Programme helps S'pore firms expand range, enter new markets

EnterpriseSG has supported 92 companies in their plans and global growth ambitions

- Sue-Ann Tan

Biotechnology firm Mirxes had over 100 employees in 2021. But in just three years, the company has more than doubled in size, with over 300 staff globally today.

The Singapore-headquartered company, which stands on the cutting edge of RNA technology - the same tech used in Covid-19 vaccines also has physical operations in the US, China, Hong Kong, Japan and Southeast Asia, as well as commercial activities in the broader Asia-Pacific markets.

And while it is based here, it keeps a keen eye on the region's vast potential.

Co-founder and chief executive Zhou Lihan said: "As a first mover in the region's nascent precision cancer detection market, Mirxes is poised for dominance." The firm develops and commercialises accurate, non-invasive and affordable blood tests based on micro-RNA technology for early E disease detection, including cancer.

It credits its growth to a programme by Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG) which helps local companies to scale up. Mirxes participated in the programme in 2020 and embarked on a partnership journey with its anchor partner, management consulting firm EY-Parthenon.

To date, the Scale-Up SG programme, which started in 2019, has supported 92 companies across diverse sectors in mapping out their plans and achieving their growth ambitions, EnterpriseSG said. The programme aims to help high-potential Singapore companies grow further and become Global champions.

Companies with global headquarters in Singapore that have demonstrated a strong track record of growth and good leadership bench strength are invited to join the programme by EnterpriseSG.

The firms must also have the ambition to take their business global  and to transform.

The first three runs involving a total of 47 companies achieved an average revenue growth rate of 68 per cent in just two years. Meanwhile, around half of these 47 firms entered new markets.