Ryan Chew is the COO of Tribe, which encompasses Tribe Accelerator, OpenNodes, and Tribe Academy. The 3 entities mutually support one another in the larger ecosystem: Tribe Accelerator is a product-development focused blockchain accelerator, Open Nodes is a digital nexus for stakeholders in Singapore to find blockchain innovations, and Tribe Academy seeks to develop aspiring talent in the blockchain sphere.

Ryan and his team are members of the FinTech Hub at Bridge+ 79 Robinson Road.

Tell us the story of how Tribe came about.

Tribe was established three years ago when we set about creating a neutral and independent global Blockchain ecosystem with the aim of connecting Blockchain start-ups with corporations, governments, and investors.

Today, Tribe is a homegrown Blockchain Accelerator bringing together governments, corporations, and transnational institutions from around the world.

Tribe are supported by government institutions from Singapore, the Middle East and Europe. It is also backed by some of the world’s leading organisations such as Citibank, BMW, IBM, PwC, AXA, WeBank, Accenture, EY, Ubisoft, Temasek and Intel among others.

What would you say is the biggest challenge you've faced in recent years?

When we first established Tribe there was a huge lack of support for promising Blockchain start-ups in terms of securing the funding and regulatory support necessary to bring their ideas to life

We saw the potential for Blockchain and the good it can do around the world, but a lack of understanding of the technology meant that entrepreneurs and start-ups just couldn’t break through, and this was a big challenge in the early stages.

However, thankfully this has started to change, and we have brought together some great partners, from government organisations to multinational companies, who are supporting our start-ups.

This has led to real results. For example, our start-ups include Singapore’s largest new and used car online platform, sgCarMart Quotz, who leveraged Blockchain to help to improve transparency and accountability in the marketplace.

MightyJaxx, a collectibles and art studio, uses Blockchain to authenticate its art and collectibles in the second-hand market, ride-hailing company TADA uses Blockchain to record vehicle data and the driver data, authenticating driver information, and so on.

Are you on the lookout for any potential partnerships? If so, what kind?

Yes, we are always ready to welcome new partners into our network. As mentioned earlier, we work with a range of partners including multinationals, governments and transnational institutions from all over the world.

We are seeking partners who are looking to solve problems through Blockchain. This could be in supply chains, in authenticating data or products, in identity authentication and many more.

How has the pandemic affected the way you work and do you have any productivity hacks to share?

Like almost everyone else, the COVID-19 pandemic has certainly affected some aspects of our working lives. Many of us are working from home and Zoom calls are now ubiquitous.

However, it is a testament to how well Singapore has handled the pandemic that much of our work continues as normal.

I would recommend creating ‘Zoom-free’ times during your day, meaning that you should not schedule any meetings during a certain period of the day. The problem with online meetings is that it is much easier to book them back-to-back and before you know it, your entire day is gone, and you have yet to start work.

Tell us your secret - how do you juggle work and your other commitments?

No secret, I’m still learning and figuring out as it goes.

Favourite recent read.

Shoe Dog by Phil Knight

Favourite place to chill around 79RR.

I particularly enjoy the meeting pods and breakout spaces around Bridge+ 79 Robinson Road for quick meetings or Zoom calls.

You can find out more about Tribe and what they do here.