New sustainability innovation hub to ease product testing for start-ups, accelerate market entry

SINGAPORE - Singapore-based start-ups in the sustainability space can now tap a new innovation hub to test their products before hitting the market, shortening the time needed to scale up their concepts for the real world.

This new platform could also lead to the emergence of new unicorns – companies valued at over US$1 billion (S$1.3 billion) – in green industries that are now seeing rapid growth.

The hub was established by Vidacity, a Singapore firm that focuses on building ecosystems for sustainability-focused businesses, and situated within JTC’s start-up hub LaunchPad at one-north.

Spanning over 32,000 sq ft and already fully occupied at its launch on April 15, the new site will serve as a platform for start-ups in the agri-food, built environment and energy solutions sectors that require a test bed for their practical solutions.

Designed to be a flexible environment for workshops, laboratories and demonstrations, Vidacity said it expects to support up to 200 additional companies and facilitate 80 pilot deployments over the next five years.

It is working with six organisations to pilot deployment programmes. Two start-ups – N&E Innovations, which turns food waste into biodegradable antimicrobial coatings; and Entropy Lab, which develops passive cooling paint for buildings – will be among the first to see their concepts in action.

This is Vidacity’s second hub here. Chief executive Zac Toh said it was critical for the company to set up its hub in LaunchPad so that it could be closer to Singapore-based start-ups and foster more collaboration in the ecosystem.

Its first site at the former Loyang Primary School in Pasir Ris, launched in 2024, already houses an ecosystem of entrepreneurs engaged in various sustainable technologies such as agriculture, water treatment, material science and reusable waste. But its location meant that the hub was largely disconnected from the wider start-up base in Singapore.

Having a second base in LaunchPad allows the company and the start-ups it partners with to tap the existing community of founders, as well as the programmes that the hub regularly conducts.

Ms Yap Eai-Sy, director of the Infocomm Media and Startup Division at JTC, said Vidacity was awarded the tender for the site as its concept of bringing the start-up community together gels with LaunchPad’s overall vision to grow the ecosystem over the next five to 10 years.

Vidacity’s ecosystem-building initiatives and events are free and open to the public. It offers start-ups and corporate enterprises personalised consultation and hands-on deployment advisory at a fee.

Its revenue will come mainly from two businesses: VidaCircle will support enterprises, whether local or overseas-based, in their overseas expansions with a retainer fee model; while VidaCapital Academy will offer training to students and fresh graduates in South-east Asia in areas such as impact investing and sustainable finance.

Mr Toh, who also runs City Sprouts, said he was motivated to expand Vidacity’s scope after seeing how the urban farm business had been successful in spawning a community of businesses focused on delivering environmental and sustainable solutions.

In a speech at the launch of Vidacity at one-north, Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry Low Yen Ling said the green economy is increasingly becoming a key driver of growth not just for Singapore, but also for ASEAN and the wider region.

The Republic faces challenges from increased competition arising from evolving technologies, market demands and supply chains.

It would need to develop new solutions and scale them quickly and effectively in order to stay competitive. The ongoing Middle East conflict offers “opportunity in crisis” for Singapore companies to maintain their edge, she said.

“This is where hubs like Vidacity play a vital role in bringing together innovators, enterprises and partners to turn ideas into real-world solutions. The confluence of these players forms a foundation critical for innovation and entrepreneurship.

“Through Vidacity, we want to work together as an ecosystem to develop a strong pipeline of future unicorns which not only do well, but do good and do right.”

Ms Low announced a number of memorandums of understanding between Vidacity and several stakeholders that would strengthen the link between innovation and real-world implementation, so that ideas can move more quickly from the lab to market.

Vidacity will work with JTC on proof-of-concept opportunities and start-up engagements at LaunchPad and Punggol Digital District, allowing start-ups to pilot solutions in Singapore and overseas markets. It will partner the Action Community for Entrepreneurship (ACE.SG), a key trade association for start-ups, to focus on strengthening founder referrals and joint programmes in the start-up community.

With A*STAR’s Urban Solutions and Sustainability Innovation and Enterprise Office (USS IEO), Vidacity will support research spin-offs and emerging ventures from Singapore’s research and innovation ecosystem through programmes and opportunities that support market validation and venture building.

Mr Daniel Kuek, director at USS IEO, said the collaboration with Vidacity will help to bring deployment of technologies to the market more quickly, future-proofing Singapore’s food security.

ACE.SG chief executive Patrick Lim said that speed to market is especially critical for Singapore start-ups to have first-mover advantage at the local and global levels, as there is a high possibility that competitors in other countries are also working on similar products or solutions, given the increase in focus on research and development around the world. “The first to do market testing will help a lot in validating whether the market is ready and if there is a business model for the product or services.”

He added that the agri-food sector – the integrated system merging agricultural production with food processing, distribution and consumption – will be an important alternative food source in the future even though it has yet to reach commercial viability.

“In order for us to get to a stage where it’s commercially viable, we have to start the work now. This means working with a partner like Vidacity to give agri-food companies an opportunity to get ahead so that they have a viable product and business model when the demand comes.”

Start-ups eyeing a regional push for their products and services should make sure they have done sufficient testing locally first, Mr Toh said. “We can provide support in not just lab space or prototyping, but also expanding their customer base by connecting them with our overseas networks. But start-ups should not come to us and say they want to go to Indonesia, for example, when they don’t even have a paying customer in Singapore.”

Vidacity’s new launch comes after JTC unveiled its latest masterplan for LaunchPad in March, which includes a 14,500 sq m AI-centric business park called Kampong AI, alongside new initiatives to attract founders to set up their companies here.