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By Phyllis Lee

The sixth edition of TechInnovation brought together technology providers and seekers from all over the world to explore technology collaboration opportunities through open innovation at Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre on Tuesday (Sept 19).

Guest-of-Honour Mr S. Iswaran, Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry), delivered the opening address.

In his speech, he stated: “Innovation is a key plank of our strategy to help enterprises build differentiating capabilities, and to scale up in a challenging business environment.”

He pointed out that this is necessary for businesses to compete and thrive in today’s rapidly advancing world.

In fact, the Government has already committed $19 billion to the Research, Innovation and Enterprise 2020 (RIE2020) for developing the innovation ecosystem and supporting local enterprises to tap onto technology for competitive advantage.

Earlier this month, it was announced that SPRING Singapore and IE Singapore would merge to form Enterprise Singapore. This new entity will be dedicated to provide holistic and integrated support for local enterprises to improve productivity, innovate, build capabilities and go global.

Minister S Iswaran said:

“While we lay the groundwork and infrastructure for collaboration, ultimately, Singapore enterprises must seize the initiative to tap on each other’s technology capabilities, and exploit adjacencies in production processes, to access new opportunities and address complex business challenges.”