Our distinguished speaker on 15 March was Dr Beh Swan Gin, Chairman of the Singapore Economic Development Board.

In his keynote address, Dr Beh spoke about the development of an innovation-led economy as an increasingly important element of Singapore’s growth strategy. He discussed the drivers for this change:
• Accelerated growth of Asia giving rise to unprecedented opportunities for innovators to create new businesses from Singapore
• Technological advancements allowing businesses not only to improve productivity but also redesign their operating models
• Singapore’s resource constraints
• Growing nationalism and protectionism in the world changing how companies make decisions

Dr Beh also shared how EDB is translating this strategy into its programmes and initiatives. A big part of their strategy involves working closely with large companies, both multinationals as well as local enterprises, to connect them with the start-up ecosystem which will help them foster open innovation and catalyse the formation of new businesses. Following his address, Dr Beh had a candid Q&A session with members.

We would like to thank Dr Beh spending the afternoon with us and sharing his valuable insights. Many thanks also to Prudential for being the exclusive event sponsor for the 2019 SICC Distinguished Speaker Series.

We look forward to seeing everyone again at our upcoming Distinguished Speaker Series events that will take place in the second half of 2019:
• 22 August 2019: Dr Koh Poh Koon, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Trade and Industry
• 27 September 2019: Mr Ong Ye Kung, Minister for Education
• 31 October 2019: Mr Ravi Menon, Managing Director, Monetary Authority of Singapore

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