốc tế); ký kết với Swedish Univerity Outreach – chương trình Bonndless! (Chương trình trao đổi giữa doanh nghiệp nhỏ và vừa); ký kết với Ivey Business School (chương trình nâng cao năng lực quản trị cho doanh nghiệp); ký kết với Unicef (Chương trình giáo dục kỹ năng thế kỷ 21 cho thanh thiếu niên); hợp tác với Swedish Univerity Outreach (triển khai hội nghị công nghệ ngành sức khỏe, y tế châu Á); ký với tập đoàn Bosch (Chương trình Liên minh chiến lược phát triển hệ sinh thái ngành mạng lưới vạn vật kết nối – IOT), ký kết với Kaizen Accelerator (Chương trình liên minh chiến lược phát triển hệ sinh thái ngành Blockchain & Công nghệ tài chính số); ký kết với Quest Venture (Chương trình thiết lập và phát triển hệ sinh thái đầu tư khởi nghiệp).

More

Singapore Business Review

Singapore needs to push its startups beyond seed funding. “… one in five fintech firms lament the fact that Singapore doesn’t have enough venture capital to go around with 66% claiming that the current level of government assistance is inadequate to power their businesses.”

“The Fintech sector in Singapore is vibrant with the Monetary Authority of Singapore taking an active role in encouraging startups, and driving corporate innovation in financial institutions. Contrary to the survey, we believe that there is an abundance of exuberance with the easy availability of grants, venture capital, and cryptocurrency fund-raising in the form of ICOs,” said James Tan, Managing Partner of VC firm, Quest Ventures.

More

YourStory

Senior Analyst Jasmine Toh was invited to Unbound Bahrain as a speaker on the topic of “Investors, VCs and their Strategies”. As the only female investor representative from Southeast Asia, Jasmine also shared her thoughts on female entrepreneurship and opportunities in new sectors.

“The small Arab nation has been gearing up to welcome startups, investors and HNIs from across GCC (Gulf Council Confederation) and MENA (Middle East and Northern Africa) regions.

With a push from the government to move from oil to innovation, the Middle East today is looking at tech innovation and startups closely. Bahrain’s Economic Development Board and its semi-government organisation Tamkeen are looking to make Bahrain a Middle-Eastern hotbed for startups.”

More

Money FM 89.3

Senior Analyst Jasmine Toh was interviewed on The Breakfast Huddle on Money FM 89.3.

Hosted by Yasmin Jonkers and Elliott Danker, this morning’s huddle covered mindsets, transformation in traditional industries, the Startup SG Founder funding from SPRING Singapore, the Productivity Solutions Grant which replaces the Productvity & Innovation Credit, and others.

More

The Straits Times

Shaun Heng, Founder & CEO of Eatsyapp.co, a Quest Ventures-backed startup, was covered in The Straits Times today.

“Eatsy connects restaurants to their diners and helps them answer the age-old questions of ‘Who my diners are’, ‘What they like to eat’ and ‘How can I get them back with the right promotions’.”

Eatsy is backed by Quest Ventures, a venture fund for technology companies, and SPRING Singapore under the Startup SG Founder grant.

More

VTV1

Analyst Khor Qianyi was interviewed on Vietnam Television 1 (VTV1) for her impressions of the Vietnam startup scene.

She contrasted the difference between Singapore and Vietnam startups, highlighted the importance of the Vietnamese market, and stressed the critical role of accelerators in strengthening the startup landscape.

More (7:17 mark)

Marketing Magazine

While “digital transformation” is probably one of the most over-used terms in the past few years, to embrace it, is not easy.

Interviewed in the Marketing magazine, Jeffrey Seah, venture partner at Quest Ventures, said transformation itself means restarting the business with a new mindset and operational structure. If SIA really has transformation in its agenda, it has to “depart from the established topping up mindset” that is prevalent among many government bodies and MNCs.

The “topping up” mindset comes from adopting best practices from other companies (or start-ups) to gain ideas, and add that to the current business model. But it doesn’t necessarily mean hitting the restart button as transformation ideally should. For SIA’s transformation to work, it requires the company to have the mindset that it is changing the business from the core.”

More