went to Biopolis to help out at the SPRING Enterprise Conference 2008 at Matrix@Biopolis on 17 April 2008 (yesterday)....saw a nyp lecturer there (entrepreneurship module from school of business management).....was surprised to see him and i went to talk to him.......here's some info about the meeting.....our department is doing the customer-centric initiative scheme...saw the boss of charles & keith and he looks very young....lol......


our scheme:
http://www.spring.gov.sg/Content/WebPageLeft.aspx?id=53a69390-686c-4bcd-997e-339be4d15496


other schemes: news on
Channelnewsasia.com
Title
:
S$50m fund to boost product innovation for start-ups
By
:
Pamela Almeda, Channel NewsAsia
Date
:
17 Apr 2008 2052 hrs (GMT + 8hrs)
SINGAPORE : SPRING Singapore is pumping in some S$50 million within the next five years to help start-ups develop and commercialise their original technology ideas.
The Technology Enterprise Commercialisation Scheme (TECS) was officially launched on Thursday at the opening of the 2nd annual SPRING Enterprise Conference.
The scheme is targeted at start-ups under five years old, seeking to introduce innovative technology products into the market. Applications will be judged for both their technical and commercial values.
Loh Khum Yean, Chief Executive of SPRING Singapore, said: "Firstly, we're looking at the technical merit and the feasibility of the proposal, in terms of what the entrepreneur wishes to do, and in terms of capitalising on this technology to create a new product or service for the market.
"Secondly, we're looking at the market potential of the proposal and the scalability of the business."
Under the new initiative, funding will be given out in two phases. For the first Proof-of-Concept phase, SPRING will support 100% of the costs, up to a maximum of S$250,000.
Under the second Proof-of-Value phase, which includes developing the working prototype, successful applicants can get a grant of 85% of the costs from SPRING Singapore. This grant is capped at a maximum of S$500,000.
"The funding arrangement is to help companies look for ideas externally or internally from tertiary institutions, A-STAR labs and then bring it to the market place," said Philip Yeo, Chairman of SPRING Singapore.
Some SMEs (small and medium enterprises) said the new scheme provides an added incentive to move up the technology scale.
Robin Low, CEO of ARB Technologies, said: "Traditionally, grants were given in the Proof-of-Concept (phase), but during the Proof-of-Value (phase), that's where the SME has to commercialise the product - from proof-of-concept to commercialisation.
"This is where the TECS can fill in... I think SMEs should take advantage of this comprehensive scheme and leverage on it."
Applications for the scheme will close at the end of June 2008. - CNA /ls