Mrs Lim Hwee Hua Highlights the Role of Government and Investors in Scaling Sustainable Innovation at UniVentures Gala Dinner
Mrs Lim Hwee Hua, Co-Chairwoman of Tembusu Partners, former Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office and Singapore’s first woman minister, participated in a high-level panel discussion at the UniVentures Gala Dinner held in Ho Chi Minh City. The event brought together leaders from government, academia, investment and industry to discuss how Singapore and Vietnam can work together to advance sustainable innovation across the region.
Mrs Lim was a panellist in the session titled “Catalysing Sustainable Innovation: The Next Frontier for Vietnam–Singapore Partnership”, moderated by The Business Times. The discussion explored how founders, investors and policymakers can collaborate to build resilient innovation ecosystems and support the next generation of impact-driven ventures in Southeast Asia.
During the panel, Mrs Lim highlighted the critical, behind-the-scenes role that governments play in enabling cross-border innovation to thrive. Drawing on Singapore’s experience, she underscored the importance of a whole-of-government approach, including clear regulatory frameworks, efficient business incorporation processes, digital registration systems and well-defined grants and support programmes. These institutional foundations, she noted, are essential in creating an environment where innovation and enterprise can scale beyond national borders.
From an investor perspective, Mrs Lim also emphasised the need for commercial rigour as sustainable innovations seek to expand regionally. While capital is available, execution remains a key challenge. “Everyone still needs a sound business case, with clear rates of return and profit projections,” she noted, reinforcing the importance of strong fundamentals alongside impact ambitions.
The Gala Dinner marked the official launch of UniVentures, a new regional accelerator led by BLOCK71 Vietnam in collaboration with Temasek Foundation. UniVentures attracted over 1,400 applications from students, alumni and researchers across Vietnam. Following a competitive multi-stage selection process, ten university-linked start-up teams were selected to receive funding and participate in a three-month incubation programme at BLOCK71 Vietnam, with the top two teams advancing to a further incubation phase at BLOCK71 Singapore.
The programme sits within the broader NUS Enterprise ecosystem and is supported by a strong coalition of public and private sector partners, including Golden Gate Ventures. The event was graced by Guest-of-Honour Heng Swee Keat, Chairman of the National Research Foundation, underscoring strong public–private alignment in advancing Singapore–Vietnam innovation collaboration.
At Tembusu Partners, initiatives such as UniVentures represent important entry points within a broader innovation continuum — from university research and early experimentation to venture formation and regional scaling. Through Moringa Ventures, Tembusu Partners’ deep-tech venture-building arm, the firm works closely with scientists, researchers and early founding teams to translate breakthrough technologies into commercially viable ventures, providing hands-on support across execution, commercialisation and market access.
Tembusu Partners remains committed to supporting platforms and partnerships that deepen regional innovation ecosystems and enable high-potential founders to build enduring, globally relevant companies across Southeast Asia and beyond.
Read more here: https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/international/asean/vietnam-singapore-partnership-seen-catalyst-scaling-sustainable-innovation
