A team from student venture capital fund Protégé Ventures (PV) examines the challenges and opportunities young entrepreneurs face today and the support they need to thrive in its Singapore Student Startup Ecosystem Report 2024.

Download the full Report HERE.

Simon Gwozdz, the young founder and CEO of Equatorial Space Systems, a groundbreaking SpaceTech company based in Singapore, has this piece of advice for other student startup founders: “Do it better than anyone else you know. Gather as much information, data, and connections as you can—the more you have, the more you’ll be able to refine, improve, and ultimately succeed.”

Recognising the critical need for disruptive deep tech solutions, the report showcases promising opportunities that could empower young founders as they tackle today’s most complex, even unpredictable challenges.

The advice from Simon Gwozdz is featured in a report highlighting key ecosystem players and sectors to watch. Published annually by student analysts from Protégé Ventures (PV) – Asia's first and Singapore's only student venture capital fund, the Singapore Student Startup Ecosystem Report 2024 captures insights into the current landscape of student entrepreneurship in Singapore through the lens of different stakeholders.

Supported by Singapore Management University’s Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (IIE), the report is Singapore's only comprehensive report focused exclusively on the student startup landscape.

The findings from the report are based on surveys which were conducted in early 2024 of over 100 former, current and aspiring student founders, incubator programme managers, and investors who are actively involved with student startups. 

Why Student Startups?

Some of the most impactful businesses today were started by students while they were still in university, or soon after they graduated.

Said Ms Yasi Huo, Senior Associate Director at IIE, “Institutes of higher learning (IHLs) are where diverse, talented, ambitious individuals meet, ideas collide, and innovative business plans are born. It is also where young entrepreneurs can fail constructively, pick themselves up, and do better. Afterall, university campuses are where companies, the likes of Reddit, DoorDash and Snapchat, and groundbreaking deep technologies such as mRNA and nuclear fission, first emerged.”

She added, “Students also bring energy, creativity and perspectives to the table. They are GenAI natives who are deeply vested in the future, and dream about what it would take to make it better.”

Challenges: Mentorship and Access to Incubation Programmes

The report highlighted that student entrepreneurs are driven by a desire to solve real-world problems but face challenges such as limited experience and access to capital.

To address these gaps, Protégé Ventures emphasises the need for enhanced mentorship and incubation programmes, which are the top two desired sources of support ranked by founders. This aligns with Simon’s quote earlier which highlights the importance of securing meaningful sources of knowledge through expanding connections.

About 36% of the respondents stated that they had not attended incubation programmes. “This illustrates a gap in the startup ecosystem that needs to be addressed,” stated the report. 

Opportunities: Deep Tech, SaaS/AI, Impact Ventures

Protégé Ventures’ latest report – based on data from deals reviewed in 2023 and interviews with founders and investors – spotlights promising sectors for aspiring student entrepreneurs, alongside key challenges and strategies to address them. The top three sectors poised for growth in 2024 are Deep Tech, SaaS/AI, and Impact Ventures.

Deep Tech

The deep tech sector continues to thrive, with ongoing academic research driving innovation. Deep Tech accounted for 29% of all deals reviewed by Protégé Ventures in 2023, a significant jump from 9% in 2022. This growth aligns with national trends: Enterprise Singapore reported a 31% rise in deal volume within Deep Tech, with subsectors like decarbonization, medical devices, and sensors & electronics gaining traction.

SaaS/AI

The Software as a Service (SaaS) model remains popular in the student startup ecosystem, increasingly powered by AI to enhance customer solutions. However, investors from business incubator and venture builder Gharage cautioned young founders not to develop AI products because it is in trend. Instead, they should ensure that the use of AI is grounded in solving real problems and adding genuine value. 

Impact Ventures

Student founders bring a fresh perspective as they invest in building a future they believe in, with 12% of deals sourced by Protégé Ventures in 2023 directed toward Impact Ventures—a significant increase from 2022. If the deal demographics serve as a sampling of the wider trends, it reflects founder inclination towards sustainability and impact. Similarly, Singapore’s green tech sector saw a 160% increase in deal volume, with significant interest in carbon tech, climate tech, and the built environment.

In the report, the PV team highlighted the challenges of entering the impact space: “When it comes to commercialising these startups, we often find that young impact founders struggle to identify social causes to address and tend to not work on a single idea long enough before actual results can be seen.”

One recommendation was for student founders to gain overseas exposure to get inspiration for impact venture ideas in countries like Philippines, Vietnam, China, and India. James Tan, the Managing Partner of Quest Ventures, further shared, “Observing local problems firsthand could help these founders develop solutions from Singapore that could be applied to these markets.”

This report is essential for anyone interested in understanding the evolving student startup ecosystem in Singapore. Download the full report to explore Protégé Ventures' recommendations for student founders, emerging trends, and opportunities in the ecosystem.

Download the full Report HERE.