Speech by Minister of State for Trade and Industry Alvin Tan at the Official Launch of Endeavor’s Global Hub in Singapore

Thank you, Nadir, Edgar, all our friends here. I see many familiar faces from my past life in the startup world, the tech world, and from across the ecosystem.

Edgar, you mentioned something called the Endeavor Multiplier Effect. I think that is where both Endeavor and Singapore come into play in a really elegant way, because that is what we are doing here – we are building an ecosystem. We have been building an ecosystem. We will continue building a strong ecosystem.

If you look at what we have been trying to do across many years, Singapore right now has about 4,500 tech startups, about 220 accelerators and incubators, and about 500 VCs. And that is just the startup ecosystem. Of course, you know the rankings and where we fall in StartupBlink’s Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2026.

But that is not the story. The story is how we bring these different component parts together.

Nadir talked about coming here to Changi. Changi is a core part of the ecosystem, believe it or not, because if we open up a gateway to Singapore, if we make it easier for you to literally land in Singapore, then we have already done our job. If we make it easier for ships to come to a maritime hub, we make it easier for goods to land in Singapore. If we make it easier for startups to land, then we are also building this ecosystem that we are trying to create.

And in the age of AI, our Government is looking at AI missions, and we believe that we have the right to play in a few strengths that we have built over the years. That’s in advanced manufacturing, connectivity – our maritime hub status, our air hub status, for example in financial services – I think Durianpay is here, I mentioned earlier it’s the end of the durian season, but I encourage Durianpay to also set up shop here – and also in healthcare.

These are areas we have identified where I think we can play a meaningful role in strengthening the ecosystem in the age of AI.

We don’t rest on our laurels. Singapore never rests on our laurels, and I think the reason why is because we don’t have much. If we don’t have much, then we need to think more creatively. We need to use our human resources as best as possible, and we need to think about how to anchor this ecosystem.

Therefore, a couple of months ago, my colleagues in Enterprise Singapore, the Economic Development Board and representatives from the private sector came together for a review – a review of Singapore’s economic strategy.

We’ve completed the review, but the work is ongoing. I co-chaired a very fun Entrepreneurship Committee. In the Committee, we looked at expanding access: expanding access to capital, expanding access to spaces – physical spaces where startups can land: LaunchPad, Kampong AI, Punggol Digital District, and so on.

If you look at what we have been doing for the Economic Strategy Review, that’s really expanding access: to capital, markets, talent and physical spaces.

And what we require – the final jewel in this – is access to networks. And that’s where Endeavor’s Global Hub will play a critical role. Because with this ecosystem – mentors coming here, bringing other mentors, bringing that network, what Edgar mentioned as the Endeavor “Multiplier Effect” – I think we can expand that and Singapore can be a home for startups, connecting startups across the world.

Two weeks ago, I was in Paris, France, and Station F was there. A couple of months ago, I was in Cubo Itaú, São Paulo, and that’s also a startup hub in Brazil. So we’re thinking about your five hubs – Dubai, New York, San Francisco, London and Singapore.

The challenge now is: how do we connect all these hubs, and make it easier for someone to invest in one another, exchange ideas, and make it seamless to build this ecosystem that we think will be conducive for thriving global startups? So thank you to Endeavor.

On that note, Singapore always moves. We just had a Cabinet reshuffle, so I’m changing my roles a little bit.

I love working for and with startups. It’s a big part of my life’s work. I see many old friends here.

Prime Minister has assigned me to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I will continue to be a big supporter of startups. Thank you so much for your contributions to Singapore.