Grants are a priviledge, not an entitlement, which is an important mindset

The Singapore tech ecosystem is one of the few ecosystems that promote entrepreneurship and offers startup grants to its citizens, especially at an ideation stage.

Being part of the ecosystem for the last eight years, TRIVE has supported over 75 Singapore startups via the Startup SGFounder Grant and defunct iJAM.Reload grant programs, which we have seen a number have raised follow-on funding and seen some exits as well.

In our experience working and coaching many startup founders, we realised that there has been a number of misconceptions about obtaining a startup grant.

Below are some anecdotes I hope to share with you on the purposes of startup grants before you consider applying for them.

1. A privilege, not an entitlement

A few years ago, I recalled once having a startup founder telling me off. Reason being was that I could not allow for her application of the iJAM.Reload startup grant to proceed. Her business idea did not make sense as it was very short-term focused and didn’t seem able to scale.

She huffed at me, saying that “this grant is meant for Singaporeans and I should have it regardless.” I had to correct her that the startup grants are a privilege, not an entitlement. I prompted informed her that and had to discontinue the discussion.

Also Read: (Exclusive) Singapore startup H3 Dynamics to close its US$16M Series B round in August

One must be clear that startup grants are a privilege issued by the government to support the startups. It is then decided by the respective incubators and government agencies to decide whether the startup qualifies for the grant. Incubators share a duty of care and proper diligence in ensuring that the grant is issued to deserving entrepreneurs.

2. Not to offset operational costs

A case was mentioned to me where a startup founder requested for a speedy approval for the SGFounder grant. The reason: he needed to pay for operational costs for rent and his team that was coming up at the end of the month.

The grant is clear about building new capabilities to grow the company, not to pay for existing operational expenses. After going deeper, he was unable to articulate how he could build new products or core assets development. We had to discontinue the grant application.

3. Not to pay a cushy salary

There was a grant application a few years back who was a mid-career executive. He was applying for the iJAM.Reload $50k grant and asked the weirdest question, “What is the maximum that I can pay myself using the grant?”

I was taken aback and asked why the question. He mentioned that he already had a certain standard of living. He also justified that he is valued at the last drawn amount and ‘could not accept any lower salary’ which might affect his future chances of employment.

I am sure you can already start hitting out at the many potential points of this statement! Suffice to say, this person did not receive a grant.

Entrepreneurship is about risk-taking and not a step up in one’s career. If one is not able to financially afford being an entrepreneur, it is best to reconsider this path.

4. Grants are not immediately disbursed

I am sure everyone who has worked with the government agencies on grants, one can attest that the funds take some time to be disbursed.

Some entrepreneurs time their cashflow based on immediate disbursements. And soon after suffer from severe cashflow issues.

Allow me to explain. Grants are essentially Singapore taxpayers money and they have to be accounted for before disbursing. Hence it clears through a number of layers to be approved to ensure that the grant application is done properly.

So with all these considerations in mind that I have mentioned, so what should grants be used for?

1. Building up long-term capabilities.

One must clear that the grant should focus on investing activities, rather than operating activities in your cashflow statement. During the iJAM.Reload application, the grant were very specific to only allow the development of new technologies and product. Items like rent and electricity were not allowed as part of the budget.

In the Startup SGFounder Grant, it is also clear that you need to be focused on building a product.

2. A stepping stone to show MVP to potential investors and clients.

I am quite proud to see a few of my Startup SGFounder startups managed to create a MVP and demonstrated them to investors and clients. One admitted that without the grant of developing the product, it would have been very hard to convince his client and close the deal.

Use this chance of obtaining a startup grant to gain more traction or development to convince clients and investors to hop on board.

3. A good testing process to have clarity on the project scope.

Sometimes, being in a very young startup, it is difficult to formulate proper processes and structure. It is also hard to get going a clarity in direction.

Our Startup SGFounder entrepreneurs appreciated using TRIVE’s unique 14-point pitch deck to flesh out their idea. When applying for the grant, the guidelines gives a good direction and structure to aid newly minted entrepreneurs in their thought process.

