Singtel’s Innov8 teams up with int’l telcos to help start-ups scale up

The telcos formally launched their alliance.

Singapore’s telco giant Singtel’s innovation arm has teamed up with the innovation arms of Deutsche Telekom, Orange, and Telefonica to launch Go Ignite, an alliance aiming to connect the start-up ecosystems across Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East.

According to a press release by Singtel, Go Ignite is also launching its first global call for start-ups to enrol their projects into one of five categories, which are Internet of Things (IoT), cyber security, big data analytics, content delivery and customer experience enhancement.

“The alliance offers a programme to help top start-ups find business development opportunities, accelerate the commercialisation of their innovations and scale their business outside their home market,” the press release said.

Singtel said up to five start-ups will be selected for the programme, which ends on 30 April.

“To translate their ideas into viable solutions quicker, selected start-ups will benefit from the alliance members’ collective resources,” the press release said.

“They will also have the opportunity to gain access to Go Ignite alliance members’ business units and their collective customer base, which includes enterprises and consumers, equating to over one billion mobile customers across five continents,” it added.