4. Case Study: Singapore

Singapore is a rapidly developing country with a diverse population sitting on one of the most strategic locations in the world—Strait of Malacca, which transports more than 50% of world’s commercial goods. Over the past fifty years, the country has transformed itself from a technology user to a technology developer. The main source of human and financial capital in the country is the foreign talent and direct investment. The government has established various agencies and institutions, such as Agency for Science, Technology and Research, to propel domestic innovation in collaboration with MNCs. Most importantly, the government has maintained a liberal immigration policy to attract the overseas talent. Moreover, the IP Act and Competition Act balance each other to promote competition between low-tech and high-tech enterprises but at the same time these regulations ensure a level playing field for all actors in the innovation system of Singapore. Similar to other innovation-driven countries, Singapore has also developed public research institutions, clusters, and science parks. In parallel to the institutional and infrastructure development, there has been an equal emphasis on training and development of human capital. On other hand, a host of public-private partnership programs, such as Technopreneurship21 and GET-UP, ensures collaboration between industries, universities and government at all levels.