Amazon Web Services has announced the expansion of Startup Ramp, its support programme for early-stage start-ups building solutions in health, digital government, smart cities, agriculture, and space technology in Southeast Asia.

Customers in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Viet Nam can now also apply for the programme, the company said after the conclusion of AWS Startup Ramp in India.

The programme seeks to remove barriers for entrepreneurs who want to make an impact in the public sector by providing technical design and architecture reviews, mentorship, credits, and support with go-to-market plans to help navigate the complex regulatory and security requirements.

Start-ups in the earliest stages working on finding product-market fit and meeting their first customers can apply to become Startup Ramp Innovators, and those with paying customers focused on growth and scale can apply to become Startup Ramp Members to access programme benefits.

“We are excited to launch AWS Startup Ramp in Southeast Asia where there are incredible opportunities for early-stage companies to solve public sector challenges with innovative solutions,” Peter Moore, regional managing director for worldwide public sector in the Asia Pacific and Japan at AWS, said.

“The pandemic has shown the importance of digital transformation in the public sector, and how start-ups can have an important role in helping governments deliver on their missions with speed and scale.

“Bringing start-ups, public sector organisations, and the cloud together allows teams to experiment and test new ideas with technology to more effectively solve citizen problems and be better prepared to respond to disruptive events.” — VNS