Robb Reader
THE WORLD COULD do with more visionary entrepreneurs like Ng Yi Ming. The 28-year-old Singaporean, together with business partner Ryan Chew, is the cofounder of Tribe Accelerator, the city’s first blockchain accelerator that is financially backed by the Singapore government.
Tribe Accelerator was built with one purpose in mind: to mitigate the mistrust many business owners have for blockchain technology. Ng had to prove to these corporations that blockchain technology is, indeed, solving real-world problems across industries such as healthcare, the supply chain and agriculture.
Today, Tribe Accelerator allows consumers to trace their food from farm to table, verify the history of the second-hand cars that they buy and enjoy faster delivery of medicines through apps. Essentially, the company is helping consumers establish a deep trust in the products that they purchase – and that’s exactly what every start-up needs in its quest to build a loyal following of customers.
Since its genesis in late 2018, Tribe Accelerator has helped early-stage portfolio companies raise more than US$30 million through partnerships with the Singapore government and leading global corporates such as AXA, BMW Group Asia,
Temasek Holdings, Citibank and IBM amongst others. Ng is also committed to making technology education more accessible for graduates and professionals – the Imperial College London graduate serves as an entrepreneur-in-residence with INSEAD, supporting MBA students with entrepreneurial interests.
“Growing up in a family of entrepreneurs
means that you get to hear a lot of business conversations over the dining table. What I’ve learnt from them is that as entrepreneurs, getting into a crisis is inevitable. With that comes the responsibility to ensure that the company is always prepared to face any disruption in the industry.
We are extremely thankful that
the global pandemic hasn’t affected our company from a financial standpoint. We are still hiring today. In fact, we are hiring even more because the current situation has given us more opportunities to set up new businesses via digital platforms. Online education is one field we’ve ventured into as it has made huge progress during this crisis.
are Warren Buffet and Elon Musk. The former, for his expertise in identifying certain trends from a financial market perspective, and the latter, for proving that he’s a polymath.
for the next best eateries. I enjoy Spanish cuisine – my favourite restaurants are FOC along Hong Kong Street and Binomio on Craig Road. The former serves modernised Spanish food, while you can get more of a traditional variety from the latter.
is the ability to make changes for the good of the society that we live in. Having this mindset as an entrepreneur or a leader is important because today, millennials are increasingly driven to join companies that are fighting for a cause that they believe in. More people today are inclined to question a company’s responsibility towards society.”
Two CEOs I look up to
I’m always on the lookout
Power in this day and age