BlueChilli, an Australian tech startup accelerator, is launching a Singapore-based healthtech accelerator in partnership with Enterprise Singapore, according to an official statement issued by the company.
The BlueChilli HealthTech Accelerator will provide tech development services like seed funding, networking, and mentoring opportunities, as well as training for early stage healthtech startups in Southeast Asia. BlueChilli will begin accepting applications at the end of May.
To entrench its presence in Southeast Asia, BlueChilli is also setting up its regional headquarter in Singapore. The Australian accelerator hopes to leverage on Singapore’s geographical location and its identity as the gateway to Southeast Asia to launch several other accelerator programs across the region. Before entering Singapore, BlueChilli already partnered with Coca-Cola Amatil to launch the Amatil X Academy, an intrapreneurial development program, in Indonesia.
Healthtech is a thriving sector in Southeast Asia because countries in the region regulate their healthcare industries more loosely than in other parts of the world. There is also rising demand for affordable and quality healthcare, yet the current distribution of healthtech startups in Southeast Asia is skewed toward providing telemedicine services and medical device production. With those points in mind, the BlueChilli HealthTech Accelerator may just be the conduit to a more diverse healthtech industry in the region.