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Good practice Imported

NUS Enterprise — National University of Singapore's Entrepreneurship & Commercialisation Arm

Singapore · Singapore · See the Singapore profile · See the Singapore profile

Evidence: Descriptive / self-reported Top 18% 81/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Since 2001, NUS Enterprise has grown from sending 14 students to Silicon Valley into a global network — its BLOCK71 startups reached a combined S$15.6 billion valuation by 2021, and its GRIP venture-creation programme has now been scaled into a S$50 million national programme.

~100
GRIP spin-off companies since 2018
15.6 S$bn
BLOCK71 network combined valuation (10-year mark) (2021)

Details

Maturity
Established
Promoter
NUS Enterprise (National University of Singapore)
Period
2001–present
Keywords
University entrepreneurship, deep-tech venture creation, startup incubation

Context

NUS Enterprise is the National University of Singapore's entrepreneurship and technology-commercialisation arm, formally established in 2001, running NUS Overseas Colleges, the BLOCK71 startup-hub network and the GRIP deep-tech venture programme.

Results

GRIP 2.0 supported nearly 170 startup teams since 2018, ~100 spin-offs raising almost S$65m; in 2025 this scaled into a S$50m national programme. At its 10-year mark, BLOCK71's global network reported 1,152 startups with a combined valuation of ~S$15.6bn.

Conclusions

The largest headline figures come from NUS Enterprise's own press materials and have not been independently audited; reported figures also mix genuine IP spin-offs with startups that were merely hosted or funded.

Implementation
Indicative cost
High (€500k–€5M)
Time to results
Long (> 3 years)
Staffing & skills
entrepreneurship programme staff, venture-creation coaches, overseas hub liaisons

Conditions for success

  • strong research university base
  • national government co-funding (NRF)
  • overseas hub network for market access

Common failure modes

  • headline valuation/reach figures are self-reported and not independently audited

Commonly funded by

National / regional programmes

Indicative funding routes for practices of this type — always check each programme's current calls and eligibility rules.

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Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

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