Daily Briefing: Malaysia, Japan travellers to serve 14-day SHN upon return; Tech startup Sleek raises $5.37m

And how SG partners with startups to prepare travel, tourism industry for comeback.

From HumanResourcesOnline:

Effective on Sunday, 22 November, travellers with a recent travel history to Malaysia will have to serve a 14-day stay-home notice at dedicated facilities upon entering Singapore.

This would also apply to those entering Singapore to work under the periodic commuting arrangement, and returning Singapore-based travellers under the Singapore-Malaysia reciprocal green lane.

Similarly, travellers who are not Singapore citizens and PRs, entering Singapore from 27 November, with a travel history in the past 14 days to Malaysia (including transit) will be required to take a COVID-19 test within 72 hours before departure.

They will then need to present a valid negative COVID-19 test result as a condition of approval to enter Singapore.

This requirement will not apply for returning Singapore-based travellers under the Singapore-Malaysia RGL.

Read more here.

From e27:

Singapore-based startup Sleek has secured $5.37m (US$4m) in fresh funding from a clutch of investors, led by SEEDS Capital, the investment arm of Enterprise Singapore.

Other co-investors are MI8 Limited, a Hong-Kong multi-family office, and Pierre Lorinet.

The three-year-old company will use the money to expand into new markets in Asia and further enhance its digital tools.

“With the new funding, we will launch more platform functionalities and new business verticals shortly to enhance the overall customer experience; ultimately, we envision Sleek to be the go-to digital platform for all entrepreneurs setting up in Singapore, Hong Kong, and beyond,” said co-founder Julien Labruyere.

Founded by Labruyere and Adrien Barthel, Sleek is a platform that incorporates and manages companies with simple and efficient online tools.

Read more here.

From e27:

It is no longer a secret that the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the travel and tourism industry greatly, so much that the UNWTO dubbed it as an “unprecedented blow” in their impact assessment.

But as the year draws to an end, industry players in various markets have begun to ramp up efforts to bring the industry back to its peak condition, including Singapore.

And the global tech startup ecosystem is not going to miss out on the opportunity to contribute.

But before we look at the projects that the startups are doing, first we need to understand the direction that the local travel and tourism industry is going.

In a written interview, Poh Chi Chuan, acting chief technology officer at Singapore Tourism Board, explains the steps that the institution is taking.

Read more here.