619. Singapore thanks the co-sponsors for including this agenda item and the United States for preparing the communication on Women and Intellectual Property. Women's economic empowerment and relatedly, the participation of women in IP is a high priority and imperative for Singapore. In fact, we have dedicated 2021, this year, as the "Year of Celebrating Singapore Women" to recognize the importance of our women's contributions. In the latest Global Innovation Index 2021, Singapore ranked number 6 in the world, for females employed with advanced degrees. On measures that have proven useful for the support of women entrepreneurs in participating in the IP system, Singapore has launched an interagency initiative called Growing with Resilience through Intangibles (GRIT) to partner businesses and communities to better manage and monetise their intangible assets or IP in the COVID-19 environment, where many businesses have to transit and operate in the digital space, and beyond.
620. GRIT provides resources such as information packs and case studies and information on Government grants and support schemes as well as IP training for various sectors such hospitality and F&B, tourism, and arts and entertainment. An example of how this has helped women entrepreneurs is the experience of a Singaporean songwriter and vocalist, Lou Peixin, who moved online and ran livestreams to connect with her audience and generate a new source of income, in a time when physical concerts were not possible. The intellectual property office of Singapore or IPOS International, also provides direct IP audit and strategy consultancy services to local businesses. An example of a company with female founders that IPOS International has worked with is Hegen, which was established to create sustainable, innovative, and high-quality products for nursing mothers. It has designed unique, award-winning square containers with interchangeable lids.
621. Singapore believes that the participation of women in IP remains an important aspect of all IP systems and looks forward to hearing from other Members on their experiences and perspectives.
