Singapore expands Block 71 tech start-up hub

The facility in the Ayer Rajar industrial estate, not far from the National University of Singapore, now comprises Blocks 71, 73 and 79, with co-working, incubation and start-up space designed to support various stages of entrepreneurship. Start-ups receive discounts on rent, free Wi-Fi access and shared recreational amenities intended to facilitate networking and collaboration.

LaunchPad was officially opened by Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. It is one of a number of initiatives intended to establish the country as a regional technology hub.

There are currently 1,200 people working in 260 start-ups and 25 incubators in Block 71, mainly focused on information and communications technology, according to infrastructure developer JTC Corporation. Blocks 73 and 79, which bring the overall capacity to 500 start-ups, have slightly different offerings. The former can accommodate 80 younger start-ups with smaller space needs, while the latter is for 150 larger companies in industries such as biomedical sciences, electronics and engineering.

Three more buildings - Blocks 75, 77 and 81 - will be constructed over the next two years, providing an additional 12,000 square meters of space to house 250 start-ups. JTC also wants to create new LaunchPads in other parts of Singapore. The next one will be located in the vicinity of JTC's CleanTech Park, which is next to the Nanyang Technological University (NTU).

The LaunchPad project is led by JTC Corporation and Spring Singapore, an agency under the Ministry of Trade & Industry. There are a number of other partners, including the Action for Community for Entrepreneurship, the Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA), Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA) and National Research Foundation (NRF).

"The LaunchPad is a unique start-up cluster where the key players of the entrepreneurship community - such as accelerators, incubators, start-ups, venture capitalists and entrepreneurs - converge. We are glad to see a vibrant community already taking shape at the LaunchPad, and we hope this will nurture more innovative businesses and enhance the entrepreneurship landscape in Singapore," said Png Cheong Boon, CEO of JTC, in a statement.

Earlier this month Infocomm Investments, a VC arm of the IDA, launched Block 71 San Francisco, a co-working space intended to strengthen ties between start-up communities in Singapore and the US, and help Singapore entrepreneurs take their businesses overseas.

Infocomm also said that its $200 million venture capital fund would back US start-ups. This follows a similar arrangement in London, which saw Infocomm team up with Startupbootcamp to enable Singapore-based tech start-ups to enter Europe through London, while London-based tech start-ups access Asia through Singapore.

JTC added that the number of employing start-ups in Singapore grew from 24,000 in 2005 to 42,000 in 2013. Of Singapore's total workforce, 9% work for start-ups. Investors have also made nearly 20 exits from such companies in the last two years, up from just one in 2006.

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