Global alliance between Telefónica, Singtel, Orange and Deutsche Telekom for the internationalization of start-ups

They partner to connect startup ecosystems in Southeast Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East

The objective of the alliance is to catalyze the growth of start-ups beyond their local markets, allowing them to accelerate their international growth.

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The innovation platforms of Singtel (Singtel Innov8), Orange (Orange Fab), Deutsche Telekom (hub:raum) and Telefónica (Telefónica Open Future_) have joined forces to bridge the gaps between the current startup ecosystems that exist in Southeast Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East.

 

The goal of the alliance is to catalyze the growth of startups beyond their local markets . To achieve this, startups will be selected that can access the resources and networks of the four leading companies in the communications sector , including market knowledge , introductions to partners , use of co-working spaces , and access to the companies' operational businesses . The selected startups will also have the opportunity to access the operators' customer base, which comprises more than one billion customers across four continents.

 

According to Edgar Hardless, CEO of Singtel Innov8, “for us this agreement offers us a great opportunity to strengthen our ties with the main innovation hubs around the world. There are more and more startups that aspire to Go beyond your local markets and go international. Our extensive connections in Southeast Asia can help open doors for African, European, Middle Eastern and Latin American start-ups. Likewise, the companies in our portfolio can take advantage of this alliance to extend their activity outside their own markets.” 

 

Nathalie Boulanger, Director of the Start-up Ecosystem at Orange, believes that “our extensive experience working hand in hand with start-ups around the world makes us see these kinds of partnerships as a crucial step in ensuring that innovators continue to emerge in the digital world . Our geographical complementarity across four continents will allow us to offer startups access to new markets , enabling them to accelerate their international growth .”

 

Min-Kin Mak, Vice President of hub:raum at Deutsche Telekom, believes that “with the alliance between Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Singtel and Telefónica we see a huge opportunity to build bridges between ecosystems in Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America and give startups essential access to markets, funding and knowledge to achieve the greatest success in their international expansion .”

 

According to Ana Segurado, Director of Telefónica Open Future, “this agreement is an unparalleled opportunity to reinforce our commitment to developing open and innovative initiatives that help telecommunications operators improve the digital experience of companies worldwide. With this alliance, Telefónica complements its open innovation strategy , making it one of its key initiatives following the launch five months ago of the Communication Investment Platform (CIP). Thanks to its leadership in the CIP, Telefónica Open Future is establishing itself as one of the pioneering companies in creating 'innovation factories' to develop disruptive technological solutions .”

 

The start-ups supported by hub:raum, Orange Fab, Telefónica Open Future_ and Singtel Innov8 will benefit from this alliance, as well as all members of Innov8 Sparks, a network to support start-ups and finance initiatives in Southeast Asia created by members of Singtel Group.