Marissa Trew (PIB Scale Liaison) interviews Dutch founder and CEO of UNL, Xander van der Heijden on why he chose to set up his startup in Singapore and what he has learnt about conducting business in Asia. Xander shares what most people get wrong about the region, and what the biggest challenges entrepreneurs must be prepared to address are, when looking to expand their business internationally. Marissa also speaks to Aditya Mathur, managing director of Elev8.vc, as he explains what encouraged him to invest in UNL, and what European startup founders should consider, when deciding if they should expand or seek fundraising in Asia.
About UNL
UNL is a smart-addressing system designed to power location-based services for last-mile automated supply chains. Founded in 2018 and led by CEO, Xander van der Heijden, UNL has been backed by Singapore’s government investment arm, SG Innovate, and invested in by Elev8.vc. UNL set up its headquarters in Singapore at the end of 2019.
About Elev8.vc
Elev8.vc is a venture capital firm based in Singapore that invests in early-stage B2B deep-tech companies, particularly in the sectors of transportation, medtech, IOT, AI, and communications.