Global market access programmes help Singapore firms like Neeuro expand abroad

Original News URL: The Straits Times

SINGAPORE - Singapore medical technology firm Neeuro is deepening its presence in China with the help of a local business partner there.

The partnership was established after Neeuro participated in a virtual market access programme last year conducted by innovation platform XNode, which is a partner of the Global Innovation Alliance (GIA).

The GIA, led by government agency Enterprise Singapore (ESG), helps to catalyse cross-border collaboration between Singapore and global innovation hubs.

Neeuro co-founder and chief executive Alvin Chan said the firm found a business adviser through the programme. This helped it establish its presence in China, seen as a key market for the company, which provides brain and mental health solutions.

"We were able to further upgrade and localise our solution... and most importantly, we signed a partnership with a clinic to run our solution and distribute it in China," he said.

It also linked with its partner, private clinic Shanghai Dingbo Medical Technology, to participate in the Singapore-Shanghai joint innovation call earlier this year.

Their project - among four submissions that clinched funding support from ESG and the Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality - aims to develop a care model for children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in China.

Neeuro is among over 400 start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises that have benefited from over 50 outbound market access programmes through the GIA network since its launch in 2017.

The network covers 15 cities across 11 countries and will be expanded to 25 cities by 2025.

"Such inter-connectedness will allow our ecosystem to grow and encourage two-way flow of ideas and talent," said ESG chairman Peter Ong.

The market access programmes help Singapore firms better understand the innovation ecosystems abroad and connect with partners, including investors and corporates.

"I am very encouraged to see that participation in the GIA market access programmes picked up during the Covid-19 period - this reflects the thirst for new markets and collaboration opportunities, even in a challenging climate," Mr Ong said.

He noted how the network partners worked to adapt the access programmes to work in the virtual format through means such as pre-recording pitches and having virtual workshops.

Even as Covid-19 becomes endemic and travel slowly resumes, hybrid modes of these programmes are likely here to stay, Mr Ong said, adding that ESG wants to leverage and combine the strengths of both physical and virtual elements.

TeleMedC, which provides diagnostic imaging solutions, is another local firm that has benefited from the GIA network.

It participated in a market exploration programme conducted by German Entrepreneurship Asia, and then set up a German subsidiary that became operational in May.

TeleMedC is partnering a university hospital in Germany to research early detection and grading of various eye conditions.

"We intend to leverage this research to develop proprietary technologies that will help in prioritising care and preventing unnecessary blindness, especially in remote and rural areas where resources are limited," said TeleMedC chief medical officer and director Tan Teck Jack.

Its German subsidiary, based in Hamburg, operates independently, with staff coordinating research efforts and potential implementation of solutions, while its Singapore headquarters continues to provide technical, regulatory and financial oversight for projects, he added.

Mr Ong noted how the GIA market access programmes help SMEs and start-ups refine their strategies in entering new markets and accessing new opportunities.

The agency is providing more targeted assistance by facilitating "demand-led" programmes in some markets such as Japan and Germany where firms participate in specific pitching sessions to corporates with problems they seek to address.

About one in every four participants has achieved significant business traction through the market access programmes, ESG noted. This comes in the form of commercial agreements, joint ventures, as well as investments.

Data analytics firm Radarr Technologies took part in 500 Global's acceleration programme earlier this year, with the intention to develop a strategy to launch in the United States.

"The US market is key for enterprise and small and medium-sized business-to-business SaaS (software-as-a-service) companies as it is a mature market with high demand for social media analytics and business intelligence products," Radarr Technologies' general manager Prerna Pant noted.

Through the programme, the firm found that the quickest way for entry would be through launching its product focused at small and medium-sized businesses first to create brand awareness.

It has signed a few North American customers since the programme started, and has hired a small team of sales development representatives in the US, Ms Pant added.