Above photo (from left): Mr. Daren Tang, Chief Executive of IPOS and Mr. Keoy Soo Earn, Executive Director and Regional Managing Partner of Deloitte SE Asia's Financial Advisory Practice at the signing of the MoU at IP Week@SG 2017. Photo: Dean Koh/OpenGov Asia.
At the ongoing IP Week @ SG 2017, the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) today with Deloitte Southeast Asia Financial Advisory Services (Deloitte) to deepen cooperation to drive the growth of innovative enterprises, and enhance Singapore's position as an IP and innovation hub.
The MoU will leverage IPOS' deep technical expertise in IP and Deloitte' global business network and expertise in IP (intellectual property) and financial advisory services, to support enterprises in the biomedical and healthcare, manufacturing and engineering, and deep tech sectors, to grow and scale up, and expand into overseas markets with the right innovation and intellectual property (IP) growth strategies.
The partnership reflects IPOS' ongoing efforts as an innovation agency to build a vibrant and globally-connected innovation ecosystem, strengthen innovative enterprises' competitiveness through using IP as a strategic business asset, and help them take their products and services to international markets, in line with the key recommendations highlighted in the Committee on the Future Economy (CFE) Report.
Through the MOU, IPOS and Deloitte target to build a strong base of 100 innovation-driven growth enterprises and groom them to become future global market leaders.
At the enterprise level, IPOS and Deloitte will help companies to
- Understand technology trends to make strategic decisions for investment, and research and development (R&D)
- Connect to emerging and disruptive technologies in the fast-growing markets and start-up communities
- Bring their products and services to the market by using the IP and other intangible assets to compete and scale globally, and providing access to an in-market network of business partners and financial investors
- Commercialise their IP and other intangible assets for business growth
At the ecosystem level, the partnership represents another one of the many connections Singapore is building to build a strong innovation ecosystem. Supported by a world-class IP system, the ecosystem is expected to encourage innovation-led companies to gain a strong foothold in Singapore to monetise their ideas and IP through easy access to market opportunities, technology and commercialisation expertise, strategic advisory and services and global connections.
The idea is that innovative enterprises from anywhere in the world should be able to establish their operations here, access IP services and networks, and use Singapore as a gateway to high-growth markets in Asia and beyond.
Mr. Daren Tang, Chief Executive of IPOS, said, “The enterprises of today are increasingly built around IP and other intangible assets like know-how, data and digital platforms. As Asian economies develop, we are seeing more and more companies where a significant share of their enterprise value is in their intangible assets. including IP. To drive enterprise growth through innovation, Singapore must shift its focus on enabling innovative companies to commercialise their IP, scale up and internationalise quickly. This partnership with Deloitte will help Singapore enrich its innovation ecosystem with the right skills and global networks to help enterprises anchor their ideas in Singapore, monetise their IP and intangible assets, and springboard to the world."
In April this year, IPOS revealed multiple initiatives to help enterprises commercialise IP, including the launch of a one billion dollar innovation fund with private equity firm, Makara Capital; MoU with the Singapore Business Federation (SBF); and collaboration between IP ValueLab, the enterprise engagement arm of IPOS and EverEdge Global Ltd, an international IP management consultancy firm. The IP Hub Master Plan released in 2013 was also updated to address gaps in the areas of IP creation, protection and commercialisation, along the verticals of expertise, regime and marketplace.