MARCH - 20228In My OpinionHEALTH TECHS ACTIVELY SEEK ENTREPRENEURIAL INDIVIDUALSIt is all eyes on Singapore when it comes to the innovative developments within the health-tech sector. Digital transformation continues to permeate the healthcare industry and more companies are leveraging new technologies to develop smarter and more cost-effective digital health solutions. Galen Growth Asia reported that the number of health-tech startups rose from 45 in 2012 to 174 in 2018. The surge can be seen between 2015 and 2018, as the number of startups grew at an average pace of 23 percent each year.The same report revealed that the city attracted $105 million ($145.78 million) across 21 deals in 2018. This is in addition to the multiple public-private partnerships that have been forged in the past years to accelerate innovation in different key therapeutic areas, as well as the $4 billion public investment in health and biomedical sciences' research and development between 2016 and 2020. Through various government efforts to implement pro-business policies and elevate the skills of the local workforce, Singapore has proven its worth to be positioned as the leading health-tech hub of Asia Pacific. Just within the first three quarters of 2019, startups in healthcare and biomedical sciences received $148.3 million in funds. Of this figure, health-tech startups alone accounted for $126.9 million. The burgeoning health-tech ecosystem is further fostered by the rising number of incubator projects. The Temasek Life Sciences Accelerator is one such example. It is a collaboration between Temasek Life Johari Masod Johari Masód, Associate Director, Life Science, Randstad SingaporeBy
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