Peter Moore (AWS)
Amazon Web Services (AWS) has launched its Public Sector Startup Ramp program in Southeast Asia and South Korea, with the cloud giant offering technical design, mentorship, credits and more to local start-ups participating in the initiative.
The program is aimed at early-stage start-ups that are engaged in building solutions in health, digital government, smart cities, agriculture and space technology, and is dedicated to supporting entrepreneurs as they build, launch and grow their businesses and solutions.
The expansion of the program to the local market follows the launch of AWS Startup Ramp in India and means customers in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam can now also apply for the program.
“We are excited to launch AWS Startup Ramp in South Korea and Southeast Asia where there are incredible opportunities for early-stage companies to solve public sector challenges with innovative solutions,” said Peter Moore, AWS regional managing director for worldwide public sector in Asia Pacific and Japan.
“The pandemic has shown the importance of digital transformation in the public sector, and how start-ups can have an important role in helping governments to deliver on their missions with speed and scale.
“Bringing start-ups, public sector organisations, and the cloud together allows teams to experiment and test new ideas with technology to more effectively solve citizen problems and be better prepared to respond to disruptive events,” he added.
AWS Startup Ramp is designed to remove barriers for entrepreneurs who want to make an impact in the public sector.
In nuts-and-bolts terms, the program provides technical design and architecture reviews, mentorship, credits and support with go-to-market plans to help navigate the complex regulatory and security requirements in the public sector.
Start-ups that are in their earliest stages working on finding product market fit and meeting their first customers can apply to become Startup Ramp Innovators, and those with paying customers focused on growth and scale can apply to become Startup Ramp Members to access program benefits.
Two Southeast Asian tech start-ups already working with AWS in the capacity provided for by the program are Singapore-based internet of things (IoT) start-up SpaceAge Labs and Vietnamese medical app and care facility operator Med247.
“Working with AWS IoT and machine learning technologies has helped us go to market quickly while delivering solutions that are reliable, secure, and scalable. AWS has enabled us to drive our mission of making public works more efficient,” said Deepak Pitta, CEO of SpaceAge Labs.
“The technical expertise and funding support provided by AWS Startup Ramp will go a long way in supporting early-stage startups like us grow and scale quickly, and remain focused on supporting our customers,” he added.
The launch of the program locally comes several weeks after AWS launched a new program designed to help partners better equip customers with cloud expertise.
The cloud giant’s AWS Training Partner program is designed to enable AWS customers to work with a single partner who can deliver and resell official AWS-authored training.
According to AWS, partners are selected based on their expertise and must continually meet or exceed “rigorous” criteria to maintain their status in the program. The scheme’s partners are located globally with a presence in over 78 countries.
“AWS Training Partners provide choice and convenience for AWS customers with flexible training options and local presence,” the provider said in a blog post.
