Grab And IMDA Team Up On Singapore Business Accelerator

Grab, a Southeast Asian app, and the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) have teamed up to run an accelerator meant to jumpstart Singapore startups and help them to expand to other countries, according to a report by Deal Street Asia.

The program is called Grab Ventures Ignite and it’s a 14-week program that will be run concurrently with the GVI Vietnam program, to let startups from both countries exchange ideas and methods for growth.

Grab already has a program called Grab Ventures Velocity which supports 15 regional startups.

“Grab is committed to help more Singapore startups and micro SMEs build strong digital capabilities, and capture opportunities in the digital economy through leveraging our expansive reach across the region, assets and capabilities and partnerships,” said Chris Yeo, head of Grab Ventures. “The effort is also aligned to Singapore’s interest to become the global-Asian node for tech, innovation and enterprise.”

IMDA Chief Industry Development Officer Howie Lau said IMDA is always trying to find new business opportunities for local tech companies in the region.

“We are excited for this partnership, which will allow Singapore-based startups to gain a foothold in Vietnam. Building up the capabilities and creating access for local companies is especially critical in this current climate, where firms must continue digitalising and innovating to unlock new growth prospects,” he said.

The terms of the program say that two startups are going to be picked for GVI, and three will get the chance to be a part of a three-day boot camp hosted by Digital Industry Singapore (DISG), IMDA PIXEL and Grab located at PIXEL’s headquarters in One-North Singapore.

The participants in the program will also have the opportunity to be rewarded with cloud credits worth up to $100,000 each.

GVI partners include Vietnam’s National Innovation Center (under the Ministry of Planning and Investment), Gobi Partners, Toong and Amazon Web Services.