4. Obtaining non-cash benefits.

Different Accredited Mentor Partners of Startup SGFounder Grants have their varied benefits when a startup founder applies. At TRIVE, those who apply get a variety of added S$80k in business benefits, free co-working space and access to over 100+ NEXT50.sg mentors.

Also Read: Shopee takes aim at Lazada with live streaming play

There is also a credibility benefit when one obtains their StartupSG Founder grant from a known incubator. So look and access carefully to all the different AMPs which have their strengths in certain industries or specialities.

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The author is a pro-Singapore startup evangelist who has spent 8 years advising over 1000 1-to-1 advisories with startup founders. This is part of the Startup Advisory series. TRIVE is an AMP of the SGFounder Grant and runs a pay-it-forward incubator to support Singaporeans in their dream to build a startup.

Photo by Lily Banse on Unsplash

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The three-year-old London-based fintech, TrueLayer, sells open-banking software

Singapore-based, government-owned fund Temasek has joined Chinese tech company Tencent in investing to TrueLayer, a U.K-based fintech that sells open-banking software, as reported by Bloomberg.

TrueLayer said that it will use the funding to focus on expanding to Europe and Asia, with a goal of connecting most of the continent’s banks by the end of the year.

Northzone Ventures and Anthemis Group will also participate in the new round being a previous backers of the company. To date, TrueLayer has raised US$47 million.

The fintech is a three-year-old company that sells open-banking software that lets people share or aggregate their financial information from different providers.

TrueLayer’s funding is the newest U.K. fintech funding scored since the interest to invest in fintech companies from the country has spiked. Recently, SoftBank Vision Fund invested US$800 million into U.K. fintech Greensill, followed by the US$175 million funding that WorldRemit, a London-based technology company that helps expatriates and migrant workers send remittances back to their home countries, has raised.

Also Read: Asset tokenisation platform STP Network raises US$7M; to launch IEO on Bittrex

With its digital-only bank Monzo as well as peer-to-peer lender Zopa, TrueLayer already has a presence in Germany, France, Italy, and Spain.
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KBank plans to leverage its 14.5 million customer base to appeal to startups who want exposure

KBank, Thailand’s third-largest lender, recently launched its KATALYST project to help startups work with the bank, as reported by Thailand Business News.

The project aims to “equip startups with advice on business operation, knowledge and application of technology for business expansion both at home and abroad as well as financial support to propel Thai startups toward success”.

In the press conference, KBank said that startups participating in the KATALYST project will get an opportunity to make a campaign with KBank, which has a customer base of over 14.5 million.

In addition, the startups will have a chance to receive capital via Beacon Venture Capital Co., Ltd., which is KBank’s venture capital arm.

They also can expand their business bases abroad via KBank’s KVision Co., Ltd., which is the bank’s established holding company to invest in startups and explore innovation at a regional level.

Also Read: Grab launches GrabTukTuk Electric in Chiang Mai for greener transportation

 

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The new product allows people to buy goods directly from the livestream without impacting the show

One of the most important developments for e-commerce was the growth of live streaming during the mobile phone era. For years, retailers have used live streaming to sell goods via localised streaming platforms.

If we think more deeply, the business model is old, it just has been redressed for a mobile audience who can more directly interact with the seller. But people have been “live streaming” commerce on television for decades (the ‘Home Shopping Network’ was launched in 1977).

However, what has changed is the democratisation. Marketplaces themselves can now launch their own channel and sell directly to their user base.

This is the revenue stream Shopee plans to attack with its new product called Shopee LIVE.

Shopee LIVE is essentially a walled-garden live streaming product that allows merchants to start their own shows and sell goods via the brand.

The neat thing about Shopee LIVE is that it is designed so people can buy something without disrupting the stream. On the bottom left-hand corner of the live stream is little shopping bag icon. When someone clicks the bag, they are given a list of items they can buy and can purchase the product instantly. The livestream never stops during the process.

“This offers a variety of content because different sellers can make their own content,” said Zhou Junjie, the Chief Commercial Officer of Shopee.

When asked if Shopee will be courting influencers, Shopee made it clear that would be the decision of the individual brands but they will certainly embrace that hypothetical development.

“I think more and more merchants, be it brands or sellers, they will increasingly utilise influencers to better interact with their buyers. Whether they do it is the merchant’s choice,” said Zhou. 

