About Us
The Action Community for Entrepreneurship (ACE) is a national private sector-led organisation to drive entrepreneurship and innovation in Singapore.
Launched in 2003 by the Ministry of Trade & Industry and restructured as a private entity in 2014, ACE is supported by the government, under the patronage of Senior Minister of State for Ministry of National Development and Ministry of Trade & Industry, Dr Koh Poh Koon.
ACE’s Board of Directors also comprises of experienced entrepreneurs and professionals immersed in the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
ACE takes on three main thrusts to focus on strengthening the entrepreneurial scene:
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Access Hub for Connected Ecosystems |
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Avenue for Company Expansion |
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Accelerated Co-innovation Enabler |
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Connecting ecosystems for access to startups, technologies, funding and talents |
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Helping startups to scale and internationalise |
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Facilitating co-innovation between startups and enterprises |
Vision
To build a dynamic and sustainable start-up ecosystem in Singapore
Mission
To provide ground-up community support to help start-ups and promote youth entrepreneurship
Our Journey
2003
ACE was launched to transform the entrepreneurial landscape in Singapore, with Mr Raymond Lim, Minister of State, Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Ministry of Trade and Industry (2001 – 2004) appointed as Chairman of ACE
2004
Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Trade and Industry (2004 – 2005) took over as the Chairman of ACE
2006
Mr Li Yi Shyan, Minister of State, Ministry of Trade and Industry (2006 – 2012) took over as Chairman of ACE
2011
Mr Teo Ser Luck, Minister of State, Ministry of Trade and Industry (2011 – 2015) was appointed as Patron of ACE
2014
ACE was re-launched as a private sector led, non-profit organisation
2016
Dr Koh Poh Koon, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Trade and Industry (current) took over as Patron of ACE
Our Team
Dr Koh Poh Koon
Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry
Dr. Mark Hon
Chairman,
Board of Directors
Dr. Mark Hon
Chairman,Board of Directors
Dr Mark Hon is a serial entrepreneur and accredited private investor with experience in leading early stage companies from ideation to IPO. He is founder of Sugar Ventures in Singapore and venture partner at Garage Technology Ventures in the United States. A former professor of finance in Madrid, he was also visiting professor to universities in Oxford, United Kingdom and Deggendorf, Germany. In the private sector, he has formulated R&D commercialisation strategies for The Boeing Company and consumer electronics procurement road maps and mobile application strategies for France Telecom. Featured in Whos Who in the World, and Whos Who in America, he was also the past chairman of the Business Angel Network South East Asia (BANSEA) and serves on the evaluation panels of public sector funds that support entrepreneurship.
Mr James Tan
Deputy Chairman,
Board of Directors
Mr James Tan
Deputy Chairman,Board of Directors
James Tan is Managing Partner at Quest Ventures, a leading venture fund for technology companies that have scalability and replicability in large internet communities. Prior to this, James was co-founder and COO of 55tuan, a NASDAQ listed e-commerce group that grew to more than 200 cities and 5,000 employees across China. As the first Singaporean and one of the rarefied few foreigners to found a public listed internet company in China, and for his investments in the next generation of entrepreneurs, James was recognised as an outstanding overseas Chinese by the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council of China. James currently serves as advisor, board member or trustee on public and private organisations such as Action Community for Entrepreneurship, Applied Innovation Institute, Business Angel Network of Southeast Asia, Beijing CYL Joint Committee on Entrepreneurship Development, Beijing Software Industry Association, National Research Foundation CGAP Fund, and Sports Excellence Business.
Mr Chiang Joon Arn
Treasurer,
Board of Directors
Mr Chiang Joon Arn
Treasurer,Board of Directors
Joon Arn is the Managing Partner at EY’s Asia-Pacific Financial Accounting Advisory Services (FAAS). The FAAS practice comprises of professionals who serve as advisors, both practical and innovative, helping clients address accounting and financial reporting challenges. Joon Arn’s extensive experience includes providing accounting advisory services to international and local entities, which include GAAP conversions, accounting for complex transactions in various sectors, tax restructurings and arbitrations between disputing companies. He features regularly at seminars, trainings and has been invited to speak at conferences organized by accounting bodies, relating to Singapore FRS, IFRS and U.S. GAAP.
