Ready, set... Gojek takes off in Singapore, with app in beta form
"INDONESIAN firm Gojek on Thursday launched the beta version of its app in Singapore, which the firm said will give "hundreds of thousands" of people first access to its ride-hailing service. The beta phase is expected to take place over a few weeks, with a full version of the app to be rolled out in early 2019. During the beta launch, Gojek's service areas will cover more than half of Singapore, including the Central Business District, Jurong East, Changi, Punggol, Ang Mo Ki
Upcoming events in Singapore for start-ups, SMEs and entrepreneurs
Singapore has such a dynamic ecosystem that sometimes the number of events offered can be overwhelming. Here at FirstCOUNSEL, we're going to help you out by putting together a curated list of upcoming events in Singapore for start-ups, SMEs and entrepreneurs: Nov 29 - Startups&Angels Singapore #5 (WeWork Robinson) $27+ Nov 30 - Rolls-Royce Data Innovation Challenge - Asia launch (Level3) Free Dec 1 - BlockShow Asia 2018: LongHash Open Day (The Metro/Arena) Free Dec 4 - Next 9
Grab unveils pioneer batch of startups in accelerator programme
"Grab on Thursday unveiled the five startups, which were chosen from more than 500 applications. Chris Yeo, head of the innovation arm Grab Ventures, said half the applications were from Singapore and Indonesia, 30 per cent from the rest of South-east Asia, and the remainder, from the rest of the world.... The 16-week accelerator programme was kickstarted on Oct 17; on Monday this week, Grab integrated the functionalities of the startups' apps into the Grab app for users in S
Singapore Uses AI to Give SMEs Access to International Trade Opportunities
"The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) are partnering with six private sector partners to create a Proof of Concept hybrid business data and digital solutions hub. The initiative will leverage on Artificial Intelligence (AI) to facilitate the internationalisation and digitalisation of SMEs. The six partners are GlobalLinker, Mastercard, SAP, Yellow Pages and 99%SME (DBS Bank and SingTel). While SMEs are often said to be the
PayPal steps up efforts to incubate S-E Asian startups
"TO SHED its image as "just a payments company", and affirm its commitment to be in the business of making other businesses better, PayPal is doubling down on efforts to nurture startups from Singapore and South-east Asia. In 2019, PayPal plans to incubate 10 early-stage fintech startups from the region through PayPal Incubator, the incubator platform it set up in 2016 within PayPal's Singapore office. PayPal's target of 10 startups for the next year is twice the yearly avera
An exciting month for the FirstCOUNSEL family!
This was an exciting week for Singapore and for the FirstCOUNSEL family! Singapore welcomed the ASEAN Summit and the Singapore Fintech Festival, along with visits from: Chinese Premier Li, Malaysian PM Mahathir, Russian President Putin, US Vice President Pence, Canada PM Trudeau, India PM Modi, and IMF Chief Lagarde. Also this week FirstCOUNSEL’s parent company Collyer Law LLC celebrated its 3rd anniversary packed with clients and friends at the gorgeous The Arts House! It ha
FirstCOUNSEL participates in Innovation Lab Crawl for #SFF2018
This week over 20 innovation labs across Singapore are opening up their labs to visitors during the Singapore Fintech Festival 2018, including the one at Future Law Innovation Programme - FLIP by the Singapore Academy of Law today. 3 topics discussed that are relevant to both the legal and financial worlds were: 1) Blockchain
2) Cybersecurity
3) RegTech FirstCOUNSEL looks forward to continuing to link the legaltech and fintech worlds. To read more about the SG Fintech Festi
Online fintech marketplace to launch at Singapore FinTech Festival
"SINGAPORE: An online fintech marketplace, the API Exchange (APIX), will be launched on Wednesday (Nov 14) by the ASEAN Financial innovation Network (AFIN) in a bid to increase financial inclusion in hard-to-reach markets. The AFIN is spearheaded by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the ASEAN Bankers Association and the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation... Singapore's central bank, MAS, has also released a set of principles to promote fairness, ethics, a
Singapore's central bank announces new hub for SMEs to access business services
"First, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Infocomm Media Development Authority - IMDA is partnering up with six private sector partners to create a cross-border innovation hub called Business sans Borders. The six partners are GlobalLinker, Mastercard, SAP, Yellow Pages, DBSBank and Singtel — all of which service groups of small and medium enterprises in various capacities. Through this new alliance, the six partners will help SMEs build digital solutions that
FirstCOUNSEL at SG Fintech Festival 2018 kick-off
Today FirstCOUNSEL was there to kick off the 1st day at the Singapore FinTech Festival 2018! It was definitely an electric atmosphere as people gathered from all over the world to attend the largest platform for the global FinTech community. We got to hear from many amazing speakers, including Brad Garlinghouse(CEO, Ripple) and Ross Leckow (Deputy General Counsel, International Monetary Fund). Looking forward to a great rest of the week. To learn more about the event, click h
