This week, the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs led a business mission to Singapore, bringing together Estonian technology companies and investment funds to participate in SWITCH 2025, the region’s leading innovation and technology week.
The delegation was headed by Mariin Ratnik, Undersecretary for Economic and Development Affairs, who described SWITCH as the most significant business event in Southeast Asia. “Each year, more than 20,000 investors, entrepreneurs, and experts from over 100 countries gather here,” Ratnik said.
She noted that Singapore offers broader opportunities for Estonian companies as a hub for the Southeast Asian region. “Although Singapore is on the other side of the globe, we have an embassy here with a business hub, and our main focus is supporting companies,” Ratnik explained, adding that attending major events like this enables direct business contacts to be established.
Several Estonian companies in fintech, edtech, and the food sector already have notable partners or branch offices in Singapore. For example, the delegation visited Wise’s office, which employs over 600 people.
Participants included Estonian company Mindchip, which develops autonomous control systems for ships. It signed a cooperation agreement with a local firm to jointly develop a fully automated oil spill response solution for ports. According to CEO Heigo Mõlder, Singapore is a priority country for their maritime operations, offering many opportunities and requiring a strong local presence.
“One key issue for us is attracting investment. We’re looking for an investor who can bring not only capital but also connections and leverage. Another goal is to launch a pilot project with a shipbuilder or port, and we’ve signed a cooperation agreement for that,” Mõlder said.
He emphasised the importance of national business missions for companies. “As a small startup, we wouldn’t normally get a seat at the table with large corporations or government agencies,” Mõlder said, encouraging other firms to take part in sector-specific missions.
The delegation also included various Estonian venture capital funds and the Estonian Private and Venture Capital Association (EstVCA), represented by CEO Madis Lehtmets. He highlighted that SWITCH brings together key investors and decision-makers from across the region. “Our main goal was to meet asset managers who oversee large amounts of capital in this region, with the aim of attracting investment into our funds, which in turn invest in companies from our region,” Lehtmets explained.
He stressed the vital role of embassy support in securing meetings, many of which took place at the embassy’s business centre. He added that long-term thinking is essential. “We need to build lasting relationships, return here ourselves, and consider how to bring the investors we met here to Estonia,” Lehtmets said.
On 29 October, a side event to SWITCH was held in collaboration between the Estonian Embassy in Singapore and Latitude59.
The Estonian delegation included: Estx OÜ, Shroomwell, Latitude59, Raiku, Varcus Solutions OÜ, MyCeen, Mindchip, LightCode Photonics, Siena Secondary Fund, Startup Wise Guys, 2C Ventures, Tera Ventures, Karma Ventures, Verge HealthTech Fund, EstVCA, CleanTech Estonia, Estonian Maritime Cluster, Nordic Science Investments, Aerefy, Wemel Wood OÜ, ILUS Bike, NAVE Technologies, Soldera, University of Tartu, Tartu Science Park (Sparkup), Startup Estonia, and the Estonian Business and Innovation Agency.
The visit was co-financed by the European Union’s Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF)
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