Singapore is the country for startups. Multitudes of funding options, government grants, business chambers like SICCI forever out to support and counsel SMEs.
Here comes another valuable opportunity to win an SGD12,000 grant at the new business festival ‘The Island Exchange’ being organised at the serene surroundings of Sentosa Golf Club on March 2. For getting the grant, the start-up will have to submit a winning pitch.
The Island Exchange is a one-day business festival for the savvy and ambitious. Held alongside the HSBC Women’s World Championship, the event brings together local and international speakers to share their experiences on building a successful and meaningful career, with the goal of empowering attendees to thrive in business.
The programme includes engaging talks, panels and workshops with founders and opinion leaders from various industries on topics shaping the global business landscape today, including Instagram marketing and conscious consumerism.
A highlight of the programme is Startup Sessions, a segment where founders will share the highs and lows of their career journeys. Speakers including Race Wong, COO of Ohmyhome, Annie Luu, Head of Asia of Investible, Zhiying Chua from Seedplus and Jonathan Lui from Soho App.
Not only will attendees be able to hear from inspiring industry leaders, they will also learn what venture capitalists and investors look for when investing in new companies. What’s more, selected startups will get the chance to do a speed pitch to judges from venture capital firms and Ng Li Lian, Country Head of Business Banking at HSBC Singapore who is offering a SGD12,000 reward for the winning proposal.
For a startup SGD 12K is a king's ransom and list of the things they can do with the cash could range from upgrading CRM, adding an e-commerce module, to offsetting digital marketing spends, adding new software modules and so on.
In addition to the monetary grant, the winner will gain direct access to expert advice from HSBC’s Business Banking team for a working capital review tailored to their business. Those interested in pitching are to submit a five-page pitching brief in PDF format.
The Island Exchange is jointly organised by IMG Singapore and Roco Communications.
Answering a query from Connected to India, Fitriah Zakiah of Roco Communications, said, “In response to the Island Exchange entries have been coming steadily. The start-ups looking for funding will have to submit their PDF pitches in advance via email at fitriah@rococomms.com latest by Wednesday, February 27, 2019. They will be contacted if they are short-listed and would also be registered for The Island Exchange programme.”
Both Early-Stage and Series-A startups are invited to submit their pitches, with the winner being announced at the end of the programme.
“At HSBC, we understand it is always not easy starting a new business. Through this pitch and grant, we are delighted to lend our support in helping Singapore-based startups and fast-growing SMEs to achieve their goals and fulfil their passions” said Ng Li Lian, Country Head of Business Banking at HSBC Singapore.
Host for the segment, Found8 Head of Community Andee Chua, commented, “The Island Exchange is a dynamic new type of business forum that’s designed to inspire the next generation. Attendees will take away valuable knowledge which will empower them to thrive both professionally and personally.”
The event is free for tournament ticket holders with Saturday access and includes entry to the HSBC Women’s World Championship, a SGD15 food voucher plus a goodie bag and access to all six sessions on the day. A Saturday tournament ticket is priced at SGD29. Capacity is limited and registration will be on a first-come-first-serve basis.
For more information on The Island Exchange and for the latest speaker announcements, readers can visit www.hsbcgolf.com/womens or register to attend at http://theislandexchange.intix.com.
