Accelerating Asia is most well-known for our work with startups through our flagship accelerator and venture fund.
(By the way startup founders, if you’re reading this, join the waitlist for our next cohort here or become a part of our prep program, Amplify.)
But not many people know we actually do a whole lot of work with a much wider group of players in the ecosystem. We work closely with governments, development organisations, multinationals and universities on increasing the quality of their engagements with startups – through their own programs, or through some of ours.
Many of these organisations have a goal of creating a positive impact on the world by working with startups that have a game-changing technology solution or innovative business models. In our conversations with partners and clients, we hear and speak about the solutions to big social issues driven by technology, and how large organisations can leverage this technology.
But often, missing from this conversation is a dialogue about who is creating this technology or who is driving the business - the founders behind the idea, the technology, or the business model. What are their motivations and challenges as they scale their businesses? Often, they have been driven to create their solution because of a problem and they see an opportunity to fix it. They have an insight into another way of doing things; a secret. They’ve seen the light.
It comes back down to a couple of fundamental questions that we’re all working on in the ecosystem: how can we connect the solutions that startups are creating, to the businesses, governments and other organisations in the most efficient way? And how can we support those founders who are fixing the important problems through technology in their local markets.
Practically, this means a couple of things:
Partners that we work with are usually great at identifying what they want out of a program, an interaction, or a deal with a startup. But honestly, not so great about thinking about why a founder would want to work with them.
We see this time and time again.
On the other hand, we often see misalignment with the products and services that startups are developing, and the needs of their clients or customers. Entrepreneurs aren’t always solving the right problems at the right time or are aware that their solutions can be adapted for various uses.
Accelerating Asia works closely with partners to design programs that deliver outcomes for their specific objectives. We use our expertise and extensive program design experience to engage with internal and external stakeholders to customise programs that attract the right startups to meet business goals.
Our approach to these challenges on both sides incorporates two key principles that our team of entrepreneurs and program managers have refined over years of trialling effective ways to encourage partnerships:
There is such a big opportunity to facilitate some truly great relationships between startups: the creators of new technology, the disruptors, and the visionaries, with the corporate and government partners that we work with: the resources, the credibility and opportunities to really scale impact.
We feel strongly about unlocking the potential of these relationships and we’d love to hear about you working on this in the ecosystem.
If you are interested in partnering with Accelerating Asia to run a startup program and connect to a wider network within the ecosystem, reach out to us.
Or if you’d like to connect with us for deal flow or to reach more startups, we also operate an early-stage VC fund, find out more here.
Accelerating Asia invests in startups with scalable technology solutions and revenue generating business models that combine purpose with profit.
In making an investment decision, investors must rely on their own examination of startups and the terms of the investment including the merits and risks involved. Prospective investors should not construe this content as legal, tax, investment, financial or accounting advice.
