11 New & Trendy Singapore Startups to Watch in 2016
Written by Alla on September 07, 2016
Besides being an amazing tourist location, Singapore is also a great place to start your business. As proof, Singapore was ranked #10 in the Global Startup Ecosystem Ranking in 2015 by Compass.
In general, Southeast Asia has a different landscape for investors compared, for example, to the US. But regardless, according to The World Bank, Singapore was ranked #1 in the world for ease of doing business in 2015-2016.
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Here’s a list of the top 11 most interesting startups in Singapore.
Carousell
Category: E-Commerce
Founders: Quek Siu Rui, Marcus Tan, Lucas Ngoo
Carousell is a peer-to-peer marketplace founded in 2012. The startup has already raised around $42 million.
The creators emphasize the speed of interactions: you can list your entry in 30 seconds and then communicate with potential buyers via messaging within the app.
The company operates in 12 major Asian cities besides Singapore and has 35 million listings globally, with 70 listings being added to the platform each minute.
Vanitee
Category: e-commerce
Founders: Douglas Gan, Peng Kong Choy, Xiao Shi Kuik, Meters Ang
Started in 2015, Vanitee has raised more than $3.5 million and is now expanding throughout Asia, having launched the service in Korea and looking into Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Basically, Vanitee is an Airbnb of the beauty industry: it connects beauty specialists like nail, makeup, hair experts or stylists with customers. Within the platform you can see their portfolios, make an appointment, and agree on the time and price.
Ninja Van
Category: Logistics
Founders: Lai Chang Wen, Boxian Tan, Shaun Chong
Ninja Van is a last-mile delivery service and the fastest-growing Southeast Asian logistic company.
With $2.5 million in investments, the company is already present in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines, and Thailand.
Among their clients there are such huge retailers as P&G, Zalora, and Lazada.
honestbee
Category: Logistics
Founders: Joel Sng, Isaac Tay, Jonathan Low
Founded by three Singaporeans, honestbee has already raised more than $15 million in funding. In just six months, the startup was present in Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan.
The honestbee team goes grocery shopping for you: all you need to do is to create a list of what you want to buy, and the specialist will handpick and deliver you products within 43 minutes on average.
MyRepublic
Catergory: Internet Providers
Founders: Greg Mittman, Malcolm Rodrigues, KC Lai
MyRepublic is an Internet provider which delivers high-fibre connection and implements LTE technology across Singapore, New Zealand and Indonesia.
The company has already raised more than $53 million.
FreshMonk
Category: E-Commerce
Founders: Prashant Gulati, Shashank Agrawal
FreshMonk is a crowdfunding platform which helps to design, sell and ship custom t-shirts, resembling Threadless and Kickstarter at the same time.
The company focuses on NGOs, various events and interest groups. It has raised $5 million and plans to expand to newer designs.
TradeGecko
Category: Software
Founders: Cameron Priest, Bradley Priest
TradeGecko is an inventory management software for retailers and SME wholesellers. The platform helps to control, manage and measure stock and sales, syncing the data across various channels and locations.
The startup has raised more than $6.5 million and is currently one of the fastest growing SaaS solutions in Southeast Asia, with clientele in 90 countries.
PropertyGuru
Category: Real Estate
Founders: Steve Melhuish, Jani Rautiainen
PropertyGuru is Asia’s leading online real estate portal. The platform is designed specifically for the Asian market, and lists property and agency entries.
The company has raised $129 million and currently serves Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia.
Capital Match
Category: Finance
Founders: Pawel Kuznicki, Arnaud Bailly, Ming HaoWong
Capital Match is a peer-to-peer crowdfunding loan platform, which is designed to lend to small and medium-sized businesses as they are being under-served by the banks.
The company received close to $1 million in funding, and it handles the entire process of loans: from payment processing and due diligence to debt collection and investor updating.
ReferralCandy
Category: E-Commerce
Founders: Dinesh Raju
ReferralCandy is a refer-a-friend platform that operates via email marketing. A retailer can set their unique Referral Rewards and Friend Offers to make the discounts as flexible and attractive as possible. It could be a cash reward, a donation to charity, or a traditional discount.
More than 3,000 brands are already participating in the program.
The startup has raised S$1 million and is also integrated with major platforms like Shopify and Magento.
Zimplistic
Category: Kitchen Appliances
Founders: Rishi Israni, Pranoti Nagarkar
Zimplistic is a company that creates smart kitchen appliances. Their flagship robot Rotimatic makes wraps and Indian flatbread rotis.
The company has raised $11.5 million in funding. During the first week, the startup sold $5 million worth of machines and received $72 million worth of orders.
Did we miss any other great Singapore startups? Let us know in the comments below?
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