Manager, New Ventures (AI and China)

Economic Development Board; Singapore; On-site; SGD 60,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

The Economic Development Board is looking for a Manager to join the New Ventures team, focusing on supporting startup founders in Singapore, particularly from China, in their venture creation efforts. Ideal candidates will have experience in the startup ecosystem, strong analytical and interpersonal skills, and high proficiency in Chinese. This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to Singapore's entrepreneurial landscape by fostering innovation and collaboration.

Qualifications

• 3-5 years experience in the startup ecosystem.
• Experience supporting founders and ventures.
• Interest in China's innovation economy and AI.

Responsibilities

• Manage relationships with founders to facilitate their setup in Singapore.
• Support high potential ventures with partnerships and GTM efforts.
• Develop strategies addressing gaps in the venture creation process.

Skills

Analytical Ability

Interpersonal Skills

Communication Skills

Organizational Skills

Adaptability

Proactivity

Resourcefulness

Curiosity

Results-Oriented

Time Management

Education

Bachelor’s Degree

Job description

What the role is:

About EDB

The Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), a government agency under the Ministry of Trade and Industry, is responsible for strategies that enhance Singapore’s position as a global center for business, innovation, and talent. We undertake investment promotion and industry development, and work with international businesses, both foreign and local, by providing information, connection to partners and access to government incentives for their investments. Our mission is to create sustainable economic growth, with vibrant business and good job opportunities for Singapore.

For more information on EDB, please visit www.edb.gov.sg

About New Ventures

EDB New Ventures is the venture building arm of EDB. Our aim is to support the creation and scaling of high potential new ventures from Singapore to become globally leading businesses. To do so, we are spearheading novel ways of partnering with companies on their corporate venturing journeys and with established global founders as they build their next ventures from Singapore. This includes jointly embarking on venture building sprints alongside partner corporates / global founders, supporting corporate-startup partnership initiatives, co-investment with corporates to risk-share early-stage growth of their ventures and active portfolio value creation support to scale each venture.

We are looking for experienced individual(s) in the venture ecosystem with strong interest in China as a geography and AI as a domain focus, to join us at Manager seniority level to drive more creation of new ventures by global founders in Singapore. Join our fast-growing and dynamic team!

What you will be working on:

Founder Engagement (China and AI)

This role is to attract top experienced founders to Singapore and support high potential ventures created by these founders in Singapore to grow to become globally leading businesses. Experienced founders range from those who have been in leadership positions in unicorns / tech companies, to those who are technically strong in deep tech domains. We aim to support their move to Singapore and build new ventures.

The China and AI team’s dual specialization are as follows:

• China – attracting experienced founders and early-stage ventures from China to Singapore, across all industry segments

• AI (Global) – attracting AI founders with technical expertise to venture build in Singapore

This team is 1 of 5 teams within EDB New Ventures and will work closely with the rest of the division and other parts of EDB.

At the Manager level, key responsibilities for the role includes:

• Relationship Management of founders to facilitate their move and setup in Singapore

• Value creation for high potential ventures, such as in supporting partnerships, GTM efforts including matchmaking with large corporates to undertake innovative pilots and other needs of the business that EDB can provide assistance for

• Strategy development in the team’s dual specialization areas, including identifying gaps and experimenting with / developing offerings to address key gaps

What we are looking for:

To meet the challenges of this role at the Manager level, you must have:

• A strong interest and passion in start-up or venture creation

• 3-5 years of working experience in the startup ecosystem, preferably in roles that directly support founders and ventures. Candidates from accelerators, venture builders, venture capital firms, corporate innovation, consultancies and other startup ecosystem players will be favourably considered.

• Demonstrated interest/experience in China’s innovation economy and in AI developments globally are required.

• A Bachelor’s Degree in any discipline with relevant working experience

• Strong analytical ability that can be applied in research of opportunity areas, distillation of qualitative and quantitative data into insights, development and assessment of business models etc.

• High proficiency in Chinese language in business settings

Suitable candidate should possess the following skill sets and attributes:

• Proactive, energetic and curious

• Positive, can-do attitude

• Adaptable, receptive to uncertainty and change

• Confident with high level of resourcefulness to drive new initiatives and projects

• Results-oriented

• Strong organisational, time management and multi-tasking skills

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills

• Independent but a strong team player

• Singaporean

We review applications and interview on a rolling basis. Applicants can expect to receive an application outcome within 8 weeks of application date.

About Economic Development Board

EDB is the lead government agency responsible for planning & executing strategies to enhance Singapore's position as a global business centre and grow the Singapore Economy. We dream, design and deliver solutions that create value for investors and companies in Singapore. Through that, we attract economic opportunities and jobs for the people of Singapore and help shape our country's economic future.