Deputy PM Yoschanan Teams with Temasek for Thai-Singaporean Startups
Deputy Prime Minister Yoschanan Wongsa-wat met with Temasek Foundation CEO Ng Boon Heong to launch a two‑way collaboration between Thailand’s NIA and the Singapore‑based foundation aimed at boosting Thai‑Singaporean startups. The partnership will focus on healthcare, climate change, and future food, providing co‑funding, accelerator links, and plans to host a Global Innovation Challenge in Thailand by 2027. It also aims to help Thai startups enter Singapore while attracting Singaporean firms to localize for the Thai market.
Yoschanan Wongsa-wat said after the meeting on October 16, 2026, at the Government House that the Temasek Foundation, which focuses on grant funding for pilot social and environmental projects across Asia, will support promising Thai startups to enter the Singapore market, while also drawing Singaporean startups to operate in Thailand and adapt their technologies to local conditions. Funding will be coordinated through co‑funding between NIA and the foundation, with the foundation providing grants alongside connections to venture capital and private‑equity firms to ensure continuous access to capital. The plan also links the accelerator programs of both agencies.
The collaboration will concentrate on three target sectors: healthcare, climate change mitigation, and future food. The future‑food initiative will be driven through the SPACE‑F project, a joint effort of NIA, Thai Union Group PCL, and the Faculty of Science at Mahidol University. In addition, Yoschanan invited the Temasek Foundation to bring its Liveability Challenge — Asia’s largest sustainability‑solution competition — to Thailand in 2027 as a Global Innovation Challenge, giving Thai startups a platform to showcase their potential and attracting global innovations to the country. Thailand’s strong medical‑personnel expertise and ready infrastructure make it an ideal location for health‑tech startups to conduct clinical trials and expand their businesses. The partnership will serve as a key mechanism to connect Thailand’s innovation ecosystem with regional investor networks and to advance joint technology development between Thailand and Singapore.
