2. Speeches
Speech by MOS Alvin Tan at Techinnovation 2025
29 October 2025
Excellencies,
Mr Michael Goh, Chief Executive Officer, IPI Singapore,
Mr Tan Soon Kim, Deputy Managing Director, Enterprise Singapore and Chairman, IPI Singapore,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Good afternoon, everyone.
Introduction
1. It is a pleasure to join you today at the 13th edition of TechInnovation. This year’s theme - Discover, Connect, Collaborate – and if you think about this, this is effectively what startups do, and what our startups, our SMEs, and industry partners in fact need to continue to have in their toolkit to survive in this more exciting world, and I would say, more tumultuous world as well. It reflects how IPI Singapore has helped our companies to innovate, to create new products, services, and processes which help in their businesses and also how they interact with their customers.
2. In many cases, you will see that Singapore continues to punch above our weight in innovation. Just last month, the Global Innovation Index ranked us fifth globally and second in our region - our third consecutive year as one of the top five economies on the list. This ranking takes into account the supportive ecosystem that enables innovation - including our business-friendly intellectual property infrastructure, as well as our stable and predictable governing and operating environment.
3. This progress did not come by chance. It is the result of years of investment in our innovation and enterprise ecosystem, in partnership with our SMEs and startups - many of whom are here today. What this means is that Singapore continues to remain a place where innovation is born and thrives. As part of our Economic Strategy Review (Pillar 3) which I co-chair with my colleague Dinesh Vasu, we are looking at how to foster an even more competitive and enabling ecosystem for our startups so if you have any good ideas, please share them with me and my EnterpriseSingapore colleagues present here today.
4. Over the past 13 years, TechInnovation has become a trusted marketplace for technology adoption and business transformation, hosting over 30,000 participants and showcasing over 3,000 technologies from around the world. It has generated many partnerships and success stories for our enterprises.
5. This year, we welcome over 4,000 attendees from over 40 countries and over 100 breakthrough “Tech Offers” [1] across areas such as artificial intelligence, HealthTech, sustainability, circular food innovation, and advanced manufacturing.
6. Platforms like TechInnovation remind us that innovation is not just about “ideation”. It is also about impact, testing and scaling bold ideas into solutions that create real-world benefits for our people and businesses.
Discover
7. But first, we need to discover.
8. At TechInnovation, SMEs can explore emerging technologies and new business models that sharpen competitiveness.
a. One example is Little Green Ranger, a renewable energy solutions provider. With advisory support from IPI Singapore, the company developed a product roadmap that sharpened its focus and aligned its offerings with market opportunities. Through IPI’s network, it also co-developed new battery-powered energy solutions, paving the way for a projected threefold increase in revenue and expanding its presence in the sustainable innovation space.
9. This is the power of discovery - where SMEs not only gain fresh ideas, but also practical pathways to scale and succeed.
Connect
10. Next, we must connect.
11. Innovation thrives when people, institutions, and markets come together. That is exactly what TechInnovation does, linking SMEs with industry partners, investors, universities, and international collaborators.
12. For instance, through the Japanese Corporation Technology Innovation Launchpad, or JCTI.[2] JCTI helps to connect Japanese corporates with Singapore innovators. To date, IPI Singapore has onboarded 13 projects through the JCTI Launchpad, driving new partnerships, technology transfers, and cross-border innovation.
13. Today, IPI Singapore will sign two MOUs with their partners:
a. An MOU with KILSA Global to strengthen international co-innovation and technology transfer.
b. A renewed MOU with Panasonic R&D Centre Singapore to deepen open innovation opportunities for business and co-innovation projects.
14. These partnerships connect our innovators and entrepreneurs to global networks - expanding Singapore’s role as Southeast Asia’s premier innovation gateway, and helping our SMEs build partnerships, access knowledge, and scale solutions regionally and internationally.
15. Beyond this, our SMEs can also tap on programmes like the Global Innovation Alliance[3] and Market Readiness Assistance grant[4]. Both are designed to help businesses connect to innovation hubs worldwide and make their first overseas foray. They can also use Enterprise Singapore’s network of 36 Overseas Centres worldwide to explore in-market opportunities and connect with potential partners and customers.
Collaborate
16. Last but not least, we have to collaborate.
17. Discovery sparks ideas, and connections open doors. And collaboration brings them all to life.
18. Through TechInnovation’s interactive showcases, business matching, and advisory services, SMEs can move from ideation to commercialisation. They can refine prototypes, co-create solutions with partners, and ultimately bring innovations to market.
19. Take Datumstruct for instance. Datumstruct is a homegrown SME specialising in data solutions and robotics. With IPI Singapore’s support, it partnered Panasonic to integrate AI into its robot solutions - boosting accuracy, efficiency, and reliability. This upgraded solution is expected to drive a 15% revenue uplift over the next three years. TechInnovation’s vast global network of partners, including JCTI and KILSA Global, support such collaborative efforts.
Conclusion
20. TechInnovation serves as a global platform where SMEs, startups, and industry partners come together to tackle shared challenges and seize opportunities.
21. The theme of this year’s TechInnovation - Discover, Connect, Collaborate - is a call to action. To discover new technologies and ideas; connect with global partners and investors; and collaborate to scale those solutions into real impact.
22. I hope that everyone will take advantage of the offerings and opportunities over these next three days. Be bold, curious, and most of all, collaborative. Enjoy and experience what Singapore and its ecosystem has to offer. Thank you.
[1] Tech Offers are technologies submitted by companies at TechInnovation to showcase their innovations, with the aim of matching with potential partners or exploring co-creation opportunities.
[2] JCTI is a collaboration between IPI Singapore and Panasonic, which has grown into a consortium of eight companies. The Japanese companies involved in JCTI are Panasonic, Mitsui Chemicals, Murata, Toyo Seikan, Nitto Denko, Nisshinbo, and Ricoh.
[3] The Global Innovation Alliance is a network of Singapore and overseas partners in major innovation hubs and key demand markets, with a focus on technology and innovation.
[4] The Market Readiness Assistance grant helps companies expand into new markets overseas by defraying the costs of overseas market promotion, business development and set-up.