A good variety of sectors are in a list of 100 fastest-growing companies based in Singapore, going by a study done by The Straits Times and Germany-based global research firm Statista.
They span fintech and financial services, real estate, advertising and marketing, construction and engineering, and more.
The annual list consists of 100 companies that achieved markedly high revenue growth between 2020 and 2023, and were whittled down from an initial list of 2,000 potential candidates, according to the study which was released earlier this month.
Other criteria or points of note include:
-
They must be independent companies headquartered in Singapore with at least S$150,000 of revenue generated in 2020 and S$1.5 million in 2023.
-
These revenues must be organic, or generated through the businesses’ own operations and resources, rather than through external means such as mergers, acquisitions or partnerships.
-
They are ranked by compound annual growth rate (CAGR), which is calculated by taking into account revenue growth over the three-year period.
-
Growth rates were calculated based on the revenue figures submitted by the companies in their respective national currencies. They were then converted into Singapore dollars for comparison.
Three sectors dominate this list – information technology and software, financial services and real estate, accounting for about 40 per cent of the list, according to the study.
The Business Times takes a look at the top three of the 18 tech-related companies in this list, which include the sub-sectors of artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity and more.
A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU
Friday, 8.30 am
Asean Business
Business insights centering on South-east Asia’s fast-growing economies.
1. Focus Digital Technology Group
The digital technology provider, ranked second, made it to the list for the first time. It managed to leverage growing demand to scale its revenue by more than 31 times, from just over S$184,000 in 2020 to over S$6 million in 2023. That put its CAGR at 219.28 per cent.
The company’s number of employees jumped more than five times between 2020 and 2023.
Its growth comes as businesses are realising the need for cloud and cybersecurity support to ensure efficient, scalable operations while protecting sensitive data and critical systems from cyberthreats.
Focus Digital Technology helps these businesses manage their cloud infrastructure and cybersecurity needs, which also ensures business continuity and regulatory compliance in the current environment.
More service providers have also begun tapping AI to save costs and redeploy staff to higher-value roles.
2. Wiz.AI
The software company is ranked third on the list. Its revenue grew by almost 27 times from over S$462,000 to S$12.8 million between 2020 and 2023, putting its CAGR at 202.97 per cent.
Wiz.Ai, which uses generative AI and large language model technologies to create human-like AI agents, or chatbots, to help automate customer interactions for its clients, is among those seeing demand grow.
Founded in 2020 with 68 employees, the company increased its headcount to 270 by 2023, serving customers in banking, insurance, hospitality and e-commerce.
In 2024, it was among LinkedIn’s pick as one of Singapore’s top 10 startups.
3. Gozem
The African ride-hailing firm ranked fifth on the list and managed a revenue growth of more than 19 times from around S$689,000 in 2020 to about S$13.6 million in 2023.
Its CAGR is at 170.25 per cent. Its staff also more than doubled in 2023 to 455 employees.
Gozem was founded in 2017, and by 2022, it managed to secure S$10 million in investments through a partnership with the International Finance Commission to solve vehicle funding constraints for drivers.
As at 2021, the super app had more than 800,000 downloads and over 2,500 drivers. The company started out as a motorcycle startup, but its offered services have expanded to include food and e-commerce delivery, as well as cashless payment services. Its range of transportation options also now include car and tricycle-taxi services.
Today, it operates in eight countries across French-speaking West and Central Africa, where it has a presence in seven markets besides Togo – Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Mali and Senegal.
