Expanding Circular Economy Network Across Borders
HSF’s Circular Start-Ups Explore Singapore’s Sustainable Entrepreneurial Ecosystem

The delegation programme commenced with a workshop titled "Nurturing an ASEAN Start-Up Ecosystem for Circular Economy" co-organised by HSF and Nanyang Technological University (NTU). The event brought together over 70 students alongside esteemed experts from ADB Ventures, Universal Materials Incubator Co., Ltd, Leave a Nest, NTU Entrepreneurship Academy, NTUitive, NUS Enterprise, and Nanyang Business School. Discussions focused on support mechanisms and financing opportunities for the circular transition, with valuable insights from development partners, investors, and academia. Circular experts and start-up support organisations emphasised the importance of transparent impact measurement and clear communication to help potential investors understand the unique impact and difference that circular ventures make, thereby improving access to finance.

A highlight of the first day of the programme is the participation of two start-ups from the TH!NK GLOBAL Sustainability Network - Plana from Indonesia and Alder Green Solutions from Tunisia - in a panel discussion – together with Singaporean start-ups – to share their experiences and strategies for fundraising efforts in circular business models. The start-ups underscored that expanding network with diverse stakeholders, particularly governmental agencies and international organisations, could significantly improve access to finance.

Day 1 also featured start-up showcases and engaging visits to Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering and the Singapore Centre for 3D Printing, fostering dialogue on innovation and sustainability. Several follow-up discussions between each start-up in the TH!NK GLOBAL Sustainability Network start-ups and NTU experts and students were arranged for the following days.

Day 2 of the delegation programme included a visit to Singapore's BLOCK71 where the start-ups from ASEAN and North Africa learned about the comprehensive support services of this multistakeholder initiative by NUS Enterprise, which aims to catalyse and connect the start-up community, not only in Singapore but also worldwide. During the visit, the delegation had an engaging dialogue with Leave a Nest and explored the PIER71 and BLOCK71 Singapore Social Impact Hubs. The programme concluded with a visit to Innovate360, where the delegates explored Singapore’s first Food Accelerator and its mechanism for leveraging networks and expertise to help start-ups scale and grow globally.

Through the participation in various discussion sessions and start-ups showcase at NTU, the TH!NK GLOBAL Sustainability Network’s start-ups had numerous opportunities to exchange ideas and insights, and connect with like-minded innovators, students, start-up support organisations and investors. The in-depth discussions with NUS Enterprise, Leave a Nest, and Innovate 360 also have provided the start-ups with a lot of food for thought and opened up opportunities for collaboration and growth. These contributed to HSF’s objective of enabling members of the TH!NK GLOBAL Sustainability Network to engage in larger sustainable start-up communities at both regional and global levels.