National University of Singapore entrepreneurship

The National University of Singapore (NUS) has a vibrant startup and Venture Capital (VC) ecosystem. It supports the growth and development of startups through various initiatives such as the NUS Enterprise, which is a university-wide initiative promoting entrepreneurship. One of the successful startups that emerged from NUS is Carousell, a mobile and online consumer to consumer marketplace for buying and selling new and secondhand goods. Founders Quek Siu Rui, Marcus Tan, and Lucas Ngoo met while studying at NUS.

Another critical part of the ecosystem is NUS Overseas Colleges (NOC), a program that provides students with the opportunity to work and study at leading startups and tech companies around the world. Several successful entrepreneurs and prominent startup founders, such as Darius Cheung, CEO and co-founder of property platform 99.co, have participated in this program.

On the VC front, NUS has been involved in different initiatives to support startups financially. One example is the NRF (National Research Foundation) Technology Incubation Scheme where NUS can co-invest in startups with the NRF. Also, NUS has set up the $25 million Alumni Venture Fund which invests in early-stage ventures led by NUS alumni.

The venture building effort from NUS resulted in initiatives such as BLOCK71, an innovation hub managed by NUS Enterprise that houses several leading tech startups and also serves as an entrepreneurial community where founders, teams, and ventures can seek mentorship, funding, and network opportunities.

Each year, the NUS holds an event called the NUS Enterprise Tech Mixer, where startups and investors from the region gather to network, alongside showcasing the university's latest tech startups and research innovations. This reflects the emphasis NUS places on its startup and VC ecosystem in maintaining its position as one of the leading educational institutes for entrepreneurship.