Six Norwegian early-stage businesses returned victorious to Norway today from the Tech Incubator (TINC Asia) program operated by Joyful Frog Digital Incubator (JFDI) and Innovation Norway.
An intense three weeks of mentoring and meetings ended with a string of achievements including two of the visiting businesses securing in-principle investment offers totaling SGD4m (USD3m), two Norwegian companies opening offices and creating 3 new jobs for Singaporeans and one of the Norwegian companies acquiring a Singaporean counterpart to accelerate its expansion into Asia.
The TINC Asia began with a 3 day briefing session in Oslo in June, after which participants researched target markets in Asia and prepared to meet with potential business partners. Through three weeks in Singapore from 17 August to 4 September, they pitched at three events and held dozens of meetings, guided by intense mentoring and a wealth of industry connections provided by a partnership between JFDI and Innovation Norway.
“Participating in a programme like this really helps us understand the business culture in the region; it practically kicks doors open. And the mentors at JFDI are really helpful, they help us crack the social codes, help us navigate bureaucracy, and even locate the most exotic foods in Singapore,” said August FLATBY of Biogrid AS, while attending in Singapore. “If we had to learn everything the slow way, then I believe it would have taken us months to build up sufficient confidence to build a business here.”
Stig LINNA, CEO of Kaizit AS said, “By making use of the large network and the experience from many earlier start-ups here, we believe that we can accelerate much faster this way. It is an amazing place to be here in the Singapore start-up community. We had the opportunity to talk to a lot of different people with many interesting specialities and the JFDI team is very good!”
Participants in the TINC Asia program summarized their achievements as follows:
Biogrid AS (Oslo) uses ‘Internet of Things’ technology to facilitate vertical farming in urban areas. Biogrid AS announced this morning that it had reached agreement in principle to acquire a Singaporean startup, significantly accelerating both companies’ efforts to revolutionize control over growing conditions in vertical urban farms. Biogrid AS received its first grant from Innovation Norway (Phase 1, NOK 150 000) in the spring of 2015.
Pointmedia AS (Toten, now Oslo) is developing next-generation digital screens and analytics for retail chains. The company reports very active interest from potential customers and partners in one of the most sophisticated and competitive retail environments in the world. The business is now considering offers to test its solutions in cooperation with a Singaporean business school, as well with a local retail industry consulting company.
nLink (Sogndal) has developed a robot for the construction industry which measures out and drills holes in concrete ceilings. Productivity improvement in the construction industry is a national priority in Singapore, a nation which has doubled its population since 1980, and is looking at adding 2 million more people over the next few years. More than 280 000 apartments will be built over the next 10 years. nLink has received much attention and admiration, several invitations, meetings with two of the largest construction companies in the world, as well as several large regional construction companies, also in other Asian markets.
Touch Systems AS (Karmøy) has set up a local Singaporean corporation, hired 3 people and landed their first paying customer in Asia for its product Infogym (an interactive customer engagement solution for fitness centers which increases customer retention). Founder Tor Ivar Våge also reports firm offers for investment from 2 early stage investment firms in Singapore.
KaizIt AS (Hammerfest, now Oslo) is developing a sales management system for the maritime industry. Singapore is one of the premiere maritime centers of the world, and KaizIt has had 7-8 productive customer meetings, received strong market signals and is very likely to come back to Singapore in the near future. Meetings in Singapore have also resulted in high level contacts and appointments at the European headquarters of several global maritime industry players.
Kubicam AS (Oslo) seeks to revolutionize the teleconferencing business with Cisco/Tandberg-quality video-conferencing at GoPro prices. Following the TINC Asia program the company reports significant traction with both local and regional business partners and potential investors. The company is currently looking to raise a USD5-10 million series A round, and a portion of this is likely to come from Singapore. The company intends to open an office in Singapore in the near future and is in strategic discussions with a locally based teleconferencing provider.
Torunn Aass TARALRUD, Director at Innovation Norway, said: “This is an extraordinary result achieved in just three weeks by these Norwegian entrepreneurs, many of whom were visiting Asia for the first time. The TINC Asia program has forged connections that will create jobs and wealth stretching from East to West for years into the future. There is a message here for businesses in Norway: look east and you will find both friends and opportunity!”
Adrian TAN, who leads TINC Asia at JFDI said: “This is the second time we have run this program with Innovation Norway and a pattern of success is emerging. Norway and Singapore have similar sized populations and both countries have a long history of building trust and trade across the oceans. The progress made by the six companies have shown how relevant their technologies are for both markets.”
It is really a great post. Participants learned in this program is a big help for them to build a business or to pursue a startup job .
Thanks, it is! Perhaps you’d also like reading Tor Vage’s blog about his personal experience: http://www.jfdi.asia/blog/3-weeks-that-changed-a-norwegian-startup-forever