Singapore, Canada-based startups look to explore Indian market

Several international startups from Singapore and Canada have expressed interest in expanding into India, citing its massive market potential, rapid economic growth, and supportive startup ecosystem. The startups have expressed their intent to explore the Indian during interactions on the sidelines of EPIC 2025, a global pitch competition organised by the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) that concluded recently.

Out of 1,200 applications from more than 70 economies, 100 startups, including two from India, were shortlisted into three categories: Digital Health Tech, FinTech, and GreenTech. The annual event provides a platform for founders to connect with global investors, corporate partners, and emerging markets.

Sunny Chai, Chairman of HKSTP, said, “We are turning Hong Kong’s connectivity into momentum, helping ideas move and scale across borders. “EPIC 2025 is a testament to this, where entrepreneurs connect with emerging markets, enthusiastic investors, and world-class innovation ecosystems.”

Bryan Oh, Founder & CEO of Singapore-based NEU Battery Materials, said, “Our priority is to grow our business beyond Singapore, because battery recycling is not just a problem for Singapore or Hong Kong, it is a global problem. We want to solve it using our process and technology.”

When asked about plans for India, he said India is a big market with an ecosystem for startups, and a couple of startups involved in battery recycling are doing well there. “It has a huge amount of two-wheelers and three-wheelers. It’s definitely a market we are looking at (to recycle batteries). I would love to know more about government initiatives and policies in India,” said the EPIC 2025 winner who participated in the GreenTech category.

Jayden Lu, Product Engineer at Belli, said India is a fast-growing economy and it will be great to be a part of this journey. He said India stands as a great opportunity for any investor to build their customer base, given its high population.