Amazon Web Services (AWS) recently expanded its Startup Ramp program in South East Asia. This new program for early-stage startups building solutions in health, digital government, smart cities, agriculture, and space technology is dedicated to supporting entrepreneurs as they build, launch, and grow.
AWS Startup Ramp works to remove barriers for entrepreneurs who want to make an impact in the public sector by providing technical design and architecture reviews, mentorship, credits, and support with go-to-market plans to help navigate the complex regulatory and security requirements in the public sector. Startups in their earliest stages working on finding product-market fit and meeting their first customers can apply to become Startup Ramp Innovators, and those with paying customers focused on growth and scale can apply to become Startup Ramp Members to access program benefits.
We designed AWS Startup Ramp for the distinct needs of entrepreneurs taking on large scale missions based on key learnings from other startup programs such as AWS EdStart, which works with education technology startups globally and AWS GovTechStart, which supports U.S. technology companies with customers in state and local government.
This means customers in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam can now also apply for the program.
“We are excited to launch AWS Startup Ramp South East Asia where there are incredible opportunities for early-stage companies to solve public sector challenges with innovative solutions. The pandemic has shown the importance of digital transformation in the public sector, and how startups can have an important role in helping governments to deliver on their missions with speed and scale. Bringing startups, public sector organizations, and the cloud together allows teams to experiment and test new ideas with technology to more effectively solve citizen problems and be better prepared to respond to disruptive events,” said Peter Moore, regional managing director for worldwide public sector in Asia Pacific and Japan at AWS.
Local startups and industry experts welcome further collaboration with AWS
According to CB Insights, in the first half of 2021 Pre-Series A funding saw the largest investment growth year-over-year compared to later stages, with a significant $1.31B invested in 1197 deals across Asia Pacific and Japan. This suggests an increasing confidence to support growth in fledgling startups, and recognition of the innovation happening at even the earliest stages within Asia’s dynamic startup ecosystem. New programs such as AWS Startup Ramp are designed to accelerate this innovation across key industries, and support startups as they develop solutions that address some of society’s biggest challenges.
Singapore-based SpaceAge Labs is an early-stage technology startup providing Internet of Things (IoT) solutions to manage remote assets and operations in the urban water and landscape services industries. “By 2050, nearly 70% of the world will live in cities. This trend along with other factors such as aging urban infrastructure, rising labor costs, and impact of climate change events means that our customers in the public sector are looking for IoT solutions to support a data-driven and predictive approach to managing sewers, drains, pipes, and urban greenery. Working with AWS IoT and Machine Learning technologies has helped us go to market quickly while delivering solutions that are reliable, secure, and scalable. AWS has enabled us to drive our mission of making public works more efficient. The technical expertise and funding support provided by AWS Startup Ramp will go a long way in supporting early-stage startups like us grow and scale quickly, and remain focused on supporting our customers,” said Deepak Pitta, CEO of SpaceAge Labs.
Med247 is a Vietnamese startup that operates a medical app and care facilities across Vietnam. The company has developed a hybrid platform that combines traditional health models with telemedicine technology via an app for patients and doctors to bring affordable healthcare to all. “AWS has helped us reach out to the Vietnamese citizens through innovative new ways to stay healthy using an affordable and convenient platform. With AWS we can pivot from primary care to maintaining the wellbeing of modern Vietnamese families, and with machine learning we are able to better predict disease and implement preventive care quickly and accurately,” said Tuan Truong, co-founder and CEO of Med247.
Headquartered in Singapore, Openspace provides venture capital funding to companies in Southeast Asia creating transformative impact using technology. “COVID-19 has revealed gaps in the public sector that require the industry to quickly address. For example, in the healthcare sector, the need for new treatments and quicker access, especially in the more remote areas has been magnified. We've seen that the merger of technology with health sciences has empowered the industry to create innovative, more effective solutions, at a much faster rate and lower cost – addressing pressing government and human needs. The majority of startups we invest in run on AWS, which offers them scalability, access to technologies, and support programs like AWS Startup Ramp to help them move at pace, and deliver solutions that address real-world challenges. We are excited to actively support more startups creating a transformative impact in these vital sectors,” said Gervin Yang, Director at Openspace.
How to join AWS Startup Ramp
If you’re an entrepreneur with a big idea to enable governments to better serve citizens, AWS Startup Ramp can help. Companies who meet the participation criteria are encouraged to apply. While any startup working to support public sector customers is welcome to submit a Startup Ramp Application Request to learn about future availability, Startup Ramp is currently available to startups with under $10M in revenue. Startups meeting all qualifying application criteria will be reviewed and evaluated for participation based on their potential contributions to public sector customers.
Organizations focused on empowering entrepreneurs such as accelerators, incubators, investors, AWS Partners, nonprofit, and government initiatives are invited to reach out to the AWS Startup Ramp team if they are interested in opportunities to collaborate with the program.
