SWITCH 2022 marked its return in a physical format for the first time since the pandemic in the seventh edition of the event.

Opening SWITCH 2022, Heng Swee Keat, Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies said, “Technology and innovation have been instrumental in steering the world out of COVID-19 and in tackling the many common challenges we face. The adoption of digital technologies, including AI, robotics, IoT and more, has picked up pace during the pandemic, driving economic recovery. Emerging technologies, including Web 3.0, have the potential to unlock new possibilities and create new waves of change.”'

Heng Swee Keat, Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies made the opening remarks

He emphasised, “Singapore is a Global-Asia node in this international innovation community. We are a gateway for the world into Asia and Southeast Asia, and a window for our region to access the world. SWITCH is another way for global minds on innovation to connect.”

Spotlighting emerging trends and opportunities for collaboration in innovation, the event is gathering more than 300 speakers and 250 exhibitors – including startups, entrepreneurs, investors, multinational corporations, and public sector leaders – from around the world, including Japan, Brazil, Indonesia, and others.

Heng Swee Keat talking to exhibitors

They are joining conference tracks and market access sessions and pitching competitions, exhibitions, networking opportunities, lab crawls, and a slew of partner events taking place.

On the first day of the event, there were a number of activities. They included the launch of a joint-funding partnership between Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG) and Stellar Lifestyle (a business arm of SMRT to support start-up innovation within the MRT network), the launch of the fourth edition of the Sustainability Open Innovation Challenge by EnterpriseSG in collaboration with established private sector partners to crowdsource innovative sustainability solutions, and an announcement about the establishment of three new Centres of Innovation in the growing sectors of the built environment, beauty and personal care, and urban agriculture.

Some new highlights at the event

-The SWITCH flagship conference has been expanded to include over 10 regional tech events to share insights on the latest innovation trends and technology with conversations across topics such as tech talent, healthcare, retail, and e-commerce.

- For the first time, SWITCH will include retail tech and innovation with the Future of Retail Tech partner event.

- Adding a new dimension to SWITCH, the launch of the Developer’s Conference partner event targets a new audience segment of global technologists and developers, enabling Singapore and Asian startups to access a global network of strong developers to support their growth.

- Other tech events include SGTech Global Future Series – Digital Trust (an Investor Day led by EnterpriseSG’s investment arm SEEDS Capital that connects technology startups with institutional investors), A*STAR SME Day which brings together SMEs, trade associations, and the public sector to co-innovate, and more.

-Wide spread of content to uncover new innovation opportunities. The conference will also comprise other exciting innovation-centric content, market access sessions, pitching competitions, lab crawls and an expanded trade exhibition with more than 300 exhibitors from around the world.

The line-up of activities will span three areas:

• SWITCH Beyond: Features speaking sessions uncovering innovation opportunities across industry verticals in Asia, in line with pertinent trends brought to attention and accelerated by the global pandemic. These include topics such as Healthcare & Biomedical, Urban Solutions, and Trade & Connectivity on the back of increasing demands for health and wellness, supply chain innovation, and green partnerships.

• SWITCH Global: Gathers business leaders from 18 markets to discuss the latest tech trends and opportunities in key growth markets, including leveraging Singapore as the connecting node to expand into the Asian region.

• SLINGSHOT powered by Startup SG1: As Asia’s premier deep tech startup competition, SLINGSHOT will see the top 50 global startups.