South-east Asian-focused TRi5 Ventures has rebranded to a new name TRIVE, with a new tagline to help great people build greater companies.

Christopher Quek, Managing Partner, shares in an email, “Over the last 7 years, my team and I have been actively investing and paying-it-forward to build a thriving startup ecosystem in Singapore and the region.

We have been inspired by the thousands of individuals, mentors, fellow VCs, partners, institutions, governments, friends and associates whom we have met and walked together with us in this incredible journey.

TRIVE represents our new aspirations for the future, while celebrating our past, challenging ourselves to progress and transform, while placing the community at the heart of all that we do.”

Through the next 12 months, TRIVE will roll out initiatives under three thrusts: Ventures, Community and Advisory.

Offering free administration of the Startup SG Founder Grant

In an exclusive interview with BEAM, Quek further shares that under its Community initiative, TRIVE will offer free administration of the Startup SG Founder Grant, without any sweat equity or payment.

He says, “We championed the pay-it-forward cause in the Singapore ecosystem in a previous incubator, where we aided 38 Singapore startups to achieve US$5.6m in government grants and seed funding. Via the Startup SG Founder Grant, we hope to re-kindle the pay-it-forward spirit and continue our efforts to continue building a vibrant startup ecosystem.”

The Startup SG Founder Grant offers a grant of S$30k for a co-investment of S$10k to first-time Singaporean founders.

Quek cautions that despite the free administration of the grant, hopeful applicants are still required to go through vigorous vetting and ensuring startups fall within the Smart Nation initiatives and regional expansion.

TRIVE is no stranger to giving back. In October last year, it launched the NEXT50.sg initiative, a group of 70 pro-bono mentors from various backgrounds to advise entrepreneurs on a variety of startup issues.

Disclaimer: TRIVE is a strategic partner with BEAM in Singapore.