Also Read: Temasek, Tencent inject US$35M into open-banking software company TrueLayer

For Shopee, it is part of a larger strategy of increasing app engagement as an ends, not a means. Per that logic, the company also has an online quiz product (with rewards) and various different mobile games (including one that looks a lot like Fruit Ninja). 

The company sees a correlation between how long people in the app and their increased likelihood to buy something. 

While the Shopee app is neat, they are not first-movers in the space.

Lazada launched their own live streaming platform in Thailand last year. It is now live in the Philippines and Malaysia with more markets coming.

Recently, they ran a show called “See Now, Buy Now” in Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand.The company claimed had the three versions of the show had 300,000 viewers across the three countries.

The launch of live streaming is another battle between two brands that have emerged as the top-two platforms in the Southeast Asian e-commerce industry. Both companies offer statistics that prove they are the most popular brand and while the numbers are true, statistics are often used to fit a narrative.

What is fairly clear is the two companies are neck-and-neck and if this were a horse race it would be impossible to predict the winner.

Shopee LIVE is another data point that shows that, while a late-comer to the game, Shopee has to be viewed as one of the most important brands in Southeast Asian e-commerce.

Also Read: How to apply cognitive biases into the fundraising process

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Crea will help e-commerce companies target millennial and younger customers through social media platforms.

Lazada Co-founders launch social ecommerce startup [TechInAsia]

Lazada Co-founders Aimone Ripa di Meana and Alessandro Piscini have launched Crea, a social e-commerce startup, to help e-commerce companies target millennial and younger customers through social media platforms.

The company will help businesses with online branding, analytics, and digital marketing, among others.

According to a media statement, the company will focus on the beauty and personal care industry in Thailand over the next 12 months, which is expected to reach US$5.5 billion and is growing at 7.5 per cent a year. It will also expand regionally over the next 12-24 months.

India’s NoBroker raises US$51M from General Atlantics, Beenext, others [press release]

NoBroker.com, a brokerage-free real estate platform, has announced that it has raised US$51 million in Series C funding, led by General Atlantic. Existing investors SAIF Partners and Beenext also co-invested.

This brings the total funding raised by NoBroker to US$71 million.

Saurabh Garg, CBO and Co-founder of NoBroker.com, said: “This funding round will help us reach more people across cities and go deeper in current cities to become the preferred choice for any real estate transaction in India. We believe that with our differentiated technology and product, we will continue to enhance the experience for users of our platform.”

Singapore’s Accelerating Asia launches ASEAN ‘Smart City’ accelerator programme [press release]

The Australian Government announced today that it will partner with Accelerating Asia, a regional network of startup programs, to develop a Singapore-based ASEAN Smart Cities Accelerator (ASCA).

ASCA is a first of its kind seven-month startup accelerator programme, which is designed to provide the best possible support for early-stage Southeast Asian startups specialising in future city development, an initiative supported by Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).

ASCA is a seed-stage accelerator programme that selects, funds and provides a development programme for smart city startups in Southeast Asia through access to regional opportunities, knowledge, networks, and resources. The programme is split into two parts beginning with a three month program period with weekly activities in Singapore and followed by four months that consists of remote support, a Demo Day as well as a one-week immersion trip. Women entrepreneurs are vital to the success of this programme and are encouraged to apply.

China’s Didi Chuxing starts ride-hailing services in Chile, Colombia [Reuters]

Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing said on Thursday that it had launched services in Chile and Colombia, as part of its push into Latin America.

The company kicked off operations of Didi Express in the two countries earlier this week and plans to launch a taxi-hailing service in Colombia later this year, it said in an e-mailed statement.

Reuters reported in February that Didi was recruiting managers in Chile, Peru and Colombia as part of a planned launch that would see it take on US rival Uber.

Pratilipi raises US$15M Series B led by Qiming Venture Partners [press release]

Bangalore-based Indian language story telling platform Pratilipi  has raised Series B funding of US$15 million led by Qiming Venture Partners.

Existing investors Nexus Venture Partners, Omidyar Network India, Shunwei Capital, Contrarian Vriddhi Fund and WEH Ventures also participated in the round.

