EDB is committing fresh funds of S$32 million over the next two years to further drive corporate venturing and make it easier for Singapore-based companies to partner with startups. The third edition of the Corporate Venture Launchpad (CVL 3.0) aims to help companies stay competitive and grow in new areas, using Singapore’s vibrant ecosystem—from strong public-private partnerships to a rich talent pool.
Many businesses are already innovating for growth from Singapore, targeting customers in Asia and across the world. Sharing their insights at the CVL 3.0 launch event were:
- Markus Strobel, Former Global President of Skin and Personal Care at P&G;
- Rohit Girdhar, Vice President of Strategy and M&A at Infineon Technologies;
- Alvin Foo, Head of PSA unboXed;
- Marco Placidi, Head of IMI’s Venture Studio
Here are four key takeaways from their discussion, moderated by EDB New Ventures Vice President Glenda Tan.
Takeaway #1: Don’t be too quick to dismiss the niche ideas
The path to innovation is rarely linear and ideas can sprout from the unlikeliest of places. Companies must be ready to pivot as they explore new opportunities. P&G’s experience in creating billion-dollar brands exemplifies this.
Markus shared how a small innovation team identified a trend toward simplified skincare routines, challenging the popular, elaborate 11-step regimes. This sparked an idea to develop an “all-in-one” product.
He explained that such an endeavour—to sell fewer products rather than more—would be highly unlikely for the core corporate R&D team to pursue. However, through their venture team, P&G was able to explore the idea’s potential and test its appeal. “We launched a product called aio, or ‘all-in-one’, from Singapore, tested it in a small market and learned that it had global appeal,” he said.
P&G’s approach enabled the crucial shift from niche innovation to broader market success—with the product now doing well across Asia and its concept incorporated into core US brands.
“Because we tested in Singapore, we found that this was not only an idea for Asia, but it was a global idea,” he added. “With the global learnings we made here, we put the same concept on some of our core brands, like Olay, in America. It was the same idea launched under a bigger brand for brand recognition.”
The lesson? A smaller, agile team can innovate, test, and pivot quickly, driving breakthrough ideas that core teams may overlook.
