Enterprise Singapore, the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) and German Accelerator Southeast Asia (GASEA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Tuesday to boost startup collaboration between Singapore and Germany.

The document signing makes Germany the newest addition to the Global Innovation Alliance (GIA) network for Singapore, and will support Singapore-based startups in their expansion to Germany and Europe, according to a joint statement released on the sidelines of the Industrial Transformation ASIA-PACIFIC 2018.

The joint statement said GASEA would partner Enterprise Singapore and EDB to organize a two-year program, named Scalerator, to support more than 40 Singapore-based startups in entering Germany, and access the local and wider European markets. The program is specifically curated for Singapore-based startups, and will commence in the first quarter of 2019.

Jonathan Lim, Enterprise Singapore's Director for Startup and GIA, said Germany was an innovation hub and home to world-renowned companies and research institutions, making it a strategic base for Singapore deep tech startups to access the European market.

Lim said the partnership with German Accelerator marks the launch of Singapore's GIA network in Germany, which would enable Singapore startups to leverage on Berlin and Munich to identify business and co-innovation opportunities for Germany and the European market.

GASEA set up its first Asia office in Singapore last November to support the entry of German startups into Singapore, and scale up to the region. Through a specially curated program, GASEA has successfully supported eight German startups since March 2018.