Founded in 2014, Pratilipi is an Indian language story telling platform. It has over 100,000 writers who have published over 800,000 stories in 9 languages and over 5.2 million monthly active readers across its web and app platforms.

Over the next 12-18 months, the company will be focusing primarily on improving the technology infrastructure including its recommendation and personalization engines and on expanding the number of writers on platform. The company will also be focusing on expanding to newer forms of storytelling including audio stories.

 

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Swiggy Super and Zomato battle with FoodPanda and UberEats for dominance in India

As investor capital continues to pour into the online food delivery industry in India, companies are working hard to compete for diner demand.

To win customer loyalty, some platforms explicitly guarantee things like pricing consistency or speedy delivery, while others are starting to offer subscription-based rewards or other monetary benefits.

If deciding among multiples platforms, a consumer must consider restaurant availability, cost, delivery speed and overall customer experience. With no obvious choice, we researched the relevant players in the space to help Indians differentiate and decide which service to use.

Rewards and Monetary Benefits

With their respective rewards programs, Zomato and Swiggy have a leg up on FoodPanda and UberEats, which do not offer rewards. With 10% back on every order (redeemable at certain restaurants and currently cost-free), Zomato Piggybank is the better choice for consumers who typically order moderate-to-high priced meals.

Swiggy Super, which provides free delivery for a monthly fee, is the better option for consumers who order cheap meals and/or quite frequently.

When it introduced Piggybank, Zomato said that it would eventually charge an annual subscription fee of Rs. 299 for this benefit, but for now it appears to remain free via select invitation or user referral. If Zomato sticks to its initial announcement and eventually makes the program subscription-based, one would need to spend at least Rs. 2,990 annually, or Rs. 249 monthly, to break even on a membership.

Swiggy Super offers unlimited free delivery and no surge fees. Membership costs vary by city, but we have seen quotes from Rs. 49–99 for 1 month and Rs. 129–149 for 3 months.

Also Read: Today’s top tech news, June 06: Lazada Co-founders launch social e-commerce startup Crea

Given that general delivery fees tend to range from Rs. 10–40 depending on the city and the restaurant, members would generally have to order at least 2-10 deliveries per month for them to breakeven on their subscription cost.

Minimum Deliveries to Break Even on Swiggy Super

Zomato Piggybank vs. Swiggy Super

If both are available in one’s area, Zomato Piggybank is better if one typically orders moderate-to-high priced meals. Swiggy Super wins for cheap meals, where the delivery fee is a relatively high percentage of the total order.

For example, let’s conservatively assume that one’s monthly Swiggy Super membership is Rs. 99. To make Swiggy Super more valuable than Zomato Piggyback, a diner would only need to order a Rs. 150 meal 4 times per month if delivery fees in his area are on the higher end (e.g. Rs. 40). If delivery fees are lower (e.g. Rs. 20), one would need to order such a meal practically daily to make Swiggy Super worth it.

Quality Guarantees

Swiggy and FoodPanda edge out Zomato and UberEats with their service guarantees. Swiggy’s 30 Minutes or Free ensures delivery in under 30 minutes for orders under Rs. 500 from select restaurants, so Swiggy is the winner on delivery speed.

FoodPanda’s Price Promise essentially ensures the price you pay will not differ versus the restaurant’s menu, although our own check (albeit limited) did not show much variability between the apps in terms of menu pricing.

Regional Availability

One obviously cannot use a restaurant delivery service if it does not operate in one’s area. Zomato’s widest reach makes it the winner here, having recently expanded its presence to 213 cities, and its eyes are set on 500 by October 2019.

To help with your selection process, we’ve rank ordered the 4 companies by number of operating cities.

App Ratings & Customer Experience

Zomato and UberEats are tied for the highest ratings in India on the Apple App Store at 4.6 stars out of 5. Swiggy isn’t far behind at 4.3 stars, but FoodPanda’s poor 1.8 rating is a red flag.

Is There a Clear Overall Winner?

In short, there isn’t one service that clearly stands above the rest in all aspects. However, Zomato Piggybank and Swiggy Super give those companies a significant edge over their competition.

