Singapore | Startup Fortune

// Singapore, 20 August 2019 // PayPal has launched the Women Luminaries Program (WLP) to help empower female students passionate about technology to pursue a career in the field. This initiative strives to dispel stereotypes surrounding the industry, correct the current gender imbalance and nurture talent for the industry.

According to recent diversity reports, women are still underrepresented in most tech companies, especially in technical and leadership roles. In Singapore, women only occupy about 25% of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths) jobs, and account for only 30% of entrepreneurs in tech and non tech roles, according to Girls in Tech[1].

In light of the diversity gap, the first installment of the WLP is designed to identify female students from several local universities who demonstrate a keen interest and aptitude to build a career in tech. The program is open to Singaporeans and Permanent Residents (PR) residing in the country, for students in their second or third year of their respective bachelor programs with participating universities. The applicant needs to be enrolled in courses related to computer science or engineering to be eligible for the program. The applicant must demonstrate strong capabilities to innovate and contribute to the tech industry.

The program will begin on 20 August 2019, with three annual scholarships awarded to one student from each of the following Singapore Universities: Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore Management University and Singapore University of Technology and Design.

Successful recipients will receive a one-time scholarship. They will also have access to PayPal’s extensive network of mentors and industry experts for career guidance, along with exclusive technical workshops, events, courses that are offered to PayPal employees. In addition, recipients will be able to apply for internship opportunities at PayPal for their university attachments and receive exposure to real-life scenarios and problem-solving under close guidance from PayPal’s senior engineers.

“Gender diversity and inclusion plays a huge role in PayPal’s core values, and we are committed to creating an environment where individuals of diverse backgrounds are welcomed,” said Jerry Tso, Director, PayPal Singapore’s Development Center. “In building the fintech ecosystem, it is important that we promote women in engineering by nurturing female tech talent and provide them with opportunities that would help them stay in the industry and become leaders. With our expertise and network, PayPal is in the position to offer these opportunities and build Singapore’s next generation of fintech talent that will see women on par with men in the industry in every aspect.”

More information on WLP’s details and criteria can be found here

Singapore – LittleLives, which currently provides a custom-built preschool technology app to over 1,000 schools in seven countries, recently launched an app in Malaysia, which helps parents stay updated on their children’s activities at school and day-care. This technology assists teachers and caregivers in providing timely updates to parents.

Said Arjuna Raj, Chief Strategy Officer for Asia, LittleLives: “Parents, teachers and early childhood caregivers play a critical role in ensuring a more integrated development of children, particularly in their early formative years. LittleLives Two-Way Communications app, was launched in Singapore and Malaysia in Jan 2019, and has gained the confidence of both parents and teachers. Parents feel reassured about their children’s safety and progress, while teachers save time on paperwork, which then allows them to pay more attention to supporting the child’s development. By providing a central location for all information establishes reliability for leaders, educators and families. Accountability is increased and maintaining high standards become easier for small schools and big chains, alike.

This is exceptionally important in recent times, especially in Singapore, as private and independent preschools have been affected by the rise of the Ministry of Education (MOE) kindergartens since they entered the scene in 2014. MOE aims to run 50 kindergartens by 2023, more than three times its current 15. This is an effort by the ministry to raise quality standards on a greater scale.

The early childhood education sector is fast growing, and over the next 3 to 5 years, the Government will double its annual spending on the pre-school sector to $1.7 billion in 2022*. A heavy investment that is deemed worthwhile and necessary. From curriculum development to the establishment of early childhood education and day-care centres, the industry is shifting amid the rising demand for childcare places as more parents see the importance of pre-school education in a child’s development

This EduTech company has optimistic plans for the future. “Our future expansion plans include launching in Indonesia and Thailand this year. We have also just rolled out a mobile payment platform that aims to allow parents in Singapore to purchase uniforms, pay for field trips and sign up for extra-curricular classes for their pre-school children together with Singapore Bank, DBS. DBS and LittleLives have plans to roll out this payment gateway to other markets such as Brunei, Cambodia, China, Malaysia and Vietnam. This is made possible with DBS IDEAL RAPID, an API-enabled solution, that allows the bank and its partners to scale their services quickly and seamlessly.

LittleLives is an EdTech company made up of preschool-friendly advocates. The human connection is at the heart of everything they do – it drives the technologies they create, to make an impact on every aspect of school. Their holistic school management system was built to simplify the tedious and complex administrative processes of preschools. LittleLives is accredited by the Ministry of Education, Singapore (MOE), Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) and has been ranked Top Preschool Software by Association for Early Childhood Educators (Singapore) – AECES. As a Software As A Service (SAAS), LittleLives holds a strong presence in over 750 schools in Singapore, 145 in Malaysia, 130 in China, 60 in Vietnam and 2 in Cambodia.