Singapore's NRF commits $28m to VC funds
Singapore's National Research Foundation (NRF) will commit S$40 million ($28 million) to local venture capital funds through the third installment of its Early Stage Venture Fund (ESVF).
The ESVF will seed local VCs, matching outside commitments on a 1:1 basis, in order to support Singapore-based tech start-ups. In a statement, NRF said the ESVF will encourage large local enterprises to establish their own venture funds and stimulate the development of technology ecosystems with small companies growing up to support a core of larger ones.
This approach marks a shift in priorities from previous ESVF tranches, in which capital was awarded on a matching basis to established VC funds.
In the first round in 2008, NRF seeded S$10 million each to Bioveda Capital, Extream Ventures, New Asia Investments, Raffles Venture Partners and Walden International. In the second round last year, another S$10 million went to Walden International, along with S$10 million each for newcomers Jungle Ventures, Golden Gate Ventures, SBI Venture Capital and Monk's Hill Ventures.
Start-ups that have received backing under previous ESVF installments include indoor positioning system developer YFind, which got a S$1.5 million Series A round led by Walden International and Innosight Ventures in 2012 before being acquired by a strategic investor in 2013.
Local enterprises will be asked to apply for the funds starting in October. The NRF plans to announce its selection by the end of March 2016.
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