Singapore, a city-state in Asia, is home to some of the best start-ups, accelerators, incubators and investors in the world and quite a number of start-ups on the island have attained unicorn status over the past few years. Singapore has a very rich culture and is a hub for trade and commerce.
The island, which was once a war-torn country, rapidly rose from developing country status to a developed one under the great leadership of renowned Prime minister Lee Kuan Yew and is now globally recognised for its prowess in the technology sector. Although the state’s economy is diverse, its main and most active sector is the tech sector.
Its tech sector could be said to be the leading tech sector in the whole of Asia. With hundreds of tech start-ups emerging every year, the country is fast becoming the Silicon Valley of Asia. Singapore provides an enabling environment for start-ups with easy access to funds facilitated by the government and big private investors who have seen the great opportunities this country offers and are ready to tap into it.
So many renowned companies we hear of today were once startups. The likes of Twitter, Instagram, GitHub, Udemy etc. all started small and today, their services are available everywhere.
The way start-ups thrive in Singapore is very impressive when compared to those of other countries and if you are trained in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and are looking for an opportunity to work elsewhere or even establish a start-up, then Singapore should be one of the places you consider.
Explore Singapore with Visa Express Singapore
A lot of startups have made it big over the years in Singapore and here are some of the popular start-ups in the country that have attained unicorn status.
1. Lazada
Lazada is an online shopping outlet founded in 2012 by Rocket internet but is now owned by Alibaba Group. Headquartered in Singapore, its services now span a number of Southeast Asia countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. Lazada offers a wide range of products in various categories including beauty, electronics, sports, fashion, groceries and many more. Lazada presently has a lot of job vacancies available where their services are being rendered.
2. Go-Jek
Go-Jek is a company that offers transportation, delivery and financial services. Founded in 2010, with headquarters in Indonesia, the company’s services are also available in Vietnam, Thailand and Singapore. Go-Jek also provides cleaning and massage services and are very well respected for giving jobs to people with disabilities. They make use of local bike riders for their delivery services and in the process have boosted employee living standards. Go-Jek offers job opportunities in many departments and are always in need of engineers, especially those skilled in programming, to meet up with their increasing online demands.
3. 99.co
99.co is a Singaporean real estate company that was founded in 2013. It is a property search portal which houses thousands of Singaporean properties on its database available for rent and sale and is now gradually gaining its feet in the Indonesian market. They help people find properties that suit their needs and financial capacity.
4. Klook
Klook is a travel start-up that offers great vacation services at affordable prices to many of the popular travel destinations in the world. They help discover places of attraction and fun activities you can participate in at any travel destination, and thus help make your vacation one never to forget. Check out their online page for great travel destination options.
5. Chope
Chope, headquartered in Singapore, is a restaurant reservation platform with services available in Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Shanghai, Bali, Phuket and Jakarta. It was founded in 2011 to tackle the difficulties diners experience while trying to make restaurant reservations. Through their app or website, you can make reservations in over 3,000 restaurants affiliated with them.
All these “unicorn” start-ups always have jobs available in one field or another and would be good places for you to consider if you’re planning to live or work in Singapore. The island itself offers a lot of opportunities for visitors and entrepreneurs in different sectors of its economy.