The Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) has committed S$32 million (US$24.6 million) over the next two years to continue driving corporate venturing in the country, according to an announcement.
Through the Corporate Venture Launchpad (CVL) programme, EDB’s New Ventures team will work, together with nine appointed partners, with selected companies to innovate in growth areas. These partners will guide companies to create new ventures by collaborating with startups.
The expanded CVL 3.0 programme will introduce support for corporate-startup partnerships, which is an additional pathway for companies to access innovative products, services, and technology.
Instead of creating their own venture, companies will work with Open Innovation Partners to connect with existing high-quality startups to partner with them to achieve meaningful commercial outcomes.
CVL 3.0 will continue to support companies to diversify business opportunities by creating new ventures headquartered in Singapore. In collaboration with Venture Studio Partners, participating companies will learn how to validate concepts within six-month sprints, as well as build sustained, long-term venture creation capabilities.
The first edition of CVL was launched in May 2021 with S$10 million in pilot funding. In July 2022, EDB expanded the programme to include more companies and committed additional funding of S$20 million.
Since the launch of CVL, EDB has supported 24 companies in launching 14 new ventures, with more ventures in the pipeline. These ventures are headquartered in Singapore, target regional markets, and create exciting job opportunities here. They have also received over S$70 million in follow-on funding from existing and new investors.
“The CVL programme has been a catalyst for companies to innovate for growth by leveraging Singapore’s world-class business ecosystem. CVL 3.0 reaffirms EDB’s commitment to partner businesses to deepen their innovation footprint here through venture creation, and drive win-win collaborations between corporates and startups,” said Jacqueline Poh, Managing Director.
EDB will co-fund up to 50% of professional services and manpower costs for each concept validation sprint and startup partnership initiative. Additional grant support will also be available for select companies to launch and scale startup pilot projects, co-developed with their startup partners.
