International real estate companies JLL and Lendlease have jointly launched Propell Asia, a Singapore-based regional property technology (“PropTech”) accelerator that will connect ambitious start-ups to Asia Pacific’s commercial real estate market, which was worth $16 trillion in 2017 and is set to grow to $19.5 trillion by 2020.
Together with partners coworking space District6 and creative design incubator MeshMinds, the accelerator program is targeted at early stage start-ups in the region with a clearly defined product that can be applied to one of the following categories:
- Property management – improve procurement and user experience through predictive maintenance and robotics
- Real estate transactions – increase automation to achieve greater efficiency in leasing and sales including use of blockchain technologies
- Construction management – disrupt the design and construction of the built environment to enhance safety and productivity outcomes during construction
- Data collection, data science and analysis – improve decision-making for occupiers, investors and managers by applying artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques on data that is both internal and external to commercial real estate.
Propell Asia aims to select five start-ups from the region to enter a ten-week program. Each of the start-ups stand to receive a S$20,000 grant, as well as access to reputable mentors comprising real estate industry experts and successful start-up founders, among others.
“Through Propell Asia, we want to discover promising start-ups with sustainable and innovative solutions that can transform the real estate industry,” said Albert Ovidi, chief operating officer of JLL Asia Pacific. “Against the backdrop of rapid urbanization and the rise of smart cities, our industry in Asia Pacific is primed for the next wave of disruption. Data analytics, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, virtual reality, blockchain; all of these technologies will play a pivotal role in the evolution of the real estate industry.”
In June 2018, JLL Spark, the technology innovation arm of JLL, announced the creation of a $100 million global venture fund to invest in companies focused on leveraging technology to improve the real estate experience. The Fund will contribute to the grants for start-ups that are selected to join the Propell program.
Applications for Propell Asia are open from 25 June to 17 August, and the accelerator program for the five successful start-ups will commence in the third quarter of 2018.
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