Also Read: Temasek, Tencent inject US$35M into open-banking software company TrueLayer

Although FoodPanda’s Price Promise is a great feature, it may not be enough to outweigh its poor app rating. The one aspect where UberEats stands out is its high app rating, which may present a strong enough case for some consumers to choose.

Getting the Most Out of Dining Spending

In general, using a credit card to pay for daily purchases is the best way to get the most out of your spending due to the valuable rewards offered like cashback or airline miles.

There are a number of credit cards in India that provide high rewards specifically on dining spend. How much one can earn using a credit card depends on one’s spending profile, but annual rewards could easily amount to thousands of rupees every year, which is essentially free money if you use your card responsibly.

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This article originally appeared on ValueChampion’s blog

Photo by shivam Grover on Unsplash

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The social trading platform allows users to discuss strategies and share information with each other and leverage the collective wisdom to make informed decisions

The Philippines stock market has been struggling for the past few years while many of its neighbours in Southeast Asia registered huge growth. The country was one of the worst performing in the entire the region in 2018.

Although it has shown some positive signs in the early part of 2019, the stock market’s performance has been far from being impressive. Moreover, traders wishing to take advantage of the downtrend have very few opportunities to short the market.

A fintech company is determined to turn things around for the Philippines, with its social trading platform. eToro, a heavily-funded firm, has evolved from providing only foreign currency trading on its platform to providing multi-asset trading today, serving over 10 million users in 140 countries worldwide.

The company has offices in the UK, the US, Australia and Cyprus.

The Inception

eToro was founded in 2007 by Yoni Assia (CEO), with Ronen Assia (Co-founder and CPO). The company’s vision from day one has been to open the global markets for everyone to trade and invest in a simple and transparent way.

“Our platform solves the mental stress of entering a new and unknown territory, which most investors experience when having a first look at some other trading platforms,” Paul Familiaran, Head of Southeast Asia Business of eToro, tells e27. “As part of our constant efforts to accomplish our visions, we have introduced several features that are unique to eToro promoting accessibility and inclusiveness.

The company’s social trading platform allows users to discuss strategies, comment as well as to share information with each other and leverage the collective wisdom to make more informed investment decisions. “To be social about trading means to improve skills faster, compare strategies, share advice, ask questions with other traders and to know early on if you are doing well or not with your trades,” he says.

The other key feature is CopyTrading, which allows users to copy multiple investors with the click of a button. When a user opens the platform, he or she sees profiles of millions of traders. Every trader’s activity and history is automatically published. Users can simply copy the top investors.

Also Read: Thai fintech startup StockRadars allows users to duplicate trades executed by expert crypto traders; to raise US$12M via ICO

eToro’s clients can also gain access to peers’ Risk Score, gain, track record, portfolio composition and a variety of relevant information. It also offers many other programmes, such as Popular Investors, which enables top traders to earn a second income from being copied by others, and CopyPortfolios, which offers ready-made, long-term investment strategies.

Currently, eToro offers over 1,300 stocks, 83 exchange-traded funds (ETFs), 30 CopyPortfolios, six Commodities, 47 currencies, 13 indices and 14 cryptocurrencies.

“Our diverse product offerings have allowed us to tap into multiple investor segments. Our ever-expanding offerings and entry in the cryptocurrency trading domain have been well received in Southeast Asia that has seen a huge influx of investors,” Familiaran says.

According to him eToro now offers Filipino traders, who currently struggle thanks to the state of the local stock market, an opportunity to embrace a more diversified portfolio approach by investing in global markets and hedging their risk with a variety of investment instruments and in-depth analysis tools.

“As a new wave of cryptomania sweeps through the region, a new generation of investors has emerged. As per our data, more than 80 per cent of newly registered users on the platform from Southeast Asia invested in cryptocurrencies and then moved on to invest in other financial products. Given our rich product offering, we are convinced that it can attract more Filipino investors from across the spectrum,” he exudes confidence.

A Massive Opportunity

Online trading, in general, is a growing sector in the Philippines. While the demand for local shares (PSE) trading has steadily grown over the years, it has been seeing a sharp increase in demand for global assets.

Local traders are starting to realise that opportunities are not only limited to the PSE market. Well- educated traders are also seeing a big advantage in maintaining a well-balanced portfolio — one that has both local and international exposure.

