Mobile Alliance is Singapore’s first association focused on innovations in mobile software applications

Singapore’s industry-leading mobile software companies today announced an agreement to form the nation’s first mobile software association, Mobile Alliance. As an industry-led initiative supported by the International Enterprise Singapore (IE Singapore), Mobile Entertainment Forum (MEF) and Mobile Marketing Association (MMA), the alliance represents the interests of the broader mobile ecosystem with a focus on driving innovation and growth of the mobile communications industry.

Boudewijn Pesch, Managing Director of Acision in Asia Pacific, has been selected by the founding members as the President of the Mobile Alliance. In this role, Pesch will lead the group towards establishing Singapore as a Centre of Mobile Excellence in Asia, with a specific focus on driving research and development in the mobile software industry. Boudewijn will be assisted by industry veterans Kevin Chia of Clearhub and Rakesh Sabharwal of Mobiquest, both of whom are Vice-Presidents of the Mobile Alliance.

The Mobile Alliance will work jointly with key industry stakeholders like IE Singapore, MEF and MMA to drive strategic programs to position Singapore as an attractive base to develop new mobile services and market them globally.  Members can benefit from subsidized international trade shows, overseas missions, market intelligence and research as well as business matching events through the assistance of these agencies.

“By adopting a collaborative approach, Mobile Alliance is focused on generating greater synergies and incubating new opportunities within the mobile ecosystem in Singapore. We aim to work closely with over 30 of our members and forge partnerships with key industry agencies to develop Singapore into a vibrant and innovation-driven hub for home grown mobile content and application developers,” commented Boudewijn Pesch.

Said Mr Thian Tai Chew, Director of Infocomm Technology Division of International Enterprise Singapore, “In recent years, mobile operators are stepping up efforts to bring more value added services to customers. New and interesting mobile application services are required to attract and retain subscribers, which creates the opportunity for Singapore-based mobile software companies.  The formation of the Mobile Alliance is timely as it will unite stakeholders in the local mobile eco-system to work on strategic initiatives and branding efforts to promote Singapore as a Centre of Mobile Excellence in Asia.  IE Singapore fully supports the Alliance in its internationalisation efforts and to assist its members widen their business connections.”

Mobile Alliance also has the active support of the Mobile Marketing Association, a global trade association that drives consumer best practices and guidelines across the mobile ecosystem. The MMA has over 700 members worldwide including carriers, service providers, aggregators, developers, brands, agencies and regulators. Members of both organisations will benefit from cross-promotional activities as well as be able to jointly develop initiatives for software development within the mobile industry.  

Rohit Dadwal, Managing Director, MMA Asia Pacific added, “The Asia Pacific region, with a high penetration of mobile devices, is well placed to drive innovative applications for the development of the mobile software sector. Singapore offers the infrastructure and talent required to encourage world-leading companies to be based here, and with a mobile penetration of over 100%, it acts as a test bed for the R&D process. At the MMA, we look forward to the growth of this segment as an important part of the broader mobile ecosystem.”

Faissal Houhou, Vice Chair for MEF Asia & Vice-President International Business Development for Paymo noted, “The Mobile Entertainment Forum is delighted to support the local players in the Singapore mobile entertainment space where our Asian office is based. We are looking forward to synergize with the Mobile Alliance to create more opportunities for both our members to boost the growth and innovation in this sector.”

NOTES TO EDITORS

About Mobile Alliance Singapore
The Mobile Alliance of Singapore is an association of industry leading mobile software companies, focused on supporting the development of mobile software and applications. The Mobile Alliance of Singapore over 30 founding members comprising of Acision, Activants, Aura Interactive, BAK2U, BLOG2U, Buuuk, Clearhub, Colorzip, Fast and Safe, Gemalto, Globalroam, Hong Bao Media, Human Network Labs, Infoline, Macrokiosk, Microusability, Mobilesorcery, Mobile Distillery, Mobiquest, Muvee, Navteq, Netbiscuits, Newspage, Paymo, Stream Media, Sybase365, Talaraix, tenCube, TransferTo, The Voice Company, Wooworld, Yoose and ZingMobile. For more information, visit www.mobilealliance.sg

About IE Singapore

International Enterprise (IE) Singapore is an agency under the Ministry of Trade and Industry spearheading the development of Singapore’s external economic wing. Our mission is to promote the overseas growth of Singapore-based enterprises and international trade.  With a global network in over 30 locations and our 3C framework of assistance – Connections, Competency and Capital – we offer services to help enterprises export, develop business capabilities, find overseas partners and enter new markets.  At the same time, we work to position Singapore as a base for foreign businesses to expand into the region in partnership with Singapore-based companies. Please visit www.iesingapore.com for more information.

About the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA)

The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) is the premier global non-profit trade association established to lead the growth of mobile marketing and its associated technologies. The MMA is an action-oriented organization designed to clear obstacles to market development, establish mobile media guidelines and best practices for sustainable growth, and evangelize the use of the mobile channel. The more than 700 member companies, representing over forty countries around the globe, include all members of the mobile media ecosystem. The Mobile Marketing Association’s global headquarters are located in the United States and it has regional chapters including North America (NA), Europe (EUR), Latin American (LATAM) and Asia Pacific (APAC) branches. For more information, please visit www.mmaglobal.com. For information relating to the MMA’s Mobile Marketing Forum series, please visit www.mobilemarketingforum.com.

Press Contacts

Press Office -  Mobile Alliance
Ph: +65 6505 1021 / +65 9863 1449
e: press@mobilealliance.sg

Ms Cheng Kiat Loon
Manager, Media and Marcom, Corporate Communications Group
International Enterprise Singapore
ph: + 65 6433 4465
e: cheng_kiat_loon@iesingapore.gov.sg
w: www.iesingapore.com

MMA
Central email: apac.pr@mmaglobal.com

Sonya Madeira-Stamp/Joan Khor
Rice Communications on behalf of MMA
m: +65 9450 1090 / +65 9187 0990
e: sonya.madeira@ricecomms.com
e: joan.khor@ricecomms.com

MEF
Crystal Chua
m: +65 8123 1800 (Singapore)
e: crystal@m-e-f.org
w: www.m-e-f.org

Sweden Mobile Association
Tomas Bennich
e: info@swedenmobileassociation.com
w: www.swedenmobileassociation.com