Environmental and social sustainability are coming of age in the APAC region and around the globe and are quickly becoming integral aspects of successful businesses. According to a global survey conducted by GlobalScan earlier this year, around half of the world’s consumers prefer products and services that are better for both people and the environment. A 2020 research report by Kantar suggests that over 90% of consumers in the APAC region want brands to stand for something. In Singapore alone, six in ten consumers prefer eco-friendly brands.
Worsening typhoons and tsunamis, as well as increasing air and water pollution, are more pronounced in the APAC, and the impact of failing to take sustainability into account is evident. Because businesses are traditionally driven by their bottom line — the consumers — there is an increasing need to support businesses that are not just commercially viable and profitable, but also have real and meaningful social impact. A 2019 study suggests that more than 50% of private equity deals back business models that contribute to environmental and social progress in Southeast Asia.
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With VCs and consumers backing sustainable businesses, startups are realising why it is important to build a socially responsible business. However, to be able to do so, they need a collaborative environment where they are encouraged and nurtured from the idea stage.
This is where spaces like The Greenhouse at SMU Connexion — an innovation facility that supports the SMU Business Innovations Generator (BIG) incubation programme, can step in to provide founders with the right kind of collaborative environment they need, coupled with that mentorship and training that the programme provides.
Started in 2009, BIG is a world-class university incubation programme managed by the Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (IIE) at the Singapore Management University (SMU). It is designed to help early-stage founders validate their product and get ready for seed investment.
Putting sustainability at the heart of businesses
Having accepted over 263 SMU-affiliated and non-SMU affiliated startups as of November 2020, BIG is an industry-agnostic incubator, and therefore is open to applications for startups from diverse spheres.
Sustainability, therefore, takes on two fundamental roles: as a core value that promotes ethical ventures, and as a key mentorship focus geared towards nurturing sustainable, successful business models.
The SMU Connexion is the newly built addition to the SMU campus, a five-storey zero-energy building in the heart of the city, designed to support the University’s innovative pedagogy, as well as cultivate innovation and entrepreneurship. In February 2020, they launched The Greenhouse, a 700sqm downtown innovation facility, that has quickly become a seeding ground for innovative ideas and entrepreneurial leadership. Housed over two floors in an iconic sky bridge connecting SMU School of Law and SMU Connexion, The Greenhouse offers a conducive space to learn, network, and grow for BIG’s startups, faculty and student entrepreneurs.
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A true marker of this endeavour is how many social impact startups have been a part of the BIG incubation Programme. One such startup is TurtleTree Labs. Dedicated to bringing clean milk with their proprietary cell-based processes that completely bypass environmental degradation and animal welfare issues of industrial dairy, TurtleTree Labs is focused on building the circular economy while reducing environmental, social, and economic stressors.
Launched in 2017, TreeDots is yet another such startup funded by the BIG incubator. TreeDots is a food supplies redistributor with a core goal of reducing food wastage. Other sustainable businesses that have been a part of the BIG cohort include UglyGood, a startup that harvests fruit waste and transforms it into valuable resources through waste valorisation; Alterpacks, a company that upcycles food waste to create products of value with zero waste solutions; and Anzene — a company that works towards standardising smart IOT & recyclable battery packs to power e-mobility & electronics on/off-grid sustainably with renewable energy.
Recently, TurtleTree Labs and Alterpacks were awarded at the Liveability Challenge — a global platform, which calls for companies to create innovative ideas for sustainability in South East Asian cities. TurtleTree Labs brought home the top prize and Alterpacks bagged a spot in the TXG Sustainability Business Accelerator Programme and a mentorship with Closed Loop Partners through a collaboration with Nanyang Technological University.
As part of SMU’s efforts to reinforce the importance of sustainability, the Lee Kuan Yew Business Plan Competition (LKYGBPC) Changemakers Conversation: Urban Sustainability will be held on 9 Dec 2020. Panellists include start-up founders who are developing innovative sustainable solutions: our very own Lin Fengru, CEO of TurtleTree Labs; Nick Halla, SVP International of Impossible Foods; and Paul Gabie, CEO of ecoSPIRITS.
Together with two extremely dynamic moderators, Prof Winston Chow (Associate Professor, SMU School of Social Sciences) and Paul Santos (Managing Partner, Wavemaker Partners), participants can expect a down-to-earth discussion about sustainable food innovations, the green revolution and the circular economy. It will be an invaluable session for the entrepreneurship community to learn from the panellists experiences and pull back the curtain on the realities of building a sustainable future.
Nurturing leaders of tomorrow
SMU has partnered with corporates that are aligned on the vision of sustainability. For example, in 2019 and 2020, HSBC offered the HSBC-SMU Sustainability & Innovation Grant to support sustainability-related startups from SMU with seed funding and masterclasses that will empower these founders to create an impact in the sustainability space.
“The HSBC grant has helped us to continue to develop our products further for market validation. Running a sustainability-based startup focused on building products for a circular economy can be challenging and requires a level of research and development. The HSBC grant has been hugely beneficial in this area as it allowed us to successfully bring our products to market,” shared Jeremy Lee from UglyGood who was a recipient.
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Apart from supporting startups financially to build their sustainable business, IIE also spearheads educational initiatives in sustainability. The Institute’s flagship programme, Protege Ventures, will be incorporating impact investing as a component in its curriculum. Case studies on related startups are currently being developed for this purpose. The Institute also organizes several masterclasses with sustainability focus throughout the year and targets entrepreneurial-minded students as well as startups founders. Between the years 2016 and 2019, BIG startups have collectively raised more than S$129.4 million (excluding grants), with 2019 alone accounting for more than S$54 million. BIG startups like Tech In Asia, Homage and Moovaz have garnered massive commercial success.
This intensive, four-month equity-free programme offers early-stage startups and student founders the opportunity to validate their business plans and refine their product. The programme offers a comprehensive support system so that founders can focus on what matters: building and scaling a great product.
How to apply
BIG is open to ALL, startups can be SMU affiliated or non-SMU affiliated. Growth-oriented founders with a validated idea/MVP are given preference. This is a highly selective programme with an acceptance rate of around 15%.
With the current economic climate and the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, the BIG incubation programme application comes at the right time bringing an opportunity for early-stage startup founders to get access to mentorship and training from industry leaders as well as funding for the growth of their businesses.
Startups in the early stage that are interested in the programme can apply now to join the Jan ’21 cohort before 13 December 2020 or reach out to the team at BIG at incubation@smu.edu.sg for queries.
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This article is produced by the e27 team, sponsored by the SMU Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship
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