“As for digital asset trading/investing, specifically in crypto-assets, we do see a sharp pick-up in recent months. While on other platforms one needs to open a crypto wallet, deal with different crypto exchanges and learn the technical complexities of doing a transaction, at eToro, buying a Bitcoin (BTC) is no different than buying an Apple (APPL) share,” Familiaran claims

Since inception, eToro has raised total of US$162 million in over eight funding rounds. Its investors include China Minsheng Finance, SBI Group, Korea Investment Partners, the World-Wide Investment Company Limited, Ping An Ventures, SBT Venture Capital (a fintech-focused fund whose main partner is Russia’s Sberbank), Spark Capital, BRM Group, and Commerzbank.

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iWEECARE has developed Temp Pal, a wireless body temperature-tracking solution that offers real-time monitoring combined with smart alerts

Taiwanese healthtech startup iWEECARE announced today it has secured US$1 million in pre-Series A round of investment, led by Singapore’s Verge HealthTech Fund.

Taiwan- and US-based Translink Capital and Darwin Venture also joined this round.

Additionally, iWEECARE has received regulatory approval to market its product Temp Pal, which it claims to be the world’s smallest smart thermometer, in both the European Union and Taiwan.

Temp Pal is a wireless body temperature-tracking solution that offers real-time monitoring combined with smart alerts. It is a patented stamp-sized soft patch that packs a temperature sensor, customised thin battery that lasts two to three days, and a Bluetooth radio.

Also Read: Tricella’s smart pillbox sends you notifications if your loved ones forget to take pills

The small patch transmits body data to a secure cloud via its own mobile app, generating real-time charts and alerts as needed. The wearable solution can also be applied in hospitals and clinics as it offers centralised tracking and analytics from multiple devices.

Temp Pal seeks to disrupt a market forecast to reach US$1.5 billion by 2025 currently dominated by digital pen and in-ear thermometers.

“It is also crucial to real-time continuous monitor body temperature for infants, patients and couples who plan to be pregnant. Traditional thermometers rely on human behavior and efforts to test periodically, resulting in interruptions of quality of life and ambiguous health care decisions. Our company hope to address the issues with a friendly and comfortable solution,” said Glen Tseng, CEO of iWEECARE.

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The companies all follow a similar theme

The Singaporean taxi company ComfortDelGro has announced the first three investments of its new venture fund. It included a public and private transportation management systems and an autonomous vehicle safety solution.

The investments were made from the company’s US$100 million venture fund set up in November.

The three companies all operate under the theory that the future of transportation is going to be centralised. They work to find-and-fix inefficiencies (or improve safety). Assuming a central transportation network, the three startups are making a play to be leaders in their given lane.

Let’s take a look at the companies.

SWAT

SWAT is essentially a fleet management service for city planning. The company uses algorithms to try and optimise transportation routes and theoretically save everybody some money.

The technology takes into consideration constraints, estimated-time-of-arrival updates and other data to rank the ideal routes for the vehicle.

Also Read: From space stations to crime scenes: The remote AR revolution

The company has launched an on-demand bus system in Sydney, Australia. The launch was facilitated via ComfortDelGro’s Australian subsidiary, which makes sense given the investment.

Haulio

Haulio is Singapore’s startup answer to the hauling industry (think large 16-wheelers). In Singapore, it is impossible to call them long-haul logistics providers, but that is the industry they are attacking.

The logic behind Haulio is that by pooling jobs the industry can find the most efficient way to transport goods across the city-state.

ComfortDelGro invested in the company because it saw synergies between the technology that matches long-haul vehicles and how it could be implemented into the taxi industry.

Fortellix

The third company is out of Israel and it wants to improve the vehicle testing standards of the autonomous industry.

Fortellix wants to help take autonomous vehicle testing to the standards that will be necessary in the future. The startup assumes that today’s standards are fine, but will soon be insufficient when driverless cars become the core form of transportation. Fortellix wants to help take that industry to where it will inevitably find itself.

“Even as we continue to look at ways to grow our existing businesses, we are pursuing strategic investments in new and emerging technology start-ups which bridge the gap between what is, and what could be,” said Yang Ban Seng, the managing director and CEO of ComfortDelGro.

