Opening Remarks by Senior Minister of State Dr Lam Pin Min at The Smart Port Challenge 2019 Grand Final

Professor Freddy Boey, Deputy President (Innovation & Enterprise), NUS
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good afternoon.

1.     I am happy to join all of you today for the Grand Finals of the Smart Port Challenge 2019.

Facilitating Maritime Innovation

2.     Singapore, as the world’s busiest container transhipment port and a leading maritime hub, offers tremendous opportunities for start-ups to connect with industry players from around the world, to testbed solutions which can then be scaled up for wider application. We started the Smart Port Challenge in 2017 as an annual flagship platform to facilitate this link-up, bringing fresh ideas to pressing challenges, and in doing so, inject life and vibrancy to the maritime innovation eco-system.

3.     I attended the first Smart Port Challenge in 2017. I am glad it has grown significantly since then. In just two years, the number of maritime companies putting up problem statements has nearly doubled, from 12 in 2017 to 23 this year. The number of proposals from start-ups has more than doubled, from 81 to 202 over the same period. The link-ups have led to many success stories. Let me share with you just three examples.

a.     Xjera (pronounced: X-jer-ra) Labs from SPC2017 provides Jurong Port with video analytics capabilities, replacing the manual monitoring of vehicles entering and leaving the port. This has helped Jurong Port cut almost half the time its security guards spend monitoring vehicular movement.

b.     PortCast from the second run in 2018 provides shipping lines with intelligent and real-time prediction of cargo flows and dynamic pricing to make better operational and commercial decisions. Its solutions have helped NYK Line save cost through better inventory management, reduction in buffer stocks and expedited cargo movements.

c.     Claritecs, also from the 2018 batch, provides all parties involved in bunker delivery a common digital platform to help bunker fleet optimisation and manage the complexities of different fuel types and blends as the industry prepares to meet the requirements of International Maritime Organisation (IMO) 2020. Claritecs recently secured $850,000 in pre-series A funding from INNOPORT, the corporate venture capital unit of Bernhard Schulte and a separate private angel investor.

4.     The remarkable growth of the Smart Port Challenge in just two years is testament of the opportunities for start-up innovation in the maritime sector. Based on a recent study by Inmarsat, in 2018, total global spending on digital services in the maritime sector provided by start-ups and small innovators was US$4.2 billion. This is projected to increase to over US$111 billion by 2030, a spectacular annual growth rate of 120%.

Bringing Venture Capital

5.     To tap on this potential, good ideas need to be backed up by capital. A vibrant innovation eco-system requires strong venture capital partners. An example of such collaboration is the partnership between Rainmaking Innovation, a global corporate innovation and venture development firm, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), DNV GL and other industry partners such as Maersk and Shell. They are working together on the Decarbonisation Impact Programme in Singapore to provide a platform for start-ups to do rapid testing and adoption of technology to help the global industry achieve zero emissions in the future.

6.     I am pleased to announce today that Enterprise Singapore’s investment arm SEEDS Capital, in collaboration with MPA, is looking to catalyse almost $60 million of joint investments into Singapore-based, early-stage maritime technology start-ups. This will be a further boost to the maritime innovation eco-system. By tapping on this co-investment initiative, Venture Capitalists (VCs) and investors can partner SEEDS Capital to reach out to a larger pool of start-ups. Besides working with partners to co-invest in the start-ups, SEEDS Capital will also leverage Enterprise Singapore’s vast networks and deep expertise to support start-ups to commercialise and expand into new markets. SEEDS Capital will be launching the Maritime Tech Call for Partnership today. I hope more VCs, investors and start-ups will come on-board.

Conclusion

7.     In conclusion, I would like to thank all participating companies for their strong support for the Smart Port Challenge and the various global maritime accelerators which have connected with MPA’s accelerator— the Port Innovation Ecosystem Reimagined at BLOCK 71 (PIER71). This includes Katapult Ocean from Norway, theDOCK from Israel, and Innospace from China, amongst many others in this network. I would also like to thank NUS Enterprise, the collaborator for PIER71, TNB Ventures and Enterprise Singapore for the strong partnership in cultivating an innovative maritime industry.

8.     I wish you a fruitful event ahead. I look forward to hearing the pitches and the exciting solutions at the exhibition booths later. Thank you.