A handy guide to Singapore’s Budget 2013 measures for SMEs and startups

SPRING Singapore, a government agency that promotes local enterprises, has come up with a Budget Flyer on the 2013 measures for SMEs. It provides a snapshot of the Budget measures across all the government agencies that impact SMEs, as well as various SPRING program that SMEs and startups can tap on. It also contains important contact details of EnterpriseOne, EDCs, government agencies and other useful resources.

Guide to 2013 Budget Measures for SMEs

Plunify, which makes chip design cheaper, faster and mobile, raises USD 484k from Get2Volume and NRF

Plunify, a Singapore startup that brings microchip design to the cloud, announced this week that it has raised seed funding of SGD589k (USD484k) from Get2Volume and the National Research Foundation (NRF).

Get2Volume is an early stage technology investor and incubator, while NRF is a government organization that promotes R&D in the country.

Chip design is an inherently complex process requiring sizable computing power. What Plunify does is offload some of the most demanding tasks to the cloud, which can complete these tasks faster than traditional methods due to its parallel computing capabilities and flexibility. Read more

The Luxe Nomad, a private flash sales site for luxury hotels, launches in beta

The Luxe Nomad, a service that offers up to 70 percent off luxury hotels and villas for members, has launched in beta, the company announced in a press release today.

The private flash sales site currently has more than 100 hotels available, including Sri Panwa in Phuket and The Upper House in Hong Kong. Each sale lasts between seven to ten days, giving members a short window to purchase their deals. Read more

“Indoor GPS” company YFind raises US$1.18M from Innosight and Walden

Singapore-based YFind, an indoor positioning company, has raised S$1.5M (US$$1.18M) from Innosight Ventures and Walden International, it announced in a press release.

The company has developed patent-pending technology called YFind Positioning System enables users to find out there exact location in indoor or dense urban environments, with less than three meters accuracy.

The technology is WiFi-based, purportedly low cost, and works on iOS, Android, Windows Phone, and Blackberry. Applications for it include mobile advertising, business intelligence, and asset management. Read more

The Luxe Nomad seals investment from Tigris Capital and SPRING Singapore at Echelon 2012

The Luxe Nomad, a luxury travel site, has agreed to an investment deal of undisclosed terms with Tigris Capital and government agency SPRING Singapore during Echelon 2012, reported e27.

Founded by former Malaysian model Stephanie Chai, The Luxe Nomad curates luxury hotels and resorts and offers special prices at up to 70 percent discount to its members, free-of-charge. Read more

SPRING Singapore to startup: Stop misusing our logo and name

SPRING Singapore, a government organization dedicated to growing the country’s economy, issued a terse statement yesterday denouncing Interesting Mart, an online reseller of IT goods, for misusing its logo and name and that of its subsidiary, SPRING SEEDS Capital. Read more

Despite brutal competition, Singapore’s fashion industry experiences a rebirth

It's a packed house at the retail launch of PARCO next NEXT's new labels on 14th April.

Globalization has dealt local fashion labels a bad hand.

It used to be that fashion designers in Singapore could fill a niche between mass market apparel from the department stores and expensive luxury brands.

David Wang, vice president of the Textile & Fashion Federation (TaFf), lived in that era. As a local fashion pioneer in the 80′s, the runway for him to maneuver was much wider. Global brands like Topshop, Uniqlo, and H&M were not around to compete for the Singaporean’s fashion budget.

But the times changed.

“During my time, Singaporeans had pride in local brands. The good old days are gone. Now they look at price,” he says, “they’re very practical. If they look at a dress from a local designer that’s $399, they won’t support her. They’d rather go to H&M to pick up an entirely new wardrobe.”

While there’s a lot of hullabaloo these days about the power of e-commerce as a powerful, superlative, enabler for startups, David cautions that the Internet’s low barrier of entry results in more competition. Some blogshops, for example, offer cutthroat prices for their items.

In the face of such a brutal environment, PARCO next NEXT was started in 2010 to prop up the local fashion scene. It is a fashion incubator that picks promising fashion designers and puts them under an 18-month training and mentorship program to learn the ropes of being a successful fashion entrepreneur. They’re incubating the third batch. Read more

More Singapore startups applying for grants, loans

This year, SPRING Singapore has received 50 percent more applications for its Young Entrepreneurs Scheme for Startups (YES! Startups) funding program compared to last year and 2009. That’s about 180 applications this year versus 120 before, reported TODAY. Read more

iGlobe Partners participates in US$12mil funding for Unity Technologies

Singapore-based iGlobe Partners has participated in a US$12 million Series-B financing round in Unity Technologies, it was announced yesterday. The company has developed a 3D game development platform and counts Cartoon Network, Electronic Arts, LEGO, Microsoft, and NASA among its users. Read more

CEO Leadership Exchange Series by USEA and SPRING Singapore

This month, UOB-SMU Entrepreneurship Alliance (USEA) Centre and SPRING Singapore will have the CEO Leadership Exchange Series. The format will be in the form of a symposium and workshop, where Marc-Michael H. Bergfeld, a Professor of Entrepreneurship & International Family Firms at Munich Business School will attend both as the keynote speaker. Read more