Protege Ventures launches new S$500,000 fund to develop student entrepreneurship
![Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat (second from right) with (from left) Protege Ventures managing partners Sherwin Ng and Anaanya Bijay; SMU's VP of partnerships and engagement Lim Sun Sun; and Matrix Partners China founding managing partner David Su. PHOTO: SMU INSTITUTE OF INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP](/sites/news.smu.edu.sg/files/styles/max_325x325/public/smu/news/11th20lky20global20business20pla.png?itok=ZBhTY0u2)
Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat said Singapore can be a trusted node for science, technology and innovation amid global challenges, and its nimble regulatory environment allows innovators to develop prototypes quickly. He was speaking during a fireside chat on South-east Asia’s start-up ecosystem at the 11th Lee Kuan Yew Global Business Plan Competition held at SMU on Monday (11 Sep). The event, organised by SMU’s Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, will be held until Thursday, and will feature 53 teams representing 1,100 universities from 77 countries. At the event's opening ceremony on Monday, the Protege Ventures Fund 2, a $500,000 fund by Singapore’s only student-led venture fund programme to provide student investors with capital to invest in early-stage technology start-ups founded by students or recent graduates, was also launched.