How Tech Partnerships Can Shape Cities’ Future For Good

Digital assets such as cryptocurrency and NFTs have earned a reputation for being exclusive and high-risk, with a small community flipping assets for a quick buck or practicing #HODL, while the rest of the world watches on, in a mix of emotions, from amusement to confusion. As we have seen in the past two decades, new technologies can potentially revolutionise industries and unlock opportunities to uplift communities. However, technology’s full potential, can only be unlocked when there is access for all. 

To enable dialogue about the role of innovative tech in creating more sustainable and inclusive cities, the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), Singapore Global Network, and SGInnovate hosted Minting Good - Digital Assets and Conversations on Tech for Good at London Tech Week 2022.  

A centrepiece exhibition — organised in partnership with NFT marketplace Brytehall — raised money for charities supporting artists with special needs. The exhibition generated almost 10ETH through artwork sales, with proceeds going to Singapore’s ART:DIS, which provides learning and livelihood opportunities for arts practitioners with disabilities, and the UK’s Project Art Works, which offers neurodiverse people with complex needs and their families art-based care.  

On their relationship with new technologies, ART:DIS’s Executive Director Maureen Goh says that the charity proactively adopts new technologies “to enable our artists to express themselves through new mediums and discover new channels of engagement”, while Project Art Works’ Artist Director and CEO Kate Adams points to the exhibition’s success as a sign of the potential of new technologies to generate lasting social impact. 

When applied correctly, new tech can be a positive force. Great undertakings are often said to “take a village”, and to build the inclusive, sustainable world of the future, it may even take the global village. This was a recurrent theme across Minting Good’s 13 panel discussions, fireside chats, and presentations on the topics of the digital economy and new technologies, during which global policy makers and experts had the opportunity to share ideas and network. 

Cross-pollination and partnerships will only become more common and influential in the tech space, and our speakers at the headline panel Shaping the Future of Cities and Economies Through Partnerships shared several insights on how stakeholders can similarly harness collaborations for good.  

How Governments Can Help Create a Thriving Tech Ecosystem 

The future of cities and economies is being shaped by new blockchain and Web3 technologies. For talent, government, and businesses to succeed, adopting new skills and mindsets is imperative. As a UNESCO Creative City of Design, Singapore’s policy makers work closely with industry to build a conducive environment for technology to flourish, leveraging design thinking and innovation across different sectors from healthcare to urban development. 

EDB’s Managing Director Jacqueline Poh advises governments to pinpoint areas in which they can support the growth of their tech ecosystems, such as by building a nationwide 5G network. This infrastructural support can even take novel forms such as a national digital identity. For example, Singapore’s Singpass allows citizens and residents to easily retrieve their personal information for government services, as well as for online banking and other commercial purposes. 

The Potential of Public-Private Collaborations 

Ms. Poh also highlighted the government’s role in creating lead demand for new technologies. For example, the Singapore Housing Development Board (HDB)’s purchase of rooftop solar panels from clean energy solutions provider Sunseap helped the company to grow and scale. At the same time, the majority of Singapore’s public housing buildings — which house some 80% of residents — will be partially powered by solar energy under HDB’s SolarNova Programme. 

Such public-private cooperation will be key to meeting climate targets, says Natalie Black, Her Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for Asia-Pacific. Many new technologies have yet to reach the mass market, so strategic partnerships spearheaded by governments will be needed to accelerate and encourage adoption of sustainable technologies at scale. This push for innovation and problem-solving must encompass both startups and corporations, stresses Ms. Black: “This has to be across the spectrum… It's a long-term industrial investment that we need to see across the board.” 

Unlocking Tech Potential Through Supportive Regulations 

Providing progressive regulatory governance that supports innovation and mitigates risk simultaneously is key to building a conducive ecosystem.  

Crypto.com’s UK General Manager Nick Charteris is optimistic about mindset changes taking place in tech communities around the world, having noticed broad consensus on the importance of regulation at recent Financial Conduct Authority CryptoSprint events. These shifts have enabled the financial services industry to “start talking about the future and how we can deploy these technologies in a positive fashion,” he explains.  

New concepts such as Web3 can also help expand financial services to include a much broader spectrum of society. Singaporean musician Charlie Lim, who performed a set and spoke at a fireside chat during Minting Good, shared that he founded The Great Wave Decentralised Autonomous Organisation (DAO) with the goal of giving fellow artists more control and autonomy over their work as an alternative to traditional record label management. “I don’t think that blockchain or Web3 is a silver bullet for all the problems in our world,” Lim says, “but we can learn a lot in terms of governance and giving people equity through this new mechanism.” 

As technology brings the world closer together than ever before, governments, corporations, non-profits, and talents can and should team up to create a better future for everybody. 

Click to watch the full video of the headline panel Shaping the Future of Cities and Economies Through Partnerships (and all 12 other sessions) from Minting Good at London Tech Week 2022.