Also Read: eToro aims to make buying Bitcoin as easy as buying an Apple share

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MyInfo aims to provide a secure and convenient way to share personal information, thus avoiding unnecessary data entry

When it comes to dealing with customers and partners, many small businesses are still relying on paperwork in their daily operations today. Even for companies that have gone online, dealing with digital paperwork still remains as a common gripe. According to usability studies, the average online checkout form includes 14.88 fields. For an e-commerce business, this could potentially lead to cart abandonment and overall opportunity loss. Other businesses still struggle with manual data entry and lengthy back-end processing, especially when document submission is involved.

Building a Smart Nation

In 2014, the Singapore Government established the Smart Nation initiative, with a core focus on improving the lives of Singaporeans through technology. The Government Technology Agency of Singapore (GovTech) –responsible for implementing whole-of-government digital transformation – introduced initiatives to foster the development of electronic payments, digital services and secure digital identities for citizens, among others.

One of the basic tenets of building a Smart Nation is to make digital transactions user-friendly and seamless. While digital transactions become more popular and ubiquitous, it is imperative to ensure these transactions are secure, seamless, and convenient for both businesses and citizens.

This is where services like MyInfo step in. As a secure gateway for authentication and data retrieval, MyInfo, with users’ consent, promises a hassle-free experience when dealing with transactions that require personal data. The service also helps businesses to speed up processes and provide better customer experiences with automatically filled forms and instantly verified data.

Creating a National Digital Identity

MyInfo is one part of a larger government initiative to create a National Digital Identity for citizens and businesses. Launched initially in 2016 with selected government services, MyInfo later opened its doors to small and medium enterprises (SMEs). In November 2017, the National Digital Identity (NDI) Developer and Partner Portal went live, allowing private companies to integrate MyInfo into their own business solutions via API access.

The use of secured, public APIs enables developers to experiment, build, and test a wide range of possible applications quickly and securely, with a range of NDI solutions at their disposal – these can range from basic services such as authentication, to additional value-added services like digital signing, identify verification via facial recognition, and more.

With this secure API, businesses can now easily acquire authenticated data on Singaporean Citizens and Permanent Residents, at their consent, without the need for form-filling and document submission when performing online transactions. The data is securely and automatically acquired from government agencies through a multi-tiered access model ensuring that only required information is provided.

Doing business in minutes

In practical terms, MyInfo can reduce time spent in verifying user information to a mere few seconds.

For example, opening a bank account with DBS used to require several documents (like a scanned copy of an identity card and bill). Bank employees would then manually assess and contact customers for clarifications. The back-and-forth process would have taken days. However with MyInfo, DBS is now able to streamline its processes and deliver services faster with the pre-filling of user information.

The real estate industry also benefits from MyInfo. Streetsine Technology Group, a digital property company, has already automated many of the processes involved in acquiring property, thanks to the NDI Developer and Partner Portal.

“Since MyInfo data is already in a common digital format, with permission given by the user, the information can be shared by banks to provide other relevant services, such as mortgage underwriting,” says Jeremy Lee, director and co-founder of StreetSine.

With verified information obtained from government sources, users can check their eligibility for home loans directly from any of the banks listed on the SRX site. Forms are populated automatically, and users can authorise the release of income information to apply for a loan.

The benefits of MyInfo also go beyond our Singaporean shores. Take the case of popular UK-based money transfer service TransferWise, for example. The company leveraged the NDI Developer and Partner Portal sandbox in integrating authentication and signature verification into its platform – making it easier for Singaporean citizens and residents to transfer funds to other TransferWise users across the globe.

“MyInfo solved a major pain point for TransferWise Singapore: it made verification instant and convenient for our users,” says TransferWise Senior Product Engineer Timothee Ledure. The company was able to cut verification costs for its Singaporean users by 30 percent through the platform.

The path ahead

GovTech’s main goal is to “harness the best info-communications technologies to make a difference to the everyday lives of people in Singapore.” As part of the National Digital Identity initiative, the MyInfo platform is an anchor service in the grander plan, to empower users and businesses, through collaboration and focus on delivering citizen-centric user experiences.

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