“Innovation is crucial to improving, changing and creating better offerings for customers. It’s all about adding value to the world and helping others.”

Born and raised in Mauritius, Jean Christophe Li moved to Singapore to pursue better opportunities in 2006. Working as a Business Development Director for a façade engineering company, he enrolled in the MSc TIP programme in 2016, which linked him up to a wide network of like-minded individuals – including Charles Ng, the eventual co-founder of their technology start-up Aespada.

The duo worked jointly on their business idea in the final months of the MSc TIP course and Aespada was incorporated after graduation in 2018. Jean Christophe has since led the construction technology start-up as its CEO.

He shared how he plans to turn his vision – accelerating the digitalisation of material logistics – into reality.

What is a word that describes you?

 A word that describes me is “hustler”. Being an entrepreneur is not easy – you have to work hard and keep hustling on the daily grind.

What roles can an entrepreneur play in the technopreneurship ecosystem?

To survive the new technopreneurship ecosystem, I believe entrepreneurs must harness emerging technologies, become both an innovator and a disruptor of traditional business models, and push the current boundaries of business success. The entrepreneur must identify the key pain points of an industry and learn how to efficiently use new technology as powerful resources to solve the issues. Innovation is crucial to improving, changing and creating better offerings for customers. It is all about adding value to the world and helping others.

What essential skills are required of the entrepreneurs to play such roles effectively? What piece of advice would you give entrepreneurs?

An entrepreneur must grind for every small win. But winning is not just for us – for Aespada, winning is also about enabling others to enjoy the benefits of technology. Patience is an essential skill entrepreneur must develop because the journey to digitalisation adoption is long and filled with many rejections, as late adopters of technology have to be guided on “what” type of technologies exist, “why” technology is important and “how” they can harness it for their benefits.

In Singapore’s construction industry, most of the contractors are family-owned businesses that are run by first-generation adults who are not familiar with digital tools. In Aespada, we work closely with them and educate them on the power of using digital solutions to increase the productivity and efficiency of their businesses. I think it’s important for entrepreneurs to be educators, exposing people to new digital tools and helping them adapt. It’s a long process but it’s worth it.

 

“It’s important for entrepreneurs to be educators, exposing people to new digital tools and helping them adapt.”

What inspired you to go down this path?

When I moved to Singapore in 2006, I worked in a construction company and gave the business owner ideas on how the company could increase its competitiveness through innovative technologies. He decided to place me in the innovation department and I decided I wanted to learn more about existing technologies. This led to me enrolling in the MSc TIP programme and developing innovative ideas in my work.

I’m from Mauritius, a small island in the Indian Ocean. When I came to Singapore, I decided I wanted to build something that I could be proud of. The MSc TIP programme connected me with my co-founder Charles and inspired us to start Aespada. So, after my studies, I wanted to give it a shot by going full time in Aespada, and here we are now.

 

How do you make use of technologies in Aespada?

We want to accelerate the digitalisation of material logistics for the built environment. After identifying the key pain points in the industry, we use our cloud-based platform to close the gap for businesses still using old practices in the sector.

For example, main contractors still rely on email and messaging apps as tools to monitor their subcontractors and suppliers’ deliveries to their construction sites. Aespada helps them digitalise this process by creating a timeslot management system, where main contractors can approve each delivery to their construction sites. In addition, they can trace the real-time location of the lorries on the way to their construction sites and be notified of the upcoming deliveries through the system’s Geo-Fencing features.

What impact does COVID-19 have on entrepreneurship?

I believe entrepreneurs should adapt quickly to the new normal. This pandemic has shaken our routines, changing our old and traditional ways of doing things. We have to accept and learn, embrace uncertainty, and prepare for the unknown. For the companies targeting B2C markets in the COVID-19 pandemic, it is essential to monitor customer behaviour shifts such as working from home activities. For B2B markets, firms have to put themselves in their customers’ shoes and deal with the new pain points that their customers are facing in their businesses. If business founders didn’t adapt and tweak their business model fast enough, they would go through a tough and challenging journey.

What were some of the challenges and opportunities for Aespada due to COVID-19?

Our technology was ready at the end of 2019 and we wanted to start working with companies in early 2020. However, the pandemic affected the construction industry and caused businesses to close, and we could not launch Aespada. While it was a setback, it allowed us time to participate in a competition and win a big grant, which we then used to enhance our software.

The COVID-19 pandemic has also accelerated the need to transform the construction environment. Digital technologies are now essential to help maintain safe distancing by increasing monitoring of site workers and remote booking services. It had been difficult to convince big companies to join Aespada, as they are used to doing things in a certain way. However, post-COVID-19, we saw a major shift with big companies now willing to try digitalisation tools. This shows that it’s important to always be alert to changes in the industry, as when a door closes, a new one opens.

What is the importance of networking in the new technopreneurship ecosystem?

Most networking is done via virtual meetings these days and we rely on digital devices to build relationships with new people. Although virtual meetings lack the human factor, we must still build our networks as quickly as before. The faster you build up your network, the faster your business will penetrate the market.

“Always be alert to changes in the industry, as when a door closes, a new one opens.”

DID YOU KNOW?

When picking a name for their start-up, the founders added an “A” in front of “espada” so they could be among the first start-ups to present to prospective investors. And it appears that this small addition may have worked, as Aespada has successfully obtained big grants.

Christophe graduated with a Master of Science in Technopreneurship and Innovation in Nanyang Technological University (NTU).  He is the co-founder of Aespada, a Singapore-based technology start-up that aims to improve productivity in the construction industry by creating a seamless logistics experience for construction companies and material suppliers. In addition to its Delivery Management Systems tool, Aespada offers an on-demand booking platform that allows construction companies to book, track real-time and determine the estimated time of arrival of the construction materials, equipment and tools to their construction sites.