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Enhanced EntrePass scheme to help Singapore attract larger pool of global startup talent

Enhanced EntrePass scheme to help Singapore attract larger pool of global startup talent

From August 3, 2017, the EntrePass scheme[1] will be enhanced to facilitate the entry of promising global startup talent who are keen to establish innovative businesses in Singapore.

The evaluation criteria for global startup founders has been broadened to attract more entrepreneurs, innovators, and investors. Applicants will now be assessed on factors beyond the existing four innovation criteria[2] to allow global startup talent to enter Singapore during the business exploration stage. Examples of new criteria include entrepreneurial and investment track record, business network and key achievements in their areas of expertise.

Other key enhancements to the EntrePass scheme, as announced during the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI)’s Committee of Supply (COS) debate in March 2017, include the removal of the S$50,000 paid-up capital requirement to recognise the non-monetary contributions of global startup talent such as business network, entrepreneurial and investment track record and achievements in key areas of expertise. Additionally, the validity period of each EntrePass will be extended from one to two years, after the first renewal to provide more certainty for global entrepreneurs in scaling up their businesses. The enhanced EntrePass renewal criteria and Dependant’s Pass (DP) criteria have also been revised.

Startup SG Talent – a key enabler to develop a strong startup ecosystem

Talent is critical to build a strong and thriving startup ecosystem. The EntrePass scheme comes under the Startup SG Talent pillar, one of the five pillars of the Startup SG umbrella branding that consolidates all local startup schemes[3].

Enhancements to the EntrePass scheme will attract a larger pool of skilled global startup talent to complement our local startups by catalysing more innovative businesses and creating good jobs[4] for Singaporeans.

Two new partner agencies on board

In addition to SPRING Singapore, the enhanced EntrePass scheme will see the inclusion of two new partner agencies: the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and the National Research Foundation (NRF), supported by SGInnovate.

Together, these agencies will work with the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) to evaluate the applications in their respective sectors.

Senior Minister of State for the Ministry of Trade and Industry Dr. Koh Poh Koon said, “Startups are an important driver of innovation and are becoming increasingly important as Singapore transforms to become an innovative and value creating economy. These enhancements are part of the Government’s efforts to develop a vibrant startup landscape that is attractive to global startup talent while promoting our local startups to establish and build innovative businesses, thus creating new industry sectors and job opportunities for Singaporeans.”

The full Enhanced EntrePass Evaluation Criteria and Enhanced EntrePass Renewal Criteria can be found here

[1] Introduced in 2003, EntrePass is a work visa for foreign entrepreneurs who are keen start a business in Singapore in areas such as deep technology.

[2] Under the existing innovation criteria, applicant has to: (i) have funding/investment from a Governmentrecognised VC or business angel; or (ii) hold intellectual property or (iii); or have a research collaboration with an IHL or research institution in Singapore; or (iv) be an incubatee at a Government-recognised incubator/accelerator.

[3] The other pillars under Startup SG are: Startup SG Founder, Startup SG Tech, Startup SG Equity and Startup SG Accelerator.

[4] As at 2015, foreign startups employed more than 19,000 workers in total. From 2013 to 2015, local employment in foreign startups increased by an average of 500 per year. (Source: DOS)

PARTNER

Qlik’s vision is a data-literate world, where everyone can use data and analytics to improve decision-making and solve their most challenging problems. A private company, Qlik offers real-time data integration and analytics solutions, powered by Qlik Cloud, to close the gaps between data, insights and action. By transforming data into Active Intelligence, businesses can drive better decisions, improve revenue and profitability, and optimize customer relationships. Qlik serves more than 38,000 active customers in over 100 countries.

PARTNER

CTC Global Singapore, a premier end-to-end IT solutions provider, is a fully owned subsidiary of ITOCHU Techno-Solutions Corporation (CTC) and ITOCHU Corporation.

Since 1972, CTC has established itself as one of the country’s top IT solutions providers. With 50 years of experience, headed by an experienced management team and staffed by over 200 qualified IT professionals, we support organizations with integrated IT solutions expertise in Autonomous IT, Cyber Security, Digital Transformation, Enterprise Cloud Infrastructure, Workplace Modernization and Professional Services.

Well-known for our strengths in system integration and consultation, CTC Global proves to be the preferred IT outsourcing destination for organizations all over Singapore today.

PARTNER

Planview has one mission: to build the future of connected work. Our solutions enable organizations to connect the business from ideas to impact, empowering companies to accelerate the achievement of what matters most. Planview’s full spectrum of Portfolio Management and Work Management solutions creates an organizational focus on the strategic outcomes that matter and empowers teams to deliver their best work, no matter how they work. The comprehensive Planview platform and enterprise success model enables customers to deliver innovative, competitive products, services, and customer experiences. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, with locations around the world, Planview has more than 1,300 employees supporting 4,500 customers and 2.6 million users worldwide. For more information, visit www.planview.com.

SUPPORTING ORGANISATION

SIRIM is a premier industrial research and technology organisation in Malaysia, wholly-owned by the Minister​ of Finance Incorporated. With over forty years of experience and expertise, SIRIM is mandated as the machinery for research and technology development, and the national champion of quality. SIRIM has always played a major role in the development of the country’s private sector. By tapping into our expertise and knowledge base, we focus on developing new technologies and improvements in the manufacturing, technology and services sectors. We nurture Small Medium Enterprises (SME) growth with solutions for technology penetration and upgrading, making it an ideal technology partner for SMEs.

PARTNER

HashiCorp provides infrastructure automation software for multi-cloud environments, enabling enterprises to unlock a common cloud operating model to provision, secure, connect, and run any application on any infrastructure. HashiCorp tools allow organizations to deliver applications faster by helping enterprises transition from manual processes and ITIL practices to self-service automation and DevOps practices. 

PARTNER

IBM is a leading global hybrid cloud and AI, and business services provider. We help clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs and gain the competitive edge in their industries. Nearly 3,000 government and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM’s hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently and securely. IBM’s breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions and business services deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM’s legendary commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity and service.

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