The PIER71 (Port Innovation Ecosystem Reimagined @Block71) was officially launched by Singapore’s Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Transport and Ministry of Health, Dr Lam Pin Min. PIER71 is an industry-wide acceleration programme that supports innovation and encourages the maritime industry to venture into new growth areas through collaboration with technology start-ups.
Set up by MPA and NUS Enterprise, the entrepreneurial arm of the National University of Singapore, PIER71 provides a platform for foreign and local companies, start-ups, venture capitalists, and mentors to exchange knowledge and form organic partnerships. It will contribute to building a vibrant maritime entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem, as envisioned by the Sea Transport Industry Transformation Map, and sharpen Singapore’s competitive edge.
PIER71’s first innovation workshop, run by MPA and concluded on 15 May 2018, was for a cohort of digital officers from 23 maritime companies. The workshop covered the development of systematic processes for identifying and quantifying innovation opportunities, and equipped digital officers with the skills to translate innovative ideas into tangible outcomes for maritime companies.
To provide start-ups with more opportunities and access to resources such as mentors and networks, NUS Enterprise also extended its support to PIER71’s start-ups by signing four new MOUs with start-up hubs INNOSPACE and Rainmaking Innovation, as well as maritime companies Wärtsilä and Wilhelmsen. This is in addition to an earlier MOU with PortXL to provide start-ups with market access in Rotterdam and Singapore.
Mr Andrew Tan, Chief Executive of MPA, said:
The launch of PIER71, in collaboration with NUS Enterprise, is part of the MPA’s broader innovation strategy under the Sea Transport Industry Transformation Map (ITM). PIER71 will catalyse collaborations between the maritime companies, technology start-ups and adjacent sectors to position Singapore’s maritime industry for the next wave of growth enabled by digital technologies.
PIER71 also kicked off Smart Port Challenge (SPC) 2018 – a six-month programme that aims to catalyse digital transformation in the maritime industry by bringing together maritime and technology players to work on identified problem statements. Like other start-up incubators and accelerators, the SPC consists of three phases:
–>challenge statement formulation,
–>funding support and
–>product realisation.
Last year’s inaugural SPC saw 12 maritime companies participating. Seven start-ups – Brightree, Glee Trees, MyBot, SG Smart Tech, Simplus, Trabble and Xjera Labs – received grant support totalling $311,598 for test-bedding and developing prototypes with the Singapore Shipping Association, Jurong Port, BatamFast and Kanlian.
The number of maritime companies participating and contributing innovation opportunities in SPC 2018 has increased to 17 and PIER71 expects a total of about 200 participants. Besides cash prizes of $10,000, $5,000 and $3,000 for the top three proposals, selected finalists also stand a chance to be invited to join PIER71 ACCELERATE, a customised curriculum on building viable maritime tech start-ups, and receive a further grant of up to $50,000 from MPA to develop prototypes with maritime companies.
These innovation opportunities will be released on 6 June during Innovfest unbound, and the closing date for proposals is 6 August 2018.
