It is no secret.

Organisations are investing heavily in both finding and partnering with startups to drive innovation. A recent report by CB Insights on the State of Innovation highlighted that “41% of executives said their companies are extremely at risk or very at risk of disruption”. Great things happen when you pair the domain expertise, networks, distribution channels, customers and resources of a large organisation with the speed, talent and emerging technology of startups. It radically increases the likelihood of success for both parties, while in turn decreasing the risk of the incumbent being disrupted.

Startup Accelerator Programs are an effective and popular tool to connect and partner with startups. For instance, both Charter Hall and Village Roadshow have just run successful accelerators. The startups in each program worked closely with Charter Hall and Village Roadshow on some exciting, business model aligned solutions and continue to do so after the completion of the program. Many organisations are looking to invest in startup partnerships but are not ready for a program of the size and scale of an accelerator.

Rather than invest in a full end to end accelerator, NTUC Income (Income), a national insurance cooperative in Singapore, recently partnered with Collective Campus to scout startups across Australia and New Zealand that are solving two specific problems they have identified as a business. Income understands the immense benefit of partnering with startups, not only locally but globally to solve business problems. An open innovation initiative, Future Starter offers the start-up community and innovators the opportunity to share their ideas, develop proof-of-concepts (POCs) and deploy 'live' trials with Income.