Hosted by Martin Soong and Sri Jegarajah, Lynette Tan, Chief Executive of Singapore Space and Technology Ltd (SSTL) speaks about the Asia space industry, Global Space and Technology Convention (GSTC) which was held on 7 June 2020, and about unlocking the potential of space startups.
The Global Space and Technology Convention which took place online and in Singapore aims to connect the Asia space industry with the global space ecosystem.
The Asia space ecosystem is poised to grow and there are many factors contributing to it. Some of the notable ones include the desire for connectivity which is enabled by space technologies, the desire for global connectivity and IR 4.0 (Industry Revolution 4.0) agenda in many Asian countries. These factors drive a growth in Asia for the consumption of space technologies.
In this space, NGOs (Non-government organisations) such as SSTL are well positioned to help Asia and help companies and countries unlock the potential for the space economy. What we do very well as NGOs like SSTL is, one, we connect the industry. We connect the Asian community with the global space tech industry. We connect ideas to funds and investors. We connect stakeholders, government, MNCs and startups. That’s why GSTC is the go-to platform to know about the Asia space ecosystem. It’s a neutral platform run by an NGO, thus allowing us to cross boundaries, nations and sectors.
The second thing that NGOs do very well is to accelerate the adoption of space technologies. At SSTL, we run two accelerator programmes across various sectors, across various countries, underpinned by space-enabled technologies. We have 30 over companies in our portfolio from Asia, Europe, Latvia, Central America, South America and the valuation of these combined 30 over startups and companies are at USD 700 million dollars
The third thing that an NGO such as SSTL does very well is the ability to cultivate the industry for the future, in order to create a sustainable talent pipeline, to continue with the growth trajectory in Asia Pacific.
