Qatar-Singapore Joint Innovation Challenges announced at SWITCH 2023

This collaboration signifies a historic moment in the global advancement of innovation and technology. The event was attended by Ambassador of the State of Qatar to Singapore Saoud bin Jassim Al Jufairi.

The Qatar-Singapore open innovation discussion

Nada Al-Olaqi, RDI Programme director for the QRDI Council, who was on the panel discussion held as part of the QRDI Council engagement activities at SWITCH 2023, expressed her enthusiasm for this collaboration by saying, “Our participation in SWITCH is a remarkable milestone in the QRDI Council's journey. We are excited to join EnterpriseSG in launching the Qatar-Singapore Joint Innovation Challenge, providing valuable opportunities for Singaporean companies to offer their innovations to Qatari entities. This initiative is a testament to our commitment to driving innovation and growth for Qatar while strengthening our global partnerships.”

G. Jayakrishnan, executive director for South Asia, the Middle East, and Africa at EnterpriseSG added, “The joint innovation call will further deepen the collaboration between Qatar and Singapore. Singaporean companies have relevant expertise in areas of energy, environmental sustainability, and insurtech, and we are confident that they can be effective partners to the participating entities from Qatar in developing products and solutions that will contribute to Qatar’s sustainable development goals.”

Three challenge statement owners, namely the Qatar Company for Airport Operation and Management, Qatar Insurance Co. Digital Venture Partners, and the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change have put up seven problem statements, seeking new ideas and solutions from Singapore-based companies in areas such as energy, sustainability, and insurtech.

The QSJIC is among the first activities between the QRDI Council and EnterpriseSG since the two parties signed an MoU in June. This strategic partnership aims to stimulate cross-border collaboration and open innovation, propelling Qatar towards becoming an innovation and knowledge-based economy.

The MoU underscores the commitment to promote joint innovation programmes, events, and initiatives that benefit both Qatari and Singaporean enterprises.

It is expected that the winners of the QSJIC will embark on pilot projects with the three challenge statement owners and will receive solution development support of up to S$150,000 (around $110,000) each.

SWITCH 2023 spotlights new game changers The Singapore Week of Innovation and Technology (SWITCH) 2023 opened on October 31, highlighting the transformative power of AI and advances in net-zero technologies.

Enterprise Singapore expands global innovation alliance On October 31, Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG) announced the addition of three new Global Innovation Alliance (GIA) nodes in Mumbai, Melbourne, and Sydney. The move aims to facilitate the expansion of Singaporean tech startups in India and Australia while driving innovative collaborations.

Singapore launches fifth edition of Sustainability Open Innovation Challenge Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG) launched the fifth edition of the Sustainability Open Innovation Challenge (SOIC) on October 31 to catalyse innovative collaborations between industry players, promising startups, and small- and-medium enterprises (SMEs) in the sustainability space.