Mr Clarence Ti
Member,
Board of Directors
Mr Clarence Ti
Member,Board of Directors
Clarence was appointed as the Principal of Ngee Ann Polytechnic in May 2014. In this role, he leads the polytechnic in developing future ready graduates and has been promoting entrepreneurship, service-learning and overseas internships. Prior to his appointment in Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Clarence served in various roles across a number of government agencies in areas of investment promotion, business & operations management, planning & co – ordination, and legislative & policy reviews. These agencies include the Singapore Economic Development Board, where he served in various capacities including as Head of Strategic Planning and Director of the San Francisco Centre, the Singapore Land Authority where he was Director of Land Business Management, the Ministry of Law where he was Director for Strategic Planning and the Ministry of Finance, where he served as Chief Executive of its Shared Services department, Vital. He currently sits on the Board of ACE and the School of Science and Technology (SST).He also serves on the Future Economy Council.
Dr Alex Lin
Member,
Board of Directors
Dr Alex Lin
Member,Board of Directors
Dr Alex Lin is an advisor of ICOra Asia where he advises and help companies structure their fundraising strategies via blockchain crowdfunding such as Initial Coin Offering (ICO). He was previously the Head of Infocomm Investments (IIPL) which was renamed SGInnovate in early 2017. Alex led his team of investment and ecosystem builders to develop Singapore into a global vibrant startup hub, by investing and building startup accelerators, strengthening the current links into ASEAN, Asia, North America and Europe ecosystem. He had also been actively mentoring entrepreneurs and investing in promising startups. Before his entrepreneurial journey, Alex held senior positions in global companies such as SembCorp Logistics, FedEx, and Hewlett Packard. Holding an Electrical & Computer Engineering Degree at University of Wisconsin (Madison) and a Doctorate at Stanford University, Dr Alex Lin is passionate about building and mentoring entrepreneurs who would build tomorrow’s innovation-driven companies. He is an active member of several community groups and an engaging international speaker on innovation and startup ecosystem building.
Appointments & HR
- * Dr. Mark Hon (BANSEA)
- James Tan (Quest Ventures)
- Ted Tan/Jonathan Lim (Enterprise Singapore)
Audit & Compliance
- * Chak Kong Soon (Stream Global Pte Ltd)
- Prashant Agarwal (AIA Group)
Communications
- Mohan Belani (e27)
Finance & Investments
- * Chiang Joon Arn (Ernst & Young LLP)
- Aniruddha Ganguly (UBS)
- Lee Kian Soon (Astral Asset Management)
Incubators
- * Theodore Tan (SG Meditech)
- Chong Chiet Ping (Small World Group)
- Frank Lee (TNF Ventures)
Internationalisation
- * James Tan (Quest VC)
- Alex Lin (ICORA Asia)
- Paul Lim (Fidelium Group)
Investors Community
- * Dr. Mark Hon (BANSEA)
- Amit Anand (Jungle Ventures)
- Chua Boon Ping (SPH Media Fund)
- Jeffrey Paine (Golden Gate Ventures)
- Chua Joo Hock (Vertex Ventures)
- Alan Hsu (KK Fund)
Women Entrepreneurship
- Grace Clapham (The Change School)
Mentorship
- * Wong Hong Ting (Botbot.AI)
- Miles Gilman (Sultan River Holdings)
- Eddy Lee (Coffee Ventures)
Youth & Education
- * Clarence Ti (Ngee Ann Polytechnic)
- Assoc Prof Sarah Cheah Lai Yin (NUS Business School)
- Heng Guan Teck (Institute of Technical Education)
- Yeo Li Pheow (Republic Polytechnic)