Twelve Scots startup founders are being given the opportunity to showcase their products and attract international investment in one of the world’s biggest tech economies later this month.

As part of a three-week programme in Singapore, developed in collaboration with the Singapore Government, the founders will operate out of BLOCK71 which houses more than 1,000 of the city’s startups, and attend the Singapore Week of Innovation and Technology—the biggest startup event in Asia.

The visit is part of plans to give startup companies involved in the Scottish Government’s £42 million Techscaler programme, which is run by tech incubator CodeBase, new opportunities to grow, develop, and tap into new potential customer bases and international investment.

The Techscaler participants heading to Singapore include Beena Sharma, co-founder of firm CCU International which develops next-gen carbon capture company; Ross O’Hanlon of Bioliberty, the creators of a soft robotic glove; and Aakanksha Sadekar of Soulful Tech Solutions Ltd, a firm enhancing elderly wellbeing via advanced remote health monitoring solutions.

Deputy first minister Kate Forbes visited CodeBase’s Edinburgh headquarters to meet some of the entrepreneurs who will be travelling to Singapore for the programme this month. She also met participants who have just returned from a similar programme in California’s Silicon Valley.

“Innovation is the life-blood of a thriving and vibrant economy. Supporting Scotland’s entrepreneurs and start-up companies is crucial to economic success, while also helping us develop solutions to global challenges, from healthcare to climate change,” the deputy first minister said.

“Techscaler is the only state-funded entrepreneurial programme of its kind in Europe and our recently launched Programme for Government set out our intention to maximise its impact. For start-ups to succeed at an international level, it is important that they develop global connections and build strong relationships with international investors – and also learn from successful businesses which have scaled-up internationally.

“Helping Scottish business founders access world-renowned tech economies such as Silicon Valley and Singapore is a hugely exciting development in the Techscaler programme. I was delighted to hear from those taking part how they expect to benefit from the experience.”

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Julie Morrison, the global head of trade at Scottish Development International, the international arm of Scotland’s economic development agency Scottish Enterprise, also commented: “Gaining early access to overseas markets can be a defining stage in a company’s growth journey, so we were keen to help expose another cohort of Scottish tech entrepreneurs to international experiences and opportunities.

“We believe this programme will help these promising start-ups dial up their ambitions while strengthening existing relations between Scotland and Singapore.”